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

[TheMaxRebo]

Could possibly add RoL to that list too...

I sort of see RoL as the opposite - they had an opening date but then didn't open then as they couldn't get it working right ... vs opening then while still having the tech issues and it not working consistently/properly. Similarly with pushing back opening of MMRR and RotR (though one could argue they should have pushed the entire GE Land opening back until RotR was ready to go, but toothpaste is out of the tube at this point)

I'd also include the QS location being built in TSL. Also, the umbrellas they had to put up after the fact. Both seem pretty obvious to park veterans. Imagineering would in be that group, frankly.

TSL definitely felt rushed to finish it for the opening date they picked

 

[joelkfla]

Anyone have any idea what the Skyliner operating hours will be?
I need to get from CBR to Garden Grill on Monday, Sept 30th for an 8:00am breakfast.
So I am hoping to hop-on at CBR station at 7:20-7:30 or so....does this sound reasonable??

Disney predicts a 15-minute trip from CBR to IG. The Land is a 10 minute walk from IG.

If you want to be at the restaurant 15 minutes before the reservation, I think 7:15-7:20 would be a better target departure time. Don't forget to allow for the walk time from wherever you're starting in CBR to the station.

I would expect operating hours to be posted at the station on 9/29, or you could ask the front desk if there's no info in the room.

 

[ThistleMae]

Can't wait to try these out in January! I assume they will def. be up and running by then.

 

[Sweettears]

Could possibly add RoL to that list too...

As well as NFL

 

[vacationer1954]

Why call it a "delay" if they never said it would be open by then? There are a few things that are delayed, where they said 2019 and changed it to "this coming winter", but did they ever say the Skyliner would be open Summer 2019?

 

[rteetz]

Why call it a "delay" if they never said it would be open by then? There are a few things that are delayed, where they said 2019 and changed it to "this coming winter", but did they ever say the Skyliner would be open Summer 2019?

It’s a delay in my eyes because a system like this shouldn’t take this long to complete. There were internal plans to open it earlier than this as well.

 

[Weedy]

I know this has been asked and answered but is the entrance to the Skyliner at IG inside or outside of bag check?

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I know this has been asked and answered but is the entrance to the Skyliner at IG inside or outside of bag check?

Outside

 

[Mikey15]

It’s a delay in my eyes because a system like this shouldn’t take this long to complete. There were internal plans to open it earlier than this as well.

"Fall 2019" has been the official line for a long time though. We've been optimistic in this thread, and it sounds like the insiders were optimistic as well, but they seem to have delivered on what they've publicly timelined. MMRR delay would be the exception, I believe, but that went hand in hand with SWGE opening being earlier than the pool had.

 

[rteetz]

"Fall 2019" has been the official line for a long time though. We've been optimistic in this thread, and it sounds like the insiders were optimistic as well, but they seem to have delivered on what they've publicly timelined. MMRR delay would be the exception, I believe, but that went hand in hand with SWGE opening being earlier than the pool had.

I understand and agree but at the same time Disney took their time with this. A system like this really shouldn’t take this long to get built.

 

[jknezek]

I understand and agree but at the same time Disney took their time with this. A system like this really shouldn’t take this long to get built.

If lines took this long to build at ski resorts, the resorts would go insane. They get put up during the offseason and are ready to go when the season begins. It's a 6 month process. I get that there are some complexities in this particular system, but I think what we really have seen is "Disney time."

You can have it done right, fast, or cheap, pick 2. Disney will consistently pick right and cheap -- though I think the term should be "cheaper", not cheap. I don't think Disney really builds cheap things, see FEA which somehow cost an inordinate amount for not much gain in my opinion, but they do build things slowly. And time is money in construction. They rarely ever pick cheap and fast, though the details on TSL seem like that might have been one time they went that way and it kind of shows. And I've never really seen them go right and fast on anything, though that's not unusual in business either. It gets expensive in a hurry. Even things that maybe they should go right and fast on, i.e. the busted and badly overdue for replacement monorails at WDW, don't seem to get that kind of emergency treatment.

Overall though, yeah, I think most of us agree Disney goes with Right and Cheap. Of the options, it's probably the best combination, even if it is infuriating at times.

