News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

[Movielover]

I want to summarize my concerns about the gondola at Pop Century here:

1. Without AC, it will be too hot. I only go to WDW in the summer, and it's always 95 by the afternoon, and I always travel back to the hotel in the afternoon to rest before heading back. But even in the morning, it is still rather hot being crammed in a bubble with 8 people all creating body heat and nothing but vents for cooling. The buses, in comparison, has powerful air conditioning.
2. The gondola will take too long from Pop to go to the 2 parks, I'm guessing about 15 minutes to HS and 22 minutes to Epcot, counting the transfer at Caribbean Beach and the stop at Rivera. (5 minutes each section, 5 minutes transfer, 2 minute stop at Rivera.) The buses currently take only 10 minutes.
3. The transfer is too crowded. The transfer station at Caribbean beach will be servicing 3 large hotels going to 2 parks all together. That's 6 bus stops full worth of people. Say if I want to go from Caribbean beach to HS, I will being joining the line not just from people from my own hotel but two others all come pouring into my gondola station. Normally, CB's different buildings have separate bus stops. Now they have to all walk or take their internal bus to get to the gondola station, fight the mob from Pop and AofA, and finally get to HS. That will take a lot longer than the bus. The Rivera won't have the problem going to Epcot, but they still need to transfer for HS. The gondola may reduce wait time, or it may extend it, depending on how fast it can load and unload.
4. Pop will raise the price to help pay for the gondola.

I can, of course, move to All Stars, but Pop has been my favorite resort for years, and it is such a shame that I can't stay there because of the gondola. Some people ask why worry about it now, when the gondola is still a year away? Because I have to plan my vacation a year ahead, so I need to decide soon if I want to change to All Stars.

Of course, one can hope that the gondola won't be that hot, and it won't take that long, and the transfer won't be too crowded, and the prices won't hike, and the overall experience will be an improvement over the buses.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I want to summarize my concerns about the gondola at Pop Century here:

1. Without AC, it will be too hot. I only go to WDW in the summer, and it's always 95 by the afternoon, and I always travel back to the hotel in the afternoon to rest before heading back. But even in the morning, it is still rather hot being crammed in a bubble with 8 people all creating body heat and nothing but vents for cooling. The buses, in comparison, has powerful air conditioning.
2. The gondola will take too long from Pop to go to the 2 parks, I'm guessing about 15 minutes to HS and 22 minutes to Epcot, counting the transfer at Caribbean Beach and the stop at Rivera. (5 minutes each section, 5 minutes transfer, 2 minute stop at Rivera.) The buses currently take only 10 minutes.
3. The transfer is too crowded. The transfer station at Caribbean beach will be servicing 3 large hotels going to 2 parks all together. That's 6 bus stops full worth of people. Say if I want to go from Caribbean beach to HS, I will being joining the line not just from people from my own hotel but two others all come pouring into my gondola station. Normally, CB's different buildings have separate bus stops. Now they have to all walk or take their internal bus to get to the gondola station, fight the mob from Pop and AofA, and finally get to HS. That will take a lot longer than the bus. The Rivera won't have the problem going to Epcot, but they still need to transfer for HS. The gondola may reduce wait time, or it may extend it, depending on how fast it can load and unload.
4. Pop will raise the price to help pay for the gondola.

I can, of course, move to All Stars, but Pop has been my favorite resort for years, and it is such a shame that I can't stay there because of the gondola. Some people ask why worry about it now, when the gondola is still a year away? Because I have to plan my vacation a year ahead, so I need to decide soon if I want to change to All Stars.

Of course, one can hope that the gondola won't be that hot, and it won't take that long, and the transfer won't be too crowded, and the prices won't hike, and the overall experience will be an improvement over the buses.

1. Won't be any hotter than waiting in 95 degree heat at a bus stop where there's no air moving. The gondolas create their own breeze.

