Walt Disney World Railroad takes you on a 20-minute scenic tour around Magic Kingdom theme park on one of 4 antique steam-powered engines with stops at Main Street, U.S.A., Frontierland and Fantasyland.
The Walt Disney World Railroad stops at a station every 4 to 10 minutes, and it is the perfect way to get orientated at the beginning of a fun day at Magic Kingdom Park-or a fantastic place to get away from the action, rest your feet, kick back, relax and enjoy the magnificent scenery.
The railroad trains are all meticulously restored antique freight trains. The 4 trains-named Lilly Belle, Roy O. Disney, Roger E. Broggie and Walter E. Disney-were built in the United States around the turn of the 20th century and taken to Mexico. They enjoyed long careers working for the United Railways of Yucatan hauling sugarcane, until they were spotted by Disney scouts in 1969 and brought to Walt Disney World Resort for opening day on October 1, 1971. They have been happily circling the 1.5-mile track around the Park ever since.
Walt Disney had a great love for railroad trains. He even built his own miniature railroad at his home in California. It was named the Carolwood Pacific Railroad, and railroad fans will want to check out the Carolwood Pacific Railroad Room at Disney's Wilderness Lodge. Because of this, the Magic Kingdom has featured vintage, steam-powered trains since its opening in 1971. One of the first things visitors to the Magic Kingdom see as they approach the park is the Main Street Railroad Station -- and one of the first sounds they hear is likely a train's steam whistle.
You can board the Walt Disney World Railroad at any of its three stations: the main station on Main Street, U.S.A.; the station in Frontierland; and the one in Mickey's Toontown Fair. You can also depart at any of these stations, or stay on board for the full 1.5-mile grand-circle tour, which takes about 20 minutes. A recorded narration describes the sights you're seeing as you make the circuit around the park at a leisurely, 10-12 mph pace.
The railroad operates daily, taking its first passengers at 9 AM, year-round. In the past, for safety reasons, it was closed during the fireworks show due to its proximity to the staging area (about 100 yards (91 m) or so behind Fantasyland). Currently the policy is to move the trains back to the roundhouse one hour before fireworks. The trains do not operate during special events such as Mickey's Pirate and Princess Party, Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. A round trip on the WDWRR takes approximately 20 minutes.
Touring Tips
- Hop aboard the railroad at the Main Street station at park opening and you can reach Splash Mountain in Frontierland before the crowds get there.
- The railroad usually runs until just before the evening's fireworks. In fact, the elevated Main Street station is a terrific, and extremely popular, fireworks and parade viewing area.
- There are some great views of the back side of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad from the train.
- Waiting for the Walt Disney Railroad at the Main Street train station? Put a quarter into the Antique Music Box located in the waiting room to hear a selection of tunes. Or put a coin into some of the other machines scattered around the station to watch a short movie.
- Another spot for train buffs is the Carolwood Pacific Room, located in the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge. This sitting room features railroad memorabilia, including a special exhibit on loan from the Disney family, with two of Walt Disney's personal scale-model train cars and a piece of the original track. The art and architecture of the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge tell of the pioneers who built and stayed in late 19th century railroad hotels in the national parks region of the American West.
Facts
- Opened October 1, 1971.
- Operated by Main Street Operations, the 3 ft (914 mm) gauge, 1.5-mile (2.4 km) railroad circles the entire park with stations at Main Street, U.S.A. and Frontierland, and Fantasyland (formerly Mickey's Toontown Fair).
- If you can't get enough of trains, you may want to take the "The Magic Behind Our Steam Trains Tour," a two-hour behind-the-scenes peek at the Walt Disney World Railroad.
- The four locomotives, which hauled both freight and passengers in the Yucatan, were renamed the Walter E. Disney, the Roy O. Disney, the Lilly Belle and the Roger E. Broggie. (Broggie was an Imagineer who also was a train fanatic.)
- The locomotives were built in the U.S. between 1916 and 1928 and were sent to the Yucatan where they were used to haul freight. Walt was a passionate railroad fan and had them brought to Disney World where they've transported guests since the park opened.
