News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

[GrumpyFan]

I'm reading thru this and while it sounds interesting, it's also a bit odd.
The cost factor seems like it would be appealing to Disney, but there are several factors that make me wonder how just how well it will actually work. Here's a few thoughts/concerns off the top of my head:
1) Special Access - wheel chairs, ecvs, etc. - No transportation system at Disney will work without a great deal of consideration given for special access needs.
2) Storms - lightning, wind - These occur frequently in Central Florida. How well will a system such as this handle them?
3) Emergency evac in case of failure - How will evacuations be handled when the system fails? The number of potentially stranded vehicles in a power failure could put a real stress on emergency services to respond quickly.
4) Security - How will access to these be handled? Will there be security screenings prior to boarding or from controlled points?

 

[MisterPenguin]

The Gondola system would be very expensive. The towers and mechanics especially. problems:
1. The gondolas would be relatively low capacity and slow.
2. The loading and unloading would be slow and what about strollers and wheelchairs and scooters?
3. As someone else mentioned.......The towers and gondolas in the view from the parks and resorts.

We need more details.

AKK

All your concerns were answered previously in this thread. Just read the entire thread and click on the links provided for more info. Gondola systems can be high capacity, fast loading and moving, stop to allow personal vehicles without stopping the whole system, and there are many ways to hide views of back lots.

 

[GrumpyFan]

If anyone's interested in seeing some other gondolas around the world.
http://www.curbed.com/2016/7/25/12248896/urban-gondolas-cable-cars-cities

Seems to be a very good option in mostly mountainous, scenic areas, not sure how well it would work in central Florida, but I do like the constantly moving aspect of it.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I'm reading thru this and while it sounds interesting, it's also a bit odd.
The cost factor seems like it would be appealing to Disney, but there are several factors that make me wonder how just how well it will actually work. Here's a few thoughts/concerns off the top of my head:
1) Special Access - wheel chairs, ecvs, etc. - No transportation system at Disney will work without a great deal of consideration given for special access needs.
2) Storms - lightning, wind - These occur frequently in Central Florida. How well will a system such as this handle them?
3) Emergency evac in case of failure - How will evacuations be handled when the system fails? The number of potentially stranded vehicles in a power failure could put a real stress on emergency services to respond quickly.
4) Security - How will access to these be handled? Will there be security screenings prior to boarding or from controlled points?

All your concerns were answered previously in this thread. Just read the entire thread and click on the links provided for more info. Gondola systems can be high capacity, fast loading and moving, stop to allow personal vehicles without stopping the whole system, and there are many ways to hide views of back lots. And compared to other transit systems, relatively cheap and reliable. Winds high enough to disrupt large, low gondolas is high enough to be shutting other things down, like boats, which means busses will be back-ups (just like they are when boats are shut down for weather). Lightning is relatively easily mitigated with lighting rods. Like a car, your gondola is a Faraday cage and you'll be safe inside it. Back up generators in case of area-wide power loss. Won't be so high that they can't be evacuated. It seems security will be moved to the entrance of stations which means you won't have to go through security again when you reach a park.

 

[GrumpyFan]

All your concerns were answered previously in this thread. Just read the entire thread and click on the links provided for more info. Gondola systems can be high capacity, fast loading and moving, stop to allow personal vehicles without stopping the whole system, and there are many ways to hide views of back lots. And compared to other transit systems, relatively cheap and reliable. Winds high enough to disrupt large, low gondolas is high enough to be shutting other things down, like boats, which means busses will be back-ups (just like they are when boats are shut down for weather). Lightning is relatively easily mitigated with lighting rods. Like a car, your gondola is a Faraday cage and you'll be safe inside it. Back up generators in case of area-wide power loss. Won't be so high that they can't be evacuated. It seems security will be moved to the entrance of stations which means you won't have to go through security again when you reach a park.

I figured they had been, but I haven't had time to go back thru all the pages and read, and probably won't. But, thanks for at least summarizing!

