Disneyland Mark VII Monorail Trains

[Mufasa]

The title of this thread led me to believe that an "insider" had official knowledge of the first day of operation to the public.

Well, I'm sure I'm not alone here when I say that DoomBuggyDude is a very valuable and trusted source of information here on Intercot for the information he shares about the Disneyland resort.

And the resort is anxious to get the new monorails up and in service for guests, especially considering that the Mark V Purple train has been in operation now for over 21 years on the beam. The maintenance folks in the roundhouse are particularly excited with the new trains because they offer a more maintenance-friendly design.

The thing about the monorails (and something that certainly has been the case with the Mark VI at WDW) is that they almost each have a distinct personality to them as if they were a living creature- each one has their own little quirks with how they operate and handle that the pilots and maintenance folks get used to and there's a lot involved with the training and testing/certification process with each train to get them to where they get the final approval to start ferrying guests.

[BrerGnat]

Oh, I completely understand the need for testing and getting to "know" the trains.

I guess I just assumed that the testing had been going on for a couple months now, at night at least.

No big deal. We know the new one is coming. It'll be ready when its ready.

And, I know that Doombuggydude is usually very reliable, which is why I wondered what was up with the specific date given of 4/17. I assumed that was the public unveiling date.

[NotaGeek]

And, I know that Doombuggydude is usually very reliable, which is why I wondered what was up with the specific date given of 4/17. I assumed that was the public unveiling date.

Hmmm. I just don't like how this is going. Doombuggydude provides GREAT insight for stuff happening at the park. He's a valuable member of the INTERCOT family and a personal friend to several of our moderator staff ... the information he gives while no doubt correct when he gets it, isn't written in stone. Stuff changes.

Our appreciation for those with inside information posting here shouldn't be dependent on specific dates and information. Any scrap of info is appreciated ...

[DoomBuggyDude]

Stuff changes.

And how.

It got moved to Monday and is limited to Cast.
Just a small detail that didn't quite make our memo.

[BrerGnat]

Gosh, I really hope I didn't offend anyone. I did not mean to imply that DoomBuggyDude was lying or misinformed!

It's just that this new monorail has been delayed significantly from its original operating date (fall 2007), and I know that's due to mechanical issues upon arrival that needed to be fixed. I really just thought that he was letting us know that it was finally ready for public use. That's all.

It didn't ruin my day. On the contrary! I just wanted to get more info. I really just thought that others may be visiting DLR soon and might be expecting to ride the new monorail as well. I wanted some clarification for myself and others.

I admit, since I go to DLR so often, every "new thing" is exciting for me. Since things don't change too much from week to week (normally), anything that is "new" for us is something fun to look forward to. However, I didn't mention the new monorail to my boys, precisely because I was not 100% certain it would be operating, because I KNOW how things can change when you're talking about Disney. No harm done.

[jjramsey]

Are you talking about Disneyland or Disney World?

There is no talk of expansion at Disneyland that I know of, because there is really no need or nowhere to go.

I was meaning WDW. Everytime I have been there, the cast members have said..."No. There is no more money allocated for anything new with the monorails, we are just maintaining what we have." ...so that is why even investment in new trains is surprising to me! Of course, it would be nice if Epcots' line were extended to the Studios (along with the in between resorts), since that would be a relatively short distance. The 'expensive' one would be a leg to Animal Kingdom.

Oh well...time to wish on a star

[Mufasa]

I was meaning WDW.

This is the Disneyland forum- the 3 new Mark VII trains being discussed here are to replace the Mark V trains at the Disneyland resort.

There are no plans to replace any of the Mark VI trains at WDW at this time.

[trackbarroness]

So how old are the Mark VI monorails here at WDW?

[Mufasa]

I believe Mark VI Blue was the first to arrive at WDW in 1989- but it wasn't until 1991 that the fleet of Mark VI monorails was in regular service with the last of the trains being Coral but I don't remember when that arrived and went into service.

There was quite a bit of work required to upgrade the power systems to support the operation of the larger Mark VI trains so there was a while when the Mark IV trains ran alongside Mark VI trains until all modifications could be completed to support the full set.

[BrerGnat]

I just saw the new monorail on a test run today! It looks AWESOME! I love the color.

I snapped a few quick pictures. If I can post them here, someone let me know how to do that (mods, I can email you the pics for you to post if that's necessary).

[NotaGeek]

WOW! It looks SPIFFY!

[Melanie]

Is it maroon almost? I love it!

[BrerGnat]

Is it maroon almost? I love it!

YES! I loved the color. It's like a burgundy/maroon. I hate the color red, in general, but I thought this shade was perfect. It is sort of metallic looking as well, and I can see how in some lights, it may look almost purple. I can't wait to see more of it. I was just walking back to my car, not expecting it, and it just appeared from the side of the Lego store and took me by surprise.

[Melanie]

Cool! Yeah, I'm not a fan of the color red either. But when I married a Texas Aggie, maroon became a part of my life. I really love it! Can't wait to see them.

[BronxTigger]

I saw the new monorail a few times during my trip. They were supposed to have it up and accepting passengers by Friday afternoon but I did not see it on Friday afternoon. I heard they were running late with it (big surprise, no?).

The monorail that is wrapped with YOAMD was still up and running throughout the trip, although I didn't see them both running at the same time.

[Marla]

as always I want to thank our "insiders" for all the info we get. I just left the parks and the new monorail was not there yet...can't wait to see it here, or ride it there.

[NotaGeek]

Thanks to Chris (2Epcot) for some great new shots of Monorail Red!

[NotaGeek]

More pics from Chris...

[Paradise Pier Pinocchio]

Great pictures. Can't wait to ride the new monorails

[Mufasa]

Monorail Red has been making test runs with the public now since July 3rd- a sort of soft-opening preview of the new Mark VII.

There are no guarantees you'll get a ride on Monorail Red as they can take the train out of service at any time, or you may spot the train making runs around the park but without guests during the day as there's still a lot of testing being performed on the new trains.