News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

[Coaster Lover]

Just came back from a stay at Art of Animation and I can say that I'm so excited for the gondola system to be open! If you figure that an Epcot/Hollywood Studios bus can hold about 50 people (fully packed) and a bus for each of those resorts comes every ~20 minutes (so 12 buses for the two parks between Art of Animation and Pop Century per hour), you get a maximum capacity going to Epcot and Studios of ~600 people per hour (from AoA and Pop alone). To equal that capacity with gondolas, you only need to send a full 8 person gondola once every 48 seconds which it seems that the system will more than accommodate. If one of the parks is closed and all of the traffic is coming to one park, the numbers would be the same (one bus every 20 minutes from each of the four resorts or 12 total buses per hour at ~600 people per hour or one gondola going from the CBR hub to Hollywood Studios every 48 seconds). From my experience, the buses to Hollywood Studios and Epcot are almost never full going to the park from any of the resorts the gondola system will handle (standing room only possibly, but almost never so full that the bus cannot accommodate all of the people waiting at the station), so I don't believe there should be any substantial concern of a bottle neck at the CRB hub for guests going to Hollywood Studios. The time when buses are most full is at park closing so while there may be some wait I believe it will be MUCH shorter than waiting for a bus at the end of the night and the wait will be in a constantly moving line and you should always be able to get a seat for the ride back to your resort (much appreciated when you have kids).

Assuming they'll have security screening at the resorts (as opposed to being screened when you get to the park) I really think this will cut transport times by HUGE margins! It would certainly be a factor that could convince me to stay at one of the resorts connected to this system.

 

[disney4life2008]

My bet is you're more at risk of an accident traveling to / from WDW.

Likely.

 

[MisterPenguin]

At least with the gondolas, you don't have to worry about the driver of another gondola crashing into you...

http://www.wdwinfo.com/news-stories/walt-disney-world-bus-hit-by-driver/

 

[Bender123]

the platforms will need more than one or two staff, as the stations will also have security stations

You are going to need the security anyway, if they change the security system to match the monorail, so its a wash. You can have a much more spread out security this way that matches what the MK has now. Its great that the monorail is behind security and I hope they go this way.

Its nice to be able to go through security at your hotel, ride the monorail to the MK, then go to Epcot and not need security again. With a system like this in place, the only park not behind a single security gate would be AK.

 

[Coaster Lover]

Its nice to be able to go through security at your hotel, ride the monorail to the MK, then go to Epcot and not need security again. With a system like this in place, the only park not behind a single security gate would be AK.

As of now, I believe that you need to go through security again going TO Epcot on the monorail as the monorail arrival ramp at Epcot spits you out before the security checkpoint (you would go through security either entering the secure zone at Magic Kingdom's entrance, at the TTC, or at one of the monorail hotels, stay in the secure zone transferring to the Epcot loop at TTC, then go through security again at Epcot's entrance)... I believe when you leave Epcot, the departure ramp is still within the secure zone and you can stay in the secure zone through the monorail system all the way to the entrance to Magic Kingdom. (someone please correct me if I'm wrong!)

 

[Bender123]

As of now, I believe that you need to go through security again going TO Epcot on the monorail as the monorail arrival ramp at Epcot spits you out before the security checkpoint (you would go through security either entering the secure zone at Magic Kingdom's entrance, at the TTC, or at one of the monorail hotels, stay in the secure zone transferring to the Epcot loop at TTC, then go through security again at Epcot's entrance)... I believe when you leave Epcot, the departure ramp is still within the secure zone and you can stay in the secure zone through the monorail system all the way to the entrance to Magic Kingdom. (someone please correct me if I'm wrong!)

Nope. Two weeks ago, when I was there, the entire monorail system was considered behind security. It may be recent or testing, but I did not get checked at Epcot after leaving the monorail during my stay.

 

[jaklgreen]

Guests will be completely enclosed in the gondola cabin just as they are in a monorail cabin. Monorails have pilots in the cab but the six passenger compartments have no human supervision.

Yeah, but there is a difference between being on a platform and suspended in air. You have to acknowledge the difference.

 

[peter11435]

Yeah, but there is a difference between being on a platform and suspended in air. You have to acknowledge the difference.

Except there really isn't. You may perceive being safer on one than the other but in reality this is just perception. A guest contained inside the monorail is just as safe as one inside a gondola.

 

[Kamikaze]

Yeah, but there is a difference between being on a platform and suspended in air. You have to acknowledge the difference.

Yes. The incident rate on the monorail is actually higher.

