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Disney Skyliner - Gondola Transportation System

Don't know if that is sarcasm as this topic has been beat to death on magic but on the off chance it isn't I have a couple of questions for you. Can you walk around a theme park in the summer, wait in line in the sun? Walk from your vehicle into a store? If so you have no worries, the cabins are ventilated, you are only in one for 5 minutes max on the longest run and there is no practical way to put enough power to the cabin AC that would cool it from wide open doors in the load/unload stations to a comfortable temp in the short time you have the doors closed. These are used in much hotter climates with just as much humidity for longer trips and found to not kill people.

Obviously they are ventilated and are designed to handle this, but there is a monumental difference between sitting in the sun and sitting in the sun in a glass enclosure that acts like a magnifying glass. It's a fair question because ventilated or not, if it got stuck like his post says, it's going to be a nightmare in there.
 
Obviously they are ventilated and are designed to handle this, but there is a monumental difference between sitting in the sun and sitting in the sun in a glass enclosure that acts like a magnifying glass. It's a fair question because ventilated or not, if it got stuck like his post says, it's going to be a nightmare in there.
As @JoeCamel said, this works in hotter and just as humid climates such as Brazil, Hong Kong, etc.

The one in Hong Kong is far higher and far longer than Disney's will be too.
 
As @JoeCamel said, this works in hotter and just as humid climates such as Brazil, Hong Kong, etc.

The one in Hong Kong is far higher and far longer than Disney's will be too.

He also compared it to walking from your vehicle to the store. This would be like sitting in your vehicle with the AC off for hours or however long it took them to rescue you or fix the problem. We're not talking normal operations where it's moving and you get a breeze.
 
He also compared it to walking from your vehicle to the store. This would be like sitting in your vehicle with the AC off for hours or however long it took them to rescue you or fix the problem. We're not talking normal operations where it's moving and you get a breeze.
Well keep this in mind for anyone wishing Universal to get a Gondola: IT WOULD BE THE SAME THING. Why? Because it works.

And the trip is 5 minutes, please spare me with the whole "waiting in your vehicle for hours" bit.
 
Well keep this in mind for anyone wishing Universal to get a Gondola: IT WOULD BE THE SAME THING. Why? Because it works.

And the trip is 5 minutes, please spare me with the whole "waiting in your vehicle for hours" bit.

Maybe try actually reading what I said before getting condescending.

If the motor that runs this thing breaks or has a fault of any kind it will stop it immediately. Then you will be sitting in a glass box until they fix the problem or get you out. It would almost be like, I don't know, waiting in your vehicle for hours....

And what does Universal have to do with this?
 
Maybe try actually reading what I said before getting condescending.

If the motor that runs this thing breaks or has a fault of any kind it will stop it immediately. Then you will be sitting in a glass box until they fix the problem or get you out. It would almost be like, I don't know, waiting in your vehicle for hours....

And what does Universal have to do with this?

Universal? The gondolas will have screens? SCREENZ CONFIRMED?
 
Luckily with this system, it's not really that high off the ground and I think 90%+ of the route is easily accessible with a cherry picker. The colourful cute characters on the windows are there to block out the sun so it won't entirely be like a greenhouse.

If we really go into the dangers of transport and theme parks, we could be here all day.
 
Maybe try actually reading what I said before getting condescending.

If the motor that runs this thing breaks or has a fault of any kind it will stop it immediately. Then you will be sitting in a glass box until they fix the problem or get you out. It would almost be like, I don't know, waiting in your vehicle for hours....

And what does Universal have to do with this?
I'm just gonna let this be since you obviously aren't changing you're opinion. These don't stop in storms, btw, just like the monorails. They only shut down for strong winds. If there's a prolonged breakdown, then it isn't high off the ground so it shouldn't be an issue.

Once these debut, you'll see that this is no problem. Look at how efficient they are in a over-crowded city in Bolivia. The city had no more room to expand the roads or places to add more cars, so they built a gondola system, which has worked out very well for them. The average temperature in Bolivia is 86 Degrees Fahrenheit.

 
I think some people think this is more dangerous than it is. If the engine/motor stops working, the cable can be pulled. If the cable can not be pulled I'm sure there will be man lifts and such placed thru out the route.

And it's not like this is the first system of its kind. It's been in use for a long time now thru out the world (and at more extreme conditions). Only thing different here is that it will be probably be the most heavily attended gondola transportation.
 
Luckily with this system, it's not really that high off the ground and I think 90%+ of the route is easily accessible with a cherry picker. The colourful cute characters on the windows are there to block out the sun so it won't entirely be like a greenhouse.

If we really go into the dangers of transport and theme parks, we could be here all day.

Oh I'm sure it has been accounted for. I was just following up on the post from a page or two ago about how it would be hell to be stuck in one of them on a hot day. It's kinda like flying on an airplane is a great way to travel till you are one of those people that get stuck on a runway for 6 hours. Doesn't mean people should stop flying.

I'm just gonna let this be since you obviously aren't changing you're opinion. These don't stop in storms, btw, just like the monorails. They only shut down for strong winds. If there's a prolonged breakdown, then it isn't high off the ground so it shouldn't be an issue.

Once these debut, you'll see that this is no problem. Look at how efficient they are in a over-crowded city in Bolivia. The city had no more room to expand the roads or places to add more cars, so they built a gondola system, which has worked out very well for them. The average temperature in Bolivia is 86 Degrees Fahrenheit.



