Disneyland may extend its 1959 monorail to a proposed 17,000-car parking garage and the Toy Story parking lot under a massive expansion plan envisioned for the Anaheim theme park resort.
The potential extension of the Disneyland Monorail is buried deep in the 17,000-page Environmental Impact Report released last week by the city of Anaheim for Disney’s expansion initiative known as DisneylandForward.
“In addition to an extensive network of landscaped pedestrian thoroughfares, conveyance systems will transport Disneyland Resort guests around the project,” according to the DisneylandForward EIR. “The monorail/guest transportation systems shall move guests from the Hotel District to the Theme Park District. Future connections may also be provided to the Future Expansion Southeast District.”
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The Southeast District refers to the current Toy Story parking lot — a key component of the DisneylandForward proposal that seeks to update a 1990s Anaheim city plan to allow for a mix of theme park, hotel, retail, dining and entertainment on the eastern and western edges of the Disneyland resort.
The potential monorail extension appears in the Transportation section of the DisneylandForward EIR under the heading of Conveyance Systems.
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Connecting Disneyland and Disney California Adventure to the Toy Story parking lot via monorail would likely involve a route through Anaheim GardenWalk — an outdoor shopping mall that Disneyland does not own.
Disneyland owns land behind GardenWalk along Disney Way currently used for employee parking that has been earmarked for a future 17,000-space eastside parking garage.
The Disneyland Monorail debuted in 1959 along with the Matterhorn Bobsleds and what is today known as Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage as part of the first wave of E-Ticket attractions. At the time, the theme park ride and transportation system was the first daily operating monorail in the Western Hemisphere.
The DisneylandForward EIR also floats the possibility of using “themed ride systems” like the former PeopleMover and Skyway to move visitors between theme parks and parking garages. The themed ride systems are envisioned as a complement or alternative to proposed pedestrian bridges across Harbor Boulevard and Disneyland Drive.
The possible monorail extension and potential return of the PeopleMover and Skyway are just a few of the Blue Sky ideas that Disney has been floating as part of the DisneylandForward proposal.
