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.
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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 would still totally ride. I still walk across streets and drive/ride in cars, buses, trains, boats, and airplanes, all of which have crashes and are far more dangerous modes of transportation than a gondola/lift system. Everything has its risks and share of issues. Nothing is perfect. I understand people who won’t want to take that risk, and I don’t vault or devalue their concerns. Given the investment, I am sure the Skyliner will resume operation at some point and still see plenty of use. Personally, I think folks in wheelchairs or ECVs should be encouraged to use an alternate mode of transportation. With the amount of ECVs I see at Disney, I think it is more detaching/attaching than the system can handle, not to mention the difficulties if it comes to evacuation. Also, Disney needs to figure out a better way to do that. Even if those trapped felt they handled it well, three hour waits and two people at a time is unacceptable, especially when a large portion of your clientele are families.
I would hate to see people who had to endure three hour waits in those gondolas in the middle of a Orlando summer day.
This incident worries me.
I was really looking forward to using the Skyliner during my trip in December.
My son, my mom, and I all have mobility issues and all use wheelchairs or ECVs. Using the buses can be challenging, since they only hold 2 wheelchairs or ECVs per bus. I know the Skyliner can only hold 1 per gondola, but we could go in 3 gondolas in much less time than waiting for another bus.
We have been split into 3 monorail compartments, and everything was fine.
But, I am not sure I would want to be stuck in separate gondolas. My son is autistic. While he is fine when things are going well, I would not want him stuck in a gondola, and especially not without me. My mom has had strokes and has some heart issues. She also has very limited mobility and rescuing her would be a challenge. I would be panicking about her also. I have anxiety and claustrophobia. I would be fine as long as the gondolas were working, but I think I would really struggle if I got stuck in them.
This system really sounded like it was going to be a better form of transportation for my family. I know there is always a chance of an issue like this, but the risks are generally low and I really hoped Disney would make sure it was safe and ready to run.
Don’t. I was on it twice. And both times it stopped. First day 20 mins, 2nd day 30 mins. In 90’ heat with no air flow!! And u better hope ur not Claustrophobic. Lol. U were not on it. Or u would not put growing pains. U would b furious. Lol
Disney needs to have a fleet of wheelchair/scooter buses whenever there are more than two wc/scooters for one bus. You should be able to alert the bus system at every bus stop if you have multiple mobility devices at one stop. The only other riders would need to be family members of the mobility limited guests. If they had one assigned to each resort that would be a small fleet and they might go to more than one theme park on each trip. They could load four to six mobility devices on each of these buses. I have seen buses with three wc/scooter spots, but not very often. Most only have two.
I did have a scooter on one trip because of my knees and wound up at a stop with two other guests at the stop. When the bus arrived, there was already one scooter on the bus, so the other two guests told me to take that bus they would wait for the next one since they were traveling together.
I heard the bus system just eliminated the dispatcher and the system is all run by computers. Just waiting for that big fail. Drivers speed and stopping is all monitored by the computer and the computer reports if they drive too fast, too slow, don’t stop at the stop signs or are taking too long to get to their destination.
This would have been a PR disaster:
https://youtu.be/2W-VrZ80Cos
Growing pains; it’ll all work out.
Lol. U were not on it. Or u would not put growing pains. U would b furious. Lol
What if this had happened at that turn at Boardwalk? Imagine the gondola crashing and people are still high up in the air, in a broken gondola!
It literally could not happen there. It happened because a gondola on the assist line did not re-hook to the main line correctly. The gondolas do not unhook and rehook while going through the turn station.
…Immediately after posting this I realized I’m incorrect; there’s a speed change through there so they do have to be unhooking and rehooking. Ignore my comment; your concerns are legitimate.
Paul they use batteries and last about 2 1/2 minutes they also have electric generators none of which work very well. That’s the most likely reason they choose not to use it.@ElectricGondola we put a extension cord into a moving gondola all the time. Disney just heard about our technology a few months back. They are taking a wait and see for now. Thing may have changed overnight.
I am still looking forward to using the Skyliner. A few family members have relayed that they will not be joining me, even before this incident, and that is fine with me. Everyone has their own comfort level. While I wouldn’t want to be stuck, especially if heat was a factor, I don’t have any conditions that would increase the likelihood of my discomfort or impair my ability to be removed in case of an emergency. If I did have any of those conditions, I’d probably rely on another form of transportation. I do wonder how something like this could have happened after the lengthy testing period the system went through.
