Plans have been in the works since 2018 for a high-speed train that would run from the Orlando Airport to Disney World, but it appears that those plans are not going to come to fruition.
©Brightline
After long debates about the route the train would take, it was decided in May that the Brightline would share tracks that currently house the SunRail Commuter system, and take it from the airport, to the Orange County Convention Center, and then down International Drive before going to Disney World, where a station was expected to be built near — but not on — Disney World property.
That is a vastly different route than the original one — which bypassed the tourist corridor and took a more direct route (near State Road 417) to Disney World.
Potential Routes ©Brightline | Obtained via the Orlando Sentinel
A Disney spokesperson told the Orlando Sentinel that the Walt Disney Company is no longer involved in the project.
“As many people who are involved in this project are aware, the new route configuration does not support a Disney Springs station and as a result, we don’t anticipate being part of this project,” said Disney spokesperson Avery Maehrer.
Brightline Trains
Guests who travel to Disney World regularly by plane had been energized by the plan, especially after Disney ended its free Magical Express airport transfer service.
We’ll miss you, Magical Express
By all accounts, Disney had been heavily involved in the initial planning for the train route, but the change to the route in early May takes it past the site of a new Universal theme park currently under construction — Epic Universe — as well as by other hotels and tourist attractions on International Drive.
©Universal | Epic Universe Concept Art
The new route was supported by local officials, as well as Universal Orlando, which offered land and a reported $125 million from Universal and other partners.
Universal and other International Drive partners have also guaranteed $13 million annually in ticket sales from this station, and they have committed to giving $2 million annually for maintenance of the station. The station would be built on land owned by Universal along Destination Parkway.
©Brightline
Brightline is currently completing the tracks between its South Florida service area and Orlando, and that service is expected to begin in 2023, with work on the route through Orlando starting after that.
Would You Take a Train to Disney World?©Brightline
In the meantime, if you need help deciding on how to get from the airport to Disney World, check out this summer sale on a shuttle bus that can take you to your hotel!
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Wasn’t planning on using it as transferring from Disney Springs to the resort via Disney transportation was going to be a hot mess. Luggage on top of people trying to use the Disney resort bus was not going to be pretty. The train portion of the trip would probably be alright. I don’t think Disney will “bring back” Magical Express as they’ve effectively outsourced that hassle to the bus vendors and even clawing that back with a paid version would be hard for them to get done from a business deal perspective.
Current Disney Management has totally lost sight of what we all once knew as Disney Magic. There is no more magical experience at the Resort for the working and middle class , and they are proud of it.
Is Disney wanting an express train route from the airport to their park and hotels? So they won’t participate if the train serves other parks and hotel areas? If so, seems pretty greedy.
Did Disney World really “back out” of the deal? It sounds like the train company made the decision to bypass Disney in favor of the new Universal park which hasn’t even been built. Seems risky to me, but hey, I’m not the CEO of a transportation company.
Train to be known going forward as the “Universal Express”.
The whole idea is stupid. You can take an Uber right to your hotel room. Who needs a TRAIN!? And then have to Uber or bus anyway!?
It’s going to be a boondoggle.
Looks like with Universal building a new theme park and having a nearby train station, Disney is going to be in trouble. That is, unless they do something big, really big to entice people to their parks in the future. Disney will seriously be faced with competition! Looks like Universal has the “Magic.” Good job Harry Potter!
Disney doesn’t seem open to sharing the train route? Not surprising given that its all about Disney these days, not the consumers who make Disney World possible. Already gouged on everything in the parks, heaven forbid the consumer catch a break on transportation to and from the airport!
Disney is fibbing a bit here. Both routes pass right by Disney Springs where the two lines meet on the map in the lower left. Actually the northern route (which is now the chosen one) goes right by Disney Springs and would require a simpler run-through station. The southern route would have required a stub end station which would have been a bit more awkward to access and would have required the trains to reverse direction and run backwards to Tampa.
Disney is just playing games here. They don’t want to share facilities with their competition I guess.
But no matter where the station is, you would still have to transfer by bus with your luggage to get to your hotel so it probably isn’t going to be that big a deal. However, would you rather transfer your family and luggage onto a bus at the airport and go directly to your hotel OR transfer your family and luggage onto a train and then have to transfer your family and luggage AGAIN onto a bus to get to your hotel?
Honestly, I live where the train runs, basically the track is across from my community. Be glad, their safety record is abysmal…I also don’t think it’s very popular as it tends to be a bit pricey
What would Walt do? He loved trains! He would build his own! He also hated traffic, so just taking an Uber would not be good enough. IMHO, Disney is being run by the accountants for the past few years.
When the new park is built I think Universal will become far more attractive to a lot of people. WDW has always been my favourite place, but after a disappointing trip earlier this year, spending more time at Universal is starting to seem the better option.
It’s a shame but the higher ups at Disney seem determined to ruin everything that was good about WDW.
Competition is heating up! Good news all ’round. There’s been too little for too long.
Uber is far better than a route that wouldn’t have been that efficient to Disney Springs. Plus getting off and waiting for a resort bus at Disney Springs likely would have resulted in an overall travel time that would be 2-3X longer than Uber. I gladly pay for ride share to spend less of my vacation time messing with transportation. Even in the days of the Tragical Express, i had arrived at the resort before the bus would have even departed MCO. I think this is likely a wise financial decision for Disney because passengers likely would realize that other options were more effective.
Ha ha ha what a joke Disney has become. “We are eliminating Magical Express because the new train is coming…oops never mind, no train.” And no Magical Express. Disney STAND UP and admit that you were wrong, bring back Magical Express (and FastPass+) and you will be praised by everyone. I guarantee sales will go up and you will get more of your loyal fans back.
Wasnt the area on 535 and rte 4 thst has been demolished supposed to be used for the new brightlinecstation…???…if so whats happens tonthat realestate…????
Seems straightforward. The deal only got this far because Disney planned on supplying some cash. Disney planned on supplying cash only if a stop was being created in Disney. All of a sudden the Disney stop was removed so Disney does not plan to pay for anything. Disney did nothing wrong and can still be credited for taking this off the ground because Florida has had Federal funding for this for over a decade and nothing was being done without their initial support.
You would think Disney would beend over backwards to make transportation more convenient from the airport, since eliminating Magical Express.
Yet another reason I’m headed toward Universal. They seem to want my business!
I wanted this connection so I could take the train from Cocoa to the Parks. Dag it!!!!!!!