 

[jaklgreen]

Except there really isn't. You may perceive being safer on one than the other but in reality this is just perception. A guest contained inside the monorail is just as safe as one inside a gondola.

But that is what we are talking about, perception, not facts. It is how people FEEL that makes the difference on what they are willing to do. Just like there are so many that will not fly even if they know that there is less of a chance of crashing then there is in a car. Some people just will not feel comfortable swinging from a wire.

 

[peter11435]

But that is what we are talking about, perception, not facts. It is how people FEEL that makes the difference on what they are willing to do. Just like there are so many that will not fly even if they know that there is less of a chance of crashing then there is in a car. Some people just will not feel comfortable swinging from a wire.

I was talking about others believing that this system was dangerous in some fashion. That it would "spell disaster." Those comments were not about perception and irrational fears but rather uninformed beliefs that the system is inheritantly more dangerous than others which is simply not the case.

Obviously there will be some who will not trust it. Those people will have to make other arrangements.

 

[flynnibus]

But that is what we are talking about, perception, not facts. It is how people FEEL that makes the difference on what they are willing to do. Just like there are so many that will not fly even if they know that there is less of a chance of crashing then there is in a car. Some people just will not feel comfortable swinging from a wire.

You can't shape the world around protecting irrational people. I bet those people don't freak out about being in an elevator... swinging from a wire...

 

[nickys]

You can't shape the world around protecting irrational people. I bet those people don't freak out about being in an elevator... swinging from a wire...

Indeed! Not to mention they probably ride EE, ToT, RnR etc without worrying about plunging to their doom.....

I on the other hand don't ride those (due to my totally irrational fear of doing just that ) but can't wait to try the gondolas.

I would just love to fast forward a couple of years and see if any of this thread's "less enthusiastic" posters actually ride them!

 

[Rider]

The Disney system seems pretty tame compared to systems elsewhere in the world.

Like the Swiss Alps:

 

[ABQ]

The Disney system seems pretty tame compared to systems elsewhere in the world.

Like the Swiss Alps:
View attachment 221660

Well now you're digressing from gondola's to trams, so I'll pimp our own local one, which mid span has a 900 foot elevation about the ground. In total it goes from a base elevation of 6,559 feet (1,999 m) to a top elevation of 10,378 feet (3,163 m). Longest tram in the US. Certainly not as majestic as the Swiss Alps though. But it is in a desert after all.

 

[Rider]

They're all cable based transit systems.

But here is a gonolda system on that same mountain : https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Gondelbahn_Grindelwald-Männlichen_(GGM).jpg/1200px-Gondelbahn_Grindelwald-Männlichen_(GGM).jpg

 

[mmascari]

Guests will be completely enclosed in the gondola cabin just as they are in a monorail cabin. Monorails have pilots in the cab but the six passenger compartments have no human supervision.

Except, that's not true either. The monorail has a person at the controls at the front of the train, maybe the first car can see them. The rest of the monorail cars on the same train have no human supervision either.

So, every monorail has 1 human controller and a bunch of cars with people who cannot see them. On any monorail line, there are many independent human controllers all trying to adjust for what the others are doing.

Every gondola line has 1 human controller and a bunch of cars with people who cannot see them. On that line, there is only 1 human controller who doesn't need to worry about what any other controller is doing, they have total control of the entire line to themselves.

(Technically not true either, since every station has independent ability to stop the line. But, it's still just 1 person in 1 location that can start it again after all the holds have been cleared, so it might as well be just 1 person in control.)

 

[marni1971]

I'm sure this has been asked, so I apologize for the duplication but what will happen when thunderstorms are present in the area? My assumption is the system would shut down. Don't thunderstorms frequent Orlando just about daily in the summer months?
If so, what are the contingency plans to get guests back to their resorts? Increase bus routes during these times, which sort of defeats the purpose of installing the gondola system.

Just not sure how practical this transportation system is for for this area?
Thoughts?

At present the ride will pause operation when weather dictates it. The expected downtime at present doesn't warrant an alternate service.

 

[badrew]

Nope. Two weeks ago, when I was there, the entire monorail system was considered behind security. It may be recent or testing, but I did not get checked at Epcot after leaving the monorail during my stay.

Must have been testing, just got back on Monday and had to do security at Contemporary and then when I enteres EPCOT.

 

[marni1971]

Thanks!

Is it possible for this type of system to function in a thunderstorm? It sounded like maybe it could be a possibility.

It has been discussed earlier; consensus is it'll take a very localised storm to stop operations for a short while.