Disneyland Transportation to Run on Food Oil and CNG

Disneyland Resort recently announced new environmental initiatives to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from its facilities. In addition to using compressed natural gas (CNG) to fuel its guest trams, the Anaheim, Calif. park will also use recycled cooking oil to power its Disneyland Railroad steam trains and Mark Twain riverboat.

“These initiatives demonstrate Disneyland Resort’s ongoing commitment to balancing environmental stewardship throughout our operations,” said Michael O’Grattan, senior vice president of resort operations. “These are just a few steps in our ongoing journey to reduce Disneyland Resort’s environmental footprint.”

Starting this week, the Disneyland Railroad is being fueled by a special biodiesel made from recycled cooking oil used throughout the resort. Since April 2007, the Disneyland Railroad’s five trains have been using a soy-based biodiesel. The cooking-oil biodiesel will not only continue to reduce emissions by up to 80 percent, but is locally sourced from the 500-acre park’s facilities.

Chip and Dale stand in front of one of the newly converted CNG trams. - Corporate.Disney.Go.Com

“We have been recycling our used kitchen grease for years, but this innovation takes recycling to another level,” said Frank Dela Vara, Disneyland Resort’s director of environmental affairs and conservation. “Now the oil used to cook french fries and other foods is processed to power our Disneyland Railroad and our Mark Twain Riverboat. This move allows the Resort to save approximately 200,000 gallons of petroleum diesel per year.”

The Mark Twain Riverboat also will begin using the new biodiesel within the next few weeks.

CNG

As of December 2008, all 16 Disneyland Resort trams, which transport guests between the two theme parks and parking facilities, are fueled by compressed natural gas (CNG). For the 10 years prior to the conversion, diesel/hybrid engines powered Disneyland trams.

The switch to CNG from a hybrid engine was made possible through a $1.17 million grant from the Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program. Using CNG will eliminate the need for approximately 50,000 gallons of diesel per year.

With 20,000 employees, the Disneyland Resort is Orange County’s largest employer and a $3.7 billion annual contributor to the local economy. The Resort has received more than 550 million guests since opening on July 17, 1955.