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

[joelkfla]

Is there anymore news about the sky liners?

• All towers are installed.
• Haul ropes are in place on all lines.
• Maintenance gondolas have been running on the system, from which crews have been working on other cables, thought to be for communications and maybe lightning protection.
• Construction continues on all stations.

 

[KYMickey]

It shows how fast the lines move and how long the cars are in the station, even with 4500 people/hr. Plus it shows the automated parking system in action, which is really cool (and won't be used often at WDW).

Are we sure they won't use the parking system every night when they shut the system down?

 

[DanBoris]

Are we sure they won't use the parking system every night when they shut the system down?

We can't be 100% sure, but it is common practice to leave cars on the line in a system like this. Taking the cars on and off the line takes a lot of effort and there really isn't a good reason to do it.

 

[The Pho]

Are we sure they won't use the parking system every night when they shut the system down?

We can't be 100% sure, but it is common practice to leave cars on the line in a system like this. Taking the cars on and off the line takes a lot of effort and there really isn't a good reason to do it.

That completely depends on the place, so we simply won't know until they're running. Many places do bring in chairs and Gondolas every night, particularly the higher end resorts. It's a good time to clean and overall check the cabins, and it really doesn't take very long, just a full cycle of running the lift.

Personally I would guess that Disney will bring them in every night for a few different reasons. Mostly cleaning and checking for unfriendly vandalism (which is very common in Gondolas).

 

[sachilles]

If they end up with an automated parking system, it won't be a big deal to park them nightly. I suspect they will have the automated parking system. If they had a traditional manual parking system, that would be a bit more work to do on a daily basis.

 

[OSUZorba]

According to Liftblog the parking is emergency only and it is located outside of the CBR station. Of course, we won't really know the operation until it is operating.

 

[Tigger's ally]

According to Liftblog the parking is emergency only and it is located outside of the CBR station. Of course, we won't really know the operation until it is operating.

Well, being left out all night in the dark could be considered an emergency!

 

[skier_pete]

It's extremely unlikely they park them unless there's an emergency need. (Hurricane event.) It makes no sense to do it. Even lightning wouldn't be a good cause - if there's no one in the buckets.

 

[Carlob]

Many amusement parks park them daily for maintenance checks and cleaning. I just don't see disney just leaving them on the line all night long. Any one know how big the gondolas parking area is?

 

[Turn the Page]

Many amusement parks park them daily for maintenance checks and cleaning. I just don't see disney just leaving them on the line all night long. Any one know how big the gondolas parking area is?

Is there a gondola parking area at all? I think the general consensus is that there is a small maintenance garage type building at the CBR station but nothing nearly large enough to hold all of the cabins at once.

That would have to be a massive building? Does anyone know a rough estimate of how many cabins there will be?

 

[The Pho]

Is there a gondola parking area at all? I think the general consensus is that there is a small maintenance garage type building at the CBR station but nothing nearly large enough to hold all of the cabins at once.

That would have to be a massive building? Does anyone know a rough estimate of how many cabins there will be?

It really doesn't actually take up that much space. They don't require any space between the cabins to store them so they can pack them into a smaller space. They will without any doubt be having storage for these, they will need them during hurricanes at the minimum, and likely for at least a little more often than that. You can look at the pictures of the CBR station to see the size of the building. I think the number was about 350 cabins, but I could be remembering that wrong.

CBR Skyliner station

View attachment 367772 View attachment 367773 View attachment 367774

 

[Spartan86]

Is there a gondola parking area at all? I think the general consensus is that there is a small maintenance garage type building at the CBR station but nothing nearly large enough to hold all of the cabins at once.

That would have to be a massive building? Does anyone know a rough estimate of how many cabins there will be?

Based on what I have read, the exterior structures being constructed outside the CBR station in the photo linked by @The Pho are the parking/storage rails. Also I believe speculation is the storage rails will remain outdoors as in the photo.

 

[OSUZorba]

It really doesn't actually take up that much space. They don't require any space between the cabins to store them so they can pack them into a smaller space. They will without any doubt be having storage for these, they will need them during hurricanes at the minimum, and likely for at least a little more often than that. You can look at the pictures of the CBR station to see the size of the building. I think the number was about 350 cabins, but I could be remembering that wrong.

