June 14, 1959 –Vice-President Richard M. Nixon and Family Dedicate the Monorail at Disneyland
“On the gala celebration of the completion of the project, the Richard Nixon family were on hand to snip the ribbon. Here we were with our monorail, the forerunner of rapid transit of the future, all checked out and ready to go, but somebody forgot to check out the scissors.” – Walt Disney, Disneyland 10th Anniversary Special.
On June 14, 1959, the Monorail was dedicated at Disneyland by Vice-President Richard M. Nixon and his family, with his daughters Tricia and Julie using oversized scissors to cut the ribbon. The scissors, unfortunately, would not cut the ribbon, but with a quick tear, the ride was dedicated and ready to set off. This was Nixon’s second visit to Disneyland; his first visit was shortly after the park was first opened.
The Monorail had been part of an expansion project for the park, which included such attractions as the Matterhorn. Originally known as the Disneyland-Alweg Monorail system (Alweg was the name of the German transportation company that aided in its creation), the Monorail has the distinction of being the first daily operating monorail in the United States. At first, it only traveled around Tomorrowland, but the track was expanded to the Disneyland Hotel in 1961. The ride has been expanded many times over the years, with the Mark III trains added to the ride in 1968, and Mark V trains added between the years 1986 to 1988 (the Mark IV trains were added to the Walt Disney World Resort). The most recent updates to the ride were the refurbishments of the trains beginning in 2007 and ending in 2009. Disney had envisioned the Monorail as a form of public transport in the future, but as his idea came around the time America was becoming more enamored with the automobile, the ride remained in Disney Parks.
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