News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

[GoofGoof]

That's a good point thinking about when thunderstorms are most common. It got me wondering in what circumstances people would be most commonly heading to or from a park during a thunderstorm. I'm guessing that there wouldn't be a *lot* of people headed to the park during a thunderstorm and that a few buses could take care of that demand. I wonder if the biggest demand is when a thunderstorm spins up while people are at the park and people decide to bail out. If they anticipate the gondola being shut down for a significant amount of time buses are a fine alternative in this situation. I wonder about what they'd do about the International Gateway, though, since there isn't a convenient bus stop near there. I guess they could schedule service from one of the nearby resorts.

Do that many people bail out and go back to the hotel during a thunderstorm? Or maybe they'd announce that the gondola will be shutting down temporarily in 30 minutes and that would trigger the quitters to head back to the room *before* the gondola closed.

We usually just try to wait it out in a shop or restaurant or use the opportunity of reduced crowds to get more standby rides done.

I agree with @Goofyernmost that most people will hide out in an indoor ride, shop or restaurant and wait for the heavy rain to stop. Even people with ponchos on.

The one thing that probably drives people to move around a bunch during storms is FP and dining reservations. If you wanted to get to EPCOT for a 5pm dining reservation of FP for Frozen you might head to the gondolas at 4:30 despite a pending storm. I think the buses will have no problem filling in for those situations.

The intl gateway is an interesting problem. They will probably direct guests to BC and just add extra buses there or maybe Boardwalk. I can’t see them sending people back through the park.

 

[PizzaPlanet]

Thunder and lightning are connected. Typically if a business has a weather restriction it is based on the distance of lightning strikes not just hearing thunder. I assume the policy will have a limit on lightning strikes (something like 15 miles or closer) that will start the sutdown process and then a certain number of minutes lightning free before it reopens. Disney has all the equipment to track storms already so I imagine they will use it for this too.

I don’t think they will shut the gondolas down on days where thunderstorms are forecast. They will wait until the day and make the call on the spot, similar to certain rides, waterparks and the resort pools.

Lightning always comes before thunder.

 

[Beacon Joe]

This system is Air Conditioned and if you look at various pictures of it you can see the battery/capacitor and AC pods on the top and bottom of each cabin. Disney's do not have those additional units. These are also MGD line units. Disney is using D-Line Omega IV-10 units.

Good observation. And thanks for answering my question of whether or not the Macau gondolas are air-conditioned. Macau's average temperatures are actually a tad lower than Lake Buena Vista's.

Average Highs
January - Macau 66 F, WDW 71 F
April - Macau 78F, WDW 82F
July - Macau 89F, WDW 91F
October - Macau 83F, WDW 84F

 

[King Panda 77]

 

[DisneyCane]

11 mph.

It still should be slightly cooler than the outside temperature, plus you’ll be in shade and behind solar glass.

It might feel slightly cooler but it won't actually be any cooler than a shady spot outside.

 

[DisneyCane]

I am pretty sure many pages back Liftblog confirmed that while the system may technically be safe during a lightning storm the manufacturer does not suggest they are used during lightning storms. It is highly unlikely Disney takes that risk. They will also shut down for high winds. Again, the limitation of the system itself may be higher than guest comfort level so Disney will likely shut them down well prior to winds exceeding the thresholds for the system.

And since Central Florida is not typically to windy out is likely that the wind issues will coincide with the thunder storms.

 

[marni1971]

It might feel slightly cooler but it won't actually be any cooler than a shady spot outside.

Yup.

 

[Clamman73]

This is all an evil plan to get you to buy more misting fans.

 

[DisAl]

Thunder is created due to the electrical charge being released. Thunder is the result of lightning. You see the flash and hear the sound later due to the fact that light travels faster then sound. The less time between the flash and the sound indicates that the actual storm is closer to you. You might not hear the thunder at all if the lightning is far enough away that the sound dissipates into the atmosphere, but, it's is like the old song... Love and Marriage... You can't have one without the other. If you hear thunder you can rest assured that lightning was present. So called heat lightning is just regular lightning that didn't head toward the earth, but instead went horizontal without making contact with the ground. However, it is exactly the same thing and is usually created when a cold front meets a warm front and they "mingle".

No on your definition of heat lightning.
"Heat lightning" is just lightning that is too far away for the thunder to be heard. It does not matter at all if the lightning is cloud to ground or cloud to cloud, thunder is produced when the super heated air created by the lightning slams back together. That "rolling" thunder you hear is usually created by cloud to cloud lightning that can stretch for many miles. The thunder is created along a miles long wave front, thus the "rolling" effect. Cloud to ground lightning most often will sound like a single "boom".
Also, lightning does not have to strike the ground to be dangerous. Overhead cloud to cloud strikes can generate substantial induced voltage in any metallic object of sufficient size.

 

[Goofyernmost]

No on your definition of heat lightning.
"Heat lightning" is just lightning that is too far away for the thunder to be heard. It does not matter at all if the lightning is cloud to ground or cloud to cloud, thunder is produced when the super heated air created by the lightning slams back together. That "rolling" thunder you hear is usually created by cloud to cloud lightning that can stretch for many miles. The thunder is created along a miles long wave front, thus the "rolling" effect. Cloud to ground lightning most often will sound like a single "boom".
Also, lightning does not have to strike the ground to be dangerous. Overhead cloud to cloud strikes can generate substantial induced voltage in any metallic object of sufficient size.

