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

[Disneylover99]

When the Skyliner went down for me that the CBR, The bus I took to EPCOT was just the normal CBR bus that would have already been running they just added the Skyliner loop to it's route. I assume there have to be extra's for Pop/Art and probably for the two parks as well but that's not what I saw.

That makes sense since you’re at CBR heading to Epcot. But I’m thinking more of the buses they put on at Epcot when the skyliner is down. I’ve heard people are directed to buses at the Boardwalk and separate buses take people to Pop/Art and CBR. Those are additional buses.

 

[CarolynFH]

Yesterday morning around 9:15 DH and I were driving to DHS when we noticed the Epcot gondolas were stopped. We didn’t think much of it because we experienced several stops of various durations on our multiple rides last week, and I suspect that they’re having to stop the line to load/unload ECVs and wheelchairs at Riviera but can’t confirm that.

But today on FB someone complained that the gondolas had stopped running yesterday, without giving any further details, and someone replied that Disney needs to take them out of service until they correct the problems. Anyone here have any knowledge of an unusual stoppage yesterday? Or is this just another example of unreasonable expectations?

ETA Found this on the Resorts board: https://www.disboards.com/threads/nightmare-experience-on-skyliner.3778392/. That will teach me not to check this thread in future for reports of new incidents.

 

[snappy]

I wonder if they are running today?

 

[afan]

And now that they’ve needed extra buses to transport guests at the International Gateway to POP/AofA/CBR due to weather related stoppages of the skyliner, so all in all, more buses have been necessary since the skyliner opened.

It would have been nice if this was happening for other stoppages. Last week Thursday when the Epcot line was down and didn't find out until getting to the station outside the IG, taking a bus wasn't given as an option unless I went back through the IG and walked to the front of the park, per the CM. Maybe they weren't expecting it to be down long enough for buses or it hadn't been down long enough for the buses to start but I was specifically told to wait for a boat or walk to the front of Epcot to get to CBR.

 

[Disneylover99]

It would have been nice if this was happening for other stoppages. Last week Thursday when the Epcot line was down and didn't find out until getting to the station outside the IG, taking a bus wasn't given as an option unless I went back through the IG and walked to the front of the park, per the CM. Maybe they weren't expecting it to be down long enough for buses or it hadn't been down long enough for the buses to start but I was specifically told to wait for a bus or walk to the front of Epcot to get to CBR.

So based on your last sentence, it sounds like they were in the process of getting buses?

 

[scrappinginontario]

It would have been nice if this was happening for other stoppages. Last week Thursday when the Epcot line was down and didn't find out until getting to the station outside the IG, taking a bus wasn't given as an option unless I went back through the IG and walked to the front of the park, per the CM. Maybe they weren't expecting it to be down long enough for buses or it hadn't been down long enough for the buses to start but I was specifically told to wait for a bus or walk to the front of Epcot to get to CBR.

In future, if the boats are running it’s a leisurely 20 min ride to DHS and you can take a bus from there to any resort. I’ve done this often when leaving from the IG area as opposed to walking to the front of Epcot.

 

[Disneylover99]

In future, if the boats are running it’s a leisurely 20 min ride to DHS and you can take a bus from there to any resort. I’ve done this often when leaving from the IG area as opposed to walking to the front of Epcot.

The problem is, If the skyliner is down due to weather, I’d imagine the boats are down too. And if the skyliner is down due to a technical problem, I’d imagine the boat line would balloon pretty quickly.

 

[afan]

So based on your last sentence, it sounds like they were in the process of getting buses?

That should have been boat not bus. Typed bus/buses too many times and apparently my fingers had another idea from what I wanted to type.

In future, if the boats are running it’s a leisurely 20 min ride to DHS and you can take a bus from there to any resort. I’ve done this often when leaving from the IG area as opposed to walking to the front of Epcot.

The line was already at least 2 boats deep and I had a friend waiting for me at CBR because we were doing dinner, so it was much easier and faster (even if there had been a boat there with no line) to walk to DHS and get the skyliner from there than either way for a boat or walk back through Epcot. Worst case I'd have waited for a bus at DHS but the skyliner was working there.

 

[scrappinginontario]

The problem is, If the skyliner is down due to weather, I’d imagine the boats are down too. And if the skyliner is down due to a technical problem, I’d imagine the boat line would balloon pretty quickly.

Yes, That’s exactly why I prefaced my suggestion with ‘IF the boats are running’. I was just trying to offer an alternative to walking all the way to the front of the park and then to the buses.

We stay at Pop so that walk from IG to the Pop bus for us is a good 15-20 mins depending on number of people in the park and how far we’ve walked that day so our pace slows. After that it’s bus wait time which has been 20 min+ mid-day. (35 last April when we arrived as a Pop bus pulled away)

IF the boats are running and we’re already at IG we would choose to wait for a boat even if it was going to take more than 1. The boats hold a surprising number of people.

i was just trying to offer an alternative to walking back to the buses.

 

[Disneylover99]

Yes, That’s exactly why I prefaced my suggestion with ‘IF the boats are running’. I was just trying to offer an alternative to walking all the way to the front of the park and then to the buses.

