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News New Gondola Transportation - Disney Skyliner -
- Thread starter danlb_2000
- Start date
Some thoughts:
We had a pretty consistent 10mph wind from the east today. The affect on air flow in the cabins was very pronounced. Heading west out of Riviera, there was almost no airflow, and it became a bit uncomfortable. It improved as soon as the cabin made the turn north towards Epcot, even before it picked up speed. The cabin was quite comfortable when traveling in all other directions. Even heading south, with the wind blowing against the windowless doors, there was a good breeze coming up from the floor vents (which I can't figure out, because they're only on the back of the cabin.) Indeed, at times the wind was whistling through like a log cabin on the prairie.
I was riding on my ECV. The cabins also got a bit uncomfortable in the stations, but I attribute that to the fact that the wheelchair cabins spend a lot more time in the stations, much of it with the doors closed. There's no perceptible airflow when the cabins are moving at load speed.
The cabins seem to pick up and amplify sounds from the ground. I guess the sounds are bouncing around the walls. Passing over BVD sounded almost like NYC traffic. The roar of the BWV air conditioners was very noticeable, as was the noise of any construction machinery that we happened to pass by.
The solar panels along the paths between Speedway and the firehouse and through the woods on the Studios line are there to power small lights along the paths. I noticed the lights along the Pop/AoA path, too, but I didn't see any solar panels there. I guess they have electric service.
Lines at the CBR station seemed to build throughout the day. As others have said, they were a tangled mess, especially the line for Epcot, which overflowed both the permanent queue and the extension taped out on the floor. It made getting to the restrooms difficult.
Wheelchair entrance to the Pop station is thru the exit. Weird.
CM's said it's perfectly OK to request an unwrapped cabin, even in the wheelchair line. But it may take a while on the wheelchair line, because there may be only 1 or 2 unwrapped cabins assigned.
People on the board were wondering how the spurs to the storage yard connect to the main track at a 90 degree angle. It's simply 2 small radius curve tracks on both sides, with switches and a chain drive.
The CBR internal shuttle bus stops at the Skyliner station in both directions, between Trinidad and Jamaica, and on the return from Aruba to Martinique. The number of buses on the route has been increased from 1 to 2, so they're probably running about every 10 minutes.
I noticed the walkway from the bus stop to the storage yard didn't have any restrictive signs, so I rolled up and peeked thru the fence. Very interesting. A chain drive moves cabins across the top of the yard. Drive tires move them thru the switches onto the individual legs -- just the opposite of the switch into the wheelchair platforms. Those boxes seen above the middle of the legs in the overhead photos shelter another set of drive tires.
ETA: Forgot to mention: I saw a gaggle of Doppelmayr techs hobnobbing at CBR. I think they were the ones hired for local support. They were wearing an assortment of various-colored ordinary work clothes, with a Doppelmayr patch above the breast pocket, a Skyliner patch on one sleeve, and a nametag (didn't notice whether it was a standard issue Disney nametag or a different design.)
We had a pretty consistent 10mph wind from the east today. The affect on air flow in the cabins was very pronounced. Heading west out of Riviera, there was almost no airflow, and it became a bit uncomfortable. It improved as soon as the cabin made the turn north towards Epcot, even before it picked up speed. The cabin was quite comfortable when traveling in all other directions. Even heading south, with the wind blowing against the windowless doors, there was a good breeze coming up from the floor vents (which I can't figure out, because they're only on the back of the cabin.) Indeed, at times the wind was whistling through like a log cabin on the prairie.
I was riding on my ECV. The cabins also got a bit uncomfortable in the stations, but I attribute that to the fact that the wheelchair cabins spend a lot more time in the stations, much of it with the doors closed. There's no perceptible airflow when the cabins are moving at load speed.
The cabins seem to pick up and amplify sounds from the ground. I guess the sounds are bouncing around the walls. Passing over BVD sounded almost like NYC traffic. The roar of the BWV air conditioners was very noticeable, as was the noise of any construction machinery that we happened to pass by.
