Disney Skyliner shutdown and evacuation - October 6 2019

[larryz]

Are they really?
Who is "willing" to get stuck on an interstate and who shrugs it off?
People need to drive on an interstate they are certainly not willing to get stuck and most people are aggravated if they do find themselves stuck.
They are also likely to be in their own private vehicle with a/c and music.
People paying what is going to be thousands of dollars (if they stay onsite) on their vacation are not going to shrug off the experience of being stuck in a gondola.
Or the possibility of getting stuck in one.

Yeah, but I think the point was that everybody stuck in a traffic jam on I-4 doesn't call 911 to report they're stuck in a traffic jam. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Disney already knows their Skyliner isn't running.

How about handing everybody a card as they get on that says: "If the Skyliner stops, we know about it. You don't have to tell us. Stay calm, and rest assured that we're working on getting it fixed. Don't call us or 911 unless there's a life-threatening emergency in your gondola. Don't call to tell us about other gondolas being evacuated. Don't call 911 to tell us that you're going to miss your reservations. Also, please don't open the emergency supplies until we tell you to. Yes, you're stuck there until we get it running, and if we can't, we'll come get you. We'll let you know if that happens. Until then, enjoy the scenery and have a Magical Disney Day."

 

[Master Yoda]

Yeah, but I think the point was that everybody stuck in a traffic jam on I-4 doesn't call 911 to report they're stuck in a traffic jam. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Disney already knows their Skyliner isn't running.

How about handing everybody a card as they get on that says: "If the Skyliner stops, we know about it. You don't have to tell us. Stay calm, and rest assured that we're working on getting it fixed. Don't call us or 911 unless there's a life-threatening emergency in your gondola. Don't call to tell us about other gondolas being evacuated. Don't call 911 to tell us that you're going to miss your reservations. Also, please don't open the emergency supplies until we tell you to. Yes, you're stuck there until we get it running, and if we can't, we'll come get you. We'll let you know if that happens. Until then, enjoy the scenery and have a Magical Disney Day."

Odds are it will work as well as the 4578 spinning attraction warnings on M:S that everyone ignores.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

I think your suggestions make a lot of sense. However, even with those measures in place, you are still going to have to have cast members being diligent in checking the kits regularly. Those deterrents won't be 100% effective, and you don't want someone having a legitimate emergency in the cabin that happened to get the guest who was still willing to pilfer them the ride before. Short of actually securing the kits in some way -- which I think would be a very, very bad decision -- I don't see how you can ensure the kits are stocked 100% of the time without cast members regularly checking them.

I agree 100%. Part of the problem is that it's a constantly moving system, so there needs to be a way to tell at a glance which kits need servicing, and having a supply nearby so that they can be quickly swapped out? Or a means of letting the station at the other end know that a kit needs servicing and simply not loading a cabin that has an emergency kit that's been tampered with? It's really unfortunate that people care so much about getting a "unique" souvenir that they're pilfering and flat-out stealing kits that could mean the difference between walking off a gondola and needing an ambulance (worst-case scenario, of course). But I do think the deterrents against pilferage I suggested would help a lot.

 

[Creathir]

I agree 100%. Part of the problem is that it's a constantly moving system, so there needs to be a way to tell at a glance which kits need servicing, and having a supply nearby so that they can be quickly swapped out? Or a means of letting the station at the other end know that a kit needs servicing and simply not loading a cabin that has an emergency kit that's been tampered with? It's really unfortunate that people care so much about getting a "unique" souvenir that they're pilfering and flat-out stealing kits that could mean the difference between walking off a gondola and needing an ambulance (worst-case scenario, of course). But I do think the deterrents against pilferage I suggested would help a lot.

I vote ink explosion packs.

Hear me out.

Entire interior of gondola including occupants absolutely covered in neon blue ink, will indicate they are in most need of medical attention since they opened the emergency supply kit.

 

[SLUSHIE]

I continue to be surprised how people are reacting to this. Disney prepared for this well beyond any other similar system I have seen. I've never seen callboxes, emergency kits, special made rescue boats (not used in this case), access roads etc. The fact is, with this type of system, rescues do take a long time. Imagine if they didn't get it restarted, it would have taken significantly longer. Luckily an issue that severe should he incredibly rare, just like how a fire in a high-rise office building (which also isn't the easiest thing to evacuate) is very rare.

I was stuck on a chairlift for 6 hour this past season, and I lived. I went on a ski trip to Canada that same season. I just booked a ski trip to Japan. I will be riding lifts for a very long time even after that pretty inconvenient experience.

I get that it's big news that something brand new at Disney had a unfortunate issue, but people are acting like Disney didn't think about what to do in this situation at all.

 

[Incomudro]

The "walls" are for the humans. Gators don't care about walls.

The walls prevent a submerged and unseen gator lying in the shallows, from rushing out of the water to grab an unsuspecting victim.
And turning around and dragging that victim back into the water.

 

[esskay]

The fix for the emergency packs is stupidly simple. You move them to the back wall in a “break glass in case of emergency” box. Not only was under the seat bad because cast can’t tell if it’s been used, but hardly anyone knew they were there!

At least behind the standard glass panel used for these sorts of things it’s easy to see. And no, people won’t end up with bits of glass everywhere. Look up how these things work.

