Disney Skyliner Gondolas Closed Indefinitely After Accident & Evacuation
Last night at Walt Disney World, there was an accidental collision at one of the Disney Skyliner stations, causing the Epcot line to close. Thereafter, Reedy Creek Fire Department evacuated guests on that line via lifts over the course of a few hours. In this post, we’ll look at what happened and our commentary about the future impact of this incident on the Disney Skyliner’s operations.
Sometime between 8 and 9 pm, at the Riviera/Caribbean Beach Skyliner station, the aqua-colored gondola cabin did not attach to the cable to dispatch from the station en route to Epcot (see top image via @Ada58974405 on Twitter). The gondola cabins behind it slowly crashed against it. The crushing of the vehicles caused the glass to shatter on the impacted vehicle and several of the yellow cabins behind it to be damaged.
Consequently, the Epcot line went down for several hours, necessitating an evacuation by Reedy Creek Fire Department. This process was done via lift on a cabin by cabin basis, and reportedly took until after 11 pm to complete. Some guests report being stuck for as long as 3 hours, and the entire Skyliner system remains closed today…
Thankfully, Walt Disney World is reporting that no guests were injured in the accident. (It’s also fortunate that this happened at night, as the lack of air-conditioning definitely would have been an issue had this occurred during the middle of the day yesterday.)
Walt Disney World has informed Orlando-area media outlets that there has not been an accident, but rather “unexpected down time” of the Skyliner. That is quite the disappointing spin, especially with widely-circulated photos on social media reflecting what actually happened.
As compensation, stranded guests are reporting that Walt Disney World Guest Relations provided each of them with a $100 gift card, 2 park tickets, and taxi vouchers. Some guests who were stuck stated in the “Disney World Junkies” Facebook group that they applaud how Disney handled the situation.
Many of the guests who saw the crash first-hand or were stranded on the Epcot line of the Skyliner posted photos to social media. Here’s a look at some of those:
Not a fun experience on the new skyliner. @WaltDisneyWorld @WESH pic.twitter.com/fwuXjlN9wg
– Ada (@Ada58974405) October 6, 2019
What happened with this new ride? Feeling sorry for the people still trapped. @WaltDisneyWorld @WESH pic.twitter.com/mAjcH7hD5o
– Ada (@Ada58974405) October 6, 2019
Part 2 Disney Skyliner Stuck @ the Boardwalk #disney #skyliner #disneyworld #epcot #epcotforever #disneyskyliner #disneypark #disneysboardwalk @WESH pic.twitter.com/QLR7gE5Znr
– JK DeLaCruz (@JK2559) October 6, 2019
More trucks now being dispersed for evacuation. This one has parked directly under us for Disney Skyliner. #disneyskyliner #disneyworld @WDWToday pic.twitter.com/ml64YWAoC7
– Aaron Murray (@WaltyDis) October 6, 2019
– Theme Park Alex (@themeparkalex) October 6, 2019
Well here’s a look inside the emergency kit on the #Skyliner. We were just told we could open it. There’s water inside, a note pad, cups (possibly in case nature calls), light stick … hitting 90+ min @WaltDisneyWorld @WFTV pic.twitter.com/3xyvrHGyUO
– Cierra Putman WFTV (@CPutman_WFTV) October 6, 2019
Evacuating two people at a time off of the Disney World Skyliner… could be very slow with 10 capacity gondolas…. #disneyskyliner #disneyworld @WDWToday pic.twitter.com/y5S1IJxhtP
– Aaron Murray (@WaltyDis) October 6, 2019
UPDATE the gondolas #Skyliner are moving! pic.twitter.com/WH5WytPlFc
– Jena Polyak (@jenapolyak) October 6, 2019
Additionally, our friends over at BlogMickey.com headed to the scene and captured some good photos of the evacuation as it was in progress. Coincidentally, we were driving on Buena Vista Drive shortly after the accident but before road closures started and the evacuation began. Oblivious to it all, we didn’t see anything even though we were right there!