I know that it produces sound... I never said it didn't. What I did say is that it is nothing special it is still lightning just to far away to hear... which is what you just said. So no... I was not wrong. Heat lightning really doesn't exist except in legend, but, lightning is lightning no matter what one calls it. That was my point as well as yours. Either one can kill you if it so chooses.

 

[winstongator]

That's a good point thinking about when thunderstorms are most common. It got me wondering in what circumstances people would be most commonly heading to or from a park during a thunderstorm. I'm guessing that there wouldn't be a *lot* of people headed to the park during a thunderstorm and that a few buses could take care of that demand. I wonder if the biggest demand is when a thunderstorm spins up while people are at the park and people decide to bail out. If they anticipate the gondola being shut down for a significant amount of time buses are a fine alternative in this situation. I wonder about what they'd do about the International Gateway, though, since there isn't a convenient bus stop near there. I guess they could schedule service from one of the nearby resorts.

Do that many people bail out and go back to the hotel during a thunderstorm? Or maybe they'd announce that the gondola will be shutting down temporarily in 30 minutes and that would trigger the quitters to head back to the room *before* the gondola closed.

We usually just try to wait it out in a shop or restaurant or use the opportunity of reduced crowds to get more standby rides done.

We were at Epcot for a huge thunderstorm. Monorail was closed - maybe got struck? I drove to Poly/Captain Cooks, family and friends took a bus. I beat them by a lot. It was 7ish during spring break 2016. We hunkered down for a bit at the shop by spaceship earth before leaving. Thunderstorms happen at all times. I leave the parks in the early afternoon all the time in the summer for nap/pool time. Stormy days would be mellow naptime.

 

[NormC]

And here is the latest forecast:
https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/Orlando+FL+USFL0372:1:US

 

[winstongator]

And here is the latest forecast:
https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/Orlando+FL+USFL0372:1:US

14/15 days with storms. Yup, summer in Florida. Also, feels like 96 at 10:30. Toasty

 

[DisAl]

I know that it produces sound... I never said it didn't. What I did say is that it is nothing special it is still lightning just to far away to hear... which is what you just said. So no... I was not wrong. Heat lightning really doesn't exist except in legend, but, lightning is lightning no matter what one calls it. That was my point as well as yours. Either one can kill you if it so chooses.

Maybe I did not understand what you said:
"So called heat lightning is just regular lightning that didn't head toward the earth, but instead went horizontal without making contact with the ground."
You are correct that all lightning makes thunder, but is does not matter whether it is cloud to cloud or cloud to ground. And as another poster mentioned you can see lighting over great distances if the weather is clear between you can the storm. I have personally seen lightning in storms that were over 100 miles away.

 

[The Mom]

PLEASE - no more discussions on A/C - it has already been discussed to death.

Most posters drop in to see construction photos, or updates on when this will be opening. Many get discouraged by checking in for the first time in a month or two - just to see the same arguments (and often with the same participants) from 18 months ago - for the 3rd or 4th or more time, with the same points and counter points.

And most are waiting for the gondolas to be operational to learn first (or second) hand whether their fears have been realized, or that things are working just fine.

 

[brb1006]

PLEASE - no more discussions on A/C - it has already been discussed to death.

THANK YOU! It's starting to get very old.

 

[GoofGoof]

And since Central Florida is not typically to windy out is likely that the wind issues will coincide with the thunder storms.

I agree and the downtime should be short as the storm blows through. Longer duration shut downs are possible on days when the remnants of a Hurricane/tropical storm move through. That’s not all that common and shouldn’t impact operations more than a few days a year.

What’s kinda cool is Disney is really taking the opportunity to showcase to Americans that gondolas aren’t just for ski resorts. We are a little behind other parts of the world. If this system is successful a lot of US cities planning urban skyways will have a good example to point at and it ultimately may help them get funding. Unfortunately, the same is true if it’s not as successful but in the other direction.

 

[lazyboy97o]

What’s kinda cool is Disney is really taking the opportunity to showcase to Americans that gondolas aren’t just for ski resorts. We are a little behind other parts of the world. If this system is successful a lot of US cities planning urban skyways will have a good example to point at and it ultimately may help them get funding. Unfortunately, the same is true if it’s not as successful but in the other direction.

Or, like with monorails, they could just be dismissed as amusement park rides.

 

[GoofGoof]

Or, like with monorails, they could just be dismissed as amusement park rides.

Fair point, but I think a lot of the urban gondolas under planning in the US lean more touristy than daily commute mass transit.

 

[Lensman]

Fair point, but I think a lot of the urban gondolas under planning in the US lean more touristy than daily commute mass transit.

I agree that the use of gondalas in public transportation is still pretty early stage. There aren't that many cities that commit to a new citywide transit system in a year or even a decade. And at 10-15 mph there's a limited niche that it can fill. Plus there's cost-vs-throughput where gondolas can provide high throughput but there probably aren't as many cases where that throughput is needed - especially with suburban sprawl.

I could have seen it being effective in Las Vegas except for the AC issue. I could also see it effective as a last-mile connector to connect airports and stadiums with public transit hubs. I could also see it more comprehensively effective in cities with terrain issues that a skyway can uniquely solve.

That said there are a several cities outside the U.S. that have deployed a comprehensive skyway system for urban transit, but I think in each case there were specific advantages that the skyway has that made it the compelling choice.