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

[rteetz]

I imagine by automated switching the PP means a system where you could board a gondola at EPCOT and it would route your through CBR then switch you to the line going to DHS without having to disembark the gondola. Kind of like how train tracks switch depending on where you're going.

I imagine there would be a way to do it and it would be awesome but it may also be more of a hassle than it's worth.

Yeah I haven’t seen that in any of the lines that have been used as examples for the Disney Skyliner. Considering how many people this will put through and how many different places everyone is going that seems like a possible logistical issue as well.

 

[Turn the Page]

Yeah I haven’t seen that in any of the lines that have been used as examples for the Disney Skyliner. Considering how many people this will put through and how many different places everyone is going that seems like a possible logistical issue as well.

I think it would be relatively easy to put in a panel or something with buttons and you just select the button for the destination you want to go to. Sort of like an elevator.

The hard part would be merging the lines without playing bumper cars.

 

[DanBoris]

I think it would be relatively easy to put in a panel or something with buttons and you just select the button for the destination you want to go to. Sort of like an elevator.

The hard part would be merging the lines without playing bumper cars.

As I mentioned a few posts back I am not sure if this type of switching would even be possible. There is a limit to how many cars could be on each line at any one time, so you would run into a problem if there wasn't enough capacity on the line for all the cars that want to go there, and since everything is constantly in motion you can't just hold them until there is capacity. The only way I could see this working is in a system where each line had close to enough capacity to hold every car in the system which would mean running the system far below what it would be capable of.

 

[rteetz]

I think it would be relatively easy to put in a panel or something with buttons and you just select the button for the destination you want to go to. Sort of like an elevator.

The hard part would be merging the lines without playing bumper cars.

I definitely was thinking about the latter. These things will be moving and carrying a lot of people so if everyone is going different places that could create back ups if they did such a thing.

As for buttons in theory that would be okay but if a little kid gets on before mom and dad and pushes AoA instead of DHS then that’s an issue.

I think logistically they are doing better without doing any sort of automated switching.

 

[Turn the Page]

I definitely was thinking about the latter. These things will be moving and carrying a lot of people so if everyone is going different places that could create back ups if they did such a thing.

As for buttons in theory that would be okay but if a little kid gets on before mom and dad and pushes AoA instead of DHS then that’s an issue.

I think logistically they are doing better without doing any sort of automated switching.

Oh yeah, logistically it would be a lot simpler without automated switching though it would be nice.

I suppose it could work if all the lines converge at the central hub and then are dispatched to their individual lines from there. No bumper cars but you still have the line capacity issue.

That said, would you want to be on an automated transportation system designed by the same people who designed the Disney website? I don't.

 

[rteetz]

Oh yeah, logistically it would be a lot simpler without automated switching though it would be nice.

I suppose it could work if all the lines converge at the central hub and then are dispatched to their individual lines from there. No bumper cars but you still have the line capacity issue.

That said, would you want to be on an automated transportation system designed by the same people who designed the Disney website? I don't.

I’m pretty sure the same people aren’t designing a transportation system that designed a website...

 

[Turn the Page]

I’m pretty sure the same people aren’t designing a transportation system that designed a website...

That's probably also true.

 

[beer dave]

I know that this is probably not what they are doing, but why wouldn't there just be one continuous loop and have it load both directions?

If you're at CBR you can load in any of three directions-- to epcot (through riviera), to DHS, or to AOA....
Getting on and off optional-- like if going from AOA to DHS, (assuming the route runs counter clockwise) you could get off at CBR and switch to avoid the long loop through epcot....or not if you like the sightseeing.... Riviera could load to epcot directly or to DHS through CBR....

 

[intertile]

I thought about this a while ago...while complicated the system could be automated. It would require cars that come off the line at the stations for loading/unloading and transferring.
It would also require empty cars to be loaded on and off the system to keep it balanced.

I don't believe they could leave it to guest interaction, but a loading CM would select the destination on a panel that while link the destination to the cab #. After that it's simply about having an advanced queue program that monitors the cab. When the cab enters a station the program would either 1) divert the cab off the line to the load/unload area 2) bypass the station and continue on to the next line. If the cabs themselves come off the line, as most do now, then as a cab enters a station its motion wouldbe managed by a series of rollers that can move it...that allows the ropes to move continuously from point to point, and is the only way we can have 3 separate lines that form a "t".

Sorry if someone else wrote this, ..i'm too lazy to read 98 pages of posts.

 

[Roxyfire]

I don’t assume to have all the answers, and the questions people have are valid, but do people really believe the Disney lawyers and strategists haven’t considered all these issues and more? That they’d sink millions into a transport system if they didn’t think it was effective, safe, and pragmatic?

