Rail transport in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts

Monorail Blue, one of the twelve monorail trains on the Walt Disney World Monorail System near Magic Kingdom, the most-visited theme park on Earth.^[1]

Rail transport in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, in a variety of forms, can be found in every theme park resort property owned or licensed by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, the theme park and vacation resort segment of the larger Walt Disney Company. The origins of Disney theme park rail transport can be traced back to Walt Disney himself and his personal fondness for railroads, who insisted that they be included in the first Disney Park, the original Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which first opened on July 17, 1955.^[2][3]

Yes, in one way or another I have always loved trains.

— Walt Disney^[4][5]

The following is a complete listing of every rail transport installation found in Disney Park properties worldwide.

Disneyland Resort

Name	Location	Image	Motive power type	Track gauge	Opened	Closed	Notes
Disneyland Monorail System	General resort area		Electric (busbar)	Monorail	June 14, 1959	–	First operational monorail system in the United States.[6] Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark status. Disneyland general admission passports or valid annual passes are required to ride this monorail. Current monorail trains: Mark VII. Previous monorail trains: Mark I, Mark II, Mark III, Mark V.
Disneyland Railroad	Disneyland		Steam	3 ft (914 mm)	July 17, 1955	–	Design inspired by Walt Disney's miniature Carolwood Pacific Railroad and Ward Kimball's narrow gauge Grizzly Flats Railroad. Temporarily closed in 2016 due to construction of the new Star Wars Land section of the park.[7] The line is scheduled to reopen during the summer of 2017.[8]
Main Street Vehicles	Disneyland		Working animal	3 ft (914 mm)	July 17, 1955	–	Besides the tramway with horse-drawn streetcars, non-rail, old-fashioned motor vehicles are also part of this attraction.
Casey Jr. Circus Train	Disneyland		Internal combustion (gasoline)	2 ft (610 mm)	July 31, 1955	–	Based on the anthropomorphic locomotive character Casey Junior from the Disney 1941 animated feature film Dumbo.[9]
Rainbow Caverns Mine Train / Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland	Disneyland		Electric (battery)	2 ft 6 in (762 mm)	July 2, 1956	January 2, 1977	Replaced by the mine train roller coaster Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which incorporated many of the themes of the older attraction.[10]
Disneyland Viewliner	Disneyland		Internal combustion (gasoline)	2 ft 6 in (762 mm)	June 26, 1957	September 15, 1958	Replaced by the Disneyland Monorail System.[11]
Jolly Trolley	Disneyland		Electric (battery)	3 ft (914 mm)	January 24, 1993	2003	The former line and trolley are still present at the park as static displays.
Red Car Trolley	Disney California Adventure		Electric (battery)	1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ^3⁄8 in) metre gauge	June 15, 2012	–	Non-operating overhead wires are in place to recreate the appearance of a heritage streetcar line.

Route diagrams

Disneyland Monorail System Legend Maintenance shed (not open to public) Disneyland Steam train transfer (via short walk inside Disneyland) Downtown Disney Disney California Adventure

Disneyland Railroad Legend Roundhouse (open to public during 5K) Mickey's Toontown Monorail transfer (via short walk inside park) Tomorrowland New Orleans Square Horse-drawn streetcar transfer (via short walk inside park; restricted access) Main Street, U.S.A. Bus transfer (via short walk outside park)

Main Street Vehicles (Disneyland) Legend Sleeping Beauty Castle Central Plaza Car barn (not open to public) Main Street, U.S.A. Steam train transfer (via short walk inside park)

Casey Jr. Circus Train (Disneyland) Legend Roundhouse (not open to public) Fantasyland

Red Car Trolley Legend Car barn (not open to public) Sunset Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard Carthay Circle Buena Vista Street Bus transfer (via short walk outside park)

Walt Disney World

Name	Location	Image	Motive power type	Track gauge	Opened	Closed	Notes
Walt Disney World Monorail System	General resort area		Electric (busbar)	Monorail	October 1, 1971	–	No purchase of any kind is required to ride this monorail. Current monorail trains: Mark VI. Previous monorail trains: Mark IV.
Walt Disney World Railroad	Magic Kingdom		Steam	3 ft (914 mm)	October 1, 1971	–	All four locomotives were purchased from the Ferrocarriles Unidos de Yucatán, but were originally built by Baldwin Locomotive Works.[12]
Main Street Vehicles	Magic Kingdom		Working animal	3 ft (914 mm)	October 1, 1971	–	Besides the tramway with horse-drawn streetcars, non-rail, old-fashioned motor vehicles are also part of this attraction.
Fort Wilderness Railroad	Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground		Steam	2 ft 6 in (762 mm)	1973	1977 (normal operations); 1980 (all operations)	Numerous operational problems, poor design, and high costs led to the closure of this railroad.[13]
Wildlife Express Train	Disney's Animal Kingdom		Internal combustion (diesel)	3 ft 4 in (1,016 mm)	April 21, 1998	–	Despite the dated and weathered appearance of the trains, they are actually brand-new models built by Severn Lamb.[14]

