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

[Douglas Dubh]

It would be great if they had buses from BC or BWI for Epcot guests at gondola resorts when the gondolas are down. It's a long walk to the front of the park from the IG

I think they will. When the Friendship boats go down due to lightning, they add busses between HS and the Epcot resorts. So if you plan to catch the skyliner at IG to go to CBR or Pop/AoA and they go down, you’ll be able to walk to BC or BW, catch a bus to HS, and transfer to a bus to whatever resort you want.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I would be very upset if I tried to leave IG only to be told I had to go to the front of Epcot for a bus, then walk to the front of Epcot and get there just in time for the weather to clear enough that they have started the gondolas up again and cancelled the buses, so I get directed to the back of the park again. You could end up bounced back and forth many times on the typical summer day. It would make more sense to run a bus going to all three gondola resorts from a location near IG if weather causes the gondola to shut down, since all three resorts are close together geographically. If I were told to walk to the front of Epcot, I would probably go hang out at BC until the weather cleared enough for the gondolas to open.

There will always be buses running from Epcot so you will not be bounced. You might also find it easier (and possibly even faster) to walk to the Beach Club and take a bus from there to another park or DS ( not sure what is closest) then to your resort. Disney has been closing the boats when weather requires it for years. Assisting their guests with another transportation option is not new to them.

 

[fla4fun]

There will always be buses running from Epcot so you will not be bounced. You might also find it easier (and possibly even faster) to walk to the Beach Club and take a bus from there to another park or DS ( not sure what is closest) then to your resort. Disney has been closing the boats when weather requires it for years. Assisting their guests with another transportation option is not new to them.

I only have one experience with the Crescent Lake boats shutting down for weather and, in that particular instance, by the time the bus arrived at the Studios the boats were able to run again and we remained on the boat. We don’t yet know how often they will be running buses once the gondolas start service, but it has been suggested that the schedule could be reduced a significant amount (whether by combining routes or just to save money). We don’t know that part of the puzzle yet. But having the two permanent forms of transportation at opposite ends of the park is something new for Disney. It will be interesting to see how they coordinate it.

 

[Chrisvee]

I can’t wait to try these! I’m at Boardwalk in Oct and Riviera in Dec so hopefully two chances soon.

 

[NoTime42]

We'll be at CBR next year and I'm pretty sure our decision calculus will be based on where we're going to in Epcot or where we're located in Epcot. If we're going to FW OR in FW, we'll use bus transportation. If we're in the world showcase or going to the IG, we'll roll the dice.

At least we have it easy. It would be annoying if returning from the parks and you had to get off at CBR when you're trying to get to AoA or Pop. I wonder if there will be some sort of shuttle to take people the rest of the way.

I’m sure others think differently, but to me, it seems the Epcot bus stop is so crazy far from the entrance, that it seems only Spaceship Earth might be closer to bus transportation. I never regretted “only” being able to use IG when staying at BW or BC.

 

[jade1]

Agreed these options are good to know.

Once again though, simply head to the EPCOT busses if your leaving and a storm is approaching IMO.

I'm also hoping the App will post if/when the gondolas ar down/going down.

EX if we walk out of Frozen and are headed back to a Skyliner Resort, and its looking ominous-we would head to the buses.

But the app could solidify the selection.

I think they will. When the Friendship boats go down due to lightning, they add busses between HS and the Epcot resorts. So if you plan to catch the skyliner at IG to go to CBR or Pop/AoA and they go down, you’ll be able to walk to BC or BW, catch a bus to HS, and transfer to a bus to whatever resort you want.

There will always be buses running from Epcot so you will not be bounced. You might also find it easier (and possibly even faster) to walk to the Beach Club and take a bus from there to another park or DS ( not sure what is closest) then to your resort. Disney has been closing the boats when weather requires it for years. Assisting their guests with another transportation option is not new to them.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

Once again though, simply head to the EPCOT busses if your leaving and a storm is approaching IMO.

If you can see it coming. I got soaked Wednesday when it came in so fast I didn't have time to get to cover.

 

[jade1]

I’m sure others think differently, but to me, it seems the Epcot bus stop is so crazy far from the entrance, that it seems only Spaceship Earth might be closer to bus transportation. I never regretted “only” being able to use IG when staying at BW or BC.

