Disneyland RailRoad

[Yusani]

I have been to Disneyland 3 times and have never ridden the train!

I hate to "waste" a rope drop, but I am kind of thinking it might be nice to get straight on the train with my children first thing in the morning (2 of 3 of which do not remember Disneyland well or at all) and start the day with a "tour" of the park to get them excited. The littlest one is 3 and loves riding trains. I also thought that later in the day the train might be anti-climatic to my older 2.

We have 5 days there so I think that if we skip the rat race one morning it wouldn't be a huge loss? Thoughts?

Personality note: I am the same person whole loves starting the first day at the Sleeping Beauty walkthrough. My children enjoy it as well. We read through the storyline and talk about the scenes. So, if we don't do the train straight away, I don't expect we will be sprinting straight to a big ride anyway. We will probably poke around at the caste for 20 minutes before moving on.

Questions: Does the railroad only go one direction or are there trains going both ways? If it is one way, when it first takes off from Main Street, where is the first stop? Tomorrow Land or New Orleans Square?

Are there any fast pass stations near the train stops where we should jump off and pull a pass while we are making the trip? I understand that train lingers at each station 5-10 minutes. Is that correct?

 

[whoever]

Questions: Does the railroad only go one direction or are there trains going both ways? If it is one way, when it first takes off from Main Street, where is the first stop? Tomorrow Land or New Orleans Square?

The train only runs clockwise, so NOS is the first stop after Main Street... always.

Are there any fast pass stations near the train stops where we should jump off and pull a pass while we are making the trip? I understand that train lingers at each station 5-10 minutes. Is that correct?

You could POSSIBLY jump off and grab a FP at NOS for HM. Other than that, there's not going to be any attraction FP I'd risk leaving the train for. The train lingers the longer of the time to disembark and reload passengers or the time it takes the train ahead to leave it's station. They typically only run 2-3 trains at a time.

 

[Geemo]

Questions: Does the railroad only go one direction or are there trains going both ways? If it is one way, when it first takes off from Main Street, where is the first stop? Tomorrow Land or New Orleans Square?

Are there any fast pass stations near the train stops where we should jump off and pull a pass while we are making the trip? I understand that train lingers at each station 5-10 minutes. Is that correct?

The train goes in one direction.
From Main Street the first stop is NOS, then Toontown, Tomorrowland and back to Main Street.

While the train is at each station for a few minutes, it's only there long enough to have people get off and then to load the empty spots.

If you were to jump off to grab FP's, it's not really possible to Jump back ON.
At each station there is an entrance line for those wanting to ride the train from that stop.
If it's busy at the stations, you may be waiting for a couple of trains before there is empty space for you to board.

Many people get on at Main St and ride the train around to either ToonTown or Tomorrowland to save a few steps on their feet.
NOS station is one where it can be a challenge to get on the train.

The train is a nice napping spot at times.....

 

[KK505]

I have been to Disneyland 3 times and have never ridden the train!

I hate to "waste" a rope drop, but I am kind of thinking it might be nice to get straight on the train with my children first thing in the morning (2 of 3 of which do not remember Disneyland well or at all) and start the day with a "tour" of the park to get them excited. The littlest one is 3 and loves riding trains. I also thought that later in the day the train might be anti-climatic to my older 2.

We have 5 days there so I think that if we skip the rat race one morning it wouldn't be a huge loss? Thoughts?

Personality note: I am the same person whole loves starting the first day at the Sleeping Beauty walkthrough. My children enjoy it as well. We read through the storyline and talk about the scenes. So, if we don't do the train straight away, I don't expect we will be sprinting straight to a big ride anyway. We will probably poke around at the caste for 20 minutes before moving on.

Questions: Does the railroad only go one direction or are there trains going both ways? If it is one way, when it first takes off from Main Street, where is the first stop? Tomorrow Land or New Orleans Square?

Are there any fast pass stations near the train stops where we should jump off and pull a pass while we are making the trip? I understand that train lingers at each station 5-10 minutes. Is that correct?

I don’t have any advice as far as FP nearby but thought I’d share my first time experience...I rode part of the train with my kiddos for the first time this past summer and was pleasantly surprised to find out it includes some indoor scenes (dinosaurs come to mind). I had no idea there was more to look at than just the park itself. My kids really enjoyed it and wanted to stay on longer than just two stops but we had reservations we had to get to.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

We love the train. It's not really a "tour of the park" in that you're traveling behind many of the lands so you won't necessarily see much of the park. But you will see things that you can only see from the train, which is fun. It's a fun ride but I don't think it's a rope drop thing personally. It's great when you're ready for a rest because it takes a while to get around the park (not sure exactly how long, maybe 30 minutes?) and you're seated and relaxing. We often grab a popcorn and hop on the train to enjoy the ride!

 

[cruisehopeful]

I recommend riding all the way around and then get off wherever you want. If you don't ride it all the way around, you can miss viewing some stuff.

It would be very difficult to get off the train, pull a fast pass and get back on the same train. You most likely would need to wait for the next train if you did that.

As far as rope drop goes, if you are there for 5 days, I don't think it will waste your rope drop unless it is normal for you to go directly to the bigger rides first thing in the morning. That first hour is usually the best time to get on rides like Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain, etc.

 

[Yusani]

We love the train. It's not really a "tour of the park" in that you're traveling behind many of the lands so you won't necessarily see much of the park. But you will see things that you can only see from the train, which is fun. It's a fun ride but I don't think it's a rope drop thing personally. It's great when you're ready for a rest because it takes a while to get around the park (not sure exactly how long, maybe 30 minutes?) and you're seated and relaxing. We often grab a popcorn and hop on the train to enjoy the ride!

This is a great perspective. Thanks.

 

[Piglet99645]

On a day that you don't go for rope drop, it's worth it to get on the train upon entry and ride it around once....... maybe 1+ if you want to see the whole thing, then get off somewhere other than Main Street. I love the train. But I do think if you are there for rope drop, it makes more sense to get on a ride like Peter Pan that is impossible later in the day.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I like getting on the train at the Main Street station. If you do go there, make sure to check out the Disneyland map hanging on the left wall inside the 'station' as you can see where the other trains are in the park by the lights on the tracks. Also, make sure you're on the train going from Tomorrowland to Main Street so you can see the famous Grand Canyon/Dinosaur diorama. I love this attraction.

Another note - they refill the the water for the steam trains at the New Orleans Square station. Look for the water tower. The tapping sound you hear at that same station is a telegraph message of the first part of Walt Disney's speech on opening day.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

The tapping sound you hear at that same station is a telegraph message of the first part of Walt Disney's speech on opening day.

I didn't know that! How neat!

 

[goooof1]

YES, DO stay on the train from Tomorrowland to Main Street!! You really do NOT want to miss the Grand Canyon and Dinosaurs!!

 

[bumbershoot]

A rope drop isn’t wasted if you’re doing exactly what you want to do. Do the train. Do a circle tour.

Also bring ear plugs and glow bracelets for the littles who might be weirded out by the darkness, loudness, and dinosaurs!

Don’t get me wrong. The dinosaur section is one of my oldest Disneyland memories and is a favorite. But first day and moments of being there, when you’re not used to it all, it can be a lot! So help them feel safe in case they don’t.

 

[Geemo]

If you're concerned that the dinosaur / canyon section might be an issue for the age of your children, check the ride out on YouTube