We are talking about completely different subjects. I know these systems work. I know they work in hot temps. Cold temps. Wind, and rain. If you look back through my post history, I've actually been for them and show ways they work. At no point was I arguing against them. By all means, build hundreds of them.

I was talking entirely about what it would be like to be in one in the case of a breakdown on a 100 degree day like another poster mentioned.
 
We are talking about completely different subjects. I know these systems work. I know they work in hot temps. Cold temps. Wind, and rain. If you look back through my post history, I've actually been for them and show ways they work. At no point was I arguing against them. By all means, build hundreds of them.

I was talking entirely about what it would be like to be in one in the case of a breakdown on a 100 degree day like another poster mentioned.
I'm sure this will happen every now and again and it probably won't be the best experience in the world. As mentioned above though, the cable can be pulled and you're not going to be any higher than a monorail off of the ground. If a system failure happens (which is really the only case that you're sitting there for such an extended period of time), getting people in should actually be a lot easier than it seems.
 
I wonder what the wait times will be for these?
It should be a consistently moving line and at 4-5k per hour, that tops peoplemover numbers in terms of capacity. So honestly I think it will be a very short wait. Longest thing will probably be going through security before getting on the gondola.
 
LOL....I was only half serious. However, being stuck in your car for 20 minutes in 100 degree heat is a good example. I'm sure they are ventilated enough to avoid having sunstroke or death, but it won't be comfortable, that's for sure.
 
Also, you are comparing mass transportation in busy cities with booming populations, with few options to being at a resort you are paying top $$$ to stay at.
 
It should be a consistently moving line and at 4-5k per hour, that tops peoplemover numbers in terms of capacity. So honestly I think it will be a very short wait. Longest thing will probably be going through security before getting on the gondola.

A lot of people will moan about it as they will no doubt get caught up in the early morning and late night rush and this will be the only time they use the system.
 
Also, you are comparing mass transportation in busy cities with booming populations, with few options to being at a resort you are paying top $$$ to stay at.
My point was if the mode of transport works in busy cities, it should be no different in WDW.
 
It should be a consistently moving line and at 4-5k per hour, that tops peoplemover numbers in terms of capacity. So honestly I think it will be a very short wait. Longest thing will probably be going through security before getting on the gondola.

Angels will float down from the heavens and shoot rainbows out of their angelbooties if this thing gets anywhere close to 4000 an hour. Currently they top out at 5000 per hour USING 35-PERSON CABINS. IN A SINGLE-LINE SYSTEM. IN BOTH DIRECTIONS. So how exactly will 8-person cabins in a one-direction system cabins be able to manage this? Furthermore, when numbers like 5000-per-hour are thrown about, that also means people are getting on at multiple stations and few are riding it all the way to its terminus. For the Caribbean Beach Station to hit 5000 people per hour, that means 2500 people per each theme park line (people will not be heading to the resorts in the morning). 2500 people means 42 people have to be sent out on each line per minute. With 8-person gondolas, this means one car every 10 seconds. 10 seconds is the absolute minimum time these need to load (I've read "it takes 10 seconds to a minute to load each gondola"). Now we are talking about a clientele that has many strollers and wheelchairs, so not only will capacity shrink, but so will loading times.

The usual way these systems meet those load times is because they hit the stations and they basically become Omnimovers. They slow down enough to let people on, but they never stop. With all the strollers and wheelchairs and little kids here, that's not very realistic. I think the only way Doppelmayr will be able to hit those quick load times is to have a station like those seen on chairlifts, where the gondolas can be removed from the line, filled, and then put back on the line. The only way to do this and keep gondolas exiting the station every ten seconds is to allow many gondolas be removed from the line at once. So while one enters the station and people get off and other people get on, there are already several full gondolas in a queue to leave the station. That way, if there are any loading problems, it isn't affecting the car that's supposed to be heading out. Concept pictures of the Caribbean Beach Station do make it seem like this is how things will be done. Still, this still relies on the people using the system, and we've seen how some of them deal with getting on an Omnimover.

If they can't hit those 10-second load times, they are doomed. 20-second load times, with every gondola having 8 people in it, means only 24 people per minute leaving the station, and that's 1440 per line, 2880 PER HOUR. That's disastrous. Now do the math. The Value Resorts alone have more than 4000 rooms between them. At capacity, there's more than 12,000 people staying in those two resorts. Say one-quarter of those people are going to each park (not totally realistic with other places to go, but with Extra Magic Hours, one of these parks will have people lining up early, plus Star Wars will make DHS really popular when this opens, so let's just go with these numbers). That means 6000 people are going to Epcot and DHS just from here. Of course not everyone leaves at the same time, but if even half of those people get on the gondolas before opening, that's 3000 people leaving one resort all at about the same time. This isn't horrific because this line would be a straight up-and-back, meaning topping out at 4000 or so is highly attainable. But now those 3000 people are vying with the 1000-or-so people leaving Caribbean Beach (I don't know how many rooms they lost). Plus, those people who have just flown over from the Riviera, which is going to be fairly small (at first) so they're only adding one or two hundred people, so we'll ignore them. So now there are 4000 people wanting to go to two parks in one station. If they can only manage 20-second load times, some of those people will be in line for more than an hour. Also, say it's Early Magic Hour in DHS. That means the majority of the people in the CB Station will be going to one park and not the other. Even at 10-second load times, one line can only handle 2880 people an hour. Yes, this is a problem that only happens at park opening and park closing, but it's still one that can make guests psychotic.
 
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