1
Credit: DisneyLast week, we learned that inspectors from the Florida Department of Transportation finally inspected the Walt Disney World monorail system after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law that gave the department oversight of Disney World’s transportation system.
These inspections were conducted in August 2023 and found that some of the support columns had cracks, but they were not significant enough to damage the structural integrity. Three months later, the team returned with divers to inspect underwater support columns and found no damage.
The FDOT must re-inspect the Disney World monorail system in the next 12-18 months. The last inspection deemed the monorail system and bridges safe.
Despite releasing some findings, Florida Politics reports that the Florida Department of Transportation is still keeping most of its findings secret. The FDOT released a 158-page report on the inspection; however, most of that report is redacted.
Florida Politics sent a list of questions about the inspection, including what the FDOT inspection found, if anything, and the relationship between the state and Disney. However, the FDOT has refused to answer any questions regarding the inspection of the Walt Disney World monorail system.
The FDOT told Florida Politics that they were exempt from Freedom of Information laws, citing security concerns. Disney World referred all questions to the Florida Department of Transportation.
The New Law
Last January, in the midst of the feud between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and The Walt Disney Company, the governor signed a bill that removed oversight of Walt Disney World‘s monorail system from the company. The new legislation gave the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) the authority to inspect and oversee the privately-owned transportation system.
However, that legislation had some unintended consequences. The first and most glaring was that the Florida Department of Transportation had never conducted monorail inspections before.
The second issue was the scope of the law; in an attempt to appear as though Disney World was not punished, the Florida Legislature wrote a broad law that put dozens of monorail systems under the FDOT, including those at Orlando International, Tampa International, and Miami International Airports.
In January, Walt Disney World gave the FDOT all the manuals and safety records for its monorail system and said that it was fully cooperating with the department now charged with overseeing one of the parks’ main transportation systems.
With the inspections having taken place, it is still unclear what, if anything, the FDOT found in its first interaction with the Disney World transportation system, but it’s clear that they won’t be telling us anytime soon.