We did, however, head out to Disney’s Hollywood Studios early this morning to confirm that the Skyliner would remain closed today (our photos in this post are all from this morning).
Although there was no signage outside indicating as much, Cast Members posted outside the Skyliner station indicated that it would remain closed today. We could see from a distance that the Epcot line was likewise not moving. No one with whom we spoke has insight into when it’ll reopen, and as such, this closure should be treated as indefinite.
It seems likely that safety inspections or more will need to occur before the Skyliner can resume operations. We hesitate to speculate as to when it’ll return, or what training, technical, or other safety adjustments might need to be made before Walt Disney World is comfortable running the Skyliner again.
For us, this news is incredibly disappointing. It’s no secret that we’re huge fans of the Skyliner and have been strong advocates of this system since even before it was officially announced two years ago. This has been among our most anticipated additions in a long time at Walt Disney World.
It’s also no secret that the Skyliner has been dogged by delays and closures throughout the first week of operations, but we chalked these up to early growing pains. Given the uptime and reliability of the thousands of similar Doppelmayr gondola systems around the world, it seemed likely that these would be resolved in the near future and the Skyliner would become a reliable–and beloved–form of transportation at Walt Disney World.
In fact, our experiences with the Skyliner have been resoundingly positive. Since publishing our Skyliner Gondola Review: Disney World’s Most Magical Flight on Earth article, our rides have been even better. We’ve used the gondolas for Extra, Extra Magic Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot’s rope drop a couple of mornings and had zero delays, zero wait in line, and zero other guests in our cabins. It has been (had been?) smooth and flawless.
Despite our unblemished firsthand experiences, there is no denying that others have not had similarly glowing results. Last week, the Art of Animation and Pop Century station had a delayed opening by 2-3 hours on at least one morning. The Epcot line has had a lot of sporadic downtime leading to backups at the International Gateway station, and one evening we saw it down completely for the rest of the night while walking over to Crescent Lake.
Those are just the issues we’ve been on hand to observe or hear about–it’s possible there have been more. Given the reliability of these gondola systems elsewhere and the fact that Walt Disney World has been testing the Skyliner for months, we’re left scratching our heads. What happened? Why have there been so many operational challenges?
Still, all of what happened prior to last night would be fairly easy to shrug off as early hiccups (so long as you aren’t a first-time visitor who was delayed for a prolonged period by one of the outages). Short stoppages, delayed openings, or early closures would be long forgotten after a few months of reliable operations with minimal downtime. None of those are stories that would stick with visitors and cause them not to use the Skyliner in the future.
Judging by social media, this incident is quite clearly different. Some guests already had understandable fears of being so high up in an aerial transportation system, and reports of being stuck for 2-3 hours in a small cabin is only going to give more guests pause about riding. For many Walt Disney World fans, images of the collided gondolas and the evacuation process will cast a long-term pall over the Skyliner.
We’re still incredibly enthusiastic about the Skyliner, but have to admit that this one really stings. However, we have to report the realities of the new gondola transportation system, rather than what we want it to be.
As much as we’d like to convince ourselves otherwise, this is a serious issue for the long-term perception of the Skyliner. This will be a PR nightmare for Walt Disney World–especially as the story is already making international news.
We will continue to use the Skyliner as normal with zero hesitation just as we would automobiles, airplanes, bicycles, monorails, peoplemovers, our feet, or any other mode of transportation with an imperfect record. More concerning than safety is reliability and up-time.