Hopefully the safetty and reliability of the Skyliner will be proven over time. If the system is working when I visit in November, I plan to try it out.
I saw a comment over on WDW News Today YouTube channel by someone who claims to have a long experience in the lift industry. His theory is that, “A main drive belt snapped causing the entire tire banks in the station to halt…” After reading this I went to investigate how detachable lifts work. In viewing a video that shows how the system slows down and keeps cabins equally spaced in the station as well as how it decelerates and accelerates to transition between the station speed and the main haul rope speed. This is controlled by belts that attach to the tires. Looking at the images it does seem plausible that one (or more) of the belts broke that prevented the gondola from continuing forward to dispatch on to the main haul rope. Looking at the belts some have two belts between each wheel, I would assume for redundancy) and some only have one. It looks like maybe (this is all speculation) a link with a single belt possibly broke allow the gondolas behind to continue and press against each other. In watching videos of the Skyliner in operation what I have noticed is that the gondolas are very close to one another in the stations. While the system manages the distance I’m not sure how it is supposed to handle situations such as these. There is something else I have noticed. The turn station seems to be one of these stations where you don’t get off. If I’m concerned about anything it would be this happening at the turn station than at the end lines. I will be interested to see what comes of this.
It crazy bro. I was stuck on it 2 times. 1st day 29 mins. 2nd day 30-40 mins. Never again would I ride that. Unless they would pay me 5,000$.
I won’t hesitate to ride, just as I don’t hesitate to get in a car or bus, or to fly on a plane. Accidents can happen with anything. If 1 accident makes you hesitate to use something I would recommend you never leave your home because nothing is safe.
Kool. Ride it. But u would b crying like a baby if u got caught up there. I was stuck up there, 2 days in a row. My wife had a panic attack, my son is a diabetic, thank God His sugar was good. Maybe they don’t think about things like that. If u need medicine, or if ur stuck up there 100’, or if u got a bad case a diarrhea, God help u. I would never ride that ever again. Unless they paid me 10,000$!!!! That’s how bad it was.
And BTW it don’t get more safe than Disney.
Was looking forward to riding the Skyliner when we arrive in a couple of weeks. No longer looking forward to it. Not because I’m afraid, but because of health issues and the idea of possibly being stuck for any amount of time in a tiny, non-air conditioned cage, which would exasperate my health issues. So I guess it’s good-bye Skyliner, and hello boring, old fashioned forms of transportation.
.
Barbara Disney is aware of of new technology that puts electricity in those moving cabins. They were going to take a wait and see approach. It may change now @ElectricGondola. Dopplemayer is a very capable company but they are very resistant to new technology when it come from outside their space. They sit on the board of ANSI and the ANSI board approve this new technology that puts electricity into a moving cabin which provides AC, Heating and communications for its passengers while in motion. ANSI writes the bible for this industry. @ElectricGondola
I think you speak the truth for many people.
How many millions of dollars did they spend on this gondola system? The fact they were hiding the accident was an attempt to save their stock price? I saw that many people were excited about this new transportation. You have no obligation to ride and and I never would. You should be young and in perfect health to go through this kind of ordeal people describe when they were stuck for 3 hours.
Shame on Disney for failing to tell the truth and shame on Disney for not knowing there could be disastrous problems with these gondolas. Money could have been better spent in other ways,
Was stuck on it. Was horrible. Never again. Even if Disney gave me 10,000$. That’s how horrible the experience was.
Absolutely love your blog! Keep up the good work! Taking our grandkids for their first visit in March 2020 and have gotten so many tips from you. Thanks much!
As a person who has suffered several heart attacks, I would use the system but after this accident, I don’t think I will. What would they have done if I had another heart attack from the stress and anxiety of being stuck in a confined space for so long?
Kool. Ride it. But u would b crying like a baby if u got caught up there. I was stuck up there, 2 days in a row. My wife had a panic attack, my son is a diabetic, thank God His sugar was good. Maybe they don’t think about things like that. If u need medicine, or if ur stuck up there 100’, or if u got a bad case a diarrhea, God help u. I would never ride that ever again. Unless they paid me 10,000$!!!! That’s how bad it was.
