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

[Lee Matthews]

Ah ok, then people can’t really complain then if they get rid of the buses for the gondola resorts.

I hope the skyline works well and ends up going to animal kingdom and the all stars from the same gondola route they are doing now but I guess we will see

 

[umichigan10]

Do they run busses from the monorail resorts to Magic Kingdom. If they do then surely those buses could get the chop too?

Only if the monorails not running. But all MK resorts have an alternate form of transport to that isn’t the monorail (boats or walkway)

Edit: I see this was already answered

 

[dina444444]

If the capacity of the gondolas is ~3000 per hour, that 1716 people will be transported is just over 30 minutes - unlike the bus system that took 52 minutes. And as others have pointed out - the line will be constantly moving. So those people that showed up for the bus at 9:10 are already long gone by the time people showing up at 9:20 are arriving and seeing 200 people in line for a bus. You are probably looking at maximum waits for the gondola of maybe 15 minutes even on the worst nights - and again remembering you are back at your resort in 5-10 minutes once you get on the gondola. (The only other possible problem is the guests from both DHS and Epcot going to Pop/AOA both showing up at the Pop gondola branch at the same time...hopefully Disney will have the good sense to stagger closings of these two parks.

The closing times should be staggered. Epcot closes at either 9 (most of the time), 9:30 (winter holiday season), or 10 (F&W weekends). I imagine that DHS will close at either 10:30 or 11 nightly once SWGE opens.

 

[joelkfla]

There is this thing, it is called context. Ask my wife who is an English teacher, she will explain it to you. I was responding to a poster who obviously thinks there will still be busses running to the gondola resorts. He thought that the gondolas would be in addition to the busses and therefore reduce the stress on “those” resorts. We were not discussing resort wide. But, hey thanks for telling me what I meant, you know me better than myself.

Well, of course I can't tell you what you meant; I can only go on what you actually said and how I interpreted it.

In a forum such as this, it can be difficult to discern the context of a statement when numerous posters are posting about the same and various subjects. So if I misinterpreted your meaning, I apologize.

 

[RescueRanger]

Well, of course I can't tell you what you meant; I can only go on what you actually said and how I interpreted it.

In a forum such as this, it can be difficult to discern the context of a statement when numerous posters are posting about the same and various subjects. So if I misinterpreted your meaning, I apologize.

Apology accepted. And I apologize for the snark. It’s all good. I just hope that people realize that there is a high probability of there being no bus service where the gondolas run and prepare as such. As with anything Disney related, that is subject to change. However, i think that is highly unlikely.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

I see what everyone is saying now. It makes more sense with the gondola resorts to get rid of the busses. I didn’t realize the gondolas went to all parks. I was thinking like at the Contemporary, we took a bus directly to AK and HS many times. So with no busses guest will have to take it to a hub and transfer to a bus to go anywhere the gondolas don’t go?

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I see what everyone is saying now. It makes more sense with the gondola resorts to get rid of the busses. I didn’t realize the gondolas went to all parks. I was thinking like at the Contemporary, we took a bus directly to AK and HS many times. So with no busses guest will have to take it to a hub and transfer to a bus to go anywhere the gondolas don’t go?

Gondolas will only service EPCOT and DHS - the resorts will still have buses to MK, AK, Disney Springs - just not to the parks the gondolas get to. So I think will be similar set up to Contemporary

 

[Roxyfire]

Yeah so for Contemporary and Bay Lake, they still have the buses to Disney Springs, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. They just don't have a bus that will always go to Epcot, unless the monorail is down I guess. The one time the monorail was down for us last fall, we were just going to the Magic Kingdom anyway so we used the walkway. The one thing that is a total annoyance is having to go up to the monorail platform to find it's not operating and there's no estimated fix time. I hope when they start putting the bus wait times in there, they can put an alert that the resort monorail is closed. Wishful thinking, I know, but it would make it a lot easier to find alternate transportation.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Believe what you want if it makes you feel better. But the bus routes to these resorts will be gone. Will they run them if the gondolas go down, sure. However, they will not run busses regularly. If someone is afraid of the gondolas, there are plenty of non gondola resorts to choose from, or they can take a minnie van.

If it makes me feel better? not really. I don't "Feel" any way about this but you seem so sure like you have insider information. So say your right, bus routes to the gondola resorts will be gone (your words). Imagine the mobs of people at the transfer spot to grab a bus to AK MK or to another resort for dinner. I just cannot see the busses being eliminated.

 

[rteetz]

Let’s stop the arguing please.

It’s safe to assume that bus service from gondola resorts to DHS or Epcot will be gone or at least very limited.

These resorts will still have bus service to MK and AK.

 

[DanBoris]

Let’s stop the arguing please.

It’s safe to assume that bus service from gondola resorts to DHS or Epcot will be gone or at least very limited.

