News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

[MrPromey]

This would seem to make more sense, however, an advantage to suspended car gondola systems (modern ones, at least) is that the cars can actually detach and move, in line, to a staging area for loading.

This allows filled cars to "pass" through on the current line, and allows for a more relaxed loading experience without stopping and starting the main system, as older systems required.

It also eases ADA requirements.

I saw a video once of how one of these modern systems work, with an animation of a multiple car loading platform...I will see if I can dig that up.

With this in mind, this choice of platform makes a lot more sense for Disney as opposed to the more "train based" options.

Really something to think about. In addition to single cars loading and unloading not stopping the whole system, this would imply that meeting surge demand by possibly bringing more cars online at peak times - even with short notice wouldn't be a huge deal that would create delays for the whole line the way it does with monorails.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I defend lots of things that get slammed here all the time so it makes sense I'm not a fan of this idea that everyone is going nuts for. What does this solve, exactly? I hate fixed route transportation systems because they have no flexibility without creating an elaborate network of transfer stops. I can take a bus from the Magic Kingdom and get directly to 20+ different destinations nonstop. A monorail can get me to four destinations, one of which is a parking lot and another of which I could have walked to more quickly. And for this journey I'm waiting in a massive queue due to inability to scale capacity quickly and sufficiently. I don't know, this gondola idea sounds like it will have all of the problems of the monorails (minus cost) at even lower capacity.

 

[Master Yoda]

I defend lots of things that get slammed here all the time so it makes sense I'm not a fan of this idea that everyone is going nuts for. What does this solve, exactly? I hate fixed route transportation systems because they have no flexibility without creating an elaborate network of transfer stops. I can take a bus from the Magic Kingdom and get directly to 20+ different destinations nonstop. A monorail can get me to four destinations, one of which is a parking lot and another of which I could have walked to more quickly. And for this journey I'm waiting in a massive queue due to inability to scale capacity quickly and sufficiently. I don't know, this gondola idea sounds like it will have all of the problems of the monorails (minus cost) at even lower capacity.

All 100% valid points.

I personally don't see this as a silver bullet to fix all of WDW's travel woes, but it will shoulder a fair bit of the burden that the currently over taxed transportation system has been saddled with without being as expensive as a monorail expansion.

 

[xdan0920]

I defend lots of things that get slammed here all the time so it makes sense I'm not a fan of this idea that everyone is going nuts for. What does this solve, exactly? I hate fixed route transportation systems because they have no flexibility without creating an elaborate network of transfer stops. I can take a bus from the Magic Kingdom and get directly to 20+ different destinations nonstop. A monorail can get me to four destinations, one of which is a parking lot and another of which I could have walked to more quickly. And for this journey I'm waiting in a massive queue due to inability to scale capacity quickly and sufficiently. I don't know, this gondola idea sounds like it will have all of the problems of the monorails (minus cost) at even lower capacity.

Unrelated question. How do you feel about the MK setup? With the ticket and transport center followed by boats or monorail?

Or would you prefer to just drive up the the front gate?

 

[Jon81uk]

That's nothing some large trees on a brim couldn't hide

Trouble with a cable car is it is often taller than the trees. Trees are being used on a berm to hide Pandora's backside from the DAK bus station.

 

[Monorail Lime]

The proposed pathway (on the first page of this thread) would go right over the backstage area of World Showcase and if you look on Google Maps, the areas behind the France and Morocco buildings certainly aren't the most "magical" things to look at. I'm not sure seeing the back of Pandora would be a deal breaker. (personal opinion only, of course)

Automatic frosting windows could hide the unmagical backstage areas. This is already used on urban transportation systems worldwide.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_glass

 

[TiggerDad]

I defend lots of things that get slammed here all the time so it makes sense I'm not a fan of this idea that everyone is going nuts for. What does this solve, exactly? I hate fixed route transportation systems because they have no flexibility without creating an elaborate network of transfer stops. I can take a bus from the Magic Kingdom and get directly to 20+ different destinations nonstop. A monorail can get me to four destinations, one of which is a parking lot and another of which I could have walked to more quickly. And for this journey I'm waiting in a massive queue due to inability to scale capacity quickly and sufficiently. I don't know, this gondola idea sounds like it will have all of the problems of the monorails (minus cost) at even lower capacity.

One interesting question is whether the buses on these routes get eliminated or just scaled back. I know some people may be reluctant to be up in the air in an enclosed cabin.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

All 100% valid points.

I personally don't see this as a silver bullet to fix all of WDW's travel woes, but it will shoulder a fair bit of the burden that the currently over taxed transportation system has been saddled with without being as expensive as a monorail expansion.

See, I don't even see that WDW has "travel woes" that need fixing. I've been down for four full-week trips in the last two years, once at Saratoga Springs, once at the Ft. Wilderness Cabins and twice at Animal Kingdom Lodge, which is supposedly the worst place to be in terms of transportation. In those four trips, we've rented a car twice and relied on Disney transportation twice. The Disney transportation was absolutely fine. I have no problem with a ten minute wait for fifteen minute bus ride to get to a park that's fifteen minutes away. That seems perfectly reasonable to me.