It’s all fun and games until its you who’s stuck up there for three hours in 90-100 degrees. And the fire department is having you climb down a ridiculously long ladder, because everyone knows these things only happen to other people!
I am 100% with you, Joyce. It is the lack of air conditioning that really makes me feel afraid of riding the Skyliner. If it takes 3 hours to completely evacuate one line during a breakdown, that seems like enough time for the temperature inside to get dangerous, especially with a limited supply of water. I can’t even imagine what the outcome would have been if this had happened during the heat of the day, or how things would go if something like this were to happen at the height of the summer. I would personally be afraid to take my child on the Skyliner, and would not feel safe taking a family member in a wheelchair, either.
I don’t think the comments that say “Nothing is completely safe, including cars!” are very helpful. Obviously, we all must take some risks in our daily lives in order to live, and all transportation comes with some level of risk. However, not all modes of transportation come with equal levels or kinds of risk, and every day we all choose which risks to take and which to avoid. There is nothing wrong with choosing to avoid the risk of riding the Skyliner. My opinion is that given the lack of AC and the way that the breakdown and evacuation were handled, riding the Skyliner represents an unacceptable level of risk for my family. Especially when you consider that this mode of transportation is supposed to be an added convenience, rather than an essential lifeline form of transport. The added convenience isn’t worth it for me.
THIS IS WHAT DISNEY SAID…
“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).”
HERE IS A THOUGHT….
Obviously Disney knows this could be a potential problem … all I can say is please view this video on how easily Disney can solve the the of lack of air conditioning in a future malfunction event . Please go to 23.36 in this video to see how this solution can help Disney in the future to avoid problem of extreme heat!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQI5uqhu_M8&feature=youtu.be&t=1312
Also, if there is electricity in the cabins, then there is always live communications with the passengers, and technology plugs to ensure all passengers have uninterrupted communications with their loved ones during malfunction event
Sorry this is the you tube link to solving for air-conditioning in gondolas.
https://youtu.be/PQI5uqhu_M8
Sorry this is the you tube link to solving for air-conditioning in gondolas.
Disney does not allow youtube links so please
1. visit preround.com
2. Click on EVENTS “Episode 1”
3. Click on Rodger Gibson’s presentation (he is in the middle)
4. Go to 23:36 in the presentation video to see how his system solves the air conditioning dilemma in gondolas
Soooo tru. It was me. Twice. Never again
Stunk Disney is aware of of new technology (a few months ago) that puts electricity in those moving cabins. They were going to take a wait and see approach. It may change now @ElectricGondola. Dopplemayer is a very capable company but they are very resistant to new technology when it come from outside their space. They sit on the board of ANSI and the ANSI board approve this new technology that puts electricity into a moving cabin which provides AC, Heating and communications for its passengers while in motion. ANSI writes the bible for this industry. @ElectricGondola
I think you speak the truth for many people.
So now that we know the evac process. How would they get people out of the gondolas headed to the “floating” station? The whole ride is above water!
They have a special evacuation boat. See the following:
https://wdwnt.com/2019/06/photos-disney-skyliner-water-evacuation-boat-spotted-near-art-of-animation-pop-century-station/
Was stuck on it. Was horrible. Never again. Even if Disney gave me 10,000$. That’s how horrible the experience was. Evact plan is getting firetrucks and using a ladder to get off the ride. It’s a joke. 100$ and 2 day pass is BS. They ruined ur hole day. Maybe ur trip there. That’s how terrifying it is when ur stuck 100 feet up in 100’ heat, and everyone is Panicking. Trust me.
There are floating barges with ladders similar to the ones the fire department used last night. So, if you are stuck above the water, you get to fear the fall, fear the splash, fear the ladder trip down while fearing the moving platform you are heading to (yes, it has an anchor, but floating means floating, so some movement will be normal).
We were at Disney on opening day of the Skyliner. We rode it on Sunday, Monday & Tuesday with just a couple of short (2 minute) stops in the air. We LOVED it and would not hesitate to ride it again, even after this accident. It truly is an amazing mode of transportation.
