A New Plan For Anaheim Could Make Getting To Disneyland A Lot Easier, And I Think Walt Would Approve

When Walt Disney built Disneyland, it was in the middle of an orange grove, in a place where freeways hadn’t even been constructed yet. Of course, after Disneyland opened and became a massive hit, and not “Walt’s Folly” as had been suggested previously, businesses sprang up around the park quickly, and now Anaheim is as packed and busy as any part of Southern California. It means that one of the most frustrating parts of going to Disneyland becomes simply getting to Disneyland.

However, a new project that’s being considered in the city of Anaheim may change all that. It’s being reported by Anaheim Investigator that the city is currently considering a proposal that would build an aerial gondola system, something similar to Walt Disney World’s own Skyliner, that would connect the Anaheim Resort area, where the Disneyland Resort is located, with the Westside of Los Angeles.

More Transportation Options To Disneyland Are Needed

The gondola system is being considered now due to the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The hope is to use public transportation in order to move attendees throughout the various venues, but the current infrastructure is unlikely to be able to support that.

However, the Olympics need can be Disneyland’s gain. The Anaheim Resort Transit (ART) system currently sends buses throughout the Anaheim Resort area to pick up guests at local hotels and take them to Disneyland. But using an always-moving gondola is going to be much preferable to waiting for a bus. In my experience, the ART buses are almost as bad as Disney World’s own bus system, which never seems to be going where you want when you need it.

The gondola system currently proposed would have a stop near Disneyland Resort as well as the Anaheim Convention Center. There would also be stops near the Honda Center and Angels Stadium. If the Honda Center continues to be a venue used for D23: The Ultimate Fan Event, as it was for the first time last year, that would add a method of getting from one place to another for the thousands of people making the trip.

The more options for getting to Disneyland, the better. As much as I love staying at one of Disneyland Resort’s three amazing hotels, there’s no denying they are expensive. I usually stay off property, which means needing to either take an ART bus or walk, and I don’t love either option. The gondola system would also potentially open up the number of hotels available for a Disneyland stay, as you could stay further away if it were on the gondola route.

Walt Disney Would Love To See This

Of course, it has to be said that there would be no need to build an aerial gondola system if people had listened to Walt Disney a few decades ago and built a different elevated public transportation system. An elevated train that ran on a single track, a…Monorail, if you will.

The Disneyland Monorail, which originally transported guests between Disneyland Park and the Disneyland Hotel, was meant to be a proof of concept for a larger system that could potentially cover all of Southern California. Traffic was a particular frustration for Walt; he felt that cities should be built with people in mind, not cars. It was a key element in the design of his own planned community, EPCOT.

In the end, Walt wouldn’t get the buy-in he needed from city leaders to make it happen, and the Disneyland Monorail would remain an attraction rather than an actual mode of transportation. While this system isn’t the Monorail, I still have to believe that Walt Disney would love to see it. Anything that makes it easier for people to move around without cars is a benefit.

There are apparently multiple transportation options being considered, but it certainly appears that something new is on the horizon, and it’s likely that any major transportation system in Anaheim will include Disneyland. This, combined with Disneyland’s own major expansion plan, only makes the future brighter for the happiest place on earth.