The Magic Behind
Our Steam Trains Tour

by Tom, June 2002

My brother and I took the Steam Train tour on Monday, June 3, 2002. We were originally scheduled to take it on that Thursday, but the cancelled it because Roy E. Disney was coming in that morning to Re-Dedicate his dad s Train, the Roy O. Disney. It had been out of service receiving an overhaul.

We arrived out front of the Magic Kingdom at 7:15am and checked in with Conductor Bob, our tour guide. Once everyone was there he began talking about the Trains and Walt's love of them and all about Walt s train history.

We then went into the empty Main Street and talked some more about the Trains. We then went up to the Main Street Platform and boarded the Walter E. Disney train. The train pulled away and Bob talked about the safety checks and told us stories about the Disney Railroad as we passed through Frontierland and went on to Toon Town.

When we pulled into Toon Town we all got off and watched them throw the switch so we could back into the Round House, which also serves as the Monorail and Bus Garage. We drove backwards into the garage and then got out.

We then listened to Bob and got a close up look at the Roger Broggie engine and even got to sit in it. We walked around and looked at the garage and engines for about 15 minutes. After that, the Lilly Belle pulled out and we rode back to Toon Town.

We then continued around toward Main Street and checked the automatic braking system that stops the train if it gets too close to another one. When we pulled into Main Street the park was ready to open. We stood at the front of the platform and waited while the first train loaded and pulled out. Then we went down under the Train Platform and Bob walked up through the history of the Trains and how they acquired them.

After that the tour was over and we were free to wander the parks.

We returned on Thursday morning and watched Roy E. Disney re-dedicate his father s train from the front row. It was awesome.

Tom from Indianapolis, Indiana