News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

[mm121]

Is it known if the cabins will have

Not sure if I am a big fan of them just dangling on the line when not in use. It will look kinda cluttered about property. Maybe they have to do due to capacity reasons but it surely would look better if they were stored for the night.

The system will probably run from at minimum 7am to Midnight.

At night when it's dark the cabins will barely be visible.

I agree it does kinda look cluttered with so many cabins so close together, but I'm sure Disney ran the numbers and decided that lots of cabins were needed to make the system efficient and worthwhile to build.

 

[cjkeating]

Not sure if I am a big fan of them just dangling on the line when not in use. It will look kinda cluttered about property. Maybe they have to do due to capacity reasons but it surely would look better if they were stored for the night.

I'm sure @Lift Blog will answer the question definitively but I beleive the gondolas are stored off the cable overnight.

 

[Lift Blog]

I'm sure @Lift Blog will answer the question definitively but I beleive the gondolas are stored off the cable overnight.

There's really no reason to store them unless there is an impending storm. The typical reason at ski resorts is to melt snow and ice buildup and start fresh the next morning.

A possible exception at WDW would be to charge the batteries fully (plugging them in.)

 

[joelkfla]

Are the stations more elaborate at Disney? Just trying to understand why it is taking so much longer.

Looks like they're off the shelf:

I read they retrofitted existing towers from the system it replaced. And of course, no ground-breaking double-loop loading to test.

 

[danlb_2000]

The blue arrow shows where the charging contact is so there doesn't appear to be a rail to charge them in the storage area, unless there is a second charging contact on the other side of the grip.

 

[larryz]

The blue arrow shows where the charging contact is so there doesn't appear to be a rail to charge them in the storage area, unless there is a second charging contact on the other side of the grip.

View attachment 364425

If the system is designed to charge the capacitors on each trip thru a station, then every gondola will be charged before anyone gets on them anyway, stored or hanging.

Personally, I think it would be much quicker to start the system up each morning if the gondolas are left out on the wire.

 

[Patcheslee]

If the system is designed to charge the capacitors on each trip thru a station, then every gondola will be charged before anyone gets on them anyway, stored or hanging.

Personally, I think it would be much quicker to start the system up each morning if the gondolas are left out on the wire.

That would also make more sense for the first round of riders at non storage locations. Riviera would start each morning with that section of the line completely empty.

 

[Lift Blog]

The blue arrow shows where the charging contact is so there doesn't appear to be a rail to charge them in the storage area, unless there is a second charging contact on the other side of the grip.

View attachment 364425

To charge here, each cabin would be plugged in like you plug in a lamp.

 

[flynnibus]

To charge here, each cabin would be plugged in like you plug in a lamp.

but there is no overhead access... and its loose base under the cabins too.. seems unlikely

 

[Lift Blog]

That would also make more sense for the first round of riders at non storage locations. Riviera would start each morning with that section of the line completely empty.

No public will be allowed anywhere on the line when parking/feeding is underway. Too many things could possibly go wrong. Plus there is a series of pre-operational checks which can only be done once all cabins are on line.

 

[Lift Blog]

but there is no overhead access... and its loose base under the cabins too.. seems unlikely

Further evidence cabins will be left out most of the time.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Are the stations more elaborate at Disney? Just trying to understand why it is taking so much longer.

1. Disney's not in a rush. There's a bus transit system in place working relatively well. Their only goal is to beat the opening of SWL, not to get it done over the Summer in time for the next snowfall. They gave themselves plenty of time. And if they miss their deadline... hey, the buses are still there.

2. Disney has to build around busy and working parks.

3. While building on a mountain has its challenges, building in swamp and lakes has its own, too, which can take longer to dig deeper, build larger pads and pylons, and for all the cement to cure in a very damp environment.

4. Disney did order the XS trim. They bought a system with multiple redundancies and back-ups. A system that can run 14 hours a day every day of the year. A system that has extra pull-offs for slow loaders. A top of the line system and cabins. Capacitor chargers. Hundreds of individual wraps.

5. Disney is putting up three lines at once.

6. Disney is theming their stations and building the area around it to hold large queues.

7. Disney had to landscape the entire course of all the lines for rescue vehicles, which includes all the landscaping in between the CBR buildings.

8. Disney is doing this at a time when they're sucking up all the construction labor market for all their other construction projects.

9. Iger is an emotional vampire and lives off of customers' anxious expectations, and so, he draws things out as much as possible.

 

[juniorthomas]

For sure it will look cluttered, that is the down side to the project in my view. But at least moving it will look better, I think. With the gondolas so close to together and very low its a weird vibe. At least for my eye. The area from the Springs to the swolphin has lost its charm as of late. Parking garages, roads like L.A., gondolas every 20 feet, it's all just very hectic, utilitarian. I get the transportation needs but the world has lost its peaceful natural beauty for the most part. Progress I guess.