The solar panels along the paths between Speedway and the firehouse and through the woods on the Studios line are there to power small lights along the paths. I noticed the lights along the Pop/AoA path, too, but I didn't see any solar panels there. I guess they have electric service.
Lines at the CBR station seemed to build throughout the day. As others have said, they were a tangled mess, especially the line for Epcot, which overflowed both the permanent queue and the extension taped out on the floor. It made getting to the restrooms difficult.
Wheelchair entrance to the Pop station is thru the exit. Weird.
CM's said it's perfectly OK to request an unwrapped cabin, even in the wheelchair line. But it may take a while on the wheelchair line, because there may be only 1 or 2 unwrapped cabins assigned.
People on the board were wondering how the spurs to the storage yard connect to the main track at a 90 degree angle. It's simply 2 small radius curve tracks on both sides, with switches and a chain drive.
The CBR internal shuttle bus stops at the Skyliner station in both directions, between Trinidad and Jamaica, and on the return from Aruba to Martinique. The number of buses on the route has been increased from 1 to 2, so they're probably running about every 10 minutes.
I noticed the walkway from the bus stop to the storage yard didn't have any restrictive signs, so I rolled up and peeked thru the fence. Very interesting. A chain drive moves cabins across the top of the yard. Drive tires move them thru the switches onto the individual legs -- just the opposite of the switch into the wheelchair platforms. Those boxes seen above the middle of the legs in the overhead photos shelter another set of drive tires.
ETA: Forgot to mention: I saw a gaggle of Doppelmayr techs hobnobbing at CBR. I think they were the ones hired for local support. They were wearing an assortment of various-colored ordinary work clothes, with a Doppelmayr patch above the breast pocket, a Skyliner patch on one sleeve, and a nametag (didn't notice whether it was a standard issue Disney nametag or a different design.)
Last edited:
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
The ones I noticed were Disney style name tags, but not Disney name tags. So just the name in an oval, no branding.
csmat99
Well-Known Member
I will tell you from first hand experience Disney didn't plan this right. The change station after you get off from MGM to go to epcot line was almost out of station and they had to have cast members tell people where to go to stand in line. I don't see demand lessening for this and during Holiday i'm scared to even imagine how bad it will be. The worst planning on Disney's part is the disaster that is now the exit at IG. It's literally a safety hazard walking out after Illuminations. People were lined up all the way up the hill. Then when you do get out you see the line for Skyway was wrapped around and all the way behind England.
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
I agree it’s really bad... I sat on a bench and waited for the crowd to go down before going through the exit. It was pretty bad the night before too so it’s not only the skyliner but obviously that makes it worse.
A couple more things I remembered:
CBR station has wi-fi, but it's neither Disney-Guest nor any of the resort wi-fis. Instead, they named it Disney Skyliner. You might have to connect to it the first time.
The mysterious green and red lights behind the doors are nothing more than a power indicator. Close up, they have the familiar 1 within a circle. When they're green, lights and sound are powered on. They look like they may actually be a push-button switch, but the cm I talked to didn't know.
CBR station has wi-fi, but it's neither Disney-Guest nor any of the resort wi-fis. Instead, they named it Disney Skyliner. You might have to connect to it the first time.
The mysterious green and red lights behind the doors are nothing more than a power indicator. Close up, they have the familiar 1 within a circle. When they're green, lights and sound are powered on. They look like they may actually be a push-button switch, but the cm I talked to didn't know.
IG serves as the primary Epcot entrance/exit for 5 resorts. You are now adding 3 more with a fourth to come later this year. The area is already crazy to begin with. The queue design is insufficient. As much as the system can be a people eater it can’t handle the inrush. Busses are at least spread out, and the Monorail queues are large enough to accommodate. This was under designed. The Trinidad station is another disaster in and of itself.
cosmicgirl
Well-Known Member
I asked about the mysterious red and green lights tonight and was told they are battery level indicators. So if it's green the battery is sufficiently charged for the lights and the spiels and if it's red it's almost dead. However, the lights are mounted on the back of the emergency communication box in the cabin so it might also be related to that and I just got the Disney response which avoids talking about emergencies.
