MommyinHonduras
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2015
Click on the words "great information" in her post.
'great information' is a link. Wish links showed up in a different colour!What is?
'great information' is a link. Wish links showed up in a different colour!
Nice !This isn't specifically a construction update but still great information!
I like that, too. I also like the different characters on the gondolas.Nice !
Cool to see how they will be theming the various stations differently. I like it.
I'm torn - I think it's great that they are making a new transport system, WDW definitely needed one. But I think the part that goes over the resort at CBR is tacky. There are no gondolas overhead in the Caribbean! I think it will ruin the atmosphere there.
And the part about them being detachable... that just glares at me as an accident waiting to happen!
All modern aerial gondolas are detachable. There are probably hundreds of systems in daily operation all over the world. Accidents are very rare, and virtually non-existent on properly maintained systems operated by well-trained staff in appropriate weather conditions.And the part about them being detachable... that just glares at me as an accident waiting to happen!
All modern aerial gondolas are detachable. There are probably hundreds of systems in daily operation all over the world. Accidents are very rare, and virtually non-existent on properly maintained systems operated by well-trained staff in appropriate weather conditions.
They've been around for dozens of years; in fact, the Skyrides in Disney parks were early versions. Of course, the modern system being installed is much more technologically advanced.
One of the most visible modern systems is the Emirates Airline gondola in London, which runs hundreds of feet over the Thames.
One of the times when I hope my 'spidey sense' is wrong - but I'm not expecting WDW to keep a high standard at this time, as it seems they aren't doing that for pretty much anything down there anymore. Properly maintained - nope, think monorail, bus system, yeti, and the shaman in Navi. Well -trained staff? Nope, throw some CP CMs out there, right? Weather conditions - that's the big one! How long does it take to empty a loop? How soon do you have to call bad weather to get everyone out safely?
Don't know what you mean by BLSRS, but I don't see any reason cabins should be leaving empty when there are Guests queued. Disney could easily group riders in advance, just as they do for TT @ Epcot or KS @ AK. It all depends on how smartly they design the stations. Even if they don't, the vast majority of parties contain less than 9 Guests.Word is that the practical estimateof throughput for the Disney system is supposed to be around 3K guests per hour, with each car carrying up to 8 guests. What I see as the major issue for load speed will be the capacity; unlike sardine-packing a bus or monorail car, you cannot over-load cable gondolas, so there will be times when parties will have to be split, which I predict will lead to cars lifting off empty or half-empty quite frequently. (Look at what happens on BLSRS when a family can't decide how to split up; the ride cars roll on with no one in them, slowing the load speed.)
I agree that the cabins will not be filled to capacity, but I still don't think they'll be sent off empty on a regular basis. I still think intelligent design of the station will make the difference.Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.
The load system for these gondolas uses a stationary platform, but gondolas do not stop moving; they just slow down. The best Disney load setup analogy is the load scheme of rides such as BLSRS, Peter Pan, Spaceship Earth, TTA, etc that feed a single queue onto a moving walkway. Just having a CM there asking "how many" would slow things down, let alone using dots on the floor. As the gondolas don't stop at all, I can't see any possible way to insist that people fill them. No matter how hard you try to organize them, some people simply won't move fast enough. (The videos show strollers and bikes being loaded with no stop, so I assume that would be the case at WDW for strollers as well. It will be interesting to see how they handle wheelchairs and ECV's.)
If you look at the demo videos from Dopplmayr (which mostly depict ski resort situations), it's obvious that it isn't the norm to always fill gondolas to capacity. People get on as quickly as they can, but if you have any slow people boarding, there just won't be enough time to get every space filled before the gondola doors close.
A system like this one could theoretically carry 5K passengers per hour, but that isn't likely to happen in practice. Somewhere north of 3K/hr is thought to be a more realistic estimate under ordinary conditions. (I can see that at park closing there would probably be CM's working the entrance queue telling people to fill up every available seat, and that would help, but it won't be foolproof.)
Disney is a master at moving people efficiently. I have to believe they’ve thought the loading process of the gondolas through and this system will move people as efficiently as possible.
Also here’s a video I found on YouTube that shows a Gondola with a handicap car