10 Huge Walt Disney World 2019 Predictions

9. New Monorail Trains

Monorail Epcot Disney World
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Similar to Illuminations, rumours have been circulating for years that Disney World will be replacing its current monorail fleet with brand new trains.

These rumours have increased over recent months following a number of well publicised incidents, such as a piece of monorail falling off last year and a door remaining open between the Transportation and Ticket Center and Epcot.

The Monorail trains themselves have not been replaced since 1989, and although still in working order, will likely need to be replaced with new trains soon. Being one of the busiest monorail systems in the world, these trains have been well used in the 29 years they've been running.

Rumours have been circulating for a while that the Main Street Theatre, which was announced at the last D23, has been scrapped, leaving a decent budget behind. Talk in Disney forums is that this cash has been allocated towards new trains and an order has been placed with Bombardier Transportation, who built the current trains. This appeared to be confirmed by Disney Imagineer Legend Bob Gurr, but as of yet no official confirmation has been forthcoming by the company.

Given the age of these current trains, it seems Disney needs to make choice as to what to do with its monorails. Scrap the high cost/high maintenance system completely or invest in new trains and deal with the cost. Given that the Monorails are so iconic, I would imagine that they will more than likely digging deep into their pockets on this one.

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Jen has been a writer and video editor at WhatCulture for over 10 years. She has a BA Hons in History from Newcastle University and in a past life worked at Beamish Open Air Museum and was a corporate trainer (BTC Award in Education and Training). Jen joined WhatCulture to discuss all things Universal Orlando Resort and Walt Disney World, as well as her love of all things movies. She has worked closely with Universal and Disney, giving WhatCulture readers breaking news and exclusives. Her knowledge of Disney parks has lead her to be published by The Sun. If you've ever completed a Disney movies or Friends quiz on WhatCulture it was probably written by Jen. Jen's love of all things Universal's Halloween Horror Nights brought her to WhatCulture's Horror Channel as a video editor. Her video edits can be found across WhatCulture's Film & TV and Horror channels, along with WhatCulture's Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts.