Anaheim Area Blog

For guests staying at Best Western Plus Stovall’s Inn, the Monorail is worth knowing about before a Disneyland visit. You may decide to ride simply for the experience, use it to give tired feet a break or incorporate the Downtown Disney station into your plans.

Here’s what to know before hopping aboard Disneyland’s “highway in the sky.”

More Than a Way to Get Around

It’s easy to think of a monorail purely as transportation, but Disneyland’s version is also an attraction in its own right.

A complete trip covers approximately 2.5 miles and takes about 13 minutes. Because much of the route is elevated, the windows provide a perspective on Disneyland that you won’t get while walking through the park.

There are no drops or thrill-ride elements. Instead, expect a smooth journey aboard one of Disneyland’s sleek Mark VII trains.

Disney currently operates three trains: Monorail Red, Monorail Blue and Monorail Orange.

Where Does the Disneyland Monorail Go?

The Monorail makes a loop through the Disneyland Resort, but there are only two stations where passengers board and exit.

The first is the Tomorrowland station inside Disneyland Park, located above Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.

The second is the Downtown Disney District station.

Between those stations, the elevated route passes through several areas of the resort. From the train, you’ll get views of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, pass the Matterhorn Bobsleds and travel through portions of the resort that look very different from above.

The route also passes areas of Disney California Adventure, including Grizzly Peak, Buena Vista Street and Hollywood Land, but the Monorail does not stop inside that park. For practical purposes, visitors should think of it as a Disneyland Park attraction and transportation option between Tomorrowland and Downtown Disney.

Yes, You Can Ride a Complete Loop

You don’t have to use the Monorail simply to travel from one station to the other.

If you’re interested primarily in the experience, the full approximately 13-minute circuit provides an easy way to enjoy the entire route.

That can be particularly appealing later in the day when your family has already logged thousands of steps around Disneyland.

Instead of another attraction that involves a lengthy walk or a more intense experience, the Monorail lets you sit down and watch the resort pass by outside the windows.

Entering Disneyland Through the Monorail

One of the Monorail’s most useful features is that the Downtown Disney station can serve as an entrance into Disneyland Park.

Guests with valid Disneyland Park admission can board at Downtown Disney and travel directly to Tomorrowland rather than entering through Disneyland’s Main Entrance.

You’ll still need appropriate theme park admission, and Disney’s current admission requirements apply. The Monorail isn’t a way to enter Disneyland without a ticket.

Once aboard, however, you’re transported into the park and arrive at the Tomorrowland station above Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.

This can be convenient when you’re already spending time in Downtown Disney and want to return to Disneyland without walking back to the main entrance.

Where You’ll Arrive in Tomorrowland

The Disneyland station puts you right into one of the park’s most attraction-packed areas.

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage is immediately below the station, while other Tomorrowland attractions are nearby.

That makes the Monorail particularly useful if Tomorrowland is your next destination anyway.

On the other hand, don’t assume the Monorail is always the fastest way to reach somewhere on the opposite side of Disneyland. Where you’re starting, where you’re going, how long the Monorail line is and when the next train arrives can all affect whether it actually saves time.

Sometimes it’s transportation. Sometimes it’s simply a fun way to get there.

What Will You See Along the Way?

The elevated perspective is a major part of the attraction.

Disney specifically highlights views of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, including the Matterhorn Bobsleds. The route continues above portions of Disney California Adventure, through Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa and across the Downtown Disney District before completing its circuit.

That variety makes the ride interesting even if you’ve already explored Disneyland on foot.

Some of the best moments are simply watching familiar landmarks appear from a completely different angle.

If you’ve spent the morning navigating Disneyland at ground level, looking down on portions of the resort from the Monorail can help you appreciate just how much is packed into the surrounding area.

A Disneyland Attraction with No Height Requirement

The Monorail is an any-height attraction, making it something families with children of different ages can experience together.

That’s useful at Disneyland, where some of the park’s biggest attractions have minimum height requirements.

There isn’t a thrill factor to worry about either. The experience is primarily a scenic elevated train ride, making it considerably gentler than Disneyland’s roller coasters and other high-energy attractions.

For younger children, the train itself may be the attraction. Watching a colorful Monorail glide overhead is one thing. Getting to climb aboard and ride through Disneyland is another.

How Long Does the Ride Take?

Disney describes the complete Monorail journey as approximately 2.5 miles and 13 minutes round trip.

Trains are generally scheduled to run approximately every 10 minutes.

