Disney Skyliner shutdown and evacuation - October 6 2019

[mm121]

So....

THere like HAS to be a Skyliner baby coming in 9 months, right?

A girl named Skyler

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I wouldn't be thrilled to spend three hours, stuck, potentially with people I didn't care for. It's life. To the best of my knowledge nobody was seriously hurt, nobody died, and life went on. It is, what it is. If some people want to make it more than that, that's up to them.

Without more info, from the outside looking in...

Yes, it's significantly easier to shrug off the whole thing when it doesn't happen to you and your just sitting at home when it happens.

 

[monothingie]

What about OSHA?

There was no worker injury or apparent safety issue, so OSHA would be not involved. For the monorail accident an RAB was issued by the NTSB because the system fell under the classification as a fixed rail mass transit system. It is debatable on how and whether Disney classified their gondola system qualifies as mass transit system or amusement park attraction. Regardless the NTSB guidelines for notification and reporting of an accident are as follows:

§ 659.33 Accident notification.
(a) The oversight agency must require the rail transit agency to notify the oversight agency within two (2) hours of any incident involving a rail transit vehicle or taking place on rail transit- controlled property where one or more of the following occurs:
(1) A fatality at the scene; or where an individual is confirmed dead within thirty (30) days of a rail transit-related incident;
(2) Injuries requiring immediate medical attention away from the scene for two or more individuals;
(3) Property damage to rail transit vehicles, non-rail transit vehicles, other rail transit property or facilities and non-transit property that equals or exceeds $25,000;
(4) An evacuation due to life safety reasons;
(5) A collision at a grade crossing; (6) A main-line derailment;
(7) A collision with an individual on
a rail right of way; or
(8) A collision between a rail transit
vehicle and a second rail transit vehicle, or a rail transit non-revenue vehicle.

Red highlights are mine indicating applicable criteria, but again it depends on how the system is classified since a gondola isn't considered a mass transit or fixed rail system. A quick google search for ski lift accidents indicates no interaction between the NTSB for perspective.

 

[HoldenC]

I sincerely hope someone from Oscar's are reading this thread. Tons of fantastic potential nominees for best Actor/Actresses in a Drama.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I sincerely hope someone from Oscar's are reading this thread. Tons of fantastic potential nominees for best Actor/Actresses in a Drama.

You could win a Razzie for Worst Performance yourself.

 

[HoldenC]

You could win a Razzie for Worst Performance yourself.

Because I'm not a loser who is unfairly criticizing an amazing new transportation system? I'll take it

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Because I'm not a loser...

That's debatable.

 

[flynnibus]

Well, I’m a Chemical Engineer, so....

The sunlight is stopped by the roof, and side walls, but the heat is taken on by the gondola. Some of that heat conducts through the gondola, and ends up IN the gondola. When I stand under a tree, or canvas, the heat is taken on by them, whose temperatures have no impact on me.
Basic physics.

All this happens with the trees and canvases too, but you aren't trapped in a box on the other side of the tree leaves.

I'd suggest more physics, thermo, and material science.

Plastics are great thermal insulators with low thermal conductivity.. and the majority of the cabin is glass with reflective coatings. The whole thing is meant to reflect thermal energy and will do so better than a shaded area because the structure will block not just line of sight, but all reflected energy off the ground/surroudings as well. Additionally, the panel design of the plastic portions would mean you'd have an air thermal insulation layer behind the exposed panels to. You've got great thermal isolation between the external and interior. The BTU output of the humans in the cab probably far outweigh the solar energy soak of the cabin.

You're so hung up on the idea being in a box.. but ignoring what the box does for you.

 

[Heppenheimer]

One thing that caught my attention was the bumpers each car has (big rubber pieces on each corner) so there was some thought in to they might bump in to each other right? or why would they be there ?

