News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

[Goofyernmost]

And that this will be like riding in a bug zapper when there is lightning. We're all going to die!!!

Not to worry, the Disney policy is that everyone that dies in the gondola will have half of their unused portion of the ticket cost refunded to your family to help pay for burial expenses.

 

[Maeryk]

On the Crescent Lake side, the drainage canal crosses under the canal that connects the lake to World Showcase Lagoon.

Right. But it's not a direct connection.. there's an overflow/spillway involved.

 

[Maeryk]

Not to worry, the Disney policy is that everyone that dies in the gondola will have half of their unused portion of the ticket cost refunded to your family to help pay for burial expenses.

But only at the cheapest rate purchased.. so if you bought 7 day parhkoppers, and die on the fifth day, you get half of the 6th and 7th back.. so like.. 30 bucks.

 

[Dapper Dan]

Right. But it's not a direct connection.. there's an overflow/spillway involved.

A direct connection between what?

 

[Goofyernmost]

But only at the cheapest rate purchased.. so if you bought 7 day parhkoppers, and die on the fifth day, you get half of the 6th and 7th back.. so like.. 30 bucks.

Seems fair!

 

[Maeryk]

A direct connection between what?

The two water systems. The runoff/oveflow/ground drainage system, and the waterways serving DHS and Epcot for boat traffic (which includes the WS lagoon)

 

[cindy_k]

But only at the cheapest rate purchased.. so if you bought 7 day parhkoppers, and die on the fifth day, you get half of the 6th and 7th back.. so like.. 30 bucks.

That would be sad, even Phantom gives you your whole purchase amount back if you die while using their fireworks.

 

[truecoat]

Ok, so, it looks like if I am at Epcot, and would like a quick straight line transport to Hollywood, these are not the gondolas for me? I feel like with all the stops it has to make, the bus would be a much better option, heck even the boat seems better. I don't like the no AC/ heat and am just envisioning people pressed in a claustrophobia's nightmare.

You'd slow down through the CBR station and have one transfer, that'd be it.

 

[danlb_2000]

According to @Lift Blog Doppelmayr builds ski lifts in six months, which makes sense given that they need the work to be done by the time the snow comes. In this case they don't have to go up a mountain so construction will likely be less complicated, although the FL swamp land might require more elaborate underground work for the towers than a mountain.

Now I'll gladly admit that I haven't read all 250 pages of this thread, but I did do a search for keywords regarding a potential opening date and @SomeInternetGuy posted construction notices here which indicate that the station at Pop/AoA should be completed in a little over a year (at the latest). Given that this station will be on the water it is likely the second most complex to build with the transfer point at CBR likely requiring the most work.

Based on the ski resort analogy I believe they could have this up and running by Easter if they wanted to, but it all depends on the number of construction crews working simultaneously. Will they build the system one line at a time, or will they work on all segments at the same time? That'll probably be a whole lot easier to guess in a month or two. As for the construction notices: I'm too much of a newbie here to know how accurate the estimated end dates are. More experienced members may be able to be the judge of that.

ETA: I wanted to add that when booking CBR you get a notice saying that there will be construction until June 30, 2018 so the station should be completed by then, but I just checked and they'e removed the end date.

I am leaning towards 2019 for this to open. The 2018 date for AOA appears to be when the station structure will be complete, but equipment install may be in another permit. Disney may be waiting until winter 2018 to have Doppelmayr do their work since they won't have as much ski-resort work at that time. I have no confirmation of that, just speculation. The expiration dates on the construction notices give a pretty solid idea of when the work under the permit will need to be complete by, but it's not always clear what is included in the permit.

As for the CBR notice, that is probably just in reference to the work going on around Centertown. The gondola station is in a empty area so it they might not be including that in the date.

 

[danlb_2000]

Ok, so, it looks like if I am at Epcot, and would like a quick straight line transport to Hollywood, these are not the gondolas for me? I feel like with all the stops it has to make, the bus would be a much better option, heck even the boat seems better. I don't like the no AC/ heat and am just envisioning people pressed in a claustrophobia's nightmare.

Depending on crowds, gondola from Epcot to DHS would probably be about as fast if not faster then the boat assuming a boat is waiting at the dock. Since the gondola leaves from the international gateway, if you are in the front of the park, a bus might be faster.

 

[Dapper Dan]

The two water systems. The runoff/oveflow/ground drainage system, and the waterways serving DHS and Epcot for boat traffic (which includes the WS lagoon)

Right, and there's no reason why the couldn't do the same thing on the other side.

 

[The Mom]

Any further posts about gondola A/C will be deleted. Also, this thread is not about the WDW waterways. Thank you.

 

[Maeryk]

Depending on crowds, gondola from Epcot to DHS would probably be about as fast as a boat assuming a boat is waiting at the dock. Since the gondola leaves from the international gateway, if you are in the front of the park, a bus might be faster.

It has to be faster than a boat. The boat stops what, three times? Four? On the trip.

 

[danlb_2000]

It has to be faster than a boat. The boat stops what, three times? Four? On the trip.

The boat is about 20 minutes with the stops, so it will depend on how long you have to wait at the transfer station. I have also edited my post saying the gondola should be as fast if not faster then the boat.

 

[Dapper Dan]

It has to be faster than a boat. The boat stops what, three times? Four? On the trip.

The ride from Epcot to Hollywood Studios by boat takes about 15 minutes with the 3 stops in between. I can't see how a direct gondola line would be slower than that. I'm actually surprised they aren't doing one. Then again, I'm surprised they don't have an express boat that just goes between the two parks either. I guess these things are more for resort guests than park hoppers.

 

[danlb_2000]

The ride from Epcot to Hollywood Studios by boat takes about 15 minutes with the 3 stops in between. I can't see how a direct gondola line would be slower than that. I'm actually surprised they aren't doing one. Then again, I'm surprised they don't have an express boat that just goes between the two parks either. I guess these things are more for resort guests than park hoppers.

They are probably not doing a direct line since there is already an alternate form of transportation between the two parks, they are focusing on resort to park, not park to park. Even with the indirect route, the gondola should be about the same time if not less then the boat, unless it's really busy at the transfer station.

 

[djdan888]

Any further posts about gondola A/C will be deleted. Also, this thread is not about the WDW waterways. Thank you.

If this is a discussion about the Gondola system, why is A/C talk not allowed on it?

 

[danlb_2000]

If this is a discussion about the Gondola system, why is A/C talk not allowed on it?

Because it has lead to numerous angry arguments already.

 

[Notes from Neverland]

Realistically, walking should still beat all other modes of transportation when traveling between Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Still, taking a gondola does sound more fun, but that may depend on what the actual time between areas works out to be.

 

[Maeryk]

Realistically, walking should still beat all other modes of transportation when traveling between Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Still, taking a gondola does sound more fun, but that may depend on what the actual time between areas works out to be.

Walking is slower than the boats, at least in my experience.. but not by much. We left DHS at the same time as a boat (and we walk fairly quickly) and we ran into it coming back from epcot at about the inlet to y/b.