The Orlando Sentinel was treated to a first look inside the Disney Skyliner gondolas — and got answers to top questions and concerns about the Skyliner System and its gondolas.
The Sentinel reported that the Skyliner System will carry 300 gondolas between Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and the Art of Animation, Pop Century, Caribbean Beach, and Riviera Resorts. The capacity of the Skyliner System will come close to matching the capacity of the Monorail system.
The announced opening date for the system continues to be a very generic “Fall 2019,” but the Orlando Sentinel learned that guests will see the system running at full capacity — in test mode — starting in August. The tests will last “for months around-the-clock” according to the Orlando Sentinel.
There are going to be 22 different character themes on the gondolas in eight colors. There will also be some brightly colored gondolas without character theming.
The gondolas will be running on the system at 11 mph and anywhere from 15 feet to 60 feet in the air. The entire cable system is 6 miles long. Each ride is anticipated to take approximately 15 minutes.
Each gondola will have two benches facing each other with a capacity of 10 people. Thomas Mazloum, a Disney Senior Vice President , also addressed ventilation concerns, telling the Orlando Sentinel that the gondolas were designed for the Florida climate. According to Mazloum, the gondolas include reflective windows to block the sunlight, as well as mesh screens on both sides to allow for a breeze.
Another concern of Disney vacationers has been wheelchair accessibility. The gondolas will be constantly running in the stations and guests will be able to climb into the gondolas as they go. Operators will have the ability to pause gondolas for wheelchairs and guests requiring extra boarding time, however.
Now that some common answers and concerns have been answered, will you be riding the Disney Skyliner when it opens this fall? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: Orlando Sentinel
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Absolutely! Can’t wait till September!
Definitely will. Looks like a lot of fun. We miss the skyline ride that was in the Magic Kingdom. We are looking forward to giving this a try.
Will certainly ride it in the winter and cooler months but not in the summer. Ventilation wont keep you cool regardless of reflective materials in August. It would be like riding in your car with the windows open in August. Still really interesting transportation option.
Absolutely not, they will stopping frequently for ADA and the “breeze” screening will do nothing to cool the unit down during hot/humid months and stopping all the time. Nice dream EGOR
Just wondering will these be running during stormy weather, which is a frequent event in FL during the summer.
If they are, you don’t have to ride it. No worries!
I’ll be happy if I get a photo of it. lol
they still haven’t really fully explained how it works if you board at art of animation and want to go to one of the theme parks. do you have to transfer?
You just jump out over the park you want to visit. Just be careful where you jump out at animal kingdom. Feeding times vary.
Yes, most guests will transfer at Caribbean Beach resort. There are three lines: CBR to Epcot via Riviera resort in between, CBR to Hollywood Studios, and CBR to Pop Century/Art of Animation resorts.
“The gondolas will be constantly running in the stations and guests will be able to climb into the gondolas as they go. Operators will have the ability to pause gondolas for wheelchairs and guests requiring extra boarding time, however.”
From a mechanical standpoint his makes more sense than having some gondolas “off line” and reattached as some previous reports stated. However, based on the volume of ECV’s and scooters we saw in the Parks last September this thing will be stopped almost every third car. And at that rate now way it has the capacity of the Monorail
Yes, I plan to ride It.
At each station, all gondolas detach from the constantly moving (10 MPH?) cable onto a lower speed overhead rail where CMs can further adjust the speed of each gondola individually. Gondolas rejoin the cable when leaving the station.