News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
They train and perform drills for that scenario also.
Yes, I know that, but, if I were a passenger at that point and had to be evacuated I don't think I would like any of the scenario's that they have been trained to do. I am fine with the equipment that has been shown for the Gondola's. There is no other part of the Monorail trip that I keep my fingers crossed that it doesn't stop right there or suddenly catch fire. It doesn't stop me from riding them, but, a touch of anxiety at those moments. I'm not saying for one minute that they aren't trained to do all the things that they can come up with in their imagination. I know my luck and it would include a scenario that never crossed their minds. Not likely, but, everything is possible. Sitting right here in front of my computer, does not guarantee that a plane won't crash through my window. The point is that even just standing in one spot has a degree of possible disaster, it's just that if we want to live this life, we are always taking chances.
 

note2001

Well-Known Member
IMHO, they are better equipped for that then they are for the Monorail. Has anyone really wondered how they would rescue if a monorail train has a problem either just before it enters the Contemporary or just after it leaves. That's a long way up there.
They've had breakdowns (many times) there before. The tow pushes the monorail into the station.
 
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GoofGoof

Premium Member
They've had breakdowns (many times) there before. The tow pushes the monorail into the station.
That’s what I thought too. I suppose something structural could happen to the track preventing that, but seems unlikely. Same goes for these new gondolas. In most cases during a shutdown the cabins return to the station and the people exit. They have backup generators and it’s a pretty simple mechanical system. The first responders drilling for an evacuation is preparing for the extreme case. The vast majority of the time it won’t be needed.
 

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
They've had breakdowns (many times) there before. The tow pushes the monorail into the station.
You don't have to defend the Monorails, I am just trying to make a point about the topic of this thread... dealing with the gondola's. That is why I still ride the Monorails, because I am not really going to let an artificial fear stop me from enjoying things. There is no real reason to fear the Monorails and there is even less to fear the gondola's.
 

MiddKid

Well-Known Member
A couple new videos showing how D-Line grips detach from the haul rope:


Hey @Lift Blog ...question...in my multiple decades of skiing I always assumed that once the guardrail opened the grip from the haul rope that there continued to be a guardrail continuing around the station keeping that grip open. I always assumed that the large springs would always default to closed with no contact so the guardrail would need to remain ever present (or once detached, they would simply close again since the haul rope is no longer there). This video obviously shows that once the guardrail opens the grip, the spring-loaded arm stays down by itself. I’m assuming up until a certain point (50%? 30%?) the grip would spring back closed, but it must reach a point at which it is then opened and it stays down until a guardrail pushes it back up again. Is this unique to newer generation lifts or have detachables always been like this?
 

ParksAndPixels

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
For what it’s worth, I’ve worked at another park where they were proud to bring in the “first of...” roller coaster tech/ features. That meant that I was often tasked with overseeing evacs from these attractions when not every scenario was so clearly defined or spelled out in a manufacturer manual. That said we drill regularly during off hours with every operator to make sure they were well prepared for those unexpected and frankly rare evacuations. That said, we would intentionally shut down ride vehicles in locations where there wasn’t platforms/ catwalks, or easy to reach safety equipment. We intentionally dreamed up our worst case/nightmare locations for vehicles to stop to train and practice evacs. So while I can’t speak for Disney from first hand knowledge, I can tell you that much more thought goes into the types of scenarios many have expressed concern over than you will ever know, so IF these situations do come up, the CMs know what needs to be done.
 

DisAl

Well-Known Member
Maybe we should just start posting pictures of automobile accidents, bus accidents, train accidents, boat accidents and plane accidents, so that we can instill fear about every more dangerous vehicles of transportation. Then maybe we can get most people to just stay at home and in fetal position in their closets. That would make visiting WDW a lot easier. My first ride will be the gondola's.
A couple of months ago some friends of ours were on the monorail when something happened to cause the monorail to be shut down. After quite a delay, they were evacuated from the monorail at GF and put on a bus.
THEN, on the way to MK their bus got rear-ended by another Disney bus. (Nobody on either bus injured so far as they know.)
They finally got to the MK over 2 hrs. late. Disney did give them a bunch of free FPs to compensate for the lost time though.
 