2. The travel time by bus from Pop to DHS or Epcot is 15 minutes. Not 10. With buses coming every 20 minutes, your average wait is 10 minutes. Unless the bus is full, then the average wait for the second bus is 30 minutes. Not to mention the delay if there are any ECVs to load. So, at best, 25 minutes by bus. And if there is a big crowd in line for the gondola? The gondolas eat 200 people every 6 minutes.

3. Did I mention the gondolas eat 200 people every 6 minutes?

4. You're probably right about that one. But, for the increased fee, you get a better transportation amenity.

 

[cosmicgirl]

I want to summarize my concerns about the gondola at Pop Century here:

1. Without AC, it will be too hot. I only go to WDW in the summer, and it's always 95 by the afternoon, and I always travel back to the hotel in the afternoon to rest before heading back. But even in the morning, it is still rather hot being crammed in a bubble with 8 people all creating body heat and nothing but vents for cooling. The buses, in comparison, has powerful air conditioning.
2. The gondola will take too long from Pop to go to the 2 parks, I'm guessing about 15 minutes to HS and 22 minutes to Epcot, counting the transfer at Caribbean Beach and the stop at Rivera. (5 minutes each section, 5 minutes transfer, 2 minute stop at Rivera.) The buses currently take only 10 minutes.
3. The transfer is too crowded. The transfer station at Caribbean beach will be servicing 3 large hotels going to 2 parks all together. That's 6 bus stops full worth of people. Say if I want to go from Caribbean beach to HS, I will being joining the line not just from people from my own hotel but two others all come pouring into my gondola station. Normally, CB's different buildings have separate bus stops. Now they have to all walk or take their internal bus to get to the gondola station, fight the mob from Pop and AofA, and finally get to HS. That will take a lot longer than the bus. The Rivera won't have the problem going to Epcot, but they still need to transfer for HS. The gondola may reduce wait time, or it may extend it, depending on how fast it can load and unload.
4. Pop will raise the price to help pay for the gondola.

I can, of course, move to All Stars, but Pop has been my favorite resort for years, and it is such a shame that I can't stay there because of the gondola. Some people ask why worry about it now, when the gondola is still a year away? Because I have to plan my vacation a year ahead, so I need to decide soon if I want to change to All Stars.

Of course, one can hope that the gondola won't be that hot, and it won't take that long, and the transfer won't be too crowded, and the prices won't hike, and the overall experience will be an improvement over the buses.

Here's the good news: if you read the thread you'll see that all of your concerns have been addressed multiple times. The capacity of the system is much higher than six busloads, the system moves continually so there's no build-up like there is at the bus stops, and the travel time will be lower than your estimate. In addition, you will not have to wait 20 minutes for a bus to show up.

And here's the bad news: yes, there will be no A/C and as of now we don't know if they will charge a premium for gondola resorts, nor how high it would be. If those are issues you cannot overcome then fortunately there are many other resorts for you to choose from.

 

[marni1971]

4. Pop will raise the price to help pay for the gondola.
.

All serviced resorts will raise prices.

 

[GeneralKnowledge]

Has anyone else here read all 465 pages of this thread? I hope I’m the only one. It’d be a shame for more than one person to have wasted their time on such an endeavor.

 

[nickys]

Has anyone else here read all 465 pages of this thread? I hope I’m the only one. It’d be a shame for more than one person to have wasted their time on such an endeavor.

I suspect lots and lots of us.

When I started following there were around 50 pages. I read them over a couple of evenings and now catch up almost every day. It's certainly one of the few I make a point to follow. Don't always read every post in detail though .......

 

[Minthorne]

Has anyone else here read all 465 pages of this thread? I hope I’m the only one. It’d be a shame for more than one person to have wasted their time on such an endeavor.

I started reading this thread on the original post that morning in Feb.

