Disney Skyliner (Gondola Transportation System) Read Post 1 Now Open!

[Moliphino]

I would be extremely surprised if there wasn't a significant decrease in the number of buses running from the resorts that have access to the gondolas. Disney isn't going to spend the amount of money I get on the system without being able to get savings someplace else.

I think they were only talking about the Epcot area resorts, which don't even have buses to Epcot or DHS unless the boats are down.

 

[firemanx]

found this on youtube can a mod put in the correct area if this is wrong, but looks like typical florida afternoon!!!!!!

 

[OSUZorba]

No, it's combined, because everyone leaving DHS for any of the 4 resorts has to ride the same line to CBR, and so it goes for Epcot as well. So the capacity of each line leaving a park has to be divided among the resorts. And the capacity of the Pop/AoA line has to be divided between DHS & Epcot.

3000/hr is about 42 buses, so it's like 10-11 buses to each of the 4 resorts

It's be the equivalent of 42 buses from each park, though, so 84 total. 3000 from DHS and 3000 from Epcot.

 

[DisLiss]

I wonder if strollers and ECV's have been figured into the rumour of capacity being 4,000-5,000 people per hour? I would predict that a majority of the gondolas will not be leaving the station with 10 people . . . more like 5 people, plus a stroller. Or, 2 people on ECVs. Or, 6-8 people who don't want to squish in tightly just to fit 10.

I'm sure Disney is well, well aware of the enormous number of strollers and ECVs on their property every day. So I would imagine that they would not work out numbers based on there not being any strollers or ECVs in the gondolas. I also doubt they worked their numbers on 10 people per car even if there are no strollers or ECVs, because as I mentioned before, Disney is also aware that some of us guests are much larger than others.

Honestly, in terms of transportation function, I don't think it really matters how many people get on each car. The beauty of the gondola system is that there is a never ending supply of empty cars moving into the station all day long. So even at the busiest times, you'll never have waiting times when absolutely no one is getting into a gondola car like you do with other modes of transportation. It's not "Oh man, there went the boat. Now we have to wait X minutes for the next one." or "Ugh! This bus is full??? Now we have to wait for another bus??". With gondolas that doesn't happen. This car is full? No problem. That car just left? No problem! Because there is a constant line of empty cars pulling into the station.

Heck, it may be easier loading small groups than worrying about filling the cars completely, anyway. Less jockeying for position between groups/couples/etc. who don't know one another.

 

[Helvetica]

Watching the Skyliner while I was at Pop this past week was fascinating. They’re a lot bigger and move a whole lot faster than I was expecting.

I’m interested to see how they actually function when operational and how the Rivera station is handled.

 

[mamaofsix]

I'm sure Disney is well, well aware of the enormous number of strollers and ECVs on their property every day. So I would imagine that they would not work out numbers based on there not being any strollers or ECVs in the gondolas. I also doubt they worked their numbers on 10 people per car even if there are no strollers or ECVs, because as I mentioned before, Disney is also aware that some of us guests are much larger than others.

Honestly, in terms of transportation function, I don't think it really matters how many people get on each car. The beauty of the gondola system is that there is a never ending supply of empty cars moving into the station all day long. So even at the busiest times, you'll never have waiting times when absolutely no one is getting into a gondola car like you do with other modes of transportation. It's not "Oh man, there went the boat. Now we have to wait X minutes for the next one." or "Ugh! This bus is full??? Now we have to wait for another bus??". With gondolas that doesn't happen. This car is full? No problem. That car just left? No problem! Because there is a constant line of empty cars pulling into the station.

Heck, it may be easier loading small groups than worrying about filling the cars completely, anyway. Less jockeying for position between groups/couples/etc. who don't know one another.

The 4,000-5,000 capacity rumour I was quoting was not put out by Disney. It seems to be an estimate based on known number of cars, how quickly they have been observed to move, and the capacity of 10 per car. I agree with a few pp's who have said the the operating capacity may be more like 3,000 per hour when considering strollers, ECV's, etc. At this point, it's all guess work.

