In 1976, the car was known as the Bicentennial Special and Presidential Car, but now it is simply known as the Presidential Car. Befitting its stature as a private car, the Lilly Belle could only be ridden by Disney company executives or dignitaries. On rare occasions, the car would be made available to others with proper credentials. Special tickets were issued, resurrecting the ornate artwork of the E.P. Ripley that had graced Santa Fe & Disneyland tickets in the mid-1950s. Some of these tickets were facsimile "signed" by Lillian Disney, while others were blank. A Retlaw executive pass could also gain the bearer admittance.

The Lilly Belle departs Frontierland Station in the mid-1990s.

Of course, there was one person who didn’t need a pass of any kind to board the car. Bill Colley, a Disneyland Railroad conductor in the early 1980s, remembers, "I had been with Retlaw for about six months in the spring of 1980 and had been trained on the Monorails after the Steam Trains. I was working the Monorail shift when I was requested to change my costume and report to Steam Trains as they were short handed. Everything was going great, as usual. About six hours into the shift, Train Control, Steam Train Lead, received a call that we were about to have a very important VIP arrive at Main Street Station for a trip on the Lilly Belle. Well, the VI-VIP was none other than Lillian Disney herself, and everyone started jumping! The Lilly Belle arrived at Main Street and we boarded Mrs. Disney and her party. We all were on our best Retlaw behavior. Needles to say Retlaw Supervisor Paul Legg was there to oversee the procedure. WOW! What a thrill for me to get to see Mrs. Disney! I will never forget that!"

Front and rear view of the special ticket that one needed to board the
Lilly Belle. This one was unfortunately "voided" by Disney.

What was it like to ride in the car before it became relatively commonplace? Steve Burns, who operates www.burnsland.com, a website with quite a bit of Disneyland Railroad information, got to ride the car as a finalist in the Disney Store National Trivia contest. He recalls,

I knew the Lilly Belle’s history of being one of the original passenger cars on the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad, which was then turned into a luxury VIP car. I had even seen a few pictures. But I was still amazed at the elegance of it all--the comfortable furniture, the dark colors, the pictures of Walt. I felt that it was a true honor to be riding in this railcar. I wondered if people could see us through the windows, asking themselves who we might be to get to ride in style, knowing that royalty and dignitaries had also ridden in the same way in the same car.

I enjoyed the fact that the railroad narration could be heard in the car, although it seemed to be a slightly lower volume than in the regular cars. The windows seemed rather small, which made me more aware of why Walt ordered that open-air cars be constructed to give guests a better view of the park as they were riding. Still, it was enjoyable to sit in this enclosed car, looking out the windows, taking in the scenery, and knowing that I was riding in a piece of history.

Brass lamps flank the rear door, while in the corners, small fans are situated to provide
suitable Victorian "air-conditioned comfort" on warm days. Photo by Matt Walker

Matt Walker, proprietor of www.startedbyamouse.com, had a similar experience, also as a Disney Store Trivia Contest finalist:

Certainly, you felt like a VIP getting to go through the red door with the brass nameplate attached while other guests wondered why they couldn’t do the same. I fully understood that feeling, so often being the person on the outside looking in. But here I was taking a seat in the private parlor car, awaiting the all-clear signal allowing us to pull away from the Main Street Station.

My favorite thing that I remember about riding in the Lilly Belle was looking at the personal photos of Walt and his family that adorned the walls of the car. These weren’t the standard images that we had seen time and time again of "Uncle Walt" addressing the public at an event or though the television camera. But rather they were intimate portraits of a family man and--dare I say--a regular guy.

The red Victorian decor was very similar to how Walt’s apartment above the fire station and Club 33 are decorated. Though these areas are not generally available to the park’s guests, their commonality is very much an example of how the concept of theme is carried out through all areas of Disneyland. Fake flowers and a few suitcases piled up on one another as a prop were some of the things that reminded me that I wasn’t on board just any railroad coach, but one that was deliberately put together to satisfy the back story created for it.

The Lilly Belle was usually attached to the tail end of the Holiday Blue cars (those with blue striped awnings, numbered in the 500 series), but could occasionally be seen trailing the Holiday Green as well.

The car held up for several years, but 20 years later, things were beginning to fall into disrepair.