 

[larryz]

I want to summarize my concerns about the gondola at Pop Century here:

1. Without AC, it will be too hot. I only go to WDW in the summer, and it's always 95 by the afternoon, and I always travel back to the hotel in the afternoon to rest before heading back. But even in the morning, it is still rather hot being crammed in a bubble with 8 people all creating body heat and nothing but vents for cooling. The buses, in comparison, has powerful air conditioning.
2. The gondola will take too long from Pop to go to the 2 parks, I'm guessing about 15 minutes to HS and 22 minutes to Epcot, counting the transfer at Caribbean Beach and the stop at Rivera. (5 minutes each section, 5 minutes transfer, 2 minute stop at Rivera.) The buses currently take only 10 minutes.
3. The transfer is too crowded. The transfer station at Caribbean beach will be servicing 3 large hotels going to 2 parks all together. That's 6 bus stops full worth of people. Say if I want to go from Caribbean beach to HS, I will being joining the line not just from people from my own hotel but two others all come pouring into my gondola station. Normally, CB's different buildings have separate bus stops. Now they have to all walk or take their internal bus to get to the gondola station, fight the mob from Pop and AofA, and finally get to HS. That will take a lot longer than the bus. The Rivera won't have the problem going to Epcot, but they still need to transfer for HS. The gondola may reduce wait time, or it may extend it, depending on how fast it can load and unload.
4. Pop will raise the price to help pay for the gondola.

I can, of course, move to All Stars, but Pop has been my favorite resort for years, and it is such a shame that I can't stay there because of the gondola. Some people ask why worry about it now, when the gondola is still a year away? Because I have to plan my vacation a year ahead, so I need to decide soon if I want to change to All Stars.

Of course, one can hope that the gondola won't be that hot, and it won't take that long, and the transfer won't be too crowded, and the prices won't hike, and the overall experience will be an improvement over the buses.

Don't get me wrong, @LovePop , I'm not laughing at your points, I'm laughing that you posted them apparently without reading any of the thread. As others have said, we've been there, done that, got the T-shirt many times over... in fact, we've got a whole drawerfull of Gondola T-shirts.

 

[GlacierGlacier]

That might be the longest lift terminal ever built. Not exaggerating.

For comparison, what are some other long lift terminals?

 

[Lift Blog]

For comparison, what are some other long lift terminals?

Middle stations are always long because they are basically two stations shoehorned together. Le Massif in Quebec has the longest one of those I can think of. We haven’t seen Riviera or Boardwalk yet but they are sure to be massive. Beaver Creek’s Centennial Express has probably the longest end terminals in the US.

 

[trainplane3]

Wheel is in place at DHS:

 

[The Mom]

Wheel is in place at DHS:

As I recall, someone (upon seeing the red wheels being transported) wondered if they would be visible? Now we know. Just as all questions will eventually be answered, and people will discover whether they really had any reason to be concerned about all of the possible problems mentioned here. But that would require a wait and see attitude which isn't nearly as much fun as presenting and arguing about worse case scenarios.

 

[Movielover]

But that would require a wait and see attitude which isn't nearly as much fun as presenting and arguing about worse case scenarios.

 

[GlacierGlacier]

As I recall, someone (upon seeing the red wheels being transported) wondered if they would be visible? Now we know. Just as all questions will eventually be answered, and people will discover whether they really had any reason to be concerned about all of the possible problems mentioned here. But that would require a wait and see attitude which isn't nearly as much fun as presenting and arguing about worse case scenarios.

That would be me that asked

They truly are beautiful little things.

But yeah, there's no reason for people to angrily argue about AC/Height/Ride time when everyone is going to find out in about a year-ish.

 

[trainplane3]

As I recall, someone (upon seeing the red wheels being transported) wondered if they would be visible? Now we know. Just as all questions will eventually be answered, and people will discover whether they really had any reason to be concerned about all of the possible problems mentioned here. But that would require a wait and see attitude which isn't nearly as much fun as presenting and arguing about worse case scenarios.

I think that person was me actually. And someone mentioned that depending how the station was designed, they could still be covered underneath.

Also, get that logic out of here. We have to be as irrational as possible!

 

[LovePop]

1. Won't be any hotter than waiting in 95 degree heat at a bus stop where there's no air moving. The gondolas create their own breeze.

