Any one rethinking the sky liner?

[DISNEY1975]

I was at WDW in August, before they were operating. When I saw how high they were off the ground, I was thinking Heck no. When your stuck, you are STUCK!

 

[Klismania]

30 minutes into getting stuck over the lake, a person you're stuck with who happens to have Crohns (or any other IBD) drops a load into their pants because they can't hold it anymore. This causes another person in your small, hot, swaying box to vomit, then another. There's no airflow, the temperature inside is 90 with 90% humidity, and the same announcement is repeating over and over on the intercom.

While you think YOU won't have any problems being stuck in a swaying box suspended in the air for three hours, you have absolutely no control over who you're trapped with in that box. Consider this before being so cavalier about how being trapped in a Skyliner is just another opportunity to watch some video or surf the internet.

 

[Klismania]

And to answer the original question, the answer is yes - this incident has DEFINITELY changed my mind about riding the Skyliner. I doubt I'll ever set foot on it.

But that's OK. That means more room for you. Enjoy.

 

[Ensusieasm]

I think I’ll skip it this winter and ride it next winter, after I can follow its record for several months. I will probably only ride on cool days or maybe only at night.
I will bring water, snacks, and a fully charged phone.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

I have never thought about these things before, i guess i blindly trust Disney and other theme parks. I just know i would not want to be stuck for anytime on any ride or transport

 

[kaytieeldr]

I won’t be getting on it until I know they have a real evacuation plan.

Um, okay.

There's more danger from walking past Nicotine Alley to get to the Pop bus.

Ah, but there's more immediate potential danger in a gondola (note that I personally don't feel there's any) than from brief, even multiple encounters with "Nicotine Alley".

My friend and I had agreed that we wouldn't get on them in temperatures exceeding 75 degrees prior to this incident. We are both perimenopausal and starting to be quite heat intolerant,

Nothing at all to do with the gondolas, but have you considered cooling towels? Also, check Amazon for a product called Cool Off. They're cooking wipes. Specifically, "12 ultrasound cooling newsletter infused with natural herbs, plant botanicals & essential oils." " The quick chill relieves heat" (yes, I'm reading off the box ).

I thought the whole point of these was to create something more efficient than buses? Taking 60 minutes to travel between DHS and Epcot is terrible.

You could walk back and forth 3 times in that time.

but on the secondary side they could do better on communicating what’s going on with it when it is functioning.

Excellent post (even though I didn't quote the whole thing ). In complete seriousness, you should contact Disney and let them know your concerns https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/help/email/

 

[OhMickeyUrSoFine]

Only because I read that some people were getting motion sickness from them? If so, I may pass but there's still the desire to try it out for me. The accident doesn't bother me. I know Disney is big on safety. I'm weird, but I kinda wish I was stuck there and received the nice compensation of a gift card and pass. However, the bathroom situation up there has me thinking otherwise in a trapped scenario. The accident is awful, don't get me wrong, it should not have happened and I hope they work out the kinds regarding this attraction/transportation system.

 

[Rusty2rules]

I hadn't planned on riding in them anyway. Who thought it was a good idea not to put A/C on a flying toaster oven in Florida? They need to lose their job(s). Nope, no thank you. So, no, the accident didn't affect my decision at all.

 

[Rusty2rules]

We booked at POP in Dec to save some money with the skyliner as a bonus. If it is operational, we will ride it from the resort to each of the parks occasionally (not for rope drop or going to/from Epcot to HS unless the consistent reliability improves). We might avoid it though if going again in hot weather.

Not being snarky here. I'd be interested to know how you're saving money by staying at POP? They jacked the rates up like crazy because of this dopey Skyliner. We like POP. We were going to stay at POP this next visit. But we can stay Coronado Springs for just a couple bucks more. I think the difference was $200 total for 4n/5d. If $200 is going to make or break my vacation, I probably shouldn't be going anyway. I had no interest in the Skyliner to begin with. A couple bucks more for a way nicer resort and no Skyliner? That was an easy decision for me.

