News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

[Skyman1971]

This is a great idea! I'm an avid skier and ride lifts all the time, and per mile traveled it's about as efficient and way of moving people there is (without tunneling, laying track etc.) And I love the ride too, I've missed the skyways ever since they removed them.
They will probably be standard high speed gondola types with a capacity of 3000-4000 an hour my guess.

 

[frankc]

Would it not make sense to have the BW/IG leg continue on to the front of EPCOT where a passenger could then transfer to the monorail and have access to MK. Just think how easy it would be to sell the DVC units by saying you could get to 3 parks without ever boarding a bus.

 

[Disney-Trains]

Without the rider's ability to choose a specific destination, which, I think, a respected insider has already said is very unlikely to happen, this would likely decrease the efficiency of the system. Imagine a large line at EPCOT to go to DHS, with nobody in line to go to the resorts. Those resort gondolas would be sent away empty when they could have been filled with people waiting in the DHS line. Could they then get off at the resort, and get on a different gondola to DHS? Yes, of course, but this would unnecessarily complicate the process. A single cable line from EPCOT to DHS with the option to get off at the CBR resort stations, if you choose, and a separate line from CBR South to AoA/Pop would seem to be the more efficient system if the gondola were to connect all of these destinations.

In theory... You could add direct cabins as needed. the cabins would be on the same cable, just routed to bypass the stations.

What you suggest, would get tricky in that you would have to see how many guests get off at CB and how many can board at CB Heading for Studios etc. A full tram approaches, 2 people get off "any parties of 2?"

But it also could be that all the lines are direct and EPCOT to DHS would require a transfer at a resort.

 

[Seabasealpha1]

Ok...so which system gets the title "highway in the sky" now?

 

[Tim Lohr]

A DVC at the Caribbean Beach resort now makes more sense... So expect that and Art of Animation to get more pricey now, because this seems really elaborate for just 2 value resorts and a moderate, but it'll be more fun to stay at Caribbean Beach with cable cars flying over your head... right?

 

[TabulaRasa]

No they're not (always overflowing). Not since the addition of dedicated Magic Kingdom busses for Kidani and Jambo.

Based on my experience, and the fact that there are still a lot of people in both Jambo and Kidani, they have always seemed full.

 

[DisneyOwl12]

In theory... You could add direct cabins as needed. the cabins would be on the same cable, just routed to bypass the stations.

What you suggest, would get tricky in that you would have to see how many guests get off at CB and how many can board at CB Heading for Studios etc. A full tram approaches, 2 people get off "any parties of 2?"

But it also could be that all the lines are direct and EPCOT to DHS would require a transfer at a resort.

I guess it depends on what type of gondola they put into place. If they go with a large capacity gondola, you're right, my thought likely wouldn't work. I'm picturing a gondola that fits around 8 people. This would allow for each gondola to carry one family (with stroller, backpacks, etc.) at a time, but with likely more gondolas on the line than would be present with a high capacity gondola system. Also, aside from park open/close, the likelihood of there being large lines at any of these stations, thereby taking up every single gondola that enters the station would be minimal. Any gondolas that make it through a station without riders getting on, would then be open to be loaded at a resort without someone having to disembark there. Someone posted a video of the Breckenridge gondola many pages back. This is what I would picture this system to look like, as opposed to a 30+ personal gondola. Skip to 2:20 or so of the video.

 

[Skyman1971]

Probably a 10 passenger, they seem popular now. And you can lift up a side of bench seating on most of the cabins and accommodate most strollers or a small scooter. It would half the capacity obviously

 

[marni1971]

@marni1971 - This puts me in mind of something you said recently regarding changes that could be coming to several resorts across property. Are they related?
Thanks!

Possibly. I can't say for sure but I can see some changes in resorts costs and designations.

 

[marni1971]

Would it not make sense to have the BW/IG leg continue on to the front of EPCOT where a passenger could then transfer to the monorail and have access to MK. Just think how easy it would be to sell the DVC units by saying you could get to 3 parks without ever boarding a bus.

It would make sense, but I've a.... hunch... other things may happen in the future.

 

[Mike730]

You folks need some data real bad. Channeling my inner @ParentsOf4 here:

DATA

Pop, AOA, and CBR are the DHS Resort Area. This area has the most rooms by far of any other resort area, and this is before the expansion of the CBR area. Of course, this does not take into account individual room occupancy, or average resort occupancy numbers, but it gives a decent estimate.

The gondola will service the Epcot Resort Area and DHS resort area, a combined 38% of total rooms at WDW resorts.

