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

[Vondigo]

Does anyone know approx how long the skyliner ride is from POP to RR? We just booked a 7:45am breakfast at Topolino’s and I see that the skyliner starts running at 7:30am. Is that enough time to get us to our ADR?

 

[mikegood2]

Does anyone know approx how long the skyliner ride is from POP to RR? We just booked a 7:45am breakfast at Topolino’s and I see that the skyliner starts running at 7:30am. Is that enough time to get us to our ADR?

If they are running that early would be the first question. If they are I'd give your self at least 15 minutes from station to station to be safe. The Gondola ride will be 6-8 minutes with the POP to Caribbean Beach ride being under 4 minutes and CB to Riviera resort takes under 3 minutes. The wildcard is how long the lines might be at the stations at that time?

 

[NoTime42]

And that’s IF they let you board a CBR gondola to RR before Epcot is open.
(On Jan 6, I was denied boarding the CBR to RR gondola at 8:20am because Epcot wasn’t open)

 

[Vondigo]

If they are running that early would be the first question. If they are I'd give your self at least 15 minutes from station to station to be safe. The Gondola ride will be 6-8 minutes with the POP to Caribbean Beach ride being under 4 minutes and CB to Riviera resort takes under 3 minutes. The wildcard is how long the lines might be at the stations at that time?

And that’s IF they let you board a CBR gondola to RR before Epcot is open.
(On Jan 6, I was denied boarding the CBR to RR gondola at 8:20am because Epcot wasn’t open)

This is great information, thank you both If we get lucky and they let us board from CBR to RR it still seems like we’d be cutting it very close.
I just looked and Epcot will be opening at 9am that day. It seems unfair of them to stop people from riding CBR to RR until Epcot opens. Disney just confuses me! So now I’m thinking we just Uber it over. Bummer

 

[DGsAtBLT]

This is great information, thank you both If we get lucky and they let us board from CBR to RR it still seems like we’d be cutting it very close.
I just looked and Epcot will be opening at 9am that day. It seems unfair of them to stop people from riding CBR to RR until Epcot opens. Disney just confuses me! So now I’m thinking we just Uber it over. Bummer

I'm not sure if they still do it, but in October we were staying at BWV and while waiting for a bus that morning a Skyliner resorts bus came to our bus stop. It would have been before the Skyliner started for the day, not because of it going down.

 

[NoTime42]

This is great information, thank you both If we get lucky and they let us board from CBR to RR it still seems like we’d be cutting it very close.
I just looked and Epcot will be opening at 9am that day. It seems unfair of them to stop people from riding CBR to RR until Epcot opens. Disney just confuses me! So now I’m thinking we just Uber it over. Bummer

Yeah, it confused the heck out of me since every storyboard at every Skyliner station(including Epcot) said the Epcot line ran from 7:30am-10 (or 11) pm

Since I was staying at CBR bldg 55, I knew enough to take the next park bus from Jamaica to Aruba, but that’s confusing if you don’t know the resort.

 

[ThistleMae]

So, does the skyliner open for extra magic hours in the morning, say for an 8 a.m. opening/

 

[SaintsManiac]

So, does the skyliner open for extra magic hours in the morning, say for an 8 a.m. opening/

It was open at 6:30am during 7am EMH Thanksgiving week. I don't think there's any consistency, though.

 

[jade1]

If they SkyLiners aren’t that crowded will they let you choose between wrapped and unwrapped? I’m definitely gonna want an unwrapped one if I want to take pictures from it this summer.

We often walked up with no wait and chose a non wrapped simply because it is a clearer view, but there were a few times there was a line so we simply took what we got.

It's not enough to really matter, and the sides were completely clear anyway to look out of.

After a few rides its even less relevant.

 

[scrappinginontario]

So, does the skyliner open for extra magic hours in the morning, say for an 8 a.m. opening/

This is the best source I've found for posting Skyliner hours:

https://www.orlandoparksnews.com/p/weekly-walt-disney-world-times-guides.html

 

[Grant Parkins]

This is the best source I've found for posting Skyliner hours:

https://www.orlandoparksnews.com/p/weekly-walt-disney-world-times-guides.html

Am I reading that right? DHS has been opening at 7:00 am but the skyliner hasn't been opening until 7:30 am? Anyone who has stayed recently that can confirm?

Seems to take away some of the advantage of staying at a skyliner resort.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Am I reading that right? DHS has been opening at 7:00 am but the skyliner hasn't been opening until 7:30 am? Anyone who has stayed recently that can confirm?

