High above the hustle and bustle of the crowds of Disneyland is a highway in the sky waiting to take guests on a 2.5 mile long round trip ride around the Disneyland Resort. Aboard America’s first daily operating monorail system, you can travel from Tomorrowland to the Downtown Disney Station. Or you can enjoy a round trip ride with great views of Fantasyland, California Adventure Park and a glimpse of the Grand Californian Hotel.

The Disneyland Monorail System opened on June 14, 1959 as a sightseeing attraction. Guests could board a Mark I monorail car and take a short .8 mile loop around Tomorrowland. Just two short years later in 1961, the track was lengthened to 2.5 miles, which allowed it to leave the park and stop at a station near the Disneyland Hotel. Now, the monorail system is used as a true form of transportation for hotel guests.

In 1961, the Mark I cars were replaced with the updated Mark II trains. The Mark II trains were very similar to the Mark I, but two extra cars were added to increase passenger capacity. These train cars were used until 1968 when the new Mark III’s were introduced, which were more streamlined and efficient.

The Mark III train cars remained in operation until 1987 when Disneyland began phasing them out one by one. They were then taken and stripped to the chassis and rebuilt into Mark V monorail trains, which are still being used today.

In 2004, Monorail Orange was taken off the line and brought to Walt Disney Imagineering to be reverse engineered into the new Mark VII trains, which are scheduled to be completed and installed sometime in 2007.

Guests attending the Disneyland Resort should be warned of the Monorails limited operation. Since August 2006, the Monorail has been in shuttle mode, meaning it is only using one half of the track to and from the hotel in preparation of the opening of Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. The Monorail should return to its normal operating route in 2007 with a whole revamp of the system, including a name change (Disneyland Resort Line) and aesthetic changes to cast member uniforms and stations.

Additional trivia and fun facts

• In the early years there were two ways to access the monorail. One was from inside the park in Tomorrowland. The other was the people who purchased a ticket to just ride the monorail without admission to the park. To prevent those from entering the park without paying, persons buying only a monorail ticket would be loaded in a separate compartment which would remain locked until the monorail returned to the hotel.
• From 1987-1989, the Mark V trains were named by the color of the strip on the train; Monorail Red, Monorail Blue, Monorail Orange, and Monorail Purple.
• The ribbon was cut at the Disneyland Monorail dedication ceremony by then Vice President Richard Nixon.
• The Disneyland Monorail was the first daily operating monorail system in the United States and the western hemisphere.
• In 1961 the Disneyland Monorail became the first to cross a public street.
• When originally built, every mile of the monorail track cost more than 1 million dollars.