Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Disneyland Monorail System
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Disneyland Monorail System | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Locale | Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, California |
| Transit type | Straddle-beam monorail |
| Began operation | June 14, 1959 |
| System length | 2.5 mi (4.0 km) |
| No. of lines | 1 |
| No. of stations | 2 |
| Operator | Walt Disney Parks and Resorts |
The Disneyland Monorail System is an attraction and transportation system at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, USA. It was the first daily operating monorail in the western hemisphere as well as the first in the United States.
Contents |
The Disneyland-ALWEG Monorail System opened on June 14, 1959 as a sightseeing attraction in Tomorrowland in Disneyland. In 1961, the track was lengthened to leave the park and stop at a station near the Disneyland Hotel. The Mark II trains were very similar to Mark I, but two extra cars were added to the train to increase capacity. In 1968, the new Mark III's, which were more streamlined and efficient than the Mark II's, debuted. There were two forms of access to the monorail. Persons who were leaving the park or persons at the hotel who had purchased tickets to enter the park could purchase a single ticket to go to the hotel or from the hotel to the entrance in Tomorrowland, respectively. Persons who had not purchased admission to the park could purchase a ticket to ride the monorail from the hotel station, into the park, and back to the hotel station. To prevent them from entering the park without paying, persons buying a monorail ticket who did not have a park admission would be loaded in a separate compartment which would remain locked until the monorail returned to the hotel.
Walt Disney originally envisioned the monorail as a practical form of public transport for the future. Unfortunately, the monorail came about during a time when America's - and particularly Los Angeles' - love affair with the automobile was building up, and monorails in the United States came to be associated only with Disney's theme parks. [1]
In 1986, Disneyland began phasing out the old Mark III trains one by one. The older trains were stripped to the chassis and rebuilt as Mark V monorail trains. The old Mark III Green went first, to become the new Mark V Purple followed by the Mark III Yellow becoming the Mark V Orange. The Mark III Blue stayed blue (albeit a lighter shade) and the last to go was Red, remaining Red. The notable difference was the loss of the bubble top drivers area in favor of a streamlined "Learjet" look similar to the trains at the Walt Disney World Resort. The new trains also sported closed passenger compartments (with openable windows) and neumatic door systems. Following the 1985 Disney World monorail fire, a safety handrail was added to the design along the spine of the train as well as emergency fire exit hatches leading to the roof for each car. 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. Purple first made her appearance on the beam for testing in the Autumn of 1986 and finally began taking passengers on regular operational runs a few months later. Orange was delivered late in the 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 the Spring of 1988.
In 1999, the monorail began lengthy closures and limited capacity due to the construction of the new Disney's California Adventure theme park, which already existing monorail tracks passed through. In 2001, the monorail began running full capacity again and passed through the new park, as well as the hotel within the park, Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. In 2004, Monorail Orange was taken off the line and taken to Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale to be reverse engineered. Monorail Blue was removed from service in September 2006 and was shipped away to also be rebuilt. The monorail was closed from August 21 through late December 2006 to prepare for the opening of Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage in 2007. For the opening of Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage on June 11, 2007, the livery of Monorail Red was changed to almost completely yellow, with the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage logo on the middle car.
The new Mark VII trains are scheduled to be completed during the next few years, with a whole revamp of the system, including a name change (Disneyland Resort Line) and aesthetic changes to cast member uniforms and stations.[citation needed] The refurb is being done one train at a time, with the old Monorail Blue being redone first. The first Mark VII train, Monorail Red, arrived at the Disneyland Resort on December 20, 2007. Once it is placed into service, which should be in February of 2008, the other two Monorails (Mark V Red and Purple) will be sent for the same upgrading, one train at a time. The next monorail that should arrive is the Mark VII Blue Monorail which should arrive in late Spring of 2008, then the Monorail that should arrive is the Mark VII Orange Monorail which should arrive in late Summer of 2008.
