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

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

How do the rates for AoA family suites compare to CBR rooms for 5? And how many do they sleep?

AoA suites will sleep 6, but are much more expensive than CBR.
For our 8 night stay in July, with military discount (I priced them both before booking CBR):
CBR: $1437
AoA: $3280

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I checked the prices for preferred rooms in Pop and CBR in May (before Skyliner) and December (after Skyliner) in comparison to All Stars and Port Orleans, respectively. I estimate that the upcharge for the Skyliner at Pop to be $16 a day, for CBR $40 a day.

View attachment 392180

do we know how other rooms vary between those months? Is December just more expensive than May in general? Just thinking everything will go up just for Galaxy's Edge, but could see those on the Skyliner going up more than others ... so maybe 50% of your projected increase is from skyliner?

 

[TheMaxRebo]

AoA suites will sleep 6, but are much more expensive than CBR.
For our 8 night stay in July, with military discount (I priced them both before booking CBR):
CBR: $1437
AoA: $3280

That CBR rate for a room that fits 5 people is pretty darn reasonable to me. We have 5 in our family and generally stay off site because generally far too expensive to stay on site

We still pay less than your CBR rate, but that is a lot closer than other things I have seen

 

[scrappinginontario]

You are missing the biggest, IMO, way CBR is better than Pop:
Rooms for 5 people. As a family of 5, we would need 2 rooms at Pop. For a weeks vacation, that's over a $500 difference in price. Also, CBR has a greater % military discount, so the difference for us would be even greater.

For those who do not qualify for a military discount, it is often less expensive to get 2 rooms at Pop than 1 room at CBR. It's always good to check both options and see what works out best.

I booked a trip for my cousin's family last August (FD trip) and it was hundreds of dollars less to get 2 Pop rooms over 1 CBR room, plus the second bathroom and shower was an added bonus trying to get 6 people ready and out the door each morning!

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

That CBR rate for a room that fits 5 people is pretty darn reasonable to me. We have 5 in our family and generally stay off site because generally far too expensive to stay on site

We still pay less than your CBR rate, but that is a lot closer than other things I have seen

But, we're flying to FL, so by staying at CBR:
No rental car costs
No parking costs
No gas costs.

Add those three to the off site rate, and I'm guessing it's close to what you pay.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

But, we're flying to FL, so by staying at CBR:
No rental car costs
No parking costs
No gas costs.

Add those three to the off site rate, and I'm guessing it's close to what you pay.

true - we usually have an AP, so no parking costs for us either, but yes, the rental car costs are higher

We usually drive from New York, so have the car

 

[Mikey15]

AoA suites will sleep 6, but are much more expensive than CBR.
For our 8 night stay in July, with military discount (I priced them both before booking CBR):
CBR: $1437
AoA: $3280

~$180/night for CBR is dirt cheap. Rack rate at Pop is higher than that now (at least for October), and rack rate at CBR is in the $300s (and booked up except for the 4-sleeper Pirate rooms).

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

true - we usually have an AP, so no parking costs for us either, but yes, the rental car costs are higher

We usually drive from New York, so have the car

Yes, our rule of thumb is if we drive down, it'll be cheaper to stay offsite. If we fly down, it'll be about the same cost overall (with military discount pricing), so we'll stay onsite and take advantage of ME and 60 day FP.

 

[BabybetterDisney]

You are missing the biggest, IMO, way CBR is better than Pop:
Rooms for 5 people. As a family of 5, we would need 2 rooms at Pop. For a weeks vacation, that's over a $500 difference in price. Also, CBR has a greater % military discount, so the difference for us would be even greater.

That's true. I forgot about that. Stuffing a fifth person in there is pretty packed, the room isn't much bigger than Pop's room...and I don't know about the military discount. CBR used to be the cheapest moderate option (and the cheapest possibility for families of 5), but it will be the most expensive mod after the Skyliner is done.

 

[rteetz]

That's true. I forgot about that. Stuffing a fifth person in there is pretty packed, the room isn't much bigger than Pop's room...and I don't know about the military discount. CBR used to be the cheapest moderate option (and the cheapest possibility for families of 5), but it will be the most expensive mod after the Skyliner is done.

As of right now it’s not the most expensive near the end of 2019. Depending on the days Port Orleans are the more expensive ones.

 

[BabybetterDisney]

I don't know which rooms are Preferred at CBR, but Google Maps estimates walking time from the Barbados room closest to OPR, to the Skyliner at 7 minutes. So it's not quite 10 minutes, but it certainly is more than the 2 minute walk from the rooms overlooking the Hippy Dippy Pool at Pop. It is 10 minutes walk from the closest Martinique room to Skyliner.

