Walt Disney World Skyliner Gondola cabin video, photos, info.

[gap2368]

I really hope it works like planned. It would be great to have it run between TTC and Magic Kingdom. A continuous transportation would be great after the fireworks

I can see them exspanding the system to other parks / resorts in the coming years/ months. I think below EPCOT is the most likely for the next one. I do hope it works out I think it looks so cool and smile every time I saw it when I was at Disney

 

[gap2368]

Here is yet another Video This one by the Tim tracker ( the Skyliner stats about 10 minute mark)

a few take aways from this video

For those that are scary of hight PPO/ AoA to CBR is the lowest as fair as how high it goes. then CBR to HS was the second the highest up is CBR too EPCOT. Jenn said she was /is scared of hight but said she felt more comftuble as time went on She also said in a prevues blog that she would never ride it but did

HS-CBR is 4 to 5 minutes they said it was too fast

A little more on the handicap cars they have specific care for mobility device that come off on automatically ( both wrapped and unwrapped) this helps with spacing so they should not have to stop start the line for the cars to enter leave.

it looked like the cars slowed one and stoped once for 4-5 minutes

 

[RaySharpton]

I really like this informational video from FoodBlog showing video of the wheelchair entrance for wheelchairs.

Here are some screenshots from the video below:



I believe she said WDW placed this Joffrey's coffee stand outside the Caribbean Skyliner Station




The sign between the Caribbean Skyliner Station regular loading and the wheelchair loading.



And a little further to the left showing here I think is the wheelchair queue line. I know out of the picture on the far left is the exit for the regular guests.



Another station's wheelchair loading queue.



An actual photo of one of the station's wheelchair loading queue.



When she showed this photo she said the safety sign is located inside each gondola, but I don't think this is the photo because I see a fire alarm to the right.



She said inside the gondola there is an Emergency Call Box. The box is below and black but is only a partial photo not showing the speaker or call button.

 

[DisneyOma]

People are posting on the Disney FB page that the gondolas are stopping a lot, and they are getting hot inside.

 

[gap2368]

I really like this informational video from FoodBlog showing video of the wheelchair entrance for wheelchairs.

So in one video they said the highest you will go is 93 feet and this one 60 feel. ( or close to those numbers ). I wonder what one it is.

 

[RaySharpton]

 

[dizneefan13]

No one is forced to ride anything in Disney World. If you think it has problems, I bet you would not be happy riding it. So don't. I know I can't wait to ride it. It looks amazing and I think the views are wonderful from what I have seen so far.
Yep, everyone has their own opinion, even very negative ones before they have even been near the thing.

 

[RaySharpton]

First-day use for the Disney Skyliner Gondolas started off very busy today with eveyone wanted to ride for the first time.

Here is a time check from one guest:

Jeremy Goff‎ to WDW Radio Box People
4 hrs ·

Here’s a Skyliner trip example for times. We went from Epcot to Hollywood Studios which requires you to go to Carribean Beach Main hub and transfer to the Epcot line. Just thought some of you might be interested in some real-time data.

Of course if you were there at the very busy opening, the lines were long.

BlogMickey.com
@Blog_Mickey
·
21m

Huge line for Epcot right now at the #DisneySkyliner station for Caribbean Beach Resort. The cast are advising guests to take a bus for quicker service, but would not quote a wait time because the Skyliner is transportation, not an attraction

I can see the wheelchair section to the right was busy, too.

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

LaughingPlace.com
@laughing_place
·
4h

The transportation wait times screens at Caribbean Beach inform guests that they can take the #Skyliner

bioreconstruct
@bioreconstruct
·
5m

Most Disney Skyliner stations have a separate lane for gondolas that carry guests in wheelchairs. Seen at left. Unload seen stopped at center, and loading also stopped at left. Gondolas at right move continually for other boarding.

bioreconstruct
@bioreconstruct
·
12m

Door opening and closing mechanisms seen in Disney Skyliner DHS station. Gondolas pass through each, left to right.

