Even Disney magic doesn’t always work as planned. It’s in these moments that Disney’s employees, which the company calls cast members, shine as emblems of the guest experience Disney is known for.
Disneyland Resort recently experienced a power failure of a top ride. Cast members aided guests to safety in surprising ways, some of them even from miles away. A Disneyland executive shared details about all of it with us. At Mickey Visit, we cover the latest Disney news, like a new Disneyland sit-down restaurant preparing to open after years in limbo and cast member changes to restore the guest experience.
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What Happens When There’s a Safety Issue in the Happiest Place on Earth?
Safety is a core value of Disney cast members’ training in any role at any park. It’s one of five principles around which all of a cast member’s protocols revolve. The other values are courtesy, efficiency, show, and inclusion.
At a recent business update for the media, we heard from Brenai De Haro, Director, Operations & Integration at Disneyland, who manages guest feedback and cast member training. The day was hosted by the President of the Disneyland Resort, Thomas Mazloum. Previously we have shared other stories from this day including, their plans for attracting young families, changes to park hopping and park reservations, the delay of a ride closure, aims for changes to security improvements, and sweeping cast member changes.
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While we were not able to provide direct quotes from that day, we are able to paraphrase what was shared.
Disney has a playbook for most situations, De Haro explained, and safety incidents at Disney theme parks don’t happen very often. When they do, though, it’s a cast member’s moment of truth to apply what’s on the paper to a real situation with real people. That’s when Disney values really matter.
Disneyland cast members were recently put to the test when one of the theme park’s most iconic attractions, the Disneyland Monorail, unexpectedly lost power while guests were onboard.
Disneyland Monorail Stuck for 2 Hours
The Disneyland Monorail traverses 2.5 miles of track, meandering through the inside of both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure. Its two stations are located in Disneyland’s Tomorrowland and Downtown Disney District.
On January 9, 2026, two trains along the Disneyland Monorail track lost power mid-route, away from pick-up and drop-off stations. Guests were stuck for nearly two hours.
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The Anaheim Fire Department handled the evacuation of riders, helping guests disembark from the monorail’s stalled position and get back on the ground. It fell to Disneyland cast members, though, to care for guests’ experience in the moments leading up to the evacuation, while they were still stuck.
The Anaheim Police Department said about 60 people were trapped on the monorail after it stopped on the tracks near Space Mountain, according to CBS LA. The evacuation was expected to last two hours.
Communicating Clearly with Guests
De Haro explained how a cast member onboard the stuck monorail anticipated guests’ needs in a moment of uncertainty.
The way the Disneyland Monorail is set up, multiple cabins make up each monorail train. Each cabin is its own private compartment with no access to the other cabins. Onboard cast members are only in the front cabin, away from almost all guests.
During the stuck monorail incident, the cast member in the front cabin communicated with guests via the train’s PA system every few minutes with updates on the situation and the evacuation, keeping riders informed on the situation. De Haro said no one was telling the cast member to do this, but he knew information was critical to letting guests know what was going on.
Once everyone had evacuated the monorail hours later, guests applauded the cast member with a clap tunnel. De Haro said the cast member really made a difference in that moment, and it’s in situations like this that cast members can really step in and be the hero.
Ensuring Guests’ Wellbeing
Meanwhile on the other stuck monorail, a guest was having a lot of anxiety and they called the Disneyland call center. This call center isn’t located on Disney property and many of its cast members are remote.
The call center agent didn’t know what was going on, but they stayed on the phone with the guest for two hours. Despite not having all the information about the situation, the cast member was there for the guest in that moment. They made a difference to someone who was having a hard time.
De Haro described this moment as Disney’s value system in action to go above and beyond even if this wasn’t a specific situation that they were trained for.
Making Things Right
Disney theme park attractions occasionally experience technical difficulties, not always on such a significant scale as a stuck monorail for two hours.
When rides stop unexpectedly or if a show is unexpectedly canceled, cast members can do things to help make a day right. We’ve seen this in action with distributing Lightning Lane access to another ride when an attraction breaks down, or having a contingency version of a show ready to perform when something goes wrong backstage, for example.
In the case of the stuck monorail at Disneyland, though, this was an extreme example of guests being delayed from their traveling plans.
One guest was nearing the end of their Disneyland trip when the monorail lost power, and the guest ended up missing their train home. A cast member in a leadership role, knowing the guest inconvenienced beyond their control, said, don’t worry, we’ll get you an Uber or train to where you need to go.
De Haro shared that a guest relations cast member pulled the leader aside and was surprised that they were allowed to do that for a guest.
The leader then said that they can absolutely do that to make it right for the guest.
De Haro emphasized how Disney has a lofty goal of making each guest’s day flawless. The company empowers cast members to make each moment matter. Even if the company can’t be flawless, they want to give their cast members the tools to make it right for a guest when it wasn’t.
We found it telling that the company put a spotlight on the monorail moment, because they were showing how even in a difficult situation that they would not have planned for, there is a way to make it positive.
Making Magic in the Small Moments Too
The ways a cast member makes a difference in a family’s Disney vacation isn’t always in a high-profile situation like a stuck monorail.
De Haro said she was recently walking through Fantasyland and saw a little girl crying because she didn’t want to get out of a stroller. She was pleased to see a cast member working at the entrance of an attraction bend down, pull out a Rapunzel sticker and give it to her.
This completely deescalated the situation with the child and brought a smile to her face. De Haro said she also saw the parents silently word “thank you” to the cast member when passing.
These are the experiences that Disney wants to create even more of with their teams. De Haro described this and other situations as a principle she called “Solve for the guest.” How can a cast member zoom out to understand what’s happening around them? How can they anticipate guest needs and have some understanding for the guest in front of them?
As another example, De Haro mention how bird poop can completely ruin a guest’s day. Disney can’t prevent the poop, but will trade out guest’s t-shirt. They want visitors to enjoy their day.
We broke down Disney’s recent increased focus on making cast member training improvements here.
Disney Doesn’t Always Get It Perfect
Disney obsesses over feedback, De Haro explained. Guests write in feedback with care. They want Disney to get it right.
It’s Disney’s duty, De Haro said, to take the feedback and consider how to infuse it into daily operations at the theme parks. They want to know when they’re getting it right, and they want to know what improvements can be made.
Disney wants to understand how it can leverage its best practices that company is known for to continue to be that beacon of guest experience.
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