Rail transport in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
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.[1]
The following is a complete listing of every rail transport installation found in Disney Park properties worldwide.
Contents
Disneyland Resort
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Name | Location | Track gauge | Opened | Closed | Notes |
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Disneyland Monorail System | General resort area | Monorail | June 14, 1959 | - | 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 | 3 ft (914 mm) | July 17, 1955 | - | Design inspired by Ward Kimball's narrow gauge Grizzly Flats Railroad and Walt Disney's miniature Carolwood Pacific Railroad. |
Main Street Vehicles | Disneyland | 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. |
Rainbow Caverns Mine Train / Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland | Disneyland | 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. |
Disneyland Viewliner | Disneyland | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | June 26, 1957 | September 15, 1958 | Replaced by the Disneyland Monorail System. |
Jolly Trolley | Disneyland | 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 | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge | June 15, 2012 | - | Battery-operated vehicles. Non-operating overhead wires are in place to recreate the appearance of a heritage streetcar line. |
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Disneyland Railroad
Walt Disney World
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Name | Location | Track gauge | Opened | Closed | Notes |
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Walt Disney World Monorail System | General resort area | 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 | 3 ft (914 mm) | October 1, 1971 | - | All four locomotives were purchased from Ferrocarriles Unidos de Yucatán, but were originally built by Baldwin Locomotive Works. |
Main Street Vehicles | Magic Kingdom | 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 | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | 1973 | 1977 (normal operations); 1980 (all operations) |
Numerous mechanical problems during its operation as well as minimal guest exposure led to its closing. Two passenger cars from the attraction for a time could be seen at the central entrance to Disney Springs (previously known as Downtown Disney), but were removed after construction began on The Springs and Town Center districts, which are expected to be completed by the end of 2016.[3] |
Wildlife Express Train | Disney's Animal Kingdom | 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. |
Tokyo Disney Resort
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Name | Location | Track gauge | Opened | Closed | Notes |
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Disney Resort Line | General resort area | Monorail | July 27, 2001 | - | Fares are required to ride this monorail. |
Western River Railroad | Tokyo Disneyland | 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. |
Jolly Trolley | Tokyo Disneyland | 3 ft (914 mm) | April 15, 1996 | April 14, 2009 | The former line and trolley are still present at the park as static displays. |
jp | Tokyo DisneySea | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | September 4, 2001 | - | Designed to recreate the appearance of a classic elevated railway line. |
Disneyland Paris
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Name | Location | Track gauge | Opened | Closed | Notes |
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Gare de Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy | General resort area | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge | 1992 (RER); 1994 (TGV) |
- | The station itself lies between the main park and the Disney Village. A short section of track runs in a tunnel directly under the resort. The station is served by local commuter trains on the RER A4 line, as well as national TGV and international Eurostar high-speed trains. |
Disneyland Railroad | Disneyland Park (Paris) | 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. |
Horse-Drawn Streetcars | Disneyland Park (Paris) | 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. |
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Disneyland Paris Railroad at Main Street USA Station.jpg
Disneyland Railroad
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Horse Tram at Disneyland Paris.jpg
Horse-Drawn Streetcars
Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
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Name | Location | Track gauge | Opened | Closed | Notes |
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Disneyland Resort Line | General resort area | 1,432 mm (4 ft 8 3⁄8 in) | August 1, 2005 | - | 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 | 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. |
Shanghai Disney Resort
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The resort is under construction and is scheduled to open on June 16, 2016.[4] No rail transport attractions have been confirmed;[5] however, the resort will have direct access to Line 11 and the future Line 24 of the Shanghai Metro rapid transit network, via the Disney Resort Station.[6]
See also
Historic sites and museums with exhibits related to Disney and railroading:
Other notable people: |
Other similar railroads:
|
Private railroads utilizing equipment that previously ran on Disney property: Railroad-themed Disney films:
|
References
- ↑ Broggie, Michael. Walt Disney's Railroad Story: The Small-Scale Fascination That Led to a Full-Scale Kingdom, 2nd ed., pp. 12-13, 17, 25, The Donning Company Publishers, 2006. ISBN 1-57864-309-0.
- ↑ TEA/AECOM 2015 Global Attractions Attendance Report
- ↑ Miami Herald - Disney Springs: a new old-fashioned district at Disney World
- ↑ Los Angeles Times - Shanghai Disney resort set to open June 16
- ↑ Screamscape - Shanghai Disneyland
- ↑ Shanghai Disney Resort - Getting to Shanghai Disney Resort by Shanghai Metro
External links
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- Amusement rides based on rail transport
- Monorails
- Narrow gauge railways
- Rail transport
- Rail transportation in Florida
- Rail transportation in California
- Rail transport in Tokyo
- Rail transport in Paris
- Rail transport in Hong Kong
- Rail transport in Shanghai
- Tram transport
- Walt Disney Parks and Resorts