Disneyland Monorail

The Disneyland Monorail (originally named the Disneyland Alweg Monorail System) is an attraction and transportation line at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, United States. It was the first daily operating monorail in the country.

History

thumb|left|Historical Disneyland Monorail Plaque located at Tomorrowland Station

Walt Disney originally envisioned the monorail as a practical form of public transport for the future. However, the technology never became widespread in the United States beyond a select few novelty installations. The monorail came about during a time when America's—and particularly Los Angeles'—obsession with the automobile was increasing, and monorails in the United States were mostly only located in Disney's theme parks.

The job of building the monorail was originally assigned to the Standard Carriage Works of East Los Angeles, but in late 1958, Walt Disney, pressured for time, moved it to his Burbank studios. Disney designer Bob Gurr then headed a Disney team that designed and manufactured the cars, chassis, suspension and propulsion systems. Gurr and Disney were assisted by Alweg, the German company that pioneered straddle beam monorails.

The Disneyland Alweg Monorail System opened on June 14, 1959, just in time for the re-dedication of Tomorrowland and a broader expansion of Disneyland which included the Matterhorn Bobsleds, the Submarine Voyage, the expanded version of Autopia, and the Motor Boat Cruise. The Mark I trains (Red and Blue) consisted of three cars each. The opening ceremony was attended by then-Vice President Richard Nixon and his family.

Expansion

At opening, the monorail was merely an attraction, taking people on a scenic trip around Disneyland before returning to its only station. In 1961 it became a true transportation system when the track was extended 2 miles outside the park to a second station near the Disneyland Hotel. As part of this project, the Tomorrowland station was lengthened to accommodate four-car Mark II trains and a third Yellow train was added.

From Hotel Station there were two trips above Disneyland available aboard the monorail—a quick tour and general admission. Guests wishing to embark upon a vista-dome view of the park, including a leisurely layover in Tomorrowland within the tail-cone could purchase an exclusive round-trip tour ticket at Hotel Station and save the expense of general admission to Disneyland. Nose and tail-cone door latches were independent of the main door release button. A simple dial indicator above the tail-cone compartment door could be turned to one of three positions—General admission guests, round-trip only guests, and mixed. Cast members at Tomorrowland Station would check the dial position and open the door for general admission guests, who could proceed into the park, while ensuring that round-trip guests, who did not have full park tickets, remained aboard. If guests already in the park boarded one of these sections in Tomorrowland, the dial would be set to mixed, then all mixed tail-cone guests disembarked at the hotel.

Both platforms were lengthened in 1968 for the new five-car Mark III trains, which added a fourth Green train.

Mark V (Mk5) trains

By the early 1980s, the Mark III trains were showing their age and the wear of years. In 1985, Disneyland began phasing out the Mark III trains one by one. The older trains were stripped to the chassis and rebuilt as Mark V trains. The Mark III Green went first, to become the Mark V Purple followed by the Mark III Yellow becoming the Mark V Orange. The Mark III Blue remained blue (albeit a lighter shade) and the last was Red, remaining Red. The notable difference was the loss of the bubble-top driver's area in favor of a streamlined "Learjet" look similar to the Mark IV trains at the Walt Disney World Resort. The new trains also sported closed passenger compartments (with windows that could be opened) and pneumatic doors. Following the 1985 Disney World monorail fire, a safety handrail was added along the top of the train, as well as emergency fire exit hatches leading to the roof. The attraction's name remained the "Disneyland Monorail System", as it had been painted on the Mark III trains' skirts. The Mark V trains were built by Ride & Show Engineering, Inc., incorporating bodies that were produced by Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm of Germany (now Airbus). Purple first made its appearance for testing in Autumn of 1986 and began regular operations a few months later. Orange was delivered in late Summer of 1987, followed by Blue in early 1988. The oldest train, Red, was also the last to be removed from the line for refurbishment in early 1988.

thumb|Mark V Monorail Blue travels over the former [[Submarine Voyage in 2002]] The beamway path was re-aligned into the Eeyore section of the parking lot in 1994 to accommodate the construction of the Indiana Jones Adventure show building. The trains were fitted with new electrical pick-up shoes and tail view cameras, enabling two-train point-to-point shuttle service where the first arriving train was disembarked, moved along empty to just beyond the station, the second train arrived, disembarked, embarked and dispatched so the first train could be loaded and dispatched for the return. In 1999, the monorail began lengthy periods of closures due to construction of the Disney California Adventure theme park where the monorail beamway passed through what had formerly been the parking lot. Although the beamway's route was not altered, a significant amount of construction was done around the existing beamway, and much of the terrain under the beamway's support columns were regraded, necessitating the closures. Additionally, the Disneyland Hotel Station and all of its nearby hotel structures were completely demolished and a new station built in the same location. Downtown Disney Station is treated as a second gate into Disneyland Park, so a general admission passport or valid annual pass must be presented to ride the monorail and the tail-cone tour is no longer offered.

The system resumed limited shuttle operations in 2000 when the Downtown Disney Station became operational, but a significant portion of the beamway was still unusable due to construction. In 2001 the monorail resumed full capacity forward direction circuit operations, passing through Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, as well as showcasing the new park.

In 2004, Monorail Orange was removed from the line and taken to Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale to be reverse engineered. Monorail Blue was removed in September 2006 for rebuilding. The Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage show building was extended into the lagoon beneath the monorail, which closed from August 21 through late December 2006 to prepare for the 2007 opening of Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.

Mark VII (Mk7) monorail

Like the Mark III to Mark V conversion, the refurbishment from Mark V to Mark VII was done one train at a time. The entire Mark VII Monorail fleet consists of three trains—Red, Blue, and Orange. The first Mark VII train, Monorail Red, arrived at Disneyland on December 20, 2007. It was originally expected to be in service by the end of February 2008, but due to design change issues, it did not begin serving park guests until July 3, 2008. Mark VII Blue arrived on-site on April 10, 2008, began daytime riderless testing on August 1, 2008, and began guest service on September 16, 2008. Monorail Mark VII Orange arrived on-site on August 14, 2008, began riderless testing in March 2009 and began guest service on April 7, 2009.

Operations

The Disneyland Monorail has two stations: one in Tomorrowland, and another in the Downtown Disney District. The original Monorail was a round trip ride with no stops. In 1961, the track was expanded to connect to a station at the Disneyland Hotel, making it an actual transportation system. The original Hotel station was torn down in 1999 and a new station, now called the Downtown Disney Station, was built in the same place.

Round trip duration: 13 minutes
Coupon required (originally): "E" (the coupon system has since been replaced with passports which include all attractions.)
Ride system: Each train has 10 nitrogen-filled truck tires, one on either end of each car, that ride on top of the beamway and carry the load of the train. Four of the tires are powered with , electric motors. Each train has 40 smaller guide tires that run along the side of the beam along with 4 steering tires, 2 under each cab to help steer the lead tire up to 3 degrees in either direction. For all other tires, steering is determined by the relative geometry of the adjacent cars.
1959 construction costs of the entire system averaged over $1 million per mile (>$620,000/kilometer).
Oversized ceremonial scissors failed to cut the ribbon during the televised opening ceremony, so Walt simply tore it.
At one point, ATSF stickers were seen on various monorails through 1960, but were removed after the sponsorship ended.