U got lucky. I was on it day 1 and day 2 also. Day 1 got stuck for 20 mins. Day 2 stuck for 39 mins. Never again. U got extremely lucky.
@stunk you’re literally just commenting the same thing over and over on everyone’s post. If getting stuck was that traumatizing go see a therapist. You survived. We read all 157 of your posts on how much money it would take for you to ride it again. Good news is, Disney doesn’t pay people to ride it so you won’t have to. Bad news is you’re stuck waiting for a bus. ✌
Lmao
I am so bummed about this! I was really excited for the Skyliner. I don’t mind the occasional hiccup, but if this had happened in the day, that’s extremely concerning. These guys would be little ovens. I guess it’s a good wakeup call and test of their evacuation procedures.
Also, I support the idea that at least wheelchairs and ECVs shouldn’t be on these. I was surprised to hear that they were allowed on in the first place. There are accessible alternatives and individuals using these vehicles likely create greater evacuation difficulties, with trying to remove an immobile person from a tight space at such a height. It sucks, but in the interest of safety I think it should be considered. The complaints against strollers and children are a little overboard, I think- they are at least self-mobile or can be carried easily.
I also hope Disney improves their PR because at this point they’re being shady and dishonest. Things happen, own up to it and work on resolving it.
Agree
Oh please. Not everyone using a wheelchair or ECV is “immobile”. Many of us have heart, lung, joint diseases that make using an ecv or wc for excessive walking necessary. We CAN walk short distances and some can stand up to 30 min…some more. I do not speak for paraplegics or quadriplegics..or those that have other visable disabilities…however, let US decide if we can/should/ want to ride.
I’m Guru all the way. Eliminate strollers and screaming, undisciplined children, and maybe the rest of us can have one peaceful ride while there.
I’d like to eliminate over privileged, judgmental people that troll Disney blogs.
How do u kno if someone is over privileged?? Just because they texted about getting stuck for 4 hrs 100 feet up in 100’ heat. Don’t talk smack unless u were up there. Got nothing to do with privilege, it’s about a new Disney ride, that was obviously not ready to b opened.
Think about it. Use ur brain.
I’m really disappointed to hear about this, but I still plan to ride the Skyliner on my upcoming trip in a few months, assuming it’s open and running reliably. I guess my perspective from a safety standpoint is that we happily get into cars and buses despite the prevalence of deadly auto collisions, so I’m not going to refrain from using a transportation system that overall (globally) has a better safety record after one high-profile incident.
I will say the one part that leaves a bad taste in my mouth is how Disney is handling it PR-wise. I don’t want to be fed euphemisms about unplanned downtime. I want to see them taking responsibility and outlining what they’re doing to prevent a repeat occurrence.
Also agreed that they need to have notice boards to let you know before you board whether one of the connecting lines is down. I’m booked at AoA and I would be really annoyed if I reached CBR and had to get on a bus from there–serious waste of time.
They have people standing at the entrances to let you know when any line is down. When I was staying at Pop this past week and that line was down, they let everyone know at all the other stations that the AoA/Pop line was not available as you enter the station. I know this because that’s exactly what happened when I tried to return to Pop from HS later in the day.
I’m very surprised they were basically ignoring you. My husband and I were stuck halfway up the first big hill after takeoff on the Incrediocoaster and we basically had a CM every six rows talking to us and updating us and trying to entertain us. Plus we had three “engineers” working beside us on the control box! Then we were all offered three any time use FP for sitting there 45 minutes! CMs at Disneyland are great!
Didn’t they just have to evacuate people from the monorail recently? All of this is kind of concerning. For myself, I don’t think I’d ride these gondolas. They are not air conditioned and it would be awful to be stuck on there in the heat of the day. I will stick to walking/riding the buses, boats, etc when possible. I’d ride the monorail rather than the gondolas because at least they are air conditioned.
Amy, Disney is aware of of new technology that puts electricity in those moving cabins. They were going to take a wait and see approach. It may chang now @ElectricGondola
Going for a long weekend with a friend to do Epcot F and W and a couple marathon days at SWGE at the end of October. Have only ever stayed at Deluxe with family but decided to save some dough and go with Pop because of skyliner likely being open (I booked in May). I had reservations about skyliner and could have saved more money by staying at All Star Resorts. We may just end up taking bus or Uber.