There’s a certain kind of peace when you’re gliding through the sky on the Monorail at Walt Disney World. It’s serene, elevated—both literally and emotionally. But for some guests on January 20, that dreamy ride turned into a sudden and lengthy pause in the middle of nowhere, suspended above ground with no movement, no answers, and definitely no magic.
For more than an hour, one of Disney’s Monorail trains sat completely still just past Disney’s Contemporary Resort. While Disney hasn’t publicly shared what caused the sudden stop, those on board didn’t have the luxury of waiting for a press release. They were living the delay in real-time.
Professional wrestler Joey Janela was among those caught in the situation, and he took to X to say:
“We were stuck on the Monorail for an hour tonight at Disney… luckily they hooked us up with $50 gift cards.”
He managed to turn lemons into EPCOT sushi doughnuts and crab sliders, snapping out of frustration and into feasting.
Elsewhere, on Instagram, user @jenna_doesdisney posted a quick video showing the stalled train. In her caption, she wrote that the EPCOT Monorail was stalled “just past the Contemporary,” and that it caused ripple effects for others trying to board from Magic Kingdom station.
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Some guests waiting at that station were told to disembark after 45 minutes and redirected to buses instead. Not exactly the pixie dust experience most people have in mind.
Disney’s Monorail system has its fans, and it’s easy to see why. It’s not just transportation—it’s part of the Disney identity. But moments like this shake confidence. For families with young kids, guests with anxiety, or anyone with dinner reservations, being stuck in a metal tube above the trees is far from magical.
The Monorail was back in operation the next morning, but that doesn’t erase the uneasy feeling guests had the night before. If anything, it left a lasting reminder: sometimes, even at Disney, the magic hits a speed bump.
