Disneyland's Casey Jr. Circus Train Ride: Attraction History

Disneyland's Casey Jr. Circus Train is one of the theme park's most popular attractions. One of the initial rides installed at the park, it was shut down for two weeks after workers discovered a problem on Opening Day. Containing five passenger cars, the Circus Train takes visitors through Storybook Land and offers a great view of many of the miniature buildings in that portion of Disneyland's park.

Disneyland's Casey Jr. Circus Train ride: Initial problems

Despite its installation as one of Disneyland's initial attractions, the Casey Jr. Circus Train was not actually up and running on opening day. Testing in the days before Disneyland's opening discovered that the 25% of the track was too steep for the little train and the engine would start to tip backwards as it went up the hill. Disneyland first attempted to counterbalance the tipping engine by adding weight to Casey Jr.'s front end. This worked well enough to allow the Casey Jr. Circus Train to operate on Disneyland's opening day of July 17, 1955, but it was not reliable and the train was shut down the next day. It took almost two weeks for workers to re-do the train track so that the grade was not as steep. The train ride was also slowed down so that the engine would not be as susceptible to tipping over. The Circus Train ride was reopened to the public on July 31, 1955 and has been going strong ever since.

Disneyland's Casey Jr. Circus Train ride: Where it goes

The Casey Jr. Circus Train ride is a favorite with many Disneyland visitors because it offers an excellent tour of Storybook Land. You can often get a view of the area's miniature buildings that you would not be able to see on foot. The entire train ride lasts about 3-4 minutes and takes you over gentle rolling hills, with Casey reciting his legendary line of "I think I can, I think I can." During those few minutes, visitors will be taking past several Disneyland attractions, such as Cinderella's castle, Aladdin's palace, Alice in Wonderland's cottage, and Peter Pan's London Park.

Disneyland's Casey Jr. Circus Train ride: Passenger cars

Not all of Casey Jr.'s train cars are able to carry passengers. When Disneyland was being built, there were several sleigh-style cars installed on the carousel. Walt Disney decided that he only wanted horses on his carousel, so the sleigh cars were transferred to the Casey Jr. Circus Train. Five of the train's cars are made to hold guests. This includes two of these open sleigh cars, along with the two wild animal cages and the caboose. Unlike a regular train, the Casey Jr. engine does not actually pull the rest of the cars. It is actually the second car, which is designed to resemble a circus organ.