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

[rteetz]

Are the gondolas going to slow down at the boardwalk turn? I didn't realize the turn had the capacity to uncouple the gondolas from the cable. I thought it was just a plain turn the cable changed direction around.

Yes they will slow down at the turn.

 

[Frederic Civish]

Why are they going to slow down at that turn when there is no loading or unloading there?

 

[BabybetterDisney]

Interesting. Seems like it could be quite a long travel time (if, for example, you're staying at POP) to get to Epcot when considering getting off and reloading in addition to those travel times. Could be 30 minutes to get there - longer than bus travel...

I'm hoping that Disney is giving an over estimate, that actual times should be less. An engineer made the following calculations based on google distance measurement and gondola going at 11 mph:



If not, then the gondola is definitely longer than bus travel. Last summer, for example, we stayed at Pop and left our room for the bus to Epcot around 10 minutes before estimated arrival (not during rush hour). We got there, the bus was there within 5 minutes, took up to 5 minutes to load/unload if there's a scooter, 13 minutes to drive to Epcot, so 23 minutes to go to Epcot, or 28 minutes counting from the time we leave our room. The gondola's travel time, counting transfer time, is double that of the bus according to Disney. But according to the engineer, the travel time should only be 13 minutes, not counting transfer time of 5 minutes. That is still no faster than the bus, however.
Coming back, we rarely wait for the bus for long because we have the choice of Pop or AofA. That cuts the average wait time down to 5 minutes. The buses are still faster.

Going to DHS, however, during non-rush hours, I am imagining jumping on the gondola, fly to CBR in 3 minutes 16 seconds, jump off, rush onto the other gondola within 30 seconds, fly to DHS in 3 minutes 45 seconds, add 30 more extra seconds for gondola slow down/speed up, for a total of 8 minutes! According to Disney's estimate, it's more like 11 minutes, but I really want to shave off those 3 minutes. I am planning to stay in a room that's 2 minute walk from the Pop gondola station, so I can get to DHS in 10 minutes! That beats staying at Boardwalk! But if I have to add 3 more minutes, then I lose to Boardwalk. They are still the fastest location to get to DHS.

In any case, being that Disney will run the buses with the gondolas, it won't take much to figure out which is the faster way to get from Pop to Epcot.

 

[BabybetterDisney]

Why are they going to slow down at that turn when there is no loading or unloading there?

Have to. Otherwise, imagine the gondolas turning a sharp corner at high speed.

 

[mamaofsix]

I'm hoping that Disney is giving an over estimate, that actual times should be less. An engineer made the following calculations based on google distance measurement and gondola going at 11 mph:

View attachment 397224

If not, then the gondola is definitely longer than bus travel. Last summer, for example, we stayed at Pop and left our room for the bus to Epcot around 10 minutes before estimated arrival (not during rush hour). We got there, the bus was there within 5 minutes, took up to 5 minutes to load/unload if there's a scooter, 13 minutes to drive to Epcot, so 23 minutes to go to Epcot, or 28 minutes counting from the time we leave our room. The gondola's travel time, counting transfer time, is double that of the bus according to Disney. But according to the engineer, the travel time should only be 13 minutes, not counting transfer time of 5 minutes. That is still no faster than the bus, however.
Coming back, we rarely wait for the bus for long because we have the choice of Pop or AofA. That cuts the average wait time down to 5 minutes. The buses are still faster.

Going to DHS, however, during non-rush hours, I am imagining jumping on the gondola, fly to CBR in 3 minutes 16 seconds, jump off, rush onto the other gondola within 30 seconds, fly to DHS in 3 minutes 45 seconds, add 30 more extra seconds for gondola slow down/speed up, for a total of 8 minutes! According to Disney's estimate, it's more like 11 minutes, but I really want to shave off those 3 minutes. I am planning to stay in a room that's 2 minute walk from the Pop gondola station, so I can get to DHS in 10 minutes! That beats staying at Boardwalk! But if I have to add 3 more minutes, then I lose to Boardwalk. They are still the fastest location to get to DHS.

In any case, being that Disney will run the buses with the gondolas, it won't take much to figure out which is the faster way to get from Pop to Epcot.

