Explosion at Disney World Shuts Down Monorail

The iconic monorail that runs through Walt Disney World Resort was stuck on its tracks Tuesday morning, stranding several guests due to what a passenger characterized as a "loud bang explosion." A team of emergency crews was dispatched to the scene, and they were able to safely retrieve the 71 passengers on board. Despite taking about an hour and 20 minutes, no one was injured during the rescue, Fox 35.

A flat tire caused the train to stop near the EPCOT toll plaza, according to a Disney spokesperson. "No guests or cast members have reported injuries, and all passengers were safely evacuated," a Disney spokesperson said in a statement.

As one of the dozens of passengers who became trapped on the monorail, Kris Lenk says he was on board to catch a ride to EPCOT when it stalled, resulting in his becoming trapped on the train. The St. Petersburg native told FOX 35 News that he could smell smoke and burning rubber.

"There was a loud bang explosion, and then we kind of saw a big flash of light. After that, the monorail slowed down," Lenk said. "They told us to pretty much bust open the windows, unfortunately, because the AC wasn't working, so not sure if the whole monorail just decided to shut off after that loud bang and everything. But, you know, it was kind of nice to finally get out of there." 

Disney gave Lenk and his girlfriend $200 in gift cards, and Lightning Lane passes as compensation for their troubles. It is expected that the EPCOT monorail line will remain closed until Monorail Yellow is taken off the tracks.

A second incident occurred last month when Monorail Yellow was suspended over water on its tracks, per Insidethemagic.net. Multiple social media users noticed that guests on the park grounds took photos as the Disney monorail was stopped on the tracks for several hours. The reason for the monorail stoppage or the exact cause of the problem has not been disclosed by Disney World. 

There is a switch lever on the monorail, which may have meant another monorail was running inside of EPCOT while Monorail Yellow was halted. It is entirely possible that this was a planned closure due to something that needed to be fixed on the monorail, but no confirmation has been given.

In 1971, Disney World opened its monorail system, which transports guests between Walt Disney World Resort destinations. It makes stops at the Magic Kingdom park, Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, and the transportation and ticket center.