 

[gap2368]

Interesting to know they are letting wheelchair ECV load in the none handicap area. and this is what some of the stopping is for. I have a feeling that in a month or two the newness will wear off and people will get more used to loading unloading and there will be less stops slow down. I am very excited to try it out

 

[RaySharpton]

Here is another first day YouTube video by ResortTV1 for 4-hours and 11-minutes:

He took a video of entering and exiting all of the Disney Skyliner Stations and I took what photos that I could from his video.

I also list some times at different places in the video if you didn't want to go through the whole 4-hours and 11-minutes.

I am just posting the information as I saw the video instead of changing the order because I am typing with one hand for several hours.



He began at the DHS Skyliner Station and as he made the turn in the queue to get in the regular line, I saw this. This was from an earlier thread and I thought it was in the gondola, but it is not as it is obviously on the wall of the station. Sorry about that.



As he turned left I see the Disney Hollywood Studios Disability loading station with a Disney castmember guiding a mobility scooter on a gondola.



At minute about 5:44, you can hear the blogger request a clear window gondola since the next gondola had a wrapping the one he was going to get on with two others requested that he not ride with them. So at least this Disney cast member allowed a request a different gondola other than the one that was coming up next.



Just before he entered the gondola, I noticed what looked like air vents near the floor of the gondola.



I didn't notice the air vents on the other side of the gondola, but maybe it is just a higher angle. But I noticed this in several of his photos.



As I looked further to the left I can see a bumper metal bar to stop strollers and mobility scooters and wheelchairs from hitting the end of the gondola.

And maybe this is why the Disney cast members are asking guests to load all of the strollers and mobility scooters and wheelchairs straight into the gondola instead of backing in which I would have preferred.

It also looks to narrow for my wheelchair to turn around with the two benches down and I didn't hear anyone request to raise the seats on the video. When everyone exited they had to back up.





I couldn't make out the decals. I had to zoom in the video just to get a close up of the stickers.

I am going to stop hear and add the following times when the monorail type announcements were made from each of the four Disney Skyliner Stations and one time when the gondola stopped.

I can hear the monorail type intro starting at minute 6:55 going from DHS Skyliner Station to Caribbean Skyliner Station if you're interested.

I can hear the monorail type intro starting at minute 14:20 going from Caribbean Skyliner Station to DHS Skyliner Station if you're interested.

I can hear the monorail type intro starting at minute 27:46 going from Pop Skyliner Station to Caribbean Skyliner Station if you're interested.



He reached the Caribbean Skyliner Station which is beautiful and large I guess because there are three different Skyliner gates and he looked around. This is the Caribbean Skyliner Station to the Riviera Skyliner Station, The Big Turn and finally EPCOT Skyliner Station.



Turning around these are the other two destinations at the Caribbean Skyliner Station.


On to the next post

 

[RaySharpton]

Post two:



Here is the first photo of a mobility scooter entering the Caribbean Skyliner Station headin g to the Pop Skyliner Station. Everyone, for now, has to drive straight on and not back in. I guess that is what the metal bumper bar is for on the other side of the gondola.



The gondola window vents have a black latch that can be opened and closed by hand. I also noticed rotating type fans at each Skyliner station blowing air towards the bottom of the gondolas as they move by.



When he was through he came back and entered the Pop/Animator's Skyliner Station and on his left is the Disability queue and the regular line is to the right.



Once he got back to the Caribbean Skyliner Station from Pop, he entered the Riviera Skyliner Station, the Big Turn and EPCOT Skyliner Station. He took the photo from the regular line looking at the side of the Disability queue.



When they entered the Riviera Skyliner Station the doors opened, but no one got off and then the doors closed. What is interesting is this station has a big turn type device, because it makes a right turn without anyone getting off.



Still in the Riviera Skyliner Station after the 90-degree turn, a Disney cast member asked explained that they would be continuing to EPCOT. So the doors opened and closed again. There is no Disability queue here. The gondola slows down or stops for strollers, wheelchairs or mobility scooters. Later I saw people get on and off. I don't know if they were from the Caribbean Resort or guests of cast members. I just don't know.