We stay at Pop so that walk from IG to the Pop bus for us is a good 15-20 mins depending on number of people in the park and how far we’ve walked that day so our pace slows. After that it’s bus wait time which has been 20 min+ mid-day. (35 last April when we arrived as a Pop bus pulled away)

IF the boats are running and we’re already at IG we would choose to wait for a boat even if it was going to take more than 1. The boats hold a surprising number of people.

i was just trying to offer an alternative to walking back to the buses.

I guess it depends on how long you have to wait since we are now talking about a build up of crowds for boats due to the the skyliner being down.

Odds are it’s going to be quicker to walk to the front of Epcot and wait for a bus to go directly to your resort, rather then wait for a boat, take the boat, walk to the bus stop at HS, then wait for the bus at HS to go to Pop.

 

[DeniseJH]

Just scanning the latest pages, but it's certainly looking like the Skyliner is an unreliable form of transportation. Gonna stick with the busses! (Yes, I know...more room on the Skyliner for the rest of you. You can have it - enjoy!)

 

[Princess_Nikki]

Just scanning the latest pages, but it's certainly looking like the Skyliner is an unreliable form of transportation. Gonna stick with the busses! (Yes, I know...more room on the Skyliner for the rest of you. You can have it - enjoy!)

I agree! I was thinking: “Am I the only one who doesn’t find this appealing & has no desire to utilize it?”. Lol! It’s cool, but not for me. I don’t have a fear of heights or anything and I’m sure some of the views are neat. But, too many stops that seem to turn into issues. My friend was stuck on one for over an hour, not moving, and just stuck. No thanks! I’ll drive, use buses, boats, like, literally anything but that. Lol.

 

[disneygirlsng]

I agree! I was thinking: “Am I the only one who doesn’t find this appealing & has no desire to utilize it?”. Lol! It’s cool, but not for me. I don’t have a fear of heights or anything and I’m sure some of the views are neat. But, too many stops that seem to turn into issues. My friend was stuck on one for over an hour, not moving, and just stuck. No thanks! I’ll drive, use buses, boats, like, literally anything but that. Lol.

I 100% would not write it off until I've tried it. But I feel that way about everything.

 

[seashoreCM]

If you are at Epcot and not between Canada and Italy then you are better off going for the buses instead of the Skyliner.

 

[DisneyRobin]

We had a great experience with the Skyliner! We rode from HS to Epcot at around 5:30pm on Thursday 11/7 with no lines to get on and no stops while in route.

Same thing this past Saturday 11/9... we rode from Epcot to HS around 1pm and everything was perfect!

The rides were quick and easy - and fun!!

 

[Mome Rath]

If you are at Epcot and not between Canada and Italy then you are better off going for the buses instead of the Skyliner.

Except you can pretty much walk right on the Skyliner as opposed to standing in line for a bus and waiting, and of course it depends on your destination.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Except you can pretty much walk right on the Skyliner as opposed to standing in line for a bus and waiting, and of course it depends on your destination.

This is why it’s so good when it’s working. Took us 17 minutes start to finish from DHS to Epcot and vice versa. It’s awesome for park hopping, I’m not sure how fast the lines move at opening and closing, but knowing you aren’t waiting midday is awesome.

If they can get it to be more reliable to the point that you really don’t have to worry about stopping, and if they can work out the issues with communication it’ll be almost the most convenient form of transportation in WDW, second only to walking and maybe ride shares.

 

[DeniseJH]

Except you can pretty much walk right on the Skyliner as opposed to standing in line for a bus and waiting, and of course it depends on your destination.

Yeah, you can pretty much walk on, but you can't count on getting to your destination in a timely manner. The busses are a known entity, but apparently it isn't rare for the Skyliner to just stop. I know approx. how long a bus will take to get me from point A to point B and will gladly stick with that. But as I said, the rest of you, enjoy!

 

[gorkt]

You will never be able to ride it without the possibility of it stopping. I would imagine that as they run it in the natural park day environment, and learn how to manage the ADA transition (which is the source of a lot of the stops) the stops will become shorter and more predictable. I also would expect another round of adjustments once Rivera station comes online.

I have been here since Saturday and rode it twice to HS. It stopped once for a few minutes but that was no big deal. I loved the airflow through the cabins and the view. It’s really great!

 

[Mome Rath]

Yeah, you can pretty much walk on, but you can't count on getting to your destination in a timely manner. The busses are a known entity, but apparently it isn't rare for the Skyliner to just stop. I know approx. how long a bus will take to get me from point A to point B and will gladly stick with that. But as I said, the rest of you, enjoy!

The longest anyone in my fam was ever delayed was by a bus breaking down out in the middle of Disney property. It took forever for them to bring a new bus, to transfer, and to get to their destination. Monorails have also stopped for hours... the Skyliner is new and after the first actual major stoppage everyone is focused on it and talks about it. I would have never even thought to post about a bus breaking down and being delayed 2 hours until now.

As for me, I hope that the operation of the Skyliners gets smoother and smoother... when I rode it multiple times it never even stopped. That's what I hope for the future for the system as a whole. I will also continue to ride it as it is a fantastic mode of transportation, with no skin off my nose if people don't want to ride it for their own reasons, I always hope people have good vacations at Dis and that always means doin Dis the way their fams choose to.