Credit: Inside the MagicDisneyland Resort just reopened an attraction that’s been closed since before the pandemic.
COVID-19 changed many things at Disneyland Resort. Following the onset of the virus, both parks—Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park—closed their doors on March 14, 2020, and remained shuttered until April 30, 2021.
When it did reopen, it did so under stringent health and safety guidelines. Guests were required to wear masks indoors until February 2022, with some elements of the typical Disney park experience taking even longer to return.
This includes the front of the monorail. For years, guests were able to sit in the nose of the Disneyland Monorail – the groundbreaking, ultra-fast, zero-emission transportation system debuted by Walt Disney himself in 1959 – while riding the train around the park.
While this hasn’t been an option since before the pandemic (and many assumed it was gone for good), Disney surprised guests this week by once again allowing guests to sit upfront.
X (formerly known as Twitter) user @Mouskegamer shared a video revealing the update, noting that the back of the Disney monorail remains unavailable. Regardless, we’ll take what we can get right now!
The Disneyland Monorail’s front seats officially reopened today! The ability to ride in the “nose cone” was off limits to guests since prior to the pandemic.
The very back of the monorail is still not available to ride for guests at this time.
The Disneyland Monorail’s front seats officially reopened today! The ability to ride in the “nose cone” was off limits to guests since prior to the pandemic.
The very back of the monorail is still not available to ride for guests at this time. pic.twitter.com/dJ4sZ0kdUI
— Mouskegamer (@Mouskegamer) September 14, 2024
For guests hoping to catch a ride, the Disneyland Monorail travels between two stations: the Downtown Disney District station and Tomorrowland station, right above Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.
The Disneyland Monorail is still marked as closed, having shut for refurbishment in August. It’s unclear whether it is currently in a soft opening or when it will reopen on a regular basis.
The train has a notably shorter track than Walt Disney World Resort’s monorail.
This spans 14.7 miles, with the Resort Monorail traveling between Magic Kingdom Park, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, and the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC), the EPCOT Monorail going direct between the TTC and EPCOT, and the Express Monorail traveling from the TTC to Magic Kingdom.
Notably, Disney World does not allow guests to sit upfront on its monorail. This follows a fatal accident in July 2009 when two monorail trains collided, resulting in the death of a 21-year-old cast member. The accident happened near the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC) when Monorail Pink was inadvertently routed onto a track occupied by Monorail Purple.
Tokyo Disney Resort also boasts its own monorail system. Known as the “Disney Resort Line,” this began operations on July 14, 2001, serving as a convenient and whimsical mode of transportation around the resort. The monorail connects Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea, and several associated hotels. Unlike its sister networks across the globe, this requires a paid ticket.
Do you prefer the monorail at Disney World or Disneyland?