AKV and Gondolas?

mustinjourney

DIS Veteran
Joined
May 8, 2016
I know this is jumping the gun since the gondolas haven't even been implemented yet, but I'm wondering if Disney is thinking about connecting AKV to DAK via a second set of gondolas?

Not sure if it would be worth it, since Disney doesn't seem to have any trouble selling those rooms, but it would certainly make the resort more attractive (particularly for those in ECV/wheelchairs or with small kids in strollers) that would prefer to avoid bus rides as much as possible.

A third project could also try and connect the all star resorts and Coronado Springs to Blizzard Beach and then run from there to DAK.
 
Maybe the old Disney would care about the customers, but this new Disney only cares about $$$, so no way they will do anything to improve the quality of their product as long as the general public keeps paying the big buck for less and less.
 
Never say never. However, the conditions in that part of the resort are quite a bit different. IMO, the announced gondolas are justified by the fact that they can connect about 6000 hotel rooms with two theme parks in a relatively concentrated area of the resort. Anyone who drives thru WDW will attest to the traffic problems in the area surrounding the Epcot Resorts and Hollywood Studios, and Disney expects that to only increase as Star Wars land opens. The gondolas will pull dozens of buses off the roads and (hopefully) get guests to their destination in a more pleasant fashion.

They COULD connect Animal Kingdom, the lodge, Coronado Springs and even the All Stars, along with Blizzard Beach. That's a lot of hotel rooms, but only one theme park serviced--probably the park with the lowest attendance, post Star Wars. Eliminating 1/2 of your theme park buses (EP, HS) goes a lot further toward cost justification than 1/4 of the bus routes (AK).
 


I agree about the numbers, but I expect if the Skyliner in the Epcot area works and saves Disney money, more areas will get the gondola system. But I wouldn't be surprised that AKL/AKV and DAK are the last to hook up to Skyliner because of the low volume aspect.
 
It they could find a reasonably priced transportation system, I wouldn't mind an OKW/SSR direct connection to EPCOT...but they have to be able to justify costs. Disney, for guests safety and insurance would need enclosed gondola cars to prevent people from "accidently" falling out, or dropping things onto roadways of cars below, plus a/c in the Florida heat. That is going to be fairly expensive. And building costs for most tracked transportation systems (trains, peoplemovers and so forth) would be prohibitive when you figure bridges over roadways.
 
It's all about the numbers.

:earsboy: Bill

Always has been. Like most companies, Disney has gotten much more sophisticated about calculating the ROI on everything from capital improvements to dining discounts to DVC referral incentives.
 


if they could connect blizzard beach to those three resorts (coronado, all stars, AKV) via gondola, I would assume that sales of their water park tickets would likely increase. That could help with overcrowding at the parks due to the new lands opening up. It would also allow them to possibly bump all stars to a moderate level resort and jack up the rates $50 a night.
 
if they could connect blizzard beach to those three resorts (coronado, all stars, AKV) via gondola, I would assume that sales of their water park tickets would likely increase.

Perhaps but it's difficult to tell how substantial of a bump it would receive. Blizzard Beach isn't particularly hard to reach from those nearby resorts as it is. Not sure if the gondola ride is enough to sway massive numbers to skip a theme park in favor of the water park.

It would also allow them to possibly bump all stars to a moderate level resort and jack up the rates $50 a night.

This will definitely be interesting to monitor when the gondolas come to POP and AOA. Though I think there are limits to how far Disney can push things. Those "value" resorts were designed to appeal to a certain consumer budget. They can't just change the transportation, raise prices by $50 per night and assume the same people will happily pay.
 
Perhaps but it's difficult to tell how substantial of a bump it would receive. Blizzard Beach isn't particularly hard to reach from those nearby resorts as it is. Not sure if the gondola ride is enough to sway massive numbers to skip a theme park in favor of the water park.



This will definitely be interesting to monitor when the gondolas come to POP and AOA. Though I think there are limits to how far Disney can push things. Those "value" resorts were designed to appeal to a certain consumer budget. They can't just change the transportation, raise prices by $50 per night and assume the same people will happily pay.

True -- but they could build another value resort somewhere else on property.
 
The issue came up over in the rumors and news forums (Skyliner on steroids, maybe, or D23?) & I wondered if AKL/V might follow suit as I'd read that rumor somewhere (following a 5 year trial) and rteetz, who seems to be pretty dialed in to WDW happenings, said there was something possible for AKL/V, but not the gondolas here's the link https://www.disboards.com/threads/s...liner-announced.3578988/page-59#post-57908201 .

seems like they could go with a light rail system that many cities employ. It's much cheaper than the monorail option. It doesn't have the wow factor -- but it would certainly work better than buses.
 
seems like they could go with a light rail system that many cities employ. It's much cheaper than the monorail option. It doesn't have the wow factor -- but it would certainly work better than buses.
Heck, I'd vote for diverting a couple of the Kilimanjaro safari trucks and using them instead of buses for the ride from AKL to AKV :) they could even throw in a little narration about native flora/fauna during the 5 min. drive.
 
If they could build something at ground level and avoid costly bridges or tunnels, maybe a peoplemover type system would be economically viable.
 
couldn't they just have a walkway from the resort to animal kingdom? its less than a mile for a straight shot from the entrance to the resort to the park. obviously they couldn't go straight there because of trees and alligators and whatnot. the walk from hollywood studios to epcot looks like it would be close to the distance. walkways typically break-down less than gondolas and monorails too.
 

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