Jamaica building 41, which is right at the Skyliner crosswalk, is 7 minutes to OPR.

But CBR Guests have direct, no-transfer rides to both parks, while Pop Guests will have to transfer and wait in a 2nd queue. The transfer time plus the time from Pop to CBR will add 5-10 minutes to the travel time. Of course, some may consider the extra ride over Hourglass Lake to be a plus.

Walking in CBR cannot be calculated by google because of all the winding around inside the building clusters. You have to walk there to realize how much walking there is. When I said 10 minutes I was being generous. But you know, I am not counting the transfer time for the Skyliner. People keep saying that it is continues load and therefore no wait! If it's going to be 5-10 minutes at CBR and another 5-10 minutes at AofA/Pop, then the overall wait time is not one bit better than the buses and maybe worse, because now that we have the bus time on the phone, I never wait more than 5 minutes for a bus. So we at Pop are trading in an air conditioning bus for a hot gondola for nothing. And imagine how big a line it will be at CBR in the morning - 4 hotels trying to go to 2 different parks, that's 8 bus stops worth total. I thought everybody keeps claiming there won't be a line!

I am not going on the gondola when there is a big crowd I will be smacking into at CBR. Holy cow. Our Pop buses don't even make stops! And even when I wait for buses at CBR, there's never a big crowd at the bus stop.

I am imagining cruising right on to the gondola at Pop and CBR and getting to DHS within 10 minutes of leaving my room! And I have a way of finding out if this is possible.

Starting August 29th, I am staying at BWI, CBR and then Pop. I booked the trip before the SWGE announcement -- isn't my luck just INCREDIBLE? So, assuming the gondola will be open, I will time myself for traveling to DHS:

Pop: preferred room to gondola to CBR to DHS.
CBR: preferred room to gondola to DHS.
BWI: standard room walking to DHS.

I will walk at the same hurried speed for all three trips, pushing DS3 in a stroller and yelling at DS13 and DS18 to move faster. (teenagers can be so slow and lazy sometimes.)

There is just one problem. @yulilin3 says that he is going to be camping along the Boardwalk path to DHS with 60 thousand of his closest friends! I won't be able to walk very fast if the path is packed with Star Wars homeless dudes camping, and my time calculations won't be accurate. That path isn't that wide.

(But DS13 says it would be very cool to see that many Star Wars homeless dudes. So we are definitely hoping to see @yulilin3 and his numerous friends.)

 

[Mikey15]

Back on the Skyliner topic, I've been mildly curious as to what the future expansion possibilities are, if this is the success I expect it to be.

Could they do a 4th line out of CBR and head east to Typhoon Lagoon? A waterpark connection would be pretty neat and allow them to upsell park hoppers or APs more easily (to get to the Waterparks & More option). Next step from there would be Disney Springs,

Then spur off to OKW, POFQ, and POR. Maybe I'm just getting excited, lol

 

[rteetz]

There is just one problem. @yulilin3 says that he is going to be camping along the Boardwalk path to DHS with 60 thousand of his closest friends! I won't be able to walk very fast if the path is packed with Star Wars homeless dudes camping, and my time calculations won't be accurate. That path isn't that wide.

(But DS13 says it would be very cool to see that many Star Wars homeless dudes. So we are definitely hoping to see @yulilin3 and his numerous friends.)

Yulilin3 is a she.

We don’t know that Disney will allow that to happen.

 

[jade1]

Yulilin3 is a she.

We don’t know that Disney will allow that to happen.

Been wondering that as well. Could just walk from Epcot resorts at 4am or whatev and be at bag check.

Probably a gate going up on the path.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Back on the Skyliner topic, I've been mildly curious as to what the future expansion possibilities are, if this is the success I expect it to be.

Could they do a 4th line out of CBR and head east to Typhoon Lagoon? A waterpark connection would be pretty neat and allow them to upsell park hoppers or APs more easily (to get to the Waterparks & More option). Next step from there would be Disney Springs,

Then spur off to OKW, POFQ, and POR. Maybe I'm just getting excited, lol

If successful I could definitely see another system .... not sure if they would - or even could - build a 4th line off of this one without major renos based on how the station at CBR is build

I know there was chatter about a new form of transporation to take guests form Animal Kingdom Lodge to Animal Kingdom, and while a gondola is not what was discussed, I could see something over there that connects that park/resort to the All Stars and Blizard Beach and maybe

 

[yulilin3]

Walking in CBR cannot be calculated by google because of all the winding around inside the building clusters. You have to walk there to realize how much walking there is. When I said 10 minutes I was being generous. But you know, I am not counting the transfer time for the Skyliner. People keep saying that it is continues load and therefore no wait! If it's going to be 5-10 minutes at CBR and another 5-10 minutes at AofA/Pop, then the overall wait time is not one bit better than the buses and maybe worse, because now that we have the bus time on the phone, I never wait more than 5 minutes for a bus. So we at Pop are trading in an air conditioning bus for a hot gondola for nothing. And imagine how big a line it will be at CBR in the morning - 4 hotels trying to go to 2 different parks, that's 8 bus stops worth total. I thought everybody keeps claiming there won't be a line!

