Tag: Disneyland Monorail

From the OC Register:

There is still no opening date for the Monorail Red train.

Because there was such high reader interest last week about when the new train is opening, we want to keep you updated with the latest information.

Disney Spokesman John McClintock said today that the Disney is still testing and adjusting the Monorail. He said that no date has been set for the Monorail’s public launch. We’ll continue updating information on this blog about when the Monorail will open to the public.

According to MiceAge:

Daytime testing of Disneyland’s new Monorail Red is off until later this week at the earliest. The suspension issues aren’t that big an issue, but visitors were complaining as they were waiting for the lone operating train to come back, while a shiny new one zipped by unused. CM’s tried to explain, but hotel guests in particular were still unhappy they couldn’t ride on what looked to be a perfectly good train. In light of concerns and short tempers at both stations, and some complaints at the hotel’s front desks, daytime testing is off until they are certain they are only days away from getting the new train signed off.

From the OC Register:

Just got word today that the new Monorail Red train will not open to the public this Friday.

Disney Spokesman John McClintock said the team working on the Monorail “has decided to take a few extra days for test and adjust so it will not open to guests on Friday.”

No date has been set for the Monorail’s public launch. We’ll keep you informed on this blog about a public opening date.

According to this blog post by Brady MacDonald at the LATimes, the new Monorail train has been testing since mid-March.

From the OC Register:

ANAHEIM – What’s red, white and blue and glides through the air?

It’s not some superhero. It’s the new monorail opening to the public Friday at Disneyland.

The first new monorail car in two decades – called the Monorail Red or Mark VII – is expected to open to the public Friday morning.

“I think we’re always looking for ways to update and refresh classic attractions,” said Scot Drake, the monorail lead designer. “This is definitely an iconic attraction.”

The biggest change is the look of the train: The first electric cars have blue glass and red stripes that change color in the sunlight. The next two cars will be blue with purple glass and orange with blue glass.

Bench seats will face the windows, allowing visitors a full view of the parks, Downtown Disney and the Disneyland Hotel. The capacity and speed will remain the same.

The Monorail started in 1959 as part of Disneyland’s first expansion and the track was extended to the Disneyland Hotel in 1961 to a length of two and a half miles.

“For us, the monorail was an attraction in a family theme park. But for Walt (Disney), this was a teaching demonstration to solve a problem,” said Bob Gurr, Disney’s Monorail designer, about the attraction in 2004.

The current Monorail trains, called the Mark V design, debuted in 1987 with a fiberglass body, computer controls and 100 horsepower motors.

For three years, Disney Imagineers have been working on upgrades.

As reported yesterday, the Mark VII Monorail Red did begin daytime cast member previews. But we only just got in pictures, & here are some, courtesy of David “Darkbeer” Michaels:

The Mark VII Monorail Red finally began cast member previews today. And a little video of it circling the tracks is up on YouTube!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS6uNF6uXf0[/youtube]

Cast previews for Monorail Red will begin tomorrow & last through-out the rest of the week. Here are the exact times:

Monday, April 21
6:45 – 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. – 12:15 a.m.

Tuesday, April 22
6:45 – 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. – 12:15 a.m.

Wednesday, April 23
6:45 – 8:30 a.m.

Thursday, April 24
6:45 – 8:30 a.m.

So if anyone’s at the park tomorrow, be sure to have your camera at the ready! We all should be riding Monorail Red very soon!

Thanks to Year45 for sending in this information!

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

Link to the Original Article

Sometime during the course of this week, the Disneyland Resort was welcomed with a new arrival. Monorail Blue was delivered this week. When the pics below were taken it was parked on flatbeds in the KCML (Katella Cast Member Lot) adjacent to the Buzz Lightyear lot used for overflow parking.

Pictures courtesy of Dateline Disneyland on MiceChat.