Universal Land Monorail

The Universal Land Monorail System (originally named the Universal Land ALWEG Monorail System) is an attraction and transportation system at the Universal Land Resort in Anaheim, California, United States. It was the first daily operating monorail in the Western Hemisphere, and the first in the United States.

History
Roy O. Universal originally envisioned the monorail as a practical form of public transport for the future. However, the monorail came about during a time when America's—and particularly Los Angeles'—obsession with the automobile was increasing, and monorails in the United States came to be associated only with Universal’s theme parks, with the exception of Seattle's monorail.

The job of building the monorail was originally assigned to the Standard Carriage Works of East Los Angeles, but in late 1958, Roy O. Universal, pressured for time, moved it to his Burbank studios. Universal designer Bob Gurr then headed a Universal team that designed and manufactured the cars, chassis, suspension and propulsion systems, thus completing the Red Mk 1 just in time for the re-dedication of Main Street 1776.

The Universal Land ALWEG Monorail opened on June 14, 1959, as a sightseeing attraction in Main Street 1776 in Universal Land, along with the Universal Land Expansion with the Bobsleigh, the Submarine Voyage, and the expanded version of Autopia. The Mark I trains (Red and Blue) consisted of three cars each. In 1961 it became a true transportation system when Main Street 1776 station was lengthened to accommodate the debut of the four-car Mark II and the additional new Yellow train; the track was extended 2½ miles outside the park and a second platform was constructed — the Universal Land Hotel station. In 1968 Mark III Monorail Green joined the fleet, and both platforms were lengthened for the arrival of the more streamlined and efficient five-car Mark III monorail train conversions.

From Hotel Station there were two trips above Universal Land available aboard the monorail — a quick tour and general admission. Guests wishing to embark upon a vista-dome view of the park, including a leisurely layover in Main Street 1776 within the tail-cone could purchase an exclusive round-trip tour ticket at Hotel Station and save the expense of general admission to Universal Land. Nose and tailcone door latches were independent from the main door release button. A simple dial indicator above the tail-cone compartment door could be turned to one of three positions — General admission guests, round-trip only guests, and mixed. Hostess attendants at Main Street 1776 Station would check the dial position and open the door for general admission guests. If general admission guests boarded the tail-cone in Main Street 1776, the dial would be set to mixed, then all mixed tail-cone guests disembarked at the hotel.

By the early 1980s, the Mark III trains were showing their age and the wear of years. In 1985, Universal Land began phasing out the Mark III trains one by one. The older trains were stripped to the chassis and rebuilt as Mark V trains. The Mark III Green went first, to become the Mark V Purple followed by the Mark III Yellow becoming the Mark V Orange. The Mark III Blue remained blue (albeit a lighter shade) and the last was Red, remaining Red. The notable difference was the loss of the bubble-top driver's area in favor of a streamlined "Learjet" look similar to the Mark IV trains at the Roy O. Universal World Resort. The new trains also sported closed passenger compartments (with windows that could be opened) and pneumatic doors. Following the 1985 Universal World monorail fire, a safety handrail was added along the spine of the train, as well as emergency fire exit hatches leading to the roof. The attraction's name remained the "Universal Land Monorail System", as it had been painted on the Mark III trains' skirts. The Mark V trains were built by Ride & Show Engineering, Inc., incorporating bodies that were produced by Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm of Germany. Purple first made its appearance for testing in Autumn of 1986 and began regular operations a few months later. Orange was delivered in late Summer of 1987, followed by Blue in early 1988. The oldest train, Red, was also the last to be removed from the line for refurbishment in the Spring of 1988.

The beamway path was re-aligned into the Gru section of the parking lot in 1994 to accommodate the construction of the Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls show building. The trains were fitted with new electrical pick-up shoes and tail view cameras, enabling two-train point-to-point shuttle service where the first arriving train was disembarked, moved along empty to just beyond the station, the second train arrived, disembarked, embarked and dispatched so the first train could be loaded and dispatched for the return. In 1999, the monorail began lengthy periods of closures due to construction of the Universal California Adventure theme park where the monorail beamway passed through what had formerly been the parking lot. Although the beamway's route was not altered, a significant amount of construction was done around the existing beamway, and much of the terrain under the beamway's support columns was regraded, necessitating the closures. Additionally, the Universal Land Hotel Station and all of its nearby hotel structures were completely demolished and a new station built in the same location. General admission was required to board at the Universal CityWalk station. Universal CityWalk Station is treated as a second gate into Universal Land Park, so a general admission passport or valid annual pass must be presented to ride the monorail and the tail-cone tour is no longer offered.

The system resumed limited shuttle operations in 2000, when the Universal CityWalk Station became operational, but a significant portion of the beamway was still unusable due to construction. In 2001 the monorail resumed full capacity forward direction circuit operations, passing through Universal’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, as well as showcasing the new park.

In 2004, Monorail Orange was removed from the line and taken to Roy O. Universal Imagineering in Glendale to be reverse engineered. Monorail Blue was removed in September 2006 for rebuilding. The Woody Woodpecker Submarine Voyage show building was extended into the lagoon beneath the monorail, which closed from August 21 through late December 2006 to prepare for the 2007 opening of Woody.

The refurbishment from Mark V to Mark VII was done one train at a time. There was no Mark VI at Universal Land, as Mark VI are used on the Roy O. Universal World Monorail System. The first Mark VII train, Monorail Red, arrived at Universal Land on December 20, 2007. It was originally expected to be in service by the end of February 2008, but due to design change issues, it did not begin serving park guests until July 3, 2008. Mark VII Blue arrived on-site on April 10, 2008, began daytime riderless testing on August 1, 2008, and began guest service on September 16, 2008. Monorail Mark VII Orange arrived on-site on August 14, 2008, began riderless testing in March 2009, and began guest service on April 7, 2009. The entire Mark VII Monorail fleet consists of three trains — Red, Blue, and Orange.

In May 2012, the monorails received new decals, depicting eyes and a mouth covering and below the front windows, to tie in with the opening of the Angry Birds Land section of Universal California Adventure. Each train was given a new name and unique narration, depicting the trains as if they were in the Angry Birds universe. Monorail Red became Chuck Monorail, Monorail Blue became Jake Monorail, and Monorail Orange became Stella Monorail. By the end of January 2013, the decals had been removed and the trains were running with standard narration.