Nightmare experience on Skyliner

[Shoshana]

Vacation isn't the time or place most people will, or should, chose to battle their inner demons.

Oh, I agree with you completely! I made the post because so many people on this thread are berating those people who do face their fears and ride the skyliner. I don't think they deserve the criticism.

 

[joelkfla]

We used the ADA cars on Nov 3rd then again on Nov 7th, there was a HUGE difference in experience. Not sure the cause. Nov 3rd we all were white knuckled , Nov 7th we were relaxed. On the 3rd when the car we were in was put in line to be readded the main car was still in its turn on the line when ours was coming onto the main line so extremely close. The front left corner of our car was at the point of the back right corner of the car we were to be behind. On the 7th the main car had completely made the turn on the line before our car came back onto the main line . Nov 3rd was fast coming into the stations , Nov 7th not as much or maybe didnt seem as fast since there was a larger gap between the cars versus Nov 3rd

I agree. I've ridden many times on a scooter, and it does seem like the cabin exiting the ADA area comes close to colliding with the cabin making the turnaround on some trips. I don't know whether that's actually what's causing the shutdowns, but it would seem prudent to have the departing cabin start a few seconds later.

I think I would have actually been fine if we received an announcement that the ride would resume shortly. Even if it’s not under control , it’s nice to hear a ‘comforting’ voice. But we heard nothing, and from other riders’ responses we heard upon getting enough, we were the only ones who heard absolutely nothing. It was gondola 214, a purple one, if anyone wants to avoid that particular gondola.

It sounds like your cabin may have had a bad battery. The batteries are supposed to be charged every time the cabin moves thru a station. I think there's an light on the outside of the cabin that indicates whether or not the battery has power. I don't know whether cm's are checking that indicator before they load each cabin.

Disney can't even get the magic band upgrade to work, and that's a pretty simple issue. Why should we think they can make a gondola system work?

It's not Disney's job to make it work. It's Doppelmayr's.

No. Not at all. ADA is a failure when it comes to this. Not everything bis meant for everyone. What's next making the cockpit of a Boeing 737 max be ADA compliant. Please when is this stuff going to stop.

That's a silly analogy. Jetliner cockpits are not public accommodations.

 

[Vacations66]

I agree. I've ridden many times on a scooter, and it does seem like the cabin exiting the ADA area comes close to colliding with the cabin making the turnaround on some trips. I don't know whether that's actually what's causing the shutdowns, but it would seem prudent to have the departing cabin start a few seconds later.

It sounds like your cabin may have had a bad battery. The batteries are supposed to be charged every time the cabin moves thru a station. I think there's an light on the outside of the cabin that indicates whether or not the battery has power. I don't know whether cm's are checking that indicator before they load each cabin.

It's not Disney's job to make it work. It's Doppelmayr's.

That's a silly analogy. Jetliner cockpits are not public accommodations.

You missed the point. ADA if it had its way would Sue and probably win that the airlines haven't made pilot jobs available to them. That means sueing aircraft manufacturing. You can't allow the ADA to control all facets of our lives. I know of quite a few restaurants that might be forced to close because the building s they're in are so old you couldn't make the restrooms compliant.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Its Disney World. The idea that any of us should refrain from riding anything for the fear of being stuck anywhere from a few minutes to hours without proper communication is frankly really sad and unfortunately a reflection of how some of their biggest fans and supporters feel about them. The company that once set the standard is now having its defenders warn that its your own fault if you experience poor communication, extended stoppage, etc because you should expect it. Bums me out, honestly.

I hope they get it all resolved. When it works it’s fantastic. But more than that I hope they can eventually raise the standards we have for the company as a whole.

 

[puckdog47]

OP here. I don’t love heights, which means flying isn’t my favorite thing, but I’m willing to do it out of convenience and consideration for others. And I know I can reason away my fears, especially with reassurance. If I was on a plane and there was a considerable amount of turbulence I’d get nervous but would feel much better once the pilot came on and assuaged my fears by communicating the situation or whatever. With a new system I feel Disney should be especially vigilant in communicating with riders. I’m not going to let my fears control my life, but I expected some type of accountability from Disney. I’m not really angry, and I didn’t let the experience ruin my trip, but I posted to warn others and because I’m concerned that something worse could happen given the communication system, which one would thing would be one of the easier functions to maintain, was completely useless.

 

[SarahInMN]

I can't even imagine what it will be like when Riviera opens and ECVs are loaded on without a separate loop. That's going to ramp up the number of stops.

agree. We rode right after it opened (but pre accident) and had multiple stops of 3-5 minutes with one at 10 minutes. I can’t imagine how the stops will amplify when RIV opens. They really need a separate loading loop at all the stations.

I wouldn’t trust the gondola system to get me anywhere in a timely fashion.

Vacation isn't the time or place most people will, or should, chose to battle their inner demons.

I don’t like enclosed spaces but wanted to try the gondolas. We rode them the day after opening and I think there’s a difference between confronting reasonable anxiety and being put in an unreasonable situation. I knew I’d be fine even if the gondola stoped for 10-15 minutes. Never would I have imagined being trapped on them for 3 hours - fortunately we weren’t on the system when this happened. I would have had multiple panic attacks. Is that my fault for “confronting my inner demons”? Maybe. But should I have had a reasonable expectation of being trapped for 3 hours? No. If I didn’t do things because of what might happen, I’d never leave the house. Or I’d never step foot in the house.

I think all guests regardless of anxiety or phobia should be able to trust Disney transport to not regularly strand them on resort transport. Maybe it’s because we were on property when the skyliner accident happened but I would have a hard time trusting them to get me anywhere on time.

 

[Selket]

I was at WDW a couple of weeks ago and rode the Skyliner for fun a few times. However at least 3 times I went to ride it, there was an issue where it was shut down. Someone mentioned a medical issue that caused a long delay - I think I was waiting to board at Epcot when that happened to someone there. They shut down the line while the paramedics were in the station and didn't start it up until they had left - then only to let people off. (the person had felt faint, etc - wasn't taken to the hospital - I was right next to him because they were near the ADA boarding area where I was waiting to board). I got to the point where I felt like it was ... unreliable - and I didn't want to get on it and get stuck - and off loaded at CBR, etc. I'm sorry that happened to you OP - they should definitely have told you through the intercom system what was going on.

Disney needs to make them ADA compliant - at least for the majority of guests. If I was as physically fragile as some have mentioned (on this thread) then I wouldn't want to be on it because of the issues with evacuation - I hope they can make it work better than it does now - it's a really beautiful system and fun to ride. Right now it's too darn unreliable tho - I can't recommend it if you really need or want to be somewhere.

 

[conandrob240]

What if there were a true emergency and that communication system was down?This passenger was having anxiety, truly understandable in this situation. But what if someone were suffering a life threatening emergency such as cardiac arrest? The person would have likely died if there was no way to communicate and quickly determine which car was in distress. This is extremely troubling that the communication system and emergency buttons weren’t functioning or were ignored.

 

[FCDub]

How this thread has been allowed to stay open with such blatant ableist language – the product of one poster – is beyond me.

“Disabled people should not be allowed to ride” – are you kidding me?

 

[Lynne M]

We are done here.

Two points I want to make:

1) This board is for discussion of Disney resorts. It is not a place for debates about government regulation, the ADA, or anything else that doesn’t directly pertain to Disney resorts.

2) I posted this above, but it obviously needs to be repeated. Feel free to complain about Disney all you like, but attacks on other posters are not welcome here, no matter how justified you feel they may be. Refer to our guidelines for posting if you are unsure whether something you’d like to say is appropriate here.