No, this is not a world famous airline, or bus company, or cruise ship line, nor any major carrier in the country. This is the world famous Walt Disney World monorail system. The only function of this rail system is to transport Guests from the parking lots of the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT to the ticket and transportation center and to the only three resorts on property that have monorail stops: Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Polynesian Resort and Disney's Grand Floridian Beach Resort and Spa.

These figures are testament to the astronomical popularity of the Walt Disney World Theme parks in Central Florida. No other Monorail system in the world transports this volume of passengers. But how did this futuristic looking mode of transportation come to be in Walt's plans for his theme parks? Let's take a look at a short history of the Monorail itself. Contrary to what most people believe, Walt did not invent the Monorail nor was he first to envision its use. The Monorail has its beginnings more than 181 years ago! One of the first passenger Monorails began June 25th, 1825. This was the Chestnut Railway based on a patent by Henry Robinson Palmer. This Monorail was actually built to carry bricks, but ended up carrying passengers at its opening. This Monorail was pulled by one horse. Also in 1876, General Le-Roy demonstrated a steam powered Monorail at the United States Centennial Exposition.

In 1957 the German company ALWEG, of Cologne Germany began the most successful Monorail system, this same system the most widely used in the World today. This Monorail caught the attention of Walt Disney in that year. It was then that Walt's love of railroads and steam engines morphed into the Monorail train. He wanted one for Disneyland, and in 1959 Walt opened the Alweg Monorail in Disneyland. Because of this, the Alweg system became world known.

The Monorail trains used in Disneyland are as follows: MARK I- from 1959 to 1961 MARK II- from 1961 to 1969 and the MARK III- from 1969 to 1987 and the MARK V 1989-present. When Disney World opened in 1971, they used a fleet of MARK IV monorail trains built by the Alweg Co. The monorails when first opened used a dual rail-loop. One a clockwise loop for the resorts previously mentioned and the other, a counter-clockwise loop between the ticket and transportation center and the Magic Kingdom. In 1982, a four mile extension was added to EPCOT and the ticket and transportation center. This was an additional four miles. Today the total length of the system is 14.7 miles. Many guests wonder why Disney has not added Monorail transportation to all the parks and resorts. Well part of the reason is cost prohibitive. It costs an average of a million dollars per mile!

On opening day, Walt Disney World had a fleet of five Mark IV monorails, and an additional five were added later on. These were a little shorter than the present cars at 171 feet, but the additional five added were a little longer at 201 feet. These trains had to have Cast members manually close the doors. The fleet reached 12 cars in 1977. Realizing they needed an updated system, Walt Disney World held an international competition for the contract to build the new fleet. Bombardier, the largest mass-transit manufacturer in North America won out over all others. The new fleet was known as the MarkVI, began operation in 1989 with many improvements. These new trains had a 30% increase in passenger capacity, better sliding doors for easier egress and a better suspension for a quieter, smoother ride.

The beams that the Monorails ride on, as stated before cost on the average of 1 million dollars a mile. These beams are 26 inches wide and they have a Styrofoam core, wrapped by concrete and steel. Built in Oregon, they were shipped by rail to Florida. Over 400 beams were designed to follow the contours of the land, each supported by concrete columns, 110 feet apart. The Monorails are electric, power being fed to the trains not unlike your toy trains, by a bar running next to the beams. The trains, which run on rubber tires, 124 to each train are so super quiet that if you are eating at "Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Resort, you will hardly know that they are passing by upstairs at the resort station!

Each of the Monorails are identified by one of the following colored stripes: Black, blue, coral, gold, green, lime, orange, pink, purple, red, silver and yellow. The maintenance shop holds ten of the twelve Mark VI trains on the upper level; the lower level is for the Walt Disney Steam trains which circle the Magic Kingdom. There are always two Monorails parked outside the gate of the Magic Kingdom, but they will never be outside more than two nights in a row. Like the Walt Disney World Steam trains, the Monorail safety features are checked at least 3 times daily. This feature will automatically stop the train when another is detected ahead. Also, the gates in the stations are remotely operated to prevent guests from approaching the trains until it is deemed safely to do so. And the operators of a Monorail are called "Pilots", These pilots are a different group from the resort bus drivers and receive separate training.

Most of the guests who ride the Monorail rarely give it a second thought, much like the trams or the resort busses which whisk them to and fro to their Disney destinations. Many do not think of it as an "Attraction" but this writer does! I feel it is no different than the Walt Disney World Railroad, only in the way it operates, and the type of track it uses. So thanks to the Magic and imagination of Walt Disney, the Monorail, although not a modern conveyance has been burned into our psyche as the "Train of the Future"