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Souvenir map segment © 1962 Walt Disney Productions |
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The Santa Fe & Yesterland Railroad has a station conveniently located near the Midget Autopia, the Motorboat Cruise, and Skull Rock. On the park map, it’s labeled as the “Fantasyland R.R. Station,” but the sign on the station reads “Fantasyland Depot.” |
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The festive Fantasyland Depot has a striped roof that suggests a medieval tournament tent. The little structure draws attention to the fact that the train stops here. It’s really not much more than a canopy to shelter guests from sun and rain — far more basic than Main Street Station. There’s a ticket window below the tallest part. |
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Photo by Charles R. Lympany, circa 1958, courtesy of Chris Taylor Fantasyland Depot (upper left corner), just a short walk from Monstro |
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Photo by Charles R. Lympany, circa 1958, courtesy of Chris Taylor Fantasyland Depot, behind Midget Autopia |
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Photo by Charles R. Lympany, circa 1958, courtesy of Chris Taylor Citrus groves and eucalyptus windbreaks beyond the park |
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If you start your train ride at the Fantasyland Depot, be sure to ride the train all the way around the park. You’ll get a great view of the Burning Settler’s Cabin. The Santa Fe & Yesterland Railroad is a good way to see the Living Desert without having to use one of your valuable tickets for the Conestoga Wagons, the Stagecoach Ride, the Rainbow Ridge Pack Mules, or the Rainbow Caverns Mine Ride. |
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When Disneyland opened in 1955, there were two train stations and two trains. The Passenger Train offered nonstop round trip rides from Main Street Station, while the Freight Train provided round trip rides from Frontierland Station. For more information, see Passenger Train, Santa Fe & Yesterland Railroad. In 1956, Disneyland opened a third railroad station, Fantasyland Depot. |
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Aerial photograph, March 24, 1959, Courtesy of the Orange County Archives 1959 aerial photo of Disneyland with Fantasyland Depot in the yellow circle |
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The original railroad route from 1955 had a long, straight stretch on the north side of the park. It went along the edge of the Living Desert and passed just north of the Storybook Land Canal Boats. In 1966, just ten years after it opened, the Fantasyland Depot disappeared. It was a victim of progress — or actually a victim of “the happiest cruise that ever sailed the world.” |
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Aerial photograph, July 27, 1970, Courtesy of the Orange County Archives 1970 aerial photo of Disneyland showing the 1967 railroad route around the park |
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The railroad track was rerouted when “it’s a small world” was built. This provided room for the loading area of the ride and a future expansion area. The area between Storybook Land Canal Boats and the new track was eventually used for Videopolis (1985), the dance club, which later became the Fantasyland Theatre, home to such shows as The Spirit of Pocahontas. Railroad passengers lost the great view of the Living Desert because there was now a large meadow between the train track and the Living Desert. But the narration still pointed out the Living Desert and the space for expansion: “Across the open grass meadow, you can see part of the colorful Living Desert and Old Unfaithful geyser in Nature’s Wonderland. Walt Disney once said, ‘Disneyland will never be completed as long as there is imagination left in the world.’ And here in Frontierland there are still wide open spaces for imagination to conquer someday.” |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 1988 New location for a new Fantasyland Depot |
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After an absence of almost 20 years, Fantasyland once again had a train station in 1985. The Videopolis Station opened along with the Videopolis dance club. It was little more than a concrete platform and some landscaping, just west of “it’s a small world”. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 1991 The Disney Afternoon Train Depot |
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In 1991, Fantasyland’s Videopolis Station became The Disney Afternoon Train Depot. The framework remained the same, but a new sign covered the old one as part of the Disney Afternoon LIVE! (Disney Afternoon Avenue) overlay. |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2013 Mickey’s Toontown Train Depot, more elaborate than the Videopolis Station |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2004 Mickey’s Toontown Train Depot sign |
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In 1993, Fantasyland once again lost its train station — even though the station didn’t move. Mickey’s Toontown Train Depot replaced Fantasyland’s minimal depot. At first, Disneyland park maps continued to list the station under Fantasyland, but eventually it joined the new land that it served, Mickey’s Toontown. Mickey’s Toontown Train Depot has lasted more than three times as long as the original Fantasyland Depot. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2012 Fantasyland Station at Magic Kingdom Park |
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Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World has a station in the Storybook Circus section of Fantasyland. A simple train platform opened in 1988 as Mickey’s Birthdayland Station. It changed names a few times before becoming Mickey’s Toontown Fair Train Station in 1996. Today’s elaborate Fantasyland Station opened in 2012. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2019 Fantasyland Station at Hong Kong Disneyland |
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Hong Kong Disneyland has the most whimsical Fantasyland Station of any Disney “castle park.“ It was an opening day feature of the park in 2005, and has the distinction of being the only Fantasyland Station at an Asian Disney park. If you’ve been to the original Disneyland Park in California, it might look like an expanded version of something you’ce seen before… |
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Photo by Allen Huffman, 2005 Casey Jr. Circus Train station at Disneyland |
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Casey Jr. Circus Train opened July 31, 1955. So, in a way, Disneyland has had a Fantasyland Station since the park’s first month. It just isn’t for the Disneyland Railroad. Architecturally similar to the station in Walt Disney’s 1954 cartoon “Pigs is Pigs,” the station served as the ticket booth for the little circus train, back when rides required tickets. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2024 Fantasyland Station sign at Disneyland Paris |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2024 Fantasyland Station at Disneyland Paris, hidden behind Meet Mickey Mouse |
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The Euro Disneyland Railroad opened in 1992 with four stations, including one in Fantasyland hidden behind the Fantasy Festival Stage. The park was officially renamed to Disneyland Paris in 1994. The former stage is now a meet-and-greet. So far, this article has shown stations serving Fantasyland at four Disney “castle parks” worldwide. What about the other two in Asia? The steam train at Tokyo Disneyland is called Western River Railroad, has a single station, and only goes around Westernland and Adventureland, reportedly because of how Japanese law regulates railroads with multiple stops. For Shanghai Disneyland, the decision makers chose not to include a train around the perimeter of the park or through any part of it. |
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© 2025 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated April 4, 2025 |
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