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VIDEO: The Night The Disney World Monorail Went Backwards

Disney World Monorail
Credit: TK Bosacki/Disney Fanatic

On January 26, I was visiting Walt Disney World, and after spending the early evening at Magic Kingdom, I decided to hop on the monorail to catch the  EPCOT Fireworks show. We boarded Monorail Black on the express line around 8 pm that night and sped off for the Transportation and Ticket Center. But as we closed in on the station at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, we stopped and ended up going backward at full speed.

Walt Disney Epcot Monorail

Credit: Disney

Of course, a sudden stop is nothing new. The Walt Disney World Monorail System stops randomly multiple times a day, in most cases to give certain Guests extra time to board or exit the vehicles. And, as usual, the pilot came over the intercom to tell us that the train taking up the space at the Transportation and Ticket Center was having mechanical issues, and we had to sit tight for a bit.

But “a bit” turned into 5 minutes, which turned into 15 minutes. Personally, I don’t know what was going on with the broken-down monorail, and I can’t speak on the monorail traffic situation around Disney’s Contemporary Resort and Bay Lake Tower. All I can confess to was that our monorail stopped just beyond the point where I could be nosey and inspect the Polynesian’s construction site. We were about two or three car lengths away from the Polynesian’s platform, and we were stopped in this awkward position because Disney World is supposedly incredibly strict regarding how close one Monorail can be to the other. Still, I was beginning to suspect that we would be permitted to creep up just a little bit and use the emergency platform to disembark.

Sign inside Monorail Black

Credit: TK Bosacki/Disney Fanatic

Related: Video: Lone Guest Almost Stranded on Malfunctioning Monorail

It was about 15 minutes into our delay when the monorail pilot told us that he was going to back the train up all the way back to the Magic Kingdom station. They could have let us inch just a little bit further to drop us off at the Polynesian, or they could have backed up to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa to use that platform. Nope. Instead, our monorail pilot put the train in reverse and sped off at full speed back to the Magic Kingdom. Perhaps it was the anxiety of the situation getting to me, but I can’t remember ever going as fast on the Magic Kingdom monorail line as I did that night.

Here’s a clip of that night.

Nobody was harmed during this incident and it was as safe as it could possibly be. It should be noted that the Express Monorail was back up and running before the Disney Enchantment Fireworks were over, but it was still one of the most interesting and unique transportation malfunction stories I have personally experienced in my entire life of visiting The Walt Disney World Resort.

We at Disney Fanatic will continue to update our readers on Disney Parks news and stories as more developments come to light.

About T.K. Bosacki

Born and raised in Tampa, Florida, TK Bosacki is a professional writer, amateur adventurer, and lifelong Disney Fanatic. His Disney Park days include Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and Nomad Lounge. He believes in starting at the Canada pavilion (IYKYK), and the Monorail is superior to all Ferry Boats.

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