Sounds like this plan is highly contingent on there being absolutely zero line ups or wait when transferring to different gondolas at each station. Maybe that will be true, but I'm imagining is will take 5-10 minutes by the time you unload, walk to the correct line up for the next gondola, and reload again. Guess we won't know until the system is actually in use and we hear reports back...

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Are the gondolas going to slow down at the boardwalk turn? I didn't realize the turn had the capacity to uncouple the gondolas from the cable. I thought it was just a plain turn the cable changed direction around.

Why are they going to slow down at that turn when there is no loading or unloading there?

The godolas "change lines" at the Riviera and the board walk turn. It is like two straight shot there and you switch to the old straight run line

The BW turn should be much quicker than an actual station as no loading or u loading and you won't get nearly as slow as they do for loading and unloading, but will be a bit of slow down to switch cables

You can see in the below image of a similar system how the gondgon arms are lifted above the cables and on the tracks above to switch them between the two cables

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I'm hoping that Disney is giving an over estimate, that actual times should be less. An engineer made the following calculations based on google distance measurement and gondola going at 11 mph:

View attachment 397224

If not, then the gondola is definitely longer than bus travel. Last summer, for example, we stayed at Pop and left our room for the bus to Epcot around 10 minutes before estimated arrival (not during rush hour). We got there, the bus was there within 5 minutes, took up to 5 minutes to load/unload if there's a scooter, 13 minutes to drive to Epcot, so 23 minutes to go to Epcot, or 28 minutes counting from the time we leave our room. The gondola's travel time, counting transfer time, is double that of the bus according to Disney. But according to the engineer, the travel time should only be 13 minutes, not counting transfer time of 5 minutes. That is still no faster than the bus, however.
Coming back, we rarely wait for the bus for long because we have the choice of Pop or AofA. That cuts the average wait time down to 5 minutes. The buses are still faster.

Going to DHS, however, during non-rush hours, I am imagining jumping on the gondola, fly to CBR in 3 minutes 16 seconds, jump off, rush onto the other gondola within 30 seconds, fly to DHS in 3 minutes 45 seconds, add 30 more extra seconds for gondola slow down/speed up, for a total of 8 minutes! According to Disney's estimate, it's more like 11 minutes, but I really want to shave off those 3 minutes. I am planning to stay in a room that's 2 minute walk from the Pop gondola station, so I can get to DHS in 10 minutes! That beats staying at Boardwalk! But if I have to add 3 more minutes, then I lose to Boardwalk. They are still the fastest location to get to DHS.

In any case, being that Disney will run the buses with the gondolas, it won't take much to figure out which is the faster way to get from Pop to Epcot.

My guess is Disney is being a bit conservative and perhaps including a bit for loading/unloading

 

[DanBoris]

The godolas "change lines" at the Riviera and the board walk turn. It is like two straight shot there and you switch to the old straight run line

The BW turn should be much quicker than an actual station as no loading or u loading and you won't get nearly as slow as they do for loading and unloading, but will be a bit of slow down to switch cables

You can see in the below image of a similar system how the gondgon arms are lifted above the cables and on the tracks above to switch them between the two cables

View attachment 397227

The Disney system does not switch cables at Boardwalk, it's one continuous cable from CBR to Epcot.

 

[Spaceguy55]

2 thoughts on the time comparison between the buses and gondola's;
The time for buses is best case scenario, add walking up when one is just leaving, traffic, full or loading a scooter or two and the time can easily be more like 45-60 minutes. During mid day I've walked up and a bus was waiting and was able to hop on an get to DHS or Epcot in as little as 15-20 but still had to walk almost 10 minutes from the bus stop to the gate, DHS is now closer so that helps. Getting from the gondola station at either park is less than a minute at Epcot and maybe only a little over a minute to DHS.
As far as the gondola time, maybe they are planning on running them at a speed where they don't tilt on take off and landing as much, the faster speed test's we saw may have been top speed for evacuations. I would love that tilting but it may not be everyone's cup of tea.
The gondola's will always be faster even at peak times..does anyone think the buses will be any faster at peak times and everyone having a seat?