It is a long walk, I'm hoping the Skyliner is pretty much always avail when we visit, which is mostly winter (fall/month/spring) months.

Plus it just looks a lot more fun.

But if wondering, the BC bus stop is closer to IG than the BW.

So not talking any boat rides (just walking to bus transportation) Canada is about the even split walking to BC buses and Epcot buses.

In WS, the split is at about Italy believe it or not. I was thinking more like Mexico until checking.

Like I say, that's with not riding the boats to BW for a break.

 

[jade1]

If you can see it coming. I got soaked Wednesday when it came in so fast I didn't have time to get to cover.

That is true, and at that point you have another decision. Stay put and wait it out, get soaked and walk to IG and wait it out since the Gondolas (and possible boats) are down, or get soaked and get on a bus back.

I'm assuming WDW tracks this a bit better though (esp since they need to shut down the gondola) so hoping the app will be updating us.

 

[Fangorn]

I don't think there is any way this thread would ever get to 376 pages without the silly questions.

I'm not so sure about that. At least 200 of these pages are dedicated to the topic of air conditioning

Steve

 

[vacationer1954]

air conditioning

Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!

 

[anne60]

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this. The cars were running off and on until yesterday. When not running, they were all hanging at set intervals on the lines. Now there are no cars on the any of the lines. Has this been happening, i.e. Have they been taking them all down periodically?

 

[Weedy]

They haven’t been testing on the weekends

 

[Weedy]

Caribbean Beach Station is looking good

 

[Q-man]

I would be very upset if I tried to leave IG only to be told I had to go to the front of Epcot for a bus, then walk to the front of Epcot and get there just in time for the weather to clear enough that they have started the gondolas up again and cancelled the buses, so I get directed to the back of the park again. You could end up bounced back and forth many times on the typical summer day. It would make more sense to run a bus going to all three gondola resorts from a location near IG if weather causes the gondola to shut down, since all three resorts are close together geographically. If I were told to walk to the front of Epcot, I would probably go hang out at BC until the weather cleared enough for the gondolas to open.

In this day and age, pull up the weather radar on your phone and see for yourself long it is going to last. Most of time those afternoon tropical storm will likely be over by the time you walk to the front of EP.

 

[seashoreCM]

I am pretty sure the CMs will never ever tell a crowd of guests outside the front of Epcot for gondola bustitution to go back through to the International Gateway to take the gondolas when the latter restart operation.

If you can see it coming. I got soaked Wednesday when it came in so fast I didn't have time to get to cover.

OT: Once I was strolling about (outside one of the All Star resorts) and I saw this wall of rain coming at me. I ran for an awning but the rain beat me there and I got soaked.

Not sure whether all of the gondolas will be disengaged from the cables and stored behind the Caribbean Beach station when the system closes down for the night.

 

[sfb0415]

Has anyone seen the latest timing expectations? Will be at WDW the week of Oct 13 this year. Hoping Skyliner will be open!

 

[focusondisney]

Agreed these options are good to know.

Once again though, simply head to the EPCOT busses if your leaving and a storm is approaching IMO.

I'm also hoping the App will post if/when the gondolas ar down/going down.

EX if we walk out of Frozen and are headed back to a Skyliner Resort, and its looking ominous-we would head to the buses.

But the app could solidify the selection.

I am not optimistic they will list closings on the app. I have stayed at YC, BC or BWI annually for over 20 years. They are not very good at handling Friendship boat closings in my experience. I don’t think they will be much better with the gondolas. We had another bad experience last September. It was raining pretty good as we left the Studios. There was a boat in dock, but no notice that they were down. When we were just about at the dock, the captain announced to everyone walking there that they were down & take the bus. Only problem was, there was no sign & no CM around to ask which bus was for Epcot resorts, since they don’t normally have a bus. We never found it & ended up walking back in the rain with lightning in the area (which is why the boats were down). Later that week, the boats were again down, but at least that time there was a temporary sign with the stop number listed.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Busses standing by... I have no clue how this will save money.

 

[vacationer1954]

Busses standing by... I have no clue how this will save money.

They only need to pay the drivers when they're called into work.