Case Closed on Main Street: Guest Drops Trolley Track Trip and Fall Suit Against Disney World
Rhonda Smith has voluntarily dismissed her trip and fall lawsuit against Walt Disney World with prejudice, ending the case over an alleged October 2025 fall on the Main Street U.S.A. trolley tracks. The filing gives no reason and cancels a jury trial that had been set for November 2027.
The lawsuit over an alleged trip and fall on the Main Street U.S.A. trolley tracks at Magic Kingdom is over. Plaintiff Rhonda Smith filed a notice of voluntary dismissal with prejudice this week, ending the case without a trial and permanently barring her from refiling the same claims against Walt Disney World.
Key details
- Case status: Voluntarily dismissed with prejudice, permanently closed
- Court: Ninth Judicial Circuit Court, Orange County, Florida
- Defendant: Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc.
- Incident date: Around 5pm on October 24, 2025
- Amount sought: More than $50,000
- Trial date that will not happen: November 22, 2027
What the dismissal filing does
Smith's attorney at Morgan and Morgan in Orlando filed the notice on her behalf, dismissing the case in all counts against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc. The phrase that matters is "with prejudice." A dismissal without prejudice leaves the door open to refile later. With prejudice closes it. These claims cannot come back.
The notice gives no reason for the decision and makes no reference to a settlement. It confirms only that each side will cover its own fees and costs rather than one paying the other, an arrangement common in cases resolved by private agreement. Whether money changed hands is not something the filing answers.
The fall and the claim
Smith alleged that her foot caught on or in the embedded trolley track on Main Street U.S.A. and that the resulting fall caused serious injuries. She placed the incident at roughly 5pm on October 24, 2025, in the window when Magic Kingdom crowds thicken ahead of evening parade and nighttime show operations. She sought damages above $50,000.
The tracks in question are functional, not decorative. They carry the horse-drawn trolley that has run up and down Main Street since the park opened in 1971, part of the turn of the century streetscape that sets the tone for the whole park. They are also set flush into the roadway that thousands of guests cross on foot every hour.
How Disney answered
Disney filed its answer in early February, calling the tracks "open and obvious" and arguing that Smith was negligent by failing to pay adequate attention to her surroundings. The open and obvious doctrine is standard ground in Florida premises liability work: a property owner generally has no duty to warn about a hazard that a reasonable person would plainly see. Disney also requested a jury trial, and the court had calendared one for November 22, 2027.
The buzz
- Trip and fall claims against Walt Disney World rarely resolve this cleanly this early, and a dismissal with prejudice more than a year before the trial date is an unusual ending.
- The open and obvious defense is one fans recognize, because anyone who has walked Main Street has watched someone catch a shoe on those rails.
- The lack of a stated reason leaves the outcome genuinely ambiguous, which is exactly why the filing traveled.
Timeline of the case
- October 2025: The alleged fall on the Main Street U.S.A. trolley tracks
- December 2025: Smith files suit against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
- February 2026: Disney answers, calling the tracks open and obvious and asserting Smith was negligent
- July 2026: Smith files a notice of voluntary dismissal with prejudice, closing the case
What this means for fans
Nothing changes on Main Street. The trolley tracks stay exactly where they are, and guests will keep stepping over them on the way to the castle. What the case offered was a rare public look at how Disney defends this category of claim and how quickly one can end once both sides have shown their hand. For the millions of people who walk that stretch of pavement every year, the practical takeaway is unglamorous and unchanged: watch your feet on the rails, especially in a crowd.