Disney World Monorail Crash Kills Employee

One Train Operator Dead After Early Morning Collision at Florida Park

(AP)  Walt Disney World says a monorail at the Florida theme park is out of service after an employee death.

The Reedy Creek Fire Department tells Orlando television station WESH that two monorails collided around 2 a.m. Sunday, killing the operator of one of the trains. The station says no guests were seriously injured.

Walt Disney World vice president of public affairs Mike Griffin issued a statement offering condolences to the employee's family member and saying the monorail was closed.

A Disney spokeswoman declined to discuss details of the accident.

Messages were left by The Associated Press seeking comment from the fire department and the sheriff's office.

[antoniof123]

Sad.....

I hope the family heals but a death is always hard on those that are left.

[woeisme1]

Over the years Disney has had few accidents considering the numbers of people that enjoy the place. It was an accident. They happen sometimes. It's part of living. End of story. Sorry for the victum though - they did'nt pay for that ride.

[the0racle]

were they texting?

[woeisme1]

sexting.

[ONEFLCOOKIE]

Disney theme parks are communities and environments that are specifically unique and unlike any other community in the world. It is not unreasonable for them to have their own regulatory system. I personally have an appreciation for their staff and respect for the security teams that are specialized to quickly and almost imperceptibly handle situations that might arise with as little disturbance and inconvenience to the visitors around them. Their ability to handle situations is the very thing that gives people the feeling of security and well-being that we all enjoy when we visit the parks with our children. ?Big Brother watching? or not I would feel safer walking unescorted through a Disney park at any time, day or night, than I would feel walking down any street anywhere else in the entire world.

It is true that Disney World has their own building codes. Their regulations are state-of-the-art and exceed any other codes in the world. They build to codes that exceed Hurricane Construction Standards and they did it long before there was a Hurricane Construction Code. If I was going to ride out a storm I would want to do it in a Disney park. If Louisiana, who did not have a Building Code, had built to Disney standards and had their security sysem there would not have been the problems that resulted from Katrina.

That being said, and with all due respect to the man who died, I would hazard a guess since the accident happened in the wee hours of the morning, that the investigation will probably determine the cause to be HUMAN error brought on by exhaustion. The economy and staff cutbacks have taken a toll on everyone.

No-one can account for the human element in any situation but the staff at Disney sure do a good job trying and when the monorail opens back up I would feel safe enough to ride up front in the drivers cabin.

[skeetchamp]

money is evidently more important to Disney than worker and customer safety.

[gramto8]

Considering the many, many millions of people who have been through the WDW gates and the many, many thousands who have been employed there, the number who have been injured is infinitesimally small. Their safety record attests to their safety measures. There have been problems, but they can almost every one be attributed to the customer NOT FOLLOWING THE RULES.

[pete_in_az]

Thats an Alweg right? The really get a lot of attention when something goes wrong with them. I think Bombardier or MANN has it out to finish that company off once and for all.

[BC Kelly]

.


Should be very careful when you travel from this World into that World.

After all - the place is, well, so Mickey Mouse ;-)


Do your research and will find numerous "situations" over the 30+ years of Disney World.

And all of them are "handled" in a curious fashion for us normal Humans here in this World.

For openers, the entire place got special dispensation from the State of Florida to even exist. They are not subject to the same laws and rules as other "entities" in Florida, which was a condition which had to be met before construction would begin.

Would have to dig into the records to remember exact details - and possibly some things have changed by now - but at one time if there was some "crime" or "something" that happened in Disney World, the Regular Police were not allowed to investigate nor come on the property without permission. Everything was done by the Disney Police.

Again, I may be wrong about the specifics of this, but is along those lines.

And welcome any comments with factual knowledge about the details of this "arrangement."

At any rate, when you leave this World and go into the Disney World - you do at your own risk.


Now, that being said, perhaps things have changed for the better of late ?

Perhaps the newest board member, and largest single stockholder of Disney, is making a difference ?

A difference we've come to know through Pixar and Apple Computers, iPods, iPhones ?

Yes, THAT guy, Steve Jobs.

Let's hope he brings "Think Different" to a place that could use it.


.

[gramto8]

Considering WDW opened less than four decades ago, how far back are you talking about?

[hamiltongrad]

isnt this the second crash ? One decades ago ?