 

[Jon81uk]

That's nothing some large trees on a brim couldn't hide

Trouble with a cable car is it is often taller than the trees. Trees are being used on a berm to hide Pandora's backside from the DAK bus station.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

This would most definietly make resort to resort and park to park transportation 10x easier. Although this doesn't solve the various issues with WDW's bus system, it definietly will alliveate some of the pressure put upon it. The friendship boats are slow and while they do serve a purpose, Id say their pretty ineffective. Connecting Epcot, AoA, Caribbean, and HS is a fantastic idea. This is a very unique form of transportation that would be a big enhancement to WDW and would eventually become pretty iconic.

 

[monothingie]

I think it's a neat idea. However, Monorails, Ferry Boats, and Busses all require queuing particularly during peak times, so unless they are planning on limiting the type of guest that is able to use the gondola system, this system has the potential fail in terms of capacity. Unless each gondola will hold 40 people, the system will be unusable, unless you are willing to wait. Unless there is some sort of rider management reservation system, I could potentially see queue times of more than at least 30 minutes just to get on thing, and during peak hours that could balloon. This doesn't account for delays caused by guest behavior, accessibility accommodations for guests, and weather.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Unrelated question. How do you feel about the MK setup? With the ticket and transport center followed by boats or monorail?

Or would you prefer to just drive up the the front gate?

I don't drive to the Magic Kingdom specifically because I hate that setup so much. Even when we rent a car, we take the bus on our Magic Kingdom days. Before we had our daughter, I used to enjoy the ferry to the park in the morning but absolutely hated it on the way back. Quick egress is important, especially after parade/fireworks, when park hopping, or when traveling with small children.

 

[ford91exploder]

All 100% valid points.

I personally don't see this as a silver bullet to fix all of WDW's travel woes, but it will shoulder a fair bit of the burden that the currently over taxed transportation system has been saddled with without being as expensive as a monorail expansion.

If you get 20-40 person gondolas you have 1/4-1/2 of a bus capacity and a dispatch of every 2-3 minutes plus you don't have the labor cost of a bus driver only the station personnel. The only real issue is lightning protection for the towers and cables

 

[CaptainAmerica]

This would most definietly make resort to resort and park to park transportation 10x easier.

It would make resort to resort transportation easier... from Art of Animation to Caribbean Beach. How many people are resort hopping from DAAR to CBR?

 

[Master Yoda]

See, I don't even see that WDW has "travel woes" that need fixing. I've been down for four full-week trips in the last two years, once at Saratoga Springs, once at the Ft. Wilderness Cabins and twice at Animal Kingdom Lodge, which is supposedly the worst place to be in terms of transportation. In those four trips, we've rented a car twice and relied on Disney transportation twice. The Disney transportation was absolutely fine. I have no problem with a ten minute wait for fifteen minute bus ride to get to a park that's fifteen minutes away. That seems perfectly reasonable to me.

I don't have much of a problem with it either save for peak times. When it comes to that, they need to start adding other options as you can only shove so many buses in a parking lot. The gondolas also might be a much more ADA friendly loading option vs buses.

The way I see it, more options and more capacity is a good thing for us guests.

 

[Grimley1968]

I've been pessimistic for a few years now regarding WDW and its future, but if some new form of transportation ends up being built as an alternative to buses, I'd be excited about it. There would be technical hurdles for sure, but I'm enjoying the inspiration of imagination with this news, a little bit like watching Walt Disney in those old tv show videos introduce Disneyland or EPCOT.

 

[modnar]

Whatever it is I'm sure we will be underwhelmed by it...

For now, I love a good mystery.

 

[peter11435]

I think it's a neat idea. However, Monorails, Ferry Boats, and Busses all require queuing particularly during peak times, so unless they are planning on limiting the type of guest that is able to use the gondola system, this system has the potential fail in terms of capacity. Unless each gondola will hold 40 people, the system will be unusable, unless you are willing to wait. Unless there is some sort of rider management reservation system, I could potentially see queue times of more than at least 30 minutes just to get on thing, and during peak hours that could balloon. This doesn't account for delays caused by guest behavior, accessibility accommodations for guests, and weather.

Throughput could easily be higher than the current bus system or boats.

 

[NelsonRD]

I have always dreamed of a people mover system where you can select your destination by car. The tracks will switch to take you to the destination selected, monitored by the distance of surrounding cars. Gondola, bus, and even monorails now seem outdated to me now.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I don't have much of a problem with it either save for peak times. When it comes to that, they need to start adding other options as you can only shove so many buses in a parking lot. The gondolas also might be a much more ADA friendly loading option vs buses.

The way I see it, more options and more capacity is a good thing for us guests.

All fair points, but still very limited to the parks and resorts attached to this specific infrastructure. That's the appeal of the bus fleet to me. It works from literally any point A you can think of to any point B you can think of in any type of weather you can think of because all a bus needs is a road.