JonnyK
Active Member
I wouldnt know if it was driverless or not but this concept art seems like its not showing a pilot driver. :shrug:
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Disneyland gets new Monorail Trains!!!! First in 20 years!!!
- Thread starter wbboy29
- Start date
I wouldnt know if it was driverless or not but this concept art seems like its not showing a pilot driver. :shrug:
Mr Bill
Well-Known Member
Wow, that's much nicer than our Technicolor Vomit overlay!That looks actually cool, i kinda like it.
wikipedia is updated with the timeline of this -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disneyland_Monorail_System
but for the time being - it would be nice if the WDW Version had this overlay for the millions of dream....
(disneyland one)
epcot85
Member
Theres no original WDW design to make retro, they have looked the same (for the most part) since WDW opened, they could update the design while staying true to the original, with the recent upgrades to WDW's I doubt they are looking to change anytime soon, even though 20 years of service is coming up. We can hope 
WaltsApprentice
New Member
I would have to agree... they do look nice though and shiny but I don't think we will get anything as small as Disneyland's. I just came back from there it was my first time... I was in shock at how small they are... barely wide or tall you have to duck to get out of them. There was only sitting room no standing room at all which is good because I always like to get the seat yet there is never enough room for both my gf and me (i'm the nice bf and let her sit
) But anyway... they were really small and the amount of people that come to WDW and use them you would not be able to pack that many in. But we may just get a bigger design...just hopefully not the same...
WaltsApprentice
New Member
That looks actually cool, i kinda like it.
wikipedia is updated with the timeline of this -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disneyland_Monorail_System
but for the time being - it would be nice if the WDW Version had this overlay for the millions of dream....
(disneyland one)
Ya that was one of the positives over at Disneyland that most of their dream stuff was very few and better looking then our Confetti ones and ugly fairy wing looking signs... I hated those and it it was always in places that gave bad theming.
makeupagoodbye
Member
WW!!!!!!!!!
W!!!!!!!!!
KeeKee
Well-Known Member
They look really nice! I think they would work at WDW. Someone said that the themeing with the Victorian areas wouldn't match as well, but, when you think of the Victorian theme and the monorail concept, it's kind of an oxymoron in the first place.
A definite thumbs up on the new DL monorails!
A definite thumbs up on the new DL monorails!
WDWFREAK53
Well-Known Member
I just saw this article in the OCRegister online. Just makes me wonder if WDW will be getting any new trains in the next few years. I know the WDW monorails are bigger, so we couldn't get the exact same ones but just makes you wonder. By the way I LOVE the look of the new trains. Very cool. Pictures are posted after the article (photos courtesy of the OCRegister)
New monorail arrives at Disneyland
Guests will be able to ride the new train starting in February. The first car shipped in today.
By SARAH TULLY
The Orange County Register
ANAHEIM – The first new monorail car in two decades slid onto the Disneyland track on Thursday as the theme park prepares for guests to ride it starting in late February.
Starting Monday, five flat-bed trucks transported in the five cars of the first redesigned train from Vancouver, Canada, where they were built. Crews ripped off white shrink wrap, which made the cars look like a Space Shuttle, and took about an hour and 15 minutes for a crane to hoist the nose of the first red-striped train to the parking area.
The ride started in 1959 as part of Disneyland's first expansion and the current cars have carted visitors around the Disney area since 1987. For three years, Disney Imagineers have been working on the upgrades that will roll out through the summer.
"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.
Until the February debut, Disney workers will put finishing touches on the construction and test the train after the park closes.
So, what do you think?
It looks like a whale.
The nose of it just looks like some big ocean-dwelling mammal.
I do like the styling of the rest of it...A LOT...but the shape of the nose just looks too large. (Maybe this is to accommodate more people in the front cabin?)
Overall, I would say that it's an improvement over the current monorail...but it wouldn't phase me in the least if they stuck with the current one or took that design and made it a better mix of the old and new.
EDIT: YES! This monorail should be at SeaWorld...paint it black with white spots and it would look just like Shamu!
