Disney Skyliner shutdown and evacuation - October 6 2019

[Dad 2 M & M]

Wow....just hoping to use the Gondolas next week

 

[MisterPenguin]

Well, measured is pretty meaningless without documenting the test conditions and the test has been repeated and proven by peers using the same method and instrumentation.

But it's still a step up from claims of drastic heat increase with no measurements at all.

 

[danlb_2000]

Twitter is not behaving... but it looks like it stopped sometime between 7:45 and 8pm by most lay accounts I saw. By 10:50ish they were moving the line so cabins could unload if I recall. It's 'right about' 3hrs by my estimates... but don't let facts get in the way of emotional toil

Do we have a time for when emergency services first started the evac process?

 

[flynnibus]

Do we have a time for when emergency services first started the evac process?

Unverified references... (aka haven't cross referenced enough) say ~9:30

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

Was too!
Was not!
Was too!
Was not!
Was too!
Was not.

I really think it's ill-advised to get into this kind of thing with a customer. There's really no reason.

Right? I mean how strange! He was just explaining why we were concerned, since we have a 1-year old. For the CM to get defensive and debate online accounts from people who were there seemed petty and unprofessional. I can’t imagine their quality control department was thrilled with how the CM acted. My husband wasn’t upset or defiant, just explaining our concerns and seeing what options were available.

 

[HiJe]

Random conspiracy theory here, but wasn't the Reedy Creek Fire Marshal just complaining a few months back about not having a big enough budget to handle any issues that would arise on the property? Is it possible that there was a small slowdown from the FD to push for a larger future budget to handle problems like this one causing the wait times to stretch to 3 hours? Again, just a random conspiracy theory.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Just curious...

Does it bother anyone else that a person who knew they have issues with claustrophobia and seizures chose to ride the Skyliner anyway? We've seen pictures of at least one sign cautioning against riding with fear of heights, etc...

 

[RustySpork]

But it's still a step up from claims of drastic heat increase with no measurements at all.

Oh yeah! Well..one of the tests I watched the temperature raised three degrees! (really, but that's also read tongue in cheek)

Even that instance though, it was non-scientific and just showed bias. It didn't account for variations in the cabin design, position of the sun, etc. It did note the time of day though which was nice. I'm sure Disney has all of the data and has done a full study but whatever their findings are will never be made public. The nerd in me though would love to read that stuff.

 

[RustySpork]

Just curious...

Does it bother anyone else that a person who knew they have issues with claustrophobia and seizures chose to ride the Skyliner anyway? We've seen pictures of at least one sign cautioning against riding with fear of heights, etc...

Well, knowing how families are they were probably peer pressured into it.

 

[joelkfla]

Do we know the actual timeline? @Lift Blog said on his blog that the first tweet went out at 8:45 pm. From posts here and elsewhere, it sounds like everyone was fully offloaded around 11 pm.

Dirk

It was later than 11. During the 11pm newscast, a passenger was on the phone with the anchors, and it was towards the end of newscast (11:20-11:25) that she said the cabins had just started moving. Then add the time for all the cabins to reach a station, with the line running at reduced speed.

 

[flynnibus]

Do we have a time for when emergency services first started the evac process?

This is one of the twitter accounts with early active tweets - https://twitter.com/WaltyDis

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Well, knowing how families are they were probably peer pressured into it.

I dunno...that doesn't sound like something most family members would do to each other having likely been through panic attacks, etc. before...

 

[Allyp]

I can imagine that operations is trying to run the system like an attraction instead of transportation, so they are trying to push through as many people as possible. Its possible that the speed at which they are trying to load everyone off and on, as well as the spur lines for wheelchair folks, caused a procedure to be mishandled in multiple occasions during this incident.

That being said, I feel like it was a failure of not being familiar with procedures that ultimately allowed the 3hr stall to occur. The issue of what would happen if this was in the afternoon, in July, with no breeze is a bit out of proportion on this thread. However, the operations team and Reedy Creek should take note (and I'm sure their day is full of meetings today) on how to improve the situation should it occur in the future. Hopefully we will see remedies in the near future of some ideas mentioned here. Disney has managed to solve much more challenging transportation incidences in the past, I have no doubt they'd solve this one too.

 

[stratman50th]

I know its a fun point... but the statement isn't quite accurate. They are not authorized to build any nuclear plant. That's still regulated by the federal NRC. The RCID act gives RC full control of the ZONING and local authority to control at the state/local level where such a plant could be put, but does not authorize them to actually do it. The NRC regulates all nuclear plant construction and operation in the country.

Now back to our regular 'unexpected downtime'!

You are correct sir.

 

[Phil12]

Well, measured is pretty meaningless without documenting the test conditions and the test has been repeated and proven by peers using the same method and instrumentation.

And the one degree temperature rise of which he speaks was from 90°F to 91°F. As the attached table shows if the relative humidity is 65% (which is common at WDW) and the temperature is 91°F, then the Heat Index is in the danger zone!

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

I dunno...that doesn't sound like something most family members would do to each other having likely been through panic attacks, etc. before...

I know a few people who are being goaded into it by family. A casual “she doesn’t like heights” can probably be pushed aside for a 10-minute ride. I think most people just assume it’ll run fine and it’ll just be a case of nervousness. I suspect many folks like that have never experienced an extreme to know how they’d react in that sort of situation.

What happened this weekend, though, changes expectations quite a bit. Someone who’s a little nervous with heights could have a full-blown meltdown in a situation like this.

 

[danlb_2000]

I can imagine that operations is trying to run the system like an attraction instead of transportation, so they are trying to push through as many people as possible. Its possible that the speed at which they are trying to load everyone off and on, as well as the spur lines for wheelchair folks, caused a procedure to be mishandled in multiple occasions during this incident.

That being said, I feel like it was a failure of not being familiar with procedures that ultimately allowed the 3hr stall to occur. The issue of what would happen if this was in the afternoon, in July, with no breeze is a bit out of proportion on this thread. However, the operations team and Reedy Creek should take note (and I'm sure their day is full of meetings today) on how to improve the situation should it occur in the future. Hopefully we will see remedies in the near future of some ideas mentioned here. Disney has managed to solve much more challenging transportation incidences in the past, I have no doubt they'd solve this one too.

I am sure they will review everything that happened that night and hopefully learn some things from it.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

I know a few people who are being goaded into it by family. A casual “she doesn’t like heights” can probably be pushed aside for a 10-minute ride. I think most people just assume it’ll run fine and it’ll just be a case of nervousness. I suspect many folks like that have never experienced an extreme to know how they’d react in that sort of situation.

What happened this weekend, though, changes expectations quite a bit. Someone who’s a little nervous with heights could have a full-blown meltdown in a situation like this.

Absolutely they could. And I think the cautions against riding need to be MUCH more prominent.

 

[disneyflush]

People are claiming Disney "cheaped out" on the gondola system.

So... proof? How are any of you backing up that claim?

Our Trusted Insiders have said WDW was spending way more than needed for this system, so, burden of proof is on the accusers.

It seems crazy to want the Skyliner to fail. Its a huge win for transportation and park visitors as a concept.

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

Absolutely they could. And I think the cautions against riding need to be MUCH more prominent.

Definitely! I hope that people push aside the Pixie Dust to realize they’re on a real transportation system and issues are a very real possibility. This should be a wake up call for a lot of people!