News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

[WDWTrojan]

Sorry, but that makes no sense at all. Yes they did raise the ground level, but, then they built on top of the new ground level so it is the same affect no matter where you are. That show building at HM is not below ground. What they are going to do remains a mystery and will do so until it is completed. Even then, just like Disneyland and Magic Kingdom after it, many of the show buildings were visible until the trees and shrubs were allowed to grow eventually covering the intended target.

You, because you have a point to prove will probably go there with the single focus of proving yourself correct. The rest of us will be focusing on the fun things to do in the parks and will either not even notice that stuff, but, even if we do have our priorities set to who cares.

What are you talking about? Have you worked there and spent significant time backstage? The show buildings for the Haunted Mansion, Small World, Splash, Pirates and others are built on the original elevation, while the guest walkways are built on the second or third floors. So, no, Mansion is not "built into the ground" but neither was the Magic Kingdom. It's simply built at ground level. Why do you think that you descend a full 1.5 stories to board Small World? This significantly helps hide the show building. Even with this disparity, the buildings are still often as tall (or taller) than their facades but it is certainly better than it would be otherwise.

On the Keys to the Kingdom tour, we'd take guests to the parade storage building behind Splash. Guests were always shocked that Splash wasn't "in the mountain," but rather in a giant warehouse. They'd never thought of it before. However, this was a good point to explain how the park was built to guests as to get to both the parade building and the Splash show building you had to descend a steep pathway past the parade gate.

You should maybe do some research as to how the park was constructed. They built the utildors then covered the entire park with earth excavated from the Seven Seas Lagoon. The entire park is now built on the second floor, with Fantasyland on the third floor. There is a utilidor that runs through Liberty Square and as you can't dig down in Florida (or else you hit water), it is built on the second floor.

Cast Members are dropped off at the mouth of the tunnel which is next to the Small World show building, that is also... built at tunnel level but not actually inside or part of the tunnels.

 

[yensidtlaw1969]

No, I got that point, you don't get mine. I don't care if it were below the river or above that castle, they still would have been able to hid the show building just like they did Small World and all the rest of the show buildings. Why do you want to insist that it is not possible anywhere on sight if they want too? Don't bother answering I know you are just going to find some other reason why it was a piece of cake to hide that whole building like they put a sign in the way or something. So even though I don't see the evidence that it is the same exact level you do and you will continue to find reasons to take the conversation in a direction that is just profoundly irrelevant and just for the sake of argument. Carry on on your own that is not what my post was about, it was about people that see an object during construction and automatically get all upset because they are sure it will show when it is all complete. My point was that they can hide whatever they think is necessary or possible to hide and we pretty much have to get over it.

The reason any of this is pertinent is because Disney went to the great length at opening to build show buildings for Mansion and Small World that were at Ground Level and lower than Park Level making them in effect "sunken" buildings and therefore easier to hide . . . which is not the case with reference to the buildings exposed to the Gondolas here.

Disney has the money to cast whatever spell they want to make these things less exposed to guests, but this isn't an instance where they appear to be going to any extreme lengths, especially compared to the extreme lengths they went to in the case of the Magic Kingdom attractions you referenced.

 

[WDWTrojan]

The reason any of this is pertinent is because Disney went to the great length at opening to build show buildings for Mansion and Small World that were at Ground Level and lower than Park Level making them in effect "sunken" buildings and therefore easier to hide . . . which is not the case with reference to the buildings exposed to the Gondolas here.

Disney has the money to cast whatever spell they want to make these things less exposed to guests, but this isn't an instance where they appear to be going to any extreme lengths, especially compared to the extreme lengths they went to in the case of the Magic Kingdom attractions you referenced.

At DAK, they even went to great lengths to gradually build up the guest areas around Dinosaur so as to hide that building in the same manner as the MK buildings, so it can be done quite well in a park without utilidors but they seem disinterested. It is also not quite as easy here when adding to an existing pavilion.

 

[GoofGoof]

What’s the issue with sighlines in France? Are you guys taking about the new show building for rat ride or the towers for the gondola?

Show buildings may be easier to disguise but I don’t see how they can hide the towers for the gondola. Maybe they could make it a little lower to the ground, but you need some clearance below as well. From a certain vantage point within the park you likely will see a small portion of the system, but it’s not like you will see it from all over. The monorail runs through the park and isn’t a major distraction. If anything it adds to the park.

 

[lazyboy97o]

What’s the issue with sighlines in France? Are you guys taking about the new show building for rat ride or the towers for the gondola?

Show buildings may be easier to disguise but I don’t see how they can hide the towers for the gondola. Maybe they could make it a little lower to the ground, but you need some clearance below as well. From a certain vantage point within the park you likely will see a small portion of the system, but it’s not like you will see it from all over. The monorail runs through the park and isn’t a major distraction. If anything it adds to the park.

The monorail was designed to go through the park. The gondola tower just makes the already bad forced perspective of the Eiffel Tower worse. The new facades will block some of tower, but larger parapets won’t help the tower either.

The Ratatouille show building is to the side and it’s size is already quite evident.

 

[Skibum1970]

What’s the issue with sighlines in France? Are you guys taking about the new show building for rat ride or the towers for the gondola?

Show buildings may be easier to disguise but I don’t see how they can hide the towers for the gondola. Maybe they could make it a little lower to the ground, but you need some clearance below as well. From a certain vantage point within the park you likely will see a small portion of the system, but it’s not like you will see it from all over. The monorail runs through the park and isn’t a major distraction. If anything it adds to the park.