If you’re traveling to Walt Disney World in the next couple of months, you should keep apprised of Skyliner operations to determine whether it’s sufficiently reliable for you to use during your trip. For Walt Disney World vacation planning purposes, we’ll keep you posted on that and everything else to do with the Skyliner.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Did you witness the Skyliner accident? Does this crash have you more hesitant to use Walt Disney World’s newest form of transportation in the future, or will you stick to buses? Anything else to add? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I have mixed feelings about trying the skyline after this incident. I was excited about riding it in 2021, but now I am leary. I have a 15 year old autistic son who loves disney, and he has already been watching videos on utube of the skyliner. It would be a disaster if we got stuck for that long!! I really feel like Disney has been trying to do too many projects to fast. We have been to Disney five times now, and I have to say Disney’s magical experience has really gone down a notch. Don’t get me wrong I still love disney, but I really feel like they have gone from high quality to worrying about quantity. Maybe if they weren’t trying to rush so many projects, they could have put more time into the skyliner. Since we have a year and a half before we go, I guess I’ll see how well the skyliner continues to do.
Michelle I feel ya my son is also autistic and I have disabilities that might not b apparent to some.To some it’s not just a blip especially who have disabilities, etc. It was a literal nightmare. What they compensated was nothing .Look they are going so hard at this new stuff because they are trying to beat universal.Cause when nintento land/rides get there it will give disney a run for their money..They should have taken more time to test this ..To say I was surprised I wasnt ..It was too fast too soon
I am hopeful Disney will figure it out. I am not sure when I will use the Skyliner since I usual stay near MK and I spend most of time at MK. I never park hop between Epcot and DHS plus I always have a rental car. Someday, I hope to quickly check out Skyliner and Riviera Resort. My plan was to wait at least a year before riding the Skyliner so Disney can get the kinks out. Anecdotally, it seems Disney attractions need a year or so to run consistently. Historically, even going back to the 1950s at Disneyland, there always seems to be breakdowns or hiccups in the beginning. I remember being evacuated from Test Track and Frozen Ever After in their first years.
Well on the bright side, I believe if you are taking advantage of Disney’s photo pass service, you can get your evacuation pictures through the my Disney experience app.
You are right!
Unfortunately they recently replaced the assigned
Photopass cast member photographers with automated photo boxes. The photos you recieve will only have one perspective…your back side. : )
Anyone surprised by this setback has to be naive to think that the skyline would be 100% fault free. You have to weigh the pros and cons for using this as opposed to other “mass” transport options. Whilst bus remains possibly safe option in breakdown scenario I still have concerns of the crammed tin cans especially from Disney Springs of an evening with very little standing room only. I was thankful for Uber on a couple of occasions when the buses were like sardine tins! Packed!
My problem is Dopplemayr has done systems with AC, but Disney chose not to. Not safe in the Florida climate. Three hours during a summer day in that heat could literally kill people.
https://newsroom.doppelmayr.com/en/doppelmayr/news/doppelmayr-gondola-for-macau-news/
I love the Skyliner. I’ve used it extensively last week and I would not hesitate to go on it again. I know Doppelmayr is a good company and I’m sure they don’t mess around with people’s safety. I suspect the failsafe tripped when the cabin noticed it couldn’t move forward because the blue cabin was in the way. As far as I can see on the photos only the ventilation windows have been smashed.
For the evacuation, from what I read they only evac’d some people immediately via aerial procedures. This sounds to me that they prioritize them based on needs. Most people got off via the normal way.
Wow very surprising right after opening and the months of testing. We were nervous about getting stuck on the monorail with the incident that happened there because no one wants to be stuck for 3 hours. It’s good this happened at evening for temperatures but at the end of the night when people are tired and kids are exhausted isn’t ideal either. Kids that are already exhausted and need to get to bed and then stuck for hours in a scary situation omg. I’m glad Disney was fairly generous with the park tickets and gift cards but it may not have been enough. This incident would really put a huge damper on a trip.
These things happen. Get over it!! No one hurt or killed, and Disney is being generous with the “gifts.” Inconveniences also happen. Let crabby little junior learn that life is not all to liking. Better than being in a wrecked car with dead family members .
Wow. Just wow.
Kinda harsh, but true.
Wow, you must be a drill sergeant who lacks the ability to experience empathy, or understanding. I hope you don’t have daughters since your attitude in life is “get over it”. Glad you’re not in customer service or really anything relating to dealing with other people.
