News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

[Grimley1968]

Is there currently any construction work going on at Art of Animation? If not, this email that I got may indicate that construction on what I can only presume will be the Gondola station should be starting soon... (we are staying at Art of Animation July 29th through August 6th)

That does look more likely to be the beginning of construction for the gondola system than anything else. It's difficult to imagine any work being visible, but not impacting any of the resort amenities, except for where the gondola infrastructure would go.

 

[Daveeeeed]

This is insanity. Are people literally against having the best transportation possible???

It's like we should just settle for walking.

I don't just ride the WDW Railroad for transportation, it's also for the journey... why do you think Walt Disney didn't put a parking lot next to the MK??? The monorail is similar except it is a mass transit transportation system which is a great system, and it's also iconic!

Two Gondola lines have far less capacity than two monorail lines.

They're not expanding the monorail on account of the cost, but gondolas are being used instead for that reason... better bang for their buck per person transported, but the monorail is and will be superior still.

 

[danlb_2000]

Is there currently any construction work going on at Art of Animation? If not, this email that I got may indicate that construction on what I can only presume will be the Gondola station should be starting soon... (we are staying at Art of Animation July 29th through August 6th)

Very well could be.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

This is insanity. Are people literally against having the best transportation possible???

People around here are going to complain about anything and everything that Disney does - if it isn't exactly what they would do. You have to remember that the people on these forums know more about how to run a multi-billion dollar business than the current crop of executives.

 

[danlb_2000]

People around here are going to complain about anything and everything that Disney does - if it isn't exactly what they would do. You have to remember that the people on these forums know more about how to run a multi-billion dollar business than the current crop of executives.

Like the people in the Avatar thread complaining because the CM badges won't say Disney on them.

 

[ABQ]

Like the people in the Avatar thread complaining because the CM badges won't say Disney on them.

And if they did say Disney, people would complain that Pandora wasn't immersive enough because of it.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

Like the people in the Avatar thread complaining because the CM badges won't say Disney on them.

And if they did say Disney, people would complain that Pandora wasn't immersive enough because of it.

You are both right!

 

[Figment2005]

What fantasy world do you live in? The monorails do not unload and load in two minutes in any circumstance.

Even using your insane numbers, thats 10800 per hour. The numbers I gave are already higher. (3K x 3 resorts + 1 or 2 lines from TTC = 12-15K)



I just prefer my memories to be something other than transportation, I guess. No matter what the system is - monorail, boat, gondola, bus, catapult, car; its just to get me to where I want to be. Doing so in the most efficient, reasonable way possible should be the primary focus, not nostalgia or 'looks'.

As a matter of fact I have first hand experience. Trains are supposed to be in and out in a minute and a half give or take 30-60 seconds for ECV's or slow loaders.

360 x 3 = 1080
1080 x 2 =2160 since each train will reach the station twice in an hour
That's 2160 theoretical guests per hour with 3 trains.

4 trains will be higher, but that math is more complicated than the 3 train numbers so I choose not to do them.

You need to look at how many times a gondola car will reach the station, and what kind of cycle times it will be. For that same loop I would guess somewhere around 30-40 minute full cycle time. If each gondola holds 20 passengers, and there are 60 gondolas on the system with 30 minute cycle that is roughly 1 gondola every minute. That means those 20 passengers need to disembark in 60 seconds regardless of if there is an ecv or wheelchair which take longer.
60 x 20 = 1200 guests per cycle
2 cycles at 30 minutes a cycle equals 2400 guests per hour
Yes that is more than 3 trains, but we can add another train, 2 trains, 3 trains, w/e. The gondola is theoretically fixed so what you build with is what you are stuck with.
Unless I'm way off with my math, and please correct me if I'm wrong, the gondolas are not more efficient at moving guests over the same distance as the monorail.

Needs to be an apples to apples comparison, and what I have done here is as close as I can come up with.

*edit* sorry if I derailed the thread further, I just like accurate information be delivered.

 

[Grimley1968]

Yes that is more than 3 trains, but we can add another train, 2 trains, 3 trains, w/e. The gondola is theoretically fixed so what you build with is what you are stuck with.

I don't understand this logic.

Both the monorail and the gondola system use/will use fixed lines, so it's no more difficult to add gondola cars versus adding monorail trains.

Actually, it would seem to be easier and far less expensive to add/remove gondola cars from service versus adding monorail trains.

Also, it would be far easier and less expensive to add future gondola lines than monorail beams. Heavy rail systems like the monorail are nowhere near as efficient to build or operate as lighter forms of transit (such as a gondola system).

 

[Figment2005]

I don't understand this logic.

Both the monorail and the gondola system use/will use fixed lines, so it's no more difficult to add gondola cars versus adding monorail trains.

Actually, it would seem to be easier and far less expensive to add/remove gondola cars from service versus adding monorail trains.

Also, it would be far easier and less expensive to add future gondola lines than monorail beams. Heavy rail systems like the monorail are nowhere near as efficient to build or operate as lighter forms of transit (such as a gondola system).