When he arrived at the Epcot Skyliner Station he didn't show the Disability queue. This is him reloading the Epcot Skyliner Station to go back to the Caribbean Skyliner Station. He did a lot of things in between, but I was just concentrating on the Disability aspect of the Skyliner. To the immediate right is a separate entrance queue out of view in this photo



When arriving at the Riviera Skyliner Station, this guest in a transport wheelchair was about to load onto the gondola. This is a regular line. I still don't know where these guests are coming from. I know that some Disney Caribbean Resort buildings are very close, but I didn't know they were actually letting a guest use the Riviera Skyliner Station

I only saw guests loading and exiting the gondola here. I think everyone arriving from the EPCOT Skyliner Station or the Caribbean Skyliner Station ever got off the gondolas as far as I could see on the videos. They only got on.

 

[RaySharpton]

Post three:



While he was waiting with friends who also had a mobility scooter, the person in front of the loaded onto the Caribbean Skyliner Station Gondola headed back to the EPCOT Skyliner Station. If you notice this is a larger Walker Mobility scooter loading. He didn't appear to have any problem driving straight on.

The limits for strollers, wheelchairs, and mobility scooters are they must be no wider than 30" and no longer than 48" to board any gondola.



Their family enters after he is placed. I noticed the small child climb on the bench to get to the other end, but there seemed to plenty of space for the rest of the family.



Now he let his friend enter the next gondola. This appears to be an older ECV that WDW used to rent from looking at the front tiller and the rear. I assume she bought one. She didn't appear to have any problem drying straight on the gondola.



And there she is. So they want to have the wheelchair and mobility scooters to enter first and turn off their device before the rest of the family or guests enter.


When passing through the Riviera Skyliner there were more guests wanting to get on. The gondola appeared to move extremely slowly if not actually stopping for the stroller to enter. Again, I have no idea where these guests that are boarding are coming from.



Back at the EPCOT Skyliner Station she seems to back up slowly and carefully but didn't appear to have any problems driving backward out of the gondola at the Disability exit.

I had more time info but it got erased after the first post. So I will add to it later.

 

[RaySharpton]

Since I lost my previous info in the previous post, I went through the video and time dated some places that you might be interested in.

In the video section above you can in here the Disney Skyliner monorail type voice telling everyone what to expect as they leave DHS Skyliner Station starting at minute 14:20 and head to the Caribbean Skyliner Station. The voice also interjects comments on some of the longer routes and then the last monorail type voice telling everyone what to expect as they reach their next Skyliner Station destination.

I can hear the monorail type intro starting at minute 14:20 going from Caribbean Skyliner Station to the Pop/Animator's Skyliner Station.

I can hear the monorail type intro starting at minute 27:45 going from Pop/Animator's Skyliner Station to the Caribbean Skyliner Station.

I can hear the monorail type intro starting at minute 43:36 going from the Caribbean Skyliner StationPop/Animator's Skyliner Station to the Riviera Skyliner Station, the Big Turn, and finally EPCOT Skyliner Station if you're interested.

Okay, here is the bouncing gondola part of the video. It was leaving the EPCOT Skyliner Station and then made a stop and you can see the gondola across the way bouncing some starting at hour 1:02:06. And restarts at 1:04:50.

https://youtu.be/4BKRg-5kZqE?t=5420

Now, this is a very interesting part of the video at the Caribbean Skyliner Station going to the Riviera Skyliner Station, the Big Turn, and finally EPCOT Skyliner Station. You will see two groups each with a mobility scooter. The first one is a larger Walker Mobility ECV. The second is also a larger ECV that is actually an old, bought, Disney ECV that used to be used at all of the Disney parks. I have never seen one of these outside the parks.

Remember the mobility scooter is required not to be wider than 30" and no longer than 48" to enter the gondolas.

This starts at hour 1:30:20.

https://youtu.be/4BKRg-5kZqE?t=6086

This is another interesting part of the video that includes several features. I started the video right before it enters the Rivera Skyliner Station so that you could get an idea of how much quicker it enters the station.

