It's A Bird,It's A Plane ...

[lborne]

I would love the see a modern monorail system but operated more like subways - many more trains and on a set schedule. But these gondola systems seem to be sprouting up in several urban places as a viable means of transportation. I looked into them at length once after riding one over the Thames, and they can transport a higher number of people per hour than you might think. Look at the positives. More magical than a bus. Much cheaper to operate than buses and less polluting. Rides high over-head and has minimal impact below - all you need are right of ways and fewer supports (monopoles) than the monorail - and cheaper to install. Will get riders off the roads, which I think is needed. Most of these systems decouple the gondola from the cable so you can load and unload while still, and other gondolas keep moving. The newer systems are very safe, ride smoother, are not affected by lightning, and can operate in high wind conditions since they need to in many high mountain ski areas. They have backup systems in place (generator backups, etc.) so that they can operate even in power out situations. Unlike a monorail car, the gondolas do not have individual propulsion systems that can break and leave it stranded. They are all tied to the cable and there is one main propulsion motor for each segment - with backup motors possibly. I don't think you will see the system down as often like you do with the monorail. Well, I hope I am right.

One thing I'd like to see is Disney clean up its "show". Riding the monorail, you can see too much garbage, backstage junk, and even cast members on smoke breaks. With this system, there are more opportunities to see backstage.

What does surprise me is how many people say they will never ride one for fear of heights, cables fraying, etc. And I do worry about the costs of staying at the nearby resorts going up.

 

[amberpi]

Will CBR become a deluxe? Or will the add on be deluxe? Do we know if the new addition there or at CSR will have interior corridors? If CBR gets DVC, will they expand dining options and offer room service?

 

[DizneyLizzy]

This is not to help with infrastructure or transportation needs any more than the cute boats they offer at MK to backup the monorail. This is purely a PR move, look what we have that you don't have (we have heard rumors of Universal transport options to new land), come to Disney and ride in the sky from your resort ... it's a very expensive commercial.

WHY? - publicity ... and the first time they have to evac it .... they'll have lots of publicity.[/QUOTE]

This was my thought exactly! If Disney wanted to move more people to the parks in less time, they would add more buses. If they wanted to ease off the roads they'd spend less by building more walkways or adding boats to the waterways. It seems like they just want a sexy transportation visual to get people talking about Disney again instead of universal. I teach middle school and way more families just came home from spring break at universal than at Disney. None of my students are talking about avatar at animal kingdom, that's for sure!

 

[WEDWDW]

This is not to help with infrastructure or transportation needs any more than the cute boats they offer at MK to backup the monorail. This is purely a PR move, look what we have that you don't have (we have heard rumors of Universal transport options to new land), come to Disney and ride in the sky from your resort ... it's a very expensive commercial.

WHY? - publicity ... and the first time they have to evac it .... they'll have lots of publicity.

Q-man posted some great info(below) in another Thread about potential cost savings-I think Mickey likes the Gondolas because of MONEY and the "continuous loading" aspect that Buses/Monorails/Water Craft can't offer.



IF the numbers are correct in the linked article this is a prototype for rolling it out across the park. Because - MONEY
http://wdwnt.com/blog/2017/04/depth-speculation-disney-world-gondola-project-will-take-shape/
100 buses an hour and starting bus driver pay is $12/hr. Buses get about 2.5 mpg and diesel is over $2.50 a gallon. Pop to Epcot parking is 6 miles and a bus does this twice an hour for a total of 24 miles is about $25 an hour in fuel. $37/hr x 100= $3,700 an hour times 8 hours is close to $30K per shift. Driver pay alone would be $10K per shift and that doesn't include benefits, administration, uniforms, etc. But fuel is an even bigger saving. They are claiming that gondola system is less than $400 a day versus $2,500 an hour for the same bus capacity. That is over $200,000 a week in savings with is north of $10 million for the year. Now that article says Disney's buses cost between $500-700K and have a 12 year life. So lets say $50K a year times a hundred buses is $5mil a year without maintenance costs.

 

[mom2rtk]

Q-man posted some great info(below) in another Thread about potential cost savings-I think Mickey likes the Gondolas because of MONEY and the "continuous loading" aspect that Buses/Monorails/Water Craft can't offer.



IF the numbers are correct in the linked article this is a prototype for rolling it out across the park. Because - MONEY
http://wdwnt.com/blog/2017/04/depth-speculation-disney-world-gondola-project-will-take-shape/
100 buses an hour and starting bus driver pay is $12/hr. Buses get about 2.5 mpg and diesel is over $2.50 a gallon. Pop to Epcot parking is 6 miles and a bus does this twice an hour for a total of 24 miles is about $25 an hour in fuel. $37/hr x 100= $3,700 an hour times 8 hours is close to $30K per shift. Driver pay alone would be $10K per shift and that doesn't include benefits, administration, uniforms, etc. But fuel is an even bigger saving. They are claiming that gondola system is less than $400 a day versus $2,500 an hour for the same bus capacity. That is over $200,000 a week in savings with is north of $10 million for the year. Now that article says Disney's buses cost between $500-700K and have a 12 year life. So lets say $50K a year times a hundred buses is $5mil a year without maintenance costs.

I hadn't seen this post and had no idea of the economics of gondolas vs. buses but definitely would have assumed this to be the case.