Gondola rumor

My last experience on one was in Gatlinburg. On our way up to Ober Gatlinburg the dumb thing stopped and we were stuck there for about 30 minutes. My wife and I were fine but two other occupants were having a panic attack.

Good times

I wonder what kind of capacity they might be if in fact this is true.
 
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Our last trip to the Magic kingdom in early March, every ride we went on stopped at some point.....:rolleyes1
 
I keep looking at the date and yes I know it was posted yesterday 3/31.
 


My last experience on one was in Gatlinburg. On our way up to Ober Gatlinburg the dumb thing stopped and we were stuck there for about 30 minutes. My wife and I were fine but two other occupants were having a panic attack.

Good times

I wonder what kind of capacity they might be if in fact this is true.

Not only capacity but speed of it as well. Not many people would use it if it is not an efficient means of transportation. If it takes you 3 time longer than a bus...not getting used much. As fast as the bus system, maybe useful. Quicker than the buses and you have a winner !!pixiedust:
 
My last experience on one was in Gatlinburg. On our way up to Ober Gatlinburg the dumb thing stopped and we were stuck there for about 30 minutes. My wife and I were fine but two other occupants were having a panic attack.

My first thought, could you imagine the Resort board after the thing stopped for 30 minutes! LOL
 


I am sure the "Speed" would be a factor, but I will say that while I was in the Military, I had the opportunity to go skiing in Switzerland. The one slope had a Gondola that took you to the top (It was a LONG way up too). At the stations (One at the bottom, middle and top) the Gondola's "Released" from the cable to go slower (by some means at the station) to allow for loading of people and skis, then at the end, it closed up, and as it was leaving the station by reconnecting with the cable. When on the "Cable" it was moving QUITE quickly and only moved slowly at the "Stations".

I think it could be an interesting project for them and could (in the long run) save time and money (not that Disney is all that concerned about money... right??? :rotfl2:)
 
I don't believe for a second that Disney will build any gondola system. The gondola is such a slow, hot and expensive way of transportation that Disney would never do something that stupid. My town has a gondola to go up our ski resort mountain at about 3 miles an hour. The ride is about 10 minutes long and costs $10 one way per person. To take a gondola from Pop to Epcot would take an hour!!! Yes, there's no traffic lights, but you are only going at 3 miles an hour while the bus goes at 60! The bus only takes 10 minutes (I timed it).
 
I don't believe for a second that Disney will build any gondola system. The gondola is such a slow, hot and expensive way of transportation that Disney would never do something that stupid. My town has a gondola to go up our ski resort mountain at about 3 miles an hour. The ride is about 10 minutes long and costs $10 one way per person. To take a gondola from Pop to Epcot would take an hour!!! Yes, there's no traffic lights, but you are only going at 3 miles an hour while the bus goes at 60! The bus only takes 10 minutes (I timed it).

3 MPH???? I can walk faster than that. If a Gondola is going at 3 MPH, I suspect it's more for a scenic view then for an efficient means of transportation. I had an opportunity (while in the military) to go skiing in Switzerland At Jungfrau and they had a gondola there. While I do not know specifically how fast it was moving, I can tell you it was moving SIGNIFICANTLY faster than 3 MPH.

In this article http://gondolaproject.com/2015/11/25/maximum-travel-speed-for-a-cable-car/ it talks about speeds upwards of 50 KPH (31 MPH) and even rumored at 65 KPH (40 MPH).

While the buses CAN go 60 MPH, I don't think I have ever been on one at Disney that DID go 60 MPH and even if it did it was VERY Brief (until the next stop light/sign, slow car etc...) and every ride on a bus was Stop and Go (again, stop lights, signs, other traffic, etc...) Plus the wait BETWEEN buses is longer then would be a constantly moving Gondola.

I have no doubt that if Disney did put in a gondola system there would CERTAINLY be consideration for the speed and temperature of the mode of transportation. As far as expensive, again, I am not an expert, but from what I have read, it's LESS expensive than something like another monorail and in the end, less expensive then the busing system.
 