2. The travel time by bus from Pop to DHS or Epcot is 15 minutes. Not 10. With buses coming every 20 minutes, your average wait is 10 minutes. Unless the bus is full, then the average wait for the second bus is 30 minutes. Not to mention the delay if there are any ECVs to load. So, at best, 25 minutes by bus. And if there is a big crowd in line for the gondola? The gondolas eat 200 people every 6 minutes.

3. Did I mention the gondolas eat 200 people every 6 minutes?

4. You're probably right about that one. But, for the increased fee, you get a better transportation amenity.

The gondola is much worse than waiting in the sun at the bus stop because of the enclosure. It gets extremely stuffy in there, even with vents, fast, because of the enclosure and the number of people stuffed in. I know because I rode gondolas in Hong Kong, where I come from. And that's why I'm freaking out about it. Even if it's no worse than waiting in the hot sun, it is majorly horrible that instead of the powerful air conditioning, one get to "wait in the hot sun" all the way to HS and Epcot. We lost the air conditioning, and in Florida!!!!! That is the worst downgrade ever.
The travel time by bus from Pop to DHS used to be 8 minutes. I know because I timed it many times. Google map says 2.5 miles, 8 minutes. Last summer, it took longer because of a big long wait at some intersection due to construction (probably of the gondola.) Sometimes we waited 5 minutes just at one intersection. But that should be done by now. However, Disney may be redesigning the roads so that you can only go the long way now because last summer, we took a different way to HS. Even then, it was 10 minutes, same as Epcot.
The buses do not come every 20 minutes. In the morning and evenings, it comes about every 7 or fewer minutes. Otherwise, it would never be able to haul the whole crowd out of there. Furthermore, being that there is a computer board announcing the arrival of the bus, during the day people often relax in the air conditioned lobby and only go out to the bus stop when the bus is getting close. During our last summer trip, I counted 8 times when the bus was already there and we ran after it and caught it!
The gondola will also have to load scooters. If the gondola loads faster than your average gondola, than at least we don't have to wait long to get on it. In Hong Kong, the wait for the gondola is often 45 minutes, and that crowd doesn't even compare to Disney.

Conclusion: the gondola is NOT better transportation, at least not for us. It will be the new sauna style of getting to HS and EP, just like the boats that go from EP to HS. I hate those boats! I only take them in the mornings and evenings when it's not near as hot, and even then, I hate them because they are hot and stuffy and dingy, like some cheap public transportation. But, the people in the 5 deluxe resorts along the way sure don't seem to mind! My kids refuse to even ride taxis because their air conditioning is often weak compared to the buses. Therefore, I agree with you on this: Disney will have not trouble marketing the idea that the gondola is "a better transportation amenity." People will be happy to pay more to stay at Pop (and AofA and CBR) and cook themselves all the way to EPCOT while enjoying the "bird's eye view."

 

[nickys]

The gondola is much worse than waiting in the sun at the bus stop because of the enclosure. It gets extremely stuffy in there, even with vents, fast, because of the enclosure and the number of people stuffed in. I know because I rode gondolas in Hong Kong, where I come from. And that's why I'm freaking out about it. Even if it's no worse than waiting in the hot sun, it is majorly horrible that instead of the powerful air conditioning, one get to "wait in the hot sun" all the way to HS and Epcot. We lost the air conditioning, and in Florida!!!!! That is the worst downgrade ever.
The travel time by bus from Pop to DHS used to be 8 minutes. I know because I timed it many times. Google map says 2.5 miles, 8 minutes. Last summer, it took longer because of a big long wait at some intersection due to construction (probably of the gondola.) Sometimes we waited 5 minutes just at one intersection. But that should be done by now. However, Disney may be redesigning the roads so that you can only go the long way now because last summer, we took a different way to HS. Even then, it was 10 minutes, same as Epcot.
The buses do not come every 20 minutes. In the morning and evenings, it comes about every 7 or fewer minutes. Otherwise, it would never be able to haul the whole crowd out of there. Furthermore, being that there is a computer board announcing the arrival of the bus, during the day people often relax in the air conditioned lobby and only go out to the bus stop when the bus is getting close. During our last summer trip, I counted 8 times when the bus was already there and we ran after it and caught it!
The gondola will also have to load scooters. If the gondola loads faster than your average gondola, than at least we don't have to wait long to get on it. In Hong Kong, the wait for the gondola is often 45 minutes, and that crowd doesn't even compare to Disney.

