Disney Skyliner (Gondola Transportation System) Read Post 1 Now Open!

[sachilles]

For what it's worth, I worked at a ski resort for 18 years. We ran the lifts in the summer as well as winter. Of the the total of 13 rope lifts, in the 18 years, not a single one ever had a failure related to lightning strikes. Uphill capacity was over 25,000 in aggregate(so lower number per lift). Detachable and non-detachable lifts. Some as old or older than me(I'm 44).
In those 18 years, we only had one lift evacuation, though most had trained on the scenario. Frostbite/hypothermia is a bigger risk in our scenario than heat stroke, but the standard is 20 minutes to clear the line or you evac. The single biggest issue was icing in winter. We did shut down for lightning as a company policy, but it never damaged anything.
I'm confident that the skyliner will survive lighting just fine. The issue would likely be a customer service issue as to whether you want to subject your guests to that weather extreme, less of a safety issue.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

They are definitely going to run the Skyliner during lightning storms.

That's how they are going to power the ac.

 

[SaharanTea]

They are definitely going to run the Skyliner during lightning storms.

That's how they are going to power the ac.

Nah, rev that baby up to 88 miles per hour and hit it with 1.21 "jiggawatts."

 

[scrappinginontario]

I think people's concerns with lightening is that Florida is the lightening capital of the world. Also, many ski resorts have their lifts and gondolas in wooded areas where there are more options of higher places for lightening to strike.

While I have no idea if/how lightening will affect the gondolas, I do feel it's a valid concern that people have. I'm someone who loves a good thunder storm but also admit to jumping more than once at lightening strikes in FL! We visit in either August of September each year and those (almost) daily storms are fierce!

 

[jade1]

Nah, rev that baby up to 88 miles per hour and hit it with 1.21 "jiggawatts."

Yes, and punch in the year you want to visit WDW.

Didn't see much new last week, just super excited for the future opening.

 

[sachilles]

I think people's concerns with lightening is that Florida is the lightening capital of the world. Also, many ski resorts have their lifts and gondolas in wooded areas where there are more options of higher places for lightening to strike.

While I have no idea if/how lightening will affect the gondolas, I do feel it's a valid concern that people have. I'm someone who loves a good thunder storm but also admit to jumping more than once at lightening strikes in FL! We visit in either August of September each year and those (almost) daily storms are fierce!

To be honest, there isn't anything higher than the lifts at the ski resorts. The trees are usually well below the lift height, many times you need to clear the trees.

 

[Turn the Page]

To be honest, there isn't anything higher than the lifts at the ski resorts. The trees are usually well below the lift height, many times you need to clear the trees.

I haven't been to enough resorts to say what is typical across the majority of resorts but I know our local hill has trees very close to some of the lifts. My spatial recognition skills are not the greatest but I would estimate 15 feet away from the cable in many places, and the trees are MUCH taller than the towers.

 

[sachilles]

I haven't been to enough resorts to say what is typical across the majority of resorts but I know our local hill has trees very close to some of the lifts. My spatial recognition skills are not the greatest but I would estimate 15 feet away from the cable in many places, and the trees are MUCH taller than the towers.

Your experience is not typical.
Many western resorts have lifts above treeline, so the lack of trees really solidifies the lift towers as high points. In eastern resorts with any elevation, the tree size diminishes with elevation gain.
That being said I don't think a mountain environment is any less likely to produce a lightning strike compared to a non mountain installation like disney. I'll concede that lightning is more frequent near Orlando, and with that odds would have to increase with more lightning strikes. However I don't have fear of a lightning strike doing me in at Disney, other than being stranded out on a golf course.

 

[OSUZorba]

My point was, I expect they already have a detection system in place that covers WDW and would not need to install one on the Skyliner.

To be clear I was responding the person that was using the presence of anemometers as evidence they won't run them in bad weather. I don't know if they will or won't have lightning detectors, and if they did or didn't wouldn't necessarily mean they would or wouldn't operate in lightning.

 

[OSUZorba]

I think people's concerns with lightening is that Florida is the lightening capital of the world. Also, many ski resorts have their lifts and gondolas in wooded areas where there are more options of higher places for lightening to strike.

While I have no idea if/how lightening will affect the gondolas, I do feel it's a valid concern that people have. I'm someone who loves a good thunder storm but also admit to jumping more than once at lightening strikes in FL! We visit in either August of September each year and those (almost) daily storms are fierce!

Yeah, I love thunderstorms too. Last time I was staying at Bonnet Creek we were on our 10th floor balcony watching the lightning when a two bolts hit a tower crane about half a mile away. The Thunder about made me jump out of my skin, and then DD2 said she wanted to go inside.

I think these would be perfectly safe to operate in the lightning, but I have doubts that they will just from the perception of it. If lightning hits one of the grounding wires near you, it would be extremely loud and scare just about everyone.

 

[Spaceguy55]

As someone who has lived in Florida a long time sometimes a storm can form above where you are at, and then it may or may not move in any direction. WDW is a huge property and I think the Gondola system will need it's own weather system to predict if storms are in formation near it.. they have to start somewhere and the first sign may be a bolt out of the blue..

 

[DanBoris]

For what it's worth, I worked at a ski resort for 18 years. We ran the lifts in the summer as well as winter. Of the the total of 13 rope lifts, in the 18 years, not a single one ever had a failure related to lightning strikes. Uphill capacity was over 25,000 in aggregate(so lower number per lift). Detachable and non-detachable lifts. Some as old or older than me(I'm 44).
In those 18 years, we only had one lift evacuation, though most had trained on the scenario. Frostbite/hypothermia is a bigger risk in our scenario than heat stroke, but the standard is 20 minutes to clear the line or you evac. The single biggest issue was icing in winter. We did shut down for lightning as a company policy, but it never damaged anything.
I'm confident that the skyliner will survive lighting just fine. The issue would likely be a customer service issue as to whether you want to subject your guests to that weather extreme, less of a safety issue.

