Disney's Hidden PeopleMover Celebrates 45 Years at Houston Airport
The Disney-built PeopleMover at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport marked its 45th anniversary in August 2026. The unique system, designed by Walt Disney Imagineering and built with linear induction motors, connects Terminals A, B, C, and D/E with the airport Marriott.
Disney initially offered to build the train system for free, guaranteeing a 99% reliability rate, but the airport opted for a formal bidding process. Disney won the contract in 1979 and completed the system in 1981, which was officially opened by Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck with Houston Mayor Jim McConn.
The IAH Subway travels along a two-mile underground circuit at speeds of up to 15 mph, taking approximately 19 minutes for a complete trip. Despite its age, the system has maintained an impressive reliability rate, reaching 99.76% in 2025 and carrying over 3.3 million passengers that year.
The success of the IAH Subway is a testament to Disney's innovative transportation technology, which was certified by the Urban Mass Transportation Administration for potential urban transit use. However, Disney did not develop a larger network of WEDway systems outside of their own properties and later sold the PeopleMover and monorail technology to Canadian manufacturer Bombardier.