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

[jknezek]

I am like Teetz, they did not go cheap on this at all. Cheap would have been bland buildings and bland gondola's. The Gondolas paint schemes are great. Spending extra money on each load building to make it match it's locale looks great.

Yeah. But the phrase is fast, right (sometimes good), or cheap. In this case, I'm equating cheap with slow, as building faster costs more. Not cheap with cheap material or outcome.

 

[rteetz]

I am like Teetz, they did not go cheap on this at all. Cheap would have been bland buildings and bland gondola's. The Gondolas paint schemes are great. Spending extra money on each load building to make it match it's locale looks great.

Well considering the cost they spent on it outside of that it definitely ain't cheap.

 

[OKW Lover]

Pictures of International Gateway and Skyliner taken Yesterday (Wednesday) about noon.

 

[sachilles]

I'd agree that cheap might not be the most accurate descriptor.......but cost conscious doesn't have the same ring to it.
Basically to hurry some things along will cost you more money for the same result(but quicker). No need to buy fed EX early AM delivery, when standard shipping gets you the part with enough time to get things done. Instant gratification seems to be the norm in the US now, but it does cost us. If you can be patient, and plan ahead there are real money savings to be had.
I suspect there were conservative timelines allowing for mistakes and delays that didn't materialize. No sense rushing to schedule concrete to be poured only to have reschedule it a few times costing everyone money.
Not long now.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I am like Teetz, they did not go cheap on this at all. Cheap would have been bland buildings and bland gondola's. The Gondolas paint schemes are great. Spending extra money on each load building to make it match it's locale looks great.

plus isnt' the fact the terminal station have that second loop for loading ECVs, etc. and all computer controlled another sign they didn't go cheap on it?

I thin they wanted to do them right and took their time to ensure it is all right and will be 100% functional consistently when it opens as they need to show that it was the right decision to build these

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I'd agree that cheap might not be the most accurate descriptor.......but cost conscious doesn't have the same ring to it.
Basically to hurry some things along will cost you more money for the same result(but quicker). No need to buy fed EX early AM delivery, when standard shipping gets you the part with enough time to get things done. Instant gratification seems to be the norm in the US now, but it does cost us. If you can be patient, and plan ahead there are real money savings to be had.
I suspect there were conservative timelines allowing for mistakes and delays that didn't materialize. No sense rushing to schedule concrete to be poured only to have reschedule it a few times costing everyone money.
Not long now.

I think that is true and fair - if they truly wanted this to be open earlier they could have made it happen by having crews working 24/7 and rush deliveries, etc. ... They also like when they can extend their construciton projects across multiple quarters to extending it into September allows them to allocate the cost to another quarter

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Noticed this in the comments for the latest Passport to the Parks video - that showed the Cast Member Preview rides. Noticed that he mentioned ventilation "above and below you"

 

[Disney Von Drake]

They also like when they can extend their construciton projects across multiple quarters to extending it into September allows them to allocate the cost to another quarter

 

[R2Dude]

I rode today as part of a special CM preview. I didn’t notice vents below, but I could feel the air moving. Not sure if it was just the air swirling around from the top vents. There was some good airflow. It was breezy at the time which did add to the airflow. I did notice that depending on what direction we were traveling we had different levels of air flow. Feel free to ask any questions. I will answer what I can.

 

[unbanshee]

Noticed this in the comments for the latest Passport to the Parks video - that showed the Cast Member Preview rides. Noticed that he mentioned ventilation "above and below you"

View attachment 435223

I'm surprised that people still don't grasp how the ventilation works. Here's a BlogMickey article that shows off the gondola cabin from IAAPA all the way back in November 2018

https://blogmickey.com/2018/11/photos-disney-skyliner-manufacturer-shows-off-gondola-model-at-iaapa/

 

[Weedy]

I rode today as part of a special CM preview. I didn’t notice vents below, but I could feel the air moving. Not sure if it was just the air swirling around from the top vents. There was some good airflow. It was breezy at the time which did add to the airflow. I did notice that depending on what direction we were traveling we had different levels of air flow. Feel free to ask any questions. I will answer what I can.

