5 Lies Everyone Believes About Disney World’s Monorail Hotels

The Walt Disney World Monorail has been an iconic part of the resort’s skyline since opening day in 1971, connecting the Magic Kingdom and the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC) with the Polynesian, Contemporary, and Grand Floridian resorts.

Over the last 5+ decades, a slew of urban legends and rumors about the Monorail and its interconnected hotels have proliferated amongst Disney guests.

“There Were Only 3 Monorail Resorts Planned”

Walt Disney World first opened with two hotels on the Monorail Line: The Contemporary and the Polynesian. However, they weren’t the only ones planned. During the resort’s early years, Asian and Persian resorts were both planned for the lagoon area, and would have included Monorail stations. However, both would go unbuilt thanks to the 1970s oil crisis.

In the late 1980s, Disney built the Grand Floridian, including a Monorail station, on the site that had once been earmarked for the Asian Resort. Further ideas, including a Mediterranean-themed resort, were planned throughout the 90s; however, none of them have come to fruition.

“Rooms at the Contemporary Were Designed with the Idea that the Rooms Could be Swapped In and Out, Like Dresser Drawers”

This longtime urban legend does stem from the reality of how the Contemporary — and the Polynesian — were constructed. Rooms for the hotel were prefabricated off-site — plumbing hookups and all — constructed to the site, and “slipped” into “slots” in the building’s A-frame superstructure with a giant crane. That led to the long-running tale that the rooms could be modernized simply by bringing a crane onto the site and simply “slipping” them out.

This was never accurate. First off, once the rooms were “slipped” into place, they were sealed in place and the plumbing connected, making it impossible to easily “remove” them. Beyond that, shortly after opening, both hotels began receiving guest complaints about a “moldy” smell. Eventually, the company discovered that mold and debris had “collected in the spaces between each room” during the construction process. The spaces were cleaned, and all future construction at both hotels has used conventional methods.

“The Beatles “Broke Up” at the Polynesian Resort”

This is another urban legend that is based on reality, but has taken on a life of its own. It is true that John Lennon signed the legal document that dissolved the Beatles’ legal partnership while staying at the Polynesian in 1974. However, in reality, that was the culmination of business affairs. The band, as a creative and current entity, had disbanded 4 years earlier in 1970, after years of friction between Lennon and bandmates Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison.

“Disney Plans to expand the Monorail to Saratoga Springs”

The likelihood of Disney ever expanding the Monorail seems pretty low these days, considering that the most recent station opened in 1988 with the Grand Floridian, and the most recent actual expansion of the line was built in 1982 along with EPCOT. However, eagle-eyed guests will often notice that legal documents and permits often mention possible Monorail expansion in relation to properties at Disney Springs, including the Saratoga Springs Resort.

This stems from the existence of a legal easement still in place from the early 1970s when Disney initially planned to expand the Monorail from the Magic Kingdom resort area down to the area now known as Disney Springs.

“There’s An Artificial Wave Machine Near the Polynesian”

This is one of the rare urban legends that USED to be true. Back in the early 1970s, Disney executive Dick Nunis pushed HARD for a wave machine to be installed on the Polynesian Resort’s beaches so that guests could surf in the Seven Seas Lagoon’s waters. After going all the way up the company ladder to Roy O. Disney, Nunis got the budget for his machine, and it was installed in time for the hotel’s 1971 opening.

However, things began going wrong from the start. For starters, the machine broke down often, requiring a large amount of time and financial maintenance commitments. On top of that, when it did work, the waves generated by the machine were quickly eroding the resort’s beaches. These issues, combined with legal concerns, led to the machine being abandoned in 1972. After a brief test revealed the same erosion problems would still be an issue, the machine was disassembled in the mid-1980s.

*BONUS*:

The Swan & Dolphin hotels aren’t Monorail resorts, but a long-running urban legend has long claimed that the “black spaces” in the exteriors of the hotels are actually removable panels for future monorail expansion. Suffice to say, this is NOT true and makes little structural sense given the location of the “black spaces.” There were simply a case of artistic embellishment from architect Michael Graves.

Next time you’re riding the Walt Disney World Monorail, keep in mind that not every urban legend you hear about the “Highway in the Sky” and its hotels is true. Stay tuned to AllEars for more on Disney World history.

The History Behind Walt Disney World’s Original Resort Hotels

What’s your favorite Disney World urban legend? Let us know in the comments below.

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