Visitors at the "Most Magical Place on Earth" were in for a scare on Jan. 7 when a monorail jetted to Epcot with one of its car doors partially open.
According to two videos posted to Instagram by @abbieprimeknits, Monorail Red sped from Disney World’s Transportation and Ticket Center with a door agape, as passengers held tight to safety poles in the car.
"Monorail red is not having a good day and I'm having a panic attack," @abbieprimeknits wrote of the first video, adding, "I need a drink. @disney, guys, you gotta get on this, what if somebody had fallen?" News 6 notes that the monorail moves from 15 to 40 mph, trekking a 14-miles span around the resort, high above the park itself.
News 6 later spoke with the woman who posted the clips, which have each been viewed over 2,400 times. She shared that before departing the Transportation and Ticket Center, maintenance workers spent about 10 minutes trying to get the problematic door to latch, which it eventually did before the monorail took off.
Disney officials confirmed to WFTV 9 that the train has been removed from service and that all monorail cabins feature a phone that connects passengers to the monorail pilot for such emergencies. New safety measures have been installed to ensure the incident does not occur again. WDW News Today reported that “Do Not Lean” signs were added to every monorail door as of Jan. 8.
According to Disney site WDWMagic, over 150,000 parkgoers ride the monorail per day.
“I am grateful that the riders were all calm and that the car was not crowded, and that there were no children standing on the train,” the guest told News 6. “This could have ended very differently.”