News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

[JoeCamel]

I think newcomers come into threads like this and think they are brining up things no one has thought or talked about.

If it was a newcomer I would have more patience but 11 years and 2K posts. As I said you have more patience than anyone I have ever seen on a forum, thanks for the work you do and all the relevant information you bring to Magic.

 

[Disone]

They minute people see that the line to use the gondola is a 1 hour wait to get on board is the minute those people head to the other form of transportation.

What I want to know is what speed will these things move at... Is the ride on a gondola going to be agonizingly slow?

This is a modern day skylift style gondola. It will move quickly along the cable. It will detach from the cable when it comes to the stations.

In the station's it will likely draw comparisons to people mover at the Magic Kingdom Tomorrowland.

This means each station will have back-to-back Gondola's line up moving slowly through the station at all times.
Then the forward most one will close its doors accelerate to match the speed of the cable and connect to it.



This is not the Magic Kingdom's old Skyway, which I understand for many is really your only point of reference. If so Google a modern-day ski lift with gondolas. You will see a very efficient system at play.

 

[Kamikaze]

People seem to be forgetting a key fact here: Disney is a company worth billions of dollars, they are paying people smarter than any of us here to design this. No engineer for a corporation that big is going to finish designing the system, have it start construction, and then go "oh sh*t, I forgot that Florida is hot"

One thing - they aren't designing it. Its an off-the-shelf system.

 

[JoeCamel]

One thing - they aren't designing it. Its an off-the-shelf system.

They consulted with the system vendor and decided that getting the AC option was not necessary. They probably did a couple Joe Rohde style trips to check other systems and they decided the AC was not necessary. Might be off the shelf but it does have options like buying a car.

 

[Kamikaze]

They consulted with the system vendor and decided that getting the AC option was not necessary. They probably did a couple Joe Rohde style trips to check other systems and they decided the AC was not necessary. Might be off the shelf but it does have options like buying a car.

You're right. They had input on what they chose, but thats still different from creating a system from the ground up a la the monorail.

My point is that an off-the-shelf system from a well known vendor with basically unparalleled experience is better than them building their own. All the problems and kinks have been worked out of the system before it even goes up.

 

[Alltid Oavsett]

I swear I have been here before... Deja vu.....

That sense that you have already read this argument [strike]4 times before[/strike]

Correction... 15 times before...

Funny guy. Maybe if people didnt post so many worthless posts that do not add to the subject we wouldnt have 235 pages and we newbies could actually have a chance to read through the thread before starting writing our thoughts...

And yes, I just made a post that dont add anything but nobody seems to care.

 

[rocketraccoon]

Gosh, I can't believe that Disney is installing heaters in all the cars that will run at full blast 24/7. Seems dangerous! i kid

 

[disney4life2008]

So basically it's transportation. How many people will think its a ride (like me)? That will increase wait times.

My only sad part is that international gateway (assuming where this is going) and the other stuff in that area, is always so peaceful. Now that is being taken away.

 

[Kamikaze]

Funny guy. Maybe if people didnt post so many worthless posts that do not add to the subject we wouldnt have 235 pages and we newbies could actually have a chance to read through the thread before starting writing our thoughts...

And yes, I just made a post that dont add anything but nobody seems to care.

You don't even have to read the thread anymore to get the basics, though. You can read the WDWMagic article or the Disney Parks Blog post and get a lot of the relevant information.

 

[Kamikaze]

So basically it's transportation. How many people will think its a ride (like me)? That will increase wait times.

My only sad part is that international gateway (assuming where this is going) and the other stuff in that area, is always so peaceful. Now that is being taken away.

Yes, it is going to have the Epcot station at the IG.

Whether or not that makes it 'unpeaceful' remains to be seen.

I don't think many people will think it is an attraction since its not located inside the theme parks, and it will have signs saying where it is going. That said, a lot of people view the monorail as an attraction as well.

 

[drizgirl]

I think newcomers come into threads like this and think they are brining up things no one has thought or talked about.

The thread IS over 200 pages long. Do you expect newcomers to read the whole thing?

 

[MisterPenguin]

8 to 10 people.

@Lift Blog says it will be 8 passenger...

From my update on Lift Blog:

I’m told Disney is working with Doppelmayr to achieve the highest possible throughput using 8-passenger cabins, not Omega 10s as rumored. While the current record is 4,500 pph at Sölden (https://liftblog.com/2016/06/09/soelden-announces-record-breaking-giggijochbahn/) capacity for the WDW gondolas could reach over 5,000 pphpd. Cabins will have wi-fi and ample passive ventilation.​

Again, my sincere thanks to @danlb_2000 and others who pieced this news together in February.

