Highway in the Sky: The Story of the Monorail

Give a listen to the FOOLISH MORTALS PODCAST: / @foolishmortals2901
Donate on Patreon for Early Access to Videos: / offhanddisney
Watch ALL The Offhand Live Streams: • Offhand Livestreams
Join the Offhand Discord: discordapp.com...
Offhand Merch is Available Now: teespring.com/...
Offhand Reddit: / offhanddisney
Video Credits:
Disneyland Monorail, LMGVids, • [2020] Disneyland Mono...
1970's Monorail Ride, RetroWDW, • 1970s Monorail Ride on...
Snow White's Enchanted Wish, LMGVids, • [2021] Snow White's En...
Viewliner, Walt's Nephew, • Disneyland Viewliner 1...
Vintage Monorail Footage, Walt's Nephew, • Disneyland Monorail 19...
Bob Gurr Monorail Story, InsideTheMagic, • Imagineer Bob Gurr del...
Bob Gurr Interview, AmericanCoasterEnthusiasts, • Bob Gurr Interview: Di...
Mark IV Monorail, Carol Kim Pedersen, • WDW Monorail - Mark IV...
Mark V Monorail, Carol Kim Pedersen, • Disneyland Monorail Ma...
Mark VI Glow, BlogMickey, • Glowing Monorail Enhan...
Monorail Malfunction, BlogMickey, • Monorail Red in Motion...
Imagineering the Mark VIII Monorail, MickeyViews, • BUILDING NEW MONORAILS...
Monorail News Clip, WKMG News 6, • Monorail incident at W...

[@jrios29]

Bob Gurr is the definition of a Disney Legend! If it moves in Disneyland, he probably designed it......AND he kidnapped the Vice President of the United States and never served a minute in prison! ABSOLUTE BEAST!

[@ShanKatOD]

Absolute icon 👑

[@aperson8414]

Easily one of my favorite disney history stories!

[@allovertheparks9690]

Easily a 2 time winner of the best human award

[@Handles_suck_ass]

Bob Gurr is based

[@onbearfeet]

One of my happier childhood memories is of sitting in the last car of a Mark V monorail with only my best friend--we were both about 11 years old--and watching an extraordinarily beautiful sunset through those wraparound windows, high enough up that it felt like we were IN the sky. It was probably the most magical experience of that trip.

[@jediali221]

Irony is Richard Nixon would make his 'I am not a crook' speech in the contemporary resort which has a monorail going through it.

[@jalapeno1119]

It's the circle of life ...

[@griffin4173]

I can’t help but smile from pure nostalgia seeing these monorails.

[@stuffingtonjfluffypantsiii]

I could listen to Bob Gurr's stories all day.

[@moonprincesst.s.h.4ever115]

"...UNTIL MICHAEL EISNER BROKE IT!" is something that all of the Disney fans have shouted at least once. 😂🤣

[@jalapeno1119]

This is the title of his next biography

[@Luke_Go]

Thank you Bob Gurr. Most people don't know you, but all of our lives are better because of you!!!

[@Trashious12345]

I love the monorail and recently went to MK with my "Please stand clear of the doors" shirt, and rode Blue to the park and they didn't play it. Yellow on the way out did play it so I was happy, but I didn't realize some play the sound bite, and some let the pilot/driver talk.

[@tselliott14545]

Walt took many cues from Europe travel - Tivoli Gardens and of course, Allweg Monorail. Walt was literally a "World's Fair" guy - seeking the latest technology around the world. He was bestvat marrying technology, story telling, and urban planning. One cool thing I did once was a "Transportation-Palooza" experience: took bus from Wilderness lodge to TTC; took paddle wheeler to MK. Then took train around. Then got on horse-drawn Street car up Main Street & back. Took monorail to EPCOT & back to MK. Then small boat back to Wilderness Lodge. So cool.

[@maxlabarbera3526]

Knowing Chapek, soon the monorail will require a reservation and boarding fee

[@GamingTeacher]

Coming soon, Monorail Fast Pass

[@Hessed3712]

I’m shocked he has not started charging for the parking lot tram.

