One of the great things about visiting Walt Disney World Resort is all the fun ways to get from here to there. Disney offers traditional bus transportation, but there are also large ferries, smaller boats, the Disney Skyliner, and the icon of Disney — the monorail. The monorail was the first single-rail transportation and a highlight of Walt Disney World when it opened in 1971.
The monorail has been a fan-favorite way to travel in Disney World for decades. However, one woman is claiming that an incident on the monorail has left her with permanent injuries. And she wants Disney to pay.
Now, Disney is saying that it never happened.
The woman — identified as Rebecca Vanturini — filed a lawsuit in July for an injury that reportedly happened in late March. The woman claims that she was trying to get on the Walt Disney World monorail when the doors closed on her. She claims that her family and other guests tried to pry the doors off of her for more than five minutes. Vanturini’s lawsuit further alleges that Disney cast members saw what was happening and did nothing to help.
A man who was reportedly with Vanturini — John Ruffin — said that both guests who were inside the monorail, as well as those waiting outside, rushed to help free Vanturini from the doors. They claim that a message came over the monorail speaker system, saying that there was a malfunction and that the monorail would be shutting down and restarting.
Disney has not commented publicly on the lawsuit — which is not uncommon. However, in response to the lawsuit, Disney has claimed that the incident never happened. Disney claims that it has asked for photos or videos of the woman both before and after the incident took place. The woman has not provided any photos or videos of her before the alleged incident. She has also not provided photos or videos to show that she was injured.
Ms. Vanturini is demanding Disney pay $50,000 for injuries that she received. Neither Ms. Vanturini nor her lawyer have stated what those injuries are, just that she was in “excruciating pain.” The lawsuit simply states that she has a “permanent injury to her body.” Her lawyer has said that his client is ready for a trial.
Vanturini is not the only person to sue Disney for injuries that she claimed happened while visiting a Disney Resort. Disney deals with dozens of lawsuits every year, from a woman claiming that she was injured in a Disney World swimming pool to multiple people claiming they were injured by people driving mobility scooters in the parks.
Disney takes guest safety very seriously. When boarding transportation vehicles, Disney makes announcements that let guests know that there will be no more boarding and that doors will be closing. There is also an announcement made on the monorail before the doors close. We do not know if Ms. Vanturini tried to board the monorail after that announcement was made.