Was it hot in the cabin? How were the views?

 

[Spaceguy55]

I rode today as part of a special CM preview. I didn’t notice vents below, but I could feel the air moving. Not sure if it was just the air swirling around from the top vents. There was some good airflow. It was breezy at the time which did add to the airflow. I did notice that depending on what direction we were traveling we had different levels of air flow. Feel free to ask any questions. I will answer what I can.

Were you able to go to POP/AOA and Epcot?

 

[R2Dude]

Was it hot in the cabin? How were the views?

The views were terrific, including all the work at IG and France.

It was a bit warm, however I was in costume, wearing a long sleeve, thick shirt and pants, and I am usually a bit warmer than most. And while I was warm, I wasn’t sweating. I would think in a T-shirt and shorts, most would be comfortable.

 

[R2Dude]

Were you able to go to POP/AOA and Epcot?

Went from HS to CB, switched to Riviera/Epcot line, went to Epcot and then all the way back. You DO NOT have to get off at Riviera if you are going to Epcot. Pop/AOA was not open.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I rode today as part of a special CM preview. I didn’t notice vents below, but I could feel the air moving. Not sure if it was just the air swirling around from the top vents. There was some good airflow. It was breezy at the time which did add to the airflow. I did notice that depending on what direction we were traveling we had different levels of air flow. Feel free to ask any questions. I will answer what I can.

Were they utilizing the second loading loop (for ECV, etc)? Curious to see that process in action

 

[Jorjabelle]

I’m a believer that the gondolas moving will be fine for air flow. In the Passport to the Parks video it looked like they did stop the gondolas for up to a minute with CM in - maybe to get their feedback on how the gondolas feel when stopped. I don’t know how often that will happen on a typical day, but I’d be interested in “stuffiness” in the gondolas if the system stops.

 

[R2Dude]

Were they utilizing the second loading loop (for ECV, etc)? Curious to see that process in action

They had three gondolas parked on each of the “spurs” for ECV loading. Didn’t actually see the process happen though. At Riviera there is no spur. The CM there said they can slow the station down to the point you can’t tell the gondolas are even moving so they can load an ECV.

 

[OSUZorba]

I'm pretty sure that the issue is actually geology. Ski resorts are built at mountains, which have bedrock readily available. Orlando has no bedrock at all; what "rock" there is under Disney property is compacted organic shell material, and it is porous as a brittle sponge. These towers have to stand through hurricane-force winds while standing on poor anchorage; it was an engineering challenge that Doppelmayr had not dealt with in the past. (Though they did have a bit of practice when building the cable car system for the New Orleans World's Fair, which also took WAY longer than projected and was plagued with cost overruns due to geological concerns.)

The piers were all poured and towers mounted a long time ago, ski resorts could've done this project twice over since that part of the project was done. Also the piers are not that special, they have the same issues with high voltage power line towers, bridge piers, etc. Ski resorts also have to dig the piers into granite, get all the equipment and materials up there, and often times set the towers using helicopter cranes. A lot of mountain slopes are also scree that doesn't make a good foundation either.

Again, building to hurricane code complicates what would appear to be a very simple design. Open-sided "shed" type buildings are the most vulnerable structures in hurricanes, because the wind gets underneath the roof and pushes it straight up. Because these sheds are the only cover on very complicated mechanical systems that are delicately balanced, they have to be built extraordinarily strong to compensate and to protect the ropeway mechanics from wind damage and flying debris.

So, is Disney picky and relatively slow? Yeah, I'll agree that they are, but I think that in this case that wasn't the primary reason for the lackadaisical-seeming project timing.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the structural design was finished before construction really got going. Outside of CBR, the stations are all based on out of the catalog designs, as well.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

They had three gondolas parked on each of the “spurs” for ECV loading. Didn’t actually see the process happen though. At Riviera there is no spur. The CM there said they can slow the station down to the point you can’t tell the gondolas are even moving so they can load an ECV.

Thank you for this - how ECV loading happens at Riviera was also a bit if a question so good to know!

 

[sachilles]

R2Dude, any catchy audio in the cabins? Por favor manténgase alejado de las puertas!