
On Tuesday, a routine Walt Disney World Resort bus ride turned into an unexpected backstage detour. A driver reportedly missed their turn, leading dozens of unsuspecting guests deep into a cast member-only area. The incident, which allegedly resulted in multiple minor collisions, left passengers confused, panicked, and desperate to escape the vehicle.
Wrong Turn Leads Guests to Restricted Area
Walt Disney World Resort provides extensive complimentary transportation to its guests, including Monorails, boats, and the Disney Skyliner. However, its bus system remains the most widely used, shuttling guests between resorts and parks. While typically reliable, one recent journey to Magic Kingdom Park went completely off track.
According to Redditor u/AliceFaust, the incident occurred Tuesday morning when a Disney’s Pop Century Resort bus departed for Magic Kingdom Park but never reached its destination.
“Today was an awful start to our last day here,” the guest wrote. “We got on a bus from Pop Century to MK at 8:30 in the morning. Bus driver I guess missed their turn, they never communicated what was going on with us. Forty minutes later we are in the MK Cast Parking by Disney University. They had us in an alleyway and we’re running into a work van trying to get us unstuck.”
The situation quickly escalated as the driver reportedly attempted to maneuver the bus out of the backstage lot, allegedly hitting multiple parked cars in the process.
Passengers Demand to Be Let Off
What started as a minor inconvenience became a distressing ordeal for the guests onboard. Tensions rose as the driver struggled to navigate the backstage area.
“We had crying children and frantic parents asking to get off as no one felt safe as the driver has already hit two cars trying to navigate cast parking,” the guest recounted. “Finally got them to let us out and we flagged down a security officer who was able to contact transportation authority.”
As compensation, Walt Disney World Resort reportedly offered all affected passengers a complimentary Lightning Lane pass. The Redditor felt this did little to compensate for the chaos.
“It was just awful… and the final straw was after all that we were offered a free lightning lane to use even though most everyone there already had purchased LL for the day,” they concluded. “Just…wtf Disney?”
Skepticism Surrounds the Story
Despite the detailed account and photographic evidence of the misplaced bus, some Disney Parks fans and former cast members questioned the story’s validity. Many pointed out that Walt Disney World Resort’s transportation system operates under strict protocols, making such an incident seem unlikely.
“I worked with transpo for long enough to really doubt this story,” Redditor u/cvaska commented. “You would have to miss a whole lot of turns to get back there, let alone end up in cast parking, which does not easily connect to Disney University. The second a bus hits something: bus stops and calls coordinator/leader… The second bus makes a wrong turn: bus turns around and calls coordinator… The second it ends up in cast-only areas: Security pulls bus over.”
However, the original poster stood by their account, insisting no call for assistance was made until guests forced the issue.
“That absolutely did not happen at all lol,” they replied. “There was no call, no report, nothing. We ended up getting security in the lot to help us get the transportation center to assist.”
Walt Disney World Resort rarely releases public statements regarding internal transportation incidents, and no official confirmation of this particular event exists.
Has a Walt Disney World Resort bus ride gone wrong during your vacation? Share your memories with Disney Fanatic in the comments.
Please note that the story outlined in this article is based on a personal Disney Parks guest experience. No two guest experiences are alike, and this article does not necessarily align with Disney Fanatic’s personal views on Disney Park operations.