News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

[Creathir]

Only the gondolas between the two towers where the cut happens.

I keep seeing this referenced, but is that REALLY the case? I see safety systems from the manufactures for catching the cable in the slim chance it comes off the roller assembly, but if the cable itself fails or is severed by external forces, what is there to stop the gondolas from falling?

Every manufacturer I have seen literature from does not indicate the roller batteries having "brakes" which grip the cable in the event of catastrophic failure.

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

Okay, sorry for the confusion (no coffee today :/ ) I understand the plan now. Dan, what do you think about this concept?
View attachment 192136

You marked the ticket booth as the turnstiles. The actual turnstiles are the little dark green canopy to the right near the trees.

 

[NearTheEars]

whatever they decide to do... I hope they link all the resorts and parks together at some point but DON'T do it in a mess throwing different new modes of transportation in the mix with a bunch of various transfers that half of the tourists won't have a clue how to use.

It kind of sounds like that will be the case: Monorail, Busses, Gondola, boats and something TBD.

 

[GhostHost1000]

It kind of sounds like that will be the case: Monorail, Busses, Gondola, boats and something TBD.

I'm fine with the existing ones but if we have some resorts with new gondolas and some with new rail or TBD then I question why it's not all gondolas or the TBD choice to keep things looking more uniform.

 

[Lift Blog]

I keep seeing this referenced, but is that REALLY the case? I see safety systems from the manufactures for catching the cable in the slim chance it comes off the roller assembly, but if the cable itself fails or is severed by external forces, what is there to stop the gondolas from falling?

Cable catchers are designed to prevent a deropement to either the inside or outside of the sheave trains from being catastrophic.

There are no brakes on the towers. Severing of the haul rope (cable) would be game over. That is why the safety factor is so high. Think like airplane wings.

 

[NearTheEars]

I'm fine with the existing ones but if we have some resorts with new gondolas and some with new rail or TBD then I question why it's not all gondolas or the TBD choice to keep things looking more uniform.

I'd prefer uniform as well, but I think they are facing different challenges in different areas of the resort.
Hopefully, thought, there won't be too ,any transfers between different types just to get somewhere.

 

[larryz]

Severing of the haul rope (cable) would be game over. That is why the safety factor is so high.

Do the gondolas have airbags on the bottoms/sides?

 

[Creathir]

Cable catchers are designed to prevent a deropement to either the inside or outside of the sheave trains from being catastrophic.

There are no brakes on the towers. Severing of the haul rope (cable) would be game over. That is why the safety factor is so high. Think like airplane wings.

This was what I thought.

I understand the likelihood of a cable being severed is VERY small, but the discussion was on the potential security implications and the "softness" of the target.

What exactly is the rope made of? I'm assuming steel cabling braided together, with an incredible amount of strength.

Thanks for the insight regarding brakes on the towers. Amazing bits of engineering in the shackles and roller batteries, but I would think "brakes" would just about be impossible to grip the cable with that much weight on it.

 

[Lift Blog]

Do the gondolas have airbags on the bottoms/sides?

No. Just bumpers on the corners for when they are in a parking facility.

Re: softness of target
There are thousands of chairlifts and gondolas operating every day in this country that hang hundreds of people in the air at any given time. This is nothing new.

 

[Creathir]

No. Just bumpers on the corners for when they are in a parking facility.

Re: softness of target
There are thousands of chairlifts and gondolas operating every day in this country that hang hundreds of people in the air at any given time. This is nothing new.

Very true, but there is a HUGE difference in the target "attraction" between some ski lift at a mountain in Idaho and a packed theme park transportation system at one of the most iconic places in the world.

 

[Lift Blog]

What exactly is the rope made of? I'm assuming steel cabling braided together, with an incredible amount of strength.

~45mm diameter steel wire rope with 6 or 7 strands, each made up of many smaller wires and manufactured in Switzerland, France or Italy.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Very true, but there is a HUGE difference in the target "attraction" between some ski lift at a mountain in Idaho and a packed theme park transportation system at one of the most iconic places in the world.

