News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

[Phil12]

Man, you sure do come up with lopsided logic! POP and AoA are still value based on an onsite comparison. Compared to offsite they are not and never have been. However compared with the Grand Floridian it is the best value you can get on Disney Property. Those other "luxury" resorts around MK offer Monorails and those value or mid resorts offer a more basic Gondola form of transportation and just like the MK resorts it offers that new form of transit to two parks but for a lot less then the Luxury. You act as if the rest of the world stood still in pricing and definition between value and luxury. They did not. Prices went up there and everywhere else. Even when the price was $60.00 per night it was still a ripoff as far as amenities go. So it all remains comparatively the same. The common denominator in all your posts is you. Perhaps, your attitude and your outlook is more of the problem the anything Disney does.

No question about it, you're absolutely wrong. The true value resorts are the All-Stars. The Pop and the AoA are overpriced and deliver substandard accommodations in comparison. With the advent of the Skyliner they would be superior if not for the price increase. And frankly, when it was $60.00 a night, I don't know of anyone who actually paid that rack rate since discounts were ubiquitous at that time. We can only hope they don't expand the Skyliner to the All-Stars.

And if I desired a luxury resort at a reasonable price, I'd stay at the Bonnet Creek Resort.

 

[Phil12]

Pop century has historically been slightly higher than the All-Stars despite them both being values. The skyliner didn’t create that it just increased the difference.

Every time I stayed there the price was lower than the All-Stars mainly because of the inferior bus service and over crowded conditions. It was common for groups of young adults to haul some of the furniture (tables and chairs) out of the rooms onto the balconies and have continuous 24/7 beer parties.

My receipts from that era don't support your contention.

 

[Phil12]

The price differential has been around for a while, especially AoA which falls between value and moderate.

But surely it comes a no surprise to anyone that the Skyliner was going to raise prices at these resorts? We’ve been discussing it on here since day one of the thread - probably even before that since this thread was created as a result of the great detective work here that broke the news.

Yes you're right. When WDW realized that Pop Century was not the way to go (after 9/11) they halted construction on The Legendary Years and decided instead to go with AoA. But even though PoP and AoA have higher prices, they're still listed by Disney as value resorts. I can't fault them for wanting to make more money and they obviously have plenty of people willing to pay their asking price. However, I had the experience of staying there and in the process learned of better and less expensive accommodations elsewhere. So it was indeed a learning experience for me.

 

[peter11435]

Every time I stayed there the price was lower than the All-Stars mainly because of the inferior bus service and over crowded conditions. It was common for groups of young adults to haul some of the furniture (tables and chairs) out of the rooms onto the balconies and have continuous 24/7 beer parties.

My receipts from that era don't support your contention.

You are quite literally wrong. It’s ok to misremember things, that’s fine. But pop century has since it opened ran slightly above the all stars. Generally about 10-15 dollars.

Your personal gripes with the resort are not issues that result in Disney charging less nor are they shared with most others.

Those balcony parties you speak of occur at all value and moderate resorts.

 

[Phil12]

You are quite literally wrong. It’s ok to misremember things, that’s fine. But pop century has since it opened ran slightly above the all stars. Generally about 10-15 dollars.

Your personal gripes with the resort are not issues that result in Disney charging less nor are they shared with most others.

Those balcony parties you speak of occur at all value and moderate resorts.

You're wrong.

 

[peter11435]

You're wrong.

No I am not.

This stuff is pretty readily available online.

For example.

January 6, 2019

All-Star Resorts $111
Pop century $126

Nothing to do with the skyliner. Since it opened Pop century has always run 10-20 more per night than the All-Stars.

 

[flynnibus]

Pop didnt share buses like all of all stars did... and without the legacy years stayed a smaller resort. Pop always carried a premium over all stars since at least 2005...

 

[matt9112]

So in a nutshell to stay on topic we have an epcot line that is a wonderful ride. But has limited hours and is closed often enough to make it no less efficient (yet) than buses? The limited hours and what appears to be. Common enough stoppages cant be good for operational efficiency.

 

[Phil12]

Pop didnt share buses like all of all stars did... and without the legacy years stayed a smaller resort. Pop always carried a premium over all stars since at least 2005...

No sharing of buses during morning rush. The other times don't matter.

No I am not.

This stuff is pretty readily available online.

For example.

January 6, 2019

All-Star Resorts $111
Pop century $126

Nothing to do with the skyliner. Since it opened Pop century has always run 10-20 more per night than the All-Stars.

The problem with the Pop Century was the crash in tourism after 9/11. It was originally scheduled to open in 2001 but due to the massive reduction in tourism, the opening was delayed for over two years unitl December 2003. Even then they had a very difficult time filling the rooms and offered huge discounts. I took advantage of some of those discounts at the Pop.

And the rack rate costs for the rooms were identical to the All Star Resorts but discounts were pervasive due to the recovery from 9/11 as well as the lousy bus service at the Pop. The WDW PR machine went into overdrive at this time on social media in their attempt to convince perspective guests that the bus service was just peachy keen.

The other side of the resort (The Legendary Years) was completely abandoned until 2010 when construction resumed on a revamped AoA plan. They obviously learned from their mistake.