I can't speak 100% for Disney, but these are common on ski gondolas. I know I will use all the wrong mechanical terms, so I won't even try to get this right...but as the gondolas enter the station, there's usually two long arms on either side of that serve as guides in case the gondola has picked up some oscillation from the wind and needs to be stabilized. The rubber is a contact point that acts as a shock absorber.

Gondolas rarely swing enough that these are necessary (the operators will usually shut the system down long before it becomes windy enough). In 35+ years of skiing, I think I've been in exactly two gondolas that were swinging enough to hit the catchment arms.

 

[Lilofan]

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.

Just advise if you survive the fall and don't become food for the in the area.

 

[note2001]

How long is a break in period in terms of a complicated system such as the EPCOT line?

I'm positive WDW crews have had their emergency meetings already, from here on out it's about doing the root cause analysis (if not obvious) and developing an alert/stoppage system to prevent cars from colliding as they did. Whatever system that is in place (most likely just a human visual and response type) obviously failed and needs help. It could be as simple as adding a second set of eyes on the line, but I'd want to see it backed up by technology looking at the positioning of the cars.

 

[flynnibus]

Wonder if they can use this for Wheelchairs and ecvs to avoid stopping the line for more than just a few seconds to move it in and out

Using the rail spur likely requires way too much operational impact.. including human operations to be doing non-stop like they need for ECV operations.

I do imagine they are evaluating all their stoppages so far. I've been pretty vocal about the duration of many of these stoppages as unacceptable IMO.

 

[Beacon Joe]

an amazing new transportation system

Seriously:

 

[some other guy]

it's like those new star wars movies where they subvert your expectations
you just shouldn't be so attached to those old boring rides and transportation systems that worked
this is the new way of things
be more open minded

 

[meggo819]

the idea of being outside without AC for extended periods is not mass carnage like people portray it.

Tell that to the people who tried to evacuate Houston before Hurricane Rita...

 

[danlb_2000]

Is that how you operated them when you were working the line?
Too bad Disney doesn't know as much as you do on this mode of transportation... you should offer your consulting services to them.

No, but it's just common sense when you have this sort of problem. The fact that they are not running today supports that my assertion was correct.

 

[CAV]

In Florida the DOA (Department of AGRICULTURE) handles amusement park regulation and Florida exempts theme parks with 1000 or more employees from oversight. So unless there was any criminality, this one is all on TWDC.

I would imagine the Skyliner is overseen by FDOT. Is a mass transportation system. The shuttle's at Orlando and Tampa airport are subject to FDOT regulations.

 

[CAV]

Are all the Skyliner lines back up and running today? That will say a lot for how Disney is looking at this.

I didn't see them running. But I did see something I've never see before. A Mickey Mouse character greet right at the IG under the non moving Skyliner.

 

[twilight mitsuk]

I would imagine the Skyliner is overseen by FDOT. Is a mass transportation system. The shuttle's at Orlando and Tampa airport are subject to FDOT regulations.

What about hogwarts express how is that regulated

 

[Captain Chaos]

The gondola will indeed heat up, and it will radiate heat away inside the cabin (but just as much will be radiated outwards). The heat inside the cabin will not stay there. There are vents below and above. The warmer air will rise and go out the top while fresh air will come in from the bottom.

We already had people in 90+ heat stopped in the gondolas with a thermometer. The temperature rose one degree.

Need more info.

How hot was it outside?
How hot was the gondola prior to stopping?
Temp rose 1 degree while stopped, how long were they stopped?
What time of day was it?
Was the sun out or behind clouds?
How many people inside the gondola? Yes, it matters because body heat given off by 2 people is less than body heat given off by 10.

Only asking because, while your defense is 1 degree, making it sound like OH NOT AN ISSUE, that one degree COULD BE an issue for some people. And if it rose 1 degree in, say, a 4-5 minute stop, we could assume in 180 minutes the stopped gondola will warm up more than 1 degree.

Not trying to be argumentative here. I am one who believes these things aren't the death traps some are portraying, and I cannot wait to finally get the chance to ride one of these, hopefully in April.