[@maxlabarbera3526]

I’m surprised he didn’t keep the magical express and just upcharge it even more

[@Pissgremlin5964]

And it'll be themed to the incredibles

[@___David__]

Most of the cash-grabbing was put in place by that idiot Iger. Chapek just didn't reverse any decisions (yet). Because fanboys and fangirls keep going to the parks and giving them money, thus validating their decisions.

[@galashery7264]

My best memory of the mark 6 is riding at the front with the pilot as a kid when it was allowed(before the accident). It’s crazy that for a 4 year old boy after a day at MK the most fun I had that day was to ride the monorail in the driver’s cab from Grand Floridian to my beloved noodles establishment (I mean Poly). It was so cool I still remember it vaguely all those years ago. Today only the pilot is allowed at the front and me nor my family can afford any of the monorail resorts’ super inflated price tag, so I’ll make sure to hold on to that memory since there isn’t experiencing that again. At least I have a video of it. It’s funny but personally today when visiting I often like to take the ferry. The monorail takes ages to load. I usually try to make sure I do both. Thanks for the video mister Offhand

[@stephencarter1635]

Hello. I was a Monorail Operator at WDW opening. I am confused by the "CAST MEMBERS ONLY." Not there when I was. Also, the door could be opened manually, only if you had to open one door for something. The doors were opened by pushing the Black Buttons outside just behind the operator's door. One opened all doors, and there was one for each individual car. The telephones were not there. I left in late September 1974 and five others were selected as Trainers and Lead to open Space Mountain. It was in the last 90 days of the construction site. Wrote a training SOP, trained ourselves, and then began training 180 cast members for opening on January 15, 1975. There were "soft" or unannounced openings for a few hours during December. Lots of testing. Monorails again. When I left for Space Mountain, there were ten trains. The last one was Monorail Black. In fact, we had one African American supervisor, Josh Sledge, who brought it out of the Monorail Roundhouse, as it was called, even though it was not round. It only had five places for train maintenance. There was a few schedules that were overnight so that we could move the trains in and out as needed. We were all crazy. The stories are all true. I left Space Mountain and went to Cash Control. Then on April 7, 1979, I left Disney and spent thirty-seven years, and retired from Amerian Airlines. As of today, January 22, 2023, I am back in the Orlando area in a very quiet area living with my husband, a retired American Airlines Captain. He was one of the first openly gay pilots at the airline. I am still friends with some of the opening Monorail Drivers. The youngest of us cannot be less than 69 or 70 years old. I have not been to WDW in over 25 years and do not plan on ever driving past it in I-4. Be well, my friends. I will you all the best. Oh, I was able to entertain families, even on long-haul flights traveling to WDW by naming all of the Seven Dwarfs. That is all I can admit to.

[@Spartacus005]

Bob Gurr was a seismologist? AND he worked on the monorail?? He's my favorite human

[@alli_mode]

While i was living in Florida, I literally went to the park to ride the monorail once. It was closed. But I also like the ferry.

[@RetroVintageDisneyDev1971]

The mark 6 design of the monerail are great where they are... sure they need some patching up but otherwise they are great. Thanks for this amazing video of the monerails.

[@cuhloochy]

Im a central florida local and i go to disney more often than I can recall- and every single time I’m scared the monorail is going to break down. With the traffic disney has received recently… its needless to say we need an upgrade.

[@KLGChaos]

Went on them last week... had to take them from my shuttle drop off to Magic Kingdom and back. Was pretty cool doing through the Contemporary.

[@KevinThurman]

Thanks for the post. yes, we want more monorail videos. 👍 I would also watch an Offhand history on Bob Gurr

[@robertearhart4316]

Thanks for the excellent run-down! My son's favorite ride at Disneyland is the monorail, so much so that we bought him the momorail sign from Ye Olde Proppe Shoppe to hang in his room. I will definitely share this video with him.

