News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

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SLUSHIE

Well-Known Member
mm121 said:
while this system is good, there are some newer ones that use a steel guideway instead of concrete so that is cheaper and easier to build and work around obstacles

systems like these could be great to connect groups of hotels together, one big advantage would be they could be built and opened in sections rather than having to unvehile a whole system at once

however if self driving car technology keeps moving forward like it is, those would be able to use existing infrastructure, which i think is the plan they are currently hoping to move towards

create the system as the 'minnie vans' now then down the road slowly switch the cars to automated driverless vehicles as those become available
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That was my thought when I was posting that. That system is basically 5 years old, and in another 5 years, will become completely irrelevant.
 
Rodan75

Rodan75

Well-Known Member
Everyone seems to be missing the obvious. The resort busses won't go point to point to Epcot and DHS (making @marni1971 correct as usual), but for those wanting bus service, the busses will take you to a 'transfer point' likely Disney Springs given the resort locations, so they aren't restricting bus access or forcing gondola usage, they are just updating the routes.

Given they have been doing this with TL and BB for the last 2 years, seems like the most obvious solution.
 
EricsBiscuit

EricsBiscuit

Well-Known Member
Cosmic Commando said:
According to this, the first two current ferries were put into service in July of 1972, so that's possible.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/yourma.../disney-worlds-magic-kingdom-ferry-boats/amp/
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They used to have sidewheeler steamboats powered by a triple expansion steam engine. I think they were called the Osceola Class. There was the Ports O Call and I forget the other name. They were actually listed as an attraction, outside the park! Then they used them for dinner cruises and then for transportation to DI. They were an absolute PITA to steer and when one went down for maintenance they took machinery out of the hull, left for lunch, came back and found the boat had sank!!! Talk about competence. The other steamer was decommissioned later and then they had a side wheeler that wasn't a steamer but was larger.
 
EricsBiscuit

EricsBiscuit

Well-Known Member
Also, the magic Kingdom I and II (talk about original names!) were introduced then with the third introduced later. They used to have two steamboats on the RoA. The Admiral Joe Fowler and the Richard F. Irvine. The Richard F. Irvine was added in 1973. Then, during maintenance the crane holding the Admiral JF snapped and the ship fell on the dry dock snapping the hull. In the mid 90s the Richard F Irvine was refurbed with a new boiler and renamed the Liberty Belle. MK I and II were renamed the Richard F. Irvine and Admiral Joe Fowler. The third ship was named the General Joe Potter. You can remember which is which with this poem:

Irvines are red,
Potters are blue,
I love the ferry and so should you!

The AJF is green
 
cosmicgirl

cosmicgirl

Well-Known Member
Rodan75 said:
Everyone seems to be missing the obvious. The resort busses won't go point to point to Epcot and DHS (making @marni1971 correct as usual), but for those wanting bus service, the busses will take you to a 'transfer point' likely Disney Springs given the resort locations, so they aren't restricting bus access or forcing gondola usage, they are just updating the routes.

Given they have been doing this with TL and BB for the last 2 years, seems like the most obvious solution.
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While I agree that they could, if needed, supplement the gondolas with a bus service requiring a transfer I doubt they would use Disney Springs. The last time I remember being able to take a bus from Downtown Disney to a park was 2001. I'm not sure when they stopped operating, but clearly there were too many people parking there for free to then hop on a bus to a park.
 
cindy_k

cindy_k

Well-Known Member
cosmicgirl said:
While I agree that they could, if needed, supplement the gondolas with a bus service requiring a transfer I doubt they would use Disney Springs. The last time I remember being able to take a bus from Downtown Disney to a park was 2001. I'm not sure when they stopped operating, but clearly there were too many people parking there for free to then hop on a bus to a park.
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and that was when parking at Downtown Disney sucked. Its much nicer to park there now.
They would likely send people to TTC or Animal Kingdom.
 
Monorail_Orange

Monorail_Orange

Well-Known Member
cindy_k said:
and that was when parking at Downtown Disney sucked. Its much nicer to park there now.
They would likely send people to TTC or Animal Kingdom.
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I was thinking the same thing. Given the free parking at Disney Springs, it's highly unlikely they would use DS as the transfer point. Personally, I think the direct bus route between the front of Epcot and DHS will remain. It's operated alongside the IG Friendship boats for all this time, why would a Gondola at IG change that? Also, I believe it was reported earlier in the thread, that the gondola is not intended primarily as a park-to-park transport, but first and foremost as a resort-to-park transport, just like the Friendship boats. One more thing, Epcot, IIRC, has the largest parking lot of all the parks, it is the overflow lot for when MK or DHS is full (not sure about DAK). Given DHS has the smallest lot, and with Star Wars:Galaxy's Edge coming online, Disney Transport will likely still need to be able to move guests from the Epcot lot to the Studios without routing them through the park. I think the direct bus route between Epcot and DHS will remain in operation.
 
fotofx

fotofx

Well-Known Member
MisterPenguin said:
Just looked it up and the bus loops at FW can take you to the boat or to WL's bus stop for a transfer to the MK's bus.
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There is no direct service, sure you could take a bus from the Fort to Epcot or one of the other parks and transfer to another bus or monorail but it would not be productive time wise and you would have to repeat the process to get back.

Or you could spend $20 on a Minnie Van.
 
Notes from Neverland

Notes from Neverland

Well-Known Member
I'll be really interested to see how the backstage areas are kept/handled once the gondolas are up and running. I don't expect them to theme them are anything like that, but I'd bet they won't leave things lying around as they currently do in certain areas.
 
danlb_2000

danlb_2000

Premium Member
Original Poster
TheDude23 said:
I'll be really interested to see how the backstage areas are kept/handled once the gondolas are up and running. I don't expect them to theme them are anything like that, but I'd bet they won't leave things lying around as they currently do in certain areas.
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Most back stage probably will not be visible from the gondola. The that area that will be most visible is behind France and the Rat ride changes will take care of that.
 

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