- One of the busiest steam-powered railroads, it transports over 1.5 million passengers each year.
- A regular train consists of a steam locomotive, tender, and five passenger coaches with a total capacity of approximately 365 passengers and 2 wheelchairs. The tender has a capacity for 1,837 US gallons (6,954 L) of water and 664 US gallons (2,514 L) of fuel oil. The tender must be topped off with water every three or four trips (or circuits) around the park, which is done at the water tower located at Fantasyland Station.
- Several show scenes were built for viewing from the trains, including a jungle-themed railroad crossing in Adventureland, the flooded town of Tumbleweed at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, a Plains Indians camp and various small vignettes featuring woodland wildlife such as deer, moose, alligators, frogs and rattlesnakes.
- Main Street Station was modeled after and closely resembles the former Victorian era railroad depot at Saratoga Springs, New York.
History
Walt Disney was an avid railroad enthusiast, who had built a miniature steam railroad, called the Carolwood Pacific Railroad, in his backyard. A full-size, narrow gauge railroad known as the Disneyland Railroad had been included in the design of Disneyland, and would be included at later parks in Tokyo, Paris and Hong Kong. For Walt Disney World, Disney scouts Roger Broggie and Earl Vilmer found and purchased five locomotives from Ferrocarriles Unidos de Yucatan (United Railways of Yucatan) on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula in 1969.
One of the five, deemed to be in too poor a condition to be restored, was sold and presumed scrapped. The other four were brought by rail to the Tampa Shipyards in Tampa, Florida and restored by a crew headed by Disney Imagineer and accomplished live steam builder Bob Harpur. New boilers were constructed for the trains by Dixon Boiler Works of Los Angeles, California and the locomotives themselves were cosmetically backdated to appear older; which included the addition of diamond smoke stacks, boiler jackets, as well as the use of bright colors and polished brass. The tenders were also completely rebuilt and new fiberglass cabs were manufactured and installed on the locomotives. In addition, a total of twenty open-air excursion cars were constructed at the shipyards, each of which could seat up to seventy five passengers. The trains went into service with the opening of Walt Disney World on October 1, 1971.
During 1989-1990, the train played different versions of a song called "Mickey's Birthdayland Express" and "Rollin' on the Walt Disney World Express". After departing Frontierland, the train traveled to Duckberg Station in what was then named Mickey's Birthdayland. During November 1990 - 1991, when Splash Mountain was under construction, the train had only one destination: it went backwards to Mickey's Starland, and then forward back to Main Street U.S.A. It was also during this time that the original Frontierland Station was demolished to make way for Splash Mountain and the current Frontierland Station was constructed.
In recent years, several of the locomotives and some of the passenger coaches have been overhauled. Key modifications to the passenger coaches have involved moving the PA system/conductor's spiel panel from a position on the rear of the third car to the rear platform on the last car. This lets the conductor see the entire train at one time which allows for safer operation. Side panels were added to the outside-facing sides of the coaches in 2009 to keep passengers from sticking their legs and feet outside of the cars. One set of coaches does not have these outside-facing panels because it is used exclusively for the park opening ceremonies that are held each morning. Characters ride the train to Main Street Station, disembark on the outer station platform and participate in the park opening song and dance performance.
On February 12, 2011, Mickey's Toontown Fair was permanently closed to make way for an expansion to Fantasyland. As a result, the Toontown Station was closed and demolished and a new Fantasyland Station was built in its place. Following the closure of Toontown Station, a new on-board narration was introduced, which referenced the Fantasyland expansion and referred to the former Toontown Station stop as the "Watering Outpost" during construction since trains were still required to stop there in order to top off the tender with water and maintain the railroad's operating schedule. The new Fantasyland Station opened on March 12, 2012. It features restroom facilities and is themed to the Casey Junior Circus Train from the Dumbo animated film.
Hidden Mickey
- Just before arriving at Frontierland Station, trains pass through Splash Mountain, where the ride's finale scene is visible along with a "Hidden Mickey".