News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

[Gabe1]

You must have had some bad luck. I was there mid November and rode almost a dozen times with a single stop of 30 seconds (and a second close call of a 30 second stop right after we got off).

I did experience a 30+ minute delay on a bus though when a charter bus that Disney called in for MK closing got lost when a section of road was closed near pop century. Felt bad for the guy, but we had to give him directions. Gondolas, hopefully, can't get lost

It was pretty typical the whole week I was there. System up and down. Stop and go.

Studios

Epcot

And while
I was their the entire Caribbean hub was down and buses there instead.

 

[begood524]

It was pretty typical the whole week I was there. System up and down. Stop and go.

Studios
View attachment 429834


Epcot

View attachment 429835

And while
I was their the entire Caribbean hub was down and buses there instead.

It is getting increasingly frustrating how unreliable this thing is....

 

[Phil12]

I have no issue sharing an intimate space with strangers on a gondola.

Well, I found my gondola buddy!

 

[Gabe1]

It is getting increasingly frustrating how unreliable this thing is....

I’m going back this month. Hopefully the gondolas will have improved over my last trip.
I saw it happen when the hub went down. It was human error over system. Right down to who messed up. The CMs were light hearted about it which almost made me feel better that safety checks worked over human error. My guess is Disney underestimated how much time it actually takes to be proficient vs a novice at gondola operations.

Hopefully time heals that oversight

 

[Nottamus]

First timer on Skyliner yesterday....I liked it, although it was windy here yesterday ...lotsa rocking. Made my wife a “not a fan” of it.

 

[Incomudro]

I have no issue sharing an intimate space with strangers on a gondola. But my goodness. How crazy that others can't see how that would be very uncomfortable for some.

Thank you.
And I never said that I find it very uncomfortable.
I'm speaking in generalities.
But you know the way it goes on these boards.
I might get in a gondola, and encounter a couple of wonderful people that make the trip enjoyable.
I might also get in the gondola with a couple of people with poor personal hygiene and a bratty kid and the whole lot of them won't shut the heck up - then get stuck for 20 minutes.

 

[RustySpork]

Packed in shoulder to shoulder one then hears... "This chamber has no windows... and no doors..."
Guess they skip Mansion.

..and Main Street after the fireworks.

 

[Creathir]

Thank you.
And I never said that I find it very uncomfortable.
I'm speaking in generalities.
But you know the way it goes on these boards.
I might get in a gondola, and encounter a couple of wonderful people that make the trip enjoyable.
I might also get in the gondola with a couple of people with poor personal hygiene and a bratty kid and the whole lot of them won't shut the heck up - then get stuck for 20 minutes.

My favorite will be on the Epcot line with convention goers after several trips around the world...
Swinging wildly in the wind... in the dark... stuck... the smell of beer and possibly barf in a tight space... def a worst case situation, but not one I’d look forward to.
Hopefully they get the reliability issues addressed.

 

[Notes from Neverland]

Any reason why the Epcot line keeps going down?

 

[Purduevian]

Any reason why the Epcot line keeps going down?

By far the most complicated of the 3 lines. It has 2 full stations with 2 outer loops (like every other line), a through station, and a turn station. On top of it being the longest line with the most cabins. Simply put... more things to go wrong.

 

[flynnibus]

I have no issue sharing an intimate space with strangers on a gondola. But my goodness. How crazy that others can't see how that would be very uncomfortable for some.

because it's something we as adults are expected to be able to deal with everywhere else in our lives. Be it standing in an elevator, standing in line, sitting on a subway car, talking to a clerk, etc etc etc. Being able to function around other humans is something people are expected to be able to do as functioning adults in a society.

You don't have to make friends.. but you should be able to co-exist without having your world crushed for being forced to share common spaces.

People need to stop being coddled and tuffen up already.

 

[n2hifi]

because it's something we as adults are expected to be able to deal with everywhere else in our lives. Be it standing in an elevator, standing in line, sitting on a subway car, talking to a clerk, etc etc etc. Being able to function around other humans is something people are expected to be able to do as functioning adults in a society.

There is a difference between uncomfortable and incapable. We all have to deal with other people, but many will avoid it. I postulate it comes down to how and where we live. Every day I open my garage door, back my car out and drive 30 miles to the front door of my office where I sit all day in a cubicle by myself. I am an engineer so most of my communication is via email. I enjoy being antisocial. My wife is the opposite so luckily she can step in if a stranger starts a conversation. She still hates public transportation though. I'm sure if I lived in the city and took public transportation more often it wouldn't bother me at all.

I will avoid public transportation as much as I can. I drive everywhere including Disney. I even drive to most of the theme parks to avoid the busses. I usually take the stairs instead of an elevator, but more often because it's quicker and gives me exercise.

That said we usually stay at a Monorail resort and the monorail is my favorite transportation on property. We eat at Biergarten (other people at the same table) and we ride all of the rides. I'm not afraid of people, just prefer to not be around them.

