Skyliner - Pros and Cons ?

[pooh2001]

Skyliner - very new to us

Is it reliable ?

Should we avoid it when it rains ?

What about if the winds are greater than 30 mph ? Can the skyliner be run with out swinging side to side (creates motion sickness)

If you stay at a resort which is serviced by the skyliner.....
Do they still have buses and when do they run ?
When you get to the park, from the skyliner - EPCOT or DHS, where doe it drop off ? Are you in the parking lot with a long walk to the entrance ?

Can you request a skyliner just for 2 guests of the same family, DH & DW ?
Otherwise it defeats the COVID-19 six feet rule
Until there is an actual vaccine for COVID-19, I am unsure we will ride it


Thank you for your advice

 

[thanxfornoticin]

The skyliner drops you off near the International entrance of EPCOT, and also near the main entrance at Hollywood Studios.

Since some early problems with the system, it seemed to be running fairly reliably for a few months before everything was shut down in March.

The gondolas will be subject to the conditions you are riding in - if it's hot and the cars stop (which they are apt to do for short periods), no one is quite sure how hot it might get inside. They have not yet run over the summer. If it's windy, there will be some rocking. It sounds like Disney will shut them down during times there are storms or threats of storms.

I think riding the skyliner with social distancing is way down on the list of priorities at WDW. You have the same thing regarding buses, boats, monorail - heck, cabs and ride-shares. And what about the queues? Many things need to be worked out, but I would think we'll view things very differently - at least for a while.

 

[OKW Lover]

We are local but have ridden the SkyLiner several times. We've found them to be reliable. The only stops we have experienced have been brief (less than a minute) and did not affect the comfort of the trip.

It is believed that the they have some type of environmental related operational limits (ie high winds or thunderstorms) but there hasn't been anything official on this that I can recall. If they are down for any reason, Disney will substitute bus service.

 

[Ross Kratter]

The Skyliner station is closer to the entrance of DHS than the bus stops are.
There are still buses to/from the resorts with Skyliner service; it's just that within the hours that the Skyliner is running, buses supposedly only run once per hour.
Regarding requesting your own cabin, if you're riding at a time where there aren't many people in line, it's likely you'll be assigned your own anyway.

 

[nkereina]

Is it reliable ?

Should we avoid it when it rains ?

What about if the winds are greater than 30 mph ? Can the skyliner be run with out swinging side to side (creates motion sickness)

Its reliable. There's been some instances of it being down, but its no different than the monorail in that regard. They do not run if its lightning or if there's high winds, but typical or light rain, they will still run. I'm prone to motion sickness and did not find the swaying to be significant at all. Barely noticeable.

If you stay at a resort which is serviced by the skyliner.....
Do they still have buses and when do they run ?
When you get to the park, from the skyliner - EPCOT or DHS, where doe it drop off ? Are you in the parking lot with a long walk to the entrance ?

As mentioned, the resorts on the Skyliner run DHS and Epcot buses once per hour. However, they'll ramp that up if the Skyliner is down for any reason.

The Skyliner exit at DHS is closer than the bus stop walk. Just up the path. At Epcot, the Skyliner exit is a stone's throw from the Friendship Boat dock at the International Gateway. Very close and convenient walks.

Can you request a skyliner just for 2 guests of the same family, DH & DW ?
Otherwise it defeats the COVID-19 six feet rule
Until there is an actual vaccine for COVID-19, I am unsure we will ride it

When we rode it in October, each party had their own gondola most of the time. There was only one instance when we were with someone else, and it was during a busy park closing time. If the line for the gondola is long, they will put parties together.

Disney will be closed as long as the 6ft rule is in place, so that's a non-issue.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Just keep in mind the one potential problem scenario with the Skyliner and EPCOT. If you plan to take Skyliner from EPCOT back to one of the resorts, but it is shut down for a period of time (perhaps due to impending weather), you'll be a bit stuck at the EPCOT exit. You'll either need to wait it out until the Skyliner is running again, or you'll need to walk through EPCOT to get to the bus depot at the main entrance. This could be a bit of a problem during the summer with pop-up thunderstorms many afternoons. It's probably a similar concern for some of the resorts that use boats a lot (perhaps CC/BR?). But at least if you're leaving MK to get back to CC, if the boats aren't running, the bus depot is convenient. That's not true for EPCOT.

To be honest, I'm looking forward to when this might be a REAL problem again at WDW - because it would mean they're open for business again!

 

[nkereina]

Just keep in mind the one potential problem scenario with the Skyliner and EPCOT. If you plan to take Skyliner from EPCOT back to one of the resorts, but it is shut down for a period of time (perhaps due to impending weather), you'll be a bit stuck at the EPCOT exit. You'll either need to wait it out until the Skyliner is running again, or you'll need to walk through EPCOT to get to the bus depot at the main entrance. This could be a bit of a problem during the summer with pop-up thunderstorms many afternoons. It's probably a similar concern for some of the resorts that use boats a lot (perhaps CC/BR?). But at least if you're leaving MK to get back to CC, if the boats aren't running, the bus depot is convenient. That's not true for EPCOT.