[@SagaciousSilence]

This video was awesome! Please do more monorail videos! Fun fact: Seattle has the same Alweg monorails running through a portion of downtown. There was an initiative to expand monorails throughout the city, however that plan got rejected last minute.

[@MightYoungJoe]

@offhand Disney, Please Post more on how Michael I . Broke the people mover!

[@ShanKatOD]

My fave was my original at Disneyland, the Mark IV…and they smelled really good too…like what you’d figure The Future smelled like 👑

[@Mike_Plays]

I'd love to learn more about the Tokyo Disney monorail. It looks really cool from what I've seen.

[@flyyxmke]

I was a contractor working on them at Wdw in the mid 2000 or so. I thought they were made by Bombardier? At least that’s what I remember seeing on some of the parts. I know the Plc hmi was a Allen Bradley.

[@tannerburke9010]

Another great vid, thanks for your work man!

[@burneyboys02]

0:17 Who does Dallin think he is, Drax?😂😂😂

[@Taydar]

You forgot about the Tokyo Disneyland monorail.

[@zerocooler7]

So then, "mono" means one, and "rail" means rail! And that concludes our intensive three-week course.

[@brandonpiazza6210]

Totally with you on the smell!! But Disneyland Monorail really could use a second stop at DCA! I believe it was originally in the plans. It would serve as transport to DGC and the park. And it would be so easy! Just build a simple station next to Soarin’!

[@PoleTooke]

Monoraiiiiil, Monoraiiiiil, monoraiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiillllll! *jazz hands^

[@AdventureStop]

I found a WDW Mark IV Lime green monorail 🚝 in the Nevada desert!!!

[@hastypete2]

We once had the chance to ride the front of the Disneyland monorail in the evening. We were very surprised that as we rounded the park that we had a front row seat to the fireworks show. That was once in a lifetime. We couldn't have planned it if we tried.

[@ajbaird12]

I worked for Bombairder a few years ago (the company the built the Mark VI) and there were some credible rumors that we were in talks with Disney for new vehicles (Mark VIII). The company was in bad shape at the time however, and after a failed purchase by Seimens and eventual purchase by Alstom those talks were derailed. Now with Chapek in charge, those talks surely are dead.

[@pat370]

Well, sir, there's nothing on earth Like a genuine, bona fide Electrified, six-car monorail What'd I say?

[@BoyNamedSue4]

Monorail

[@estebanswan]

I hear those things are awfully loud

[@BoyNamedSue4]

@@estebanswan It glides as softly as a cloud

[@VioletWhirlwind]

I think I've only been on either Mark Five or Mark Six...probably Six if Five was only at the California park...because the last time I was at the California park, the monorails weren't running due to construction, if I recall correctly. That footage of the door hanging open though...scary...why are the people laughing about it? ._.

[@terraJosh]

we need a monorail to animal kingdom and the studios.

[@user-xe1zw7fl7l]

It’s so wild to me that the monorail is such a huge part of the experience for so many people. I’ve been to Disney world 7 times and only rode it for the first time this last trip. Where are y’all riding it to?

[@sarafulton1595]

More Monorail!

[@janmartenlocher]

Interesting Video, pls more Monorail Stories

[@falloutpictures]

There is already a mark VIII design by bombardier, but wdw is going to stretch out the mark VI as long as they can

[@LowellMorgan]

I hear those things are awfully loud.

[@CinnamonGrrlErin1]

They glide as gently as a cloud!

[@americanv8ss]

Serious question: Do you watch your videos before uploading?

[@memethyst]

the mark 6 with the lights underneath are the best looking but they probably should update them because they're pretty old at this point you should make a video on the monorails at the international parks, tokyo has a duffy themed one with fluffy seats

[@robertlinkroum1130]

Oh B A B Y, O U C H. The audio on this KZbin video needs to have the audio Limited / Compressed. I find my self adjusting to reduce the volume, then adjusting the volume again to increase it to compensate for the wildly varying levels. Otherwise great content...! • • • R O B E R T • • •

[@LoveLearnShareGrow]

They need to switch to maglev. I think the spirit of Disney is to demonstrate possible/likely futures, and maglev is the way to go.