Conclusion: the gondola is NOT better transportation, at least not for us. It will be the new sauna style of getting to HS and EP, just like the boats that go from EP to HS. I hate those boats! I only take them in the mornings and evenings when it's not near as hot, and even then, I hate them because they are hot and stuffy and dingy, like some cheap public transportation. But, the people in the 5 deluxe resorts along the way sure don't seem to mind! My kids refuse to even ride taxis because their air conditioning is often weak compared to the buses. Therefore, I agree with you on this: Disney will have not trouble marketing the idea that the gondola is "a better transportation amenity." People will be happy to pay more to stay at Pop (and AofA and CBR) and cook themselves all the way to EPCOT while enjoying the "bird's eye view."

If that's what you have chosen to believe, despite the fact the system is still a year out from being operational, and your experience of the gondola system in Hong Kong has very little (if any) relevance to a purpose designed and built system for WDW, then don't stay at one of those resorts.

It's really quite simple!

Of course, you could decide that you'll try it and see for yourself. Knowing that as a last resort there's always Uber, Minnie Vans or other similar modes of transport should the gondolas not be to your liking.

 

[DisneyCane]

I know that when skiing you are bundled up but the gondolas at ski resorts get stuffy unless the windows are cracked when it is 25 degrees outside in the morning.

 

[Movielover]

The gondola is much worse than waiting in the sun at the bus stop because of the enclosure. It gets extremely stuffy in there, even with vents, fast, because of the enclosure and the number of people stuffed in. I know because I rode gondolas in Hong Kong, where I come from. And that's why I'm freaking out about it. Even if it's no worse than waiting in the hot sun, it is majorly horrible that instead of the powerful air conditioning, one get to "wait in the hot sun" all the way to HS and Epcot. We lost the air conditioning, and in Florida!!!!! That is the worst downgrade ever.
The travel time by bus from Pop to DHS used to be 8 minutes. I know because I timed it many times. Google map says 2.5 miles, 8 minutes. Last summer, it took longer because of a big long wait at some intersection due to construction (probably of the gondola.) Sometimes we waited 5 minutes just at one intersection. But that should be done by now. However, Disney may be redesigning the roads so that you can only go the long way now because last summer, we took a different way to HS. Even then, it was 10 minutes, same as Epcot.
The buses do not come every 20 minutes. In the morning and evenings, it comes about every 7 or fewer minutes. Otherwise, it would never be able to haul the whole crowd out of there. Furthermore, being that there is a computer board announcing the arrival of the bus, during the day people often relax in the air conditioned lobby and only go out to the bus stop when the bus is getting close. During our last summer trip, I counted 8 times when the bus was already there and we ran after it and caught it!
The gondola will also have to load scooters. If the gondola loads faster than your average gondola, than at least we don't have to wait long to get on it. In Hong Kong, the wait for the gondola is often 45 minutes, and that crowd doesn't even compare to Disney.

Conclusion: the gondola is NOT better transportation, at least not for us. It will be the new sauna style of getting to HS and EP, just like the boats that go from EP to HS. I hate those boats! I only take them in the mornings and evenings when it's not near as hot, and even then, I hate them because they are hot and stuffy and dingy, like some cheap public transportation. But, the people in the 5 deluxe resorts along the way sure don't seem to mind! My kids refuse to even ride taxis because their air conditioning is often weak compared to the buses. Therefore, I agree with you on this: Disney will have not trouble marketing the idea that the gondola is "a better transportation amenity." People will be happy to pay more to stay at Pop (and AofA and CBR) and cook themselves all the way to EPCOT while enjoying the "bird's eye view."