These resorts will still have bus service to MK and AK.

Yeah, even if they do end up running busses from the gondola resorts, there is no way they will run them at the same level of service they do now.

 

[sachilles]

Here is what we know about the system.
It will stop at the IG, Riviera, CBR, DHS and AOA/POP.
It will be a single haulrope style of gondola.
The cars will be decorated with Disney characters.
We know they can operate in foul weather conditions, but we do not KNOW if they desire to do it.

Here is what we don't know, but there is lot of group think that has good odds of being correct.
Air conditioning is unlikely
8 Passengers are possible, along with accommodating strollers, scooters, and wheelchairs.
Bus service is likely to change as a result of this transportation option being available....that change is TBD
Passenger capacity and speed to destination is likely to be equal to or quicker than bus service
Non gondola transportation will likely still be available from the connected resorts, though not guaranteed to be as frequent or as fast.

 

[tjkraz]

Yeah, even if they do end up running busses from the gondola resorts, there is no way they will run them at the same level of service they do now.

I have mixed thoughts about this. If Disney keeps SOME bus service in operation, demand is going to dictate that level of service. If they have 200 people per hour queuing up to go from AOA to Epcot, Disney cannot just provide adequate service to transport 100 people and say "suck it." If bus the route remains in place, reasonable guest expectations have to be met.

If demand is exceptionally low, sure they could run a bus every 30 minutes. But AOA, POP and CBR are all huge resorts. The 200 guests from my example above isn't particularly large for a 2800 room hotel.

That said, I also have trouble envisioning them mandating the Skyliner. It's tough to compare guest acceptance to something like the monorail. I don't personally have any fears which would keep me out of the Skyliner, but safe to say that some people wouldn't equate dangling from a cable in a bucket with the relative security of an elevated train system.

There's also the logistical challenge of re-training people to exit Epcot at the International Gateway rather than front entrance. There would be few things more frustrating than walking to the front of the park--perhaps even to the bus stop--before realizing that you actually need to leave via the IG to return to your hotel.

Will be fascinating to see how it plays out.

 

[Tigger's ally]

Here is what we know about the system.
It will stop at the IG, Riviera, CBR, DHS and AOA/POP.
It will be a single haulrope style of gondola.
The cars will be decorated with Disney characters.
We know they can operate in foul weather conditions, but we do not KNOW if they desire to do it.

Here is what we don't know, but there is lot of group think that has good odds of being correct.
Air conditioning is unlikely
8 Passengers are possible, along with accommodating strollers, scooters, and wheelchairs.
Bus service is likely to change as a result of this transportation option being available....that change is TBD
Passenger capacity and speed to destination is likely to be equal to or quicker than bus service
Non gondola transportation will likely still be available from the connected resorts, though not guaranteed to be as frequent or as fast.

Added in the the "don't know category-

Music/announcements/etc?
how much Disney will affect views from the gondola's (backside of Epcot)
crowd control
Security

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Added in the the "don't know category-

Music/announcements/etc?
how much Disney will affect views from the gondola's (backside of Epcot)
crowd control
Security

for "security" do you mean in general or specifically as far as where will you go through security/bag check to get into the parks? If the later, I thought it was pretty confirmed that the stations are outside the security checkpoints for ECPOT and DHS and you would have to go through after you arrive at the park, not before boarding the gondola

 

[dina444444]

for "security" do you mean in general or specifically as far as where will you go through security/bag check to get into the parks? If the later, I thought it was pretty confirmed that the stations are outside the security checkpoints for ECPOT and DHS and you would have to go through after you arrive at the park, not before boarding the gondola

Security isn’t clear at the moment. It’s possible dhs will be inside security since they are moving the bus loop at trhe moment.

 

[rteetz]

Security isn’t clear at the moment. It’s possible dhs will be inside security since they are moving the bus loop at trhe moment.

Yep and Epcot could get a security reconfiguration too.

 

[umichigan10]

Security isn’t clear at the moment. It’s possible dhs will be inside security since they are moving the bus loop at trhe moment.

My guess is they’re going to make the gondolas in the security loop. It makes sense to ease up on the extra traffic at the IG, and it’s been done before with special park transport with the monorail. But that’s all assumption on my end

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Security isn’t clear at the moment. It’s possible dhs will be inside security since they are moving the bus loop at trhe moment.

Yep and Epcot could get a security reconfiguration too.

really? Clearly I missed all of that talk as everything I recall seeing was that it would be outside and then adding security at AoA/Pop, etc. wouldn't really make sense or be efficient.

 

[rteetz]

really? Clearly I missed all of that talk as everything I recall seeing was that it would be outside and then adding security at AoA/Pop, etc. wouldn't really make sense or be efficient.

If you look at the latest aerials you can see the new massive bus loop being built at DHS.