[@joaquinruedavi5991]

The Spanish got me acting a fool dude.

[@TheWiggyStardust]

Them rails do be mono tho

[@kay4706]

hey! would it be possible to add closed captioning to your vids in the future for the hard-of-hearing friends? love your vids man!

[@notsojoerogan]

Maybe I'm crazy, but does anyone else absolutely love the smell of the monorails at WDW? I'm not sure if it's something in the HVAC system that makes it smell that way or if it's maybe the cleaning products, but damn does it smell great

[@darrellaicrag3674]

You are crazy!

[@notsojoerogan]

@@darrellaicrag3674 Okay, that's what I figured haha

[@FIREBRAND38]

Very well done.

[@wugzig]

Offhand Monorails

[@erickamekonapeper4007]

It’s Mark III for me FOREVER! 😌🖖🏼🇺🇸

[@lonesoul663]

I don't like the cheap Mickey decals plastered all over the Disneyland monorails.

[@sandoichi._]

i respectfully disagree with you about leaving the disneyland monorail alone. only 2 stops?? when i go on the monorail (when it’s open) i don’t want to have to stop with the view of the finding nemo submarine or all the shops at downtown disney. the monorail used to pass through california adventure when it was stupid and lame but it was convenient to save visitors feet. at least add another stop to the other side of disneyland or reroute it so it passes through DCA again. i don’t remember why it was rerouted but i still think it would be neat if they brought it back to where there were more than only 2 stops.. that’s just me though 🤷

[@Tycho09]

You forgot to mention the Tokyo Disney monorail, but great video otherwise!

[@Mrtfarrugia]

What is a Monorail. Mono means one, Rail means Rail.

[@YourWaywardDestiny]

The fact a monorail smells good is honestly the most crazy fact in this whole video, and it was just snuck in there at the end like a throw-away joke. Come back. Explain yourself.

[@brandonringstad]

I have a shirt that says please stand clear of the doors.

[@wyatteruss]

6:15 you’re welcome

[@jacestringham7022]

I wish we had a Disney CEO who was even half of the futurist that Walt was. We could get so many cool new things at the parks/resorts. Now they all just play it safe and throw IP at everything. Imagine a complete monorail network at WDW instead of the awful bus system! (I’m a fan of the Skyliner, but it’s not the same)

[@lovelo8780]

Disney needs to be more creative and less corporate, they also need to become more innovative and higher quality before they lose to Universal and other companies

[@jrios29]

That was the plan for WDW, but it truly is ridiculously expensive to build a Monorail to every park and hotel.

[@TBustah]

Epcot needs a better way to get around, and I think it’s rather obvious what it should be: a maglev. It’d fit in perfectly with both halves of the park. It’s futuristic AND a lot of the countries represented in the showcase have them in the real world.

[@lovelo8780]

or how about an underground freeway like the original E.P.C.O.T. plan?

[@mro4ts457]

Seriously, Universal use to be a side note for me. But now My next Orlando Trip includes Universal and not Disney World…

[@nathanjasper512]

I drove that monorail through at 43 mph... Legend.

[@eticketchannelofficial]

Do you know how much people would be willing to pay to blast through the Contemporary that fast? They could replace the whole system just with the ticket sales.

[@Ccs4646]

Oh heck yeah. I’d love to go through there doing 55+ lol

[@NxTTxT]

Bob Gurr: I just think riding a monorail through a modernist building is neat

[@moose8goose]

I actually met Bob Gurr and I jokingly asked him about when Disney is going to make a new Monorail for Disneyworld. He just laughed and agreed they are getting pretty old and do need a replacement.

[@pault5557]

So awesome to hear Bob Gurr talk about the monorails! Fun fact: Dallas, TX almost got a monorail system, but instead, we got light rail. 😢 Councilman Max Goldblatt (RIP) was a proponent for many years!