Out of the 6 cabins I rode today only 3 had a working spiel and I checked tonight: even a cabin without a spiel had a green light.
Out of the 6 cabins I rode today only 3 had a working spiel and I checked tonight: even a cabin without a spiel had a green light.
JayKZ
Well-Known Member
Disaster? Oh, please. I was there at 12:45 when the CBR-TIG queue stretched to the building entrance. It took ELEVEN MINUTES to make it into our gondola. A more permanent arrangement for the DHS and TIG queues will probably be developed once they have better experience with peak loading over time.
Attachments
Well, if they do that, how will I get to my dinner reservation at Topolino’s Terrace from the IG?
Where you there at park close today? Because that is what I was referring to.
JayKZ
Well-Known Member
No, I was referring to your statement about Trinidad being a disaster. I didn't leave until well after park close, by which time the IG station was pretty much empty.
RaySharpton
Member
Thank you, Joe. You always give me such great answers to my questions. I really appreciate all of your thoughts and information and photos.
Figments Friend
Well-Known Member
I purposely went over to experience the Skyliner around 11:50am yesterday for the Grand Opening.
Went over to Hollywood Studios from my hotel and took a round trip to Epcot and back again.
It was a nice experience, and quite enjoyable despite the intimidating lines.
The line was quite long when I arrived to the Studios, but moved at a good pace.
I was on the Skyliner within 10/15 minutes and cruising along, enjoying the scenery.
The changeover at Caribbean Beach was smooth.
Again, the long line to get to Epcot was intimidating but it moved steadily and I was on the next leg on the journey within 10 minutes.
I made the entire round trip from Studios to Epcot and back again in an hour.
Didn't feel like an hour at all....
The ride experience itself was really enjoyable.
Nice views ( exspecially the Epcot to / from route ) and the gondola vehicles had plenty of air circulation.
More then I was assuming would be possible...it was a good stiff breeze going through as we traveled.
I loved the views from behind Epcot.
Really neat to see the Pavillions from a different angle.
The Epcot station is nice looking, as is the appropriately themed Studios station.
I'm really glad I took the time to try it out.
The views are enjoyable to cruise above, and it's a nice way to travel between those two Parks.
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Went over to Hollywood Studios from my hotel and took a round trip to Epcot and back again.
It was a nice experience, and quite enjoyable despite the intimidating lines.
The line was quite long when I arrived to the Studios, but moved at a good pace.
I was on the Skyliner within 10/15 minutes and cruising along, enjoying the scenery.
The changeover at Caribbean Beach was smooth.
Again, the long line to get to Epcot was intimidating but it moved steadily and I was on the next leg on the journey within 10 minutes.
I made the entire round trip from Studios to Epcot and back again in an hour.
Didn't feel like an hour at all....
The ride experience itself was really enjoyable.
Nice views ( exspecially the Epcot to / from route ) and the gondola vehicles had plenty of air circulation.
More then I was assuming would be possible...it was a good stiff breeze going through as we traveled.
I loved the views from behind Epcot.
Really neat to see the Pavillions from a different angle.
The Epcot station is nice looking, as is the appropriately themed Studios station.
I'm really glad I took the time to try it out.
The views are enjoyable to cruise above, and it's a nice way to travel between those two Parks.
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halltd
Well-Known Member
Where is the plug? I see what's happening with the doors, but can't see the plug that deactivates the door rail.
Thanks!
peter11435
Well-Known Member
This thread won’t age well when in a few months the newness has diminished and the system is seeing standard demand and queues.
Movielover
Well-Known Member
This thread hasn't aged well since page 1 when there was no way in heck WDW was going to build a gondola system and bring about the apocalypse of death to it's guest...
HiJe
Well-Known Member
We're not allowed to talk about A/C in the cabins here.Wait, you can die on these things? Do the cabins not have A/C or something?
HiJe
Well-Known Member
Sounds like Fight Club. The first rule of Gondola club, is you don't talk about A/C. The second rule of Gondola club, is YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT A/C!!!