 

[danlb_2000]

Some one else around here is named Dan.

:lookaround

His comments section lets you type in anything you want for the name, so it's pretty easy to fake who the message is from.

 

[MiddKid]

For a land/rail based PRT system, that would absolutely work, but for a cable based system, I'm sure there are limits to the amount of weight you can add to a segment of cable, expecially in spans between two support towers.

I used to think towers had to be close together until I rode the Peak2Peak at Whistler. The distance between towers 2 and 3 is 1.88 miles as the crow flies. That's right, you go almost two miles without a tower. Insane.

Now obviously P2P has much more "sag" than an urban solution, but riding that tram made me re-think what's possible.

 

[xdan0920]

I see now. Someone actually took your full screen name. I posted there as Dan. How weird to do that.

Edit to add. Tom deleted my comment

 

[articos]

I kid you not I literally had an Uber driver tell me last night on our way to Flying Fish for dinner that Disney was building a new transportation system over in this area. My wife and I both got our and laughed it off as we all know that the Uber drivers know less than the bus drivers…

You never know who has a family member or friend working on projects around the theme parks.

 

[jaxonp]

Transportation improvements are needed but this seems like a mistake and I can't seem to put my finger on why...

 

[WDWFigment]

Great work on this @danlb_2000!

As for a lot of the questions being raised here, I think a great example for the versatility of such a system is in the Ngong Ping 360 (near Hong Kong Disneyland). Really rugged terrain, tropical weather, etc., and those function exceptionally well. (IIRC, they have air-conditioning, too. I cannot imagine a gondola on Lantau not having AC.)

 

[DDLand]

Yo

You never know who has a family member or friend working on projects around the theme parks.

What?!?! @articos is an Uber driver?

 

[articos]

That was more of a wish list than an actual plan.

Let me dig out the real one when I'm home unless someone beats me to it.

Your planning is the most elegant of any that I've seen.

 

[marni1971]

Your planning is the most elegant of any that I've seen.

Thank you

 

[articos]

Nope. World Drive South is still on property.

Or was when the tower was built.

Still is, I believe. The right of way is owned by the district.

 

[articos]

What?!?! @articos is an Uber driver?

Caught. Happy to give a ride anytime I'm on property. There is a slight attraction proximity surcharge.

 

[Brad Bishop]

It'd be cool if these are routable.

Let's say they've expanded the system to hit other resorts and DAK...

You get on a CBR and push a button on a screen that says, "DAK". You then start heading that way and when you get to the DHS stop, you just get skirted off to a different track and route around it picking it back up the other side without stopping. It seems doable. The mechanics to load/unload a car from the current cable/track are already there, you'd just need the switching to be automated.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Some questions for our resident engineers:

• How much would Florida's water table and need to withstand hurricane force winds add to the budget for a gondola system like the one proposed?
• Is the reduced cost of the gondola system worth it compared to building a new monorail line that serves the same area with fewer, larger capacity cabs?
• Speaking of monorails, has the lack of a monorail gauge standard stymied their adoption across Disney's theme park properties where they may be useful, but the economies of scale aren't there to make the endeavor cost effective?

 

[Brad Bishop]

Some questions for our resident engineers:

• How much would Florida's water table and need to withstand hurricane force winds add to the budget for a gondola system like the one proposed?
• Is the reduced cost of the gondola system worth it compared to building a new monorail line that serves the same area with fewer, larger capacity cabs?
• Speaking of monorails, has the lack of a monorail gauge standard stymied their adoption across Disney's theme park properties where they may be useful, but the economies of scale aren't there to make the endeavor cost effective?

I don't think hurricane winds really matter. You wouldn't be running them in hurricanes, they'd all just be parked at the stations. The cable should be fine as it's plenty heavy and plenty thick.

 

[marni1971]

Here is the Monorail/WEDWay expansion image from @marni1971 for comparison in case you didn't want to read the 2007 thread.

Here it is