I am not going on the gondola when there is a big crowd I will be smacking into at CBR. Holy cow. Our Pop buses don't even make stops! And even when I wait for buses at CBR, there's never a big crowd at the bus stop.

I am imagining cruising right on to the gondola at Pop and CBR and getting to DHS within 10 minutes of leaving my room! And I have a way of finding out if this is possible.

Starting August 29th, I am staying at BWI, CBR and then Pop. I booked the trip before the SWGE announcement -- isn't my luck just INCREDIBLE? So, assuming the gondola will be open, I will time myself for traveling to DHS:

Pop: preferred room to gondola to CBR to DHS.
CBR: preferred room to gondola to DHS.
BWI: standard room walking to DHS.

I will walk at the same hurried speed for all three trips, pushing DS3 in a stroller and yelling at DS13 and DS18 to move faster. (teenagers can be so slow and lazy sometimes.)

There is just one problem. @yulilin3 says that he is going to be camping along the Boardwalk path to DHS with 60 thousand of his closest friends! I won't be able to walk very fast if the path is packed with Star Wars homeless dudes camping, and my time calculations won't be accurate. That path isn't that wide.

(But DS13 says it would be very cool to see that many Star Wars homeless dudes. So we are definitely hoping to see @yulilin3 and his numerous friends.)

yulilin3 is a she
I'm always happy to meet fellow Disser's

 

[HeiHei2018]

If successful I could definitely see another system .... not sure if they would - or even could - build a 4th line off of this one without major renos based on how the station at CBR is build

I know there was chatter about a new form of transporation to take guests form Animal Kingdom Lodge to Animal Kingdom, and while a gondola is not what was discussed, I could see something over there that connects that park/resort to the All Stars and Blizard Beach and maybe

Agreed. AKL to AK seems most essential with potential Spurs to Blizzard Beach, Coronado Springs, or All Stars. Someone will be crunching numbers to see if there is long-term savings to move large numbers of people. My guess is self-driving buses will arrive at the All Stars before gondolas.

 

[Spaceguy55]

As long as we're speculating....
How about another hub station at the Coronado..from there a line to the AS's, another line to AK and a 3rd line to connect to POP on the other side of the bridge....walk across the bridge and hop on the gondola's to DHS and Epcot, or go to AK from DHS , Epcot and all the resorts from that line.
They could also add a line from AK Lodge to AK.
That would really connect a lot of resort rooms to 3 parks and really reduce the buses.
And while there at it, a line from the WL area and new DVC straight to MK....

 

[ksromack]

For those who do not qualify for a military discount, it is often less expensive to get 2 rooms at Pop than 1 room at CBR. It's always good to check both options and see what works out best.
I booked a trip for my cousin's family last August (FD trip) and it was hundreds of dollars less to get 2 Pop rooms over 1 CBR room, plus the second bathroom and shower was an added bonus trying to get 6 people ready and out the door each morning!

But you can't have 6 people in a room at CBR, right? So it clearly wouldn't be cheaper to have 1 room at CBR since the max capacity is 5 people. Or is one of the 6 people a baby and thus not counted as a 6th person?

 

[ksromack]

Starting August 29th, I am staying at BWI, CBR and then Pop. I booked the trip before the SWGE announcement -- isn't my luck just INCREDIBLE? So, assuming the gondola will be open, I will time myself for traveling to DHS:

Pop: preferred room to gondola to CBR to DHS.
CBR: preferred room to gondola to DHS.
BWI: standard room walking to DHS.

I will walk at the same hurried speed for all three trips, pushing DS3 in a stroller and yelling at DS13 and DS18 to move faster. (teenagers can be so slow and lazy sometimes.)

There is just one problem. @yulilin3 says that he is going to be camping along the Boardwalk path to DHS with 60 thousand of his closest friends! I won't be able to walk very fast if the path is packed with Star Wars homeless dudes camping, and my time calculations won't be accurate. That path isn't that wide.

(But DS13 says it would be very cool to see that many Star Wars homeless dudes. So we are definitely hoping to see @yulilin3 and his numerous friends.)

This should be an interesting study. We are staying at POP for the opening day as well and plan to be there that morning......

yulilin3 is a she
I'm always happy to meet fellow Disser's

Yes! And you are at AoA, right? Hopefully we will meet at the Skyliner!