Monorails
As our car approached the exit off I-77, the first sighting beyond the dash was the Skytower, sponsored by Eastern Airlines. It beckoned us toward a place that was special, magical even.
But that wasn't what I was interested in. No, I was already looking ahead for after our turn into the main drive, past the park sign on the left. At the point where the overhead concrete beamway crossed over into the median and led us toward my real happy place—the "highway in the sky," Carolina version.
And oh what a happy day it was if one of those sleek, silent-running trains happened along at just the right time, swiftly gliding overhead before the turn back into the park grounds. Riding the monorail was a requirement for each and every trip, and I couldn't wait to climb aboard and enjoy the peaceful journey over the park and out into the parking lot past where the once-planned hotel would have been. Heading back toward the park, the beamway took a gentle, gradual turn left over the entry pond—my favorite moment, especially at night—before winding our way back toward the station.
There's just something about monorails that captured our fancy back then—and still does. Walt oversaw the first system at Disneyland in 1959, and naturally several of the regional theme parks looked to bring that sort of magic to their neck of the woods. Only a few actually made it happen as an attraction that toured the park, such as Carowinds, Magic Mountain (CA), and Hersheypark. I might be missing one or two, a couple zoos here and there, and of course the two Kings parks added monorails for touring their safari areas. Judge Hofheinz at Astroworld had big plans for using a monorail for transportation around his extended Astro-complex, much of which never transpired.
All of these are now gone except for Hershey's. And oh yes, tiny little Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, PA still runs theirs. Hmm, something about Pennsylvania. But anyhow, some of the best places remaining to glide in the sky is at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Over the years we've lost railroads, riverboats, skyway cable cars...and monorails. I enjoy a good coaster as much or more than most folks, but this has not been a welcome trend. Oh well. I still have my memories.
Wanna take a monorail ride? Hop in the front cab of the Walt Disney World monorail (2008).
A few of these photos, marked accordingly, are from Ken Rutherford’s fantastic archive, formerly carowindsearlyyears.com. The site is dead now…if anybody knows how to contact Ken let me know and I’ll help save it if possible.
