The Disney World monorail is broken down AGAIN today, leaving guests scrambling for alternative transportation to Magic Kingdom.
Both the Resort Monorail and the Express Monorail are currently out of service, which means everyone trying to get to the park from the Transportation and Ticket Center or from the fancy monorail resorts is out of luck right now. All Ears broke the news on X with a warning for anyone heading to Magic Kingdom, and honestly, if you’re paying premium prices to stay at the Contemporary, Polynesian, or Grand Floridian specifically because of that convenient monorail access, you’re probably feeling pretty ripped off right now.
Here’s what makes this situation extra frustrating: this is the SECOND major monorail breakdown in less than two weeks.
‼️ HEADS UP IF YOU’RE ON YOUR WAY TO MAGIC KINGDOM! The Resort & Express Monorail are currently down‼️ pic.twitter.com/IJNxBBY9pK
— AllEars.Net (@AllEarsNet) February 10, 2026
The system had a mechanical failure on January 30th that shut everything down and left passengers confused and stuck while Disney figured out what was wrong. Now it’s happening again, which raises some serious questions about whether Disney’s actually fixing these problems or just slapping band-aids on an aging transportation system that’s clearly struggling to stay operational. The monorail is supposed to be this iconic, futuristic, reliable Disney experience that’s been delighting guests for decades. Instead, it’s becoming the unreliable mess that you can’t count on when you actually need it to get you somewhere on time.
What’s Actually Broken Right Now
Both monorail lines serving Magic Kingdom are completely down. The Express Monorail that goes directly from the Transportation and Ticket Center to Magic Kingdom? Not running. The Resort Monorail that makes the loop connecting TTC, Contemporary, Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and Magic Kingdom? Also not running. If you were planning to take the monorail anywhere near Magic Kingdom today, you’re taking something else instead.
Your options right now are ferry boats across Seven Seas Lagoon, buses if you’re at one of the monorail resorts, or walking if you’re physically able and don’t mind a 10-15 minute trek. None of these are as convenient or fast as the monorail is supposed to be, and during busy times, the ferry boats get absolutely slammed because they can’t move people as quickly as the monorail trains do.
The timing is particularly terrible because this is happening during peak transportation hours when everyone’s trying to get to Magic Kingdom for rope drop or heading back to resorts for afternoon breaks. Ferry boats can only hold so many people, and when you’ve got monorail crowds suddenly flooding over to the boats, you’re looking at long waits and frustrated guests who just want to get where they’re going.
The January 30th Breakdown Was BAD
This isn’t the first time recently that the monorail has completely died. On January 30th, the whole system shut down due to mechanical failure, and it was honestly kind of scary based on what guests were sharing online. People posted photos on Reddit showing maintenance technicians literally standing on the monorail guideway, which is something you NEVER see because that track is normally completely off-limits. Other photos showed monorail trains being TOWED back to the maintenance facility, which is definitely not normal operations.
Guests who were stuck during that January 30th incident talked about how confusing and frustrating it was because Disney wasn’t really explaining what was happening or how long it would take to fix. People were just left standing around or sitting in stopped monorails without clear information about whether they should wait for the monorail to start back up or find alternative transportation. In a place where Disney usually excels at communication and keeping things running smoothly, the radio silence was really jarring.
The monorail came back online by January 31st, which meant Disney’s maintenance teams fixed whatever broke. But here we are less than two weeks later with another complete shutdown, which suggests either the same problem came back or there’s a different issue entirely. Neither option is great when you’re trying to run a reliable transportation system for one of the world’s busiest theme park resorts.
This Keeps Happening and It’s a Problem
Let’s be real: these back-to-back failures are exposing some serious reliability issues with Disney’s monorail system. The fleet is OLD. We’re talking decades of operation with constant wear and tear on mechanical components, electrical systems, and all the infrastructure that keeps those trains running. Disney does maintenance and occasional upgrades, but the fundamental system dates back to an era with completely different engineering standards and technology.
At some point, maintaining ancient infrastructure becomes more expensive and less reliable than just replacing it, but replacing an entire monorail system would cost an absolute fortune and probably require shutting down service for extended periods. So Disney’s stuck trying to keep aging trains operational while guests increasingly experience the frustration of breakdowns that strand them or force them onto inferior backup transportation.
The question Disney needs to answer is whether their current maintenance approach is actually working or if they need to invest way more money into either major overhauls or complete fleet replacement. Based on these recent failures happening so close together, current maintenance clearly isn’t preventing the problems that are shutting down service and ruining guests’ carefully planned vacation days.
Your Backup Options (None Are Great)
When the monorail dies, you’ve got three alternatives, and honestly, they all kind of suck compared to what the monorail should be providing. Ferry boats are probably your best bet if you’re at the Transportation and Ticket Center trying to get to Magic Kingdom. They’re scenic and reliable, but they’re SLOW compared to the monorail, and they can’t handle crowd surges well because each boat holds way fewer people than a monorail train.
During busy times, ferry lines get absolutely brutal. You could be waiting through multiple boat departures before you actually get on, especially if the monorail breakdown happens when tons of people are trying to get to the park at once. What should have been a quick 5-minute monorail ride turns into a 20-30 minute ordeal between waiting for the ferry and then the actual boat ride across the lagoon.
