1961 Map

Discussion

With this map the monorail extends from the park to the Disneyland Hotel. Recalling that at this point the hotel was not owned by the Walt Disney Company, there were arrangements that made this possible. This was a precursor to Walt Disney World where the use of the monorail was extended to link all of the original Disney owned hotels.

Points of Interest

• The extension of the monorail from the park to the Disneyland Hotel foreshadowed the extensive use of monorails at Walt Disney World as a true transportation method rather than an attraction. Seeing the monorail swoop across the parking lot in the early morning as Disneyland opened was a thrill for all children (and some adults).
• In this map the Flying Saucers attraction appears. This was one of the great imagineering accomplishments of all time. As its later cousin, the Rocket Rods, the Flying Saucers were a lot of fun, but difficult for the Disney company to maintain. Eventually this led to the attraction's removal. The recent opening of Carsland (6/15/12) at Disney’s California Adventure in the Disneyland Resort returns the ride mechanism of the flying saucers in Luigi’s Flying Tires attraction. Unfortunately, it too had problems and was removed.
• The helicopter port has moved closer to the Disneyland Hotel on the other side of the park from where it was located originally.