Rail transport can be found in every theme park resort property owned or licensed by Disney Experiences, one of the three business segments of the 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 (a key component of the Disneyland Resort) in California in the United States, which opened on July 17, 1955... The Disney tradition of including transport by rail in, and adjacent to, its parks has since been extended to other Disney properties with the opening of Walt Disney World in Florida in the United States, Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan, Disneyland Paris in France, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort in China, and Shanghai Disney Resort in China. The Disney theme park chain is the largest on the planet by annual attendance with over 155 million visitors in 2019, and the rail systems located inside its properties play key roles as modes of transportation and as attractions for its visitors.
Each Disney theme park resort has a rail transport system serving its general resort area, whether it is a monorail system located inside the Disney resort properties in the United States and Japan, or a conventional rail system connecting external rail networks to the Disney resorts in France and China. The Disneyland Monorail System in California was the first monorail system in the United States; the Walt Disney World Monorail System in Florida, with an estimated 150,000 passengers per day, is one of the busiest monorail systems in the world.. Both Disney park resort properties in the United States, as well as those in Japan and France, contain theme parks that feature genuine steam-powered railroads.. The Disney park chain has one of the world's largest private collections of operational steam locomotives, with seventeen in total spread across the globe. Additional rail systems within the theme parks in both United States resorts and the Hong Kong resort resemble steam-powered railroads, but their locomotives are powered by internal combustion engines... Other rail transport modes found in Disney parks include horse-drawn streetcar rail lines within both resorts in the United States and the resort in France, replica vintage electric rail lines in California and Japan, and a people mover in Florida.
Disneyland Resort
NameLocationImageMotive power typeTrack gaugeOpenedClosedNotesDisneyland MonorailGeneral resort areaElectric(busbar)..MonorailJune 14, 1959.–First operational monorail system in the United States. Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark status. Valid admission to Disneyland is required to ride this monorail.Disneyland RailroadDisneylandSteam..July 17, 1955–Design inspired by Walt Disney's Carolwood Pacific Railroad and Ward Kimball's Grizzly Flats Railroad...Main Street VehiclesDisneylandWorking animalJuly 17, 1955.–Besides the tramway with horse-drawn streetcars, non-rail, old-fashioned motor vehicles are also part of this attraction.Casey Jr. Circus TrainDisneylandInternal combustion(gasoline)July 17, 1955.–Based on the anthropomorphic locomotive character Casey Junior from the Disney 1941 animated feature film DumboMine Train Through Nature's Wonderland.(formerly Rainbow Caverns Mine Train)Disneyland.Electric(battery).July 2, 1956January 2, 1977Replaced by the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad mine train roller coaster attraction.Viewliner Train of Tomorrow.Disneyland.–Internal combustion(gasoline)June 10, 1957September 30, 1958Replaced by the Disneyland Monorail SystemPeopleMoverDisneylandElectric(track-embedded spinning tires)People moverJuly 2, 1967August 21, 1995The former line's elevated track infrastructure is still present at the park.Jolly TrolleyDisneylandInternal combustion(diesel)January 24, 1993December 2003The former line and ride vehicles are still present at the park as static displays.Red Car TrolleyDisney California AdventureElectric(battery)June 15, 2012February 9, 2025Non-operating overhead wires are in place to recreate the appearance of a heritage streetcar line.
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Walt Disney World
NameLocationImageMotive power typeTrack gaugeOpenedClosedNotesWalt Disney World Monorail SystemMagic Kingdom and Epcot resort areasElectric(busbar)MonorailOctober 1, 1971–One of the world's busiest monorail systems with an estimated 150,000 passengers each day. No purchase of any kind is required to ride this monorail.Walt Disney World RailroadMagic KingdomSteam..October 1, 1971.–All four locomotives, originally built by Baldwin Locomotive Works, were purchased from the Ferrocarriles Unidos de Yucatán.Main Street VehiclesMagic KingdomWorking animalOctober 1, 1971–Besides the tramway with horse-drawn streetcars, non-rail, old-fashioned motor vehicles are also part of this attraction.PeopleMoverMagic KingdomElectric(track-embedded linear induction motors)People moverJuly 1, 1975–An early concept model for Epcot can be seen during the ride. Used purely as an attraction and not for transportation purposes, as it only has one station.Fort Wilderness Railroad.Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground–Steam.January 1, 1974.February 1980.Numerous operational problems, poor design, and high costs led to the closure of this railroad..Wildlife Express TrainDisney's Animal KingdomInternal combustion(diesel)April 22, 1998–Despite the dated and weathered appearance of the trains, they are actually brand-new models built by Severn Lamb..
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Tokyo Disney Resort
NameLocationImageMotive power typeTrack gaugeOpenedClosedNotesDisney Resort LineGeneral resort areaElectric(busbar)MonorailJuly 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 RailroadTokyo DisneylandSteam.April 15, 1983–Used purely as an attraction and not for transportation purposes, as it only has one station.Jolly TrolleyTokyo DisneylandElectric(battery)April 15, 1996April 14, 2009The former line and ride vehicles are still present at the park as static displays.DisneySea Electric RailwayTokyo DisneySeaElectric(third rail)September 4, 2001–Designed to recreate the appearance of a classic elevated railway line
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Disneyland Paris
NameLocationImageMotive power typeTrack gaugeOpenedClosedNotesMarne-la-Vallée–Chessy stationGeneral resort areaElectric(overhead wire)April 1, 1992 (RER);May 29, 1994 (TGV)–Served by commuter trains on the Réseau Express Régional (RER) rail network's RER A line, as well as TGV inOui, Ouigo, and Eurostar high-speed trainsDisneyland RailroadDisneyland ParkSteam.April 12, 1992–Originally named Euro Disneyland Railroad, and its old initials, EDRR, are still visible in parts of the park.Horse-Drawn StreetcarsDisneyland ParkWorking animalApril 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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Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
NameLocationImageMotive power typeTrack gaugeOpenedClosedNotesDisneyland Resort lineGeneral resort areaElectric(overhead wire)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.Hong Kong Disneyland RailroadHong Kong DisneylandInternal combustion(diesel)September 12, 2005–Unlike its counterpart attractions in other Disney parks where the trains are powered by steam, this railroad's locomotives are steam outline models, which are diesel locomotives with the outward appearance of steam locomotives.
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Shanghai Disney Resort
NameLocationImageMotive power typeTrack gaugeOpenedClosedNotesDisney Resort stationGeneral resort areaElectric(overhead wire)April 26, 2016–Served by Line 11 of the Shanghai Metro rapid transit rail network
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See also Large amusement railways Narrow-gauge railway
Similar railroads:
Weiser Railroad (opened 1929) in Greenfield Village Edaville Railroad (opened 1947) in Edaville Family Theme Park Ghost Town & Calico Railroad (opened 1952) in Knott's Berry Farm Tweetsie Railroad (opened 1957) White Mountain Central Railroad (opened 1958) in Clark's Bears 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 Efteling Steam Train Company (opened 1969) in Efteling
Museums and private railroads with rolling stock previously run on Disney property: Justi Creek Railway Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum Pacific Coast Railroad Santa Rosa Valley Railroad Southern California Railway Museum
References
Bibliography
External links
(Disney Parks)