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

[Krandor]

I agree. I wouldn't say I have a fear of heights, more a fear of dangling from a wire that high up in the air. No thank you.

I think they will still have buses at the gondala resorts but it will be scaled back to probably half or a third IMO. So quite honestly, if you don't want to use a gondala I don't think booking at a gondala resort would be a good idea since your times to get the HS and EPCOT by bus will likely be much longer.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Wonder if they could build transportation between a hotel and three park that acted like you were in a space shuttlecraft?

"three park"? If you meant "theme park" then I definitely think that is something that will happen between the Star Wars Hotel and Galaxy's Edge - something that functions like the Hogwarts Express using screens to simulate flying down in a transport shuttle from an orbiting space craft to the planet (Batuu) below

 

[joelkfla]

If you are coming from AoA/Pop you will need to transfer to the DHS or Epcot line at the CBR station.

Has that been confirmed, or just speculation? I don't think there's any technological reason that cabins arriving from Riviera couldn't continue on to either DHS or Pop. It's just a matter of how the rails within the station are configured.

 

[jade1]

If you are coming from AoA/Pop you will need to transfer to the DHS or Epcot line at the CBR station.

If you are starting at CBR you can go to either DHS or Epcot with no need to transfer. You could go from Epcot to CBR with no transfers needed either. Riviera does have a station but that won't be a place where you need to transfer.

So in the early am, it sounds possible that Rivera guests may never see an empty car coming to jump on to EPCOT?

Must be a plan for that.

 

[jade1]

more a fear of dangling from a wire that high up in the air. No thank you.

Course a plane doesn't even have a wire so......

 

[rteetz]

Has that been confirmed, or just speculation? I don't think there's any technological reason that cabins arriving from Riviera couldn't continue on to either DHS or Pop. It's just a matter of how the rails within the station are configured.

This is how it’s been assumed from the beginning. CBR is the main station where guests will transfer.

 

[erin1715]

Course a plane doesn't even have a wire so......

Lol yes and I'm not entirely comfortable on that either!

 

[joelkfla]

So in the early am, it sounds possible that Rivera guests may never see an empty car coming to jump on to EPCOT?

Must be a plan for that.

Yes, this was discussed earlier in this thread (or another one.) IMHO, it's likely Disney will hold a certain number of cabins empty at CBR based on observed load patterns, like every 3rd one, for example. It should only be an issue for an hour or so either side of park opening.

 

[skier_pete]

So in the early am, it sounds possible that Rivera guests may never see an empty car coming to jump on to EPCOT?

Must be a plan for that.

I'm sure they will have a plan. Maybe leave every third car empty. Most of the time it wont be necessary, but yeah in the morning I could see this being necessary.

I also think no one is completely sure how the lines will go. We all assume there are two lines, but they could have one line go Pop-CBR-DHS and the other go CBR-Riviera-Epcot rather than the more typical shown Pop-CBR leg. There could even be 3 lines, but no matter what Riviera will be a mid-point load station.

 

[DBDiz]

I'm sure they will have a plan. Maybe leave every third car empty. Most of the time it wont be necessary, but yeah in the morning I could see this being necessary.

I also think no one is completely sure how the lines will go. We all assume there are two lines, but they could have one line go Pop-CBR-DHS and the other go CBR-Riviera-Epcot rather than the more typical shown Pop-CBR leg. There could even be 3 lines, but no matter what Riviera will be a mid-point load station.

This is just speculation, but according to one of DanBoris's posts, CBR station will be T shaped, and an end point for three separate lines, and all passengers will need to deboard at this junction regardless of their final destination.

POP/AoA <-> CBR
DHS <-> CBR
Epcot <-> Riviera <-> CBR

 

[rteetz]

This is just speculation, but according to one of DanBoris's posts, CBR station will be T shaped, and an end point for three separate lines, and all passengers will need to deboard at this junction regardless of their final destination.

POP/AoA <-> CBR
DHS <-> CBR
Epcot <-> Riviera <-> CBR

Yep. You shouldn't need to deboard at Riviera in between Epcot and CBR though.

 

[Q-man]

Question that might be answered in one of the 1,890+ previous posts: will riders have to get off at each of the stations and get in line for the next segment? Or will the vehicles transfer from one circuit to another? I've been on ski gondolas that have intermediate stops (and you can choose to stay on or keep going), but the way the maps look, its seems that the AoA/PC guests will have to get off at the CBR stop and the Riviera to make it from AoA/PC to Epcot. Waiting in line three times to get to Epcot sounds awfully cumbersome....