Not minimizing the suffering of the people who were stuck for three hours. But some engineers/contractors are going to have a not so magical trip to Disney World this morning. I hope they find a clear root cause for this and can address it. I hoe it isn’t a lingering gremlin kind of thing from poor installation that makes it less than reliable.
“ As much as we’d like to convince ourselves otherwise, this is a serious issue for the long-term perception of the Skyliner.”
I disagree. It’s practically brand new, no one was injured, and Disney responded appropriately. This will be a mere hiccup in what will become a reliable and entertaining means of transportation in WDW.
The only thing I think they’ll need to improve is it’s communication to people on the Skyliner when an incident happens. Now a prerecorded announcement (“unexpected delays in your journey”) is being played every X minutes. It would be good to skip those after a certain amount of them have been played and use manual announcements from thereon to inform people and set expectations.
Absolutely! Communication is more important than anything if you’re up there for 2-3 hours.
Except for the “unplanned downtime” spin, right? Gondolas crash into each other=Accident.
Yes – except for that, to be sure. I know they want to avoid bad publicity but being transparent and honest is always the best response.
You weren’t on there, you didn’t experience it. Nobody had any idea what was going on and the cast members were incredibly rude to those stuck just outside the station — completely ignoring us. Disney did not respond appropriately.
To some its just a hiccup to others like me who have disabilities and health problems it is a nightmare and quite literally dangerous and embarassing..No matter the spin some like to b glib about it ..Those who have medical issues and/or small children its a nightmare that I couldnt ever forget about. I feel for those like I who quite literally cant b stuck like that for many reasons..
I’m pretty sure that’s why some cabins have been evacuated in the air and others had to wait till the system started running again. From an incident management perspective they want to help the people in need first, then go on for the majority. Will they sometimes get it wrong? Certainly. Will they learn from this? With out a doubt. The incident itself is minor, but the impact it has on people can be large. The biggest challenge they need to take on is the communication problem.
I can not wait to ride! But, I will only ride during cooler temps. I don’t think I could handle a small enclosed space in the heat.
I’m terrified of heights, but I think I’m going to give the Skyliner a chance for our November trip. I feel like the issues should be (hopefully) resolved by then. I’ve ridden the “floating bench” type several times, even though I’ll be shaking and terrified out of my mind, gripping onto the side poles with all my might. Being enclosed should help alleviate some of that fear. But I don’t think I would be able to be rescued if it came to that. I’d just have to wait until it started moving again. Haha. I say all this, but I couldn’t bring myself to ride the ferris wheel in Disneyland.
I think you’re going to be pleasantly surprised with the Skyliner. It is far from a “floating bench”. We’ve ridden it several times over our current visit and loved it. I’m sure that after this first week of so they’ll have things working smoothly.
We rode it last week. We did experience closures at several stations, but when we did ride, it was amazing. This would not stop me from taking full advantage of this transportation system in the future (despite my fear of heights)….I will just make sure I always have an empty bladder before I board.
THIS!
This was one of my first thoughts. I turned to my husband and told him to remind me to go to the restroom before getting in line for the Skyliner when we go back to WDW in case we were to get stopped for whatever reason.
Ugh. So much drama over one incident that didn’t get anyone hurt – just inconvenienced. When planes crash, do you all stop going on planes?
Great Jason, your basement standards accept 3 hour confinement in hot stuffy boxes, incredibly rude and unhelpful station staff, and calling a multi-car collision an “unexpected delay”. Most of us expect more than that…kudos for winning “Worst Analogy of the Year” for your asinine comparison to planes crashing
That is a sad compensation in my opinion ($100 a person for hours of being stranded and then being evacuated while in the air??). I’m fine with heights until someone has to remove me via a huge ladder.
I would probably be fine the skyliner in the future, but I do not have kids to worry about. The consistent delays give me pause though. I don’t want to lose hours of a vacation and park time and delayed ADR’s if I can’t trust the transportation to get me there within reason.
