News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

AEfx

AEfx

Well-Known Member
Goofyernmost said:
The report is about 5 minutes between stops (transfers or destination)
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Wow. I'm still trying to get my head around the entire thing. There was such a flurry of announcements and I wasn't on the site much at the time so I'm still catching up on the details. This one felt very out of left field to me, even though I know there were whispers. The timing just took me aback most of all.

On one hand, it sounds awesome - just for the views. I'm not terribly concerned about sight lines, etc. - I think it is a tiny bit cheesy in a certain way, but eh...it's a group of theme parks.

On the other, I see there has been a bit of...controversy about some of the technical aspects. I can say, that's where my thoughts immediately went as well. I'm not sure what parts were so controversial about A/C (it's just not a technical possibility at this scale, and doesn't make sense for such a brief trip), but I do expect some light power fans or something in there. Perhaps even small guest controlled ones (one can run on AA batteries in the palm of your hand, surely they can provide that much power).

That said...given current events, the weather is what sticks in my mind. It's just so volatile down there even as a matter of course. Not to mention keeping it up 365 days a year. I'm not a skier but I grew up in resort towns, and the reason they work so well is that they only run a few months out of the year and have full-time maintenance staff working on them daily doing preventative measures to keep them operational. I'm interested hearing about some of these other systems closer to what Disney is doing.

There is also part of me that is a bit afraid that in five or ten years we are going to be joking about the empty pylons...for one reason or another.
 
T

TrojanUSC

Well-Known Member
AEfx said:
On the other, I see there has been a bit of...controversy about some of the technical aspects. I can say, that's where my thoughts immediately went as well. I'm not sure what parts were so controversial about A/C (it's just not a technical possibility at this scale, and doesn't make sense for such a brief trip), but I do expect some light power fans or something in there. Perhaps even small guest controlled ones (one can run on AA batteries in the palm of your hand, surely they can provide that much power).

That said...given current events, the weather is what sticks in my mind. It's just so volatile down there even as a matter of course. Not to mention keeping it up 365 days a year. I'm not a skier but I grew up in resort towns, and the reason they work so well is that they only run a few months out of the year and have full-time maintenance staff working on them daily doing preventative measures to keep them operational. I'm interested hearing about some of these other systems closer to what Disney is doing.
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The fans won't be necessary as there will be a breeze in the cabin due to properly designed ventilation. Also a fan that small is likely to cause issues, either with a guest breaking it, trying to steal it or a child sticking something in it.

As far as the upkeep, this is a resort that employees full-time maintenance teams for the one of the largest marine vessel fleets in the world (over 750 vessels), countless trains, busses, ride vehicles etc. Keeping a state-of-the-art gondola system running 365 days a year is a piece of cake compared to that - and even if there is a week or two when the system must go down for maintenance, they have a backup in the existing bus system.
 
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AEfx

AEfx

Well-Known Member
trojanjustin said:
The fans won't be necessary as there will be a breeze in the cabin due to properly designed ventilation. Also a fan that small is likely to cause issues, either with a guest breaking it, trying to steal it or a child sticking something in it.
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I didn't say actually one of those small portable fans. I'm comparing power usage. Clearly anything would be part of the hardware.

trojanjustin said:
As far as the upkeep, this is a resort that employees full-time maintenance teams for the one of the largest marine vessel fleets in the world (over 750 vessels), countless trains, busses, ride vehicles etc. Keeping a state-of-the-art gondola system running 365 days a year is a piece of cake compared to that - and even if there is a week or two when the system must go down for maintenance, they have a backup in the existing bus system.
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I'm well aware. In no way did I suggest anything otherwise.
 
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AEfx

AEfx

Well-Known Member
mickEblu said:
Hmmmm. What do you know? This is sounding like that "explosive" thing Spirit may be researching. Of all the IPs, Marvel feels the least Disney to me. Unfortunately, the damage has been done with TOT at DCA. Anyway, Star Wars gives them enough "boy" IP for the next 3 life times. It's also interesting to note that they acquired Marvel before Lucasfilm. Maybe Marvel is expendable now? Would they still have purchased Marvel if the Lucasfilm acquisition came first? Summer of Heroes at DCA was also a big flop but I doubt that would have anything to do with it.
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Marvel is in no way, shape, or form "expendable" to the WDC. At $12.5 Billion and counting, t's the most financially successful film franchise in cinema history by a huge margin. Disney isn't letting it get away anytime soon.

Bocabear said:
only time the prices were hit hard was during the 9/11 attack...and even then I don't remember prices ever being $28....that's the price soft drinks for a family of 4....no way would they do a hotel that cheap unless there was some special deal...not to the general public...not ever....
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That low? No, but $47-49 for Pop happened quite a bit.
 
raymusiccity

raymusiccity

Well-Known Member
AEfx said:
Wow. I'm still trying to get my head around the entire thing. There was such a flurry of announcements and I wasn't on the site much at the time so I'm still catching up on the details. This one felt very out of left field to me, even though I know there were whispers. The timing just took me aback most of all.

On one hand, it sounds awesome - just for the views. I'm not terribly concerned about sight lines, etc. - I think it is a tiny bit cheesy in a certain way, but eh...it's a group of theme parks.

