FDOT keeps most records on Disney World monorail confidential after new inspection law

Florida lawmakers demanded more state oversight last year for Disney World’s monorail as Republicans feuded publicly with the entertainment giant. However, the state’s transportation agency has been slow to release records and has said little about the theme parks’ iconic system since then.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) recently released a 158-page report on the monorail that was almost completely redacted. The agency hasn’t responded to Florida Politics’ list of questions about what the state found, if anything, or how the state and Disney are working together. The agency said records were exempt for security reasons after Florida Politics had been requesting inspection records for nearly a year.

Disney World declined to discuss the condition of the monorail and referred questions to FDOT.

WKMG ClickOrlando reported that the outlet recently received additional records after the news station’s attorney intervened.

The station reported that FDOT engineers visited for the first time with Disney in August 2023 at the monorail maintenance shop behind the Magic Kingdom. Listed in attendance were FDOT District 5 Secretary John Tyler, four state engineers, Disney Vice President Greg Hale, who is the company’s chief safety officer, Disney government relations lobbyist Leticia Adams and other Disney employees.

Over the course of several visits, the state received engineering reports from the 1960s and 1970s before the Magic Kingdom opened and began a series of inspections, including one that involved scuba divers inspecting the tracks’ footers that are partially underwater.

WKMG obtained state records that showed state inspectors measuring “small cracks” in the monorail’s vertical concrete columns and looking at the electrical conduit running alongside the structure. WKMG reported that the state found no issues on the columns.

FDOT engineers also looked at the monorail’s horizontal beams.

“It is unclear whether FDOT engineers found anything of significance during their visits to Disney. Due to a Florida law that deems information related to the physical security of structures confidential, FDOT redacted large portions of the final monorail inspection report provided to News 6,” WKMG said in the story.

The redacted FDOT report obtained by Florida Politics shows the state’s next monorail inspections are scheduled for Feb. 23, 2026 and Dec. 31, 2033.

The monorail legislation happened at a time when the fight between Disney World and Gov. Ron DeSantis was at its height. Disney accused state leaders of retribution and punishing the company for speaking out against anti-LGBTQ legislation. 

The most high-profile step legislators and DeSantis took was to take over Disney World’s governing board and give the Governor power to appoint new members.

However, in May 2023, DeSantis also signed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Nick DiCeglie in a larger transit bill that gave the state the ability to inspect privately owned “fixed-guideway transportation systems” located in special districts with boundaries in two adjacent counties.

Those provisions singled out Disney World and its unique setup in Orange and Osceola counties under what was then known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Today, it is called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

DiCeglie insisted his monorail provision was needed for public safety. He argued the state had no idea if the monorail was safe or not.

“Has Disney done anything wrong in their maintenance of the monorail system over the last 50 years?” Sen. Tina Polsky asked him during a heated debate last year.

“It’s a great question,” said DiCeglie, a Republican from Indian Rocks Beach. “We don’t know.”

About 150,000 people ride Disney World’s monorail every day while heading to the Magic Kingdom, Epcot or several hotels on Disney property.

In presenting his amendment, DiCeglie said, “I do love Disney. I want to make sure when I’m on the monorail that the monorail is safe. I want to know that this great state and the great folks at Florida Department of Transportation are inspecting these just like they do the other monorails.”

In 2009, a Disney World monorail operator was killed when two monorails collided in the early morning hours. No passengers were injured. The crash happened because of a shop panel operator erred in not properly positioning a switch beam when reversing the trains. Since the crash, Disney changed several procedures and installed more technology on its monorails to prevent another tragedy, according to records.

DiCeglie brought up the 2009 incident last year, although Democrats questioned why the state decided to take action 14 years later.