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 underwent extensive remodeling during construction of the Downtown Disney district, while still retaining much of its original footprint. It is now referred to as Downtown Disney Station, located next to the Rainforest Cafe. All riders must disembark at Tomorrowland Station.
In the fall of 2006, the Tomorrowland Station was remodeled due to the new Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage construction. The original speed ramps were removed, and a new concrete ramp was added on the east end of the station to handle the queue and access to the station, with concrete stairs on the west end to handle the exiting Monorail passengers.
All passengers board at a single platform. Leaving Tomorrowland station, the monorail crosses the Disneyland Railroad and continues along Harbor Blvd. on the eastern edge of the park. Turning to enter Disney's California Adventure, it passes Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The track then crosses the "Golden Gate Bridge", the gateway to the California Adventure park. Passengers can see Disneyland on the right and the Disney's California Adventure on the left. The monorail then passes through Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa then makes a sharp curve to the right and enters the Downtown Disney station, with a forest theme, as it is adjacent to the Rainforest Cafe. The track is also covered with several jungle-themed canopies.
Downtown Disney station has one platform. After about a 5-minute loading, the doors close and the train leaves Downtown Disney and makes a short loop around the district before crossing above the esplanade between the two parks and heads back to Disneyland. Once in the park, the monorail crosses the railroad again and goes into a series of sharp bends and curves round Tomorrowland. The tracks travel above the Submarine Lagoon and Autopia. The track actually crosses the lagoon four times. The track then curves around the Matterhorn Bobsleds, giving a fantastic view of Fantasyland, then turns left to re-enter the Tomorrowland Station for alighting.
- When originally built every mile of monorail track cost over a million dollars (which computes to more than 620,000 dollars per kilometer).
- Grand opening: June 14, 1959
- Designer: WED Enterprises
- Trains: 4 - Red (currently painted light blue with 'A Year of a Million Dreams' logo and Tinkerbell at the front), Purple, Red (Mark VII, not yet running, formerly Mark V Blue), Orange (offline)
- Max Trains on Track: 3
- Track length: 2.5 Miles (4 kilometers)
- Ride duration: 13:00
- Ticket required: "E" (Ticket system is no longer implemented, anybody with a valid Disneyland ticket may ride for free.)
- Ride system: Monorail system powered by DC electric motors located on each car of the train, not just the front car
- Mark I - June 14, 1959
- 3-car trains
- Mark II - 1961 (Added with track expansion to Disneyland Hotel)
- 4-car trains
- Bigger dome on top of front car
- Mark III - 1969
- 5-car trains
- 137 feet (41.8 meters) long
- Mark V - January 23, 1987
- 5-car trains
- Seats 27 passengers in the three middle cars and 32 in the two end cars.
- Total number of passengers per train: 145
- Retained the chassis of the Mark III trains but replaced mechanical equipment systems, external panels and interior spaces to resemble the appearance of the Mark IV series monorails which were operating in the Walt Disney World Resort.
- Mark VII - December 20, 2007[2]
- Sleek/Retro Design
- New seating configuration.
- Designed and engineered in-house by Walt Disney Imagineering and TPI Composites
- Three Monorails being upgraded to the Mark VII, one Monorail at a time, to allow 2 Monorails to operate in the park at any one time.
- The first monorail, red, was delivered 12/20/2007 to the Disneyland Resort.
- It will be tested after hours, with public availability in February 2008.
- In the sing along songs video Disneyland Fun, during "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", the Monorail was briefly seen.
- ^ http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/Dsnylnd.html
- ^ Tully, Sarah. "New monorail arrives at Disneyland", The Orange County Register, 2007-12-20. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
- Incidents at Disney parks
- Walt Disney World Monorail System
- List of light-rail transit systems
- List of current Disneyland attractions
- WDW and Disneyland Monorail pictures
|
|
|---|
| Detroit People Mover • Disneyland Monorail • JTA Skyway • Miami-Dade Metromover • Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit • Las Colinas APT System • Las Vegas Monorail • Seattle Center Monorail • Walt Disney World Monorail |