I think the parking area might be the framing going up on either side of the DHS line. IIRC the number was 225 cabins, but it has been awhile since I read that.

 

[skier_pete]

Many amusement parks park them daily for maintenance checks and cleaning. I just don't see disney just leaving them on the line all night long. Any one know how big the gondolas parking area is?

I would gladly bet money they don't take them off at night. Likely they will cycle them off regularly for inspection and maintenance, but they can clean them on the line. Again, Ski Resorts don't take them off the line and they deal with freezing temperatures and 50 MPH winds. Why would Disney do it?

Are there any amusement parks that still have Skyways?

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I would gladly bet money they don't take them off at night. Likely they will cycle them off regularly for inspection and maintenance, but they can clean them on the line. Again, Ski Resorts don't take them off the line and they deal with freezing temperatures and 50 MPH winds. Why would Disney do it?

Are there any amusement parks that still have Skyways?

Bush gardens in Williamsburg definitely does as we rode it pretty recently

 

[OSUZorba]

I would gladly bet money they don't take them off at night. Likely they will cycle them off regularly for inspection and maintenance, but they can clean them on the line. Again, Ski Resorts don't take them off the line and they deal with freezing temperatures and 50 MPH winds. Why would Disney do it?

Are there any amusement parks that still have Skyways?

Six flags in ATL does. Cedar Point did last time I was there.

 

[joelkfla]

I would gladly bet money they don't take them off at night. Likely they will cycle them off regularly for inspection and maintenance, but they can clean them on the line. Again, Ski Resorts don't take them off the line and they deal with freezing temperatures and 50 MPH winds. Why would Disney do it?

Are there any amusement parks that still have Skyways?

BGT does as well. But these are Von Roll Skyrides with open cabins, not fully enclosed modern gondolas. I would think a state-of-the-art Doppelmayr D-Line detachable gondola would be much better able to spend it's life out in the elements.

 

[Turn the Page]

It really doesn't actually take up that much space. They don't require any space between the cabins to store them so they can pack them into a smaller space. They will without any doubt be having storage for these, they will need them during hurricanes at the minimum, and likely for at least a little more often than that. You can look at the pictures of the CBR station to see the size of the building. I think the number was about 350 cabins, but I could be remembering that wrong.

I think the parking area might be the framing going up on either side of the DHS line. IIRC the number was 225 cabins, but it has been awhile since I read that.

Those numbers strike me as super low. I can see those numbers for....actually none of the lines. A plain old, fixed grip (meaning the chairs do not detach from the line in the stations) at our local ski hill is about 1800 ft long and has just over 100 chairs on it. No way the miles of cable between the 3 lines has only 225 to 350 cars on it.

ETA: That lift has a capacity of 1500 per hour one way.

 

[The Pho]

Those numbers strike me as super low. I can see those numbers for....actually none of the lines. A plain old, fixed grip (meaning the chairs do not detach from the line in the stations) at our local ski hill is about 1800 ft long and has just over 100 chairs on it. No way the miles of cable between the 3 lines has only 225 to 350 cars on it.

ETA: That lift has a capacity of 1500 per hour one way.

Non detachable lifts put more chairs on the cables because they run slower so need the capacity on the line. Detachable systems have to space out the cabins more. They'll generally load/unload at roughly the same speeds but detachable systems get you there faster.

 

[joelkfla]

Those numbers strike me as super low. I can see those numbers for....actually none of the lines. A plain old, fixed grip (meaning the chairs do not detach from the line in the stations) at our local ski hill is about 1800 ft long and has just over 100 chairs on it. No way the miles of cable between the 3 lines has only 225 to 350 cars on it.

ETA: That lift has a capacity of 1500 per hour one way.

Total length of all 5 segments is about 2.6 mi.

The most comparable system is Giggijochbahn in Sölden, Austria, which is 1.6 mi. long and has 134 cabins.

Extrapolating 134 from 1.6 mi. to 2.6 mi. gives 218 cabins. It might be a bit higher because the Skyliner has more stations, where the cabins will be bunched together.

I'm theorizing that detachable carriers would be further apart on the cable than fixed carriers, because they have to move closer together when they decelerate into the stations.