News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

[ford91exploder]

I was thinking...the resorts with alternate transportation to parks do not bus guests to those parks unless there are issues with that alternate transportation. BC/YC/BW/S/D don't have buses to Epcot or DHS - you walk or take the boat. Poly/CR/GF don't have buses to MK - you take the monorail or the boat (or walk from CR). Would they still have buses running from the gondola resorts since the gondola is a single form of transportation and those other resorts have two methods of accessing the parks? Several people I've discussed the gondola plan with have mentioned a fear of heights and that they would never step foot in a gondola (actually my daughter said,"no way - didn't you see Spiderman?"). Obviously if a person has a fear of heights/gondolas they could opt to stay at a different resort, but I was curious if they would keep the buses as well.

I doubt these will be high off the ground one for sight line reasons and second construction cost and weather resistance of the system

 

[MrHappy]

Supposedly, this is the system they are using.

https://www.doppelmayr.com/en/products/3s-gondola-lift/

Each gondola holds 35 passengers.

Moves at 8.5m/sec

Detatchable gondolas for staged loading

10,000ppl/hr (5,000ppl/hour each direction)

Can operate in up to 50mph winds

Thanks for sharing the link, some of the Gondola pictures that are going around here are giving me vertigo. I wasn't afraid of heights until I saw some of these insane mountain side pictures! As mentioned earlier in this thread, I would assume the Diz version will scoot as low to the ground as possible - for both sight-line concerns (seeing backstage stuff and behind facades) and the overall safety sensation of guests.

 

[G00fyDad]

At least some of the news outlets ran viable maps View attachment 189909

Based on that the system will load and unload in EPCOT behind Germany?

 

[ford91exploder]

Thanks for sharing the link, some of the Gondola pictures that are going around here are giving me vertigo. I wasn't afraid of heights until I saw some of these insane mountain side pictures! As mentioned earlier in this thread, I would assume the Diz version will scoot as low to the ground as possible - for both sight-line concerns (seeing backstage stuff and behind facades) and the overall safety sensation of guests.

Don't forget ease of rescue in the event of a drive system failure (lightning strike power outage) with a low elevation system extension ladders or bucket trucks could be used to evac

 

[JoeCamel]

I wonder if each cabin will be shaped like a mickey?

I just hope that do something unique with them decoratively (style, paint scheme, color, etc.) so it's not too generic

Maybe they will spring for these cars?

"The 7-Star VIP Jeweled Cabin is encrusted with Swarovski crystals inside and out. It also has a crystal panel glass floor, leather upholstered seats, a mini-bar and an iPod/iPhone docking station with sound system. The cable car operators are convinced that they will be carrying up to 1.7 million passengers a year in the foreseeable future. The Jewel LEDs of the gondolas sparkle like gems against the night sky – inspiring the name Jewel Cable Car Ride."

 

[rushtest4echo]

Construction costs for this system are tiny by Disney's standards. However, if a $4 million Vekoma Kiddie Mine Train costs Disney $80 million, I shudder to think what the costs will actually be for this thing (I'm obviously aware that the hardware itself is only a fraction of SDMT's costs, but it's a good example of what something costs to Disney vs a typical installation).

Still though, if this can account for 32 bus purchases and the associated traffic/running costs/staffing- they'll probably save a fortune. 32 buses (lets just assume 4 resorts X 2 routes X 4 buses per route) that's a few million a year in purchase/maintenance costs. Another few million a year in driver costs (much cheaper to just have 6-8 $10 an hour CM's staffing this). The "prestige" factor will likely let them jack up room rates by at least $10 per connected room- which would be $40,000 a night or close to $15 million a year if they can really pull that off. I'd say conservatively this can generate $20 million a year in offset costs, and even with Disney's ridiculous overspending on everything, this shouldn't cost more than $100 million to build. And of course, if this ends up being an alternative to adding a bus lane to Buena Vista Drive- it would be far cheaper to build this thing then to add a lane.

 

[MrHappy]

Don't forget ease of rescue in the event of a drive system failure (lightning strike power outage) with a low elevation system extension ladders or bucket trucks could be used to evac

Looking at dan's map (the one on the WDWMagic home page, and buried in the thread), the only real "scare" zone would be the line going to/from DHS, looks like a decent amount of swamp to hover over. I wonder if they'll clear a path and fill in with solid land the areas below the line that are swamp.

 

[rushtest4echo]

Based on that the system will load and unload in EPCOT behind Germany?

There's no way they'd run that layout. It would eliminate the entire boardwalk area and all of the associated boats. Come to think of it, this system would probably ease the burden on the Friendships as well. Maybe there are some cost savings there too.

