A 4-step look at how Disney Skyliner worked for the ADA spurs in most stations.

RaySharpton

Retired and going to Disney.
Joined
Oct 28, 2000
I love this!

bioreconstruct
@bioreconstruct

·
18h

A 4-step look at how Disney Skyliner worked for the ADA spurs in most stations. Lines would slow or stop when a step in the process needed more time. Example: an ADA cabin arriving has to have space in unload to transfer. The line would stop until ADA unload available.

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Diagram One:

The Blue Gondolas continue around the station continuous loop.

The Yellow handicap gondola unloads in the handicap loading zone and not the regular Blue Gondola continuous loop.

The Green handicap gondola loads in the handicap loading zone while the regular Blue gondolas continue around the station continuous loop.

The Orange handicap gondola in the continuous station loop approaching the handicap loading zone.


442106

Diagram Two:

The Blue Gondolas continue around the station continuous loop.

The Orange handicap gondola in the regular Blue Gondola continuous loop approaching the handicap unloading zone.

The recently unloaded Yellow handicap gondola approaches the handicap loading zone while the regular Blue gondolas continue to move along the continuous loop.

The recently loaded Green handicap gondola waits in the handicap loading zone while the regular Blue gondolas continue to move along the continuous loop.

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Diagram Three:

The Blue Gondolas continue around the station continuous loop.

The Orange handicap gondola transfer from the Blue gondolas continue loop and transfers to the handicap unloading zone while the regular Blue gondolas continue to move along the continuous loop.

The Yellow handicap gondola loads in the handicap loading zone while the regular Blue gondolas continue around the station continuous loop.

The Green handicap gondola waits until released in the handicap loading zone while the regular Blue gondolas continue to move along the continuous loop.

The Blue Gondolas continue around the station continuous loop.

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Diagram Four:

The Blue Gondolas continue around the station continuous loop.

The Orange handicap gondola unloads in the handicap loading zone and not the regular Blue Gondola continuous loop.

The Yellow handicap gondola loads in the handicap loading zone while the regular Blue gondolas continue around the station continuous loop.

The Green handicap gondola transfers from the handicap loading zone to the regular Blue gondolas continue on the station continuous loop with the other Blue gondolas to the next Disney Skyliner Station.
 
Some have criticized there being nine or ten blues arriving before the next orange, resulting in unfair waits imposed on guests in wheelchairs, etc.

But the fewer blues between oranges, the greater the chance another orange will arrive (diagram 2) when there is still an orange in the unload zone (diagram 4) at which time ...
The line would stop until ADA unload available.
... and all the gondolas up in the air going in both directions stop with it.
 
Hi, seashoreCM.

Some have criticized there being nine or ten blues arriving before the next orange, resulting in unfair waits imposed on guests in wheelchairs, etc.

Why do you think that it is unfair for the handicap line to wait? The queues are not set up like some bus queues where wheelchairs and mobility scooters can get in the main bus queue and when the wheelchairs and mobility scooters reach the first row and the handicap gate they enter.

Some bus queues like Pop Century Resort has a separate handicap queue line to wait? Depending on when and how many of the wheelchairs and mobility scooters arrive, they get on first even though they may be limited to two wheelchairs or mobility scooters to a bus.

Speaking only for myself, I don't believe that my wheelchair should get to go to the front of the line. I like the main queue line idea.

In the instance for the Disney Skyliner Gondola Stations, most of them have one regular queue and one handicap queue.

I have seen over one hundred in the regular queue line and maybe only 3 to five in a handicap queue line.

I think that Disney is only trying to make it fair for all and not give the wheelchairs and mobility scooters immediate first at line access if that makes sense.

But the fewer blues between oranges, the greater the chance another orange will arrive (diagram 2) when there is still an orange in the unload zone (diagram 4) at which time ...

I am not sure that there are actually handicap gondolas. They all look the same to me except for the use of wheelchairs and mobility scooters chocks. I don't know for sure, but I don't think the gondolas in a continuous loop can move on and used by anyone if the handicap zone is full. The diagram is just trying to show the handicap zone loading and unloading system and not how many gondolas have wheelchairs and mobility scooters chocks inside the gondolas.