I hear what you're saying, for the most part. When I'm on property, I'm willing to forgive some of the more necessary things - like parking garages and roads - if they're still paying attention to what is going on inside the parks.

At the same time, the fact that they didn't theme the back of the FoP building drives me crazy.

 

[NormC]

Personally, I think it would be much quicker to start the system up each morning if the gondolas are left out on the wire.

I agree.

 

[joelkfla]

That would also make more sense for the first round of riders at non storage locations. Riviera would start each morning with that section of the line completely empty.

Disney will undoubtedly start the lines before peak crowding. By the time there are enough riders to fill the system to capacity, the cabins will have completed multiple round trips. I don't foresee a line of Guests waiting outside the stations for the system to start. (Well, maybe the first weeks of SWGE.)

 

[danlb_2000]

Disney will undoubtedly start the lines before peak crowding. By the time there are enough riders to fill the system to capacity, the cabins will have completed multiple round trips. I don't foresee a line of Guests waiting outside the stations for the system to start. (Well, maybe the first weeks of SWGE.)

As @Lift Blog pointed out, if they need to load the line in the morning, it will be fully loaded with cars and probably cycle a few times before guests would be let on.

 

[danlb_2000]

If the system is designed to charge the capacitors on each trip thru a station, then every gondola will be charged before anyone gets on them anyway, stored or hanging.

Personally, I think it would be much quicker to start the system up each morning if the gondolas are left out on the wire.

If they are using capacitors, then I agree, there is no need for overnight charging and this no need to remove them from the line. If it's batteries, then they might need overnight charging but I can't see them wanting to spend the time to take them off the line and plug every one in overnight. My guess is they are using capacitors and will not take them off the line at night.

 

[kurtk]

9. Iger is an emotional vampire and lives off of customers' anxious expectations, and so, he draws things out as much as possible.

Thanks for the lengthy response. #9 is probably the most likely reason

 

[flynnibus]

1. Disney's not in a rush. There's a bus transit system in place working relatively well. Their only goal is to beat the opening of SWL, not to get it done over the Summer in time for the next snowfall. They gave themselves plenty of time. And if they miss their deadline... hey, the buses are still there.

2. Disney has to build around busy and working parks.

3. While building on a mountain has its challenges, building in swamp and lakes has its own, too, which can take longer to dig deeper, build larger pads and pylons, and for all the cement to cure in a very damp environment.

4. Disney did order the XS trim. They bought a system with multiple redundancies and back-ups. A system that can run 14 hours a day every day of the year. A system that has extra pull-offs for slow loaders. A top of the line system and cabins. Capacitor chargers. Hundreds of individual wraps.

5. Disney is putting up three lines at once.

6. Disney is theming their stations and building the area around it to hold large queues.

7. Disney had to landscape the entire course of all the lines for rescue vehicles, which includes all the landscaping in between the CBR buildings.

8. Disney is doing this at a time when they're sucking up all the construction labor market for all their other construction projects.

9. Iger is an emotional vampire and lives off of customers' anxious expectations, and so, he draws things out as much as possible.

Missing from most of this is the critical element that Disney are using specialists.... outside specialists... that are very limited availability. So for Disney to monopolize their time, at scale, has to be incredibly expensive. And these crews are not in contention in other Disney projects... so they shouldn’t be as impacted.

All the things like needing to decorate the stations... or fix the rescue routes... etc. all those things could have been done AFTER the core systems could have been built out and tested.

The vast majority of these lines and locations are not constrained by guest impacts. The main parts that were... like road crossings, pathways, etc... were dealt with in days. The heavy construction periods around the guest areas were completed months ago. Yet Disney will spend more time in the post-era than other projects needed start to finish.

This project more than any other in recent memory just highlights the Disney tax on construction. We know, with dozens of examples, that the vendor can build these systems out in a fraction of the time it took to do the same work in wdw.

 

[monothingie]

Missing from most of this is the critical element that Disney are using specialists.... outside specialists... that are very limited availability. So for Disney to monopolize their time, at scale, has to be incredibly expensive. And these crews are not in contention in other Disney projects... so they shouldn’t be as impacted.

Not really. Concrete workers, tin knockers, electricians, equipment operators, laborers, roofers, landscapers, etc. who did the vast majority of the work in building the infrastructure were not outside specialists. The only thing you are right on is that it is very expensive and that's because there is lot of building going on in central Florida. This all means that skilled labor is in tight supply, which does mean that resources, particularly if Disney only uses a set group of contractors, are a finite thing which likely does impact other projects.

You also clearly see this in other projects Disney is undertaking, such as the Mine Train and ROTR being slowed to ensure SWGE opens on schedule.