[@zeroconsequences]

I could listen to Bob Gurr talk shop all day. As far as the Monorail itself at either park, Disneyland could definitely use a main entrance station, and Disney World needs to have an alternate route to Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. That place is so spread out and difficult to navigate.

[@zack.maltese]

The monorail at WDW is more of an attraction for a kid but the older you get, the more you see it as a mode of transportation. My best memories at Disney as a kid were riding around on the monorail and getting off at the Contemporary to collect pins at the gift shop

[@warriorseamonkey1693]

mono meaning one and rail meaning rail

[@echoingback]

i can and will actively defend that the monorail is my favorite attraction. very excited for this video!

[@Robert0Pirie]

Former WDW monorail pilot here... the most fun I ever had was taking Monorail Black back to shop from the EPCOT line "ASAP." Nothing was wrong, it just needed to get done quickly. So, after going through the switches putting me onto the Express Beam, I was facing "backwards" towards the Polynesian. Central cleared me IN REVERSE all the way to the Magic Kingdom station. Having to pilot in reverse meant I was cleared to manually override the speed governor... I hit just over 25 mph (~40 kph) while going through the Contemporary. It was honestly such a thrill.

[@Robert0Pirie]

Oh! And this one time I had an irate guest while working the platform at the Contemporary. They thought I had told the previous train to leave them as they weren't even at the top of the escalators when the doors were closing. The husband demanded to know "how long is the next monorail!?!?" I replied, "Oh, sir that's gonna be 203 feet, six inches." His wife, who was a little drunk, thought that was the funniest thing she'd heard all day. By the time the next train arrived, the husband had calmed down and we were all joking about how mad he'd been.

[@michaelsullivan3581]

@@Robert0Pirie Amazing!

[@GavinMcCollum]

That's awesome!

[@syn629-C]

The Mark IV was my favorite. Everyone had a seat. And you could ride up front with the pilot.

[@robertjones9829]

liked the individual doors

[@robertjones9829]

the original 5 car not the newer IVs with 6 cars

[@Mike__B]

How cute that is "everyone got to go home because it's labor day..." yeah polar opposite today.

[@michaelsullivan3581]

Outstanding! Nearly avant guarde, and utterly entertaining (part 1) of "the monorail story". Please do go on!

[@JasonRBeing]

Magic Candle Monorail scent?!

[@michaelsullivan3581]

Here here!

[@darrellaicrag3674]

🤢🤢 it always smells like a barn yard why would you want that scent??

[@james-yv1uo]

@@darrellaicrag3674 what monorail are you riding?

[@AlexR2648]

The W in German is pronounced like the English V, so it sounds like "Alveg"

[@michaelsullivan3581]

"Voopertal"!

[@briannakadlecik1903]

Great video! The Bob Gurr clips were entertaining. Also, I love the background theme park music that you use in your videos, they transport me to the parks and make me happy.

[@david_walker_esq]

The Disneyland Mark VII is my favourite model based on its exterior, but the Type-C monorail at Tokyo Disney Resort has a nicer interior. My ideal monorail set would combine the design elements of both of these monorail sets.

[@vincentmusic09]

I would LOVE to see WDW get MK8 Monorails even though Bob Chapek hasn’t been exactly giving a lot of stuff to us, for instance taking away Fastpass, increasing prices, and more

[@Happymali10]

It should be noted that, for it's age and capacity, the Monorail has a decent safety record with only one fatal crash.

[@BrooseJ]

I am a HUGE monorail fan from way back. I used to ride in the "domed" monorails on visits to D'land as a kid. I love the look of the Mark 7 but have only had the opportunity to ride it once. I was surprised to find that it wasn't open between noon and 6:00 on the summer day we visited and that when it did open I found it didn't seem to have air-conditioning. Having worked at WDW for 15 years, the idea of a non-air-conditioned monorail seems crazy to me, however, the weather is generally milder in California so maybe it's just not an issue there. I grew up in So Cal (so you'd think I'd remember the weather better) and we didn't have AC in our house and it was totally fine - so maybe it's not usually an issue with the Mark 7. What has everyone's experience been? Is the lack of AC an issue - or maybe it has AC and it just wasn't working that day. Just throwing it out there. *Offhand Disney is a favorite channel! Thanks!

