OT: I remember being in line for Carousel of Progress at 1964 NY World's Fair, when my father claimed he saw the building move. By the time we all looked it had stopped, and we all called him crazy because buildings don't move!
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News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -
- Thread starter danlb_2000
- Start date
Bender123
Well-Known Member
It isn't shortsighted of them to know that their funds aren't endless. Despite having a lot of money, they still need it to do something of value. Overspending on a transport system, just to get the same returns isn't a wise use of funds. Remember, the busses are expensive on a daily operational budget, they clog roadways that are increasingly being choked by cars, their cost fluctuates wildly with fuel prices, etc...
The problem with many of your suggestions go beyond money, but into the realm of whole cloth shutdowns and redesigns of the entire flow of the property. Lets look at "private" roads for the busses. You are now going to have new flyovers all over property, Resort internal roads would need a complete redesign and rebuild...to keep bus and pedestrian traffic away from the parking lots. The entire contemporary resort is now landlocked and stranded, unless you want to build another water bridge, which kills your ferry service and launches, since the ship facilities are on bay lake. There are other examples in the property of similar situations...
You aren't dealing with a blank slate here...you are dealing with a near 50 year old infrastructure built into a swamp. In order to make the massive changes needed, entire areas would need to be cut off and reroutes made that would last years, if not decades.
NormC
Well-Known Member
Thanks!
World_Showcase_Lover007
Well-Known Member
Out of all the films they can select from, those are the ones they pick for gondola wraps?
...laughable I say!
...laughable I say!
Rich Brownn
Well-Known Member
The cars were detachable. There was a storage area in the Tomorrowland station. My ex worked there.
Lift Blog
Well-Known Member
"Doppelmayr Cable Car has been contracted to maintain a new Gondola Transportation system in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, and is staffing up for this exciting adventure at a major resort destination in Central Florida."
https://www.indeed.com/cmp/DCCCA1,-Inc./jobs/Supervisor-54f002d1dca435fa
https://www.indeed.com/cmp/DCCCA1,-Inc./jobs/Maintenance-Technician-b24f4313d8510633
https://www.indeed.com/cmp/DCCCA1,-Inc./jobs/Maintenance-Supervisor-Technician-470a0bd69d465d34
https://www.indeed.com/cmp/DCCCA1,-Inc./jobs/Supervisor-54f002d1dca435fa
https://www.indeed.com/cmp/DCCCA1,-Inc./jobs/Maintenance-Technician-b24f4313d8510633
https://www.indeed.com/cmp/DCCCA1,-Inc./jobs/Maintenance-Supervisor-Technician-470a0bd69d465d34
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iowamomof4
Well-Known Member
I wish they had a start date listed. I'm desperate for news about that! Good find though. Ever considered moving to Florida? Sounds like they could use someone like you.
bhg469
Well-Known Member
I avoid that thread like the plague but now I am going to dig through it like a mad man... Any suggestions on post numbers?Excluding the monorail... let's just say it's worthwhile to read the rumor tracker.
From the very first post, click on In General and in that post scroll down to other transportation.
All the rumors are organized in the first eight posts.
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
So will you be paid by Doppelmayr or WDW? Maybe they are splitting the shifts? Looks like the Maint. Tech is third shift only. I would think there would be one at the ready when the system is operating But maybe they will give the CM's a phone and they can call if there is an issue.
bhg469
Well-Known Member
oooooooh!!! IMO they should have been doing this for a long time but i am relieved that they are finally doing it.... allegedly
GoofGoof
Premium Member
The Vegas monorail was a “train”wreck almost from the start. Poorly planned and executed project. Even so, monorails aren’t very practical except in limited situations.
A gondola works best for small distances which this system covers. I think the long term plan to connect the whole resort should be autonomous vehicles or pods. They would likely need dedicated lanes on the roads to avoid tourists and bad local drivers crashing into them. Since Disney owns the roads they can easily create dedicated lanes and even though the pods wouldn’t be cheap they would save on labor costs.
Movielover
Well-Known Member
Thank you! Was trying not to go more crazy trying to remember...
Disone
Well-Known Member
Are we talking about the original Disneyland and Magic Kingdom skyways? They were definitely detachable systems. Very similar to what Busch Gardens Tampa Bay still uses today.
Creathir
Well-Known Member
Agreed.
Honestly, a PRT system is where I would land if I was in the planning department. Flexibility to build out overtime would enable spreading the cost out, and frankly, would be the most practical solution. On any given day you have 50,000 - 100,000 people which need to be moved from as many as close to 20 points to any number of up to 20 points. A point to point transit system is the ideal situation, and with current technology, it is actually possible.
jt04
Well-Known Member
Right now there are two types of busses, a van shuttle fleet, two monorail lines, ferries, trams, and soon a gondola system. I think they will continue to purpose build out the system by matching the best solution to each requirement. I would be shocked if they built a single comprehensive system. At least before teleportation becomes available. 
Goofyque'
Well-Known Member
I will give them space at the farm right now for the entrance station from Kansas!Right now there are two types of busses, a van shuttle fleet, two monorail lines, ferries, trams, and soon a gondola system. I think they will continue to purpose build out the system by matching the best solution to each requirement. I would be shocked if they built a single comprehensive system. At least before teleportation becomes available.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
Agreed. When I said resort wide system I meant connecting AK to MK to Disney Springs. Those longer distances aren’t practical for a gondola or monorail system. They would likely keep the monorails and for sure keep the boats and gondola and probably buses too. Autonomous vehicles would be rolled out to replace buses but it wouldn’t be all at once. Maybe start with Deluxe resorts (AK Lodge seems like a great starting point) and build out lanes to AK and DHS/EPCOT. Then expand to MK and DS. One resort at a time could be added to the system or multiple resorts at a time.Right now there are two types of busses, a van shuttle fleet, two monorail lines, ferries, trams, and soon a gondola system. I think they will continue to purpose build out the system by matching the best solution to each requirement. I would be shocked if they built a single comprehensive system. At least before teleportation becomes available.
It looks like the black rail is a chain conveyor: at 0:25 in the video you can see the black chain with a motor hanging under it at the left end. On the right side, you can see another chain conveyor with the black "fingers" extended, the fingers on the chain next to the gondola have been folded back and wrapped in tape so the cabins can be manually pushed past.
I wouldn't doubt that there is a bus bar to supply electricity, but it is unlikely to be installed on a storage/maintenance rail, which is all we really saw in the video.
Possible, but unproven. To my knowledge, the most complex out of the 3 or so existing PRT systems is the Heathrow Pods, which is a simple "T" configuration with 3 stations. None of the complexities, like route optimization, network balancing, vehicle availability, etc., have been addressed in a real-world complex PRT implementation. IMHO, Disney, being beholden to Wall St., is not likely to invest big bucks in an unproven technology.
Personally, I've been hoping for years that someone would take the plunge and build a genuine, large-scale PRT. But I'm afraid that autonomous vehicles have obsoleted them before they've gotten off the ground.