As the topic of this thread drifts away from the gondola into discussion of other transit options, I'll add my thoughts as well. If we're too far off topic now, let me know.
With the construction of dedicated centre bus lanes on Buena Vista Drive, I have thought for a while that it would be easy to re-purpose those lanes to accommodate Light Rail Transit. I've never been certain of where a train would go at the western end, and this seems even less likely to happen with the Gondola in a portion of the same corridor, but the Boardwalk turn station and "New TTC" station near CBR are both close to the road and could have integrated LRT stations. The trains could go as far west as CSR, AK, or even stretch to the All Star resorts. A stop in the middle of the road for Blizzard Beach would actually be closer to the park entrance than some of the bus stops are now. An LRT system would be flexible, possible multiple "lines" running on the same tracks. There could still be a system where no park is directly connected to Disney Springs, but each hotel is connected to each park by no more than two "higher modes" of transit, just as the monorail resorts are connected to Epcot with a transfer.
For example, one LRT route could run from the Springs across BVD, turning down Victory Way and terminating at the Gondola Transfer station. This gives guests from Pop, AOA and CBR a one or two leg trip to the Springs. Another route would run from the Springs to CSR or possibly even the All Star resorts with stops at Boardwalk Gondola, for CSR guests to access EPCOT via the gondola. Finally, another train from the CBR Gondola station up Victory Way, across BVD and into AK would give CSR guests access to HS; AOA, Pop and CBR guests access to AK and BB; and facilitate park to park transfers between AK or BB and Epcot or HS.
Obviously this isn't backed up by anything, and I would think we'll see enhancements to the bus service along this corridor with larger, dedicated vehicles first, but LRT is the common step up from buses. It can operate in mixed traffic, in dedicated lanes, or completely grade-separated, and can operate in a median lane shared with buses to other destinations. If the concrete bus lanes are already in place it isn't ridiculously expensive, and brings some economies of scale. The entire route, including the bridges over World Drive, has a wide enough median to fit trains with little road modification. Running the trains into each resort and park along the spine creates routing issues, however the gondola solves some of these last-mile issues.
At the very least, I wonder if we'll see a bus stop at the Gondola Transfer Station. It would make some sense to run the rare WWoS buses from CBR, Pop and AOA to that transfer station on a frequent loop, rather than each hotel separately. It would be less convenient than the many bus stops at CBR, but one assumes the people busing to WWoS can handle the walk to the gondola stations at their hotels.
