Disney Skyliner shutdown and evacuation - October 6 2019

[codersteve]

I mean, if they use this as a learning experience and go 10 years without another major accident, then maybe I will ride it.

The problem I have is that Disney has experience from the Monorail problems. I was thinking about all the worst case scenarios before this happened, and I figured that Disney had to have them covered. You know they had to talk about all this. And I guess whatever plan they had in place when it opened they deemed acceptable. Well, is it? Any problem that happens is going to suck, but I wonder what discussions are happening now? Are the evacuation times what they expected? I'm serious about this question. They had to have known. Do they deem this acceptable?

 

[peter11435]

If Reedy Creek was involved in a worse incident earlier in the night and all hands on deck still on that one, and then the Skyliner incident happens, that would be the perfect storm.

Mutual aid

 

[Mark IV Fan]

How many were removed by spatula from the flight of passage extended queues?

That is so ridiculous I don’t even know how to respond.
And please stop with these stupid straw men....This is not space mountain or FOP. The only thing they have in common is people line up to ride them. Comparing them to the skyliner is like saying that birds and passenger jets are the same because they both fly.

 

[WheelsUpRN]

The cabin being discussed had 7 adults and 2 children. I don't think there is adequate water for that many people. That number of people creates a heat and stuffiness too. I thought people were wrong to worry so much about a.c in the cabins but now i see the point. Thsi could really be dangerous. I hope Disney has a plan b. They shouldn't scrap the whole thing, but rather work on adequate cooling and more efficient evacuation. Things will go wrong and the cabins will stop but no one should get sick or even( God forbid) die bc of it. 3 hours in the fl heat without air can kill you. Not being an alarmist, I live here. Just stating a fact. I'm sure some will think I'm wrong. I wish I was. I hope I am.

Right you are!

 

[codersteve]

Why is it not the same? Because Disney says it isn’t? If the air flow is dependent on movement and the car isn’t moving......Then guess what? It’s heating up. Perhaps you’d be so brave to spend 3 hours in one on a 100 degree day to prove why it’s no big deal. Views always nice from the cheap seats isn’t it?
Yeah and outdoor roller coasters have ways to get people off the ride so they’re not sitting in the sun for 3 hours......Which is stlll a lot cooler than being in an enclosed metal and glass box on a hot day.

I agree. Even before it opened I kept wondering what would happen if you got stuck in there on a scorching day. No air conditioning. Any answer I saw was essentially "it'll be fine" (unless I missed a good explanation). But I just don't know. I'm sure they're fine when they're moving. Is there a such thing as emergency AC for these kind of things? That would make me feel better.

Does the monorail AC turn off when you get stuck?

 

[Brer Oswald]

You must be fun at parties.

I see we have some for Censorship here.

I’m starting to wonder. He’s shown active hatred against Figment, and now this. I know Snyder is a bit crazy, but he might have some point.

 

[Santa Raccoon 77]

I agree. Even before it opened I kept wondering what would happen if you got stuck in there on a scorching day. No air conditioning. Any answer I saw was essentially "it'll be fine" (unless I missed a good explanation). But I just don't know. I'm sure they're fine when they're moving. Is there a such thing as emergency AC for these kind of things? That would make me feel better.

Does the monorail AC turn off when you get stuck?

If there is no power on the beam then there is no a/c on the monorails. They cool them down by leaning on the doors until they fall off.

 

[Tanna Eros]

It’ll be closed until they can figure out how to avoid such a long evac.

WDW is supposed to be the best theme park resort in the world. If you’re the best, you are held to a higher standard and your mistakes make national headlines. Same reason we hear about every Taylor Swift date and breakup.

The evac was long, I suspect people with babies and elderlies may not want to ride it, but I was wondering- don't people usually carry snacks and water and etc. with them into the park? If I ever go into the park, I'd pack a Shewee cup, too, just in case and ride whatever I could. I've waiting longer for AAA when my truck broke down. I realize my truck was not up in the air, and time is money while staying at the park, but I suspect people were prepared, (except for the shewee cups).

 

[Mark IV Fan]

If there is no power on the beam then there is no a/c on the monorails. They cool them down by leaning on the doors until they fall off.

But the monorails have a diesel tractor that can tow them into the station....So there is a plan in place to get people off ASAP.
As far as I can tell the evacuation plan for the skyliner is “Just hang in there and drink water until we get around to you.”

 

[ᗩLᘿᑕ ✨ ᗩζᗩᗰ]

One solution could be to add solar-power panels to each gondola with enough usb ports to not only charge mobile devices but also emergency fans and lights. (stowed away) The cost should be "relatively" inexpensive. Of course, an actual fan (or A/C) and lighting package should have been a standard feature of the Skyliner from the get-go.

 

[flynnibus]

That is so ridiculous I don’t even know how to respond.
And please stop with these stupid straw men....This is not space mountain or FOP. The only thing they have in common is people line up to ride them. Comparing them to the skyliner is like saying that birds and passenger jets are the same because they both fly.

Flight of Passage had extensive outdoor queues without full shade people waited in for HOURS during the peak of the day... for months on end. Not a strawman at all... a key example of people being trapped in line OUTSIDE... WITHOUT A/C.. and being 'trapped' where they are. And worse.. on their feet. People were not melting nor being hauled away in droves on stretchers.

