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

[mom2rtk]

That does make kinda sense, except there'd have to be a tapstyle or something at DS. Otherwise you have people parking for free at DS to go to MK--as was a problem at DS until they stopped bus service to the parks from DS.

Either that, or gondola is to DS, but not from. Which is kind of inefficient use of the gondola.

I already think they're going to have a problem with people parking at the gondola resorts (for free) to head to the parks.

 

[Laura's Dad]

Peter Pan has a moving sidewalk.

So does Under the Sea and the Haunted Mansion.

 

[kay1864]

You haven't seen me walking and boarding yet, Max.
What surprises me on that video is the apparent easy possibility for an older person or a bit unstable person to misstep and fall between the gondolas at the boarding area.

Yep, that's what I was thinking. I'm guessing somewhat-disabled people might be directed to the ECV/wheelchair area--except that there will be those who don't want to board there, and then accidents are all but inevitable.

 

[kay1864]

I already think they're going to have a problem with people parking at the gondola resorts (for free) to head to the parks.

Ah, good point. For Epcot and DHS at least.

 

[OSUZorba]

It will be easier than the attractions for a few reasons. You will be on a flat surface going to a flat surface. The area you are boarding from to is wide (good visuals) and the cabins are moving slow.
Here is a old video of a now closed Gondola also built by Doppelmayr.
You an see how easy it is to board.
There will also be a area for wheelchairs and ECV’s to board where the cabin is completely stopped on a separate line.

Just to pile on, you'll be walking straight into the cabin, as opposed to getting on sidewides like on the attraction. I know this would make a huge difference for people with knee/hip problems. I think the Skyliner will actually move slower than one in the video as well.

 

[kay1864]

I just noticed this...that doorway is not all that wide. Note this husky guy from the video, who is not quite Pooh-sized. Not a lot of clearance--his arms are brushing the opening. Some guests will have difficulty.

 

[Shellyred8]

We stayed at Pop last week and had a chance to visit with a couple of the Skyliner CM's. They shared some great information. Here are some of the things they shared (some I already knew about and some were new to me). I haven't read all of the recent posts on this thread, so some of this may be duplicate.

1. The cabins that get pulled off to the second loop for wheelchair loading are called "Wave" cabins.
2. Every 10th cabin will be a Wave cabin. There is a "plug/tab" on each cabin arm. The Wave cabins will have a different setting for this plug/tab that will trigger it to exit to the second loop.
3. The Wave cabins will have about 90 seconds to unload and 90 seconds to load. The CM's have the ability to hold the Wave cabins if it is taking longer to load/unload.
4. There will be barf-bags in the cabins. I think they called the entire packet of stuff a "Comfort pack" or "Support pack" or something like that. I don't remember for sure.
5. The CM's will try to keep an eye on people coming into the station for people that look like they might be "slow loaders", but not in a wheel chair/ECV, and will guide them to the Wave cabins. I'm sure this will be subjective from CM to CM, but at least Disney has given this some thought and has some sort of a plan in place to address it.
6. All of the CM's in the station have the ability to slow the line down if needed.
7. The system is rated for 60 mph winds, but Disney is starting out with a plan that they will shut things down when the wind gets over 39 mph.
8. Lightening: If there is lightening within 6 miles, they will allow people currently in the station, or in flight, to finish their trip. They will clear the line as these people reach their destinations. If there is lightening within 3 miles, they won't let anyone new board and they will make people get off at whatever station they come to first. I think the CM said they would have some sort of busing available to get any "stranded" guests to their final destination.
9. Each CM working at a station (or at least one CM at each load/unload section) has some sort of device on their person that requires them to stay within a certain distance of their assigned work space. If they go outside that distance, the line will shut down. This was an interesting safety feature that I hadn't even thought about.
10. While the wrapped cabins may look cool from the outside, they actually reduce your view. So, if you want a great view, get an un-wrapped cabin. If you have someone that isn't so excited about the trip, a wrapped cabin might be helpful for them.
11. If there are guests that request to wait for a specific character wrap, they will allow you to wait for it. But they will tell you they don't know how long the wait will be so you can decide if you want to wait for it or not. The wait area for this is small, so they will try to encourage guests to load the next available cabin for speed and efficiencies sake.
12. The turn over by the Boardwalk is said to be a little bumpy.
13. In addition to the vents on the sides, there are also vents at the bottom, so a really nice breeze is created when riding. The one CM likened it to riding in a convertible car with the top down.

That's all I can remember at this point.

 

[OSUZorba]

You haven't seen me walking and boarding yet, Max.
What surprises me on that video is the apparent easy possibility for an older person or a bit unstable person to misstep and fall between the gondolas at the boarding area.

The Skyliner boards on the flats of the station, so the Gondolas are much closer together and are moving slower. These are also pretty large gondolas, so it would like aiming for the driver's door of a car and walking in front of it, completely missing the door, the fender and the bumper.

 

[kay1864]

Also, as I posted back in April:

It will be interesting to see how they handle people that want to wait to ride in the Mickey/Minnie car, or in the Star Wars car, or in the GotG car, or...

ETA: Addressed by #11 above!

 

[Dan Murphy]

The Skyliner boards on the flats of the station, so the Gondolas are much closer together and are moving slower. These are also pretty large gondolas, so it would like aiming for the driver's door of a car and walking in front of it, completely missing the door, the fender and the bumper.