 

[GrumpyRADDad]

Is the emergency kit something that could have an easy open seal, and be issued at the door of the gondola prior to entrance, and received back, at the rider's exit? The cm at the receiving end, and/or the next issuer, could do a quick check and set it aside if the seal was broken to be re-supplied. The way they issue the glasses for Bug's Life, and Toy Story Mania comes to mind...

 

[DisneyJoe]

The kit does have a seal that needs to be broken, I'm not sure how obvious it is if it was

 

[Incomudro]

I continue to be surprised how people are reacting to this. Disney prepared for this well beyond any other similar system I have seen. I've never seen callboxes, emergency kits, special made rescue boats (not used in this case) special access roads etc. The fact is, with this type of system, rescues do take a long time. Imagine if they didn't get it restarted, it would have taken significantly longer. Luckily an issue that severe should he incredibly rare, just like how a fire in a large office building (which also isn't the easiest thing to evacuate).

I was stuck on a chairlift for 6 hour this past season, and I lived. I also booked a ski trip to Canada that same season. I just booked a ski trip to Japan. I will be riding lifts for a very long time even after that pretty inconvenient experience.

Because you really can't compare WDW, and how the Skyliner is meant to serve the WDW hotels - as well as guest expectations and the guests in general to a chairlift or gondola at ski resort.
Well, we can - but really only in the mechanism itself.
The application is different.
For instance the Sykliner will serve The Riviera Resort.
An upscale hotel serving people with upscale expectations.
The guests are different in health, familiarity with system, what they are expecting out of their vacation etc.

 

[Master Yoda]

The walls prevent a submerged and unseen gator lying in the shallows, from rushing out of the water to grab an unsuspecting victim.
And turning around and dragging that victim back into the water.

They will do that, but more importantly, they prevent a human from getting near the water in the first place.

 

[flynnibus]

The fix for the emergency packs is stupidly simple. You move them to the back wall in a “break glass in case of emergency” box. Not only was under the seat bad because cast can’t tell if it’s been used, but hardly anyone knew they were there!

But that's also intentional... you want the balance of 'out of view' but 'discoverable when needed'. Just like the call box itself is right there in the open... but subtle to blend away.

The current location is fine IMO - it may just be difficult to keep tabs on its current state.

 

[WheelsUpRN]

They did do this...

View attachment 417014

I see there’s no dancing when entering. Sage advice!

 

[flynnibus]

Because you really can't compare WDW, and how the Skyliner is meant to serve the WDW hotels - as well as guest expectations and the guests in general to a chairlift or gondola at ski resort.
Well, we can - but really only in the mechanism itself.
The application is different.
For instance the Sykliner will serve The Riviera Resort.
An upscale hotel serving people with upscale expectations.
The guests are different in health, familiarity with system, what they are expecting out of their vacation etc.

Yet... those same 'upscale hotel people' get on below average buses for the majority of their WDW transportation...

 

[Efirefly]

Cheapest. Really. Im pretty sure a horse and wagon would be cheaper.

 

[durangojim]

This is a pretty serious question and maybe someone knows the answer but assuming there aren’t AEDs in each of the gondolas, what is the fastest EMS could actually get to a guest who suffered cardiac arrest while riding? Would they stop the gondolas once the phone call was made and use the cherry picker, would they run the gondolas but not let anyone get out until the affected gondola arrived at the station? I’m curious how long it would take compared to if it happened on other forms of Disney transpiration and what the logistics would be.

 

[WheelsUpRN]

Agree. It’s beyond embarrassing at this point.

When I was a wee child they decided they were going to teach us metric with the hopes of switching over as a country (don’t know if there really was a planned switchover I was like 10).

So they taught us all the metric system and how to convert English Rule system. Great.

If the country REALLY wants to go metric just stop teaching Enshlish rule and teach metric from Kindergarten/First grade. Teach them how to convert to English rule in 4th or 5th grade for something to do.

 

[Incomudro]

Yet... those same 'upscale hotel people' get on below average buses for the majority of their WDW transportation...

Essentially everyone upscale or not is familiar with buses.
Plus, if a bus gets stuck - one can simply step off.
I would argue that the vast majority of Disney guests have never ridden a gondola.
The system is new to them.

 

[Clyde Birdbrain]

I think the main lesson from all this is that you should use the bathroom before boarding the Disney Skyliner.

 

[flynnibus]

This is a pretty serious question and maybe someone knows the answer but assuming there aren’t AEDs in each of the gondolas, what is the fastest EMS could actually get to a guest how suffered cardiac arrest while riding? Would they stop the gondolas once the phone call was made and use the cherry picker, would they run the gondolas but not let anyone get out until the affected gondola arrived at the station? I’m curious how long it would take compared to if it happened on other forms of Disney transpiration and what the logistics would be.

One would theorize time is the most important factor in those situations is time and the decision branches are based on that. As long as the line is moving, I think you'd be hard pressed to have any scenario where 'advance to closest station' isn't the preferred plan of action and have EMS meet them at that station. Because evac equipment must be moved to location, and things like fall protection etc are not optional... any 'get up to the cabin' scenario would probably be slower. Plus, once you are at the station, the patient can be easily moved to further transport, etc.

Evac mid-line really is the line of last resort. It requires equipment to be moved to site, personnel, safety protocols, etc. It's not something you want to do unless you really have to.