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Jun 13, 2024

A Look Back to the Future—The Disney Monorails

Publication: International Conference on Transportation and Development 2024

ABSTRACT

Walt Disney originally envisioned the monorail as a reliable and safe public transit system for the future. The first Disney monorail system opened in June 1959 as merely an attraction taking people on a scenic trip around Disneyland in Anaheim, California, while also showcasing the practicality of monorails for use as public transportation. When Walt Disney World opened in Orlando, Florida, in 1971, the Disney monorail was an important feature of the new amusement park, and today over 50 million annual passengers ride the monorail system. Although monorails have not become a popular public transit alternative in the United States, they are probably the most recognized icons of Disney parks, and what many visitors consider as future transportation. This paper explores the history of the Disney monorails at Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and the Tokyo Disney Resort, the evolution of the Disney monorail trains, characteristics of the systems, operations, and challenges.

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REFERENCES

Wikipedia. Disneyland Monorail, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disneyland_Monorail> (November 15, 2023).
Wikipedia. List of Monorail Systems, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_monorail_systems> (November 15, 2023).
Wikipedia. Tokyo Disney Resort Line, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Resort_Line> (November 15, 2023).
Wikipedia. Walt Disney World Monorail System, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_World_Monorail_System> (November 15, 2023).
Adner, A. (2022) (Alex the Historian). Creating the Disney World Monorail, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KUNlS28B-A.
Adner, A. (2021) (Alex the Historian). Walt’s Disneyland Monorail History – Parts 1 and 2, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QPz7uRzQ3U and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1UzZmQI_n8.
Kurtti, J., V. Hunt, and P. Wolski. (2020). The Disney Monorail – Imagineering a Highway in the Sky. Disney Enterprises: Glendale, CA.
Monorail (Disneyland-ALWEG Monorail). Disney History 101, <https://www.disneyhistory101.com/ALWEGDisneylandMonorail-gallery-59> (November 15, 2023).
Pedersen, K. A. (2015). Monorails: Trains of the Future – Now Arriving, The Monorail Society, LLC.
Yesterland: Disneyland – Alweg Monorail System, <https://yesterland.com/monorail.html> (December 1, 2023).

Information & Authors

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Go to International Conference on Transportation and Development 2024
International Conference on Transportation and Development 2024
Pages: 501 - 509

History

Published online: Jun 13, 2024

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Authors

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Myles W. Overall, M.ASCE [email protected]
1Graduate Research Assistant, Joint Transportation Research Program, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN. Email: [email protected]
William J. Sproule, Ph.D., F.ASCE [email protected]
2Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering, Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton, MI. Email: [email protected]

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