Route diagrams

Walt Disney World Monorail System Legend Maintenance shed (not open to public) Magic Kingdom Contemporary Grand Floridian Transportation and Ticket Center Polynesian Village Epcot Express and resort services Resort service only No passengers Ferry transfer

Walt Disney World Railroad Legend Roundhouse (open to public during special tours only) Frontierland Fantasyland Horse-drawn streetcar transfer (via short walk inside park; restricted access) Main Street, U.S.A. Monorail, ferry, and bus transfers (via short walks outside park)

Main Street Vehicles (Magic Kingdom) Legend Cinderella Castle Central Plaza Car barn (not open to public) Main Street, U.S.A. Steam train transfer (via short walk inside park)

Wildlife Express Train Legend Rafiki's Planet Watch Roundhouse (not open to public) Africa Bus transfer (via short walk outside park)

Tokyo Disney Resort

Name	Location	Image	Motive power type	Track gauge	Opened	Closed	Notes
Disney Resort Line	General resort area		Electric (busbar)	Monorail	July 27, 2001	–	Fares are required to ride this monorail. A transfer to Maihama Station, served by the JR East rail network's Keiyō Line and Musashino Line, exists via a short walk from the monorail's Resort Gateway Station.
Western River Railroad	Tokyo Disneyland		Steam	2 ft 6 in (762 mm)	April 15, 1983	–	Used purely as an attraction and not for transportation purposes, as it only has one station.[15]
Jolly Trolley	Tokyo Disneyland		Electric (battery)	3 ft (914 mm)	April 15, 1996	April 14, 2009	The former line and trolley are still present at the park as static displays.
DisneySea Electric Railway	Tokyo DisneySea		Electric (third rail)	2 ft 6 in (762 mm)	September 4, 2001	–	Designed to recreate the appearance of a classic elevated railway line.

Route diagrams

Disney Resort Line Legend Train transfer (via short walk from Resort Gateway Station) Resort Gateway Tokyo Disneyland Maintenance shed (not open to public) Tokyo DisneySea Bayside

Western River Railroad Legend Locomotive shed (not open to public) Stillwater Junction Station (display only) Adventureland Bus and monorail transfers (via short walks outside park)

DisneySea Electric Railway Legend Port Discovery American Waterfront Maintenance shed (not open to public) Monorail and bus transfers (via short walks outside park)

Disneyland Paris

Name	Location	Image	Motive power type	Track gauge	Opened	Closed	Notes
Gare de Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy	General resort area		Electric (overhead wire)	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge	April 1, 1992 (RER); May 29, 1994 (TGV)	–	Served by local commuter trains on the Réseau Express Régional rail network's RER A4 line, as well as national TGV and international Eurostar high-speed trains.
Disneyland Railroad	Disneyland Park (Paris)		Steam	3 ft (914 mm)	April 12, 1992	–	Originally named Euro Disneyland Railroad, and its old initials, EDRR, are still visible in parts of the park.[16]
Horse-Drawn Streetcars	Disneyland Park (Paris)		Working animal	3 ft (914 mm)	April 12, 1992	–	Unlike its counterpart attractions in other Disney Parks, this tramway is a separate attraction from the non-rail, old-fashioned motor vehicles making up the Main Street Vehicles attraction.

Route diagrams

Disneyland Railroad (Paris) Legend Locomotive shed (not open to public) Fantasyland Frontierland Discoveryland Horse-drawn streetcar transfer (via short walk inside park; restricted access) Main Street, U.S.A. Train and bus transfers (via short walks outside park)

Horse-Drawn Streetcars (Disneyland Park (Paris)) Legend Sleeping Beauty Castle Central Plaza Car barn (not open to public) Main Street, U.S.A. Steam train transfer (via short walk inside park)

Hong Kong Disneyland Resort

Name	Location	Image	Motive power type	Track gauge	Opened	Closed	Notes
Disneyland Resort Line	General resort area		Electric (overhead wire)	1,432 mm (4 ft 8 ^3⁄8 in)	August 1, 2005	–	Run by the MTR rapid transit rail network, along with the line's two stations: Sunny Bay Station and Disneyland Resort Station. The former station is shared with MTR's Tung Chung Line. First rail line with a direct connection to an external heavy rail network designed and themed exclusively for a Disney Park.
Hong Kong Disneyland Railroad	Hong Kong Disneyland		Internal combustion (diesel)	3 ft (914 mm)	September 12, 2005	–	Unlike its counterpart attractions in other Disney Parks, where the trains are entirely steam powered, Hong Kong Disneyland Railroad's locomotives are steam outline models, which are diesel locomotives with the outward appearance of steam locomotives.[17]