TTFN-Tiggger
New Member
Looks pretty cool I think! I will have to make sure to ride on my visit there in July.
I really dont see any need to do anything to the WDW monorails. Remember that in DL, the monorail is more of an attraction than a real transportation system as it is in WDW. (It's nowhere near the size/capacity of the WDW system). The monorail takes a fairly big route through Disneyland, and its visual design is very important. For WDW, where the monorail is primarily transportation, I think the current design looks (and works) great. It's timeless.
Those are nice for DL, not for WDW
The new trains look pretty nice for DL where, as someone said, the monorail is a ride and not a transportation system. More than a few people think that the "ride" nature of the DL monorail is the reason so many cities choose not to go with monorail for their mass transit, opting instead for the much less safe light rail. These trains would be horrid at WDW because of the capacity issues AND because the monorails go by/through so many differently themed areas the retro look would be hideous. Simple, understated, and unobtrusive appearance is more needed in Florida.
The Tokyo monorail is much closer to a subway than the WDW monorails. They have a surprisingly rough and noisy ride.
Hopefully if they decide to update the WDW monorail trains they won't feel the need to "retro" them, that would be a huge mistake.
The new trains look pretty nice for DL where, as someone said, the monorail is a ride and not a transportation system. More than a few people think that the "ride" nature of the DL monorail is the reason so many cities choose not to go with monorail for their mass transit, opting instead for the much less safe light rail. These trains would be horrid at WDW because of the capacity issues AND because the monorails go by/through so many differently themed areas the retro look would be hideous. Simple, understated, and unobtrusive appearance is more needed in Florida.
The Tokyo monorail is much closer to a subway than the WDW monorails. They have a surprisingly rough and noisy ride.
Hopefully if they decide to update the WDW monorail trains they won't feel the need to "retro" them, that would be a huge mistake.
PintoColvig
Active Member
I wonder if these new ones have A/C. When I rode the old ones in Aug., they had the windows open and it was stuffy.
IROC it
Member
PeoplemoverTTA
Well-Known Member
I was wondering the same thing...I had a heck of a time breathing in the DL monorail it was so hot in March 2006. I can't imagine how stuffy it is in those things in the middle of the summer!
mousermerf
Account Suspended
Just noting, since most people have this misconception, that the DL monorails don't have automated doors and you have to sit - you couldn't stand if you wanted to.
mousermerf
Account Suspended
Another note..
When i rode DL's monorails, i nearly died when it banked for a turn, i thought we were going to fall off the track. It's very steeply banked.
Similarly, when a DL-regular came to WDW recently, she was enamoured and thrilled by the monorail to Epcot and how fast it went, she thought it was doing 60mph and was the coolest thing ever.
When i rode DL's monorails, i nearly died when it banked for a turn, i thought we were going to fall off the track. It's very steeply banked.
Similarly, when a DL-regular came to WDW recently, she was enamoured and thrilled by the monorail to Epcot and how fast it went, she thought it was doing 60mph and was the coolest thing ever.
maelstrom
Well-Known Member
I love the new design and I think it's going to look great gliding through Tomorrowland. It's a great update of the vintage design.
That said, I don't think it would look right in WDW. It might fit into the Main Street and Grand Floridian if they made it a little more steampunk, but it'd look severely out of place at the Polynesian, Contemporary, and even Epcot. However, they could take the same shell design and style the paint differently and it might fit in at WDW better. They could probably use an update from the stripes, and the insides of most of the cars smell like bandaids, ______, or the zoo. WDW doesn't need a monorail update as bad as Disneyland did, but it still couldn't hurt.
That said, I don't think it would look right in WDW. It might fit into the Main Street and Grand Floridian if they made it a little more steampunk, but it'd look severely out of place at the Polynesian, Contemporary, and even Epcot. However, they could take the same shell design and style the paint differently and it might fit in at WDW better. They could probably use an update from the stripes, and the insides of most of the cars smell like bandaids, ______, or the zoo. WDW doesn't need a monorail update as bad as Disneyland did, but it still couldn't hurt.