Skyliner wait times leaving Pop

[threedisprincesses]

Headed down to the parks for a nine night stay at Pop. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas of average wait times for leaving via the Skyliner. For example-what's the wait like around 7:00? 8:00? Midday... Evening...
What time has it been starting to run during this busy time?
Any and all information is welcome!

 

[BrianL]

Headed down to the parks for a nine night stay at Pop. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas of average wait times for leaving via the Skyliner. For example-what's the wait like around 7:00? 8:00? Midday... Evening...
What time has it been starting to run during this busy time?
Any and all information is welcome!

When leaving in the mornings for rope drop, you can expect there to be long lines. You want to be EARLY and hang out on the bridge. A line will start to coalesce at some point, though as long as you are in the first batch of people, you'll be good. Early is like 6:30, so just note that. They will pack the gondolas when there is a line, so expect to ride in a mixed group - up to 10 people. Then note that there can be a line at the transfer station at Caribbean Beach too. Again, if you are early, you should be okay (even if it looks kind of long, it goes pretty fast).

Now, mid-day and pretty much any time other than rope drop - you can expect to walk-on or have minimal waits. You might see little spikes in the evening - like I was headed back to Epcot for Luminous one night and there was a slight after-dinner spike, but it was still just a few minutes. It really is a great way to get around and park-hop between HS and Epcot mid-day.

At park close, you will notice long lines to get back, but they do move quickly. They will again pack the gondolas. There can still be a wait though and don't be shocked if the lines seem really long - like all the way to Yacht & Beach Club at Epcot! The only time I found that wait difficult was during Covid when they would not mix parties in a gondola - it took like an hour. Otherwise, while there can be a wait, it should still be pretty efficient.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Exactly as @BrianL described above.

The one caveat I will add is that last summer we visited Epcot 3 different nights when we were there after the fireworks ended (ie. I was in line for Guardians!!) and each of those times it took me substantially longer to get back to Pop.

At park close and end of fireworks there are a large number of people using the Skyliner to return to their resort. We found to accommodate all guests in the most efficient way, CMs were taking guests from the accessible cabin line and loading them in the standby line cabins. This was not a problem at all, it just meant the full system needed to be stopped each time to safely load/unload guests from their cabins. Each night at this time the ride from Epcot to CBR was in the range of 30-40 mins once we were loaded into our cabin.

Has anyone else experienced this at Epcot park close or was this an anomaly the week we were there?

In the AM, the rule of thumb to get to your park of choice in time for rope drop (and be towards the front of the crowd), is to arrive at Pop transportation at least 90 mins before Early Theme Park Entry hours begin. For the Skyliner, you may with to arrive a little more than 90 mins in advance. But, once the Skyliner starts carrying guests, the line moves very efficiently.

 

[jimmymc]

For morning rope-drop, I'd expect 10-15 minutes at Pop and another 5-10 minutes at Caribbean Beach.

Right after nighttime shows or park close in the evenings, expect 10-20 minutes at the park and minimal wait at Caribbean Beach.

In the middle of the day, you should be able to walk on to your own gondola.

 

[jimmymc]

At park close and end of fireworks there are a large number of people using the Skyliner to return to their resort. We found to accommodate all guests in the most efficient way, CMs were taking guests from the accessible cabin line and loading them in the standby line cabins. This was not a problem at all, it just meant the full system needed to be stopped each time to safely load/unload guests from their cabins. Each night at this time the ride from Epcot to CBR was in the range of 30-40 mins once we were loaded into our cabin.

Has anyone else experienced this at Epcot park close or was this an anomaly the week we were there?

That wasn't the case back in 2022, the last time I stayed at CB. It was about a 20 minute wait, but then the gondolas went at normal speed.