Disneyland Mark VII Monorail Trains

[DoomBuggyDude]

Here comes the unexpected twist!

A mechanical flaw has been discovered in the
new monorail red. It's so bad it may have to
be sent back on the flatbed.

But wait! There's more!

The old red mono has been disassembled for
scrapping, so that means one working monorail
(purple) for at least a few months.

[2Epcot]

That's not good.

[MegaDisney]

RUT RO!

Thanks for the info Doom.

[Melanie]

Oy.

Thanks for the heads up, DBD.

[BrerGnat]

Yep, I was at DLR today. Monorail Purple is the only one running right now (and it smelled pretty bad inside) , but it was rather quick both times I took it. The wait is still only about 5-10 minutes, at the most.

Sad to hear about the new train, though. I was looking forward to seeing it next month.

[DoomBuggyDude]

It's finally ready!

It will run as a two train operation along with
the older, cloud-wrapped Monorail Purple.

The seating has changed from rows to an
outer bench with an inner island bench, very
similar to the Jungle Cruise arrangement.

The lighting is amazing at night, and the
overall impression is one of boarding a ship
from Star Trek - TNG.

The nosecone is a little more cramped due to
a much larger driver console with monitors.
The tailcone is very spacious and probably
a better choice for the claustrophobic.

[Carol]

I'll be there Friday. Guess I'll be missing it this trip.

[tinkwest]

....The tailcone is very spacious and probably a better choice for the claustrophobic.

That would be me.

Thanks for the info, DBD!

[Mufasa]

The new Mark VII monorails look really great with the color-changing paint shades during the day but I think their real beauty comes out at night, with both the interior "mood" lighting and a particularly impressive paint job/effect that makes the monorail almost seem to glow as they glide past the park lighting in the evening which will really stand out.

I also like how the styling has more throwback cues to the earlier Mark I/III trains. DBD's description of the seating is a good way to put it- overall the new monorail cars feel quite a bit more spacious in the interior than the Mark V's

You've gotta love that New Monorail Smell (ah... composite materials) especially compared to the Mark VI monorails at WDW (that combination of Florida heat and humidity can make for some pretty funky monorail cars, especially when it rains).

And with new monorails come new costumes for the CMs! Hooray!

We hope to have the next train in the new Mark VII fleet at the resort in the very near future for testing and hope to have that one up and running in place just in time for the busy summer.

The only thing missing is an announcement like the London Underground to "Mind the Gap" when you reach the Tomorrowland Station.

[BrerGnat]

Woo hoo!!! I am going to make a very special trip there that day just so my 3 year old can ride the "new" monorail! He is going to LOVE it!

Thanks for the info!

[2Epcot]

Great to hear ... I hope to get over there soon myself. I pass the park several days a week, see the Tower of Terror, Space Mountain, and Matterhorn, but have been too busy to visit the park ... I'm excited about seeing the new Monorail.

[LandFan]

Cool! Maybe they will both be up and running by the time we get there on June 18th!

[DoomBuggyDude]

Well, it's even better now...

the new Blue arrived over the weekend and
is already being prepared.

I don't have a rollout date for that one as yet.

[CanadianWDWFan]

Glad to hear this! We are now in the double digits away from our first ever trip out to DLR!

Thanks for the info, we have got to check this out.

[Disneyluvr2]

Yea, only 15 more days until my trip to DLR! I love it when I get to experience something new on my trips!

[BrerGnat]

I just got back from DLR. I was there from 10am-1:30pm. The only monorail running was the old monorail Purple. I was a bit disappointed, as I went today basically just so my boys and I could ride the new monorail.

Anyone know what's up? Will it be running tomorrow? The only thing I could think of is that they are planning to have a "grand opening ceremony" of sorts, to formally introduce the new monorail, and that may be happening later in the day. But, that's all conjecture on my part.

If anyone has any updates, please share! Thanks.

On a positive (unrelated) note, the parks were VERY uncrowded and manageable today. Compared to last week's crowds, it was like a night and day difference.

[Mufasa]

While you may spot the new Monorail Red making daytime testing runs around the resort over the next few weeks, I really would not expect the official start of trips with the public to occur until mid-May.

Monorail Blue should begin with after-hours testing by early May and launched to the public hopefully in June.

[jjramsey]

Wow!

I did not know that Disney was investing in new monorail vehicles. Does this mean that they might loosen up on line expansion?

[Melanie]

I did not know that Disney was investing in new monorail vehicles. Does this mean that they might loosen up on line expansion?

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.

[BrerGnat]

While you may spot the new Monorail Red making daytime testing runs around the resort over the next few weeks, I really would not expect the official start of trips with the public to occur until mid-May.

Monorail Blue should begin with after-hours testing by early May and launched to the public hopefully in June.

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

I'll be looking forward to at least SEEING it, though. It looks so cool in the pictures.