News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -

M

mm824

New Member
The Skyliner ROCKS.

We had the chance to ride it this past Tuesday on the opening cast preview day and LOVED every second of it.

The units are breezy, super quiet, and allow for a more intimate experience than the buses. We took our daughter on in her stroller and walked right onto the unit with no issues. The gondolas line up exactly to the edge, so there is zero gap and no need for worry getting on. The CM's do have control over the units, and can slow them down to a near stop if needed.

We rode from HS > POP (5 minutes), POP >Epcot/Epcot >POP (18 minutes each leg, with transfer) and walked right to our room (Building 4, rooms 4626 - perfect location for access to the Skyliner!). The units moved super quickly and are basically a ride in of itself. In retrospect, I could have only taken my 5-year-old on them and she would declare it was the best ride there.

The only issue we saw right now is kids wanting to hold out for a specific character decal as they are all different and there is no way to choose (we got the cart IN FRONT of Elsa, so it was a long 18 minutes! hahah). The non-character ones actually offer a better view because they aren't coated in vinyl and offer clear glass.

Here's a few videos, too!



 
_caleb

_caleb

Well-Known Member
mm824 said:
The Skyliner ROCKS.

We had the chance to ride it this past Tuesday on the opening cast preview day and LOVED every second of it.

The units are breezy, super quiet, and allow for a more intimate experience than the buses. We took our daughter on in her stroller and walked right onto the unit with no issues. The gondolas line up exactly to the edge, so there is zero gap and no need for worry getting on. The CM's do have control over the units, and can slow them down to a near stop if needed.

We rode from HS > POP (5 minutes), POP >Epcot/Epcot >POP (18 minutes each leg, with transfer) and walked right to our room (Building 4, rooms 4626 - perfect location for access to the Skyliner!). The units moved super quickly and are basically a ride in of itself. In retrospect, I could have only taken my 5-year-old on them and she would declare it was the best ride there.

The only issue we saw right now is kids wanting to hold out for a specific character decal as they are all different and there is no way to choose (we got the cart IN FRONT of Elsa, so it was a long 18 minutes! hahah). The non-character ones actually offer a better view because they aren't coated in vinyl and offer clear glass.

Here's a few videos, too!



Click to expand...

Glad to hear you enjoyed them!
These are GREAT videos. Can you convert them to horizontal, please? :p
 
begood524

begood524

Well-Known Member
Did anyone else notice that there are now Aulani and Disney Cruise Line Posters in the CBR station now? They appear at about 21:30 Passport to the Park's latest video
 
asianway

asianway

Well-Known Member
cindy_k said:
Just finished my preview. Rode with my dad who is a cast member. He has a walker so we took the handicap entrances for each section. They definitely need some more training with the handicap cabin flow. Some of the cast members had difficulty getting the timing right to get the cabin back in rotation. Something about needing to press the button at just the right moment. (we waited in Epcot station for about 10 minutes while they figured it out.

Now for the pictures... They have ropes to mark out of service cabins.View attachment 414087

and already cabins have wrap damage. Look on the white stripe.
View attachment 414088

Overall it was fun.
Click to expand...
I was hoping for a filthy traffic cone
 
Disone

Disone

Well-Known Member
It is such a great addition. Tonight though the stuggle is real. DHS Line is close. They bussing preview guests to Caribbean Beach. But the Epcot line is struggling to stay in motion. It is stopping every minute or so for a minute or so. One way took me 29 minutes one way and 18 the other. But the even with this rate the line at Carib was 9 minutes. And the constant stopping did provide for some just awesome views of Illuminations with the added bonus of HEA going off in the distance.

The line to come back was 9 minutes long. I expected longer giving the constant stopping and post Illuminations park exit. The return trip stopped less once we got past the first turn station. I've known my Gondola did not have any narration on the way back. And they were also not loading at the Caribbean when we got there. This may have been a factor as to why it started to move a little quicker. Also of note is that they finally has the DHS line running at speed but they still were not loading it was only a bus you back. The bus line was 15 minutes long with three busses loading back to back to back.