To be honest, I'm looking forward to when this might be a REAL problem again at WDW - because it would mean they're open for business again!

If a person does not want to wait it out at the Skyliner station, they also have the option to walk or take the Friendship Boat to DHS and board a bus there, or walk to the Beach Club and catch an Uber/Lyft. For the few times the Skyliner goes down, I think its still worth the risk in the off chance you're exiting Epcot at the same time its down.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

If a person does not want to wait it out at the Skyliner station, they also have the option to walk or take the Friendship Boat to DHS and board a bus there, or walk to the Beach Club and catch an Uber/Lyft. For the few times the Skyliner goes down, I think its still worth the risk in the off chance you're exiting Epcot at the same time its down.

Since it hasn't happened yet (that I'm aware of), it'll be interesting to see how it's handled. But during the summer when afternoon thunderstorms are common 9 days out 10, it could be something people need to be aware of. I expect many folks would just opt to wait it out, considering you wouldn't want to be walking to the front of EPCOT, to Beach Club, to DSH, or be on a boat during a storm anyway.

 

[joelkfla]

Just keep in mind the one potential problem scenario with the Skyliner and EPCOT. If you plan to take Skyliner from EPCOT back to one of the resorts, but it is shut down for a period of time (perhaps due to impending weather), you'll be a bit stuck at the EPCOT exit. You'll either need to wait it out until the Skyliner is running again, or you'll need to walk through EPCOT to get to the bus depot at the main entrance. This could be a bit of a problem during the summer with pop-up thunderstorms many afternoons. It's probably a similar concern for some of the resorts that use boats a lot (perhaps CC/BR?). But at least if you're leaving MK to get back to CC, if the boats aren't running, the bus depot is convenient. That's not true for EPCOT.

To be honest, I'm looking forward to when this might be a REAL problem again at WDW - because it would mean they're open for business again!

When the Skyliner was down, Disney had been running buses from BW looping thru all Skyliner resorts. Subject to change in the future.

With Skyliner still being relatively new, and with the situation at WDW unknown when it does eventually reopen, everything is subject to change.

 

[Huff]

My wife is scared of heights and hates aerial trams. If the only option is a once an hour bus to/from resorts that's going to be rough!

 

[Krandor]

My wife is scared of heights and hates aerial trams. If the only option is a once an hour bus to/from resorts that's going to be rough!

If you don't want to ride the skyliner then I would not stay at a skylier resort.

However I'm scared of heights and have no issues with the skylibne. YMMV of course.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Rough on her; nothing* stopping you from taking the Skyliner and meeting her in or at a park

*okay, fine nothing except "happy wife, happy life"; loving her; wanting to stay together...

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

The biggest con is that it's had some major (hour+) stoppages while in service. We've only ridden it twice, and one if those times it stopped for about five minutes. Hovering high in the air suspended by only a cable, with the wind gently blowing you to and fro, isn't the most comfortable thing when you're wondering how long you'll be waiting. I wouldn't use it in summer, when the temps are high, because getting stuck in a non-air conditioned translucent box (serious greenhouse effect) for over an hour would just be too much for me.

As far as havung your own cabin is concerned, we were a party of two and were placed with other guests both times we rode the Skyliner.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

My wife is scared of heights and hates aerial trams. If the only option is a once an hour bus to/from resorts that's going to be rough!

Yes, my wife is the same. Some folks are just afraid of cars on a cable. So we'll just avoid riding.

But it is an interesting point - for folks who enjoy staying at AoA or Pop, or spent a lot of money at Riviera - but don't want to take the Skyliner for certain reasons, it's going to be a challenge. It's easy to say, well don't stay at those resorts - but if you've been staying at a place for years and like the resort, changing resorts because they greatly reduced the availability of a viable transportation option (buses) is tough to swallow.

 

[nkereina]

But it is an interesting point - for folks who enjoy staying at AoA or Pop, or spent a lot of money at Riviera - but don't want to take the Skyliner for certain reasons, it's going to be a challenge. It's easy to say, well don't stay at those resorts - but if you've been staying at a place for years and like the resort, changing resorts because they greatly reduced the availability of a viable transportation option (buses) is tough to swallow.

They still run the buses once an hour. If you can obtain that schedule, it would be relatively easy to plan around that. If that's not a viable option for you, Uber/Lyft and Minnie Vans provide alternative on demand rides for cost.

 

[OKW Lover]

Now that the parks are reopened and the skyliner is running, has anybody been riding while the typical afternoon thunderstorms have struck? We are in that season now.

 

[joelkfla]

Now that the parks are reopened and the skyliner is running, has anybody been riding while the typical afternoon thunderstorms have struck? We are in that season now.

They shut it down when there is lightning in the area.