Also, you get to look inside the Rivera Skyliner Station and see how pretty it is and how even though the doors open, the cast members, at this time, discourage exiting.

You can also see how this station has a turning feature like the Big Turn between this station and the EPCOT Skyliner Station.

Finally, when the doors open a second time you can see several guests getting ready to enter the gondolas. I didn't know people were allowed. There might be a few rooms open already, I don't know.

I do know the there are no special queues for Disability boarding at this station only. The Disney cast members can stop or extremely slow the gondolas for guests or strollers or wheelchairs to enter the gondola.

This starts at hour 1:41:26.

https://youtu.be/4BKRg-5kZqE?t=6690

.This section shows the EPCOT Skyliner station with the stroller exiting first in the regular exit and the mobility scooter continues around to the Disability exit. Here you can see the larger Disney type older mobility scooter exit. You can only enter the gondola headfirst and exit backward. Also when you enter, the mobility device must enter the gondola first and the cast member places chocks behind the rear wheels and then the rest of the group enters the gondola.

.

 

[RaySharpton]

Joe's first-day experience riding on the Disney Skyliner gondolas and his thoughts and comments are outstanding and very informative.

https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads...-been-discussed.924477/page-1095#post-8904632

https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads...-been-discussed.924477/page-1095#post-8904632

Everything about wheelchair cabin management:

• Wheelchair cabins are assigned at the beginning of day, and are identified by inserting a plug near the top of the hanger.
• The plug causes the door opening rail to collapse, so the doors stay closed thru the main unload platform.

vimeo363204268

The plug also activates the track switch into the wheelchair unload area. As a flagged cabin approaches the switch, a chain drive activates and pulls the cabin across the switch.

vimeo363204456

This is so interesting to me to see how the gondola is switched to the second Disability loading area.

• Doors open as the cabin enters the wheelchair unload position.
• Wheelchair cabins are unloaded and loaded simultaneously.
• The chair is backed out.
• The control podiums at both unload and load have a countdown timer. Operators at both positions must be held in a button on the panel when the counter reaches zero for the cabins to advance. If either is not holding in the button when the timer is approaching zero, a reminder chime sounds. (The chime can be heard in the door opener video above.)
• The cabin advances from unloading to load position, while the cabin in load position moves around to prepare for re-entering the mainstream.
• Doors remain open between unloading and load.
• The load operator briefly inspects the cabin, and then loads the wheelchair in a forward direction, instructing the rest of the party to wait.
• Seats will never be folded during operation.
• The wheelchair is instructed to move forward as far as possible. ECV’s are instructed to pull up against a guide rail along the floor.
• Rubber chocks are placed behind the rear wheels.
• Then the rest of the party is invited to enter.
• Both operators release the cabins as described above.
• Doors close immediately upon leaving the load position.
• After advancing around the curve, the cabin pauses for a few seconds before re-entering the mainstream.
• Empty wheelchair cabins will not be available to load at the regular load platform. Doors will remain closed, and the cabins remain empty.
• Wheelchair entrance to Pop/AoA station is thru the exit.
• You may request an unwrapped cabin for better sightseeing, but the wait may be long.
• Capacity is 1 wheelchair/ecv plus 6 more but maybe less for very large ecv, as they do not fold the seat.

I was told that the Epcot line will be stopped for wheelchair loading at Riviera. In fact, I was going to get off at Riviera on my ecv to look around, but they requested that I not.

CBR station has wi-fi, but it's neither Disney-Guest nor any of the resort wi-fi. Instead, they named it Disney Skyliner. You might have to connect to it the first time.

The mysterious green and red lights behind the doors are nothing more than a power indicator. Close up, they have the familiar 1 within a circle. When they're green, lights and sound are powered on. They look like they may actually be a push-button switch, but the cm I talked to didn't know.

