Bye-bye Alweg

The Monorail cruises by the it's a small world attraction, circa June 1970. Zooming in to see the bubble (another detail obsession of mine), I noticed that “Alweg” was still part of the attraction name.



Still there in August 1975:



…and the bubble, too!



But as you can see in the genuine ©FauxD image from July 1978…



Alweg had gotten the boot!



See more Disneyland Monorail photos at my main website.

Disneyland Monorail Red, July 1965

In this July 1965 image, you get the Disneyland Monorail, the Disneyland Hotel sign (which looks somewhat similar to the one that was on Harbor Boulevard), AND the Disneyland Hotel. Unfortunately, zooming in the sign is too blurry to read.

Don’t worry about it; in my collection I have a 1966 image that shows the Hotel sign:

Here’s the one that was on Harbor Boulevard, circa July 1965:

This view of the Park entrance was taken from the Monorail, July 1965:

Hope you all enjoy the weekend!

See more Disneyland Monorail photos at my main website.

Bubble Crazy

Call me crazy, but I do love that bubble at the top of the old Monorail! This September 1962 is a postcard-perfect view of it, along with the Matterhorn and the Skyway overhead.

BTW: I'm also crazy about the original round buckets, too.

I have to give equal time to Monorail Red’s bubble; this one is also from the 1960’s: 

The bubble was only located on one side of the Monorail, even though they traveled both ways, as you can see from this 1960’s image shot from the parking lot.

See more Disneyland Monorail photos at my main website.

More Monorail-mania!

Although I still love riding the Monorail, there is something about the original sleek design that the current one can't hold a candle to. Here's how it looked only a few months out of the gate, circa October 1959. I really miss the cool bubble up top. Anybody out there know why they got rid of it?



Best known for its red color, the yellow is pretty impressive, too, as seen in this October 1962 image:



Zooming in to see the Monorail name and tire tread design from the Yacht Bar below:



See more Daveland Disneyland Monorail photos at my main website.

Nehru at Disneyland

The Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, visited the United States for ten days in 1961 after a series of conferences with President Kennedy. Time Magazine published his itinerary:

By Kennedy standards of hospitality, the program planned for Jawaharlal Nehru's official U.S. visit this week is as austere as vegetable curry. Wryly mindful of the pomp and circumstance unlimbered for his old foe, Pakistan's Ayub Khan, India's Prime Minister expressly requested Washington to forgo "medieval splendor." From a private luncheon with President Kennedy at Newport to an address before the U.N. General Assembly, from Broadway's Camelot to California's Disneyland, Nehru's crowded schedule barely left him time to change the perennial red rose on his achkan tunic.

Walt was Nehru's personal tour guide, as can be seen in these three photos from that day. Here's the caption that accompanied them:

ANAHEIM, Calif., Nov. 12—SEEING THE SIGHTS AT DISNEYLAND—With host Walt Disney, right, pointing out the sights, Prime Minister Nehru of India rides in an electric car as he makes a tour of Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. today. The Indian leader is in Southern California for a three-day visit. In the background is one of the stations on the monorail system which operates at Disneyland.



Nehru also happened to be the father of Indira Gandhi. In addition, his visit to Disneyland was 2 days before his 72nd birthday. According to Neal Gabler's biography of Walt Disney, Disneyland was the main reason Nehru wanted to visit the U.S.:

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India told Los Angeles mayor Samuel Yorty that the main reason he was visiting the area was to see Disneyland, and Nehru's daughter said, "We looked forward to Disneyland as much as anything on our trip." Nehru spent three hours there.



Although he didn't design The Nehru Jacket, it was renamed in his honor.

See more vintage & current Disneyland photos on my Disneyland web pages.

A Vision of Beauty!

Normally, I feel the need to post multiple photos each day. Today's image stands alone very well, don't you think? This July 1962 shot of both the red and blue Monorails is probably one of my favorites from my collection. The cascading waterfall from the Submarine Voyage in the background is a nice bonus for this amazing composition, don't you think?

See more vintage & current Disneyland Monorail photos on my Monorail web page.

Disneyland in Focus: '59 & The Monorail

1959 was one of the most exciting years in the park, and even garnered its own TV Special, entitled "Disneyland ’59." Today’s entry into this series focuses on the Monorail. First came the Viewliner; as you can see from the photo, Walt was purty excited about this narrow guage miniature train, but as I have said before, it looked like a toy. Walt knew that this train was not going to be the wave of the future of transportation.



According to this drawing, the original Monorail would have hung from a beam rather than glide on top like it does today. From what I have read, Walt was not happy with this version.



On a trip to Germany, he saw the Alweg Monorail in Cologne and realized that what he had in mind was actually possible:



This John Hench rendering was more to his liking, and shows the Monorail that we all know and love today:



In this shot, you can see the construction of the track shortly before opening, as the workers rush to meet the deadline:



Walt truly believed that this mode of transportation was the wave of the future, and that city traffic would be greatly reduced when Monorails were installed. What I wouldn’t give to see a Monorail installed here in Southern California to help alleviate the mess on the freeways! As a little tease for part 2 tomorrow, here is a gleaming image from June 1959, the opening month of the Monorail; it just doesn’t get better than this, folks!



See more vintage & current Monorail photos at my regular website. Meanwhile in media-land, “Sleeping Beauty,” the Platinum Edition, is about to hit the streets, and boy is it a beauty (pun intended)!









The section of extras on the Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle Diorama is not to be missed.

The Monorail Trio

With over 270 posts, it’s easy to forget what’s been posted already. The other day, the Major pointed out that there were a few Monorail pics from my collection that hadn’t made it to the blog, so today I will rectify the situation. First up is one from August 1960 of the Blue Monorail. If you look closely, you can see a little Mermaid action in the lagoon, as well as the old round-style Skyway buckets above. Shot two is from June 1963 (sans Mermaid action); a nice shot of the escalator and the rear of the Monorail. This one appears to be the rare brown Monorail (can’t wait to see the comments on that one...)



The final pic for today is a Panavue slide that shows the typical color shift which I have attempted to correct as much as possible.



See more vintage and contemporary Disneyland Monorail photos at my main website.