I would be interested to hear if Disney is letting people cancel their vacations at Skyliner resorts after this incident.
Why would they allow you to cancel? The Skyliners aren’t the only mode of transportation.
Because after the announcement of the Skyliner, those resorts soared in prices because of that benefit. Without that benefit, you could have saved your money and gone somewhere else on property. And I’m sure some people knowingly paid the premium to be close to the skyliner.
You can always cancel your vacations. I am sure Disney will waive the cancelation fees if this is the reason someone wants to cancel their trip. I am probably going to change my resort since the Skyliner was the main reason for booking the Caribbean this time but I would not consider canceling a trip because a form of transportation is down.
We went on Disney Cruise Line in September – we did not disembark at Castaway Cay but that was exactly why we had booked to go with Disney to visit their private Island. Instead we had a day at sea. Our ‘compensation’ for 12 hours not doing as planned? $0 not even port taxes returned. IMO $100 for 3 hours plus 2 FP is not unreasonable.
I see people praising the Skyliner and others bashing saying issues should’ve been worked out and people are gonna sue. Hey, all I can say to those nay sayers and people scared of heights is “Don’t ride the Skyliner”! Make it better for the rest of us WDW lovers who don’t want to wait in line. As a matter of fact, stay off the coasters and Tower of Terror too so those of us who love them can ride them back-to-back more times. I can say that my family will be using the Skyliner as much as possible during our next trip Disney. Thanks for the story Tom.
I’m troubled by the accident, but more so on the attempted PR spin that there was “unexpected downtime”. That’s pathetic and if not for social media, they would be attempting to cover this up as nothing at all. 2-3 hours trapped in a non-AC’d gondola is not something I’d risk for my kids. Been planning a trip and we’re specifically looking at Caribbean Beach or Pop Century for the Skyliner, but this would now deter me from doing that & stay by Crescent Lake instead so it’s walkable.
I feel bad for those who booked their trips strategically to use Skyliner & of course for the people last night whose trips were ruined.
I was really excited to try the Skyliner! But this accident gives me serious pause, despite being someone who has ridden similar systems all around the world. Being stuck for 2-3 hours?! What if you had to go to the bathroom? Even those who aren’t normally afraid of enclosed spaces could feel growing claustrophobia, and those with anxiety issues probably would lose their minds. A $100 gift card and two park tickets – maybe worth $300-$500 in total value does not remotely feel like sufficient compensation. I would’ve been furious, absolutely furious, after 60 minutes.
This is such a bummer. We’re heading to Disney on Wednesday and chose Pop solely for the ability to use these to get to HS and Epcot. Even planned our whole Epcot day based on rope drop at the international gateway. Thinking about parking at HS now and walking over.
“Even planned our whole Epcot day based on rope drop” — maybe let’s not talk about the Skyliner and “rope drop” in the same breath.
I’m still hopeful and excited to try it and I’m glad no one was hurt. This is heartbreaking b/c I think it would have really made our trip smoother, but I guess we need to have our backup plans (already in place) more secure. Shoot. If it had been a few years in, this probably wouldn’t sting so bad. I had no idea it had been down so much, but maybe that is why one person said they got back to the hotel at exactly the same time as their family when they split between bus and gondola…..maybe more buses are in play. Darn it. Now I wish I’d just splurged on that Beach Resort hotel….
Sounds like I need to go change my room location request a bit. Bah. So bummed. This was pretty much as high on my list as Star Wars.
Also, we’ve been stranded on the monorail long enough to know you never get on Disney transportation without using the bathroom first. Just sayin’.
No thank you. It was bad enough during our last visit to be stuck on a fully packed monorail (with nowhere to sit and you have arthritis in your feet) for an hour. And despite what people say about the monorails having a/c – the a/c certainly wasn’t working while we were stuck completely still. So… these gondolas with confirmed no a/c that swing in the breeze high above water with no way out? NO. Absolutely no thank you.