 

[rteetz]

If lines took this long to build at ski resorts, the resorts would go insane. They get put up during the offseason and are ready to go when the season begins. It's a 6 month process. I get that there are some complexities in this particular system, but I think what we really have seen is "Disney time."

You can have it done right, fast, or cheap, pick 2. Disney will consistently pick right and cheap -- though I think the term should be "cheaper", not cheap. I don't think Disney really builds cheap things, see FEA which somehow cost an inordinate amount for not much gain in my opinion, but they do build things slowly. And time is money in construction. They rarely ever pick cheap and fast, though the details on TSL seem like that might have been one time they went that way and it kind of shows. And I've never really seen them go right and fast on anything, though that's not unusual in business either. It gets expensive in a hurry. Even things that maybe they should go right and fast on, i.e. the busted and badly overdue for replacement monorails at WDW, don't seem to get that kind of emergency treatment.

Overall though, yeah, I think most of us agree Disney goes with Right and Cheap. Of the options, it's probably the best combination, even if it is infuriating at times.

Disney didn’t pick cheap with this either...

Even for Disney time this seems quite slow.

 

[joelkfla]

If lines took this long to build at ski resorts, the resorts would go insane. They get put up during the offseason and are ready to go when the season begins. It's a 6 month process. I get that there are some complexities in this particular system, but I think what we really have seen is "Disney time."

You can have it done right, fast, or cheap, pick 2. Disney will consistently pick right and cheap -- though I think the term should be "cheaper", not cheap. I don't think Disney really builds cheap things, see FEA which somehow cost an inordinate amount for not much gain in my opinion, but they do build things slowly. And time is money in construction. They rarely ever pick cheap and fast, though the details on TSL seem like that might have been one time they went that way and it kind of shows. And I've never really seen them go right and fast on anything, though that's not unusual in business either. It gets expensive in a hurry. Even things that maybe they should go right and fast on, i.e. the busted and badly overdue for replacement monorails at WDW, don't seem to get that kind of emergency treatment.

Overall though, yeah, I think most of us agree Disney goes with Right and Cheap. Of the options, it's probably the best combination, even if it is infuriating at times.

In defense of Disney, I don't think ski resorts usually build highly themed and detailed stations or storage facilities. Mechanically, the line was complete at least 6 months ago, as evidenced by the start of testing, which probably could have been completed in a couple of weeks. The last 6 months have all been station construction and detailing.

I'm not saying the stations couldn't have been built more quickly, but the system was "ski resort ready" months ago.

 

[jknezek]

In defense of Disney, I don't think ski resorts usually build highly themed and detailed stations or storage facilities. Mechanically, the line was complete at least 6 months ago, as evidenced by the start of testing, which probably could have been completed in a couple of weeks. The last 6 months have all been station construction and detailing.

I'm not saying the stations couldn't have been built more quickly, but the system was "ski resort ready" months ago.

This is true. Those some ski resorts do build, or at least build in, stations to their resorts. It just depends. But yeah. I don't disagree. That being said, the stations are fairly basic buildings. Themed or not. It's a roof supported by some pillars and some lines around the platform. We aren't talking about a show building or the Peter Pan queue here. Most of the theme is paint and trim.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

Ski resorts don’t have to keep thing open while new things are being built in the off season. I’m sure the work at the IG could have done a lot faster if they didn’t have to keep the area open and nice for guests.

Also, these stations will be open at least twice as long as a typical ski resort, so they will require at least twice as many people to run them, so a lot more people to train.

 

[sachilles]

I don't think it's theme, I think it's the surrounding stuff. Example being the entrance project at DHS as well as IG.
Really I think IG is the limiting factor, and for the life of me don't know why it had to be that way.
I get the impression that the security and gates interaction with the skyliner was a bit of an after thought, or at least not part of the original skyliner project.
In my mind I don't think anything dopplemeyer was responsible for factored in opening a lack of urgency to open.

 

[jade1]

Cast Members riding today

Was there any feedback on the temp concerns so many seem to have? Maybe they only tested in the evenings?

It is still very hot and humid down there.

Just curious.

 

[jknezek]

I don't think it's theme, I think it's the surrounding stuff. Example being the entrance project at DHS as well as IG.
Really I think IG is the limiting factor, and for the life of me don't know why it had to be that way.
I get the impression that the security and gates interaction with the skyliner was a bit of an after thought, or at least not part of the original skyliner project.
In my mind I don't think anything dopplemeyer was responsible for factored in opening a lack of urgency to open.