Some thoughts:

We had a pretty consistent 10mph wind from the east today. The affect on air flow in the cabins was very pronounced. Heading west out of Riviera, there was almost no airflow, and it became a bit uncomfortable. It improved as soon as the cabin made the turn north towards Epcot, even before it picked up speed. The cabin was quite comfortable when traveling in all other directions. Even heading south, with the wind blowing against the windowless doors, there was a good breeze coming up from the floor vents (which I can't figure out, because they're only on the back of the cabin.) Indeed, at times the wind was whistling through like a log cabin on the prairie.

I was riding on my ECV. The cabins also got a bit uncomfortable in the stations, but I attribute that to the fact that the wheelchair cabins spend a lot more time in the stations, much of it with the doors closed. There's no perceptible airflow when the cabins are moving at load speed.

The cabins seem to pick up and amplify sounds from the ground. I guess the sounds are bouncing around the walls. Passing over BVD sounded almost like NYC traffic. The roar of the BWV air conditioners was very noticeable, as was the noise of any construction machinery that we happened to pass by.

The solar panels along the paths between Speedway and the firehouse and through the woods on the Studios line are there to power small lights along the paths. I noticed the lights along the Pop/AoA path, too, but I didn't see any solar panels there. I guess they have electric service.

Lines at the CBR station seemed to build throughout the day. As others have said, they were a tangled mess, especially the line for Epcot, which overflowed both the permanent queue and the extension taped out on the floor. It made getting to the restrooms difficult.

Wheelchair entrance to the Pop station is thru the exit. Weird.

CM's said it's perfectly OK to request an unwrapped cabin, even in the wheelchair line. But it may take a while on the wheelchair line, because there may be only 1 or 2 unwrapped cabins assigned.

People on the board were wondering how the spurs to the storage yard connect to the main track at a 90 degree angle. It's simply 2 small radius curve tracks on both sides, with switches and a chain drive.

vimeo 415025

The CBR internal shuttle bus stops at the Skyliner station in both directions, between Trinidad and Jamaica, and on the return from Aruba to Martinique. The number of buses on the route has been increased from 1 to 2, so they're probably running about every 10 minutes.

I noticed the walkway from the bus stop to the storage yard didn't have any restrictive signs, so I rolled up and peeked thru the fence. Very interesting. A chain drive moves cabins across the top of the yard. Drive tires move them thru the switches onto the individual legs -- just the opposite of the switch into the wheelchair platforms. Those boxes seen above the middle of the legs in the overhead photos shelter another set of drive tires.

vimeo 415026

vimeo 415026

vimeo 415026

ETA: Forgot to mention: I saw a gaggle of Doppelmayr techs hobnobbing at CBR. I think they were the ones hired for local support. They were wearing an assortment of various-colored ordinary work clothes, with a Doppelmayr patch above the breast pocket, a Skyliner patch on one sleeve, and a nametag (did

 

[RaySharpton]

Fangorn wrote his experience on an opening day for riding the Disney Skyliner gondolas with his wife using a wheelchair in the evening.

Our evening was purposefully all about the Skyliner today. We rode from DHS to Epcot, entered Epcot (mostly to get another day toward the AP freebie), had fish and chips then took the Skyliner back to DHS to catch a bus to OKW. DW was using a wheelchair this trip due to a hip issue that makes walking long distances very painful. But she can transfer and walk quickly.

Here are my observations: (long)

