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

[OSUZorba]

But, might have been worth it to avoid all these stoppages... since to me it seems the point of the thing is that it is in continuous motion and they had to know people would complain about it stopping frequently...

But I guess that still wouldn't get rid of the whole people not paying attention to their surroundings or their children thing. Reminds me of when I was at the airport a couple of days ago and there was a little girl, probably 2 years old, wandering alone up by the xray machines... a TSA agent had to actually call out "who's little girl is this?" and some lady way back in line says, "Oh, that's mine. I have a baby back here too." Um.... ok? I have 3 kids, doesn't mean I randomly let some of them a hundred feet away from me in the middle of an airport security area. Just bizarre. I imagine there are plenty of people like her wandering the Skyliner queue...

Yeah, if full line stops are a forever thing, I'm sure they are going to wish they had added the second loops at RR as well. Hopefully they get a system worked out and stoppages become rare.

 

[NotUrsula]

Sounds like the CMs had to face a lot of situations that they just wouldn't encounter during training or soft opening when it was just CMs and their guests. Hopefully they'll be able to smooth out the kinks quickly.

Why is there a notebook in the emergency kit??

If I had to guess, I'd say it was for the passenger to write down instructions given by the CM via the intercom.

Either that, or you are supposed to pour out the water, write "HELP!!" on a piece of paper, put the paper in the water pak, and drop it down to the ground below

 

[wareagle57]

Rope Drop Epcot on Final Illuminations Day

8:34- Pop 4 people. So peaceful
8:38- CBR
8:39- entered Epcot line at CBR- Skyliner stopped
8:44- CBR 6 people. Nice and breezy
8:48- riviera. Still slightly breezy
8:55- Epcot
8:58 through bag check
9:00 scanned magic band

We are absolutely loving the Skyliner! So incredibly peaceful! May be my favorite way to travel! Will definitely book another Skyliner Resort in the future and hope they expand the lines!

People just don’t pay attention or follow instructions so that will sometimes slow things down.

Were there any stoppages? This just isn't as fast as I had hoped it would be. Unless the timing is really bad, busses from pop would get you to Epcot under 25 minutes easily. I agree that if you have your own gondola and have a breeze going it's much nicer than riding in the busses. But for me, at times it was also much worse if we had to share a ride or it stopped. I love the views.

 

[NWOhiogal]

If I had to guess, I'd say it was for the passenger to write down instructions given by the CM via the intercom.

Either that, or you are supposed to pour out the water, write "HELP!!" on a piece of paper, put the paper in the water pak, and drop it down to the ground below

In either case, I hope they remembered to include a pen!

 

[NWOhiogal]

But for me, at times it was also much worse if we had to share a ride or it stopped. I love the views.

I probably wouldn't ride if I couldn't get a gondola for just me and my companions. Being stuck in a small box for a long time with a bunch of strangers is a no-go for me. I'll take the bus if they don't let you get a gondola for just you and your group.

 

[NotUrsula]

About the reported multiple stops due to guest idiocy - I guess you can’t fix stupid.
Maybe they should send any groups they have to stop the line for over to the back of the ECV line, since they aren’t up to walking on to a very slow moving gondola? I jest - but I hope this is a learning curve for the guests as well & that guest performance will improve with experience. I mean hopping on a gondola while juggling your skis and poles wearing ski boots isn’t simple, but I don’t recall gondolas at ski resorts stopping often.

I hate to be the one to say "we told you so", but we told you so. Disney guests are the original clueless-and-I-don't-have-to-make-any-effort-because-I'm-on-vacation-wonders. Load patterns at ski mountains (even WITH the equipment to stash in the outside cradles) are a wholly different animal than this population, and knowledge of the former won't help much with managing the latter.

But, might have been worth it to avoid all these stoppages... since to me it seems the point of the thing is that it is in continuous motion and they had to know people would complain about it stopping frequently...