Route diagrams

Disneyland Resort Line Legend Siu Ho Wan Depot (not open to public) Tung Chung Line Sunny Bay North Lantau Highway Sunny Bay Road Penny's Bay Highway Inspiration Lake Magic Road Disneyland Resort

Hong Kong Disneyland Railroad Legend Locomotive shed (not open to public) Fantasyland Main Street, U.S.A. Metro and bus transfers (via short walks outside park)

Shanghai Disney Resort

Name	Location	Image	Motive power type	Track gauge	Opened	Closed	Notes
Disney Resort Station	General resort area		Electric (overhead wire)	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)	April 26, 2016	–	Served by Line 11 and the future Line 24 of the Shanghai Metro rapid transit rail network.[18]

See also

Historic sites and museums with exhibits related to Disney and railroads: Golden Spike National Historic Site Orange Empire Railway Museum Walt Disney Family Museum Walt Disney Hometown Museum Walt Disney's Carolwood Barn Other notable people: Gerald M. Best Michael Broggie Roger E. Broggie Bob Gurr Ollie Johnston William "Billy" Jones Chadwell O'Connor

Other similar railroads: Weiser Railroad (opened 1929) in The Henry Ford (Greenfield Village) Edaville Railroad (opened 1947) in Edaville USA Ghost Town & Calico Railroad (opened 1952) in Knott's Berry Farm Tweetsie Railroad (opened 1957) White Mountain Central Railroad (opened 1958) in Clark's Trading Post Dollywood Express (opened 1961) in Dollywood Six Flags & Texas Railroad (opened 1961) in Six Flags Over Texas Frisco Silver Dollar Line (opened 1962) in Silver Dollar City Cedar Point & Lake Erie Railroad (opened 1963) in Cedar Point Crooked Creek & Whiskey Island Railroad (opened 1967) in Pioneer Park (Fairbanks, Alaska) Efteling Steam Train Company (opened 1969) in Efteling Dreamworld Express (opened 1981) in Dreamworld Silverwood Central Railway (opened 1988) in Silverwood Theme Park The Christmas Train (opened 1996) in Dry Gulch, U.S.A.

Private railroads utilizing equipment that previously ran on Disney property: Justi Creek Railway Pacific Coast Railroad Company Santa Rosa Valley Railroad Railroad-themed Disney films: Trolley Troubles (1927 animated short) Mickey's Choo-Choo (1929 animated short) Donald's Ostrich (1937 animated short) Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip (1940 animated short) Baggage Buster (1941 animated short) The Brave Engineer (1950 animated short) Out of Scale (1951 animated short) Pigs Is Pigs (1954 animated short) The Great Locomotive Chase (1956 live-action feature) John Henry (2000 animated short)

References

1. "2015 Global Attractions Attendance Report" (PDF). TEA/AECOM. May 25, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 3, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
2. Broggie 2014, pp. 12–15.
3. Amendola 2015, p. 9.
4. Broggie 2014, p. 17.
5. Broggie 2014, p. 355.
6. Broggie 2014, p. 305.
7. "Disneyland – Disneyland Railroad Renovation". Screamscape. January 12, 2016. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
8. "Disneyland Railroad and Rivers of America Attractions to Reopen Summer 2017 at Disneyland Park". Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. July 28, 2016. Archived from the original on July 29, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
9. Broggie 2014, p. 284.
10. Broggie 2014, p. 292.
11. Broggie 2014, p. 294.
12. Broggie 2014, pp. 320–323.
13. Broggie 2014, p. 343.
14. Amendola 2015, pp. 158–159.
15. Broggie 2014, p. 345.
16. Broggie 2014, p. 358.
17. Amendola 2015, p. 176.
18. "Getting to Shanghai Disney Resort by Shanghai Metro". Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. February 16, 2016. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.

Bibliography

• Amendola, Dana (2015), All Aboard: The Wonderful World of Disney Trains (1st ed.), Disney Editions, ISBN 978-1-4231-1714-8
• Broggie, Michael (2014), Walt Disney's Railroad Story: The Small-Scale Fascination That Led to a Full-Scale Kingdom (4th ed.), The Donning Company Publishers, ISBN 978-1-57864-914-3

External links

• The Carolwood Society
• Chronology of the Walt Disney Company
• Disney Parks – official website