The Walt Disney World monorails are icons of the parks, and easily one of the most popular ways to get around the resorts. However, they are working with a fatal design flaw that resulted in a tragic accident, as seen in the video below, that has still yet to be addressed.
The official report from LightRailSystem.com, responsible for reporting the inner workings of all manner of monorails and similar forms of transportation, reads as follows.
“On July 5, 2009, a tragic accident occurred at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, resulting in the death of a Monorail operator. This devastating incident not only shocked the entire Disney community but also led to a renewed focus on Monorail safety and the implementation of significant changes in the operation of the popular transportation system…”
“On that fateful early morning, two Monorail trains were operating on the same track near the Transportation and Ticket Center. At approximately 2:00 AM, one train, known as the Pink Monorail, was instructed to reverse onto a spur track to make way for the other, the Purple Monorail, to continue its journey to the Magic Kingdom station.
“However, due to a miscommunication between the Monorail operator and the central control, the Pink Monorail reversed onto the same track as the approaching Purple Monorail. The two trains collided, leading to the death of the 21-year-old operator of the Purple Monorail, Austin Wuennenberg.”
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While the 2009 incident is old news, many Disney fans have pointed out that the monorails still possess the unsafe cabin design that lead to the cast member’s death.
Fans Call Out Walt Disney World Monorail

u/Salt-Mud7836 shared on r/WaltDisneyWorld a post detailing the accident as to why Disney Park guests are still not allowed to ride in the cabins of the trains. However, they also go on to explain that the cast members at the throttle are still at risk of injury or death.
In the original post, the user writes,
What people forget is that the NTSB investigation revealed that WDW monorails are not designed with any sort of impact resistance to the front pilot cabin. They were never designed to bump/hit/impact at the nose cone for any reason. Even towing requires little hooks at the front rather than any pressure on the nose itself… And WDW has been keenly aware of this since the accident as outlined in the NTSB reports after the accident. However due to lack of interest in funding a new monorail fleet or renovations to reinforce the cab, the less safe monorails have continued to operate at WDW.”

The user ends their post with the following warning,
“So if you care about the CM health and safety, you should be petitioning for new and safer monorails.”
To further establish this claim, the user provides sources to the original accident report, as well as the official findings from the National Trasnportation Safety Board that officially detailed the damages and aftermath of the incident. Unfortunately, Austin Wuennenburg wasn’t the only Disney cast member affected by the tragedy.
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Inside the Magic previously reported that one of the surviving cast members from the 2009 monorail accent was still dealing with trauma surrounding the event years after it occured. The cast member reportedly shared with Buzzfeed,
“I was on the TTC Resort Platform working the night of the Monorail crash. It will be 13 years this July, and I still wake up screaming from time to time. There is no amount of therapy that will or can erase that memory from my mind.”
It should be thoroughly understood that Disney has had a long history of high safety standards and that events like the one mentioned above are a massive rarity. However, growing guest and cast member concerns could and should force them to act in the best interests of all those who walk through Disney World’s gates.
Inside the Magic reached out to u/Salt-Mud7836, but received no response at the time of publishing.
Did you know about the monorail crash? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!