Jen1995
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2018
Doppelmayr says that the floor space between the benches is the "width of a shipping pallet", but they mean a Euro-pallet (30 inches); the door opening is a smidge over 32 inches. If a double stroller or wheelchair is parked, there won't be room for legs on both sides of it. The width of the bench will be about 104 inches, according to the product specs; the Swiss allow 20.8 inches per tush; Disney seems to be allowing 26"
I really don't think that they will be making much effort to "pack" the gondolas to full capacity, because that would slow down the load. The cars won't stop, so you need people to just flow onboard with no hesitation, which they will not do if they are boarding with strangers. (I don't think they would outright balk, but hesitation will mean that there won't be time to get everyone on board.)
I think that at the very busiest times they may slow down the cable a tad so that there is more time to try to get every seat filled, but I can't see it going much beyond that. The transport rate that is being cited is a maximum with 8 riders per cabin, but I think that a lot of the time the cabins will be rolling out half-full. (Some people have guessed that they might use a box-painted-on-the-floor system to get riders grouped ready to load, but I have trouble seeing that working well, since CM's would need a way to tell people when to leave the box, as the cabins would not stop in front of them to be loaded.)
On other threads on other boards, some people are saying that the lack of A/C would mean numerous medical emergencies, but I don't think that would be all that common unless the cable stopped. What I do think it would mean would be people riding it once in summertime and swearing never again due to the heat. Americans tend to have a very low tolerance for discomfort on public transit.
2 thoughts here: 1) yes, many Americans can have low tolerance for discomfort when they have alternatives like vehicles. But that isn't a cultural thing - it is an access thing. Americans have more access to cars. I lived in Manhattan long enough to know that when you don't have alternatives, you end up dealing with some unbelievably oppressive crowds, heat, etc. on public transit when you don't have access to cars. 2) I think Disney would do well to remember this isn't commute to a job that pays your bills so you can eat - it's vacation that you are likely spending thousands of dollars on. Why should people be uncomfortable on vacation when they don't have to be?