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

[joelkfla]

I will add that I don’t thinkbthe *have* to have bus service as they could point you to a MinnieVan as an alternative

I think they will offer some way to get to the parks for those who don't want to use the Skyliner, but it will just have to meet minimum standards, to wit, every 20 minutes and up to 90 minutes travel time. They offer transportation between FtW & MK via a bus transfer at WL for those who won't or can't take the boat.

One option could be a bus to DHS picking up at Pop, AoA, one stop (Centertown or the Skyliner station) at CBR, and Riviera. To reach Epcot by bus, Guests might have to transfer at DHS.

 

[umichigan10]

$25 a shot isn't always an option for people. That adds up pretty fast for families on a tight budget. And remember 2 of these are value resorts.

I bet they offer buses for at least a while, but they'll be so slow coming nobody will want to use it, then they'll cancel for "lack of demand".

I mean I guess the simplest thing to do is not stay at one of these resorts. It sucks if one of these are a favorite and you don’t like the Skyliner, but that’s just how it goes sometimes

 

[hertamaniac]

I will add that I don’t thinkbthe *have* to have bus service as they could point you to a MinnieVan as an alternative

This makes think about a scenario that I really didn't give much thought about since we typically drive to each park/resort. Could it be possible they made the travel between resorts/parks inconvenient enough that it will push some families towards the MinnieVans? I'm sure that's not a new idea, but one I can see in the interest of further capitalization.

 

[Spaceguy55]

The Minnie Vans are like a limo service and not for the masses..the number of them needed to handle any kind of busy time would be crazy high.
There are thousands of guests at most resorts, and most trips would be one way at peak times so the wait for one would be really long.

 

[jade1]

Right but they are going to market the gondola as a feature of staying there and likely up the price accordingly - and if you don’t want that feature there are other values you can stay at instead - these aren’t the only on property hotels

And remember the only way to get from the Poly to EPCOT is the monorail - so they have set the precedent in the past to not have a secondary form of transpiration

This exactly.

I doubt any reasonable person thinks the skyliner at these resorts will be a "net" deterrent, even with no AC.

Inflated price will be the only "net" deterrent.

 

[jade1]

This makes think about a scenario that I really didn't give much thought about since we typically drive to each park/resort. Could it be possible they made the travel between resorts/parks inconvenient enough that it will push some families towards the MinnieVans? I'm sure that's not a new idea, but one I can see in the interest of further capitalization.

I suppose its possible, but I think the investment in the skyliner and new monorail fleet proves otherwise.

 

[Spaceguy55]

I posted earlier in this thread that as of now they have only raised the price per night a dollar at POP thru next year,,,,they also have not added any disclaimer about reduced bus service like they have with the parking fee..which makes me think that buses may not be reduced a lot while they get a feel for the demand...

 

[hertamaniac]

I suppose its possible, but I think the investment in the skyliner and new monorail fleet proves otherwise.

I agree the Skyliner definitely adds throughput, but do we know the new monorails will increase capacity/throughput? My point being that if the monorails do not gain additional capacity, the convenience factor of MinnieVans might push families in that direction (pay for travel convenience). To that end, could we see additional MinnieVans year-over-year? We know the purchasing leverage for Disney and adding more vans is relatively inexpensive in comparison to other models of transportation.

 

[umichigan10]

I posted earlier in this thread that as of now they have only raised the price per night a dollar at POP thru next year,,,,they also have not added any disclaimer about reduced bus service like they have with the parking fee..which makes me think that buses may not be reduced a lot while they get a feel for the demand...

Yeah I’d be more inclined to believe there’ll be an increase in a couple of years.

 

[joelkfla]

I agree the Skyliner definitely adds throughput, but do we know the new monorails will increase capacity/throughput? My point being that if the monorails do not gain additional capacity, the convenience factor of MinnieVans might push families in that direction (pay for travel convenience). To that end, could we see additional MinnieVans year-over-year? We know the purchasing leverage for Disney and adding more vans is relatively inexpensive in comparison to other models of transportation.

