The Disneyland Monorail Offers a New Amenity

The Disneyland Monorail is up and running again after several weeks of closure, but the reopening also brought back an old trick that’s been gone for years. The Daily Breeze reports that passengers may once again request to ride up front with the driver. Riding in the nose cone section of the vehicle affords a unique view of the park as the landmark transportation system glides through Tomorrowland en route to the Disneyland Hotel on a 2 ½ mile elevated beamway.

Monorail pilots will often tell stories and answer questions along the way. The first person to drive the Mark I Monorail when it launched on June 14, 1959 , was designer Bob Gurr . Gurr was one of the youngest Disney Imagineers when he took the wheel and shuttled Walt Disney and Vice President Richard Nixon on that first trip. “If it moves on wheels at Disneyland,” Gurr likes to quip. “I probably designed it.”

But even this 92-year-old Disney legend, busy with his YouTube show , bus tours, conventions, and signing his own line of Funko Pops , has a hard time riding shotgun. “When I’m at Disneyland with special guests, we have to ask the cast members if we can ride up front,” Gurr tells Los Angeles . “’You can get a ride, sure.’ They say. Then, they have to get approval at another level and then from another executive. It took an hour before we could get an answer.”

Gurr says the current generation of Mark VII Monorail cars have had problems with the front car for almost 20 years. “The redesigned Monorail turned out to be heavier and not near as functional as the ones I designed,” Gurr says. “The tires can only carry so much weight and you can’t operate it when the temperature is too high. They don’t have air conditioning. I had windows that went up and down like a car.”

The park has closed several popular rides this summer for extended refurbishments. The Disneyland Railroad, Jungle Cruise, and It’s a Small World are still down, as is Great Moment with Mr. Lincoln. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is set to replace Splash Mountain in November.

Gurr likes taking VIPs in the Monorail’s nose cone as well as to other lesser-known experiences like the Lily Belle private railroad car. “It’s a very special treat,” he says. “That car was only for the Disney family and visiting kings and queens from around the world. It’s a very precious artifact. It’s considered a high honor to ride on that car. Gurr says that the easiest way to board is by booking a tour with one of the official Disneyland tour guides, nicknamed plaids. He suggests asking about availability at City Hall.

“The fire engine is also treated like a special car,” Gurr says. “Once in a while if the driver has an empty car he’ll let you in. It holds 6 to 8 people, and you can get your whole group in there.” Another one of his favorite ride vehicles is the Omnibus on Main Street, U.S.A. Gurr advises lining up early to snag one of the upstairs seats, reached via a narrow spiral staircase. That’s where you might catch a glimpse of the window the park dedicated to him in 2008. “If you are on the right side, within one second of passing Starbucks you’ve got to spot the bicycle.” You can even buy a miniature replica of his window, which is mounted above a fictional shop called “Meteor Cycle Company.” Even though it’s cooler to see it from one of Gurr’s most famous vehicles, “It’s much easier to just go over on foot,” the retired gearhead says.

How Futurist Bob Gurr Shaped Disneyland’s Past