[@tylerpeerson]

I ride the Seattle Monorail to and from Kraken games. they’ve been there since 1962, and they aren’t as nice as the Disney ones but it’s still cool.

[@james-yv1uo]

They could have, sadly the government prefers to be lazy instead of renovating cities. A true city of the future could have monorail stops inside of commercial buildings. It would be like the subway but far better. Hell even a people mover would be nice in the suburbs. Sadly nobody actually cares enough to build new things. China is the only country actually building these things

[@bigal5395]

I like the Lyle Langley definition mono=one rail=rail

[@katylrp]

Listen...I appreciate Bob Gurr's work, but he gives me really bad vibes. He acts like he is the top dog of Disney imagineers...which you would never hear from a classy genius like Tony Baxter. He was also super rude to me when I met him :P

[@maeryk]

My favorite Monorail is "Monty", the now privately owned Mk iV red that has actually visited the resort (specifically, the Polynesian parking lot) on a flatbed to pose for pictures with it's successor.

[@earthdog7900]

Back in the 80s, were were staying at the Contemporary Hotel, The day we checked in we didn't have park tickets for that day. After dinner my brother and I just road the Monorail for hours. It was our entertainment for the evening. It was really fun.

[@Maniac536]

You answered the what and the why but nobody asked HOW is the monorail

[@NotIT]

My favorite has to be the Tokyo Disney monorail. I did enjoy the recap of the US monorails ;)

[@___David__]

A 20 minute video about Monorails and not a single Simpsons reference. Shame on you.

[@clchesnutt]

Bob Gurr is an absolute legend. Glad he was featured here. Also one of the nicest people around.

[@Love99910]

I want the Perfect Epcot

[@AdmiralPreparedness]

While growing up watching Disney creating magic, I patiently dreamed and awaited the time when I could board a monorail and travel to my destinations world wide...... I'm now 64 years young and that dream is dead.

[@michaelsullivan3581]

It's not altogether dead, but it certainly smells funny!

[@willpickles]

I was watching this on the Disney world monorail when they had so much traffic, they had to shut it down

[@bunny333501]

Wow this was super informative. I used to work at the Seattle Monorail which was built for the 1962 World's Fair, so monorail lore has really been an interest to me. (our trains are red and blue Alwegs)

[@mcwjes]

Walt knew about the Seattle monorail! He went to the 1962 world fair when he was thinking about working on the 1964 world fair, which gave us small world, carousel of progress, and Mr. Lincoln.

[@gr33ngirlsea]

I'm so sad it never got expanded! At least we've gotten a light rail after all these years.

[@WonderlandPirate]

But Main Street's still all cracked and broken!

[@liamtowers746]

I can’t stop thinking about the mark 6 with the open door

[@ScottAtwood]

No mention of the Tokyo Disneyland monorail?!

[@gonzo6489]

"But Main Street's still all cracked and broken" "Sorry Mom, the mob has spoken." "Monorail!"

[@darrellaicrag3674]

Mono-(Annoyed Grunt!)

[@BuckarooBanzai84]

I can certainly attest to the smell-issue. Maybe the future Mark-8s should have a deodorizing feature as well. Because when I rode the WDW monorail for the first time, it STUNK! =)

[@space_gamer9146]

10:00 anyone have a link to the stock music used here?

[@spongeb649]

I wish the Monorail covered the entire Walt Disney World property. At least covering the 4 theme parks and maybe Disney Springs. I think it’s still possible to this day but it would be harder considering the property is littered with resorts.

[@GavinMcCollum]

It would be prohibitively expensive, unfortunately. It looks like they are committing to the skyliner as the future transit preference for the rest of the property