I dread the day this goes into effect, We enjoy the International Gateway due to the lower volume of guests entering this way. Once the Gondola's start working, the amount of guests entering this way will increase 40% I'm told. Today they have 2 security stations, I sure hope they have plans on where to put the extra stations before this becomes operational. Not much room as it is today. They can do it, but, they need to start soon, not after it starts working.
I dread the day this goes into effect, We enjoy the International Gateway due to the lower volume of guests entering this way. Once the Gondola's start working, the amount of guests entering this way will increase 40% I'm told. Today they have 2 security stations, I sure hope they have plans on where to put the extra stations before this becomes operational. Not much room as it is today. They can do it, but, they need to start soon, not after it starts working.
I agree but at the same time, it will take some from the crowd away from the main gate. Also, since the gondolas are a slow and constant moving "ride", the crowds going through International Gate should be constantly moving as it is not like a bus or monorail dropping a lot of guests off all at one time.
I also hear a 40% increase but that 40% increase is over the entire day and not just a 40% in the morning and nothing the rest of the day. I think you will see that increase but I don't think will have as big an impact as you are guessing.
Prior: Offsite most every other years from 1972 - 2000
Most recent: Offsite 2001 & 2003 / ASM 2006 / Offsite 2009 / Poly 2011 / POR 2013 / CR 2014 / GF 2015 / DS Hotel 2017 / BC 2017 / POR 2018
Now that you put it all in perspective, maybe it won't be as bad as I was thinking. They will still need more security stations at the International Gateway. Walking to the back entrance of EPCOT is so nice, it's a big plus staying at the resorts around Cresant Lake.
Disney Parks Blog announced last week that there was another exciting Disney Skyliner milestone – the first guest cabins to make test runs back-and-forth between Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort and Disney’s Hollywood Studios!
The system will conveniently connect Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot to four resort hotels- Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, Disney’s Pop Century Resort and Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort as well as the proposed 15th Disney Vacation Club property, Disney’s Riviera Resort. The test-run gondolas recently traveled across Victory Way between the stations at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort and the station at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Walt Disney Imagineering associate project manager Steve Pratt told the Disney Parks Blog that soon there will be more gondolas added and cycling on the line as teams continue testing and training.
Several gondolas will be adorned with graphics based on Disney films, attractions and characters. So for example, you may jump into a gondola where from the ground it will look like Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto or Chip & Dale are riding along with you. Several Disney animated films will be represented, including “Beauty & the Beast,” “Frozen,” “Lilo & Stitch,” “Moana,” “Peter Pan,” “The Princess and the Frog,” “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and “Zootopia.” The other themed gondolas that will be part of the system include:
- “Coco”
- Goofy, Pete, Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow
We saw the new system being tested last week, the gondola's run faster than I thought they would. Unfortunately we heard a lot of guests calling them the new- Human Easy Bake Ovens because of no air conditioning.
We saw the new system being tested last week, the gondola's run faster than I thought they would. Unfortunately we heard a lot of guests calling them the new- Human Easy Bake Ovens because of no air conditioning.
I forgot to put in the Cast Member response to the above statement.
There are fans underneath each Gondola which will keep the inside cool and it will not be an oven.
Orlando Sentinel did an article about Disney's new gondola system. According to the article, "the Disney Skyliner system of 300 gondolas, will be opening to the public later this fall, will carry enough Disney-goers to roughly match the capacity of its monorail trains, company officials said."
“Our vision is, this is the most magical flight on Earth,” said Dean Huspen, a principal architect with Walt Disney Imagineering.
Disney leaders gave a construction update Tuesday on the gondolas, which are in testing. All but one was covered in plastic, protecting them like a new car. They will gradually be unveiled starting around May to show off the eight bright colors and 22 Disney characters themes.
By August, Disney employees could be among the first passengers during the testing process that will run for months around-the-clock.
Running on more than six miles of cable, the gondolas will travel about 11 mph, giving passengers a bird’s eye view of Walt Disney World Resort’s lakes, roads, woods and into Epcot and Hollywood Studios. The typical ride will last between five to 15 minutes as gondolas fly from 15 feet up to about 60 feet in the air.
“They are fabulous views,” said Thomas Mazloum, a Disney senior vice president who oversees transportation and resorts, who said the ride will feel much faster than 11 mph.
Inside a gondola, twin wooden benches can carry up to 10 people.
On social media, some theme park followers have criticized the lack of air conditioning in the gondolas.
But Mazloum argued the ride is “absolutely comfortable.”
“We have specifically designed them with the Florida climate in mind,” he said, pointing to reflective windows that block out the sunlight and the mesh screens on both sides to bring in a breeze.
At the stations, gondolas will pull in, constantly moving, for guests to climb on. Disney will have the capacity to pause the gondolas for people in wheelchairs and those who need extra time to board.
Rumor as it that the Disney Skyline will open August 28, 2019, one day before the offial opening of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. The rumor-mill also states that the Epcot line and the Disney's Rivera Resort station (since the resort isn't operational) will not be opening on August 28, 2019.
Prior: Offsite most every other years from 1972 - 2000
Most recent: Offsite 2001 & 2003 / ASM 2006 / Offsite 2009 / Poly 2011 / POR 2013 / CR 2014 / GF 2015 / DS Hotel 2017 / BC 2017 / POR 2018