Me either. I think this is all on Disney and why they decided to structure the work they way they did. I can't figure out why they wouldn't have been working on the IG entrance earlier than they did. It was apparent to all of us that something needed to be done there right from the get go, and I'm sure it was to Disney as well. But Disney seems to make odd construction/project management decisions all the time. I say seems because I'm not a Disney project manager and they internal legit reasons for what they do. It just always seems like something we are left scratching our heads about. But it clearly works for them. And, as I said, Cheap and Right is usually the best combination. While we may pull our hair out if we miss the Skyliner or something else being open on any given trip, the vast majority of Disney Park goers aren't going to sweat it.

 

[NotUrsula]

If lines took this long to build at ski resorts, the resorts would go insane. They get put up during the offseason and are ready to go when the season begins. It's a 6 month process. I get that there are some complexities in this particular system, but I think what we really have seen is "Disney time."

You can have it done right, fast, or cheap, pick 2. Disney will consistently pick right and cheap -- though I think the term should be "cheaper", not cheap. I don't think Disney really builds cheap things, see FEA which somehow cost an inordinate amount for not much gain in my opinion, but they do build things slowly. And time is money in construction. They rarely ever pick cheap and fast, though the details on TSL seem like that might have been one time they went that way and it kind of shows. And I've never really seen them go right and fast on anything, though that's not unusual in business either. It gets expensive in a hurry. Even things that maybe they should go right and fast on, i.e. the busted and badly overdue for replacement monorails at WDW, don't seem to get that kind of emergency treatment.

Overall though, yeah, I think most of us agree Disney goes with Right and Cheap. Of the options, it's probably the best combination, even if it is infuriating at times.

I'm pretty sure that the issue is actually geology. Ski resorts are built at mountains, which have bedrock readily available. Orlando has no bedrock at all; what "rock" there is under Disney property is compacted organic shell material, and it is porous as a brittle sponge. These towers have to stand through hurricane-force winds while standing on poor anchorage; it was an engineering challenge that Doppelmayr had not dealt with in the past. (Though they did have a bit of practice when building the cable car system for the New Orleans World's Fair, which also took WAY longer than projected and was plagued with cost overruns due to geological concerns.)

In defense of Disney, I don't think ski resorts usually build highly themed and detailed stations or storage facilities. Mechanically, the line was complete at least 6 months ago, as evidenced by the start of testing, which probably could have been completed in a couple of weeks. The last 6 months have all been station construction and detailing.

I'm not saying the stations couldn't have been built more quickly, but the system was "ski resort ready" months ago.

This is true. Those some ski resorts do build, or at least build in, stations to their resorts. It just depends. But yeah. I don't disagree. That being said, the stations are fairly basic buildings. Themed or not. It's a roof supported by some pillars and some lines around the platform. We aren't talking about a show building or the Peter Pan queue here. Most of the theme is paint and trim.

Again, building to hurricane code complicates what would appear to be a very simple design. Open-sided "shed" type buildings are the most vulnerable structures in hurricanes, because the wind gets underneath the roof and pushes it straight up. Because these sheds are the only cover on very complicated mechanical systems that are delicately balanced, they have to be built extraordinarily strong to compensate and to protect the ropeway mechanics from wind damage and flying debris.

So, is Disney picky and relatively slow? Yeah, I'll agree that they are, but I think that in this case that wasn't the primary reason for the lackadaisical-seeming project timing.

PS: I didn't mean to imply that the engineering wasn't developed before construction began; of course it would have had to have been. I believe, though, that because the geology of the area is not typical for a gondola installation, testing probably took longer, as they would have had to develop new test protocols to prove out the technology in this installation.

 

[Tigger's ally]

. And, as I said, Cheap and Right is usually the best combination. While we may pull our hair out if we miss the Skyliner or something else being open on any given trip, the vast majority of Disney Park goers aren't going to sweat it.

I am like Teetz, they did not go cheap on this at all. Cheap would have been bland buildings and bland gondola's. The Gondolas paint schemes are great. Spending extra money on each load building to make it match it's locale looks great.