Walt Disney World Railroad 2024 (feat. SpaceX)

On February 25, 2024 I returned to the Walt Disney World Resort for the first time since 2016 to make a whirlwind one-day tour of all four theme parks. I started the day at Animal Kingdom and then went to EPCOT, arriving at the Magic Kingdom in the late afternoon. On this day, the WDW Railroad was running two trains behind the "twins," engines 1 and 3 "Walter E. Disney" and "Roger E. Broggie." These nearly identical 4-6-0s were both manufactured in 1925 by Baldwin for the Ferrocariles Unidos de Yucatan in Mexico, where they worked for many years with the numbers 72 and 73. In 1969 they were brought to Florida with two other UdY locos and thoroughly rebuilt and backdated to a late 19th century appearance. They both entered service on the Magic Kingdom's opening day in 1971 and have been dutifully pulling loads of guests around the kingdom for over 50 years. Roger has been away for an overhaul at the Strasburg Railroad in Pennsylvania, and returned to service just a few days before my visit. I would have liked to have stayed later for some more filming and to see the trains being put away for the night, but with the sun setting I still needed to make it over to Hollywood Studios before the day was over. I look forward to my next, hopefully less rushed visit to the most magical railroad on Earth.
While at the park I was also lucky enough to see the launch of 24 new Starlink satellites atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, 62 miles to the East.

[@AhmearClayIombo-dj6di]

Awesome Video

[@SmokyMtnSteam]

Thank you!

[@pinchy08]

I don’t know how many times I want to say it. But it’s so great to have the trains back up and running. That closure was such a torcher. It’s also great to have the Roger E Broggie locomotive back in service isn’t it? Well now the Roy O Disney locomotive has now been taken to the Strasburg Railroad for its overhaul. Hopefully it’ll be a little quicker. Roger’s was a tat bit longer I think because of COVID.

[@davidng2336]

Roger and Walter probably took longer also because they needed to have their smokestacks shortened. Roy and Lilly don’t need such. So I have a feeling it won’t take too long.

[@pinchy08]

Well may I remind you, Lilly took the longest to overhaul. 2 reasons why. 1. Lilly was in the worst shape. 2. It was Strasburgs first time adding computerized instruments into her cab. Point taken about Walter and Roger. They had very tall smokestacks. Walters was the tallest honestly. So tall there was 1 inch of clearance between the top of his stack and the top of the roundhouse bay door. I truly think Roger’s overhaul was slightly longer than Walters because COVID slowed everything down. I hope Roy isn’t in too bad of shape for his overhaul at Strasburg.

[@davidng2336]

@@pinchy08 he looked fine before he left, and sounded good, so hopefully there won’t be too much to worry about.

[@pinchy08]

Did you notice Walter and Roger have matching whistles? I hope Walter gets his Buckeye 3 chime back soon. And I’m ok with him pulling Roy’s series 400 cars. They look great behind him as well as his series 100 cars.

[@davidng2336]

@@pinchy08 Walter is using a Crosby, while Roger is a Lonergan. I heard from one of the trainmen on Instagram that they don’t like Walter’s current whistle. However I personally don’t mind at all.

[@wyatttrainworld]

Nice

[@SmokyMtnSteam]

Thanks!

[@Robertmitchell2121]

Amazing

[@SmokyMtnSteam]

Thanks!

[@TweetsieRailroader]

Excellent video, as always! Sorry to hear you didn’t have a lot of time on the railroad. I’m honestly blessed to be able to spend as much time at Disney as I am, considering I’m here ‘til the end of May.

[@SmokyMtnSteam]

Thanks! I'm not too bummed about it, it just gives me an excuse to come back later.

[@declanhargreaves2610]

Really enjoyed watching this! I'm heading over in September for a WDW holiday, I can't wait! Are the spots you saw the trains at in this video the best vantage points of the WDWRR? Hoping to get a few shots in between the other park rides

[@SmokyMtnSteam]

Thanks! Unfortunately since the construction of the TRON coaster Fantasyland station is the only place you can get a good unobstructed close-up of the engines. If you've got a good zoom you can shoot the Frontierland bridge from Tom Sawyer Island and there's a spot outside the park on the Contemporary walkway where you can see the train making the curve between Space Mountain and Main Street, I would've gotten those shots if I'd had more time. Otherwise you're effectively limited to the stations and the TRON overpass I'm afraid. Hope you enjoy your trip!

[@TweetsieRailroader]

@@SmokyMtnSteamYou can actually get the shot on Tom Sawyer’s better from the top of Fort Langhorn.

[@TweetsieRailroader]

One other shot I’ll recommend is from the Liberty Belle Riverboat. It’s hit or miss, but if you’re lucky, it makes for a pretty nice shot.

[@declanhargreaves2610]

@@SmokyMtnSteam thanks for the tips! When we booked the trip last year I was looking for that really clear curve of track you could get photos from for ages... Only to realise it's now under TRON! Sounds like you had an exciting day doing all the Parks in one day!

[@declanhargreaves2610]

@@TweetsieRailroader will try for this! Sounds a fun shot to try get

[@BenBensonStudios]

Which of the Disney parks railroads do you prefer? Disneyland, Disney World, or Disneyland Paris?

[@SmokyMtnSteam]

The Disneyland Railroad in Anaheim is the best by far. It has the most diverse motive power, most history, and best scenery. Paris and WDW are tied, Paris has much better scenery but their new-build locos look kind of weird to me, while WDW's very cool engines are wasted on a ride through little besides trees and tunnels. The Western River RR in Tokyo probably ranks last but I will reserve judgement until I ride it myself someday.

[@davidng2336]

@@SmokyMtnSteamWestern River RR in Tokyo does have some views, but due to rail regulations at the time, it only has one station. Hong Kong is dead last on my list; their locomotives are diesel powered steam outlines due to Hong Kong emission regulations; however they’re better than Shanghai which doesn’t have a train at all.

[@rogerlollar4325]

Walter Lilly Roger and Roy are all friends

[@kellyashfordtrains2642]

Who says we can't be kids?

[@SmokyMtnSteam]

No one who matters :)