News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

[flynnibus]

Most of the cost associated with the infrastructure (not trains) is Engineering and Labor. To compare a system built outside the US not an apples to apples comparison. Labor costs are everything here. That $234 Million dollar system could be $3 Billion dollars to do in the US.

Look at the World Drive interchange project. That is probably a $75+ million dollar project. The primary cost? Labor.

Disagree - The system is designed and engineered by the same Germany company. The bulk of the system largely uses pre-fabricated components... not stuff built on-location. The expertise used to validate and sign off on the lower workers is all imported. Thus the costs in these elements should largely be the same (minus the competitive bidding side of things). Yes there are still huge construction parts to this job, but again we are looking at an area where Disney is actually at an advantage compared to most projects (the locale, the favorable government, the economies of scale, the long term relationships, etc).

This isn't a roadway construction product....

 

[monothingie]

I mean, the gondola number doesn't make sense, so the monorail cost would have to be literally billions of dollars to do the same thing.

A new monorail spur interconnecting it to the existing system could be in the $1-3 Billion dollar range. But remember these are all capital expenditures so the accounting is different in terms of the actual cost expended over the useable lifespan of the project. I've never thought project cost was the factor which prevented Monorail expansion, I sadly think it's the fact that the system is not efficient in moving people around as compared to other forms of transportation. It's a great showcase item, but the performance is limited.

 

[monothingie]

Disagree - The system is designed and engineered by the same Germany company. The bulk of the system largely uses pre-fabricated components... not stuff built on-location. The expertise used to validate and sign off on the lower workers is all imported. Thus the costs in these elements should largely be the same (minus the competitive bidding side of things). Yes there are still huge construction parts to this job, but again we are looking at an area where Disney is actually at an advantage compared to most projects (the locale, the favorable government, the economies of scale, the long term relationships, etc).

This isn't a roadway construction product....

Labor scales are major factors. Union Labor scales are even more substatnial. The pieces may be assembled elsewhere but someone has to put it together and build the infrastructure. On average 60-70% of the prime and sub contractors costs are born from labor. This scales correspondingly to the size and complexity fo the project. A project in South America which does not share the same overhead for labor is not a fair comparison.

 

[flynnibus]

Labor scales are major factors. Union Labor scales are even more substatnial. The pieces may be assembled elsewhere but someone has to put it together and build the infrastructure. On average 60-70% of the prime and sub contractors costs are born from labor. This scales correspondingly to the size and complexity fo the project. A project in South America which does not share the same overhead for labor is not a fair comparison.

"On average 60-70% of the prime and sub contractors costs are born from labor"
You say this like it's a universal law - yet fail to cite how that applies to THIS type of project. Plus, a contractor isn't always the one SOURCING the product being installed.. so another way this stat can be misleading. You also specifically called out Engineering - which is done by the same company.

If you don't like this example... how many other examples of gondolas would you like from the US that are less than $50million?? The reason that example was chosen was because it was at the extreme HIGH end of documented costs.. not because it was a cheap example.

 

[danlb_2000]

Beat me to it. I'm on the plane returning home and the wifi is not cooperating with my photo library.

Sorry, I don't want any excuses.

 

[Jrn14]

Is there an ETA on when this project will be finished/ up and running?

 

[danlb_2000]

Is there an ETA on when this project will be finished/ up and running?

Should be running by the time Star Wars Land is open.

 

[Kamikaze]

Is there an ETA on when this project will be finished/ up and running?

Will have to be open when Riviera opens, which is 'Fall 2019'. Can't open much before that as Riviera will be an active construction zone. So late summer/fall 2019. Which will also be around the time SW:GE opens.

 

[Kamikaze]

If you don't like this example... how many other examples of gondolas would you like from the US that are less than $50million?? The reason that example was chosen was because it was at the extreme HIGH end of documented costs.. not because it was a cheap example.

The most expensive I can find is the Skyeship at Mt Killington. $15m for about 2.25 miles. I've been on it. Its huge. And amazing.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/K...77190f801fa87c0!8m2!3d43.614345!4d-72.7567692

Its not like a normal lift where you are at the ski lodge and go up to the top - this is at a parking lot just to get you up the mountain to where the lodge/resort is.

Peak to Peak at Whistler-Blackcomb cost $52m. Obviously thats an entirely different monster.

 

[Jrn14]

Thanks!

 

[danlb_2000]

Will have to be open when Riviera opens, which is 'Fall 2019'. Can't open much before that as Riviera will be an active construction zone. So late summer/fall 2019. Which will also be around the time SW:GE opens.

The station is on the edge of Riviera so it's status should effect the system opening.

 

[Maddie Terwilliger]

I love this whole idea, but doesn't it seem like the wait time for these gondolas would be an issue? Depending on how the system is run and how fast they could go, the wait could be forever! And each gondola only holds 8 people?? It seems quicker to just take the bus or drive yourself. However, Disney continues to impress me so they may make it work.
I wonder if the gondolas will be like the People Mover system, constant and always almost no wait.

 

[TiggerDad]

I love this whole idea, but doesn't it seem like the wait time for these gondolas would be an issue? Depending on how the system is run and how fast they could go, the wait could be forever! And each gondola only holds 8 people?? It seems quicker to just take the bus or drive yourself. However, Disney continues to impress me so they may make it work.
I wonder if the gondolas will be like the People Mover system, constant and always almost no wait.

That is basically the plan. You aren't waiting 20 minutes for the next gondola like you do with buses. There's plenty of videos in this thread and on Google that show how these work.

 

[LieutLaww]

Yes, the Gondolas will be constantly moving around the route so its just a case of waiting for the next one in line to come into the station and if that one fills the next one wont be far behind.

 

[danlb_2000]

I love this whole idea, but doesn't it seem like the wait time for these gondolas would be an issue? Depending on how the system is run and how fast they could go, the wait could be forever! And each gondola only holds 8 people?? It seems quicker to just take the bus or drive yourself. However, Disney continues to impress me so they may make it work.
I wonder if the gondolas will be like the People Mover system, constant and always almost no wait.

Yes, each gondola is only 8 people, but they are leaving the station once every 15 seconds or so, so that would get you at around 2000 people per hour. The total trip between any to endpoints should be 15 to 20 minutes.

 

[Bolt]

Yes, each gondola is only 8 people, but they are leaving the station once every 15 seconds or so, so that would get you at around 2000 people per hour. The total trip between any to endpoints should be 15 to 20 minutes.

Yeah - and a bus holds only a max of a 100 and typically dispatches every 15 minutes so 2000 is pretty ideal. I feel people look at 2000 and compare it to a ride per hour rate when you should look at existing transpiration times.

 

[flynnibus]

I wonder if the gondolas will be like the People Mover system, constant and always almost no wait.

That is the idea... smaller vehicles that cycle more frequently. The waits are minimized by the near continuous loading of passengers instead of the long wait periods between vehicles like with buses, etc

 

[TiggerDad]

We must be pretty bored to have five people respond to a newbies question that has already been covered a dozen times in the thread.

 

[LieutLaww]

Helpful not bored

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Yes, the Gondolas will be constantly moving around the route so its just a case of waiting for the next one in line to come into the station and if that one fills the next one wont be far behind.

Makes me wonder if Scooters or Handi-accessable guests want to take the skyway which then would have to either slow it down or completely stop it so they can get on/off.....