FOURTH UPDATE: Despite testing on the moving ramp up to the loading platform, the PeopleMover refurbishment has been extended again, through April 30th.
THIRD UPDATE: We saw some Cast Members riding the PeopleMover as part of what we presume is its testing, but the PeopleMover Refurbishment has now been extended through April 3rd.
SECOND UPDATE: We saw some testing going on at the PeopleMover in January, but the PeopleMover refurbishment has now been extended through February 28th.
UPDATE: The PeopleMover refurbishment has been extended through January 30th. So fingers crossed we see it open on the 31st!
Alright, we gotta know. What is going on with the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover in Disney World?!
Closed PeopleMover
This Magic Kingdom attraction (beloved by many, including us) has been closed since mid-March — BEFORE the park shut down due to the global health crisis. It was listed as reopening with Magic Kingdom in July, but now it remains closed and will remain closed for an indefinite amount of time. So what gives?
2020 has been a pretty eventful year for the PeopleMover. In January, the attraction unexpectedly closed one evening as firefighters responded to the situation. It reopened soon after though and all seemed to be going well for PeopleMover until about mid-March (us too, PeopleMover, us too).
Firefighters Leaving the PeopleMover
A few days prior to the closure of the Disney World theme parks, the PeopleMover unexpectedly closed once more. While the parks were closed, we assumed that whatever was going on might be fixed, but the attraction remained closed when the parks reopened in July, despite being announced as an opening ride.
Peoplemover Closed
Finally, in August we had our first sign of news about the PeopleMover from Disney. The attraction was added to the refurbishment calendar for completion on October 31st and all was well, right? Wrong. Since then, the end date for the refurbishment has been pushed to late November and then December.
©Disney
We confirmed with Cast Members last week that the refurbishment would be completed on December 26th, but now it seems it may have been pushed further.
Chat with Cast Member
Though the final day of the closure is still listed as November 28th on the Walt Disney World Day Calendar, Cast Members are now telling us that there is NO reopening date noted for the PeopleMover at this time.
We reached out to two Cast Members this morning. One noted, “At this time we do not have a reopening date for that attraction,” and the other said, “We do not have an estimated date when we will resume.” Oh no! All we want is to ride PeopleMover again, and we’re not sure WHEN that will be an option!
Chat Screenshot
As a note, we HAVE seen a building permit filed for work on the PeopleMover with Disney’s internal construction team, so at least it’s not sitting idle. And, on December 13th, we saw Cast Members strolling around the ride track. We’re not sure if it’s related to reopening the ride or standard maintenance but it sure is interesting.
PeopleMover
We’ll be keeping a close eye on this attraction to figure out what’s going on and when we’ll cruise around Tomorrowland again, so stay tuned.
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LOVE the PeopleMover. It’s such a nice relaxing ride when you just need a little bit of a break. Only had one mishap in all the years I’ve ridden it. Our train stopped once and the train behind us plowed into us. There were no injuries and no one even mentioned it. The ride continued as if nothing happened. C’mon Disney, get that old girl running again. It’s a keeper.
Once the Skyway was taken out, It was a great place to take a break on a busy day. My wife and I put up our feet and take in the sights on every visit. It’s like the Carousel of Progress. You can’t go to Tomorrowland with out visiting both attractions. It was cutting edge future technology at its best in its day. It would be a tragedy to loose it.
I hope it’s up and running for our next trip…March 2021 😱
It’s about time they fixed this ride once and for all. How park management wasn’t embarrassed by the condition of the cars, is beyond me. Seats were all torn up and ripped, other seats, the material was peeling, as was the paint on the cars. Then it was constantly breaking down. I just dont understand…
I miss the people mover. It’s such a disappointment leaving Tomorrowland without going on it.
After reading this I am scared! WDW has a history of doing away with rides and attractions that tend to break down! Can you say 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea submarine ride? Now Ariel’s Grotto. I rode the WED Way people mover at the 1964 Worlds Fair. I don’t know if the one here is a reproduction or the original from the Fair. BUT I LIKE IT
PLEASE WDW repair it do not do away with it please.
Almost forgot we are pass holders and come often so don’t try to sneak the closure past us LOL
Oh no! I’m supposed to make my first Disney World visit in February. I miss the Disneyland Peoplemover and was looking forward to a sort of reunion 🥺 Hope it’s working in 6 weeks!
I used to work on the peoplemover and I have a few things to share: maintenence on the peoplemover has always had to be limited in the last 10 years or so because the ride is not technically within code. Don’t get me wrong, it was safe to operate, but any major construction on ride cannot be done because then it would need to re pass code inspection at the current years requirements (which is can’t). So why don’t they just bring it to code? Well it’s not that simple. The peoplemover is interwoven through almost every major attraction and store in Tomorrowland. Construction would completely shut down the land. This is one of the main reasons they never fixed the peoplemover in California. All of this is to say, don’t expect the peoplemover to open again. I miss her dearly, so I hope they find a way.
Thanks for sharing, Kaitlyn.