I would think that it would be more cost effective and sticking with an already established Disney icon to extend the monorail. You already have connectors to three resorts as well as the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. A connector to DHS seems to be very manageable......not necessarily to AK. The amount of people that can be moved at one time would be vastly greater than compared to a gondola. I have heard about the cost per mile to extend the monorail but I have to believe that construction and maintenance of a cable type transportation system would be significant. Also, if cable / gondola systems are safe and economical, why does it seem that so many amusement parks are shutting them down. Magic Kingdom shut the Skyway down in 1999 and Disneyland shut theirs down in 1994.
 
I would think that it would be more cost effective and sticking with an already established Disney icon to extend the monorail. You already have connectors to three resorts as well as the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. A connector to DHS seems to be very manageable......not necessarily to AK. The amount of people that can be moved at one time would be vastly greater than compared to a gondola. I have heard about the cost per mile to extend the monorail but I have to believe that construction and maintenance of a cable type transportation system would be significant. Also, if cable / gondola systems are safe and economical, why does it seem that so many amusement parks are shutting them down. Magic Kingdom shut the Skyway down in 1999 and Disneyland shut theirs down in 1994.

There are several other threads on this with lots of good information, but the cost per mile of extending the monorail is absolutely prohibitive. Plus Disney is having enough trouble just keeping the WDW monorail running on a daily basis as it stands now. Gondolas are significantly cheaper. They require significantly less infrastructure with long cable runs. A modern gondola is a far cry from Disney's Skyway, which was essentially an open ski lift. These will be more like 10 person enclosed cable cars.

At this point, we have seen permits and some very preliminary construction on the permitted areas. Is it guaranteed gondolas are coming? No. But it's a pretty high probability. Even the Orlando Sentinel considers this project confirmed, not just the usually Disney bloggers and news front runners.
 
I would think that it would be more cost effective and sticking with an already established Disney icon to extend the monorail.

I have heard about the cost per mile to extend the monorail but I have to believe that construction and maintenance of a cable type transportation system would be significant.
You can be SURE that Disney has crunched the numbers on this. I would think if it was even CLOSE, they would have gone with the monorail, but I am guessing it wasn't even close.

why does it seem that so many amusement parks are shutting them down.
Because as a "Ride" or an "Attraction" a Gondola/cable car .... well.... SUCKS. Especially in Southern California and Florida. Who wants to ride a relatively slow (and let's face it THOSE type are meant to run slow) open air chair lift in the hot sun. All it really offers is a birds eye view of the area. Not cooling, not "Thrill ride" and is mostly boring after you have done it the first time.

A higher speed Gondola as a means of transportation can be "Closed" with Air Conditioning and can be a constantly moving (as opposed to 2 trains running and waits in between them of 10 minutes or more). So a gondola that can pick up 10 people at a time and load them at a rate of 1 car a minute (or so) can move 100 people in the same amount of time as it takes the monorail to return to the particular station.
 
With the footing construction began and filed permits that are already out there, the gondolas are pretty much a given. These systems are very cost effective to build and maintain. I've heard the type of "car" that will likely be used will have a typical speed of 15 mph and hold 10-12 people. Not light speed or bus capacity, but considering it doesn't have to stop for intersections/stop lights and can have a continuous stream of cars loading (i.e; no wait like for a bus), this should be faster than the buses and be able to carry more people per hour.

The other thing to consider is the price jump for the "gondola" resorts. CBR is being remodeled now with a proposed DVC tower and Pop Century could charge a 20% premium.

It is the Di$ney way.

It sounds pretty neat, but not neat enough for me to give up the Fort and the boats to MK, the monorail resorts and beyond.

j
 
Be neat for something different to do and try. I mean, the kids will love it for sure. If it's got AC then its a good break as well.

Now, we just gotta get @SouthAlabama5er on it when the wind is moving it around. If his experience on the ferris wheel in Orange Beach was any indicator. :-)
 
Can they run during thunderstorms? I would tend to think not, seems like it might be an issue given the frequency during summer months. Would they have enough excess bus capacity on hand to handle those times? Smarter minds than mine have probably thought this through, but it would be a concern of mine if I were paying a premium to stay at a resort during summer months.
 

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