 

[RustySpork]

People need to stop being coddled and tuffen up already.

Remember that the next time you're in a tight space with someone at WDW, and they're gassy and/or haven't showered in a few days, people!

Spoiler

/s

 

[flynnibus]

There is a difference between uncomfortable and incapable. We all have to deal with other people, but many will avoid it. I postulate it comes down to how and where we live. Every day I open my garage door, back my car out and drive 30 miles to the front door of my office where I sit all day in a cubicle by myself. I am an engineer so most of my communication is via email. I enjoy being antisocial. My wife is the opposite so luckily she can step in if a stranger starts a conversation. She still hates public transportation though. I'm sure if I lived in the city and took public transportation more often it wouldn't bother me at all.

Like I said.. there is a difference between expected to make friends and simply be cohabitants of the public world.

I don't have to like the guy/girl behind the counter... but I damn well better be able to function with them if I want to be have my item prepared, or request handled. If it makes me uncomfortable, then I need to work on improving myself. It's an expectation of life in society. It's something people should be teaching their kids at a young age. You don't need to 'excel' or be some leader, or be the type that makes friends everywhere... but you shouldn't be cowering in the corner either because there are strangers within a radius, or you have to be stuck together for a period of time.

It's not difficult to convey 'I'd rather be left alone'...

 

[Incomudro]

because it's something we as adults are expected to be able to deal with everywhere else in our lives. Be it standing in an elevator, standing in line, sitting on a subway car, talking to a clerk, etc etc etc. Being able to function around other humans is something people are expected to be able to do as functioning adults in a society.

You don't have to make friends.. but you should be able to co-exist without having your world crushed for being forced to share common spaces.

People need to stop being coddled and tuffen up already.

Who said anything about being incapable, unable to function, or unable to co-exist?
Toughen up? Really?
You know, there is room to voice concerns without speaking in extremes.

 

[flynnibus]

Who said anything about being incapable, unable to function, or unable to co-exist?
Toughen up? Really?
You know, there is room to voice concerns without speaking in extremes.

Whatever... the 'concern' has been noted numerous times as much more than a simple preference for isolation. The point has been raised repeatedly because it is such an issue for people.. and not just something casual.

 

[larryz]

Remember that the next time you're in a tight space with someone at WDW, and they're gassy and/or haven't showered in a few days, people!

Spoiler

/s

Oh, so you've been on the U-bahn in Berlin?!?

 

[Heppenheimer]

Oh, so you've been on the U-bahn in Berlin?!?

The rural Bayerische Regiobahn tends to be the worst in this regard. It's a lovely mixture of sweat, tobacco, cow manure, cut grass, hay and chopped wood.

 

[smooch]

I rode the new Doppelmayr-built gondola at Bretton Woods for the first time today. Ran very smoothly. There were a few random stops, the longest was about two minutes. There was no announcement (no PA system), but nobody panicked or complained, and the system soon started moving again. On a particularly cold day, the sealed vehicles did a good job of trapping the passengers' body heat, so the inside was very comfortable, if not exactly toasty. Strangers carried on pleasent conversations, without any acrimony. The system is also relatively quiet, even when running through the support towers.

All in all, a nice addition to this ski resort. Prior to this gondola opening, skiers needed to take two separate lifts to reach the mountain summit, so having a non-stop option is welcome.

Can't wait to ride the Disney Skyliner when I visit next year.

Nobody panicked because people at ski resorts know it's normal for short stops every so often. I love to snowboard and anybody I have taken up for the first time always freaks out when the lift stops for even 10 seconds and I have to assure them we won't be trapped up there forever. I wish my home mountain was large enough to warrant the sealed cabins, it sounds nice to heat up a little on the way to the summit, but we finally upgraded from scanning barcodes to using NFC chips and automated gates to speed up the process. Anyways, and I know it's been said before, but the idea of even riding in a gondola is foreign to a lot of the visitors to WDW guests so when it inevitably stops and they don't know it's a norm they immediately assume the worst. That's one of the biggest challenges of the system in my opinion is getting people to fully trust and understand the system.

 

[joelkfla]

Nobody panicked because people at ski resorts know it's normal for short stops every so often. I love to snowboard and anybody I have taken up for the first time always freaks out when the lift stops for even 10 seconds and I have to assure them we won't be trapped up there forever. I wish my home mountain was large enough to warrant the sealed cabins, it sounds nice to heat up a little on the way to the summit, but we finally upgraded from scanning barcodes to using NFC chips and automated gates to speed up the process. Anyways, and I know it's been said before, but the idea of even riding in a gondola is foreign to a lot of the visitors to WDW guests so when it inevitably stops and they don't know it's a norm they immediately assume the worst. That's one of the biggest challenges of the system in my opinion is getting people to fully trust and understand the system.

But there are signs at each station entrance saying it is normal for the system to stop from time to time.