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

[DisLiss]

It’s incredibly common for ski resorts to load Gondolas over the marked weight limit, even by a few hundred pounds. I’d expect Disney to be no different. If it’s 4 people, they load 4 people regardless of weight. If it’s 70, they load 70.

This is actually the opposite of what I meant in my post. My point wasn't made well it seems, sorry! I simply meant that a 300 pound person takes up more space than a 150 pound person. (No malice or insensitivity intended at all. It's just that there are obviously differently sized people at WDW. ) So if there are 10 people weighing 150 lb or less together in line, at a very busy time of day, they can theoretically fit those 10 people on the benches of one gondola car. But if there happen to be five 300 pound people together in line, then they most likely won't fit being 10 people on those same benches.

 

[joelkfla]

Skyliner delay spiel:

 

[BabybetterDisney]

Guests staying on the Skyliner route will have a whole new change in the way they go to and leave the parks , it will not be a mad rush to not miss the bus or have to stand on the bus, but a relaxing stroll knowing there's always going to be a seat waiting for you when you get there.
This will change everything we all hate about the buses.
PLUS>>>Most of the time your party should be able to have your own Gondola....You just might have to lay back a little bit...till there's a lull.

Relaxing stroll? No way. I will be making a bee line for that gondola.

 

[BabybetterDisney]

I've seen a few also but haven't seen any where they are filling each gondola to capacity..I don't see them herding guests like cattle into them... which some think they will do with the Skyliner.

I'm not taking the gondola unless it is in the evening and not busy so that my family are guaranteed to have a cool gondola to ourselves. I think it's weird to be in a small enclosed space with strangers for more than a minute or two. I'd rather stand inside a crowded bus -- bigger space and more people.

 

[BabybetterDisney]

I bet the naysayers will all change their minds once they see how much faster you can get to the parks, with less waiting time.

It may not be faster, and the wait time may not be less, but that's of no consequence. People won't remember how long it took before, so there's nothing to compare it to. It's like the monorail. The monorail resorts take more than half an hour to get to Epcot, twice as long as most other resorts do, but people still love the monorail like it's the best invention ever. They love it because it's different -- you don't get to go on the monorail everyday. You don't get to go on a gondola everyday either. It's fun, new, and different. People will wait longer, endure the heat and take more time to get to Epcot if necessary. People aren't really that much into math.

I myself will only use the gondola from Pop in the evening during non-rush hours. The rest of the time I will uber or Minnievan if the buses are gone. But I will be sure to use the gondola as much as I can. I am looking forward to making it work for us.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I'm not taking the gondola unless it is in the evening and not busy so that my family are guaranteed to have a cool gondola to ourselves. I think it's weird to be in a small enclosed space with strangers for more than a minute or two. I'd rather stand inside a crowded bus -- bigger space and more people.

Guess just what you are used to - I can’t imagine these being more smushed than the NYC subway during rush hour where your personal space to strangers is nil

And these will be short rides - most less than 5 minutes so at least the period of awkwardness will be short

 

[gap2368]

I'm not taking the gondola unless it is in the evening and not busy so that my family are guaranteed to have a cool gondola to ourselves. I think it's weird to be in a small enclosed space with strangers for more than a minute or two. I'd rather stand inside a crowded bus -- bigger space and more people.

Early mornings tend to be the coolest part of the day.

 

[ThistleMae]

I’ve been thinking about this required change of gondola for those traveling through CBR and all of the consternation. I haven’t seen this comparison yet (at least in the last 30 or so pages of the topic): I think this transfer will be MUCH easier and quicker than the monorail transfer for Contemporary and GF heading to Epcot. In fact, our love of Epcot is the number one reason we avoid those two resorts. It is a slow slog to or from Epcot, especially in the evenings around dinner time...board at the resort, possibly make a couple of slow stops before TTC (it takes a long time to load a 300 seat vehicle), head down the long ramp at TTC and back up to wait for the Epcot line, and then back down the ramp at Epcot. And people pay through the nose for the privilege of being on the monorail line. I think this will be much, much easier. And even if there’s a wait at peak time, it will still be better than the monorail transfer. What do you guys think?

