Walt Disney World ride outage hits all 4 parks

Published on Aug 30, 2025, 9:09 am CDTUpdated on Aug 30, 2025, 9:38 am CDT

6 min read

Dozens of attractions across Walt Disney World went down around 5 p.m. Eastern on August 29, 2025, affecting all four theme parks. App maps showed "temporarily closed" on headliners from Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and even the Monorail paused. Local outlets and park trackers pointed to a suspected power surge during a fast-moving storm. By early evening, most rides were back online, though Disney had not issued an official cause. Here is what we know, why it happened, and what has reopened.

Key Points

Why it matters: A rare, resort-wide hiccup halted 40+ attractions during a peak travel weekend.
Travel impact: Evacuations, longer lines, and reallocations of Lightning Lane windows for some guests.
What's next: Normal operations resumed Friday evening; watch for isolated resets this weekend.
Range of closures spanned indoor and outdoor rides across all parks, plus Monorail service.
Local reports cite a storm-linked power surge; Disney has not formally confirmed a cause.
Headliners like Space Mountain, Soarin' Around the World, and Slinky Dog Dash were listed down.

Snapshot

Beginning just before 5 p.m. on August 29, multiple attractions across Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom simultaneously flipped to "temporarily closed" in the My Disney Experience app. Local TV stations and park-watch sites counted more than 40 affected attractions at the peak, including Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Reports on the ground referenced a widespread power issue during a storm, and the Disney Monorail paused service. By about 6 to 7 p.m., outlets tracking the app reported a steady restart, with most attractions restored and only a smaller list still resetting. Disney had not provided an official explanation by press time.

Background

Walt Disney World operations are built to ride out Florida's summer storms, with weather-related pauses common on outdoor coasters and shows. Friday's pattern was different, with indoor attractions and multiple parks dropping offline nearly in unison, suggesting an electrical or network event rather than routine lightning holds. A suspected power surge during heavy weather is the most consistent thread among early reports, though Disney had not confirmed details. For travelers, the incident landed just as Labor Day weekend crowds ramp up. It follows a month of planned changes and refurbishments that already shaped guest flow, including the temporary closure of EPCOT's Spaceship Earth for upgrades, and longer-term expansion work elsewhere on property. See our coverage of Spaceship Earth refurbishment closes EPCOT icon for 2025 and Disney World Expansion Plans: No Fifth Gate in Orlando.

Latest Developments

What caused the Walt Disney World ride outage

Local stations and park trackers widely reported a suspected power surge linked to a quick-hitting storm cell over the resort, which would explain simultaneous downtime across indoor and outdoor attractions and a brief Monorail pause. Blog and TV reports emphasized that Disney had not issued an official statement as of Friday evening. The outage began shortly before 5 p.m., when the My Disney Experience app showed dozens of "temporarily closed" stars appearing across all four park maps. Examples included Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Test Track, Soarin' Around the World, Slinky Dog Dash, Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, and Pirates of the Caribbean. While weather routinely suspends exposed rides, the mix of impacted indoor venues, plus transport, supports the surge narrative pending formal confirmation.

What came back online, and when

By early evening, attractions began returning. One major tracker noted the list of closures dropping from roughly 45 to about 15 by 650 p.m., with specific reopenings such as Expedition Everest and Canada Far and Wide. A Disney dining-news outlet reported a Guest Relations confirmation that "operations returned to normal" around 6 p.m., and Orlando TV coverage updated that "most" rides were back open by 731 p.m. The Monorail also resumed after a pause. Travelers in the parks still saw sporadic resets while ride systems cycled, which is typical after a surge or protective shutdown. No injuries were reported in local coverage, and evacuations, where required, appeared orderly while teams ran safety checks.

Practical guidance for the weekend

Expect normal hours to hold, with occasional resets on affected systems. If a ride you missed is crucial, rope drop or late evening often delivers the best chance after backlogs clear. Refresh your app frequently, prioritize flexible dining plans, and keep Lightning Lane return windows handy in case of automatic adjustments. For transport, confirm Monorail and boat status before you leave a park, and have a bus or rideshare fallback if storms redevelop at peak exit times. Keep electronics dry, and assume outdoor entertainment can pause if lightning returns within safety radius. The pattern Friday suggests quick recoveries once cells pass.

Analysis

System-wide hiccups at Walt Disney World are rare, and they underline how tightly ride control, show lighting, sensors, and transport all interconnect. A surge or grid disturbance during intense convection can push protective relays to trip, taking multiple facilities offline at once. The result looks dramatic in the app, yet reboots often happen in waves over 30 to 90 minutes as attractions clear, cycle empty vehicles, and run safety tests. Friday's trajectory fits that profile. It also shows the value of redundancy in guest movement. When the Monorail paused, buses and alternative paths absorbed demand until service resumed, keeping a brief bottleneck from turning into a sustained gridlock.

For travelers this weekend, the actionable takeaway is elasticity. Use the app to pivot, slot in nearby shows or dining while a favorite resets, then circle back as reopen notifications appear. If you bought paid line-skip access tied to a window that coincided with downtime, policies typically allow an automatic or manual adjustment; speak with Guest Relations if your window expired during the outage. The absence of an official cause statement Friday night is not unusual when operations teams are focused on restoration. If Disney confirms a surge or localized utility fluctuation, expect a standard after-action sweep of breakers, UPS banks, and network segments to reduce repeat risk. Given how quickly most rides returned, the incident reads as a transient fault rather than a lingering infrastructure issue.

Final Thoughts

Friday's event was disruptive, but short. A suspected storm-related surge briefly sidelined more than 40 attractions and the Monorail, then most of Walt Disney World's lineup came back within one to two hours. Plan for typical operations through the weekend, with the usual Florida weather pauses possible. Keep an eye on the app, build flex into your schedule, and prioritize must-do rides early or late. Until Disney shares a formal cause, the best explanation remains a transient electrical issue during storms, which the parks resolved quickly. The magic is back on, despite a brief, resort-wide Walt Disney World ride outage.