This is the most insulting thing I have ever read on these boards.
The intelligence thing is insensitive (and I really think
@beertiki is referring to obliviousness and entitlement rather than lack of intelligence), but I look at it the same way I look at how New England drivers seem to forget how to drive in the snow every year even though they live here, and I'll be the first to admit that my ability to pay attention to absolutely everything around me sometimes fails in the parks just because that's the nature of WDW and all its distractions. (For example, I've made a note of being near the tracks sunken into Main Street only to turn around and almost get my foot stuck in one less than five minutes later.) I think his/her choice of wording really stinks, but he/she's really only pointing out things that can easily be observed in the parks. It may not be nice, or pleasant, but that doesn't mean he/she's wrong in his/her general observations, either.
BUT...this is the "ME" era. The era when someone is waiting for a parking spot so they can drop off their kid at school, and the mom currently parked in the way is standing and chit-chatting with her friend and holds up a finger to say "you have to wait", rather than moving her car to make room for others (true story). The era when people openly and brazenly disregard polite requests from staff at various venues. The era when someone slams into you and gets angry at you for being in their way. The era when someone knowingly boards an enclosed space on a cable when they have claustrophobia and a history of seizures. Bad behavior is rampant, and Disney sure doesn't do much to encourage changes to that behavior or to openly give tips for preparing that would allow for less delays (their website is dismal when it comes to planning/preparation advice).
Add this "ME" attitude to a theme park with 500 distractions all within a few feet of each other, and you've got a recipe for some pretty bad behavior and glaring incidents of being oblivious.
Where I think
@beertiki is wrong is in the assumption that all the stops for the gondola lines were related to guests. It was already stated earlier in this thread that it's very easy to accidentally push the stop button instead of the slow button on the consoles controlling the Skyliner. Were some of them related to guests? My bet would be absolutely...I've seen newbies get super nervous while boarding a ski-lift for the first time...the Skyliner would be no different. (In fact, we saw some similar nervousness on the Sky Ride at Canobie Lake Park not too long ago, which is very similar to the original gondolas that were at Magic Kingdom.)
With three daughters, I have a hard time understanding people who just cant seem to keep their lives together when going on to transport. Just insanity that a family who is there wouldn't take the five minutes on arrival at their hotel to learn the process and transport options that are needed for the entire trip.
These must be the same people that go on trips to New York and take random colored "cabs" that do a random route and charge $100 for a five block ride. I just don't get how people can make a trip and not even have the basics of where they are going.
On our first trip when our boys were 2 1/2 and 7 1/2, I was a pretty disorganized mess the first few times we entered the parks (struggling with gear, etc. because of the boys distracting me), but you can bet your butt that was those were pretty much the only times I was a wreck, and the boys learned quickly to be still and let me and their dad get everything/everyone ready for when it was our turn. They're seasoned pros at traveling at this point and our other family members are always stunned with how quickly and smoothly we're able to go through security, board buses, etc.
I think the difference with Disney is that Disney has a lot of families and disabled guests and the delays that come from being unprepared are often lengthier when those types are involved. And problems with the gondolas are going to be a much bigger issue because of that, too. Temperature, boarding, 911 calls due to panic attacks, you name it. It's going to continue to be a significant problem.
I tend to disagree on the disabilities part. I think it comes more from just not caring about causing delays (but I will agree that attitude can be present in those with disabilities). I absolutely think the gondolas are going to have huge problems.
I can't believe it took 3 hours to evacuate 6 people from a single gondola. That's insane. Why so long? Also papers are reporting at least 1 guests went to hospital, 3 were treated for something. I live in Orlando so it's big news here and we hear a lot. I don't know if this has been posted already I can't keep up with so many posts. Reedy creek fire had warned Disney, either fairly or not, that rescues would strain their resources etc. News is following and updating the story quite a bit. What a mess! Guests calling their experience a nightmare and saying they'd never ride it again. How will Disney convince people to ride now? Of course it's safer than lots of things but it's all public perception now. What p.r. would fix this?
The 3 hours of delay was caused by the guest that called 911. The emergency services teams were in the direct line of the gondolas travel, so even though the line could have been re-started much more quickly, they were prevented from doing so until the emergency service teams were out of the way.