Those numbers are useful for understanding the attraction, but don’t plan your day down to the minute around them. Your total time will also depend on how many people are waiting to board and current operating conditions.

If you’re using the Monorail purely for transportation, it’s worth considering the line before deciding whether riding will actually be quicker than walking.

When the Monorail Makes the Most Sense

There are a few situations where riding can fit particularly well into a Disneyland day.

When you want a break from walking: Disneyland vacations involve a remarkable amount of time on your feet. A scenic ride can be a welcome change of pace.

When you’re heading between Tomorrowland and Downtown Disney: This is where the Monorail functions most obviously as transportation.

When someone in your family loves trains: Don’t underestimate this one. For some children and transportation enthusiasts, the Monorail is every bit as memorable as a traditional ride.

When you’ve visited Disneyland before: Repeat visitors often have more freedom to slow down and experience attractions they may have skipped while chasing the headliners on an earlier trip.

When you simply want the full loop: You don’t need a transportation reason. Riding the Monorail because you want to ride the Monorail is reason enough.

One of Disneyland’s Most Important Pieces of History

The Monorail isn’t a modern transportation system added as Disneyland expanded. Its history stretches back to the Walt Disney era.

The original Disneyland-Alweg Monorail debuted in June 1959 as part of a major expansion of Tomorrowland.

At the time, the streamlined train looked like something transported directly from the future.

That was the point.

Disneyland’s Tomorrowland wasn’t merely about spaceships and science fiction. Walt Disney was interested in presenting optimistic ideas about technology, transportation and what the future might look like.

The Monorail offered visitors an opportunity to experience a radically different type of transportation for themselves.

Disney describes it as the first transportation system of its kind in America.

The Monorail Has Changed Along with Disneyland

The trains you see today aren’t the same vehicles that circled Disneyland in 1959.

Several generations of Monorail trains have operated over the decades as the system evolved.

Today’s Mark VII trains combine the sweeping, futuristic appearance associated with the original Disneyland Monorail with newer technology and design updates.

The current system uses a 600-volt DC power source and produces no direct exhaust or pollutants while operating.

More than six decades after the first train began carrying Disneyland visitors, the sight of a Monorail gliding through Tomorrowland still feels appropriately futuristic.

Can You Ride at Night?

Depending on the day’s operating schedule, riding after dark can give you a different view of the resort as lights begin illuminating the parks and Downtown Disney.

There is an important catch, however.

Disney notes that the Monorail may close to accommodate fireworks performances.

That means you shouldn’t assume you’ll be able to rely on it as transportation at a particular time late in the evening.

Check the Disneyland app for current operating information before walking to a station, particularly if nighttime entertainment is approaching.

Don’t Rely on Yesterday’s Operating Hours

Monorail hours can change from one date to another.

Disney publishes operating times for individual days, and temporary closures can occur because of fireworks, operational needs or other conditions.

Rather than building your itinerary around hours listed in an older travel article, check the Disneyland app on the day of your visit.

The same advice applies if you plan to use the Downtown Disney station to enter or return to Disneyland. Confirm that the Monorail is operating before making it an essential part of your route.

Is the Disneyland Monorail Worth Riding?

For first-time visitors, it’s easy to overlook the Monorail because Disneyland has so many famous attractions competing for your time.

But this is one of the rare Disneyland experiences that manages to be useful transportation, a scenic ride and an important piece of park history all at once.

If your itinerary is packed and attraction wait times are low, you don’t necessarily need to abandon everything to ride it immediately.

Instead, look for an opportunity when it fits naturally into your day.

Ride from Tomorrowland toward Downtown Disney. Use it to return to Tomorrowland later. Or simply take the complete loop when everyone is ready to sit down for a few minutes.

The Monorail doesn’t need to be the centerpiece of your Disneyland day to be worth experiencing.

A Classic Disneyland Experience That’s Still Going Somewhere

Many Disneyland attractions transport guests to imaginary worlds. The Monorail represented something slightly different when Walt Disney introduced it: an idea about how people might actually travel in the future.

That history gives the ride a character all its own.

Today, you can climb aboard, look out over Tomorrowland and the Matterhorn, circle through the resort and arrive in Downtown Disney or right back inside Disneyland Park.

Guests staying at Best Western Plus Stovall’s Inn can make the Monorail one part of a Disneyland vacation built around exploring the park at their own pace. Whether you use it for transportation or simply want to experience a Disneyland original from the Walt Disney era, it’s worth looking up the next time one of those colorful trains glides overhead.