But I guess that still wouldn't get rid of the whole people not paying attention to their surroundings or their children thing. Reminds me of when I was at the airport a couple of days ago and there was a little girl, probably 2 years old, wandering alone up by the xray machines... a TSA agent had to actually call out "who's little girl is this?" and some lady way back in line says, "Oh, that's mine. I have a baby back here too." Um.... ok? I have 3 kids, doesn't mean I randomly let some of them a hundred feet away from me in the middle of an airport security area. Just bizarre. I imagine there are plenty of people like her wandering the Skyliner queue...

Yep. These are the folks who just expect that because the place is very expensive (or has very visible security), that the people who work there will magically and automatically compensate for guest carelessness. Sort of, "I pay, therefore I needn't think."

RE a stationary load area at Riviera: Obviously, using a loop at a pass-through station wouldn't be feasible, but it seems to me that they might have done a ramped parallel "track" such as trains use to take cars off the main track for loading. (Actually, I was surprised to see that the Riviera station appears to be at ground level; somehow I had gotten the impression from the renderings that it was elevated up to be level with an elevated hotel plaza on that side of the building.)

 

[joelkfla]

In either case, I hope they remembered to include a pen!

I'm picturing in my mind a Guest sitting in the dark 70' above the DHS wetlands, with a pad on their lap, a light stick in one hand, and a pen in the other hand, scribbling furiously trying to get the ink to come out. Doh!

 

[mamaofsix]

We just rode from Riviera to the IG. There was no wait for the Skyliner and the ride took 9 minutes. It was very nice and smooth and it was cool and comfortable the whole way. We were through bag check and park entry within another 5 minutes and are currently holding in the UK for park open.

Likely there was no wait because Riviera hasn't even opened yet . . . I imagine it will be a whole different story once the resort actually opens...

 

[joelkfla]

Well, likely there was no wait because Riviera hasn't even opened yet . . . I imagine it will be a whole different story once the resort actually opens...

Yeah, like I said, they were strongly discouraging ecv's from getting off there.

 

[Moliphino]

Were there any stoppages? This just isn't as fast as I had hoped it would be. Unless the timing is really bad, busses from pop would get you to Epcot under 25 minutes easily. I agree that if you have your own gondola and have a breeze going it's much nicer than riding in the busses. But for me, at times it was also much worse if we had to share a ride or it stopped. I love the views.

You'll never get through bag check at the front of Epcot in 3 minutes coming in from the bus, though! That was still a hot mess last week.

Riding with strangers wasn't so bad. There really is a lot of room in there, we were never squeezed in like sardines like on a bus and we had 9 people in there on one leg (a couple were children).

 

[mamaofsix]

I’m surprised that people are surprised that there are lines. Disney is full of on Omnimover rides (Haunted Mansion, People Mover, Spaceship Earth, etc) and most times these attractions have lines. The Skyliner is open for anyone to ride so I anticipate lines to be the norm.

I don’t think they’ll normally be as long as today and I do anticipate they’ll move quickly but, lines are just part of the Disney experience, including the Skyliner.

Well, there was certainly a multi-page discussion on this exact issue a few months back. There were those of us who were guessing the skyliner would be more like an omnimover ride in terms of wait times (sometimes a walk-on, but a lot of the time a 20-30 minute wait). And then there were others who were certain that it was impossible for a line to build up and that it would always be a walk on.

Since the amount of stopping the line was not mechanical and was strictly due to guest error, I'm going to venture a guess that these stoppages will be a regular occurance even after the CM's are used to it.

As to the lines simply being from opening day excitement, I'm not so sure. We have to keep in mind that the crowds at Disney right now are incredibly low. I would guess that the skyliner waits are going to be just as crazy as opening day (if not more so) once the crowds pick up again. Can't even imagine what Christmas or Spring Break will be like...

 

[Searc]

In other words one of those groups that would board first and take several seats on a bus? At least with the Skyliner if you get on, you get a seat!
I often see groups at WDW with multiple ECVs, has anyone seen any of those groups load, I assume only 1 ECV will fit per cabin, so I guess each ECV person will get their own gondola?