I absolutely think people assume their question is unique and a "gotcha" because of other initiatives that don't go as planned.

 

[rastuso]

The gondolas most certainly come off the cables. That's been the case for decades.

Simple 2 choice automation should be doable. Choose to disembark, or go to DHS. Having 3 choices could make a very complex system quickly. The choice would have to be made before getting on, with separate lines, since the gondolas must be balanced on the systems. They could get more fancy and have direct access to the park with Early Access that day.

The issue with these systems is the loading speed. Again, a skier knows what they are doing, and get in position quickly. A family with grandma, and a 2 year old, not so much. And delays like that will quickly create backups in the line, as capacity is missed. If the DHS line has an issue, as people pour in to the station from AoA, the line gets long quickly. These issues may balance themselves out over time, but there will always be bad days for just one line, and once a 20 minute wait is created, it will never disappear.

As far as weather goes, let's say you are planning on going from Epcot to DHS. You walk all the way back to the gondola system. Two things could happen. One is that you get to the CBR station, and the system is shut down for weather. Second, you could get denied in Epcot for weather, and then have to walk all the way to the front to get a bus.

I'm sure they will attempt to empty the system before weather strikes, but as quickly a weather changes in Florida afternoons, that may mean the systems are shut down for hours, because they just don't know what is going to happen. Or a system malfunction happens for 10 minutes right before a weather shutdown. These things WILL happen. Regardless of how many risk assessment meetings happen, sooner or later, there will people stranded in these in a storm.

I guess I could blindly trust Disney, but I don't trust any company, after seeing how shortcuts are always taken sitting in those risk assessment sessions first hand.

That Yeti is still paralyzed, isn't it?

-J

 

[Turn the Page]

The gondolas most certainly come off the cables. That's been the case for decades.

Simple 2 choice automation should be doable. Choose to disembark, or go to DHS. Having 3 choices could make a very complex system quickly. The choice would have to be made before getting on, with separate lines, since the gondolas must be balanced on the systems. They could get more fancy and have direct access to the park with Early Access that day.

The issue with these systems is the loading speed. Again, a skier knows what they are doing, and get in position quickly. A family with grandma, and a 2 year old, not so much. And delays like that will quickly create backups in the line, as capacity is missed. If the DHS line has an issue, as people pour in to the station from AoA, the line gets long quickly. These issues may balance themselves out over time, but there will always be bad days for just one line, and once a 20 minute wait is created, it will never disappear.

As far as weather goes, let's say you are planning on going from Epcot to DHS. You walk all the way back to the gondola system. Two things could happen. One is that you get to the CBR station, and the system is shut down for weather. Second, you could get denied in Epcot for weather, and then have to walk all the way to the front to get a bus.

I'm sure they will attempt to empty the system before weather strikes, but as quickly a weather changes in Florida afternoons, that may mean the systems are shut down for hours, because they just don't know what is going to happen. Or a system malfunction happens for 10 minutes right before a weather shutdown. These things WILL happen. Regardless of how many risk assessment meetings happen, sooner or later, there will people stranded in these in a storm.

I guess I could blindly trust Disney, but I don't trust any company, after seeing how shortcuts are always taken sitting in those risk assessment sessions first hand.

That Yeti is still paralyzed, isn't it?

-J

Eh, I don't know that it will really be all that different from loading an omnimover like HM or TTA. True, you won't have ECV's or strollers on HM but you also aren't stepping up into a tiny space like on the doom buggies either.

I wonder if the gondola stations will have a moving walkway like the omnimover rides do. That would likely help make things easier.

 

[rastuso]

The Omnimover rides stop all the time now. In the last five years, I haven't had a ride on the Haunted Mansion that wasn't stopped 2 or 3 times. It used to never stop. The gondola cable won't stop, but the line will back up. And at some point the cable will stop, if there isn't a gondola ready to place on it, due to balancing issues. I don't know if even one gondola can be missing. Again, with these speeds, just one slow family, letting a large gap get in front of them, can ultimately shut down the line, and create a backup.

And there are no strollers, and very few wheelchairs in the doombuggies loading station.

-J

 

[umichigan10]

The Omnimover rides stop all the time now. In the last five years, I haven't had a ride on the Haunted Mansion that wasn't stopped 2 or 3 times. It used to never stop. The gondola cable won't stop, but the line will back up. And at some point the cable will stop, if there isn't a gondola ready to place on it, due to balancing issues. I don't know if even one gondola can be missing. Again, with these speeds, just one slow family, letting a large gap get in front of them, can ultimately shut down the line, and create a backup.