How dare you go brining facts into a perfectly unreasonable conversation!

 

[sachilles]

How dare you go brining facts into a perfectly unreasonable conversation!

I have to tell you, this thread has amazed me. I get that not everyone has been lucky enough to go skiing. However, I am very surprised at the level of fear that this new to Disney transportation device has generated. I wonder if the Monorail concept was just released for this time period if people would be as nervous about it.
I feel like people are less nervous about Tron or guardians of the galaxy coaster, and that just blows my mind.

 

[Micca]

I have to tell you, this thread has amazed me. I get that not everyone has been lucky enough to go skiing. However, I am very surprised at the level of fear that this new to Disney transportation device has generated. I wonder if the Monorail concept was just released for this time period if people would be as nervous about it.
I feel like people are less nervous about Tron or guardians of the galaxy coaster, and that just blows my mind.

I agree. Both DLR and WDW had skyliner attractions for decades and people loved to ride them. Maybe because these are larger and are traveling longer distances makes people apprehensive?

 

[Tigerlulu]

I have to tell you, this thread has amazed me. I get that not everyone has been lucky enough to go skiing. However, I am very surprised at the level of fear that this new to Disney transportation device has generated. I wonder if the Monorail concept was just released for this time period if people would be as nervous about it.
I feel like people are less nervous about Tron or guardians of the galaxy coaster, and that just blows my mind.

I think for me, and no, I’ve never been skiing, but I have lived in Colorado, I just don’t particularly want to ski. Anyway, I’m mostly a southerner. On the gulf coast. The storms that roll in down here from the gulf in the summer are pretty awesome and we are accustomed to running for cover. No one wants to be outside caught in that so for us to imagine being in a box/car/tram hanging on a wire in the air swinging in one while lightening pops around us, that feels pretty far from safe. There’s also the thought of getting off the skyliner in this and being stuck because you can’t walk through the torrential downpour safely to your room for who knows how long.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I have to tell you, this thread has amazed me. I get that not everyone has been lucky enough to go skiing. However, I am very surprised at the level of fear that this new to Disney transportation device has generated. I wonder if the Monorail concept was just released for this time period if people would be as nervous about it.
I feel like people are less nervous about Tron or guardians of the galaxy coaster, and that just blows my mind.

It is interesting - and maybe it is just the feeling that you are strapped into harnesses for rides and if you decide you want to go on Tron you are doing so because you want a trill

I do get that being in a box that hangs from a wire and goes across roads and water, etc. just triggers fear in people - that I totally get (and know some people who won't ride the monorail either for similar reasons)

The thing I don't get (and to be honest, more on threads in Facebook groups and stuff) is the thinking that Disney never considered that there are storms and that it gets hot when they decided to go ahead and build this system

 

[Iowamomof4]

I have to tell you, this thread has amazed me. I get that not everyone has been lucky enough to go skiing. However, I am very surprised at the level of fear that this new to Disney transportation device has generated. I wonder if the Monorail concept was just released for this time period if people would be as nervous about it.
I feel like people are less nervous about Tron or guardians of the galaxy coaster, and that just blows my mind.

You had me until you tried to compare this to Tron and Guardians of the Galaxy. Those are 2 thrill rides that people can ride or just as easily NOT ride. The gondolas are not in the same category since the bus service is purported to be either completely eliminated or drastically reduced. People will either ride the gondolas or have to find their own alternative transportation to the parks from 3 very popular resorts and 1 new DVC resort. I get the nervousness in that regard. Like, we're going with a group of 7 in May. As far as I know, none of us would have a problem riding these, but it would be easy to imagine a big group where ONE person in the group is scared to death of something like this while the rest of the group would be fine with it. So now the whole group has to find a different resort to stay at? I guess that's what they'll have to do in a few months. However, if that same group has someone who won't do rollercoasters, that doesn't really have a big impact on the entire group because there are plenty of other rides and attractions at each park for that person to enjoy.

 

[evlaina]

I have to tell you, this thread has amazed me. I get that not everyone has been lucky enough to go skiing. However, I am very surprised at the level of fear that this new to Disney transportation device has generated. I wonder if the Monorail concept was just released for this time period if people would be as nervous about it.
I feel like people are less nervous about Tron or guardians of the galaxy coaster, and that just blows my mind.

I have no fear whatsoever of the monorail or any ride at any theme park. But the images of the gondolas hanging from a wire really make me anxious. I said in a previous comment about going over water...my thought is "what if the gondola somehow falls into water and the doors don't open so you're trapped and you drown?" Irrational fear maybe, but a lot of fears are! But alas, I shall use them and I hope to be pleasantly surprised. My kids will love it.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Your experience is not typical.
Many western resorts have lifts above treeline, so the lack of trees really solidifies the lift towers as high points. In eastern resorts with any elevation, the tree size diminishes with elevation gain.
That being said I don't think a mountain environment is any less likely to produce a lightning strike compared to a non mountain installation like disney. I'll concede that lightning is more frequent near Orlando, and with that odds would have to increase with more lightning strikes. However I don't have fear of a lightning strike doing me in at Disney, other than being stranded out on a golf course.

I think it really depends on where you live. My experience is that most chair lifts are in conditions similar to this pic so often (not always) the trees are higher than the lifts.

 

[Animal]

It’s lightning
Not lightening

Thanek yeou

Unless you mean...

1. a drop in the level of the uterus during the last weeks of pregnancy as the head of the fetus engages in the pelvis.