News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

[Goofyernmost]

I think this is part of where a lot of us are tainted by our memory of the MK Skyway and its need to shut down in virtually any "inclement" weather. This new gondola system would close for weather pretty infrequently, based upon the comments here by @Lift Blog , and others. It may be quite possible (and safe) to operate this system through most FL thunderstorms. Of course, if all that is incorrect, then much like with watercraft, bus alternatives will need to be available when the gondolas cannot operate, if not, I forsee Guest Relations comping some Minnie Van rides to some VERY unhappy guests. Especially since they will already being paying a premium, according to @WDW1974 , for the privilege of staying at a "Gondola resort."

Goofyernmost said: ↑
Skyway was closed down because they were wide open gondolas. Sideways rain and even regular hard rain would have rendered everyone on board completely soaked. Because they were open they couldn't be grounded properly, enclosed ones can be, I'm sure.

Just what I said on the last page.

 

[jt04]

Wrong.

It is impossible they won't provide transportation no matter what you might be hearing. There would be chaos.

 

[danlb_2000]

It is impossible they won't provide transportation no matter what you might be hearing. There would be chaos.

So how exactly do you see that working? Disney will have dozens of busses and drivers just sitting around waiting until a storm comes along that requires the line to be shut down?

 

[jt04]

So how exactly do you see that working? Disney will have dozens of busses and drivers just sitting around waiting until a storm comes along that requires the line to be shut down?

I think they will create flex schedules or overlapping schedules during the summer afternoons.

In time busses will be driver-less so that is also a solution.

 

[danlb_2000]

I think they will create flex schedules or overlapping schedules during the summer afternoons.

In time busses will be driver-less so that is also a solution.

Still means having extra buses and drivers ready for a good numbers of hours a day, I just don't see them putting out the money to do that.

I also don't know how much driverless busses will save. You still have the cost of the buses and maintenance, and if there are no drivers they would probably need to always have staff at the bus stops.

 

[jt04]

Still means having extra buses and drivers ready for a good numbers of hours a day, I just don't see them putting out the money to do that.

I also don't know how much driverless busses will save. You still have the cost of the buses and maintenance, and if there are no drivers they would probably need to always have staff at the bus stops.

I just know they can't leave guests without a transportation option. It will be interesting.

 

[danlb_2000]

I just know they can't leave guests without a transportation option. It will be interesting.

There will be plenty of options. Take a bus to another destination and transfer, mini-van, cab, uber, or wait for the gondola to start back up.

 

[jt04]

There will be plenty of options. Take a bus to another destination and transfer, mini-van, cab, uber, or wait for the gondola to start back up.

Riviera needs a tunnel to WS.

 

[GoofGoof]

I just know they can't leave guests without a transportation option. It will be interesting.

I can only see them bringing in busses if the system is down for maintenance issues and will be down for a long while. That's what they do with the monorail.

 

[tl77]

Speak for yourself, I was flying in a lighting storm once and was spectacularly beautiful!

I've been on a plane in a storm once too, and while it was so intriguing that I video taped it out the window... it was a little nerve-wracking as well, I prefer "lighting-free plane rides"

 

[tl77]

Take a bus to MK, then take the monorail to Epcot...

might be faster to walk

 

[flynnibus]

Disney uses dynamic bus routing anyways... they could pull 3-5 buses out of rotation elsewhere on demand. There is no need to beat this to death. They can do EITHER... with just the whim of the transportation director. The buses would be taken from other routes in less demand at that time of day. This isn't prepping for nuclear war.

 

[marni1971]

It is impossible they won't provide transportation no matter what you might be hearing. There would be chaos.

There won't be busses on standby. I didn't hear it.

 

[Next Big Thing]

There won't be busses on standby. I didn't hear it.

Sure buses won't be on "Stand-by", but I find it incredibly unlikely that they won't provide buses if/when the Gondolas go down. They may try to get away with it when the system first goes up, but I can guarantee it won't work.

 

[marni1971]

Sure buses won't be on "Stand-by", but I find it incredibly unlikely that they won't provide buses if/when the Gondolas go down. They may try to get away with it when the system first goes up, but I can guarantee it won't work.

I know.

 

[Movielover]

Wise pilots avoid flying "in" lightning storms, since they're usually associated with thunderstorms. Flying around/between is generally accepted as a "best practice" as long as they can stay out from under the anvils.

Well we were landing, and we were in the middle of the storm so...

 

[GCTales]

Sure buses won't be on "Stand-by", but I find it incredibly unlikely that they won't provide buses if/when the Gondolas go down. They may try to get away with it when the system first goes up, but I can guarantee it won't work.

I would anticipate that if the gondolas were expected to be down for more than... Say 30 minutes or more, they would start to divert busses....

If it is only down for 20 minutes, it would be less than the walk to the front of EPCOT an a normal bus wait. Similar situation for DHS.

With how fast the afternoon storms pass, I don't see the gondolas being down for an hour or longer.

I see maybe 15 minutes.. Then back open.


Then again, I am not looking for excuses why this will not work.

 

[Minthorne]

Gondolas are an attempt to reduce attendance; either you won't go because you don't want to ride in one or you do go and you are trimmed from the count by the constant lightning strikes.

 

[mmascari]

I would expect that if the gondolas were expected to be down for more than... Say 30 minutes or more, they would start to divert busses....

If it is only down for 20 minutes, it would be less than the walk to the front of EPCOT an a normal bus wait. Similar situation for DHS.

With how fast the afternoon storms pass, I don't see the gondolas being down for an hour or longer.

I see maybe 15 minutes.. Then back open.

That's exactly what I was going to post. It's all a matter of how long service will be down.

• Down for less than 2 minutes because someone royally screwed up loading and tripped an emergency stop (rare), no buses.
• Down for 15 minutes for whatever reason, no buses.
• Down for 30 minutes for whatever reason, no buses.
• Projected to be down for more than 2 hours, buses diverted from other routes to cover.

Somewhere between 30 minutes and 2 hours it's interesting. The projected downtime needs to be serve enough to take the trouble to mess up other routes and divert buses. And also long enough to be worth the wait for a bus. Since it's easy to wait 20 minutes for a bus, the downtime would need to be projected at at least that long if not double or triple that.

For just a 20 minute downtime, say a storm, no need to replace with a bus that's going to take 20 minutes to show up anyway. Waiting for service to resume is just as fast as waiting for a bus to show up.

 

[DisneyJeff]

That's exactly what I was going to post. It's all a matter of how long service will be down.

• Down for less than 2 minutes because someone royally screwed up loading and tripped an emergency stop (rare), no buses.
• Down for 15 minutes for whatever reason, no buses.
• Down for 30 minutes for whatever reason, no buses.
• Projected to be down for more than 2 hours, buses diverted from other routes to cover.

Somewhere between 30 minutes and 2 hours it's interesting. The projected downtime needs to be serve enough to take the trouble to mess up other routes and divert buses. And also long enough to be worth the wait for a bus. Since it's easy to wait 20 minutes for a bus, the downtime would need to be projected at at least that long if not double or triple that.

For just a 20 minute downtime, say a storm, no need to replace with a bus that's going to take 20 minutes to show up anyway. Waiting for service to resume is just as fast as waiting for a bus to show up.

Also remember that the Epcot bus depot is nowhere near the Epcot Gondola station. I would say it would be at least a 15 minute walk. It would be easier if they ran busses from the Beach Club to Riviera/CBR and POP/AOA.