They definitely have some kinks to work out. That said I love this new attracportation system. Yes I made that up:)
 
S

Surfin' Tuna

Well-Known Member
We rode again tonight, because we want to get as much time in them before they are filthy. Thankfully, we did not board at (and have to return to) DHS, because that bus line didn't look fun. The Epcot line was also a struggle, although I'm uncertain as to why. It's still a great way to kill some time and enjoy the views.

That all being said, I have a serious question that I cannot remember if it was discussed. Why is there no place at Riviera to separate the ECV cabins? Having to stop to load/unload at that station is going to make this much slower like the omnimover systems in the parks have become.

Edited to save face
 
Last edited:
trainplane3

trainplane3

Well-Known Member
Surfin' Tuna said:
We rode again tonight, because we want to get as much time in them before they are filthy. Thankfully, we did not board at (and have to return to) DHS, because that bus line didn't look fun. The Epcot line was also a struggle, although I'm uncertain as to why. It's still a great way to kill some time and enjoy the views.

That all being said, I have a serious question that I cannot remember if it was discussed. Why is there no place at CBR to separate the ECV cabins? Having to stop to load/unload at that station is going to make this much slower like the omnimover systems in the parks have become.
Click to expand...
Don't you mean Riviera? CBR has a ECV loop.
 
S

SLUSHIE

Well-Known Member
There may have been a crazy way to take the cabins off the line at that station, but it would have to be done completely differently, and probably raised so that the different platforms could be accessible from underneath with ramps etc., or they would have need to just make that another transfer station.

It's a good sized hotel so I'm sure there will be a fair number of wheelchairs etc. needing to get off there, but its probably not nearly as many as the number of people in wheelchairs just needing to pass through.
 
J

joelkfla

Well-Known Member
Surfin' Tuna said:
That all being said, I have a serious question that I cannot remember if it was discussed. Why is there no place at Riviera to separate the ECV cabins? Having to stop to load/unload at that station is going to make this much slower like the omnimover systems in the parks have become.
Click to expand...
All the other stations are terminals. It was easy to just add a 2nd loop on the end. Regular riders can exit before the loop splits, and just walk around the end of the 2nd loop.

But at Riviera, the cabins come in one end and go out the other. They would have to build 2 extra loops, one on each side. That would have made the station at least twice as wide, and probably even wider, depending on the loop design. It also would have made the station longer, again depending on the loop design, as the unload and load platforms would need to be before and after the track switches. In short, the station would have had to have been huge.

It would also be more difficult to manage the cabins moving thru the 2nd loops. At the other stations, every cabin coming in with a wheelchair goes to the 2nd loop. At Riviera, cabins with wheelchairs not disembarking would need to be routed on the main track; otherwise every wheelchair thru passenger would be sitting in the station for several minutes.

I don't think they will be stopping cabins at Riviera for wheelchair boarding; it looks like they will just be slowing them down to "creep" speed. Since nobody is getting on or off at Riviera during the previews, we won't know until Sunday.. It's under debate as to whether "creep" mode will slow down the cable, or just the cabins in the station.
 
Last edited:
S

Surfin' Tuna

Well-Known Member
joelkfla said:
All the other stations are terminals
Click to expand...
This was my assumption, since I figured it would save six figures. At the same time, we have a growing population of ECV/wheelchair users. I don't think they will want them moving in/out of the cabins at creep speed. I have a feeling lots of people on a really long line are going to be sitting still while they load and unload people. I hope I'm wrong.

I'll take a look in the operating guide when I can put my hands on it again. It's 140 pages and based on my brainpower tonight (see above) it might take a minute to locate the info. I just can't imagine they will want someone driving in/out while moving.
 
Bender123

Bender123

Well-Known Member
Surfin' Tuna said:
This was my assumption, since I figured it would save six figures. At the same time, we have a growing population of ECV/wheelchair users. I don't think they will want them moving in/out of the cabins at creep speed. I have a feeling lots of people on a really long line are going to be sitting still while they load and unload people. I hope I'm wrong.

I'll take a look in the operating guide when I can put my hands on it again. It's 140 pages and based on my brainpower tonight (see above) it might take a minute to locate the info. I just can't imagine they will want someone driving in/out while moving.
Click to expand...

If it becomes that much of a problem, I would almost think the best solution would be to have the CBR circulator bus stop at the Riviera and take ECV/Handicap riders to the central terminal for the Epcot trip.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom