The original Monorail was a round trip ride with no stops. In 1961, the track was expanded to connect to a station at the Disneyland Hotel, making it an actual transportation system. The original Hotel station was torn down in 1999 and a new station, now called the Downtown Disney Station, was built in the same place.

Technically, the Disneyland Monorail still serves the area near the Disneyland Hotel, but the physical relationship between the station and the hotel changed significantly in 1999 during the massive expansion that created Disney California Adventure and the Downtown Disney District. Originally, when the Monorail extension opened in 1961, it was the first monorail system in the United States to cross a public road, and it arrived at a dedicated station located directly on the grounds of the Disneyland Hotel. For decades, guests could step out of their hotel room and practically onto the train. However, during the late 1990s redevelopment, much of the original hotel's footprint and its peripheral structures were demolished or repurposed. The station was extensively remodeled and integrated into the new Downtown Disney shopping district. While the station is still referred to as the "Disneyland Hotel station" by many long-time fans, it is now officially the Downtown Disney District station. It remains a short, pleasant walk from the hotel towers, but it is no longer "inside" the hotel complex as it once was during the classic era of the resort.