The Disney Monorail: Imagineering the Highway in the Sky

On June 14, 1959, Walt Disney s Monorail opened at Tomorrowland in Disneyland and became the first daily operating monorail in the Western Hemisphere. Tomorrow offers new frontiers in science, adventure, and ideals: the Atomic Age . . . the challenge of outer space . . . and the hope for a peaceful and unified world, Walt Disney had said of his future-forward park area; so, it s no surprise that Walt had planned for a Tomorrowland-based monorail starting in the early days of the property s development.

However, finding the right partner for this proved more challenging, and it wasn t until 1958 that Walt became aware of a special monorail created by the German-based Alweg Corporation; their monorail was practically silent as it moved along its singular track, elevated by elegant slim beams. Walt asked his WED Enterprises Imagineers to partner with Alweg and fashion a sci-fi/fantasy train fit for the park. They devised two trains, each with three slender cabins and an innovative bubble-top window at the front. The exteriors of what would become known as the Mark I trains were mostly chrome, with one painted a shiny red and the other a burnished blue.

Riders on what was originally named the Disneyland-Alweg Monorail System were offered a unique round-trip above the park s grounds, although Walt knew it could be so much more, envisioning it as a practical mass transit solution. By 1961 the Mark II trains debuted with design improvements; a third gold train also joined the fleet, and track extensions connected the park with a station near the Disneyland Hotel to offer guests a convenient transportation option. From there, this mid-century modern marvel has captured the hearts and imaginations of fans around the world.

In The Disney Monorail: Imagineering the Highway in the Sky, discover how this transportation icon has evolved through the years, and across the parks, thanks to a lively narrative and historical visual-development art and photographs.