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

[TheMaxRebo]

I agree an exchange point is best at CBR because of the amount of people that those two resorts would have causing a major choke point if it wasn’t placed here. Now the system is set up so the hub is “central” with each line having a similar expectation of riders. It also markets better for CBR and Riviera too.

definitely the later point I think is sometimes missed ... and makes sense, that the "moderate" resort has more direct access while the "value" resorts you have to change lines

 

[JJZMgailey]

@WebmasterJackie

The above probably needs to be fixed on the site.

All set!

Thanks for grabbing my attention and sorry about the confusing info, @TheMaxRebo!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

All set!

Thanks for grabbing my attention and sorry about the confusing info, @TheMaxRebo!!

oh no worries! Just thought I was going crazy as i thought I read the number correctly ..... thanks for taking care of it!

 

[Lumpy1106]

definitely the later point I think is sometimes missed ... and makes sense, that the "moderate" resort has more direct access while the "value" resorts you have to change lines

HAs it been announced - will bus service remain the same for AoA and Pop? If so, I think I'm still riding the bus at these resorts. The Skyliner might be fun for the novelty but I don't think you are saving any time.

 

[joelkfla]

HAs it been announced - will bus service remain the same for AoA and Pop? If so, I think I'm still riding the bus at these resorts. The Skyliner might be fun for the novelty but I don't think you are saving any time.

It has not been announced.

But there's no way Disney would have spent the money on Skyliner if there were no payback. Bus service will either be eliminated or greatly reduced in frequency.

Travel time will probably be about the same as buses from Pop & AoA. The time savings will be in not having to wait for a bus to arrive and load, or for a second bus if the 1st one fills up, so long as Skyliner capacity meets expectations. CBR Guests will have a shorter travel time, but many of them will also have to walk a ways or take a bus to the Trinidad station, as opposed to boarding a bus close to their room.

 

[middlechild]

It is possible the cabins come off the haul rope in the Riviera station, but remain "in line" until they are put back on the haul rope at the exit to the station. The haul rope continues uninterrupted, just the cabins are lifted off the rope and onto an internal guide way. This guide way would allow for slowing down forward motion to allow for loading / unloading, or even stopping briefly for ECV loading / unloading. Appearance would be the cabins flow through. Reality, my conjecture, would be they are on a separate guide way for a portion of the transit. If you look closely at the photo by @bioreconstruct, there are tires lining the cable pathway(s?) inside the station.

 

[sachilles]

No doubt it works as is. However, I can't help but wonder if it would have made more sense to make DHS the hub. Pop to DHS/ Trididad to DHS/ DHS to riviera to boardwark turn to epcot.
It would give each resort direct access to DHS, and give Riviera direct access to both DHS and Epcot with no transfer.

I do wonder if we'll every know when the skyliner concept was in the blue sky stages. The free space in CBR across from Trinidad always seemed a little odd to me, and now this station fits there perfectly.

 

[Iowamomof4]

It is possible the cabins come off the haul rope in the Riviera station, but remain "in line" until they are put back on the haul rope at the exit to the station. The haul rope continues uninterrupted, just the cabins are lifted off the rope and onto an internal guide way. This guide way would allow for slowing down forward motion to allow for loading / unloading, or even stopping briefly for ECV loading / unloading. Appearance would be the cabins flow through. Reality, my conjecture, would be they are on a separate guide way for a portion of the transit. If you look closely at the photo by @bioreconnect, there are tires lining the cable pathway(s?) inside the station.

They definitely come off the haul rope at Riviera and are guided through by the tires.

 

[rteetz]

No doubt it works as is. However, I can't help but wonder if it would have made more sense to make DHS the hub. Pop to DHS/ Trididad to DHS/ DHS to riviera to boardwark turn to epcot.
It would give each resort direct access to DHS, and give Riviera direct access to both DHS and Epcot with no transfer.

I do wonder if we'll every know when the skyliner concept was in the blue sky stages. The free space in CBR across from Trinidad always seemed a little odd to me, and now this station fits there perfectly.

I don’t think that would’ve made more sense when you look at the map.

 

[OSUZorba]

I think the more reasonable solution will be a slower/longer time in station for cabins. Cabins either need to come to a complete stop to load/unload ecv's or there needs to be a moving walkway to sink speeds. Otherwise when the leading tires go from cabin to concrete, it will move the ecv sideways.
That is completely doable on a constant load basis. Cabin comes into station, slows to walking speed for 10 seconds, stops for 10 seconds, then walking speed for 10, then full speed out of the station. The times are arbitrary obviously but you get the point. If doing it both directions it should be fine.
The issue I see isn't loading, but unloading. Person on the ECV is enjoying the ride, they shut off the ECV and as they get in station, by the time they realized its unload time, and turn the thing on and back up...they've already wasted 15 seconds.

