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Credit: Ed Aguila, Inside the MagicWalt Disney World Resort suffered a transportation meltdown on Sunday night, with a heavy thunderstorm shutting down Monorail, Disney Skyliner, and boat service at Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Now, Disney Park guests are sharing their experiences from that horrible night on social media. Some waited nearly two hours for buses that never came.
Walt Disney World Transportation Meltdown
As Inside the Magic previously reported, the transportation chaos was exacerbated by the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party event, which saw thousands of Walt Disney World Resort guests departing from Magic Kingdom Park simultaneously. Instead of spreading throughout the Monorail and various forms of watercraft transportation, the storm forced all Disney Park guests to wait for shuttle buses to their Disney Resort hotels or the Transportation & Ticketing Center (home to the Magic Kingdom’s parking lot and non-Disney shuttles).
Walt Disney World Resort does have drivers on standby for situations like these, but there simply weren’t enough spare buses to keep up with demand. While the lines were thousands of people long at Magic Kingdom Park, the situation also impacted guests at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT, where the Disney Skyliner and other watercraft transportation were shut down.
EPCOT Guests Speak Out
On Instagram, one EPCOT guest shared their experience trying to return to Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort on Sunday. @magicwiththeabascals posted this video after standing for over an hour and a half in the pouring rain, waiting for promised buses alongside thousands of other guests.
@waltdisneyworld @disneyparks you need to do better. We have been standing at Epcot for an hour waiting for a bus. Little kids waiting to get to the resort. We pay the money for your resorts and this is the treatment we are getting.
#waltdisneyworld #disaster #nodisneymagic #transportation #disneytransportation #waiting #fyp
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At Magic Kingdom Park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the transportation options are all centralized at the main park entrance, making it easier for guests to walk between them. Unfortunately, at EPCOT, this isn’t the case. Watercraft transportation and the Disney Skyliner operate out of the International Gateway, more than a mile from the bus depot at EPCOT’s main entrance. When the Disney Skyliner is closed due to inclement weather, guests are required to walk through the entire World Showcase and World Celebration areas to return to the front of the park.
Many Disney Parks fans blamed families for waiting in line instead of paying for a rideshare or alternate transportation.
“Just take an uber lol,” @berolo8 commented. “Waiting endlessly in the rain.”
“This happened to us,” @heather.taylor.harper replied. “We called an uber! 🙌 totally worth the $20.”
Other commenters shared similar experiences.
“12/4 it took us an hour and a half to go from epcot back to pop century!” @jaimiebean31 wrote. “It was insane, usually the skyliner is quick but not this time! Super hard at the end of the night and after 5 back to back days from open to close. My kids were literally crying just wanting to go lay down!”
“We went through the same thing yesterday,” said @jen_in_real_life. “2 buses. We waited 40 mins at around 430. Ridiculous.”
It’s unclear how long it took for Walt Disney World Resort to transport everyone home from Magic Kingdom Park and EPCOT on Sunday. At the Magic Kingdom, many guests reported that third-party charter buses eventually arrived to take them to their Disney Resort hotels.
Walt Disney World Resort hasn’t issued a statement about the transportation meltdown on Sunday. However, at the time of this article’s publication, the entire system was back up and running normally.
What is your favorite form of Walt Disney World transportation? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments!