News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

[monothingie]

Pretty sure this has been answered more than once over the course of the thread. There are numerous solutions to this problem and I'm sure if Disney decides they want them to be air conditioned they will have no problem doing so.

http://gondolaproject.com/2012/09/12/how-londons-emirates-air-line-cable-car-powers-cabins/

If Disney decides not to have them air-conditioned, no one will use them. That means they will be open to the elements and as such not run in inclement weather making them a non-practical transportation system. (Not that I would be surprised by them doing this BTW). Also super capacitors are great but tremendously expensive. Unlike London a system in Florida would need a significantly higher capacity power unit to deliver the cooling power required. Consider a 12000 BTU AC unit (and even this may not be enough cooling capacity) consumes 4-5 kWH of energy, super capacitors cost between $2400-$6000 per kWH of storage. Split the difference and say $20,000 per car in power storage alone times the number of cars they have + the actual cost of the car itself, and it adds up very very quickly.

 

[RobbinsDad]

Could it be that all of the details haven't been worked out yet, for instance the gondola sizes? Still no reason not to say something I know, just trying to rationalize it.

 

[marni1971]

That means they will be open to the elements..

They won't. I can't go into too much detail suffice to say it is a topic that's been heavily discussed. And more.

 

[peter11435]

If Disney decides not to have them air-conditioned, no one will use them. That means they will be open to the elements and as such not run in inclement weather making them a non-practical transportation system. (Not that I would be surprised by them doing this BTW). Also super capacitors are great but tremendously expensive. Unlike London a system in Florida would need a significantly higher capacity power unit to deliver the cooling power required. Consider a 12000 BTU AC unit (and even this may not be enough cooling capacity) consumes 4-5 kWH of energy, super capacitors cost between $2400-$6000 per kWH of storage. Split the difference and say $20,000 per car in power storage alone times the number of cars they have + the actual cost of the car itself, and it adds up very very quickly.

They will not be open to the elements. I was not saying Disney will use super capacitors. I was offering one of many examples of how the problem you are referring to can be solved if Disney decided they want to air condition them.

 

[Maeryk]

They will not be open to the elements. I was not saying Disney will use super capacitors. I was offering one of many examples of how the problem you are referring to can be solved if Disney decided they want to air condition them.

if they can put lights and electrically actuated doors in them, they can put climate control in them.

 

[rushtest4echo]

Not only that, but the longest run we're looking at across the entire resort won't be more than a couple of miles or 10-15 minutes. Even the minute or two sitting in a station they could run along electrical pickups and recharge the batteries to supplement solar power). Between solar and batteries (and maybe even super capacitors, yay!), they won't have an issue with cooling.

 

[RMichael21]

I've definitely seen people worried about capacity, but these things are quite common at ski resorts instead of chairlifts (not sure if this has been mentioned before, but I was riding these this past weekend while skiing and thought I'd share my insight).

In fact, I find that the lines here are much faster and more efficient than normal chairlifts, as there is always a gondola in the station, one directly after the other. In fact, it's very similar to the PeopleMover. In the image above, each gondola can hold eight to ten people, but Disney could easily play around with the size and all of that.

Also, I can see people imagining that these are going extremely high off of the ground, high enough to see into backstage areas. But these can actually stay relatively close to the ground, and with trees views could easily be blocked.

 

[danlb_2000]

Has Disney confirmed it's a gondola? If they did, I missed it.

Disney has not publically confirmed this, but it seems pretty certain that it is happening.

 

[RustySpork]

Disney has not publically confirmed this, but it seems pretty certain that it is happening.

So, I guess I'm confused. I know they're doing something, but how do we know for sure it's a gondola if they haven't said so?

 

[Maeryk]

So, I guess I'm confused. I know they're doing something, but how do we know for sure it's a gondola if they haven't said so?

The usual sources, who are usually spot on.

 

[danlb_2000]

So, I guess I'm confused. I know they're doing something, but how do we know for sure it's a gondola if they haven't said so?

Everything in the permits is consistent with a gondola system, and we have a number of insiders who have independently confirmed this is happening.

 

[RustySpork]

Everything in the permits is consistent with a gondola system, and we have a number of insiders who have independently confirmed this is happening.

I hadn't thought about permits. Alright then.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Could it be that all of the details haven't been worked out yet, for instance the gondola sizes? Still no reason not to say something I know, just trying to rationalize it.

Sizes would be rather well defined very early on because that sort of information is critical to proper coordination.

 

[zakattack99]

I am very interested to hear how management took the news that a bunch of fans on a fourm figured out their super secret gondola project before their big magical announcement! Will be interesting to hear what our insiders have to say once they are free to talk more regarding the subject. I am sure a few at TDO blew a gasket lol

 

[CoolMaineCat]

that's what I thought. You know everyone from bus drivers to Burbank has to be spreading the news by now though. Would you expect an announcement this summer?

I certainly don't know for sure but it would seem that this summer's D23 Expo might be as good a place as any to make the announcement.

 

[Kamikaze]

I hadn't thought about permits. Alright then.

The heck? The whole basis for this thread is the permits. Did you even read the first post?

I am very interested to hear how management took the news that a bunch of fans on a fourm figured out their super secret gondola project before their big magical announcement! Will be interesting to hear what our insiders have to say once they are free to talk more regarding the subject. I am sure a few at TDO blew a gasket lol

The higher-ups undoubtedly do not know that its been 'found out' nor would they care. I'm sure some with a little bit of influence know, but they most likely wouldn't pass it upward.

 

[P_Radden]

I am very interested to hear how management took the news that a bunch of fans on a fourm figured out their super secret gondola project before their big magical announcement! Will be interesting to hear what our insiders have to say once they are free to talk more regarding the subject. I am sure a few at TDO blew a gasket lol

Yes, if anyone can comment on this, that would be awesome!

 

[RustySpork]

The heck? The whole basis for this thread is the permits. Did you even read the first post?

That's 81 pages ago.

 

[Progress.City]

The thing that strikes me odd about this project is it the apparent lack of direct link between EPCOT and the Studios. Granted, it's designed as a transportation link for resort guests, but it doesn't even do that efficiently ("L" and "T" curves). I'm not convinced that there would be enough capacity and that it would be fast enough to be convenient.

 

[Kamikaze]

That's 81 pages ago.

Its literally the first post of the thread, which someone who is coming to the thread should read.