 

[billlaurie]

Not being snarky here. I'd be interested to know how you're saving money by staying at POP? They jacked the rates up like crazy because of this dopey Skyliner. We like POP. We were going to stay at POP this next visit. But we can stay Coronado Springs for just a couple bucks more. I think the difference was $200 total for 4n/5d. If $200 is going to make or break my vacation, I probably shouldn't be going anyway. I had no interest in the Skyliner to begin with. A couple bucks more for a way nicer resort and no Skyliner? That was an easy decision for me.

When I booked, it was almost $400 cheaper to stay at POP vs CSR. Difference pays for party tickets + a few extras. To me, CSR is just OK and I already stayed there in June. Hence, trying to save some $ since this the second trip this year. I chose POP because I like the remodel layout for just 2 people, but primarily because of the Skyliner. Truth be told, I really wanted to stay at CBR but that was significantly more than POP.

 

[jdisnut]

This whole situation is such an unbelievable embarrassment for Disney. Gondola transportation systems aren’t new technology. They’ve existed all over the world for decades. The fact that a company like Disney can screw up this badly in 2019 on this project is just sad. Forget the cutting edge — Disney is so far behind!

 

[seashoreCM]

This whole situation is such an unbelievable embarrassment for Disney. Gondola transportation systems aren’t new technology. They’ve existed all over the world for decades. The fact that a company like Disney can screw up this badly in 2019 on this project is just sad. Forget the cutting edge — Disney is so far behind!

We are not sure of that [Disney can screw up this badly] yet.
Gondolas should not crash like that.
It could have been an up to recently unseen flaw in Doppelmayr's and perhaps other makers' gondola systems.
Once the problem is found, makers might need to make retrofits and fixes in various installations of their gondola systems worldwide to address the problem.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

This whole situation is such an unbelievable embarrassment for Disney. Gondola transportation systems aren’t new technology. They’ve existed all over the world for decades. The fact that a company like Disney can screw up this badly in 2019 on this project is just sad. Forget the cutting edge — Disney is so far behind!

The other places in the world that utilize gondola technology aren't serving a similar population to what Disney is serving, in terms of frequency of physical disabilities and higher body weights. So I don't see a valid comparison there.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Are they running again? Has there been more than 1 incident?

 

[jdisnut]

The other places in the world that utilize gondola technology aren't serving a similar population to what Disney is serving, in terms of frequency of physical disabilities and higher body weights. So I don't see a valid comparison there.

Major global cities don't have overweight people and people with disabilities? I'm pretty sure they do.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

Major global cities don't have overweight people and people with disabilities? I'm pretty sure they do.

Not as much as in the U.S., no. Obesity is a much more widespread issue here than in Europe and Asia, for example.

And WDW specifically has a high percentage of people who need ECVs to navigate the parks, due to the amount of walking involved, who don't need wheelchairs in daily life & wouldn't need them in other places.

WDW does have a lot more people with physical limitations & extra weight to deal with than other locations that use Skyliner technology.

 

[kaytieeldr]

WDW does have a lot more people with physical limitations & extra weight to deal with than other locations that use Skyliner technology.

Fortunately, it appears neither the size of number of mobility devices, nor the size of the passengers, seem to have any relation to the "unexpected downtime."

 

[ScubaCat]

But that's OK. That means more room for you. Enjoy.

Thank you, I will!

 

[jdisnut]

Not as much as in the U.S., no. Obesity is a much more widespread issue here than in Europe and Asia, for example.

And WDW specifically has a high percentage of people who need ECVs to navigate the parks, due to the amount of walking involved, who don't need wheelchairs in daily life & wouldn't need them in other places.

WDW does have a lot more people with physical limitations & extra weight to deal with than other locations that use Skyliner technology.

I just see no reason to make any excuses for Disney in this situation (or any situation, really, considering it's a global empire that probably should be broken up for antitrust violations). Ultimately, I'm sure the Skyliner will be a welcome addition. Frankly, I look forward to riding it at some point in the future. But its opening has been an embarrassing fiasco for a company that continues to show it is far behind when it comes to technology and innovation, which is sad considering what used to be.

 

[kaytieeldr]

considering it's a global empire that probably should be...

Seriously?