And yes, you are right - there will be a constant supply of empty cars arriving. . . identical to the Spaceship Earth and Peoplemover rides. While these don't generally have enormous lines, it is common for you to see a 30-45 wait for omnimovers. It's just simple math, really. If you have several thousand people trying to get on the skyliner at Epcot at once during park close on a busy day, it will take quite some time to get them all to loaded - some may be waiting an hour.

 

[joelkfla]

The 4,000-5,000 capacity rumour I was quoting was not put out by Disney. It seems to be an estimate based on known number of cars, how quickly they have been observed to move, and the capacity of 10 per car. I agree with a few pp's who have said the the operating capacity may be more like 3,000 per hour when considering strollers, ECV's, etc. At this point, it's all guess work.

Observed time between cabins is about 10 seconds, which works out to 3,600 pphpd at 10 per cabin, or 2,880 at 8 per cabin.

The 5,000 figure is the manufacture's claim based on a line speed of 6 m/s, but Disney has chosen to run at 5 m/s.

 

[nkosiek]

Observed time between cabins is about 10 seconds, which works out to 3,600 pphpd at 10 per cabin, or 2,880 at 8 per cabin.

The 5,000 figure is the manufacture's claim based on a line speed of 6 m/s, but Disney has chosen to run at 5 m/s.

And that slightly slower velocity allows Disney to make sure it gets people on and off safely, especially those with strollers, etc.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

The 4,000-5,000 capacity rumour I was quoting was not put out by Disney. It seems to be an estimate based on known number of cars, how quickly they have been observed to move, and the capacity of 10 per car. I agree with a few pp's who have said the the operating capacity may be more like 3,000 per hour when considering strollers, ECV's, etc. At this point, it's all guess work.

And yes, you are right - there will be a constant supply of empty cars arriving. . . identical to the Spaceship Earth and Peoplemover rides. While these don't generally have enormous lines, it is common for you to see a 30-45 wait for omnimovers. It's just simple math, really. If you have several thousand people trying to get on the skyliner at Epcot at once during park close on a busy day, it will take quite some time to get them all to loaded - some may be waiting an hour.

Though some of those wait times are due to forcing FastPass onto these omnimover rides which really don't need them/shouldn't have them. The Peoplemover does get backups during really crowded times and/or if there were some stoppages but anything more than 15 minutes is really rare

 

[Mikey15]

The IG Skyliner is less than a 5 minute walk from YC. The Skyliner travel time will be about 5 minutes faster than the boat. Add in wait time if there is no boat in the dock when they exit & yes, lots of YC guests will be taking the Skyliner. As for park to park transfers, I was just at YC 2 weeks ago. We left the Studios between 1:30 -3 pm 3 times in the week we were there. Every time, the line was 2 boats deep. Many of those people were staying on to Epcot.

Disney didn’t put this system in to service just 3 resorts.

5 minutes YC to IG? I had to go from Ale & Compass to Beach Club gift shop a few months back, and I swear that took 5 minutes alone, walking quickly. I just don't see a 5min 500yd fast walk to take a ~12-15 minute Skyliner ride to DHS as most guests' preference. It could be quicker and preferred to some guests, but I think a lot of volume would still wait for a boat, and others prefer to walk the 1500yds total (1000 more than to the IG Skyliner) to DHS directly and get there at the same time roughly as they would via Skyliner.

I absolutely agree people will use it for park to park; I'm saying midday I don't think it would be enough to create a line. There's a lot more throughput on a ~4,000 people/hr each way system than the boats.

 

[rwalker1304]

I think seeing how everything functions at CBR in the morning once Galaxy's Edge opens will be fascinating as you will have an uneven amount of people wanting to go on the various lines - meaning, more people coming in to CBR (from Pop/AoA and coming from CBR itself and potentially some coming down from EPCOT resorts) wanting to go to DHS than on the other lines combined.

So how is this handled? Is there just a backup at CBR for the DHS line? Do they run the other lines slower than the DHS line so the Output can try to match the Input? How is the exit line from the other lines merged in with those walking up from CBR? .... All will be very interesting to see in action

That's my big question, how will the crowds be handled when it is a mad rush to try to get to DHS.

 

[rwalker1304]

The way the previous poster envisions it is the way it is. You can look back at construction images to see how the stations are set up.