Considering these can move a full bus load of people every minute there really shouldn't be any waiting in line but at park closing.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I'm sure they will have a plan. Maybe leave every third car empty. Most of the time it wont be necessary, but yeah in the morning I could see this being necessary.

I also think no one is completely sure how the lines will go. We all assume there are two lines, but they could have one line go Pop-CBR-DHS and the other go CBR-Riviera-Epcot rather than the more typical shown Pop-CBR leg. There could even be 3 lines, but no matter what Riviera will be a mid-point load station.

It's also possible they can take cars off and on the line so could have some extra cars at Riviera they store for people there they can add to the lines

no idea if that is the case, just saying there are multiple ways they could address - I can't imagine they would build a new DVC with this mode of transportation being a big selling point yet haven't thought about how it would actually work

 

[skier_pete]

This is just speculation, but according to one of DanBoris's posts, CBR station will be T shaped, and an end point for three separate lines, and all passengers will need to deboard at this junction regardless of their final destination.

POP/AoA <-> CBR
DHS <-> CBR
Epcot <-> Riviera <-> CBR

Right, I even said that. (Didn't specify the lines, but thats what I was thinking.) Not positive it's right though, because three lines would cost more to operate than two, but there may be reasons they want to do it. (All the mechanisms in a single location.)

 

[joelkfla]

(All the mechanisms in a single location.)

That's an interesting point. I suppose the drive mechanism does need to be at a terminal.

But even so, the cabins are off the rope and travelling on a rail while in the station. Even if two adjoining segments are running separate ropes, it would seem feasible to have the cabins enter on one rope and exit on another.

 

[DanBoris]

That's an interesting point. I suppose the drive mechanism does need to be at a terminal.

But even so, the cabins are off the rope and travelling on a rail while in the station. Even if two adjoining segments are running separate ropes, it would seem feasible to have the cabins enter on one rope and exit on another.

I think that would be difficult to do. There is a limit to how many cars can be on one line, so you could run into a scenario where would not be enough capacity on a line for the cars that want to enter it and then there would be no place for those cars to go. People with knowledge of the project have said it will be three separate lines and I tend to believe that since it's the most straight forward solution.

 

[joelkfla]

I think that would be difficult to do. There is a limit to how many cars can be on one line, so you could run into a scenario where would not be enough capacity on a line for the cars that want to enter it and then there would be no place for those cars to go. People with knowledge of the project have said it will be three separate lines and I tend to believe that since it's the most straight forward solution.

I didn't mean to have the cabins switch on and off the connecting line; I meant to have the lines permanently connected, so that all cabins coming off one particular line are routed onto the other line, and the 3rd line would be stand-alone. The 2 joined lines would operate as a single line traveling along multiple cables.

 

[Doberge]

I think Disney will do anything it can to keep people going DHS-->Epcot and Epcot-->DHS from neeeing to make a cab change. Changing cabs is a headache and a completely unneccessary step where any number of things can go wrong (person is slow or slips, struggles with an ECV or stroller, etc).

My thought is that Disney will make multiple queues depending on your "final destination." Think of it like leaving MK and choosing your line. One line to resort monorails, one line to TTC monorail, one line for each boat line etc.

Hypothetically, let's start at Epcot. Load cabs to Riviera, CBR/Pop/AoA, and DHS. Rivera gets its own queue for being a "deluxe" differentiator. CBR/Pop/AoA ends at CBR, and you transfer to Pop/AoA. More headache, but "value." You'd also be able to ride through to DHS without your cab unloading even once.

Lets say you're going to DHS. The system knows your cab is going to DHS so that it passes through Riviera and CBR without opening the door to load/unload. This allows cast members to focus only on loading/unloading cars "ending" at that destination. This eliminates the headache of tending to *every* cab and having people getting on/off all cars at every station. Further, cast members can direct the appropriate number of people to a preload spot knowing they are loading an empty cab. The alternative is every cab has people getting on/off and cast members not knowing how many spots are open until people exit, and that just sounds like chaos (two people here, four there, etc).

Within a station they could probably design it to have the unloading car at its final destination go one way and the continuing cars go another. (Supporting the idea that cars exit the cable in station and travel by rail in station).

Its 2018. Im not expecting a guy in a room pushing buttons but a computer that is well programmed to not only recognize line capacity issues in real time but have the ability to predict problems (e.g. "OMG we just loaded a cab full of ECVs, thatll need more time to unload"). The system knows queue length and how many cars for each it needs, and adjusts itself. It can adjust for bottlenecks and send load fewer cars to a final destination if that station begins backing up, then resume regular service when cast clears the kink. This might mean occassionally passing an empty cab through but the potential efficiency gains in other parts of the system can justify this.