 

[Lensman]

I don't think City of Orlando fire dept just " volunteers their services " to help another area outside of their responsibilities because of the goodness of their heart without sending them a bill.

These are called mutual aid agreements. It is usually done at a county level to organize and relocate resources during emergencies. It’s really the glue that allows large scale mobilizations of first responders.

Yep, and here's an illustration of an issue that can come up in a mutual aid agreement: https://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/2013/04/hudson_fire_chiefs_complain_th.html

The towns in my area are small enough that anything bigger than a one alarm fire requires fire companies from a neighboring town to roll in aid. I think the same applies to RCFD, since I don't think they have more than 3 engine companies and 2 ladder companies.

There is a post on another board from the folks who were in the cabin that was crushed between two others. Interesting enough to quote:

from "Diz Bee" on another board (search for the first 3 letters in Disney)
...
They offered us transportation, but we decided to walk back to our car. "
...

This was super-interesting and everyone who hasn't read it should read it.

That said, I don't want to focus on the individual, but I was wondering what circumstance would lead one to be traveling from CBR to Epcot on the Skyliner where you'd end up deciding to "walk back to your car?" - not your room, but your car? Are people driving from their CBR room to the CBR station? Or during this first week of operation are people driving to the Skyliner just to get a chance to ride it for the first time? Maybe this explains why it seems to be busier than everyone thought it was going to be?

 

[WheelsUpRN]

How people are freeking out right here is amazing I am living in cologne and we had 2 accidents with our cable car in very short time frame. Both times really difficult because it’s above the heavy flowing river rhine were you definitely can’t swim... and guess what: it’s up and running again. These things happen but aren’t as tragic as it’s displayed right here. It’s just very difficult to evacuate (in the case of cologne more than 6 hours). But that’s the only issue. Car/bus accidents can happen as well as monorails accidents happen... and the potential risk is much higher

I bet it isn’t in the 90’s and humid in Cologne. Had this happened during the day, there would have been a very different outcome.

 

[Mark IV Fan]

I agree. Even before it opened I kept wondering what would happen if you got stuck in there on a scorching day. No air conditioning. Any answer I saw was essentially "it'll be fine" (unless I missed a good explanation). But I just don't know. I'm sure they're fine when they're moving. Is there a such thing as emergency AC for these kind of things? That would make me feel better.

Does the monorail AC turn off when you get stuck?

That essentially sums it up. It blows my mind how badly this whole system was designed.

From essentially day 1 Disney’s whole attitude towards who brought up the potential hazards of being trapped for hours in an un air conditioned car high off the ground in a state with scorching temperatures and frequent strong thunderstorms has been “Don’t worry about it. It’ll be fine.”

Just as mind blowing are the number of Disney apologists who, despite the fact every piece of evidence has pointed to this being a badly designed system built on the cheap, have constantly defended and echoed Disney’s position that it’ll be fine and things like being stuck in one of these in 100 degree heat is no big deal.

And, now that they’ve had an incident less than a few weeks in, their defenses have changed from “It’ll never happen” to “Oh yeah? What about the Monorail? What about Space Mountain? What about FOP? They break down too.
Of course they completely ignore all the differences in their straw men argument, but whatever.

 

[mf1972]

for some reason, this comes to mind

 

[ProjectXBlog]

That's what they deserve

the image of your username/avi looming over this absolutely moronic statement would be delightful if it weren’t so incredibly irritating

 

[flynnibus]

Why is it not the same? Because Disney says it isn’t? If the air flow is dependent on movement and the car isn’t moving......Then guess what? It’s heating up. Perhaps you’d be so brave to spend 3 hours in one on a 100 degree day to prove why it’s no big deal. Views always nice from the cheap seats isn’t it?

Your car does not have reflective glass panels designed to block the suns energy. Your car doesn't have nearly the amount of open window space a gondola does unless you've opened all four windows in a sedan.

Yeah and outdoor roller coasters have ways to get people off the ride so they’re not sitting in the sun for 3 hours......

Rollercoaster evacs can be very slow depending on where the vehicle stops. It's not uncommon for riders to be stuck for hours.
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/...x-Flags-America-Officials-Say--512919701.html
https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/riders-stuck-on-roller-coaster

take your pick... whenever guests are on elevated tracks, evacs are extremely cautious.

 

[WheelsUpRN]

True but both are awful designs.

I HATED that ride.

 

[Tanna Eros]

Is it possible to get stuck on rocking coaster when it's upside down?

Oh yes. It does happen. The people upside down are usually the first attended. I'm sorry I don't have the newspaper articles online to show you, but it does happen.
I'm by a park that, for a long time, was a prototype park, and people would get stuck in all various positions on rides.

 

[flynnibus]

But the monorails have a diesel tractor that can tow them into the station....So there is a plan in place to get people off ASAP.
As far as I can tell the evacuation plan for the skyliner is “Just hang in there and drink water until we get around to you.”

Again... the details escape you. Being stuck on monorails for extended periods is common place. Yes they have the tug... but they have to clear the line to get to that monorail... which often is where most of the delay is.