Walt Disney World Monorail Playset and other attractions

A friend of mine from work who knows how much my family loves Disney came across this monorail set a few months ago. He kept it at his house for a while, but it took up so much space he was looking to get rid of it. He asked if I'd like it and of course I jumped at the chance to take it home.

While the Monorail can be found at both the Disneyland Resort and the Walt Disney Resort in Florida, this particular Yellow Monorail came from Florida.

The box has some interesting facts about the Monorail.

The monorail has 5 separate sections that are all joined together. It has decals on it showing it's from Disney World.

When you press a button on the top of the monorail, it goes into it's usual pre-recorded spiel that you'd normally hear when boarding. There is a red light on top that blinks and a green light that illuminates the track in front of it.

One of the best parts of this set, is that as the monorail goes by the different Disney parks attractions (sold separately) it makes them start moving! To do that you need an Attractions Connector for each one.

Here's what it looks like. The pylon has a trigger that gets depressed when the monorail rides over it. There is a dial that controls how long the attraction continues to run after the monorail goes by.

Along with the regular track you get, there is also an expansion set.

Let's get to the fun part!
Our first attraction is the Astro Orbiter from Disney World. This attraction exists at both Disney World and Disneyland, but this one is based on the WDW version. I like the detail on the box. It could have just been a plain box, but there's lots of fun artwork and even Pluto in a spacesuit.

On the back of the boxes for the attractions from WDW there is a blurb about the ride.

Here's the ride in action. Notice how it triggers when the monorail runs over the attraction connector.

The Mad Tea Party is next.

Not only does the platform spin around, but the teacups spin as well.

The next playset is the Disneyland version of the Haunted Mansion. While it's part of the monorail playset, it doesn't actually hook up to an attraction connector.

This playset is incredibly detailed.

And it's not just a facade. Open up the back and you'll find scenes from straight out of the attraction. From the endless hallway, the ghostly organ, and the ballroom scene.

To the stretching room portraits.

To the wallpaper designs you encounter in the corridor, the library, a couple gargoyles, and the instruments in Madam Leota's ballroom. Take a peek at the carpet and you might even find a hidden Mickey.

If that weren't enough, there's also lots of figurines that it comes with. Of the three hitchhiking ghosts, Gus, Ezra, and Phineas, I'm unfortunately missing Phineas.

One other fun feature is that the hitchhiking ghosts glow in the dark.

And just because it doesn't hook up to the monorail track doesn't mean it's without special features. Press the buttons on the front and you'll hear sayings and sound effects right out of the attraction.

Moving over to the California Adventure side of things, first we start with the Orange Stinger. This was an opening day attraction for DCA that has since been remodeled to become the Silly Symphony Swings.

On the back of these boxes there are no details about the ride. There's a beach scene that is repeated on every box, along with a "collect them all" display.

Inside are a set of bees that spin around.

The Orange Stinger in action.

Next up is the Sun Wheel, aka the Wheel of Death! This was also an opening day attraction that has been re-themed to be Mickey's Fun Wheel.

Disney could have cheaped out and just made gondolas that clipped on and didn't open, but instead they swing just like on the real ride and have doors that you can open and put characters inside.

The swinging gondolas and sun wheel in action.

The very last attraction I have is King Triton's Carousel.

The four animals inside go up and down just like a real carousel.

The entire setup on my dining room table.

And the whole thing in action.

T had aspirations of putting this around the Christmas tree and decorating each of the attractions with mini lights and other tiny holiday decorations, but that might be a little ambitious this year. Not only that, but it's a little bit noisy to have running consistently. Perhaps in future years we'll figure something out.

Ian loved the set as well. He would get completely distracted from whatever he was doing while I was putting it together. He loved pressing the button on top of the monorail that would start the monorail spiel, and he even learned to push the attractions connector button to make the rides move, his favorite being the tea cups.

Doing a little bit of research online, there are a few more attractions that are part of this set as well, including Dumbo, Cinderella Castle, Sleeping Beauty Castle, the Epcot ball, and a few WDW hotels the monorail passes through.
This is an awesome playset and I'm happy to have it as part of my Disney collection!