So what are the hypothetical queue choices based on where you hypothetically start?

Start: Epcot
Choose one of three queues: Riviera, CBR/Pop/AoA, or DHS.

Start: Riviera
Choose one of two queues: DHS or Epcot.
No choice to CBR. You can walk to CBR and then choose to take Pop/AoA line if thats final destination. Why? Riviera and CBR are too close to warrant a dedicated destination que.

Start: CBR
Choose one of three queues: Epcot, DHS, or Pop/AoA.
This is most widely accepted from the plans amd our theories, minus my thought that there will not be a choice to take a gondola to Riviera as final destination (walk it).

Start: Pop/AoA
Choose: CBR is only choice before needing to transfer.

Start: DHS
Choose one of 3 queues: CBR/Pop/AoA, Epcot, or DHS.
Same idea as Epcot, but reversed.

Again, that's just a theory.

 

[OKW Lover]

OK, so the new system is barely out of the ground but I've been pondering its expansion.

1. How about a line that goes from CSR to DHS? Could the DHS terminus be built so that the line continues on to CSR? Or perhaps a second line added in that station?
2. In a totally separate operation, how about a line between AKL and AK? Imagine the views if it could be routed over the savannas along the way.
3. Maybe a route that goes POR/POFQ/OKW/DS? Relieves bus congestion and gets people to shopping dining.
4. How about FW/WL/MK? Not that the current boat system is an issue...

 

[danikoski]

I think Disney will do anything it can to keep people going DHS-->Epcot and Epcot-->DHS from neeeing to make a cab change. Changing cabs is a headache and a completely unneccessary step where any number of things can go wrong (person is slow or slips, struggles with an ECV or stroller, etc).

My thought is that Disney will make multiple queues depending on your "final destination." Think of it like leaving MK and choosing your line. One line to resort monorails, one line to TTC monorail, one line for each boat line etc.

Hypothetically, let's start at Epcot. Load cabs to Riviera, CBR/Pop/AoA, and DHS. Rivera gets its own queue for being a "deluxe" differentiator. CBR/Pop/AoA ends at CBR, and you transfer to Pop/AoA. More headache, but "value." You'd also be able to ride through to DHS without your cab unloading even once.

Lets say you're going to DHS. The system knows your cab is going to DHS so that it passes through Riviera and CBR without opening the door to load/unload. This allows cast members to focus only on loading/unloading cars "ending" at that destination. This eliminates the headache of tending to *every* cab and having people getting on/off all cars at every station. Further, cast members can direct the appropriate number of people to a preload spot knowing they are loading an empty cab. The alternative is every cab has people getting on/off and cast members not knowing how many spots are open until people exit, and that just sounds like chaos (two people here, four there, etc).

Within a station they could probably design it to have the unloading car at its final destination go one way and the continuing cars go another. (Supporting the idea that cars exit the cable in station and travel by rail in station).

Its 2018. Im not expecting a guy in a room pushing buttons but a computer that is well programmed to not only recognize line capacity issues in real time but have the ability to predict problems (e.g. "OMG we just loaded a cab full of ECVs, thatll need more time to unload"). The system knows queue length and how many cars for each it needs, and adjusts itself. It can adjust for bottlenecks and send load fewer cars to a final destination if that station begins backing up, then resume regular service when cast clears the kink. This might mean occassionally passing an empty cab through but the potential efficiency gains in other parts of the system can justify this.

So what are the hypothetical queue choices based on where you hypothetically start?

Start: Epcot
Choose one of three queues: Riviera, CBR/Pop/AoA, or DHS.

Start: Riviera
Choose one of two queues: DHS or Epcot.
No choice to CBR. You can walk to CBR and then choose to take Pop/AoA line if thats final destination. Why? Riviera and CBR are too close to warrant a dedicated destination que.

Start: CBR
Choose one of three queues: Epcot, DHS, or Pop/AoA.
This is most widely accepted from the plans amd our theories, minus my thought that there will not be a choice to take a gondola to Riviera as final destination (walk it).

Start: Pop/AoA
Choose: CBR is only choice before needing to transfer.

Start: DHS
Choose one of 3 queues: CBR/Pop/AoA, Epcot, or DHS.
Same idea as Epcot, but reversed.

Again, that's just a theory.

Nice theory, but it won't work based on what we know is the major hub, change station, which is CBR. Disney has pretty much confirmed that in their press release about the stations in December. It is most likely people will have to change at CBR to go from Epcot to DHS. This is especially likely since there are already two non transfer modes to get between Epcot and DHS, walking and boat.