Part 8/13:
When Disneyland’s first monorails arrived in 1959, they faced a rocky start. The two Mark I monorails, painted red and blue, with three open-air cars each, were brought in barely a week before the park’s expansion opening. During testing, the electric motors frequently overheated and even caught fire, creating tense moments for the Imagineers.
The night before the grand opening, Bob Gurr managed to complete a full, trouble-free test run, leading to Walt, Vice President Richard Nixon, and their families riding the monorail during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The ride’s inaugural moment was both historic and nerve-wracking, with Gurr nervously at the controls amid Secret Service agents rushing below.