About the reported multiple stops due to guest idiocy - I guess you can’t fix stupid.
Maybe they should send any groups they have to stop the line for over to the back of the ECV line, since they aren’t up to walking on to a very slow moving gondola? I jest - but I hope this is a learning curve for the guests as well & that guest performance will improve with experience. I mean hopping on a gondola while juggling your skis and poles wearing ski boots isn’t simple, but I don’t recall gondolas at ski resorts stopping often.
W/ 30 ECVs to load & 90 seconds per gondola that line would take 45 minutes? And then if you have to transfer at CBR to another ECV line wait? I wonder what % of guests staying at the Skyliner resorts use ECVs...there could be some long waits at Epcot/DHS closing.

There will always be new people riding who have no experience with the Skyliner, so unfortunately, I don't see the episodes of guest stupidity improving.

 

[Craig Larson]

Curious on how they are handling gondolas in general at Riviera. I'm sure it might change once the resort is open, but are they sending empty gondola's as needed? or do they send, for example, every 10th gondola empty coming from CBR or Epcot?

 

[mom2aandj]

If you wanted to get on at IG at Epcot, and ride all the way to HS, how is that handled at each of the resort stops? Do you have to get off and get in line for each leg? Or is there a way to stay on your gondola and ride through?

 

[FinnsMom7]

There will always be new people riding who have no experience with the Skyliner, so unfortunately, I don't see the episodes of guest stupidity improving.

sad thing is, being new to something doesn't require stupidity, you should easily be able to follow simple instructions and PAY ATTENTION but well that's as common as common sense and etiquette these days.

 

[Searc]

That would mean having to close the loop at the Rivera and people having to unload and then get back in line again. Having to change Gondolas again is going to be way more inconvenient than stopping for a minute while a EVC boards.

No different than switching monorails at the TTC.

 

[Searc]

But, might have been worth it to avoid all these stoppages... since to me it seems the point of the thing is that it is in continuous motion and they had to know people would complain about it stopping frequently...

But I guess that still wouldn't get rid of the whole people not paying attention to their surroundings or their children thing. Reminds me of when I was at the airport a couple of days ago and there was a little girl, probably 2 years old, wandering alone up by the xray machines... a TSA agent had to actually call out "who's little girl is this?" and some lady way back in line says, "Oh, that's mine. I have a baby back here too." Um.... ok? I have 3 kids, doesn't mean I randomly let some of them a hundred feet away from me in the middle of an airport security area. Just bizarre. I imagine there are plenty of people like her wandering the Skyliner queue...

Reminds me of the little girl we encountered at Epcot, who was alone and sobbing, clutching her lovie. I went up to her concerned she was lost and asked her if she knew where her Mommy was...she pointed way ahead, as her oblivious family walked on, leaving her way behind. I mean, really, people? Pay attention to your kids.

 

[joelkfla]

Curious on how they are handling gondolas in general at Riviera. I'm sure it might change once the resort is open, but are they sending empty gondola's as needed? or do they send, for example, every 10th gondola empty coming from CBR or Epcot?

Hard to say unless someone was there watching for an extended time, but at one point it looked like the load cm was just eyeballing the cabins looking for available space. Maybe if that was unsuccessful after a few minutes, he might have called for an empty cabin, but who knows?

 

[Moliphino]

Reminds me of the little girl we encountered at Epcot, who was alone and sobbing, clutching her lovie. I went up to her concerned she was lost and asked her if she knew where her Mommy was...she pointed way ahead, as her oblivious family walked on, leaving her way behind. I mean, really, people? Pay attention to your kids.

We saw a toddler wander into the bus lane just as the DME bus was pulling in yesterday. My mom and I both started running over when the parent finally noticed.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Well, there was certainly a multi-page discussion on this exact issue a few months back. There were those of us who were guessing the sky-liner would be more like an omni-mover ride in terms of wait times (sometimes a walk-on, but a lot of the time a 20-30 minute wait). And then there were others who were certain that it was impossible for a line to build up and that it would always be a walk on.

I will admit I was more in the later camp, though I don't think I ever thought "impossible" for any kind of build up ... but I did think that, in typical situations, it wouldn't be more than 5-10 mins, so seeing 20+ at times is a bit surprising to me

But I think I underestimated, a) the stoppages (which may or may not be a bit elevated now due to being early days of operation) and b) that shifts in the mass of people wanting to to different locations at different times of day (e.g., mid/late afternoon over to EPCOT)