When will skyliner be back to normal capacity?

[Helvetica]

Epcot at closing is rough. We stayed at BC in January and was already bad. The line was stretched out down the front of Beach Club. I think the hardest part is guests aren’t aware of how long the skyliner line gets until it’s too late and they’re trying to find the end of the line dejected and exhausted.

I blame myself. I was just too lazy to drive. On the plus side, I got to see fireworks testing.

Right now if you can drive or take an Uber at the end of the night, do that. Even rope dropping on the Skyliner sucks right now.

 

[Weedy]

I was at Caribbean Beach yesterday morning around 10am.
It was a walk on to the Studio and a 15 minute wait to Epcot

 

[Heather07438]

I blame myself. I was just too lazy to drive. On the plus side, I got to see fireworks testing.

Right now if you can drive or take an Uber at the end of the night, do that. Even rope dropping on the Skyliner sucks right now.

That’s a nice trade off. It’s been a long time since seeing fireworks. Almost makes it worth it

Outside at BC almost every night there were people asking what resort it was because they decided to get Uber, or asking where the pickup would be.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Maybe they had a late dinner?

They let you on rides up until the park closes. It also takes a while to get there and there was a band having live rehearsals, so I stayed and watched. To me it’s better to just drag my feet instead of hurrying up and waiting.

Plus, if I wasn’t there I wouldn’t have known they were testing fireworks.

Got it. Your original post made it sound like you were trying to board at Riviera going to Epcot, not the other way around. "I was just at Riviera..."

 

[tigger2002]

If this was an option everyone would want it

Not everyone. We have had some interesting conversations with other people.

 

[Moliphino]

Why would you be getting ON the Skyliner 40 minutes AFTER park close?

At least one night we went into Rose and Crown at last call and thought we'd sit and enjoy the evening with a cider for a while and let the Skyliner line die down. Didn't actually work out that way, the line was still very long. It looked worse than it was, I don't think it took more than a half hour any night and we usually ended the day at Epcot.

 

[LSUmiss]

I hope never, I much prefer the one-party-per-gondola system. We spent a week at Caribbean Beach in April and we never experienced a line more than 5 minutes, even with the restriction in place.

Well that has changed. Line tonight at Epcot stretched back to beach club. Couldn’t get an Uber & lyft in the area b/c everyone was trying to get one. It was completely unacceptable. It we are going back to normal capacity then they need to get the infrastructure back. If they don’t think it’s safe to have multiple parties in a skyliner, then run busses to the resorts at park close.

 

[Helvetica]

Well that has changed. Line tonight at Epcot stretched back to beach club. Couldn’t get an Uber & lyft in the area b/c everyone was trying to get one. It was completely unacceptable. It we are going back to normal capacity then they need to get the infrastructure back. If they don’t think it’s safe to have multiple parties in a skyliner, then run busses to the resorts at park close.

I agree. They really should be running the buses in the morning and in the evening. Hopefully they go back to full capacity on the Skyliner soon.

 

[DL1WDW2]

I agree. They really should be running the buses in the morning and in the evening. Hopefully they go back to full capacity on the Skyliner soon.

I agree. They really should be running the buses in the morning and in the evening. Hopefully they go back to full capacity on the Skyliner soon.

I agree. They really should be running the buses in the morning and in the evening. Hopefully they go back to full capacity on the Skyliner soon.

Does full capacity with SkyLiner include more gondolas and more guests allowed to sit together? Have they kept the amount of gondolas reduced also? I travel as a single and have felt uncomfortable occupying a gondola all alone but also felt uncomfortable traveling with a family .Sometimes the young children don’t like a stranger . Fortunately I rarely get on a SkyLiner since I have restricted staying on property and just drive a car from off property. Disney room resorts have gotten very expensive!

 

[mamaofsix]

Does full capacity with SkyLiner include more gondolas and more guests allowed to sit together? Have they kept the amount of gondolas reduced also? I travel as a single and have felt uncomfortable occupying a gondola all alone but also felt uncomfortable traveling with a family .Sometimes the young children don’t like a stranger . Fortunately I rarely get on a SkyLiner since I have restricted staying on property and just drive a car from off property. Disney room resorts have gotten very expensive!

Full capacity means filling each gondola, not more gondolas. Formerly, the limits were 10 per car. You can imagine how much shorter the lines would be if they were putting more than 1, 2 or 4 people in a gondola at a time...

