Sprucing up the Monorails

[Nubs70]

As important a part of WDW as they are, the monorails really are rather boring looking, IMO......except for those times when they get wrapped up in advertising The Avengers, Tron, or things of that nature. I think, though, that they don't look as cool as they could with their current, normal paint schemes. I think they ought to be painted either the main color they represent (with a flip-flop of the current scheme) or painted up as a particular character.....just something to give them a more exciting look to them. "How do we get to Epcot?" - "Oh, today you will go to the Ticket & Transportation Center and head to the monorail station for Epcot. Then you'll climb aboard the Genie (or Mickey, or Goofy, or Hook, etc) monorail today and it'll take you right there." I think that sounds better than saying "Oh you'll be taking Monorail Lime to Epcot today."

Or have them announce, "You will be riding Anna on your way to Epcot today." Then no one boards because they want to ride Elsa.

 

[JIMINYCR]

I'm in with the leave the monorails alone crowd. They dont need to be dressed up as rolling ads or characterized, and dont spend funds on something that isnt going to add to my vacation. All I need is a colored stripe so they can be identified by the crew. They are a means to transport us from one place to another and all I want is for them to run efficiently. Keep them clean and keep them running.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The monorails, and really the busses as well, could definitely use some re-Disneyfication, but it needs to be the Disneyfication from which they were born. That is absolutely not plastering them with brands and characters. It would mean once again elevating the notion of transit beyond current expectations. Disney Transportation should be an experience not of recalling already known films, shows or other products but so grand that you return home wanting such a transit option in your daily life.

 

[Bluewaves]

Not everything needs to be a cartoon to be Disney, the only thing the monorails need are a good scrub, some fresh carpet and some new ac and leave them alone beyond that

 

[mergatroid]

I like them as they are and they seem a good match for the Contemporary in colour.

 

[Scooter]

You might be making too many trips to Walt Disney World if you find ANY kind of Monorails "Boring".

 

[nace888]

Alright, y'all woke me up from my forum slumber... Here's what I was working on recently, well a while back. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Since this, I have done edits, and found myself liking some things more than others.

Whoever posted about the colored lights, that was in my cab plans, and I intended each cab to be kinda darker, but more geared torwards the colors. As well, the skirting had a bit of an update, to feature LED strips on the edge of the fin like skirt, rather than the Mark VII style lighting. there is NO lighting from the nose now, simply the skirts, and if done right, will illuminate the beamways well. I'll find my post and quote it here.

 

[nace888]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOME MORE!!!

View attachment 61854
Okay, what we see here is a train very reminiscent of the Mark VI, while having a stylish look of a Mark VIII... As seen, the nose would no longer have that "hard edge" and instead would look more smooth, much like a LearJet... Instead of 2 part doors, the trains would have solid 1 part doors, and they would operate much like a mother's MiniVan, where the door would slide sideways... The Pilots door would do the same, sliding sideways when opening and closing, not needing to slam it shut.

The nose would have a more smooth curve to it, not having those few inches of straight flat across the front just above the light, and on my design, there would be no lights on the nose... In this case, the lights would be on the Skirts like at DisneyLand, but I'm leaning torward an LED Strip on the edge of the skirt, rather than 2-3 lights that DL Currently has... The skirts though, would be more reminiscent to the Mark Is/Mark VIIs, having that smooth slicey type edge, rather than a blocky edge on the current Mark VIs... Quite contrary to the image, the nose would be the same length as the current Mark VIs, I just simply can't draw those proportionally to save my life... Right now, my thought is that the whole middle section (from window edge to window edge on the passenger windows) would be black much like the Mark VIIs, but still keep the nice curves around the corners of the windows.

When you get inside, my idea is that the interior would no longer consist of blue seating, but a nice grey, to be more uniform with each train, and each cabin would offer mood lighting (much like the Mark VII) but in each color of the train. Red would have Red Mood Lighting, Yellow with Yellow, and so forth. Most of the lighting would be hidden under the seats, but may be placed in small ridges around the top of the cabin... The seating would not have a middle row no longer, and would instead have seating under the large middle windows, allowing for more space through the middle of the cabins. I intend to do inside sketches of both cabins and pilots cabs sometime in the near future...

I'd also like to add that the bodies would have the same shape, but the noses would change, as well as a few of the aesthetics... That would change in my design though... I have updated the concept art since scanning it (I scanned last week so I've added more since) but I think this could most definitely look good! I'd not added stripe work etc, only on the skirt, but even then it's not done to my standards...

I also forgot to add that the rear facing lights (on the skirt) would appear in red! Forward lights in white, rear in red. I've got a few little details planned in my head... I often forget them though.

Thanks!! I do want to point out though, that the cab section is there, should WDW decide to "reintroduce" driving pilots... At the same time, there's a cool feature I'm looking into, which would require (for me) that the trains still have a cab...


The intended plan is to keep them as "initiators" to open doors, close doors, start the train, and many are hoping they'll still have ability to drive the trains through an override should something happen.


Disney's goal was to keep the position, but tweak it, if I'm correct...




You've made a good point, but my designs kinda has some cool feels to it, should it work out like I'm wanting... With the Mark VI's, if I"m correct, the drive/load tires aren't filling the entire wheel well, and are maybe half the height of the train... My goal/idea is to open up the train a little more with "half walls" between the cars... The pilot's cabin and the passenger cabin were to be separated in my plan, but utilize a half wall, with a glass type division between the two... If it worked, it would allow for guests to see through the front of the train, while still remaining a safe distance, and not bothering the driver or attendant... These half walls can also feature small step ladders to allow for the emergency escape should something happen, and open up the train a little, while still keeping the individual cabins. It would allow more air flow, as well as the ability to open the atmosphere some, so sorry "Nighttime Beamway High Club", that'll be gone...
As mentioned, the plan was to move the lights to the skirts, and kinda give a feel like that of Disneyland, but I'm really leaning torwards LED strips, as they are brighter, and look more futuristic. The rear of the train (as mentioned) would have red lights, while the front would have white. Reverse lights are also an option, as they are identifyable at day or night, and can help with visibility.

Okay, so small update. In my design, I know what most everything will look like, or I'm getting ideas as I go along. That being said, I've decoded that a grey seating will be used, not blue... where that pink strip is around the cabin would now be mood lighting. Like the Mark VII, there will be some kind of Mark VIII Logo implimented, though I'm not sure where just yet. There will also be mood lighting under the seats, so they're not directly visible, but the color is. There's more design ideas coming to my head as I work on it, I promise!