Monorail Red Set to Debut at Disneyland as Blue Arrives
Disneyland begins riderless daytime tests of the Mark VII Monorail Red next week in anticipation of a public debut by mid-May, Disney officials said.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) could sign off on Monorail Red as early as this week, clearing the way for employee test runs and eventually park visitors, a Disney spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the shrink-wrapped Monorail Blue trains recently arrived at Disneyland via flatbed truck, according to MiceAge’s Dateline Disneyland column. Late last week, sections of Blue were lowered by crane onto the beamway and pushed into the backstage roundhouse, according to MiceAge’s Monday in the Parks column.
Nighttime testing of Monorail Blue is scheduled to begin in early May, Disney officials said.
In late March, Disney put to rest persistent Internet chat room rumors that Monorail Red would have to be sent back to the assembly plant in Canada for major modifications.
The Mark VII’s sleek iconic exterior features color-shifting paint with gray pinstriping that evokes the stainless-steel side panels of the 1959 original designed by Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr.
— Brady MacDonald, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer