Gondolas swaying in the wind and rain video

People keep saying that gondolas at ski resorts don't have to operate in tropical storms. A thunderstorm in the afternoon in Florida is hardly a tropical storm, I am sure that they will not be operating if a true tropical storm hits.

Also, for those not familiar with weather up here in the north, we get plenty of days in the winter with below zero temperatures where the wind is blowing 50 to 60 miles an hour. The winds can be even stronger in the mountains.

I will take a thunderstorm in Florida any days. Just my 2 cents.
 
Has nobody around here ridden the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway or the Roosevelt Island Tramway or any of the other gondola systems around the world? This isn’t a new mode of transportation. It’s not some cutting edge technology. It’s pretty standard stuff. I don’t understand all the handwringing about it.
 


Tomh said:
That might not be bad swaying, but still, I'll take a hard pass on that.
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Same! I rent a car or use uber since I don’t want to again be experiencing a Mr Toad’s Wild Ride on disney buses while standing the end of the day. My personal choice. Do feel the bus service is a great perk for many.

Toss in what I expect to be a hot box experience and the aforementioned lightening risks (in one of the capitals of recorded strikes) and it’ll generally be a hard no for me. I will give it a whirl on a low attendance & cool, dry day. Otherwise, I’ll be admiring them gliding overhead, feet firmly planted on the ground.

As an aside, I do enjoy true thrill rides in other parks and have utilized smaller gondola versions in the past (Cedar Point & old WDW one), just not feeling this version.

Fewer of us that do utilize them = less wait time for those who are hankering to give them a whirl, rejoice lol.
 
I have an odd fear of things that swing. Just watching that video makes me very nervous. I'm gonna pass on ever riding in one of the gondolas and will also avoid looking at them when at WDW.
 
keishashadow said:
Same! I rent a car or use uber since I don’t want to again be experiencing a Mr Toad’s Wild Ride on disney buses while standing the end of the day. My personal choice. Do feel the bus service is a great perk for many.

Toss in what I expect to be a hot box experience and the aforementioned lightening risks (in one of the capitals of recorded strikes) and it’ll generally be a hard no for me. I will give it a whirl on a low attendance & cool, dry day. Otherwise, I’ll be admiring them gliding overhead, feet firmly planted on the ground.

As an aside, I do enjoy true thrill rides in other parks and have utilized smaller gondola versions in the past (Cedar Point & old WDW one), just not feeling this version.

Fewer of us that do utilize them = less wait time for those who are hankering to give them a whirl, rejoice lol.
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LittleJen said:
I have an odd fear of things that swing. Just watching that video makes me very nervous. I'm gonna pass on ever riding in one of the gondolas and will also avoid looking at them when at WDW.
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I don’t plan on them either, but am happy that it will disperse the crowds amongst another form of transport. I started getting white knuckles driving over steeply inclined bridges over the Mississippi river around the time I reached 50 years of age. I know my limitations.
 


LittleJen said:
I have an odd fear of things that swing. Just watching that video makes me very nervous. I'm gonna pass on ever riding in one of the gondolas and will also avoid looking at them when at WDW.
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It, at least in my opinion, is not that odd a fear. I have a problem with swinging / rocking. It really gets to me.
 
mom2rtk said:
That part of it doesn't bother me. But what do I know? We knowingly choose the swinging gondolas on Mickey's Fun Wheel (yes, I know they changed the name).
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This video gives me pause. I never considered that side to side motion. On previous videos, I pointed out to some people how the gondolas swayed forwards and backwards a bit as they leave the stations and pick up speed, but we decided it would be tolerable, and it looks like that damps out pretty quickly. This? I just don't know. And I can't be the only one.

I do not enjoy 'motion rides.' The swaying gondolas on the Mickey Ferris Wheel at California Adventure made me the sickest I have been in several years. That was about 4 or 5 years ago, and I still kind of get sick every time I just look at them. Something about that rolling and swaying together, back and forth was just horrible for me. Of course, I know I get horrible motion sickness. I won't go deep sea fishing for exactly that reason. I completely avoid all virtual reality rides, such as Star Tours, and I try to avoid most rides where the 'movement' is part of the fun. Sometimes I can tolerate a roller coaster, once, but I never do it for fun, only because I'm with someone who wants me to ride it with them. I got sick on Expedition Everest about 3 years ago when we rode it 3 times in succession, because there was NOBODY in line. Haven't been back on it since then. Or on California Screamin' (Incredicoaster) or Space mountain. I just wait outside those rides for the party members who want to do them.

Anyway, I think these will be okay, except in bad storms, but we will see. I'd rather be hot, and everyone will tell you I hate heat. My optimal preferred air temperature is about 65 degrees.
 
Frederic Civish said:
This video gives me pause. I never considered that side to side motion. On previous videos, I pointed out to some people how the gondolas swayed forwards and backwards a bit as they leave the stations and pick up speed, but we decided it would be tolerable, and it looks like that damps out pretty quickly. This? I just don't know. And I can't be the only one.

I do not enjoy 'motion rides.' The swaying gondolas on the Mickey Ferris Wheel at California Adventure made me the sickest I have been in several years. That was about 4 or 5 years ago, and I still kind of get sick every time I just look at them. Something about that rolling and swaying together, back and forth was just horrible for me. Of course, I know I get horrible motion sickness. I won't go deep sea fishing for exactly that reason. I completely avoid all virtual reality rides, such as Star Tours, and I try to avoid most rides where the 'movement' is part of the fun. Sometimes I can tolerate a roller coaster, once, but I never do it for fun, only because I'm with someone who wants me to ride it with them. I got sick on Expedition Everest about 3 years ago when we rode it 3 times in succession, because there was NOBODY in line. Haven't been back on it since then. Or on California Screamin' (Incredicoaster) or Space mountain. I just wait outside those rides for the party members who want to do them.

Anyway, I think these will be okay, except in bad storms, but we will see. I'd rather be hot, and everyone will tell you I hate heat. My optimal preferred air temperature is about 65 degrees.
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The gondolas on the Wheel at DCA rock forward and backwards, not side to side. And that rocking can be combined with a fairly quick forwards and backwards motion. I personally think the to and fro rocking is more disturbing than side to side, although I didn't have a problem with Mickey's Wheel, or it's granddaddy at Coney Island, the Wonder Wheel. I do sometimes feel a bit queasy after EE. I think it's from going backwards around the helix, but I still ride it, just not twice in a row.

Anyways, from my observation, the Skyliner gondolas don't rock to and fro. They tilt while acceleration or decelerating, but return to vertical without any back and forth. As others have said, I think the side-to-side rocking from the wind will be greatly reduced when there are riders adding mass and the gondolas are moving rather than sitting still.
 
keishashadow said:
Same! I rent a car or use uber since I don’t want to again be experiencing a Mr Toad’s Wild Ride on disney buses while standing the end of the day. My personal choice. Do feel the bus service is a great perk for many.

Toss in what I expect to be a hot box experience and the aforementioned lightening risks (in one of the capitals of recorded strikes) and it’ll generally be a hard no for me. I will give it a whirl on a low attendance & cool, dry day. ....
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Both of those methods being significantly more dangerous than gondolas. As far as hot, standing in line for a ride for 20+ minutes in the heat on pavement with no breeze (or for that matter even walking around) will be much hotter than any gondola with a breeze. Next we will be asking for air conditioning in each of the cars on Tomorrowland speedway, the Walt Disney World Railway cars or the parking lot trams.

Lets say the gondolas even had air conditioning in the cars. The problem with that is it won't be effective at all with the way air conditioning works. Keeping mind every 5 minutes or so the doors open for an extended period of time. The air conditioners will not have enough time to recover especially on high humidity days as they only work on closed environments.
 
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xuxa777 said:
The gondola in Whistler that I posted upthread can operate in up to 75mph winds with no issues.
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In fairness, that's a totally different animal. It's a tri-cable system, meaning the cabins are supported by 2 parallel cables in addition to the haul cable. The cabins are large and heavy, holding up to 28 riders. I would call it sort of a hybrid between a detachable gondola and an aerial tramway.
 
xuxa777 said:
Both of those methods being significantly more dangerous than gondolas. As far as hot, standing in line for a ride for 20+ minutes in the heat on pavement with no breeze (or for that matter even walking around) will be much hotter than any gondola with a breeze. Next we will be asking for air conditioning in each of the cars on Tomorrowland speedway, the Walt Disney World Railway cars or the parking lot trams.

Lets say the gondolas even had air conditioning in the cars. The problem with that is it won't be effective at all with the way air conditioning works. Keeping mind every 5 minutes or so the doors open for an extended period of time. The air conditioners will not have enough time to recover especially on high humidity days as they only work on closed environments.
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Wouldn’t be surprised if some people wished for a giant bubble to surround the parks in the summer lol. Nor am I to read people often tout a new disney addition without personally experiencing it. I rely upon these boards for reviews as to new disney park offerings, am looking forward to reading all the RL reports.

I visit typically three times between May & October, often in July & August. Know what I’m getting into as to weather & crowds and accept it. Since the gondola experience is (thankfully) an option vs a requirement to visit the parks, i’ll hold back trying it until I have all the facts in hand as to temperature range of the cars & any motion issues of the cars.

I’m not an engineer, even if I were, unless real time tests in the typical Florida environment have been completed already or the RL guest reposts start rolling in here...nobody knows for sure where the norm will land as to gondola experiences
 
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