As George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

 

[Notes from Neverland]

We're excited to try Pop Century again now that the Skyliner is in place. For us, the worst part of the bus service was waiting in a line without any shade. The service was pretty reliable, but it was nearly unbearable standing in the hot summer sun waiting for a bus. Seems like an awning would be a great addition.

 

[MisterPenguin]

No sharing of buses during morning rush. The other times don't matter.

The problem with the Pop Century was the crash in tourism after 9/11. It was originally scheduled to open in 2001 but due to the massive reduction in tourism, the opening was delayed for over two years unitl December 2003. Even then they had a very difficult time filling the rooms and offered huge discounts. I took advantage of some of those discounts at the Pop.

And the rack rate costs for the rooms were identical to the All Star Resorts but discounts were pervasive due to the recovery from 9/11 as well as the lousy bus service at the Pop. The WDW PR machine went into overdrive at this time on social media in their attempt to convince perspective guests that the bus service was just peachy keen.

The other side of the resort (The Legendary Years) was completely abandoned until 2010 when construction resumed on a revamped AoA plan. They obviously learned from their mistake.

As George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Oh? There were issues 16 and 8 years ago and thus, you're right about Pop being a ghetto and not more expensive than All Stars these past years?

Interesting argument.

 

[peter11435]

The problem with the Pop Century was the crash in tourism after 9/11. It was originally scheduled to open in 2001 but due to the massive reduction in tourism, the opening was delayed for over two years unitl December 2003. Even then they had a very difficult time filling the rooms and offered huge discounts. I took advantage of some of those discounts at the Pop.

And the rack rate costs for the rooms were identical to the All Star Resorts but discounts were pervasive due to the recovery from 9/11 as well as the lousy bus service at the Pop. The WDW PR machine went into overdrive at this time on social media in their attempt to convince perspective guests that the bus service was just peachy keen.

The other side of the resort (The Legendary Years) was completely abandoned until 2010 when construction resumed on a revamped AoA plan. They obviously learned from their mistake.

As George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

The crash in tourism after 9/12 affected all resorts, not just Pop century. It wasn’t a problem with pop century it was a problem with tourism in general. They even closed an entire moderate resort. They had trouble filling all room and offered discounts at all properties not just Pop Century.

Rack rate at Pop was never identical to the All-Stars. It has always been slightly higher than the All-Stars and remains that way today.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

The crash in tourism after 9/12 affected all resorts, not just Pop century. It wasn’t a problem with pop century it was a problem with tourism in general. They even closed an entire moderate resort. They had trouble filling all room and offered discounts at all properties not just Pop Century.

Rack rate at Pop was never identical to the All-Stars. It has always been slightly higher than the All-Stars and remains that way today.

Which resort did they close?

 

[peter11435]

Which resort did they close?

Port Orleans French Quarter and most of Riverside.

 

[begood524]

The site that shall not be named is reporting that the Epcot line is experiencing total shutdowns quite a bit. I've also seen people on Twitter saying the same thing - what is going on with it?

 

[mmascari]

Mickey Blog posted an article about the future of the system and references locations for future stations seen in "Skyliner Documents". This is not in any of the public documents I have seen. Does anyone know any more about this?

Examining the Future of the Disney Skyliner

The Disney Skyliner has been a hot topic among Disney fans. The gondola system had early troubes, but has been riding seemlessy since then.

mickeyblog.com

If they are not posting a map with lines drawn on it, hand drawn not the real documents, I find it hard to believe. Or, they are being so vague to avoid exposing sources, it’s not much value.

The DHS shape makes it super hard to get a line in to the entrance that doesn’t cross something important. Especially from Blizzard Beach. Adding an entrance would require a significant number of rooms utilizing it.

Also, it’s a point to point line system. Why talk about single stations at all? It’s either a pair or more to have any value.

 

[Squishy]

The site that shall not be named is reporting that the Epcot line is experiencing total shutdowns quite a bit. I've also seen people on Twitter saying the same thing - what is going on with it?

Bob Chapek didn't have enough money to pay the electric bill so he shut it down until people bought more overpriced merchandise.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Port Orleans French Quarter and most of Riverside.

Ahhh...that's when they changed Riverside from Dixie Landings.

 

[peter11435]

Ahhh...that's when they changed Riverside from Dixie Landings.

Actually no, that happened earlier while the resorts were both still open.

 

[Richie248]

Rode the Skyliner twice over the past couple days. Ride 1 (Wednesday evening) from Epcot to Studios.....the Epcot line to Caribbean stopped for about 1 minute, no stops from Caribbean to Studios. Ride 2 (this morning) from Studios to Epcot......no stops between studios and Caribbean....then......2 stops/delays from Caribbean to Epcot totaling about 25/26 minutes. While it doesn't seem like much time....it was pretty brutal. Couldn't imagine being stuck for much longer (feel even worse for those that were stuck during the "malfunction"). I can see the Epcot line from my hotel room and it's been stop and go for the duration of my trip (even more so yesterday and today). It's clear there are still issues. The problem child appears to be the Epcot line. While I hope they work this out....I'm going to stay clear.