Yeah, this is basically was I was saying. The station looks so long (to me at least, I need to measure) I think you could get a pretty decent stopped time if you needed it and assuming you can control the speed of each wheel bank independently.

 

[DanBoris]

No doubt it works as is. However, I can't help but wonder if it would have made more sense to make DHS the hub. Pop to DHS/ Trididad to DHS/ DHS to riviera to boardwark turn to epcot.
It would give each resort direct access to DHS, and give Riviera direct access to both DHS and Epcot with no transfer.

I do wonder if we'll every know when the skyliner concept was in the blue sky stages. The free space in CBR across from Trinidad always seemed a little odd to me, and now this station fits there perfectly.

It fits perfectly because it was designed to. I think this is one of the main reasons for having the hub at CBR, it has a lot of room to work with and being a little more isolated from guest areas then DHS makes is a better choice for a hub.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I can't imagine how crowded DHS would have been if it was the hub!! Can you imagine park closing when all the day guests are leaving the park to head to their cars or buses. Add to that all transferring from Epcot to head to CBR or Pop/AoA? It would have been a nightmare! I think the current system has been well thought out and they've taken the 'hub' to a quieter location where it won't have to mix with all the the day guests that are leaving from the parks.

 

[skier_pete]

HAs it been announced - will bus service remain the same for AoA and Pop? If so, I think I'm still riding the bus at these resorts. The Skyliner might be fun for the novelty but I don't think you are saving any time.

I would be very surprised if this isn't a time saver. You are probably looking at less than 10 minutes from Pop to DHS, maybe 12-13 to Epcot. Yes, if you get to the bus stop just as the bus is pulling up maybe it's faster, but most time you wait 10-20 minutes for a bus. And I agree at MINIMUM they run less buses than they used to to these two parks, and most likely they stop completely. They aren't installing these gondolas to not save any money on the buses.

 

[sachilles]

I would think you'd be at trinidad station ready for your transfer before they've finished loading that ECV on the bus.

 

[huey578]

How high are they? Them seem to be low to the ground in the pictures.

 

[rteetz]

How high are they? Them seem to be low to the ground in the pictures.

Depends on the area. Some places are higher than others but really they won't be any higher than the monorail.

 

[thegales]

I have just started reading this thread, and have not read all 312 pages. I apologize if this has been discussed earlier.

What are the thoughts on where the gondolas will drop folks at Epcot and HS in relation to the bag check? Will there be a bag check prior to getting on the gondola? I have seen a number of pictures of the station at HS, and a separate walkway might be possible to bypass the bag check, but then a new bag check would need to be added to Friendship boat dock. At International Gateway, I imagine it might be easier to have the drop off with in the security zone.

My hope is they have learned the double bag check for folks taking the monorail to Epcot is not very efficient, and have planned accordingly.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I have just started reading this thread, and have not read all 312 pages. I apologize if this has been discussed earlier.

What are the thoughts on where the gondolas will drop folks at Epcot and HS in relation to the bag check? Will there be a bag check prior to getting on the gondola? I have seen a number of pictures of the station at HS, and a separate walkway might be possible to bypass the bag check, but then a new bag check would need to be added to Friendship boat dock. At International Gateway, I imagine it might be easier to have the drop off with in the security zone.

My hope is they have learned the double bag check for folks taking the monorail to Epcot is not very efficient, and have planned accordingly.

Security will be after you exit the Skyliner.

There won’t be a double bag check as Skyliner will be boarded from pre-security locations. I’m hoping this will change eventually but everything we can see go far points to going through security after you exit.

 

[joelkfla]

I have just started reading this thread, and have not read all 312 pages. I apologize if this has been discussed earlier.

What are the thoughts on where the gondolas will drop folks at Epcot and HS in relation to the bag check? Will there be a bag check prior to getting on the gondola? I have seen a number of pictures of the station at HS, and a separate walkway might be possible to bypass the bag check, but then a new bag check would need to be added to Friendship boat dock. At International Gateway, I imagine it might be easier to have the drop off with in the security zone.

My hope is they have learned the double bag check for folks taking the monorail to Epcot is not very efficient, and have planned accordingly.

The stations will probably be outside security. There is new bag check under construction at DHS between the station & the entrance. and there's no indication that bag check will be moved at Epcot IG. There's no double bag check, just one when you get to the park.

 

[ksromack]

The stations will probably be outside security. There is new bag check under construction at DHS between the station & the entrance. and there's no indication that bag check will be moved at Epcot IG. There's no double bag check, just one when you get to the park.

True, if you are going to DHS....but if you are coming from a monorail resort to Epcot.......