Gotta Ride the Choo Choo in the Magic Kingdom! Walt Disney World Railroad
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The Walt Disney Railroad was one of the first things my 2 year old son saw on our first trip into the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Admittedly, he is an absolute train (”choo choo” as he called it) fanatic at this time but he was so excited to see the trains and the train tracks! Of course, we had to take a ride on the train but we found upon entrance to the park, that many others had the same idea and it was a bit crowded. Not wanting to disappoint the little guy, we let him watch as the train passed by in front of us and promised him a ride on the train a little later. He accepted this without issue, thankfully!
The Train
The Walt Disney Railroad was a pet project of Walt Disney who was a huge railroad fan. (He even built a model railroad in his backyard!). This is a narrow gauge railroad that makes a circle around the Magic Kingdom. The engines for the Walt Disney Railroad are authentic steam engines that were purchased for the purpose of restoring and using them in the theme park. There are actually four steam engines that are used though not all are used all the time. The four engines are called:
The Walter E. Disney
The Roy O. Disney
The Roger E. Broggie
The Lilly Belle
We saw three of the four trains while we were in the Magic Kingdom. We did not see the Lilly Belle although one of the cast members was telling us about her. They told us that she is only used on rare occasions when one of the other trains can’t be used for some reason. We got to ride on the “Walt” and the “Roy” (as one cast member nicknamed them for us)
Each train holds approximately 350 passengers Passengers can get on and ride as long as they want, making a full circle (or two) or getting off at any of the 3 stops. The train has stops on Main Street USA, Frontierland, and Mickey’s Toontown Fair. The whole circuit is about a mile and a half and takes about 20 minutes round trip.
Our experiences
As I mentioned, the station seemed very crowded upon entrance to the park so we decided to ride the railroad later in the day. This turned out to be a good decision for several reasons. First of all, this is a slow sort of ride and although my son absolutely loved it, it was good to get some walking in first and do some of the other, faster rides first. We were also able to pick up Fast Passes to another ride that we may have missed if we rode the railroad first.
By early afternoon, we were all a bit tired and the train ride was nice and relaxing. We boarded the train in Mickey’s Toontown Fair and we waited only about two minutes for a train to pull up and we boarded. There was only a handful of people in line ahead of us so there was no problem getting a spot on the train. We rode around the loop and by the time we arrived back at Mickey’s Toontown Fair, we were a bit rested and refreshed and ready to be on the move again.
The other time we rode the train, on a different day, we did encounter a bit of a line. We again boarded at Mickey’s Toontown Fair but this time there was a small crowd. Since many people did not disembark the train when it pulled into the station, we wound up being first in line for the next train. It was a huge disappointment to my son and the cast member that had to cut us off tried to make it up to him. She was talking to him (and the rest of us) trying to cheer him up. She assured him that it would only be about 7-8 minutes until the next train came and then she told us all about the engines and the trains. It was very interesting to learn about the trains. Once we did board, it was again, a pleasant ride!
The Ride
The ride takes you around the park. You get to see many parts of the park and get an especially good view of the Mickey’s Toontown Fair area. You get a glimpse into “Splash Mountain” and there is an area that is set up like Pocahontas’ camp. It is cute. I liked when we stopped on Main Street USA and got to see some of the characters parading down the road! That was fun!
Overall, this is a slow, relaxing ride. It was a good chance to catch our breath, decide on a game plan for the rest of the day, and just take it easy while making my little guy very happy! The breeze that blows while you are riding feels so nice too!
Recommendations
This is one of those things that is not terribly exciting but it is so worth doing. It is a great escape from the hustle and bustle and it is nostalgic. And, if you have anyone who is a train fan, of course, you’ll have to ride more than once!!!
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Tags: , Destinations, Hotels & Travel, Walt Disney World Railroad
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