I haven't seen anyone say that wind won't be an operational consideration at all -- just that the system will be fairly "wind proof" (my term because I can't think of the term they used) and that wind will be less of a factor than the average person anticipates. They claim (based on similar transportation systems <not necessarily at ski resorts> in other parts of the world) that wind is not a big issue. I'm not an expert on these systems by any stretch of the imagination, but I've done a lot of reading about them since these permits were filed and rumors started to be confirmed by Disney insiders. I just have to put my trust in the company providing the system (who *DOES* have expertise and decades of experience with these systems) to know what will work best in Florida. I can't see Disney investing in a system that would need to be shut down every time there's wind, rain, etc. The thing would be shut down more than it would be running if every little weather issue would cause a shutdown.
It is believed by "experts" that the drawings of the gondolas released at D23 are not drawn to scale and were created simply to give a general idea of the look of them and to show the Disney character window artwork. They are Disney drawings, not pictures of actual cars provided by the manufacturer. Based on information on the company's systems and Disney's "insider information" of how many people this system will handle in an hour, the cars will hold 8-10 people. Personally, even looking a videos of actual cars, I'm not sure how inexperienced ECV drivers will be able to get in and out of the cars efficiently (well, I guess one of those directions should be easy as they'll just have to drive in a straight line. But one of the times they're going to have to back up....unless they have specific cars for ECV's that don't have seating on one side in order to provide enough room to turn around....????), but "experts" have insisted over and over again that it's not going to be an issue. Time will tell.
I would love if there would be alternate (free) transportation for those guests with a fear of heights. I'm definitely in that category and can guarantee that my blood pressure will sky rocket (no pun intended) while using this system. I will probably need to do some light meditation to avoid an anxiety attack. But I do look forward to trying this system once it's in place. (Sounds weird, I know, but I love having a good view -- I just can't look down.
). This issue has been hashed over and over again on another message board and the "insiders" have consistently indicated there will not be any bus service to these parks once the system is running. And they're pretty adamant about it. It's really not that different than the monorail or boat transportation in that there are people who have fears of heights and or water and there is no alternate transportation provided from the MK resorts to MK and/or Epcot (other than walking between CR and MK). Disney doesn't have a bus running to and from MK and EP for guests at those resorts who have fears that make those modes of transportation uncomfortable. Believe me, I would *LOVE* for there still to be a bus running from Pop/AoA to DHS & EP, but between current practice and the insider confirmation, I'm 99.9% sure that's not going to happen.