I'm not familiar with gondolas, but can cars be added to the cable at a whim? I know that the capacity of the express beam is 5 trains and it takes 5 minutes to add a train. I'm not seeing what logic you are not understanding.

 

[Daveeeeed]

I don't understand this logic.

Both the monorail and the gondola system use/will use fixed lines, so it's no more difficult to add gondola cars versus adding monorail trains.

Actually, it would seem to be easier and far less expensive to add/remove gondola cars from service versus adding monorail trains.

Also, it would be far easier and less expensive to add future gondola lines than monorail beams. Heavy rail systems like the monorail are nowhere near as efficient to build or operate as lighter forms of transit (such as a gondola system).

But there's a specific point for each of them.

Heavy rail transports the most, light rail is inferior, but cost less per Rider Per Hour.

They each have their purposes, but some people in this forum are saying that the monorail is pointless when it is not.", but the reason they are now using a gondola expansion vs. monorail is because it doesn't have to be heavy rail for its purpose therefor cutting down the cost tremendously.

 

[Andrew C]

Cars can be added and removed relatively easily based on systems I have been on. The cars are not permanently connected to a spot on the line. They can disconnect, like for loading/unloading.

 

[chiefs11]

I don't understand this logic.

Both the monorail and the gondola system use/will use fixed lines, so it's no more difficult to add gondola cars versus adding monorail trains.

Actually, it would seem to be easier and far less expensive to add/remove gondola cars from service versus adding monorail trains.

Yes and no. Any passengers per hour numbers for the gondola would be calculated with the max number of gondolas on the cable. But yes, the gondolas could be pulled and added back in much easier... however it would only be for reducing the load capacity during non-peak times, and then putting them back on for peak times. To me, it doesn't seem like doing so would really have much point to it, so I'm not sure why they'd bother. (I think they'd only pull off a car that isn't operating properly and replace it with a spare, or more likely, just leave an empty spot on the cable)

 

[Figment2005]

Cars can be added and removed relatively easily based on systems I have been on. The cars are not permanently connected to a spot on the line. They can disconnect, like for loading/unloading.

Okay, thank you for clearing that up for me.

 

[Grimley1968]

Much as I'd like to see monorail expansion to the other 2 parks, and some resorts, it's not going to happen. It's outrageously expensive and the engineering challenges are immense with that soil. It was one thing to build it in the 60's and 70's to make a big splash. It wouldn't make as big a splash these days to expand it and it would be many times more expensive than it was then.

The only place I can imagine light rail going would be possibly between AK and AKL, just to finally get AKL non-bus transportation to at least the closest park. But even then I can imagine some engineering obstacles.

A gondola system is (IMO) the best thing available, for a reasonable cost, to provide non-bus transportation to nearby parks for resorts that don't already have that.

 

[Creathir]

I'm not familiar with gondolas, but can cars be added to the cable at a whim? I know that the capacity of the express beam is 5 trains and it takes 5 minutes to add a train. I'm not seeing what logic you are not understanding.

They probably would use 10 passenger gondolas, and probably could have more than 60 on the line (LiftBlog guy would know for certain) however the max PPH per line is 3600 according to the manufacture, so unless you string muliple lines across the Seven Seas Lagoon and turn it into something that looks akin to the outside of a power substation, while destroying sight lines for the premier hotel properties looking at the most visited theme park in the world, it's just not going to happen.

Imagine how intimate those bungalow hot tubs are going to feel as some screaming 6 year old freaks out from being lifted 150' into the air... (assuming a single tower on the island in the middle of Seven Seas)

Romantic.

 

[Grimley1968]

They probably would use 10 passenger gondolas, and probably could have more than 60 on the line (LiftBlog guy would know for certain) however the max PPH per line is 3600 according to the manufacture, so unless you string muliple lines across the Seven Seas Lagoon and turn it into something that looks akin to the outside of a power substation, while destroying sight lines for the premier hotel properties looking at the most visited theme park in the world, it's just not going to happen.

Imagine how intimate those bungalow hot tubs are going to feel as some screaming 6 year old freaks out from being lifted 150' into the air... (assuming a single tower on the island in the middle of Seven Seas)

Romantic.

Just as I don't see monorail expansion happening anywhere else, I don't see gondola lines being strung up over Seven Seas lagoon. The planned lines are nowhere even close to MK or even any MK resorts.

 

[Bairstow]

How many mobility scooters will fit onto a 10-person gondola? One?

 

[chiefs11]

Just as I don't see monorail expansion happening anywhere else, I don't see gondola lines being strung up over Seven Seas lagoon. The planned lines are nowhere even close to MK or even any MK resorts.

That discussion was in response to a poster suggesting that gondolas could replace the existing monorail because it would be more efficient...so it wasn't really on topic with the actual happening gondola project.

 

[chiefs11]

How many mobility scooters will fit onto a 10-person gondola? One?

Yes, one. And it would probably turn it into a 5 or 6 person gondola