I think that seeing the gondolas would be interesting, just like seeing the monorail run through is a reminder of old-school Disney. Plus, if they would start adding more rides, I would really not care about sightlines. However, I don't get my knickers in a bunch about the sight lines.

 

[MisterPenguin]

So, in this picture, my crudely-drawn thick black lines would roughly represent shoe-to-knee-level for guests on the outside, public paths. (I realize I dipped down a bit too low on the back of those show buildings.) It would (here in the USA) represent the bottom of the second floor (and "middle P" is its ceiling or roof). "Far right P" would actually represent something even taller than that.

Correct?

The far right P is also the roof of the second story, so it's the ceiling of the far left P.

 

[GoofGoof]

The monorail was designed to go through the park. The gondola tower just makes the already bad forced perspective of the Eiffel Tower worse. The new facades will block some of tower, but larger parapets won’t help the tower either.

The Ratatouille show building is to the side and it’s size is already quite evident.

Fair point on the monorail being original to the park. I only bring it up because it blends in seamlessly to most people despite entering the park itself. The forced perspective of the Eiffel Tower could be a bigger problem. Maybe they could move it to the roof of the new show building once it is complete to make it blend better. Not sure that would help.

 

[MisterPenguin]

My thoughts on the latest bioreconstruct images. Nothing really new but I thought some here might be interested.
https://liftblog.com/2018/05/06/disney-skyliner-may-update/

Nice article!

Every time you mentioned something big or unique about the project (180 tires, massive footings, going over water/forests/cabins, huge, double, etc...) I heard the chaching of a cash register and $10 million added to the project.

Also, I still contend the tower near France isn't green. I doubt Disney ordered just one green tower. It's likely a trick of photography (is the dress white/gold or blue/black?) We need someone to get a picture of it with full direct sunlight.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Fair point on the monorail being original to the park. I only bring it up because it blends in seamlessly to most people despite entering the park itself. The forced perspective of the Eiffel Tower could be a bigger problem. Maybe they could move it to the roof of the new show building once it is complete to make it blend better. Not sure that would help.

GMTA.

I think a possible solution would be to move the tower to atop the Rat building to get it further away from the gondolas and leverage the forced perspective on Rat's frontispiece. They could put it a bit higher and put a smaller fake skyline in front of it. Like so...

View attachment 270586

 

[Gabe1]

What’s the issue with sighlines in France? Are you guys taking about the new show building for rat ride or the towers for the gondola?

Show buildings may be easier to disguise but I don’t see how they can hide the towers for the gondola. Maybe they could make it a little lower to the ground, but you need some clearance below as well. From a certain vantage point within the park you likely will see a small portion of the system, but it’s not like you will see it from all over. The monorail runs through the park and isn’t a major distraction. If anything it adds to the park.

They saved the trees within the France Pavillion and they are pretty darn close to the Gazebo and the Gondola Poles are masked. Now when using entrance from the Boats to the Touch Points to enter at the World Showcase they are at present in very plain site.

From Frace you have to look hard to get a tiny glimpse, as you can tell I had to zoom to capture that piece of the pole from France.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Fair point on the monorail being original to the park. I only bring it up because it blends in seamlessly to most people despite entering the park itself. The forced perspective of the Eiffel Tower could be a bigger problem. Maybe they could move it to the roof of the new show building once it is complete to make it blend better. Not sure that would help.

The thing just needs to be scrapped. The current one does not work (even before the gondola tower) and relocating it to the Ratatouille show building would not be much better as it would just draw unwanted attention to parts of the building that are not supposed to be points of focus.

 

[Gabe1]

Updated from my photos about 3 weeks ago this is AoA/Pop

From what I’ve watched over the last month this seems to be a more complex build.

 

[lazyboy97o]

From what I’ve watched over the last month this seems to be a more complex build.

The station on Hourglass Lake is the one that will actually have the 100'+ deep pile foundations.

 

[CTXRover]

Also, I still contend the tower near France isn't green. I doubt Disney ordered just one green tower. It's likely a trick of photography (is the dress white/gold or blue/black?) We need someone to get a picture of it with full direct sunlight.

I saw it in person. It is definitely painted green and is noticeably different color than the gray one behind France/Eiffel tower. These are the best pics in the sunlight I have:

 

[Gabe1]

The station on Hourglass Lake is the one that will actually have the 100'+ deep pile foundations.

Yep!

 

[raymusiccity]

Are these Gondolas going to have AC?

As you can see with this prototype.....A/C is not an option. Gondola capacity seems to be an issue, though !!

LOL.

 

[Gabe1]

I saw it in person. It is definitely painted green and is noticeably different color than the gray one behind France/Eiffel tower. These are the best pics in the sunlight I have:
View attachment 282466View attachment 282467

Here is the picture I took several weeks ago of pole 1 in that area with my iPhone 10.

 

[Lensman]

My thoughts on the latest bioreconstruct images. Nothing really new but I thought some here might be interested.
https://liftblog.com/2018/05/06/disney-skyliner-may-update/

Inspired by one of your commenter's mention of Breckenridge's QuickSilver Super6 as the only double-loading lift in North America, I found the following video of how that works. Note that loading on the inside turnaround curve works for lifts but not for gondolas.


I found another video of someone loading on the inside turnaround.


Factoid: At its top speed of 7 meters per second (about 15 mph), the Doppelmayr D-Line takes 3.8 minutes travel time per mile of ropeway.

 

[Lensman]

@Lift Blog, what do you think the chances are that Disney will be implementing the Doppelmayr Recovery Concept redundant emergency drive system to reduce the need for cabin evacuations in case of failure of the main drive? I'm not entirely sure how we'll be able to tell until we see the emergency drives being installed.