Sorry, was trying to find those images. Any chance you have a link?

 

[Farro]

found this on youtube can a mod put in the correct area if this is wrong, but looks like typical florida afternoon!!!!!!

Do you think they would get a chance to unload everyone first? Or would you be in one of those swaying in the wind gondolas during a storm?

 

[rteetz]

Sorry, was trying to find those images. Any chance you have a link?

The aerial images thread pinned to the top of this board. Or the first post of this thread has links to construction images.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Do you think they would get a chance to unload everyone first? Or would you be in one of those swaying in the wind gondolas during a storm?

if it is something major they know is coming I would guess they would try to clear the line - so not let people on and let the people on get off - before shutting it down. If it comes out of nowhere (or is much worse than expected) than you may be stuck swinging

But obviously all speculation - we shall see!

 

[Farro]

if it is something major they know is coming I would guess they would try to clear the line - so not let people on and let the people on get off - before shutting it down. If it comes out of nowhere (or is much worse than expected) than you may be stuck swinging

But obviously all speculation - we shall see!

I would need a Valium.

 

[crvetter]

if it is something major they know is coming I would guess they would try to clear the line - so not let people on and let the people on get off - before shutting it down. If it comes out of nowhere (or is much worse than expected) than you may be stuck swinging

But obviously all speculation - we shall see!

I would assume that these were empty? If so they would swing more from wind simply because of less mass thus lower inertial force to be overcome to get the swing going? Of course it depends how much Disney is filling the cabins.

 

[jade1]

5 minutes YC to IG? I had to go from Ale & Compass to Beach Club gift shop a few months back, and I swear that took 5 minutes alone, walking quickly. I just don't see a 5min 500yd fast walk to take a ~12-15 minute Skyliner ride to DHS as most guests' preference. It could be quicker and preferred to some guests, but I think a lot of volume would still wait for a boat, and others prefer to walk the 1500yds total (1000 more than to the IG Skyliner) to DHS directly and get there at the same time roughly as they would via Skyliner.

I absolutely agree people will use it for park to park; I'm saying midday I don't think it would be enough to create a line. There's a lot more throughput on a ~4,000 people/hr each way system than the boats.

Got me interested.

So from the BC "closest corner" to the Skyliner is about 220 yards, and from that corner to the Boat launch is about 420 yards. So prob Skyliner.

From the exit of the BC lobby to the Skyliner is about 450 yards, and to the Boat Launch is about 330 yards. That one might get me to pick the Skyliner.

From the YC lobby exit to the Skyliner is about 650 yards, and about 150 yards to the B Launch. So prob Boat Launch.

So your exit and/or room location can be a big factor when at YC/BC.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Got me interested.

So from the BC "closest corner" to the Skyliner is about 220 yards, and from that corner to the Boat launch is about 420 yards. So prob Skyliner.

From the exit of the BC lobby to the Skyliner is about 450 yards, and to the Boat Launch is about 330 yards. That one might get me to pick the Skyliner.

From the YC lobby exit to the Skyliner is about 650 yards, and about 150 yards to the B Launch. So prob Boat Launch.

So your exit and/or room location can be a big factor when at YC/BC.

Will be interesting to see how room location impacts things - like you pointed out here but then also at CBR some rooms might be closer to the Riviera Station - or even if a tad further away but if you are going to EPCOT might make it worthwhile to go there - but if going to DHS, how much closer do you have to be for it to be worthwhile to get on there but have to change at main CBR?

Will be a lot of strategies and planning tips coming out after this opens I bet as to when to take what form of transportation

 

[jade1]

Will be interesting to see how room location impacts things - like you pointed out here but then also at CBR some rooms might be closer to the Riviera Station - or even if a tad further away but if you are going to EPCOT might make it worthwhile to go there - but if going to DHS, how much closer do you have to be for it to be worthwhile to get on there but have to change at main CBR?

Will be a lot of strategies and planning tips coming out after this opens I bet as to when to take what form of transportation

Agreed. Another "day one" answer we will have.

Plus factor in those that "want" to ride the Skyliner just for something different or even fun.