That is, the gondola will provide quick transportation for 38% of the WDW room capacity to 2 out of 4 Theme Parks.

This is certainly warranted and definitely significant.

 

[ford91exploder]

"On these routes" is the key phrase on why this project doesn't make 100% sense to me. We're talking about a very limited scope in terms of what destinations this infrastructure will service. For that reason, I question how much impact it can possibly have on the entire "system."

Considering CBR is rumored to be the site of a mega 'Moderate DVC' upgrades to transit infrastructure are probably essential to project success.

 

[ford91exploder]

Just a guess here but this is probably a "test" installation. They have the solid plan laid out and are positive it will work but they chose to implement this in a smaller scale to see how it will effect the system as a whole in real world situations. If it proves to work well they will probably roll this out resort-wide.

Agree and since this ONE project services nearly 40% of available rooms at WDW it makes sense to test it here with a project that has a relatively compact footprint.

 

[ford91exploder]

Without the rider's ability to choose a specific destination, which, I think, a respected insider has already said is very unlikely to happen, this would likely decrease the efficiency of the system. Imagine a large line at EPCOT to go to DHS, with nobody in line to go to the resorts. Those resort gondolas would be sent away empty when they could have been filled with people waiting in the DHS line. Could they then get off at the resort, and get on a different gondola to DHS? Yes, of course, but this would unnecessarily complicate the process. A single cable line from EPCOT to DHS with the option to get off at the CBR resort stations, if you choose, and a separate line from CBR South to AoA/Pop would seem to be the more efficient system if the gondola were to connect all of these destinations.

But with a 'new' car arriving every couple of minutes there is no problem with the occasional 'empty' as this system is more akin to an omnimover which never stops.

 

[ULPO46]

This has been one of the most enjoyable reads i have ever seen on this forum. But think about this folks, Florida is flat, WDW is flat. In order to make an efficient Gondola system it would have to be high in the sky, a little too high for some folks. This is like the addition of more miles to the Monorail system. It's been tossed around in board meetings but isn't an option due to the incident that caused the original Gondola in the MK to be closed. It's harder to open the door's of the monorail than an unpilotted Gondola. In terms of safety, Florida Weather, and the likes this is just but a rumor. There are separate Transportation projects in the works but a Gondola is not one them. Lighting and metal do not work well together.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I love this concept, I really do. It seems like a throwback to old Disney, utilizing many and all means of unique transportation.

 

[danlb_2000]

This has been one of the most enjoyable reads i have ever seen on this forum. But think about this folks, Florida is flat, WDW is flat. In order to make an efficient Gondola system it would have to be high in the sky, a little too high for some folks. This is like the addition of more miles to the Monorail system. It's been tossed around in board meetings but isn't an option due to the incident that caused the original Gondola in the MK to be closed. It's harder to open the door's of the monorail than an unpilotted Gondola. In terms of safety, Florida Weather, and the likes this is just but a rumor. There are separate Transportation projects in the works but a Gondola is not one them. Lighting and metal do not work well together.

All evidence is that this is happening. A number of sources have confirmed it and the permits have been filed. It doesn't really have to be that high, it only has to be high enough to pass over vehicles on the road. Except for possible in CBR it doesn't go over any buildings or trees.

 

[TimeTrip]

This has been one of the most enjoyable reads i have ever seen on this forum. But think about this folks, Florida is flat, WDW is flat. In order to make an efficient Gondola system it would have to be high in the sky

I don't understand that logic... why does it need to be high to be efficient?

 

[DisneyOwl12]

But with a 'new' car arriving every couple of minutes there is no problem with the occasional 'empty' as this system is more akin to an omnimover which never stops.

In the scenario that my previous reply was referring to, it was proposed that groups of three gondolas would arrive at a time, then later, another group of three would arrive. The fact that they would arrive in groups implies that there would be a gap between the next group, which would mean the system would not be an omnimover as we picture it at Disney, with a number of cars lined up, constantly being filled.

The system I'm envisioning this to be would act as an omnimover, but if there were dedicated gondolas for the resorts with nobody there to get on them, there would still be unused cars when they could be filled. It would be akin to the Haunted Mansion saying you could only use every second or third doom buggy because the others were reserved for some other use. It would cause unnecessary delays.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

This has been one of the most enjoyable reads i have ever seen on this forum. But think about this folks, Florida is flat, WDW is flat. In order to make an efficient Gondola system it would have to be high in the sky, a little too high for some folks.

That makes no sense, as for the most part, it wouldn't have to be more than 10-12 feet off the ground.