... and all the gondolas up in the air going in both directions stop with it.

I am curious, could you please give me a link to where you read this? Thank you.


BlogMickey.com
@Blog_Mickey

·
3h

When the #DisneySkyliner stops running or slows down, it's typically because non-ECV/handicap guests don't load in time. If that happens, a Cast Member slows/stops the system to ensure guest safety. Red tape on the ground marks the "load by this point" cut off
 


(Theoretically any gondola can be sent into the handicapped loop. By orange gondola I mean one that is carrying a guest who should alight in the handicapped loop or one culled at the last moment from the stream to satisfy handicapped demand. I assumed that the positioning of orange gondolas in the stream is variable, dynamic, and influenced by manual control, by the process of merging orange (shown as green) gondolas at the handicapped loop exit, and by loading activity at Riviera station.

(At some point they will want to come up with some system to reduce manual errors in sending gondolas into the handicapped loop i.e. identify them as orange in the above diagrams.

(If for some reasons the gondolas clump up in the station all the way back to the entrance then the cable must be stopped to prevent the next incoming gondola from colliding with one in the station. Riviera station relies on its overall length to be able to sustain some stopping of gondolas for loading wheelchairs, etc. without having to stop the main cable. Haven't seen it but there may have been some additional main cable stops to prevent too much empty cable leaving Riviera station during full individual gondola stops within the station.)
 
Last edited:
(Theoretically any gondola can be sent into the handicapped loop. By orange gondola I mean one that is carrying a guest who should alight in the handicapped loop or one culled at the last moment from the stream to satisfy handicapped demand. I assumed that the positioning of orange gondolas in the stream is variable, dynamic, and influenced by manual control, by the process of merging orange (shown as green) gondolas at the handicapped loop exit, and by loading activity at Riviera station.

(At some point they will want to come up with some system to reduce manual errors in sending gondolas into the handicapped loop i.e. identify them as orange in the above diagrams.)
If everything is in parenthesis, is anything in parenthesis?

There is no dedicated "orange" (ie: "handicapped") gondolas. So I would assume if a ECV (or wheelchair) user is waiting to get on, they funnel a gondola to that line. If an ECV/wheelchair user needs to get off, they funnel that gondola to that line. So there could be two "orange" (those holding or getting ready to hold) gondolas back to back, or there might be 20 blue ones between them. But then a blue can become orange. :D
 


Hi, seashoreCM and sam_gordon.

Thank you.


(Theoretically any gondola can be sent into the handicapped loop. By orange gondola I mean one that is carrying a guest who should alight in the handicapped loop or one culled at the last moment from the stream to satisfy handicapped demand. I assumed that the positioning of orange gondolas in the stream is variable, dynamic, and influenced by manual control, by the process of merging orange (shown as green) gondolas at the handicapped loop exit, and by loading activity at Riviera station.

(At some point they will want to come up with some system to reduce manual errors in sending gondolas into the handicapped loop i.e. identify them as orange in the above diagrams.

(If for some reasons the gondolas clump up in the station all the way back to the entrance then the cable must be stopped to prevent the next incoming gondola from colliding with one in the station. Riviera station relies on its overall length to be able to sustain some stopping of gondolas for loading wheelchairs, etc. without having to stop the main cable. Haven't seen it but there may have been some additional main cable stops to prevent too much empty cable leaving Riviera station during full individual gondola stops within the station.)
If everything is in parenthesis, is anything in parenthesis?

There is no dedicated "orange" (ie: "handicapped") gondolas. So I would assume if a ECV (or wheelchair) user is waiting to get on, they funnel a gondola to that line. If an ECV/wheelchair user needs to get off, they funnel that gondola to that line. So there could be two "orange" (those holding or getting ready to hold) gondolas back to back, or there might be 20 blue ones between them. But then a blue can become orange. :D
 
(Theoretically any gondola can be sent into the handicapped loop. By orange gondola I mean one that is carrying a guest who should alight in the handicapped loop or one culled at the last moment from the stream to satisfy handicapped demand. I assumed that the positioning of orange gondolas in the stream is variable, dynamic, and influenced by manual control, by the process of merging orange (shown as green) gondolas at the handicapped loop exit, and by loading activity at Riviera station.