Buses are the main alternative for people staying at Contemporary, Polynesian, or Grand Floridian who are used to just hopping on the monorail right from their hotel. But buses don’t have the dedicated, obstacle-free path that makes monorail service so convenient. They’re driving on regular roads with traffic, making multiple stops, and generally taking way longer than the monorail would. If you specifically paid extra to stay at a monorail resort for that convenience factor, taking buses feels like a massive downgrade.
Walking is an option if you’re able-bodied and the weather cooperates, but 10-15 minutes in Florida heat while hauling kids and park bags isn’t exactly magical. It works in a pinch, but it’s not the experience anyone signed up for when they planned their Disney vacation.
At Least Disney’s Upgrading the Ferry Boats
In what might be the universe’s way of acknowledging that the monorail can’t be trusted anymore, Disney recently filed permits for improvements to the ferryboat dock area at Magic Kingdom. They’re planning to add a narrow wooden dock along the shoreline that’ll help with boat positioning and operations behind the scenes.
Right now, ferryboats that aren’t actively transporting guests just dock along the seawall near where people walk, which creates crowding issues for Cast Members trying to manage everything during busy times. The new dock would give Disney more flexibility to rotate boats in and out of service more efficiently, potentially reducing those awful bottleneck situations when everyone’s trying to board at once.
There are also plans to potentially reconfigure some of the bus security area to create more ferryboat queue space, which would help during mornings when everyone’s rushing to Magic Kingdom or on super busy days when ferry demand is through the roof. These improvements won’t fix the monorail being unreliable, but at least they acknowledge that backup transportation needs to actually function well when the monorail inevitably breaks down again.
This Is Ruining the Premium Resort Value
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: people pay INSANE amounts of money to stay at Contemporary, Polynesian, or Grand Floridian specifically because of the monorail access. Being able to hop on the monorail right from your hotel and be at Magic Kingdom in minutes is supposed to be one of the main perks justifying those premium prices that can easily exceed $600-$800 per night during busy seasons.
When the monorail is broken and you’re stuck taking buses like guests at value resorts that cost a fraction of what you’re paying, that value proposition completely falls apart. You’re not getting what you paid for. The convenience that justified the expense doesn’t exist when you’re waiting for buses or dealing with overcrowded ferries.
And it’s not just about the time. It’s about the experience. The monorail is part of the magic for a lot of families. Kids love riding it, parents love the nostalgia, and everyone appreciates the ease of getting between resorts and parks without the hassle of other transportation. When that’s taken away because of repeated mechanical failures, it genuinely diminishes the vacation experience in ways that affect how people feel about the money they spent.
What You Need to Know Right Now
If you’re at Disney World today dealing with this monorail outage, forget about waiting around hoping it comes back online soon. Head straight to the ferry boats and just accept that your travel time to Magic Kingdom is going to be longer than planned. The ferries ARE running and they WILL get you there, just not as quickly or conveniently as the monorail should.
If you’ve got a Disney trip coming up in the next few weeks and you’re planning to stay at a monorail resort or you’re counting on the monorail being available for your park transportation, you need to adjust your expectations RIGHT NOW. Based on these recent failures, the monorail is not reliable at the moment. Build extra time into your schedule for getting between resorts and parks. Don’t plan dining reservations or Lightning Lane selections with tight timing that assumes the monorail will be working perfectly.
And if you’re booking a future trip and you’re specifically considering Contemporary, Polynesian, or Grand Floridian because of the monorail access, maybe think twice about whether that premium price is worth it when the signature perk keeps breaking down. You might be better off saving money on a different resort and just accepting that you’ll be taking buses regardless, rather than paying extra for monorail access that may or may not actually be available when you need it.
The Hard Truth About Aging Infrastructure
Here’s what nobody at Disney wants to say out loud but everyone needs to understand: the monorail system is OLD and it’s probably only going to get less reliable from here unless Disney makes a massive financial commitment to either major renovations or complete replacement. Neither of those options is cheap or easy, which means we’re probably stuck with an aging system that breaks down increasingly often while Disney tries to squeeze a few more years out of infrastructure that’s past its prime.
Guests are caught in the middle of this situation. You’re paying premium prices for a Disney World vacation with expectations of seamless, magical experiences, but the reality is that critical transportation infrastructure is failing repeatedly. No amount of pixie dust can make a broken monorail work, and no amount of Disney magic erases the frustration of missing park time or reservations because the transportation you counted on isn’t operational.
The monorail breakdowns are a symptom of a bigger challenge Disney faces across its parks: balancing the need to invest in infrastructure maintenance and replacement against the desire to spend money on new attractions and experiences that generate more obvious guest excitement and revenue. Functional transportation doesn’t sell vacation packages the way new rides do, but when transportation fails, it ruins vacations in ways that new attractions can’t fix.
Until Disney commits to seriously addressing the monorail’s reliability problems, guests need to plan Disney World trips with the understanding that this iconic transportation system might not be available when you need it. That’s not the magic anyone’s paying for, but it’s the reality of visiting a resort with aging infrastructure that’s struggling to meet operational demands. Adjust your plans accordingly, build in backup time, and don’t let monorail access be the deciding factor in expensive resort bookings when recent history shows that access is becoming increasingly unreliable.
