Disney World Monorail May Soon Close Down Permanently

The Walt Disney World Resort Monorail could be facing some trouble.

The Monorail at Disney World is a popular form of transportation that connects Magic Kingdom Park, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, and the Transportation and Ticket Center. The monorail is a sleek, elevated train system that runs on a single rail, offering scenic views of the Parks and Resorts as it travels above the ground. There is also a Monorail that runs to EPCOT.

The Monorail at Disney World opened in 1971 with the opening of Magic Kingdom and has been a popular mode of transportation for Guests ever since. The Monorail is free to use for all Guests visiting the resort and is a convenient way to get around, especially for those staying at one of the resorts along the monorail line.

In addition to being a practical form of transportation, the Monorail at Disney World is also a popular attraction in its own right, with many guests riding it just for the experience and the views. The Disney Monorail has even been featured in several movies and TV shows, further adding to its iconic status at the Resort.

While the mode of transportation has been used since the very beginning at Disney World, Inside the Magic recently reported that Florida legislators have now filed an amendment to a new bill that targets Disney’s Monorail system. This comes days after a press conference held by Governor Ron DeSantis in which he discussed the recent state takeover of Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District.

This new bill attempts to cause more inconveniences to Disney and gives the state more power. The amendment specifically targets the Monorail system, stating that “any governmentally or privately owned fixed-guideway transportation systems operating in this state which are located within an independent special district created by a local act which have boundaries within two contiguous counties” would be subject to state inspections, and that the Disney Monorail would be required to close during these inspections.

With the state of Florida specifically looking at the Monorail and inspections on the mode of transportation likely coming in the near future, Disney could interject with its own retaliation.

Will the Disney World Monorail System close down permanently?

A few insiders have shared that Disney could choose to close the Monorail altogether and just use buses, though it should be noted that the exact wording of the document lends itself to speculation. Disney already runs numerous buses throughout its Resort to and from the theme parks, which include Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT.

What if Disney just chose to take Disney Park Guests and put them on buses instead? While the Monorail is certainly convenient and can hold a larger capacity of people, there may come a point– particularly with state inspections getting underway– where it may be more beneficial for Disney World to pay for extra buses to shuttle Guests to the front of Magic Kingdom, and for extra buses to be available to get Guests wishing to Park-Hop between EPCOT and Magic Kingdom, rather than attempt to fix issues that may be outlined in an inspection.

Would we say that a permanent closure of the Disney Monorail is likely? No. But, we also wouldn’t have predicted many of the events that have already unfolded in relation to the Reedy Creek Improvement District over the last several months.

Most likely, Disney and the state will still reach an agreement of some sort, and the Monorails will continue to run as they always have, perhaps with updates and better technology as a result of the inspections. But, there will likely be legal battles and plenty of negotiations between the two parties before this takes place.

In the meantime, Disney World Guests should not be surprised if there is some kind of inconvenience in relation to the Monorails during their upcoming visits, especially when many of these issues come to a head.

Inside the Magic will keep you updated on the latest surrounding Disney World and much more.