Seems to take away some of the advantage of staying at a skyliner resort.

You are correct. Buses run to DHS prior to them opening at 7:30.

They are still running many hours a day so I don't really see it taking away any of the 'advantage' but that's just how I choose to view it.

 

[mom2rtk]

Am I reading that right? DHS has been opening at 7:00 am but the skyliner hasn't been opening until 7:30 am? Anyone who has stayed recently that can confirm?

Seems to take away some of the advantage of staying at a skyliner resort.

That’s how it was last week when I was there. I figure Disney doesn’t want to take any chance of having upset guests if the Skyliner stops on the way to Hollywood studios rope drop.

 

[Grant Parkins]

That’s how it was last week when I was there. I figure Disney doesn’t want to take any chance of having upset guests if the Skyliner stops on the way to Hollywood studios rope drop.

That makes sense. And I guess that rope drop at DHS is so crazy right now that one would expect to have to uber/lyft or drive a personal vehicle to get there in time anyways. Hopefully once the DHS RD settles down they can adjust schedules so skyliner can be a reliable way to get there for RD.

 

[Grant Parkins]

You are correct. Buses run to DHS prior to them opening at 7:30.

They are still running many hours a day so I don't really see it taking away any of the 'advantage' but that's just how I choose to view it.

I still think staying at a Skyliner resort is an advantage over a non-skyliner resort when visiting EP of DHS. We stayed at AoA several years ago. We liked lots of things about it, but hated the busses, particularly catching one at the end of the night. So the Skyliner will help there, for sure. And I would imagine that, eventually, they will have it running consistently before park opening.

 

[Friendly Frog]

You are correct. Buses run to DHS prior to them opening at 7:30.

They are still running many hours a day so I don't really see it taking away any of the 'advantage' but that's just how I choose to view it.

If you normally only use transportation at park opening and at close, and if the skyliner does not run at one or the other time, then the being at a skyliner would be of less benifit for sure.

And I guess that rope drop at DHS is so crazy right now that one would expect to have to uber/lyft or drive a personal vehicle to get there in time anyways.

I can see them worried that the skyliner might fail, but honestly that should be worked out by now. When paying for transportation to the parks in the hotel prices, I would expect that transportation to run at the hours needed to get to any park opening in time to get through bag check. I can see paying if you want more personal service, but not because it is the only way to get to HS for opening.

 

[Grant Parkins]

I can see paying if you want more personal service, but not because it is the only way to get to HS for opening.

I think that, ultimately, they can't meet the demand for RotR each day, so they aren't concerned with getting people at the gates for RD efficiently. If RotR is moved to the FP system I would imagine that they will start the skyliner in time to get people there for RD. At that point, at least a handful of people will be guaranteed the chance to ride it & the need to get there at 5:30 am will be lessened.

 

[scrappinginontario]

That makes sense. And I guess that rope drop at DHS is so crazy right now that one would expect to have to uber/lyft or drive a personal vehicle to get there in time anyways. Hopefully once the DHS RD settles down they can adjust schedules so skyliner can be a reliable way to get there for RD.

There are many, many reports of people using the Disney buses to get to DHS with plenty of time to spare and still make the 7am rope drop. Not necessary to pay for a ride or use own vehicle unless that is your prefrerence.

If you normally only use transportation at park opening and at close, and if the skyliner does not run at one or the other time, then the being at a skyliner would be of less benifit for sure.



I can see them worried that the skyliner might fail, but honestly that should be worked out by now. When paying for transportation to the parks in the hotel prices, I would expect that transportation to run at the hours needed to get to any park opening in time to get through bag check. I can see paying if you want more personal service, but not because it is the only way to get to HS for opening.

Try explaining that to monorail resort guests who pay substantially more than many of the other resorts.

These are the monorail hours for this week.

 

[Friendly Frog]

Try explaining that to monorail resort guests who pay substantially more than many of the other resorts.

These are the monorail hours for this week.

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I think that is a " lesser benefit" that if it ran at park opening each day too.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Disney promises transportation to the parks which it offers. It does not and has never that I'm aware promised that ALL transportation options are available during park hours. It's known that buses are available early to late and the others during specific times.

If the hours don't work for people, there are options to stay at other resorts for less $$ if they wish. If guests want to stay at higher $$ resorts, it's with the understanding that bus service is available from early to late and the other options during specific times.