I hope it doesn't mean that my favorite resort, POP, will get all booked up, once people realize the ease of going to these two parks from there.

 

[ThistleMae]

I don’t think they will pack people in there like sardines, but if you are a group of two, when crowded they will make other people ride with you - but maybe only 6-8 people, not the main 10 they hold

I would hope they consider it full when all the seats are taken. I'm thinking for safety reasons everyone should be seated. I hope.

 

[gap2368]

I hope it doesn't mean that my favorite resort, POP, will get all booked up, once people realize the ease of going to these two parks from there.

Or the price dose not go way up.

 

[OSUZorba]

I would hope they consider it full when all the seats are taken. I'm thinking for safety reasons everyone should be seated. I hope.

It is a capacity of 10 with 10 seats. They aren't meant to having standing people on them. And there is plenty of knee room.

 

[middlechild]

If loading happens like at ski areas, then groups are free to assemble prior to loading. The implication is a family group would get a cabin to themselves. Only if the line extends out the door would groups be combined. Think of loading an elevator. Keep in mind the longer duration of the gondola ride would encourage the CMs not to combine to the max, to avoid liability for any "brushing up against" type incidents. The continuous feed nature of the loading station would pretty much guarantee that each group would get their own cabin. Again, based on experience with gondolas at ski areas.

 

[sachilles]

Someone hit on something I hadn't thought of until now that is a bonus compared to bus travel around the parks.
A seat. As simple as it is, you are likely to have a seat, rather than standing through a whole bus ride.

 

[rteetz]

It is a capacity of 10 with 10 seats. They aren't meant to having standing people on them. And there is plenty of knee room.

Just to clarify there are not 10 individual seats. There are two benches along each side.

 

[Q-man]

It may not be faster, and the wait time may not be less, but that's of no consequence. People won't remember how long it took before, so there's nothing to compare it to. It's like the monorail. The monorail resorts take more than half an hour to get to Epcot, twice as long as most other resorts do, but people still love the monorail like it's the best invention ever. They love it because it's different -- you don't get to go on the monorail everyday. You don't get to go on a gondola everyday either. It's fun, new, and different. People will wait longer, endure the heat and take more time to get to Epcot if necessary. People aren't really that much into math.

I myself will only use the gondola from Pop in the evening during non-rush hours. The rest of the time I will uber or Minnievan if the buses are gone. But I will be sure to use the gondola as much as I can. I am looking forward to making it work for us.

It is a very safe bet that it will be both faster with short wait times as capacity(4-5K each line in each direction) is the equivalent of a full bus departing every 75-90 seconds and it is continuously loading. Observers have timed Skyliner travel time from the CBR station to the DHS station at 4 minutes.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I hope it doesn't mean that my favorite resort, POP, will get all booked up, once people realize the ease of going to these two parks from there.

This happened long ago with the refurbishments. Pop has been running at near capacity for almost a year now and is difficult to get reservations at if you're looking with a short window before your trip or during busier seasons. If you want to stay at Pop, book early!

 

[gap2368]

This happened long ago with the refurbishments. Pop has been running at near capacity for almost a year now and is difficult to get reservations at if you're looking with a short window before your trip or during busier seasons. If you want to stay at Pop, book early!

I could get pop for my end of April trip but nothing at all star sport. I know the cheerleaders are there then so that might be why

 

[rstevens333]

This is going to make for such a fun four park loop challenge, if you're into silly games like that.

Bus from AK to Studios > gondola to EPCOT > Monorail and boat to MK. Four parks and no repeating a type of vehicle.

 

[jknezek]

This is going to make for such a fun four park loop challenge, if you're into silly games like that.

Bus from AK to Studios > gondola to EPCOT > Monorail and boat to MK. Four parks and no repeating a type of vehicle.

In all the pages of this thread, I had not seen this mentioned. But it's kind of neat. Well done for something new (or at least new to me) after 322 pages!

 

[Tinkl0ver66]

Does anyone know when they are going to start using them? I know sometimes they set a date and then they start using them sooner than expected.