Disney knows they have a problem with traffic congestion. I don't think they want to push Guests away from mass transit back to individual vehicles, whether private or Disney operated.

I think the Minnie Vans were specifically in response to more Guests using Lyft & Uber. Those Guests were already using individual vehicles, so Disney just wanted to grab a piece of the pie.

 

[zobow02]

I'm currently in Orlando (not for a disney trip [but going to the water parks during our free time]) and when we went through the resort areas I've seen poles for the gondola lift! I think they've made immense progress for the gondola

 

[umichigan10]

I'm currently in Orlando (not for a disney trip [but going to the water parks during our free time]) and when we went through the resort areas I've seen poles for the gondola lift! I think they've made immense progress for the gondola

Yeah they’re up all along the route. It was cool to see the progress when I was there a week ago

 

[tjkraz]

I just can’t understand how people think Disney hasn’t thought this through given the massive legal liability it could be. Also forget about Disney, but dopplemeyer will make sure that this works because this is the first big time project they’ve done outside of a ski setting in the states and giving them a lot of visibility to American audiences for the first time. They will make sure this works simply because of how bad the PR would be if it didn’t

Agree.

Additionally, while hourly capacities are unknown--along with exact demand--it's not a stretch to think that many gondola journeys will be shorter than the amount of time guests currently stand waiting in the summer heat just for a bus to arrive.

 

[rteetz]

I posted earlier in this thread that as of now they have only raised the price per night a dollar at POP thru next year,,,,they also have not added any disclaimer about reduced bus service like they have with the parking fee..which makes me think that buses may not be reduced a lot while they get a feel for the demand...

It’s still early. Once they have an opening date announced they may announced reduced bus services and raise prices.

 

[The Pho]

Thanks! I could see greatly reduced but hopefully they will still run so people have options

Since I'm asking questions today lol, can the gondolas run in lightning storms?

I imagine the Gondola will be treated the same as the resort boats. No busses unless they're shut for lightning. While I've never seen a Gondola close due to lightning, I imagine Disney will do it. Wind is generally the biggest reason a Gondola has to close, some resorts won't run them above 20MPH winds, others may run them north of 70 MPH (that tends to be more for Trams) depending on their policies.

 

[Spaceguy55]

It’s still early. Once they have an opening date announced they may announced reduced bus services and raise prices.

I sort of doubt that it will be short notice like they did with the parking..suppose you are booking a large family vacation with family members that range from grandparents to grand kids between now and then..maybe about 10 all together and needing a few rooms at AOA or POP. And you have some family members on scooters, strollers or afraid of heights..etc, and you don't watch these boards so you have no idea that these are coming. You book a package for October which is a busy month thinking you will have the bus service offered when you book..then they announce in spring the decrease of bus service, now multiply that by thousands of bookings with similar circumstances...The complaints will be overwhelming and there aren't enough open rooms on property during October to re book them all...could be a problem.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I imagine the Gondola will be treated the same as the resort boats. No busses unless they're shut for lightning. While I've never seen a Gondola close due to lightning, I imagine Disney will do it. Wind is generally the biggest reason a Gondola has to close, some resorts won't run them above 20MPH winds, others may run them north of 70 MPH (that tends to be more for Trams) depending on their policies.

So you think they will close for lightning at Disney? That's going to be almost every day for many months of the year

 

[umichigan10]

So you think they will close for lightning at Disney? That's going to be almost every day for many months of the year

They don’t have to, I think they’ll only close for winds

 

[intertile]

So you think they will close for lightning at Disney? That's going to be almost every day for many months of the year

Disney will market it as an exclusive fireworks show

 

[The Pho]

So you think they will close for lightning at Disney? That's going to be almost every day for many months of the year

They pretty much close everything outside for lightning, so I expect the Gondola system to be treated no different than the boats, even if they aren't required to.