Passing judgment on a mode of transportation that they have not even experienced yet...

 

[GoofGoof]

I want to summarize my concerns about the gondola at Pop Century here:

1. Without AC, it will be too hot. I only go to WDW in the summer, and it's always 95 by the afternoon, and I always travel back to the hotel in the afternoon to rest before heading back. But even in the morning, it is still rather hot being crammed in a bubble with 8 people all creating body heat and nothing but vents for cooling. The buses, in comparison, has powerful air conditioning.
2. The gondola will take too long from Pop to go to the 2 parks, I'm guessing about 15 minutes to HS and 22 minutes to Epcot, counting the transfer at Caribbean Beach and the stop at Rivera. (5 minutes each section, 5 minutes transfer, 2 minute stop at Rivera.) The buses currently take only 10 minutes.
3. The transfer is too crowded. The transfer station at Caribbean beach will be servicing 3 large hotels going to 2 parks all together. That's 6 bus stops full worth of people. Say if I want to go from Caribbean beach to HS, I will being joining the line not just from people from my own hotel but two others all come pouring into my gondola station. Normally, CB's different buildings have separate bus stops. Now they have to all walk or take their internal bus to get to the gondola station, fight the mob from Pop and AofA, and finally get to HS. That will take a lot longer than the bus. The Rivera won't have the problem going to Epcot, but they still need to transfer for HS. The gondola may reduce wait time, or it may extend it, depending on how fast it can load and unload.
4. Pop will raise the price to help pay for the gondola.

I can, of course, move to All Stars, but Pop has been my favorite resort for years, and it is such a shame that I can't stay there because of the gondola. Some people ask why worry about it now, when the gondola is still a year away? Because I have to plan my vacation a year ahead, so I need to decide soon if I want to change to All Stars.

Of course, one can hope that the gondola won't be that hot, and it won't take that long, and the transfer won't be too crowded, and the prices won't hike, and the overall experience will be an improvement over the buses.

1). I have to admit that in the heat of summer that blast of cool AC on the bus is very refreshing. Standing in a crowd waiting for the bus is not fun. If you drive it’s also refreshing when the parking tram starts moving and you get a nice breeze even without AC. I know it’s been talked about quite a bit on this thread, but to summarize don’t think of the gondola like getting into a parked car in the summer. The system is in constant motion so you won’t get that same heated stale air you get from a parked car that’s sealed up and baking in the sun.

2). Your math is off. The bus ride itself may be 10 minutes but you could have to wait 20 minutes or more for the bus to come. On average it’s likely more like 20 to 30 mins by bus. In most cases the gondola will likely be about the same or faster than the bus. For EPCOT you will get dropped off at the other end of the park so in theory getting to Spaceship Earth will take longer than the bus did, but it will be quicker to get to WS for dinner or a drink.

3) The gondola has high capacity. It should reduce or eliminate the wait times except maybe at peak times like park open and close. Even then most people will wait on average 10 mins for the bus to come. As @MisterPenguin said the system eats 200 people every 6 minutes so roughly 400 people get on in the time you would be waiting for that bus to come. There would be multiple buses serving CBR, AoA/Pop and Riviera but even if there were 4 to 6 buses coming to those 2 parks for those 2 or 3 resort areas (not sure if Riviera will get its own bus or be lumped in with someone else) that’s way less capacity than the 400 people who boarded the gondola and if you don’t fit on the bus you wait an additional 20 minutes for the next one while the gondola is continuous loading.

4). Yep, the price will go up, but you gain a unique and easier transport method to 2 parks plus it gives guests at Pop/AoA and CBR a much more convenient trip to the boardwalk area for meals and entertainment. No more taking 2 buses to get to a popular restaurant or Jellyrolls. It also makes for a pleasant return from Illuminations at night by ducking out the back entrance and hopping on the gondola. No need to trek to the front of the park and fight the crowds waiting for a bus.