Good explanation, thanks.

 

[kay1864]

13. In addition to the vents on the sides, there are also vents at the bottom, so a really nice breeze is created when riding. The one CM likened it to riding in a convertible car with the top down.

Thanks for these tips!

From the Attractions link earlier:

The outdoor temperature today at Disney’s Hollywood Studios was 91 degrees Fahrenheit, with a real feel of 104 degrees in the direct sunlight. So, can these wind-cooled hanging glass boxes keep you relatively cool? The answer is yes!

We took a thermometer into the gondolas while riding them and saw 91 degrees as the average cabin temperature, the exact same as the exterior temperature. But, the real feel was significantly cooler, as the thermometer could not account for the strong breeze inside the cabin. These gondolas were built with lots of ventilation ports and windows. The best way to compare the real feel would be standing in full shade with a medium-to-strong wind blowing. For as hot of a day as it was, the gondola was honestly very comfortable for its temperature which was a relief to me. It isn’t as cool as AC, but it is certainly cool enough for the relatively short trip times.

But, what if you happen to get stuck in the air for a technical delay? On one trip, we were held in the air without movement for six minutes and 12 seconds and had one degree of temperature increase. But, this number also fluctuated from 91 degrees to 92 degrees in that time, and quickly went back to 91 degrees when movement began again.

 

[OSUZorba]

I just noticed this...that doorway is not all that wide. Note this husky guy from the video, who is not quite Pooh-sized. Not a lot of clearance--his arms are brushing the opening. Some guests will have difficulty.
View attachment 436633

The door is over 35 inches wide, wider than most doors in normal houses.

 

[Shellyred8]

I've asked this before in this thread. If and when Disney adds another line or 2, where would you put it?
I know that they had mentioned something might come to animal kingdom lodge/AK(not necessarily a gondola).
Where would it make sense. I can see offering non bus transport between animal kingdom lodge and the park would alleviate the need for many buses that might only be able to be dispatched in that area, as it's fairly remote.
I still feel like disney springs is screaming for one, I was amazed how many people were there on my last visit. I think a link to Epcot, with a link to OKW/Saratoga and port orleans could serve a decent amount of beds and link into the other system. I Also can help but look at the fairway across from Port Orleans french quarter, I could see riviera 2.0 there, with the golf hole(s) being relocated a bit.
Also think connecting reflections, the fort, and wilderness lodge into the transportation center might make some sense.

Certainly the skyliner seems far more cost effective per mile than a monorail. Roads are really too congested for more bus traffic, so they have to do something to help alleviate that burden.

I like the idea of AK to AKL and also Epcot to OKW/Saratoga/Port Orleans area. One guy I talked to threw out the thought of putting one from the All-Star resorts over to WWoS so it could be used to transport all of the kids over there when there are events instead of having to bus them all.
CSR to AK and/or HS is another line I would like to see. The All-Stars to HS would be another good one, I think.

 

[Tigger's ally]

That does make kinda sense, except there'd have to be a tapstyle or something at DS. Otherwise you have people parking for free at DS to go to MK--as was a problem at DS until they stopped bus service to the parks from DS.

Either that, or gondola is to DS, but not from. Which is kind of inefficient use of the gondola.

I see your point, but don't know exactly how to fix that. But, same thing can happen now if you just park at DS and ride a bus to any hotel and get on the park bus from there.

 

[kay1864]

I see your point, but don't know exactly how to fix that. But, same thing can happen now if you just park at DS and ride a bus to any hotel and get on the park bus from there.

True, but that's two buses and the accompanying wait for both. Versus almost-immediate boarding on the gondolas.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

10. While the wrapped cabins may look cool from the outside, they actually reduce your view. So, if you want a great view, get an un-wrapped cabin. If you have someone that isn't so excited about the trip, a wrapped cabin might be helpful for them.

one of the CMs that was quoted in an article said similar thing - that view was obstructed a bit by the rap and much clearer in the gondolas not wrapped

So now I am wondering if people will ask to have an unwrapped gondola

 

[Weedy]

Also, as I posted back in April:

It will be interesting to see how they handle people that want to wait to ride in the Mickey/Minnie car, or in the Star Wars car, or in the GotG car, or...

ETA: Addressed by #11 above!

I live in Orlando and have gone out to look at the Skyliner. I park at Yacht and Beach. I was told it was a 2 hour maximum to park. We were not given any type of parking ticket to put on the car. So not sure it’s enforced but it could be if it becomes a problem

 

[Rich M]

one of the CMs that was quoted in an article said similar thing - that view was obstructed a bit by the rap and much clearer in the gondolas not wrapped

So now I am wondering if people will ask to have an unwrapped gondola

I can see for the first ride or two the view will be important for some but as you use it more as a mode of transportation will you really care about the same view over and over?

 

[Mikey15]

I can see for the first ride or two the view will be important for some but as you use it more as a mode of transportation will you really care about the same view over and over?

Some people look out the airplane window the whole time. Some monsters hog a window seat and don't even look out!

 

[kay1864]

The door is over 35 inches wide, wider than most doors in normal houses.

Where did you read that? It doesn't look that wide in the video.