News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

[TimeTrip]

Refer to the list of reasons gondolas are also not at ground level. Access, obstruction, safety.

It's as if you've never seen what a train's path does....

I wasn't saying it needed to go all the way to the ground, just saying it could probably go lower than perhaps the monorail does. Meaning the bottom of the cabins... Not necessarily the cables.

 

[MisterPenguin]

The lower to the ground, the more towers you need.

Good point.

Fewer, taller towers means greater dead and live loads in a concentrated point.

Are we going to start having discussions of catenaries and how to find the hyperbolic cosine?

 

[larryz]

Are we going to start having discussions of catenaries and how to find the hyperbolic cosine?

That would be the catenary in the coal mine.

 

[flynnibus]

I wasn't saying it needed to go all the way to the ground, just saying it could probably go lower than perhaps the monorail does. Meaning the bottom of the cabins... Not necessarily the cables.

Again... the same reasons the monorail has clearance under it still apply! You want things to be able to go under it without risk. If you pay attention... you'll notice the clearance under the wdw monorail beam is not that very different from overpass clearances.... and the reason for that... applies to gondolas too!

Big gondolas at the height that can interefere with ground level objects means OBSTRUCTION and safety issues. If it's 3ft off the ground or 10...it's still low enough that in effect it completely blocks the path. You need to go higher to prevent that blockage.

I'm sure Disney will be highly concerned about sightlines... but ideas the gondolas will be anything less than an overpass height off the ground is simply ignoring practical constraints.

 

[Joe]

Just think, all those low points Boardwalk Villas standard view studios will now become gondola view studios. You can sit on your balcony and watch the gondolas roll by.

 

[TimeTrip]

Again... the same reasons the monorail has clearance under it still apply! You want things to be able to go under it without risk. If you pay attention... you'll notice the clearance under the wdw monorail beam is not that very different from overpass clearances.... and the reason for that... applies to gondolas too!

Big gondolas at the height that can interefere with ground level objects means OBSTRUCTION and safety issues. If it's 3ft off the ground or 10...it's still low enough that in effect it completely blocks the path. You need to go higher to prevent that blockage.

I'm sure Disney will be highly concerned about sightlines... but ideas the gondolas will be anything less than an overpass height off the ground is simply ignoring practical constraints.

I guess I'm figuring that a big reason the monorail was built at the height its at is because it crosses many area where there are pedestrians/roads/parking/water. Making the monorail go up and down in places would have been completely impractical.

Segments of the gondola appear to go over "no mans land", so I would think it is possible for it to drop lower than overpass standards, but not much lower for the reasons you stated. I've been on ski lifts where the chair is considerably below the tops of trees, and lower than monorail beam height. High enough that a person jumping from the ground couldn't hit our legs, but low enough that if a person was on top of a truck, they probably could.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I guess I'm figuring that a big reason the monorail was built at the height its at is because it crosses many area where there are pedestrians/roads/parking/water. Making the monorail go up and down in places would have been completely impractical.

Segments of the gondola appear to go over "no mans land", so I would think it is possible for it to drop lower than overpass standards, but not much lower for the reasons you stated. I've been on ski lifts where the chair is considerably below the tops of trees, and lower than monorail beam height. High enough that a person jumping from the ground couldn't hit our legs, but low enough that if a person was on top of a truck, they probably could.

Overpass standards are not that high, less than 20 feet. Going much lower means the whole area has to be cordoned off and become an actual No Man's Land.

 

[TimeTrip]

Overpass standards are not that high, less than 20 feet. Going much lower means the whole area has to be cordoned off and become an actual No Man's Land.

How high is the monorail clearance on the run to Epcot?

 

[truecoat]

Look at the picture again... do you really think Disney wants to create miles of complete obstruction like that everywhere? Oh, and fences along the entire path... because you have to create an exclusion zone to avoid people and ANIMALS from wandering into the path.

You can't have an automated system like that moving along where people, animals, or vehicles could wander into it's path. So the entire thing would have to be walled/fenced off. So now your pretty gondola ride is that of a wall/fence the entire time.

Do you still think they will make it run a foot or two off the ground?

I'm pretty sure I read that the path below the gondolas would have a gravel road to accomodate the current monorail rescue vehicle among others.

 

[lazyboy97o]

How high is the monorail clearance on the run to Epcot?

It varies. By the Transportation and Ticket Center the posted clearance over Seven Seas Dr is 16'-8". Over by the Epcot Toll Booth it is 19'-7". Both of these exceed Florida's minimum for highway overpasses, which is 16'-6".

 

[danlb_2000]

I'm pretty sure I read that the path below the gondolas would have a gravel road to accomodate the current monorail rescue vehicle among others.

The permits do show a gravel path in the segment between Victory and the DHS parking as well as between CBR and AOA/Pop.

 

[GoofGoof]

I'd be willing to bet these towers are at LEAST 50'-75' tall.

The lower to the ground, the more towers you need.

The more towers, the more engineered foundations in the swamp.

My gut says these will be 50'-75' above parking etc, then potentially 75'-125' above the open wilderness/swamp area and the CBR structures.

75' to 125' seems excessive and unnecessary. I think that's about as tall as a 5 to 7 story building. The section over CBR may fly over a 2 story building so that may need to be close to 50'. The rest of the route doesn't need to be more than maybe 30' to keep the bottom of the gondolas around 20'.

Isn't the cost to support a 125' tower going to be a whole lot more? They have to stand up to winds in FL.

 

[frankc]

The taller the tower, the longer the span could be which could mean fewer towers. However I believe over 100 ft they would need a flashing marker light for aviation which I think they would like to avoid. My guess is a mix of heights depending on the suitability of the land to cross and the sight lines involved.

 

[danlb_2000]

The taller the tower, the longer the span could be which could mean fewer towers. However I believe over 100 ft they would need a flashing marker light for aviation which I think they would like to avoid. My guess is a mix of heights depending on the suitability of the land to cross and the sight lines involved.

200ft.

 

[frankc]

I stand corrected, that makes more sense.Thanks

 

[BEARSHOUSE4]

200 ft meaning the height at which a beacon is required. Not what the towers are going to be........... Right?

 

[lazyboy97o]

200 ft meaning the height at which a beacon is required. Not what the towers are going to be........... Right?

200'-0" is the height at which structures are required by the FAA to have obstruction lighting. The towers will not be anywhere near that tall.

 

[Cesar R M]

As I mentioned before, there are 112 gondolas in North America (110 monocable, 1 bicable, 1 3S.) I've ridden 48 of them.

Peak 2 Peak holds multiple world records so that's probably my favorite. Another one that stands out is the Golden Eagle Express at Kicking Horse, British Columbia:

daaaamn. Even if its just a "rescue".. getting that short trip dangling over the mountains.. must have been a breathtaking view and experience!

 

[Cesar R M]

Yes, but some people are imaging something 40 or 50 feet off the ground, which would be far more then is needed to clear traffic. They could make it high enough to clear traffic and still be low enough to be hidden by the trees. The bottom of the gondolas don't need to be any higher then the monorail beam.

Why hidden by the trees? Wouldn't they want to flaunt them as "new attraction"?
If lightning was an Issue, The towers would still need to be higher than the treeline (trees sort of attract lightning)

 

[Cesar R M]

Just think, all those low points Boardwalk Villas standard view studios will now become gondola view studios. You can sit on your balcony and watch the gondolas roll by.

Dont give them ideas for increasing the prices further!