Lift Blog

Well-Known Member
Hey @Lift Blog ...question...in my multiple decades of skiing I always assumed that once the guardrail opened the grip from the haul rope that there continued to be a guardrail continuing around the station keeping that grip open. I always assumed that the large springs would always default to closed with no contact so the guardrail would need to remain ever present (or once detached, they would simply close again since the haul rope is no longer there). This video obviously shows that once the guardrail opens the grip, the spring-loaded arm stays down by itself. I’m assuming up until a certain point (50%? 30%?) the grip would spring back closed, but it must reach a point at which it is then opened and it stays down until a guardrail pushes it back up again. Is this unique to newer generation lifts or have detachables always been like this?

There are two schools of thought here. Doppelmayr's competitor uses a single position grip that immediately goes back to the closed position when not being forced open, as you describe. Many older Doppelmayr lifts also work like this. An argument for a double position grip (one that can lock open or lock closed) is that the number of grip cycles is cut in half. Instead of open-close on arrival and open-close on departure, the D-Line grips just open on arrival and close on departure. This reduces wear and tear.
 

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
This video obviously shows that once the guardrail opens the grip, the spring-loaded arm stays down by itself. I’m assuming up until a certain point (50%? 30%?) the grip would spring back closed, but it must reach a point at which it is then opened and it stays down until a guardrail pushes it back up again. Is this unique to newer generation lifts or have detachables always been like this?
This is a limited angle view, but it appears the rail opening the grip continues all the way around until the cable attach point on the dispatch side of the station. I reviewed the D-line grip video and I don't see a mechanism for keeping the grip open other than the rail depressing the grip opening lever and wheel.

Yeah, I get the "one less opening and closing" argument, but doesn't that greatly increase wear on the grip opening wheel and bearings?
 

joelkfla

Well-Known Member
Found this video of the HS station filmed today - noticed they have added these interesting little door flaps to the edge of the platform that match up perfectly to the edge of each cabin; thought that was a cool little touch. (Flaps are shown earlier on in the video)

Seems to be a "Do not board beyond this point" gate. I wonder whether pushing it will trigger an alarm at the operator's console, or even an automatic e-stop.
 

Lift Blog

Well-Known Member
This is a limited angle view, but it appears the rail opening the grip continues all the way around until the cable attach point on the dispatch side of the station. I reviewed the D-line grip video and I don't see a mechanism for keeping the grip open other than the rail depressing the grip opening lever and wheel.

Yeah, I get the "one less opening and closing" argument, but doesn't that greatly increase wear on the grip opening wheel and bearings?
The opening rail is the blue one on top. It ends once the grip is fully opened. Disney’s opening rails aren’t Doppelmayr blue but instead drab gray. The ones at Hourglass Lake are green.

Seems to be a "Do not board beyond this point" gate. I wonder whether pushing it will trigger an alarm at the operator's console, or even an automatic e-stop.
Not only does it stop the entire lift, it likely triggers a clutch that prevents the affected cabin from moving any further while the lift ramps down.
 

danlb_2000

Premium Member
Original Poster
The opening rail is the blue one on top. It ends once the grip is fully opened. Disney’s opening rails aren’t Doppelmayr blue but instead drab gray. The ones at Hourglass Lake are green.


Not only does it stop the entire lift, it likely triggers a clutch that prevents the affected cabin from moving any further while the lift ramps down.

It looks like it is close enough that it would catch a car where the doors did not close for some reason.
 

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
The opening rail is the blue one on top. It ends once the grip is fully opened. Disney’s opening rails aren’t Doppelmayr blue but instead drab gray. The ones at Hourglass Lake are green.
OK... looking at the second video (which I didn't see until just now) that's pretty clear.

My question: what holds the clamp in the open position? Spring tension?
 

DisneyDreamer08

Well-Known Member
Ok I’ll admit, I didn’t read through ALL 969 pages so I apologize if this is old news. I got something in the mail today regarding DVC, specifically the new Riviera resort, and it says the Skyliner is projected to open December 2019. This is most specific opening date I’ve seen so I thought I’d share for others.
A863E414-7339-4487-A81F-BD123EA68BCB.jpeg
 

JoeCamel

Well-Known Member
Ok I’ll admit, I didn’t read through ALL 969 pages so I apologize if this is old news. I got something in the mail today regarding DVC, specifically the new Riviera resort, and it says the Skyliner is projected to open December 2019. This is most specific opening date I’ve seen so I thought I’d share for others. View attachment 383714
Pretty sure that is the drop dead date so they can be within the law on the timeshare sales materials. Expect it to be open much sooner
 

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