Disneyland receives new monorail train

Disneyland has received the first of several next-generation monorail trains, the first new trains to hit the park's monorail track in twenty years. "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 trains were transported by flat-bed truck from Vancouver, Canada, where they were built. The Disneyland monorail system debuted in 1959, and saw its last update in 1987. The biggest change with the new models is the look of the trains — the first new 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, while capacity and speed will remain the same. The new trains will begin guest service in February; in the meantime, Disney workers will put finishing touches on the construction and test the train after the park closes. You can see more photos of the new monorail train here. [via BoingBoing, The Disney Blog]