Disney Skyliner - Gondola Transportation System

[Nick]

 

[Nick]

Here's a promo video for the cabins that will be coming to WDW with the Skyliner. The only difference is that they will be a bit larger than the one's shown here.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Excited for this and I think the worries of Long waits and slow loading are overstated.

 

[Alicia]

Excited for this and I think the worries of Long waits and slow loading are overstated.

Funny thing is we had the same discussions about Hogwarts Express, and it has some of the shortest lines and most reliable service of all the rides at UO. I remember worries that the line would always be 3 hours long and capacity would be a nightmare. Boy we’re we wrong.

Ironically, same manufacturer too.

 

[s8film40]

Funny thing is we had the same discussions about Hogwarts Express, and it has some of the shortest lines and most reliable service of all the rides at UO. I remember worries that the line would always be 3 hours long and capacity would be a nightmare. Boy we’re we wrong.

Ironically, same manufacturer too.

To be fair it does get some longer lines at peak times. It's not unusual to see it reach the 45 minute range. It's also not purely transportation either. I think we can assume that when the line reaches those higher wait times guests choosing to use it as transportation simply opt to walk to the other park. If it were necessary for transportation I think it could easily get up to a 2 hour wait.

 

[Nick]

I think the biggest obstacle this system will face is the summer thunder/lightning storm. Will likely have to go out of service for a bit during those times.

 

[OLSinFLA]

To be fair it does get some longer lines at peak times. It's not unusual to see it reach the 45 minute range. It's also not purely transportation either. I think we can assume that when the line reaches those higher wait times guests choosing to use it as transportation simply opt to walk to the other park. If it were necessary for transportation I think it could easily get up to a 2 hour wait.

The amount of people we moved the HE is staggering. There were times I remember we got up to 10 dispatches in one hour with full trains. (We did 13 once, but that was very empty trains)

 

[Teebin]

So, is part of this supposed to open before the rest. Construction seems out of sync.

 

[Nick]

So, is part of this supposed to open before the rest. Construction seems out of sync.

They are aiming for a Summer 2019 open. Technically the system could operate and just skip one of the stops if it's not ready (which will likely be the case with Rivera for awhile), but there's no way they open it without Epcot's station. It would be pointless.

 

[Scott W.]

They are aiming for a Summer 2019 open. Technically the system could operate and just skip one of the stops if it's not ready (which will likely be the case with Rivera for awhile), but there's no way they open it without Epcot's station. It would be pointless.

I can see the Epcot to CBR section being the last to open. It's the longest of the three, construction seems to be further behind the other sections and guests can still take the boats from DHS to Epcot until it's complete, I know it's a lousy option but it's still an option.

This isn't to suggest that they will open behind schedule but I imagine that they will be opening these in stages and not just the whole thing all at once.

 

[Nick]

I can see the Epcot to CBR section being the last to open. It's the longest of the three, construction seems to be further behind the other sections and guests can still take the boats from DHS to Epcot until it's complete, I know it's a lousy option but it's still an option.

This isn't to suggest that they will open behind schedule but I imagine that they will be opening these in stages and not just the whole thing all at once.

Potentially. The DHS/CBR stations are practically looking like they're ready for the cable to go up. I do think that there's still about a year (or maybe a little less) until this opens. That seems like plenty of time (even for Disney) to get this system finished.

This isn't a difficult project and like we saw at DHS, once they really start going with the Epcot station it should go up quick. A lot of it has been foundation work so far. And the boardwalk "station" isn't even a really station. It's just a turn station - no stop.

 

[Scott W.]

Potentially. The DHS/CBR stations are practically looking like they're ready for the cable to go up. I do think that there's still about a year (or maybe a little less) until this opens. That seems like plenty of time (even for Disney) to get this system finished.

This isn't a difficult project and like we saw at DHS, once they really start going with the Epcot station it should go up quick. A lot of it has been foundation work so far. And the boardwalk "station" isn't even a really station. It's just a turn station - no stop.

I assume it might take a dedicated team to attach the cable so it makes perfect sense for the project to be at different levels. By the time the cable is done on DHS/CBR, it will be time for the cable to be attached on CBR/Pop Century and then once that's complete, the final section will be ready.

The boardwalk turn is an interesting one because this could be key if they plan to expand it to AK and Coronado Springs.

 

[Scott W.]

 

[Scott W.]

That's a big station at CBR. I'm guessing there will be a shop and toilets there given the size and Disney's ability to squeeze every penny out you.

 

[Scott W.]

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Funny thing is we had the same discussions about Hogwarts Express, and it has some of the shortest lines and most reliable service of all the rides at UO. I remember worries that the line would always be 3 hours long and capacity would be a nightmare. Boy we’re we wrong.

Ironically, same manufacturer too.

Great comparison.

 

[Nick]

Great comparison.

Except for the part about short lines. It's constantly hovers around 45 minutes, sometimes reaching up to 60.

Anyway, here's a great look at the Epcot station:

 

[Alicia]

Except for the part about short lines. It's constantly hovers around 45 minutes, sometimes reaching up to 60.

Anyway, here's a great look at the Epcot station:

I never wait more than 20 on HE, but maybe I get lucky. Either way, far cry from the several hour gridlock people were decreeing would be inevitable before it opened.

Edit: Right now only 10, but I know, that’s just a smapshot in time (around lunchtime no less,) but still.

 

[Nick]

 

[OLSinFLA]

Except for the part about short lines. It's constantly hovers around 45 minutes, sometimes reaching up to 60.

Anyway, here's a great look at the Epcot station:

When I worked there the only usual times the lines would get backed up is 1) One park's closing time was earlier than another (Like HHN, we'd back up in Kings Cross). 2) Trying to get over for a timed event or 3) a concert.