On July 5, 2009, an operator was killed after Monorail Pink and Monorail Purple collided on the Epcot line near the Transportation and Ticket Center. Before the collision, up to four guests could sit in the front cabin with the operator. After the incident, no passengers are allowed in the operator's cabin.

The most significant incident in the history of the Disney monorail system occurred on July 5, 2009, at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The fatal collision involved two trains, Monorail Pink and Monorail Purple, near the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC). The crash happened at approximately 2:00 AM during a routine "switching" maneuver intended to move trains back to the maintenance shop. Due to a combination of human error and a failure in the communication protocols, Monorail Pink was backed into Monorail Purple. Tragically, the 21-year-old pilot of Monorail Purple, Austin Wuennenberg, was killed in the collision. Following an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), it was found that the "monorail coordinator" had authorized the move without ensuring the track switch was properly aligned. This event led to a massive overhaul of Disney's monorail safety systems, including the implementation of more advanced automated sensors and the strict policy that pilots can no longer operate from the "nose" cone during certain reverse maneuvers. In 2026, the system is recognized as one of the safest transit networks in the world, built on the lessons learned from this 2009 tragedy.