 

[TiggerDad]

Looking at dan's map (the one on the WDWMagic home page, and buried in the thread), the only real "scare" zone would be the line going to/from DHS, looks like a decent amount of swamp to hover over. I wonder if they'll clear a path and fill in with solid land the areas below the line that are swamp.

the path through the swamp east of DHS is actually the key to figuring all of this out, because of how it aligned with the station at DHS and the new building at CBR. In the permit, it is being filled in with gravel.

 

[marni1971]

Based on that the system will load and unload in EPCOT behind Germany?

There's no way they'd run that layout..

It's wrong.

The layouts posted in this thread based on the permits are pretty accurate.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Scooters can't go on chair lifts at ski resorts....No law suits there. I'm sure there are plenty of examples where they're just not able to board, as long as you provide the customer with a viable alternative.

Skiing, by its nature, is not very accessible and therefore such accommodations would not be considered reasonable. That is irrelevant for this project. As has been stated many times, Doppemayr is able to do level loading. Getting a wheelchair on would be easier than any other mode of transit at Walt Disney World.

 

[TiggerDad]

Possibly not that high a capacity per gondola.

Is that due to American tourists at Disney being somewhat larger than typical European skiers, or a different physical gondola?

 

[rushtest4echo]

Skiing, by its nature, is not very accessible and therefore such accommodations would not be considered reasonable. That is irrelevant for this project. As has been stated many times, Doppemayr is able to do level loading. Getting a wheelchair on would be easier than any other mode of transit at Walt Disney World.

We don't need to make it any easier for the ECV crowd to get around, do we?

Every time I go to Paris, Hong Kong or Tokyo (or frankly any other big parks outside the US) I'm just flabbergasted at the lack strollers and ECV's clogging up the walkways. The rate of people using those things has got to be 90% lower than usage here in the states.

 

[DDLand]

We don't need to make it any easier for the ECV crowd to get around, do we?

Every time I go to Paris, Hong Kong or Tokyo (or frankly any other big parks outside the US) I'm just flabbergasted at the lack strollers and ECV's clogging up the walkways. The rate of people using those things has got to be 90% lower than usage here in the states.

Nah, just make it easier for them to get around and it becomes essentially a nonissue. Just like these Gondolas will do!

 

[Master Yoda]

We don't need to make it any easier for the ECV crowd to get around, do we?

Every time I go to Paris, Hong Kong or Tokyo (or frankly any other big parks outside the US) I'm just flabbergasted at the lack strollers and ECV's clogging up the walkways. The rate of people using those things has got to be 90% lower than usage here in the states.

Here is the thing... they are not going away here. If you can make loading a stroller, EVC or wheelchair as easy as pushing one down a sidewalk they will cease to be a burden to those that view them as such. The gondola system they seem to be considering would do just that.

 

[rushtest4echo]

I really hope this system DOESN'T get built, just for the fun of seeing 20+ years of forum rumors/complaining that will inevitably follow. It would be magical...

 

[ford91exploder]

Looking at dan's map (the one on the WDWMagic home page, and buried in the thread), the only real "scare" zone would be the line going to/from DHS, looks like a decent amount of swamp to hover over. I wonder if they'll clear a path and fill in with solid land the areas below the line that are swamp.

Disney will probably need to do that for construction access anyway and I doubt that the RCID fire Marshall would allow a 'helicopter only' zone for access to the cable cars in that area

 

[rushtest4echo]

Here is the thing... they are not going away here. If you can make loading a stroller, EVC or wheelchair as easy as pushing one down a sidewalk they will cease to be a burden to those that view them as such. The gondola system they seem to be considering would do just that.

True, I guess I'l just a bit touchy after watching a walking guest with a prosthetic leg being mowed down by an ECV from behind the other night, while the ECV drive beeped their stupid little horn at the disabled girl. They then proceeded to park their ECV in the middle of Tomorrowland's walkways and walk over to get in line for Buzz, leaving me to flag down an on-duty CM to remove the thing from the middle of the crowded walkway. I'd love to see the percentage of people who use ECV's for "convenience" vs "medical necessity". And obesity isn't a medical necessity...

 

[flynnibus]

CAN WE STOP THE ECV BATTLE BEFORE IT EVEN STARTS???

Come on people.. you're beating dead horses here and just derailing the thread. STOP. Have some self control.

 

[Seabasealpha1]

No. This is cheaper by a factor of 10. And it's much more flexible than the monorail. And the monorail actually kind of sucks as a practical mode of transportation.

So...wait...you're telling me that a car suspended up in the air by a cable is more flexible and practical than a monorail?

Care to elaborate? Asking purely out of curiosity...

And don't get me wrong...this will be great I'm sure...but I wonder if it's more of a band-aid...?