On the other, I see there has been a bit of...controversy about some of the technical aspects. I can say, that's where my thoughts immediately went as well. I'm not sure what parts were so controversial about A/C (it's just not a technical possibility at this scale, and doesn't make sense for such a brief trip), but I do expect some light power fans or something in there. Perhaps even small guest controlled ones (one can run on AA batteries in the palm of your hand, surely they can provide that much power).

That said...given current events, the weather is what sticks in my mind. It's just so volatile down there even as a matter of course. Not to mention keeping it up 365 days a year. I'm not a skier but I grew up in resort towns, and the reason they work so well is that they only run a few months out of the year and have full-time maintenance staff working on them daily doing preventative measures to keep them operational. I'm interested hearing about some of these other systems closer to what Disney is doing.

There is also part of me that is a bit afraid that in five or ten years we are going to be joking about the empty pylons...for one reason or another.
Click to expand...

I think it's time to verify the rumor of the 'footings' that have been spotted for future gondola expansion to Animal Kingdom Lodge ! ;)
 
MisterPenguin

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
AEfx said:
Wow. I'm still trying to get my head around the entire thing. There was such a flurry of announcements and I wasn't on the site much at the time so I'm still catching up on the details. This one felt very out of left field to me, even though I know there were whispers. The timing just took me aback most of all.
Click to expand...

Well... the entire thread is still available to read...
 
danlb_2000

danlb_2000

Premium Member
Original Poster
AEfx said:
Wow. I'm still trying to get my head around the entire thing. There was such a flurry of announcements and I wasn't on the site much at the time so I'm still catching up on the details. This one felt very out of left field to me, even though I know there were whispers. The timing just took me aback most of all.

On one hand, it sounds awesome - just for the views. I'm not terribly concerned about sight lines, etc. - I think it is a tiny bit cheesy in a certain way, but eh...it's a group of theme parks.

On the other, I see there has been a bit of...controversy about some of the technical aspects. I can say, that's where my thoughts immediately went as well. I'm not sure what parts were so controversial about A/C (it's just not a technical possibility at this scale, and doesn't make sense for such a brief trip), but I do expect some light power fans or something in there. Perhaps even small guest controlled ones (one can run on AA batteries in the palm of your hand, surely they can provide that much power).

That said...given current events, the weather is what sticks in my mind. It's just so volatile down there even as a matter of course. Not to mention keeping it up 365 days a year. I'm not a skier but I grew up in resort towns, and the reason they work so well is that they only run a few months out of the year and have full-time maintenance staff working on them daily doing preventative measures to keep them operational. I'm interested hearing about some of these other systems closer to what Disney is doing.

There is also part of me that is a bit afraid that in five or ten years we are going to be joking about the empty pylons...for one reason or another.
Click to expand...

Gondola's are becoming much more common in urban areas where they run 365 days a year and there are ski resorts that run them outside of the ski season so I am not really concerned about their ability to handle year round operation.
 
MisterPenguin

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
BoardWalk Turning Station Update

So, I went for a walk to check out progress on the BoardWalk Turning Station. Standing here..

upload_2017-9-7_14-18-31.png


I saw pretty much nothing happening...

upload_2017-9-7_14-19-15.jpeg


However, at the other end of the pond, there have been some trees cut down...

upload_2017-9-7_14-20-41.png


I'm guessing that that area is being cleared a bit so that the construction equipment sitting in BoardWalk's parking lot can get around the lake to the side facing the highway.
 
AEfx

AEfx

Well-Known Member
danlb_2000 said:
Gondola's are becoming much more common in urban areas where they run 365 days a year and there are ski resorts that run them outside of the ski season so I am not really concerned about their ability to handle year round operation.
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Neither am I - which is why I said I am interested in hearing about some of these other newer systems and how they handle it. :)
 
larryz

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
Premium Member
Here's hoping that somewhere, there are geniuses watching the current storm situation and planning on how they'd react with a fully operational gondola system in place...
 
AEfx

AEfx

Well-Known Member
larryz said:
Here's hoping that somewhere, there are geniuses watching the current storm situation and planning on how they'd react with a fully operational gondola system in place...
Click to expand...

No need. TIL that the entire system will be encased in a magical force field that will prevent any and all possible issues that it could ever have. It is known.
 
truecoat

truecoat

Well-Known Member
larryz said:
Here's hoping that somewhere, there are geniuses watching the current storm situation and planning on how they'd react with a fully operational gondola system in place...
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It you're talking about hurricane, I'm sure the gondolas would all be stored offline but the liftguy knows more than me. They would also store the monorails and park the buses as none of these would operate in these conditions.
 
Lift Blog

Lift Blog

Well-Known Member
larryz said:
Here's hoping that somewhere, there are geniuses watching the current storm situation and planning on how they'd react with a fully operational gondola system in place...
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1) park cabins indoors
2) close weather doors (these cover the openings where the cable/grips enter the terminals) plus any other doors to the stations.
3) Put grounding clamps on.
4) Turn system off.
This only takes about 45 minutes. With the cabins off, the rope has basically no surface area to get blown around. The towers aren't going anywhere.
 
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AEfx

AEfx

Well-Known Member
Lift Blog said:
3) Put grounding clamps on.
Click to expand...

Can you explain this one a bit? Aside from a hurricane, central Florida has frequent and rather intense thunderstorms. In general operation, are they going to need to shut it down? As a layman, it seems like it's one big lightning rod. Presumably people inside the cabins would be protected, but I'm wondering how a system like this handles that sort of thing.
 
Lift Blog

Lift Blog

Well-Known Member

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