 

[jade1]

Kinda depends from POP to EPCOT IMO.

I would take the gondola simply because it looks more fun. Save the bus rides for AK and MK.

But if really pressed for time, it would depend where I'm going at EPCOT.

From the bus to the EPCOT "front" entrance is about 250 yards, from the Skyliner to IG is about 50 yards.

Am I going for a GoTG FP near the front, or a France ADR near IG.

As for distances in general, IG is closer to every country in WS, than the EPCOT bus stops. (appears Mexico is the most similar, but still closer to IG). Soarin is basically a tie to both, TT is closer to the front by about 100 yards.

Also can check the app in case the EPCOT bus just left, or is just arriving soon.

 

[Disneylover99]

2 thoughts on the time comparison between the buses and gondola's;
The time for buses is best case scenario, add walking up when one is just leaving, traffic, full or loading a scooter or two and the time can easily be more like 45-60 minutes. During mid day I've walked up and a bus was waiting and was able to hop on an get to DHS or Epcot in as little as 15-20 but still had to walk almost 10 minutes from the bus stop to the gate, DHS is now closer so that helps. Getting from the gondola station at either park is less than a minute at Epcot and maybe only a little over a minute to DHS.
As far as the gondola time, maybe they are planning on running them at a speed where they don't tilt on take off and landing as much, the faster speed test's we saw may have been top speed for evacuations. I would love that tilting but it may not be everyone's cup of tea.
The gondola's will always be faster even at peak times..does anyone think the buses will be any faster at peak times and everyone having a seat?

We stay at Pop and like to go on Spaceship Earth first when we head to Epcot. I’d imagine the bus could be faster, especially since we check bus arrival times on the app. So we might only need to wait a minute or two for the bus at Pop.

 

[STLstone]

Sounds like this plan is highly contingent on there being absolutely zero line ups or wait when transferring to different gondolas at each station. Maybe that will be true, but I'm imagining is will take 5-10 minutes by the time you unload, walk to the correct line up for the next gondola, and reload again. Guess we won't know until the system is actually in use and we hear reports back...

The spreadsheet accounts for 5 minutes of transfer time from one line to the next. Is that enough? Like you said, we won't know until we see these in action.

 

[DanBoris]

The spreadsheet accounts for 5 minutes of transfer time from one line to the next. Is that enough? Like you said, we won't know until we see these in action.

In 5 minutes about 300 people can depart on a single line. Most times of the day a 5 minutes wait should be reasonable.

 

[mamaofsix]

The spreadsheet accounts for 5 minutes of transfer time from one line to the next. Is that enough? Like you said, we won't know until we see these in action.

Yeah, I would agree with the spreadsheet. I was responding to the poster who had said they hoped to transfer between gondolas in 30 seconds. It seemed a bit unlikely to me - 5 minutes definitely seems more do-able.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

The Disney system does not switch cables at Boardwalk, it's one continuous cable from CBR to Epcot.

If it's one continuous cable, how can the gondolas slow down during the turn?

 

[rteetz]

If it's one continuous cable, how can the gondolas slow down during the turn?

Same way they will at the Riviera station, they detach from the line.

 

[CouponGirl]

Has it been said whether or not strollers will be able to roll onto the gondolas or if they will need to be folded?

 

[NotUrsula]

Has it been said whether or not strollers will be able to roll onto the gondolas or if they will need to be folded?

Roll on, as long as they are not too wide for the doorway (which should not be an issue with the new size limits.) It would be best to turn it around inside the cabin after boarding if you can, as it could be a bit tricky backing out of a moving gondola when it is time to get off. The bench seats can fold upward.

 

[CouponGirl]

Roll on, as long as they are not too wide for the doorway (which should not be an issue with the new size limits.) It would be best to turn it around inside the cabin after boarding if you can, as it could be a bit tricky backing out of a moving gondola when it is time to get off. The bench seats can fold upward.

That’s great! It will be nice to not have to remove a sleeping (or really even a non-sleeping) child! Thank you

 

[Spaceguy55]

Since there seems to be many who think the buses will not run as they do now when the Skyway opens then the comparison of the times will not matter..the gondola's will always be faster under that scenario...at any speed