I swear I have been here before... Deja vu.....

That sense that you have already read this argument [strike]4 times before[/strike]

Correction... 15 times before...

Just in case you didn't know, the forum allows strikethroughs like this...

They consulted with the system vendor and decided that getting the AC option was not necessary. They probably did a couple Joe Rohde style trips to check other systems and they decided the AC was not necessary. Might be off the shelf but it does have options like buying a car.

I would've love to have seen that two week long travel request to visit a handful of tropical locales for gondola research!

 

[danlb_2000]

The thread IS over 200 pages long. Do you expect newcomers to read the whole thing?

No, but then you should come into the thread and start talking like you are knowledgeable on the topic. You will notice that when people make reasonable posts asking something that has been asked 100 times I will happily answer the question.

 

[danlb_2000]

So basically it's transportation. How many people will think its a ride (like me)? That will increase wait times.

My only sad part is that international gateway (assuming where this is going) and the other stuff in that area, is always so peaceful. Now that is being taken away.

I totally agree on the ride part. Even if I didn't need to ride this to get somewhere I will probably ride it just for fun. I tend to do that with the monorail now.

 

[rreading]

First post, just decided to do some math out on this:
I've heard 8-10 people gondolas so I'll use 9 guests per gondola.
Approximate departure rate 30 seconds, gives us 18 guests/min or 1080 guests per hour (1 bus every 8 mins to each resort)

Looking at the resorts* serviced by room size:
Caribbean Beach Resort: 2112
Art of Animation: 1984
Pop Century: 2880
Total:6976 rooms

Assuming 90% occupancy (I've heard the number before) and 3 guests per room on average: 18835 guests in these three resorts. Now lets say 1/4** of those guests go to either DHS or EPCOT for the day gives us 4709 guests visiting either a park per day. If 1/4 of those stay for a night time show (ROE or F!) and leave immediately after... 2354 guests will be trying to get on the gondola system at one of the parks at one time. This will take 1 hours and 6 minutes to get the last guest on board.

*This does not include people that might take the gondolas from DHS instead of friendship boats from Beach club (865 rooms), Boardwalk Inn (910 rooms), Yacht club (630 rooms), Swan (758 rooms), and Dolphin (1509). Also does not include the new Riviera Resort.
**This is a low estimate because it assumes only 1/4 of guests will go to a park on a given day (many resort guests follow EMH).

While your numbers are compelling, how many busses would it take to carry those 2400 people. Even if 100 get on at a time, each bus dispatches about every 10 minutes at best (usually 15 minutes).

This sounds much better!

 

[ScoutN]

No, but then you should come into the thread and start talking like you are knowledgeable on the topic. You will notice that when people make reasonable posts asking something that has been asked 100 times I will happily answer the question.

Lest we not forget that we can search individual threads for key words and phrases.

 

[Magicart87]

I'm figuring ~30 guests per 60 secs provided the gondolas are continuously moving and pull into the station in groups of 3 ish (2 loads while 1 unloads, last loads as 1 gondola departs) Depends on how many gondolas per station. More Gondolas = More Guests per Min.

 

[Magenta Panther]

I totally agree on the ride part. Even if I didn't need to ride this to get somewhere I will probably ride it just for fun. I tend to do that with the monorail now.

Didn't I read that the gondolas will have no air conditioning, though? Won't they get awfully hot?

 

[Magicart87]

Didn't I read that the gondolas will have no air conditioning, though? Won't they get awfully hot?

It'll have open-air windows a.k.a bars on the side.

 

[Club34]

folks seem to be concerned about speed and congestion. don't be. i ski and i have ridden all types of gondolas and funitels. modern ones move quickly. are relatively quiet at the base. and are relatively easy on and off. there maybe some lines at busy times but the comparison that others have made about the people mover loading is very accurate. that is how it goes. and we can best bet that there will be several cast members on hand to assist in the loading of gondolas.

i think this development is exciting personally. this may have me re-visit CBR as i have it on the "hate list" from a bad trip back from '99. do any of our insiders have any scoop about further gondola expansion if this goes well? also, to our insiders, do you have a line if they will pipe in most excellent disney soundtracks or have a narration like in the people mover?

my god, it could be legendary. are we not excited about being whisked into the sky to return to our homes have a long day at the epcot center? mashing the pastries you quickly poached in france as you left. if you ever see some tool just riding the thing constantly, it could be me. :]