And yet bombs are not already constantly going off at Walt Disney World.

 

[msteel]

Very true, but there is a HUGE difference in the target "attraction" between some ski lift at a mountain in Idaho and a packed theme park transportation system at one of the most iconic places in the world.

On the other hand, the Winter Olympics....

 

[Lift Blog]

Very true, but there is a HUGE difference in the target "attraction" between some ski lift at a mountain in Idaho and a packed theme park transportation system at one of the most iconic places in the world.

Just so happens one of the longest gondolas in the world is located in Idaho and can have up to 896 people hanging from one 55mm cable when fully loaded.

A place that won't build innovative and effective forms of transportation because there's a chance someone could want to target them is not a society I want to live in.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I'm fine with the existing ones but if we have some resorts with new gondolas and some with new rail or TBD then I question why it's not all gondolas or the TBD choice to keep things looking more uniform.

My WAG is that in the area around AoA, CBR (and it's new DVC sections), Epcot, DHS, and Crescent Lake resorts are too crowded for some other type of automated transportation. The may be building even more stuff in the area and want traffic to go above it and not get in the way.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Very true, but there is a HUGE difference in the target "attraction" between some ski lift at a mountain in Idaho and a packed theme park transportation system at one of the most iconic places in the world.

If people aren't worried that their rollercoaster vehicle isn't going to go flying off its track, or their pod in the Mission:Space centrifuge isn't going to decouple and go careening into a wall, I don't know why they'd worry about this. It is demonstrably safer than driving or being in a bus.

 

[Progress.City]

I'd be very very very surprised if it was monorail. But there is a large distance proposed to be served in the future with multiple stops that a gondola won't civer.

Wow, this is the first time I've heard you not rule out monorails entirely! There's hope yet... (I'm not endorsing monorail expansion, but I do endorse rail of any type!)

 

[marni1971]

Wow, this is the first time I've heard you not rule out monorails entirely! There's hope yet... (I'm not endorsing monorail expansion, but I do endorse rail of any type!)

Short of the second coming I'll rule it out.

 

[xdan0920]

If people aren't worried that their rollercoaster vehicle isn't going to go flying off its track, or their pod in the Mission:Space centrifuge isn't going to decouple and go careening into a wall, I don't know why they'd worry about this. It is demonstrably safer than driving or being in a bus.

I am worried about those things happening. I always envision myself flying into the darkness on Space Mountain. Seems inevitable.

FWIW...

I am far more worried about the SM vehicle flying into actual space then I am of these gondolas being terrorist attacked. It's so aggravating when some dopey dopes start throwing around buzz words like "soft target" because it makes them feel smart.

"oh, WDW gondola system is a soft target, I know because I saw that word on the TV."

 

[Creathir]

I am worried about those things happening. I always envision myself flying into the darkness on Space Mountain. Seems inevitable.

FWIW...

I am far more worried about the SM vehicle flying into actual space then I am of these gondolas being terrorist attacked. It's so aggravating when some dopey dopes start throwing around buzz words like "soft target" because it makes them feel smart.

"oh, WDW gondola system is a soft target, I know because I saw that word on the TV."

What word would you rather be used?

Looking at other mass transport options, which does expose more people to more risk?

Buses? Only the single vehicle is potentially impacted.
Trains? Only the single vehicle, at most one additional in an oncoming derailment situation.
Monorails? Single vehicle.
Boats? Single vessel, maybe another if commandeered and used to ram something.
Gondolas? Potentially 20-40 of these things falling in the HIGHLY unlikely event of the haul rope being severed.

I understand what is being discussed is thankfully NEVER likely to happen, but I sure as heck never thought I'd see airplanes being used as bombs to slam into skyscrapers, yet it did over 15 years ago.

The world is a screwed up place with screwed up people. We are discussing a transport option at a vacation spot. It is something which at least merits discussion.