Your Disney trip starts and ends at the airport, and one of the more annoying parts of it just got better. Orlando International Airport has rolled out upgraded Gate Link tram service to Gates 100-129, replacing aging equipment with new vehicles and modernized infrastructure.
If you have ever stood on a crowded MCO tram platform at the end of a park week waiting for a vehicle that felt about twenty years old, this is the fix.
Here is what changed, which gates it affects, and what is coming next — because the rest of the airport is still on the old system.
Quick Summary
- MCO launched upgraded Gate Link tram service to Gates 100-129
- The work is the first completed piece of a $253 million Gate Link Replacement Project
- It falls under MCO’s larger $6.9 billion Capital Improvement Program
- Each new Gate Link train carries up to 240 passengers
- Crews now move to the second track serving the same gates
- Gates 70-99 come after that
What Actually Changed
The upgrade covered considerably more than new trains. The completed work includes:
- New trains
- New running surfaces
- Power distribution equipment
- Vehicle controls
- Communications and operating systems
- Platform screen doors
That last item is the one most travelers will notice immediately. Platform screen doors are the glass barriers that separate the waiting area from the track and open only when a train is docked. They make boarding orderly instead of a scrum, and they eliminate the single most common cause of tram delays.
Each new train carries up to 240 passengers, which matters on a Sunday afternoon when an entire terminal’s worth of families are heading home at once.
Why This Matters for a Disney Trip
Gate Link is not a nice-to-have at MCO. The airport’s gate areas are only reachable by tram, so if the tram is down or slow, you are stuck.
Anyone who flies into Orlando regularly has a story about a tram backup eating twenty minutes at exactly the wrong moment. Reliability here translates directly into how early you need to arrive for a flight home.
If you are departing from Gates 100-129, you should see a smoother and more dependable ride starting now.
If you are departing from Gates 70-99, nothing has changed for you yet.
Check your gate number when you get your boarding pass. It determines whether any of this applies to your trip.
The Bigger Project
This is the first completed piece of MCO’s $253 million Gate Link Replacement Project, which itself sits inside the airport’s $6.9 billion Capital Improvement Program.
Lance Lyttle, CEO of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, framed it this way:
“Through our $6.9 billion Capital Improvement Program, we are building an airport for the future, and this Gate Link milestone brings that vision to life with a smoother, more dependable experience for passengers.”
A $253 million spend on airport trams sounds enormous until you consider that MCO is one of the busiest airports in the United States and the single biggest gateway to Walt Disney World.
What Happens Next
Crews now move to the second track serving Gates 100-129. That track stays under construction while the newly finished one handles passenger traffic, so Gate Link service continues without interruption.
That phasing is the detail worth appreciating. Running one track while rebuilding the other means no closures and no shuttle buses — the thing that would actually ruin a travel day. However, be aware that during busier travel periods, the gatelink does back up, and you may have to wait a train or two to get on.
Once both tracks at Gates 100-129 are done, the project shifts to Gates 70-99, where crews will replace both tracks, the trains, and supporting systems.
No completion timeline has been given for the remaining phases.
What This Means for Your Travel Day
A few practical notes.
Do not change your airport arrival buffer yet. One of four tracks is finished. Plenty of the system is still running on old equipment, and construction continues across the airport.
Expect ongoing work. A multi-year, multi-phase project means you will see barriers and crews at MCO for a while.
Build in the usual cushion. MCO security lines, not trams, remain the bigger variable on a departure day, and this project does nothing about those.
The Bottom Line
Orlando International Airport has launched upgraded Gate Link trams to Gates 100-129, complete with new vehicles, new track, platform screen doors, and modernized controls, each train carrying up to 240 passengers.
It is the first finished phase of a $253 million replacement project, with the second track at those same gates next and Gates 70-99 after that.
If your flight home leaves from Gates 100-129, your last ride of the trip just got noticeably better. For everyone else, it is coming — just not yet.
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Meet the Author: Nate Bishop
I’m a die-hard Disney fan with 38 years of visits under my belt, having stepped into Disney World 120+ times. Proud to be a Disney Annual Passholder, a Vacation Club member since ’92, a Castaway Club Member, and a runDisney enthusiast. Oh, and I’ve graduated from the Disney College of Knowledge. Need Disney insights or planning tips? I’m your guy!
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