Global InformationRail transport in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts information
Yes, in one way or another I have always loved trains.
—Walt Disney[1][2]
Rail transport can be found in every theme park resort property owned or licensed by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, one of the four business segments of the Walt Disney Company.[3][4] The origins of Disney theme park rail transport can be traced back to Walt Disney himself and his personal fondness for railroads, who insisted that they be included in the first Disney park, the original Disneyland (a key component of the Disneyland Resort) in California in the United States, which opened on July 17, 1955.[5][6] The Disney tradition of including transport by rail in, and adjacent to, its parks has since been extended to other Disney properties with the opening of Walt Disney World in Florida in the United States,[7] Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan,[8] Disneyland Paris in France,[9] Hong Kong Disneyland Resort in China,[10] and Shanghai Disney Resort in China.[11] The Disney theme park chain is the largest on the planet by annual attendance with over 155 million visitors in 2019, and the rail systems located inside its properties play key roles as modes of transportation and as attractions for its visitors.[12]
Each Disney theme park resort has a rail transport system serving its general resort area, whether it is a monorail system located inside the Disney resort properties in the United States and Japan,[13][14][15] or a conventional rail system connecting external rail networks to the Disney resorts in France and China.[16][17][18] The Disneyland Monorail System in California was the first monorail system in the United States; the Walt Disney World Monorail System in Florida, with an estimated 150,000 passengers per day, is one of the busiest monorail systems in the world.[19][20] Both Disney park resort properties in the United States, as well as those in Japan and France, contain theme parks that feature genuine steam-powered railroads.[21] The Disney park chain has one of the world's largest private collections of operational steam locomotives, with seventeen in total spread across the globe.[21] Additional rail systems within the theme parks in both United States resorts and the Hong Kong resort resemble steam-powered railroads, but their locomotives are powered by internal combustion engines.[22][23][24] Other rail transport modes found in Disney parks include horse-drawn streetcar rail lines within both resorts in the United States and the resort in France,[25][26][27] replica vintage electric rail lines in California and Japan,[28][29] and a people mover in Florida.[30]
- ^ Broggie (2014), p. 17.
- ^ Broggie (2014), p. 355.
- ^ "The Walt Disney Company Announces Strategic Reorganization". Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media. Archived from the original on March 29, 2018. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
- ^ "Walt Disney Parks and Resorts – Overview". Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Archived from the original on August 13, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
- ^ Broggie (2014), pp. 12–15.
- ^ Amendola (2015), p. 9.
- ^ Smith, Thomas (October 1, 2010). "This Day in History: Walt Disney World Resort Officially Opens – 1971". Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Archived from the original on May 3, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ "Tokyo Disney Resort". Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Archived from the original on February 25, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ "Disneyland Paris". Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Archived from the original on February 24, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ "Hong Kong Disneyland". Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Archived from the original on February 25, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ "Shanghai Disney Resort". Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Archived from the original on February 25, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ "TEA/AECOM 2019 Theme Index and Museum Index: The Global Attractions Attendance Report" (PDF). TEA/AECOM. 2020. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 23, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- ^ "Disneyland Monorail System – official website". Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Archived from the original on February 20, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
- ^ "Disney Monorail Transportation – official website". Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Archived from the original on August 24, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ "Disney Resort Line – official website". The Oriental Land Company. Archived from the original on November 13, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
- ^ "Disneyland Paris by Train". Euro Disney S.C.A. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ "By MTR". Hong Kong International Theme Parks. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
- ^ "Getting to Shanghai Disney Resort by Shanghai Metro". Shanghai International Theme Park Company. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
- ^ Broggie (2014), p. 305.
- ^ Freed, Benjamin (May 24, 2016). "Florida Congressman Wants Metro to Be More Like Disney World Monorail". Washingtonian. Archived from the original on May 25, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- ^ a b DeGaetano (2015), p. 273.
- ^ Kelley, Ed (January 3, 2002). "Arrow Dynamics and The Amusement Park Train". Discover Live Steam. Archived from the original on February 19, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ Broggie (2014), p. 385.
- ^ Amendola (2015), pp. 176–177.
- ^ "Disneyland Main Street Vehicles – official website". Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
- ^ "Magic Kingdom Main Street Vehicles – official website". Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Archived from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
- ^ "Disneyland Park (Paris) Horse-Drawn Streetcars – official website". Euro Disney S.C.A. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
- ^ "Red Car Trolley – official website". Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Archived from the original on January 3, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ "DisneySea Electric Railway – official website (in Japanese)". The Oriental Land Company. Archived from the original on June 22, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ "Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover – official website". Walt Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products. Archived from the original on September 17, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.