• We arrived at DHS and got in the Skyliner line at 5:56. The line was ot of the station and partway back towards the bus stops. It looked long, but was moving - until the Skyliner stopped. I counted the number of people actually in line - 58. The Skyliner stopped 3 times while we were in that line, but even with the stops, we would've been on a gondola in under 6 minutes if not for...
• CMs that provided incorrect information and insisted that since DW was in the wheelchair, we absolutely had to use the secondary loop. There were 5 other parties in the ECV/Wheelchair line. Apparently, gondolas from the secondary line cannot be dispatched any quicker than 90 seconds apart, and the CM doing the loading there was in no hurry. It took over 20 minutes for us to get on a gondola. This same CM would not let DW get out of the wheelchair and transfer by herself. I had to push her in (no biggie) and then wait for the CM to put chocks behind the wheels.
• The trip from DHS to CBR was 5 mins 30 secs.
• Getting off at CBR took time as well since CM had to remove the chocks.
• When we said we wanted to go to Epcot, we're were escorted by a very nice CM to the correct line - the ECV line, of course. That line had at least a dozen ECVs in it. The regular line was quite long as well, with maybe 300 people in it.
• It became apparent that not all the CMs know the procedures (no surprise there) when a female suit came over to us and asked DW if she could transfer. We said yes, and she said we could/should go on the regular line and have DW get out of the chair, fold up the chair and just get on as normal. I told her what the CMs assay DHS had told us. She sighed a heavy sigh, asked if I remember their names (I did), and then told us that the ECV line can take a very long time and it is not their policy to make everyone in a wheelchair use the ECV loop.
• The Skyliner stopped A LOT while we were on it. I have to assume it was mostly due to self-absorption and/or general stupidity but guests. I saw 2 instances myself where parents weren't paying attention to where the children were, got separated from them, and then stood inside a gondola telling at Johnny to hurry up. CM has to stop the line. CMs I talked to were pretty frustrated with how things were going on opening day.
• Talked to lots of people in line - nearly everyone was just making the trip on the Skyliner because it was opening day (like us)
• The trip from CBR to Epcot was over 20 minutes due to easy to many stops of the line.
• Left Epcot at 8:10. Skyliner line was not bad - took about 10 min. We were not required to use the ECV line. In fact, we were encouraged not to.
• That ECV line had at least 30 parties in it - and some of those folks were getting a tad belligerent at the wait.
• Way fewer stops going back to CBR - only 1, in fact.
• No queue heading to DHS - walked right on.
• The airflow on the gondolas is quite pleasant - IF the line is moving. When stationary, it gets a tad stuffy, rather than hot. It was very pleasant after the sun went down.
• Gondolas are very quiet. Lots of kids (and a few adults as well) will fall asleep during from Epcot to CBR.

It's apparent to me that there are more than a few kinks yet to be worked out with the Skyliner procedures and CM training. I'm not sure how they're going to cure guest stupidity though.

Steve

 

[RaySharpton]

Interesting to know they are letting wheelchair ECV load in the none handicap area. and this is what some of the stopping is for. I have a feeling that in a month or two the newness will wear off and people will get more used to loading unloading and there will be less stops slow down. I am very excited to try it out

The only place that I saw a wheelchair load in the regular line was at the Riviera Skyliner Station. That station didn't have a Disability second row to load wheelchairs, etc. and they have to stop the gondola to load. They may extremely slow down instead of completely stopping, but I am not sure.

 

[gap2368]

The only place that I saw a wheelchair load in the regular line was at the Riviera Skyliner Station. That station didn't have a Disability second row to load wheelchairs, etc. and they have to stop the gondola to load. They may extremely slow down instead of completely stopping, but I am not sure.

O thought the riva station was not working at this time since on the other thread the person that is there now asked to get off there and they were told no

 

[bookgirl2632]

So wait, I can’t use the Riviera station? I’m in Aruba 55 and it is right next to us. I had a cast member who was a manager of sorts here at CBR who specifically said we could use it. I guess I’ll find out in about an hour. If not, we’ll catch the internal bus to the main station. Seems silly though. They had fencing up when we got here, blocking the walkway, but it was taken down two days ago. There are no signs telling people not to use the station.

 

[RaySharpton]

So wait, I can’t use the Riviera station? I’m in Aruba 55 and it is right next to us. I had a cast member who was a manager of sorts here at CBR who specifically said we could use it. I guess I’ll find out in about an hour. If not, we’ll catch the internal bus to the main station. Seems silly though. They had fencing up when we got here, blocking the walkway, but it was taken down two days ago. There are no signs telling people not to use the station.

I don't know. Some say no, some say yes. Please let us know and take some photos if you can.

 

[gap2368]

Saw this on Twitter that someone posted a picture of an emergency kit. This is the first I heard of this has anyone else seen or heard this