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Credit: Christian Lambert, Unsplash Some Florida residents are not particularly happy about the prioritization of Orlando’s theme park guests.
Located in Central Florida, Orlando has made its name as the theme park capital of the United States, if not the world (although Abu Dhabi is putting up a good fight to change that fact). What started with Walt Disney World Resort in 1971 has become a bonafide thrill empire encompassing the likes of Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando, and more.
Related: Employee Stands up To Controversial Florida Theme Park, Lawsuit Officially Filed
While there’s plenty else to enjoy throughout the Sunshine State, tourism does form the bulk of its economy. Tourism in Orlando alone reportedly generates nearly $92.5 billion in economic impact every single year.
But this fact has proven problematic in recent months.
In September 2023, Brightline – Florida’s inter-city railway service – expanded its route to Orlando International Airport (MCO). Now, passengers can directly travel from Miami to the heart of Central Florida, with stops in West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and Aventura along the way.
Brightline has gone out of its way to ensure that this means visitors can more easily travel from Miami to Florida’s theme parks. The same month it expanded its route, it debuted a 24/7 shuttle service with Mears Transportation that can take passengers directly to Walt Disney World Resort, as well as over 25 Orlando hotels frequented by park guests.
The issue was that not everybody who wanted to travel to Orlando for this reason was able to secure train tickets. So, Brightline came up with a solution that’s proven extremely unpopular with South Florida residents.
On June 1, 2024, Brightline officially discontinued its Train Passes. These had previously allowed the likes of commuters in South Florida to regularly travel on the train for less. However, with these commuters ultimately not traveling as far as those who would go all the way to Orlando (or spending as much money), the pass was axed to make way for more Orlando-bound passengers.
The $399 SoFlo Solo Pass allowed pass holders to take 40 trips within the span of 30 days. This meant passengers needed to pay regular fares and rush to book one of the handful of tickets Brightline made available for short-distance travelers.
According to The Palm Beach Post, South Florida residents were far from pleased at being shafted for the sake of the Orlando market.
“This is so wrong,” Ira Leiderman, who takes the train daily from Boca Raton to his office in Miami, told the local news outlet. “No one is going to pay $80 a day [including the $10 extra for parking] to commute. Brightline does not want us on its trains.”
Leiderman also added that this move will “place thousands of cars on I-95. I’m not sure our elected officials would have supported Brightline if they knew this was going to be the end result.”
In March, Brightline ridership soared to 258,000 – most of whom were Orlando passengers. There were previously plans to construct a Brightline station at Walt Disney World itself, but this idea was dropped in 2022.
Brightline Backtracks, Adds New System
In January 2025, Brightline backtracked on its decision.
With the aid of $33.8 million in funding from the Federal Railroad Administration, Brightline announced that it would reintroduce a commuter pass for frequent travelers in South Florida in March. “The funding allows us to expedite new passenger cars into service and with that capacity, increased availability for the South Florida traveler,” Patrick Goddard, president of Brightline Florida, said in a press release.
But this commuter pass had failed to materialize by April 2025, with The Palm Beach Post reporting that it had scrubbed the promise from its website. That same month, however, Brightline announced that it would bring back South Florida passes at about $22.48 per ride between West Palm Beach and Miami.
While locals no longer get quite as good a deal as they did prior to June 2024, “limited quantities” of 40-ride passes mean passengers can enjoy 40 rides between downtown West Palm Beach and downtown Miami for $599, or about $15 per ride.
This isn’t the first time Florida residents have been angered by the state’s theme park industry. In March, the approval of Disney World’s 80-acre affordable housing plan in Horizon West sparked outrage from local residents.
One such resident, Alex Cabrera, spoke out during a public meeting and said, “All the communication we have gotten from Michaels [Organization] and Disney has all been one-sided. That’s not communication; that’s just telling us what they want to do to us.”
Have you ever used Brightline to visit Orlando’s theme parks?