(At some point they will want to come up with some system to reduce manual errors in sending gondolas into the handicapped loop i.e. identify them as orange in the above diagrams.

(If for some reasons the gondolas clump up in the station all the way back to the entrance then the cable must be stopped to prevent the next incoming gondola from colliding with one in the station. Riviera station relies on its overall length to be able to sustain some stopping of gondolas for loading wheelchairs, etc. without having to stop the main cable. Haven't seen it but there may have been some additional main cable stops to prevent too much empty cable leaving Riviera station during full individual gondola stops within the station.)
Incorrect.

The Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles can be any cabins, but they are predesignated at a specific spacing. Switching into and out of the WAV area is automatic; the cm's at the unload & load positions just need to hold in a dispatch button to enable it. A countdown timer on the consoles tells the cm's when the the next WAV is expected to arrive. If either cm is not pushing the dispatch button when the timer approaches zero, a chime sounds to remind them to push it.

The WAVs are designated by a plunger being extended on the hanger. You can see the plunger next to the door opening mechanism. The plunger signals the doors to remain closed thru the regular unload area, and also activates the track switch into the WAV area. You can see this in action if you locate the door opening rail at the entrance to the regular unload area, and watch the rail move out of the way when a cabin with plunger extended approaches.

Since the plunger would have to be positioned by a tech person, I assume the WAVs are assigned at the beginning of the day and do not change during the day. That's when the chocks would be placed in the cabins.

In the photo, the cabin on the left is a WAV.
442378

In the 1st video, you can hear the reminder chime sounding as a designated WAV approaches the regular unload area.
 
Thank you, joelkfla.

Where are chocks kept?

A question about the cables. Are there three different cables being used?

For instance, one in the station's handicap section, one in the station's regular section, and one in the air after leaving the stations or 90-degree turns.

What do you think was causing the gondolas in the air to stop so many times?



Incorrect.

The Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles can be any cabins, but they are predesignated at a specific spacing. Switching into and out of the WAV area is automatic; the cm's at the unload & load positions just need to hold in a dispatch button to enable it. A countdown timer on the consoles tells the cm's when the next WAV is expected to arrive. If either cm is not pushing the dispatch button when the timer approaches zero, a chime sounds to remind them to push it.

The WAVs are designated by a plunger being extended on the hanger. You can see the plunger next to the door opening mechanism. The plunger signals the doors to remain closed thru the regular unload area, and also activates the track switch into the WAV area. You can see this in action if you locate the door opening rail at the entrance to the regular unload area, and watch the rail move out of the way when a cabin with plunger extended approaches.

Since the plunger would have to be positioned by a tech person, I assume the WAVs are assigned at the beginning of the day and do not change during the day. That's when the chocks would be placed in the cabins.

In the photo, the cabin on the left is a WAV.
View attachment 442378

In the 1st video, you can hear the reminder chime sounding as a designated WAV approaches the regular unload area.
 
Last edited:
Thank you, joelkfla.

Where are chocks kept?
They stay with cabins that have been designated WAVs. It looked like they just tossed them under the seat when not in use.
A question about the cables. Are there three different cables being used?

For instance, one in the station's handicap section, one in the station's regular section, and one in the air after leaving the stations or 90-degree turns.
No, the cabins detach from the cable when they enter a station. Inside the stations, they run on an overhead track and are propelled by rotating tires above the track, or chains in some places (like thru the switch in the video.)

On the turns, while the cabins are detached, the cable goes around a series of wheels which allows it to cross over itself and make the turn. It's a single cable from Epcot to CBR, powered at CBR.
What do you think was causing the gondolas in the air to stop so many times?
I don't know. A lot of people are guessing that cm's are stopping the line because Guests are not getting into or out of the cabins quickly enough. Another possibility IMO is that safety sensors are being tripped excessively.
 

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