And there are no strollers, and very few wheelchairs in the doombuggies loading station.

-J

You can take a gondola totally off the line and move it to the side to load, which may be what they do with ECVs. Again I don’t have all the answers but I’m sure they’ve already put considerations in place for this

 

[rastuso]

You can take a gondola totally off the line and move it to the side to load, which may be what they do with ECVs. Again I don’t have all the answers but I’m sure they’ve already put considerations in place for this

We're all well aware of that. ALL of the gondolas come off.

I love the folks who just assume Disney would never mess up their assumptions.

Someone In Disney approved letting Monorails fall apart to the point that a door opened up mid ride. So, pardon me for not having such unbridled faith in their decisions.

-J

 

[DanBoris]

The gondolas most certainly come off the cables. That's been the case for decades.

Simple 2 choice automation should be doable. Choose to disembark, or go to DHS. Having 3 choices could make a very complex system quickly. The choice would have to be made before getting on, with separate lines, since the gondolas must be balanced on the systems. They could get more fancy and have direct access to the park with Early Access that day.

The issue with these systems is the loading speed. Again, a skier knows what they are doing, and get in position quickly. A family with grandma, and a 2 year old, not so much. And delays like that will quickly create backups in the line, as capacity is missed. If the DHS line has an issue, as people pour in to the station from AoA, the line gets long quickly. These issues may balance themselves out over time, but there will always be bad days for just one line, and once a 20 minute wait is created, it will never disappear.

As far as weather goes, let's say you are planning on going from Epcot to DHS. You walk all the way back to the gondola system. Two things could happen. One is that you get to the CBR station, and the system is shut down for weather. Second, you could get denied in Epcot for weather, and then have to walk all the way to the front to get a bus.

I'm sure they will attempt to empty the system before weather strikes, but as quickly a weather changes in Florida afternoons, that may mean the systems are shut down for hours, because they just don't know what is going to happen. Or a system malfunction happens for 10 minutes right before a weather shutdown. These things WILL happen. Regardless of how many risk assessment meetings happen, sooner or later, there will people stranded in these in a storm.

I guess I could blindly trust Disney, but I don't trust any company, after seeing how shortcuts are always taken sitting in those risk assessment sessions first hand.

That Yeti is still paralyzed, isn't it?

-J

The guys who writes Lift Blog talked about the question of loading on another board. He runs a lift for a ski resort which is run in non-winter months for sighseeing. The non-winter months draw a lot of people who aren't skiers and are unfamiliar with gondola but despite this he said loading still goes pretty smoothly.

 

[umichigan10]

We're all well aware of that. ALL of the gondolas come off.

I love the folks who just assume Disney would never mess up their assumptions.

Someone In Disney approved letting Monorails fall apart to the point that a door opened up mid ride. So, pardon me for not having such unbridled faith in their decisions.

-J

I mean I’d assume a company like Disney wouldn’t make an investment in a mode of transportation, sinking manpower and labor into its construction and operation, without looking at all angles before green lighting it’s construction. I don’t see how it’s comparable to the monorail because with that they’ve simply not invested money into new trains, whereas this is brand new

 

[rastuso]

The guys who writes Lift Blog talked about the question of loading on another board. He runs a lift for a ski resort which is run in non-winter months for sighseeing. The non-winter months draw a lot of people who aren't skiers and are unfamiliar with gondola but despite this he said loading still goes pretty smoothly.

I'm sure they draw the same people site seeing every day as Disney World theme parks. Or, they draw about one tenth the number, more likely.

 

[rastuso]

The gondolas will work. However, There seem to be a lot of people expecting them to run flawlessly, with perfectly matched capacities, with no lines, and no weather issues. People don't get stranded at bus stops during a thunder storm. But I guarantee you Disney knows they will have stranded people at the CBR station during them. I would assume/hope they will have backup bus stops there.

Disney has thought through those scenarios. But, c'mon, people come unglued when they don't have towel animals on their bed at night. The twitter storm when the first breakdown happens, in a storm, or 100 degree weather and a broken AC will be huge.

-J

 

[jade1]

As far as weather goes, let's say you are planning on going from Epcot to DHS. You walk all the way back to the gondola system. Two things could happen. One is that you get to the CBR station, and the system is shut down for weather. Second, you could get denied in Epcot for weather, and then have to walk all the way to the front to get a bus.

-J

Yep been many times in the summer. I would take the Friendship boat right next to the Gondola, from EPCOT to DHS if it is at all ominous out.

For sure wouldn't walk back to the front of EPCOT.

Boats are right there, but 3/4 mile back to the bus stop, bus stop at BC is 0.4 miles and even all the way to DHS is about 1 mile.