kurtk
Well-Known Member
Do you really think there is a possibility of them opening that early? With an announced time frame of fall, I would be thrilled to see it open before September.
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News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -
- Thread starter danlb_2000
- Start date
Do you really think there is a possibility of them opening that early? With an announced time frame of fall, I would be thrilled to see it open before September.
For the life of me I can’t figure out why the PR fluff said fall. Unless “operational” was deliberately different to “opening in”.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
They can certainly do that if they want. I was hoping that if they kept the EPCOT line running late night to allow guests staying at Riviera and returning from DHS to ride they would still allow people to get on/off at IG station so they could easily get to/from the boardwalk for nightlife. I know the IG station is technically for EPCOT but it could also serve the Crescent Lake resorts as well.
GeneralKnowledge
Well-Known Member
They would be stupid not to at least lightly promote the boardwalk as a potential nightlife venue accessible via the gondola. The facilities there are probably only used to about 25% of their total annual capacity.
They've tried, but people wind up realizing that it ain't much of a destination. BoardWalk's boardwalk is just the hotel's shops and restaurants situated facing outside toward a boardwalk. The Swolphin has a livelier nightlife than the BoardWalk thanks to all the conventioneers.
If Disney couldn't get everyone to drop by the BoardWalk after the night shows at Epcot and DHS, don't know how much more they can do.
So maybe, this is a chance to convince people staying at CBR and Pop and AoA to come to the Crescent Lake amenities rather than busing over to Disney Springs. It means keeping the gondolas running way past park closure times, though.
OTOH, many of these amenities are upscale, and may prefer to stick with their own more wealthy clientele staying at their resorts.
GeneralKnowledge
Well-Known Member
They couldn’t get the Epcot and DHS guests to go to the boardwalk because they didn’t provide transportation back to their hotels. The gondola opens this up to 4 resorts. I would expect they’re interested in at least doing some business at the Atlantic Dance Hall and Jellyrolls. There’s also Big River Brewery, Abracadabar, and ESPN. The Boardwalk certainly has more dining and entertainment than the average hotel.
Also, perhaps they’re finally expanding Beaches and Cream because they’re expecting more foot traffic there as well.
tissandtully
Well-Known Member
They need to get rid of the cover charge for Jelly Rolls.
kurtk
Well-Known Member
Agreed. I have much more fun over at Pat O'Brien's in Citywalk than I have had at Jelly Rolls. No cover charge there.
Marc Davis Fan
Well-Known Member
Agreed. This is an example of Disney putting “character placement” before good design. Imagine if the first monorails debuted with character decals. A different Disney.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
For me personally it’s a bit of a drag getting back to my hotel so I don’t go as often. I remember staying at Coronado Springs when it first opened and it was on the bus line with Boardwalk so easier to get there. We went to Jellyrolls several times that week and spent a night at ESPN and this was back when PI was still open and going strong (1998?). There are already 5 hotels on the lake with Swan and Dolphin but adding CBR, Riviera and AoA/Pop will more than double the amount of people who can potentially frequent the area with easy transport back to their hotel.
As far as running the gondola late, I think it depends on how late DHS stays open post SW opening. For at least 6 months to a year it will probably stay open pretty late. Probably midnight during peak times. Assuming they run the gondolas an hour past park closing they would be running until 1am anyway. I think that’s probably late enough to attract most people looking for nightlife at WDW.
Biff215
Well-Known Member
Ha, not sure it’s ever been relevant, but it’s rumored to potentially be closed permanently and only used for private events. Apparently there might be an agreement with the Swolphin that has kept it open this long.Maybe they could even make Atlantic Dance Hall relevant again (was it ever really relevant?).
I agree that the BW area should see a lot more traffic thanks to the gondolas. B&C has needed the addition for many years, but it is likely that SWGE and the Skyliner are finally forcing it. I just hope it doesn’t significantly change the Crescent Lake area as it’s my favorite in all of WDW.
nickys
Premium Member
How close does the station need to be to be classed as “close” then in your opinion. 10 minutes walk is hardly far!
And yet it seems that people who think nothing of walking around a park all day consider more than 2 minutes is a “long way” when it comes to hallways or distance to transport etc.
It's a 5 minute walk...
GeneralKnowledge
Well-Known Member
I would classify the walk from IG to BW as negligible in the grand scheme of walking distances at WDW. It’s like walking from the IG to Morocco. You wouldn’t forego eating at Spice Road Table because it’s too far from the back entrance of the park. I doubt you’d reconsider going to the BW because the gondola dumps you off a similar distance away.
I immediately divide that by 25.4 because I’m an American.
On failures, found this interesting but quite long and detailed report on ski lift inspection and maintenance:
It's quite detailed and scholarly, so I don't know whether I'm reading it right, but Table 33 on p. 43 says MTBF for sheave wheels is 25 days, and for Bolts & Connections is 29 days. Does that mean each and every sheave wheel and bolt typically needs to be replaced every 25 or 29 days respectively, or do you think that's 1 failure for any wheel or bolt on the entire line?
It's quite detailed and scholarly, so I don't know whether I'm reading it right, but Table 33 on p. 43 says MTBF for sheave wheels is 25 days, and for Bolts & Connections is 29 days. Does that mean each and every sheave wheel and bolt typically needs to be replaced every 25 or 29 days respectively, or do you think that's 1 failure for any wheel or bolt on the entire line?
That's what it says, although that seems pretty short to me.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
The walk from IG gondola station to any of the Boardwalk establishments is closer than the walk from the Disney Springs bus stop to 90% of the establishments at Disney Springs.
Boardwalk very well could continue to be overlooked, but remember that SW is going to be a huge draw at DHS into the night going forward and with Rat and GoTG coming too both parks adjacent to the area and connected by the Skyliner will see upticks in overall attendance. EPCOT has more than enough capacity for dinner but DHS is somewhat lacking. I could see more people using gondola or boats to stop at Boardwalk area for dinner before/after or in between spending time at DHS.