 

[mamaofsix]

I hope never, I much prefer the one-party-per-gondola system. We spent a week at Caribbean Beach in April and we never experienced a line more than 5 minutes, even with the restriction in place.

Wow, you were super lucky! Currently typical to wait for 30 minutes at Caribbean beach to switch lines in the mornings. Extremely long waits at the parks after close to get on as well.

 

[cgattis]

We travel with 5 people and a double stroller. That always guarantees a private gondola.

Hmmmm wonder if I can convince my 6 foot tall DS to take one for the team and fold himself into a double stroller??

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Wow, you were super lucky! Currently typical to wait for 30 minutes at Caribbean beach to switch lines in the mornings. Extremely long waits at the parks after close to get on as well.

It seems from most of the comments that waits are the worst at Epcot closing or in the morning for people who have to transfer. Boarding directly as a Caribbean Beach guest never had a wait at HS rope drop.

 

[mamaofsix]

It seems from most of the comments that waits are the worst at Epcot closing or in the morning for people who have to transfer. Boarding directly as a Caribbean Beach guest never had a wait at HS rope drop.

Yes, correct. If you are staying at CBR and are the first groups to board, you would have minimal wait. But, for the majority of guests trying to rope drop using the skyliner and coming from a different station, there have been very long waits by the time they got to the CBR transfer.

allears has a great vlog that shows the difference between taking the skyliner, walking or boats from Epcot resorts in May. They had 3 different people leaving at the exact same time (8a.m. - as soon as the skyliner and boats opened - for a 9a.m. HS official opening time). Walking was fastest at15 minutes, boats 20 minutes, and skyliner 45 min due to a 30 minute wait at CBR. They re-tried at 10a.m. - well after rope drop. This time, the skyliner took 60 minutes and the wait at CBR was 45 minutes.

To me, this speaks to the skyliner being incredibly inefficient with the current practices of one group per gondola.

 

[Moliphino]

Wow, you were super lucky! Currently typical to wait for 30 minutes at Caribbean beach to switch lines in the mornings. Extremely long waits at the parks after close to get on as well.

The lines look worse than they are. They move constantly, so when it's backed up past the bridge at the IG it still only takes maybe 30 minutes. Really not any worse than lines for buses used to be at the end of the night.

The worst one we had was a mid-day going from DHS to Epcot. No issues on the DHS line, but for some reason the handicap loop was not in use on the Epcot line, so they kept having to slow the line to load scooters. It was maddeningly slow, even once you were on the Skyliner.

 

[mamaofsix]

The lines look worse than they are. They move constantly, so when it's backed up past the bridge at the IG it still only takes maybe 30 minutes. Really not any worse than lines for buses used to be at the end of the night.

The worst one we had was a mid-day going from DHS to Epcot. No issues on the DHS line, but for some reason the handicap loop was not in use on the Epcot line, so they kept having to slow the line to load scooters. It was maddeningly slow, even once you were on the Skyliner.

30 minutes is a whole lot worse than the 5 or 10 it used to be. I still think they need to get back to fully loading every gondola to improve the wait. Buses are not omnimovers, the skyliner is. The waits should be much less.

 

[FinnsMom7]

The lines look worse than they are. They move constantly, so when it's backed up past the bridge at the IG it still only takes maybe 30 minutes. Really not any worse than lines for buses used to be at the end of the night.

I agree with this, on our end of Jan stay at POP we got to Caribbean Beach the first Epcot morning and saw a sea of people and crossing lines, DH got in at the end which was wrapped around the backside of the station, I went to Joffreys. By the time I had our coffee and donuts he was at the section they hold until there is room to send to the platform. By time we got to skyliner car it was maybe 15 minutes and then we had coffee to enjoy on the ride. That night we had an after park ADR and when we left 45 mins after park close security rushed and and said we HAD to go to buses skyliner was down (which it wasn't) but luckily there was a bus out front we could hop on.

 

[Weedy]

This is sarcasm
They need to have a separate line for people that are willing to ride with other people in their cabin. Your line moves faster if you are not bothered to ride with other people.
Kinda the opposite of single rider on attractions

 

[cmp1976]

We were there from the 16th to the 20th and experienced long lines for the Skyliner. Especially coming back from Epcot. That line just went on and on.

 

[KittyKitty]

This time, the skyliner took 60 minutes and the wait at CBR was 45 minutes.

Skyliner would not be a good choice for Epcot Resorts, as the Skyliner goes to CBR, then transfer to Disney Studios.