I think part of it though that we don't know what is causing the stops. Is it in preparaiton for normal use and they will have stoppage or is it testing atypical situation and in reality, unless something goes wrong, the expectation is no stops - just need to test for those extreme situations?
Oh, I agree it's too early to make any assessment of the situation or to draw any definitive conclusions. My only point is that on one of the first live streams, the car did a really neat "creeping" thing through Riviera (which looked almost near stop) and the CM mentioned a likely
ECV thing down the line.
I think it's interesting that whenever concerns have been raised about the gondola, people are quick to shoot them down that this isn't Doppelmayr's first rodeo, and that Disney doesn't just do things without thinking through every possible scenario.
To the first point, this is their first time dealing with a major world-class theme park which come with its own set of very unique challenges. Not a lot of strollers, or
ECVs on ski lifts (or any other major metropolitan area that Dopplemayr services); certainly not to the increasing degree that we see ECVs at WDW. I've never been concerned about safety in storms, but what has concerned me logistically, are the liability concerns of the Walt Disney Company, Inc.'s insurers, and to that end their lightening policy. I travel primarily in the summer/early fall times and have been kicked off enough friendship boats to know that depending on them is challenging for a good part of the year.
To the second point, I'm sure a lot of executives sat around and thought very carefully about how to leverage SWGE in terms of gate price increases, opening months ahead of schedule to increase visits, jacking up room rates, lean on brand recognition instead of good ol' marketing; my only point is that they are not infallible either.
If I were a betting man, I would guess the skyliner is going to be great. I'm skeptical of the projected travel times absent crowds and I'm wary of the lightening policy (not the actual bolts themselves). For now I'm squarely in the wait and see camp.
