Skyliner Gondola Update – May 2019
Walt Disney World has unwrapped 55 Skyliner gondola cabins with character and attraction graphic designs to make the test run between Caribbean Beach Resort and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We’ll share 50 photos of those gondola designs, plus a construction update & photo report on other Skyliner work around WDW.
If you’ve followed our months of Skyliner construction updates and commentary, you know that Walt Disney Imagineering began test operations on this line between the main station at Caribbean Beach Resort and Disney’s Hollywood Studios several months ago. For most of that time, the gondolas have been covered.
In the last month, a few have had their coverings removed so that workers could do some load and unload testing as the Skyliner cycled. Earlier this week, a couple of character gondolas were among the new uncovered Skyliner cabins to appear. Throughout the Disney Skyliner testing, there have been a few ‘whoa’ moments, yesterday was definitely one of them…
Before we get to that, there are a few other less-exciting Disney Skyliner gondola updates to report. First, in addition to the entire character fleet being uncovered on the Disney’s Hollywood Studios line, testing has begun on all lines.
Previously, the lines testing with regularity were Caribbean Beach to DHS and Art of Animation/Pop Century to Caribbean Beach. As of yesterday, Caribbean Beach to Disney’s Riviera Resort and Riviera to Epcot’s International Gateway are also testing.
In terms of operational readiness, this is the bigger news, it’s just not as exciting as seeing a bunch of vibrant character gondolas. Here’s a video of the scene at Epcot’s International Gateway:
As you can see, a lot of work is happening at International Gateway. We covered this in our last Epcot Construction Update & Photo Report. In case you missed that, most of these walls are for expanded bag check and turnstiles.
This all began immediately after the Easter rush and is being timed to occur during what’s normally the slowest time of the year for Epcot. Whether it’ll be done before the start of the 2019 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival is anyone’s guess, but it’s hard to imagine that not being the goal.
Even aside from the infrastructure work outside the station, there’s still a lot to be done on the Epcot International Gateway Skyliner station itself. In the span of a day, we noticed some new trim detail and progress on the entry-way, but there’s still work to be done.
Same goes for the Skyliner station at Disney’s Riviera Resort. The other gondola stations are not totally finished (save for, perhaps, the Art of Animation/Pop Century one), but only have minor flourishes and detail work that could probably be wrapped up in a few days if necessary. By contrast, the Riviera and Epcot stations look like they need a month or so worth of work to be completed, at minimum.
There’s always the possibility that the Caribbean Beach to Riviera Resort to Epcot portions of the Skyliner transportation system open later than the rest. With an official grand opening date for Riviera Resort in December 2019, that’s certainly a possibility. One we doubt, however.
Riviera Resort’s Skyliner station will be utilized by guests on that side of Caribbean Beach, and opening the entire transportation system at once makes for a splashier debut, especially with portions of other projects around Walt Disney World delayed.
With an official Fall 2019 opening date, that’s plenty of time to get the remaining work on all stations done to meet that. We strongly suspect the entire project will be ready for a soft opening well before then, especially with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge now opening in late summer.
If we’re getting technical, fall doesn’t start until September 23, 2019. Even if the Skyliner weren’t to open until the very first day of fall, that’s still a lot of testing on a system that has already been testing for months.
As soon as we arrived at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, it was a rainbow of color overhead. Seeing the Skyliner in motion has been cool, but up until now, the gondolas more or less looked like firm sacks of potatoes in flight.
Now, on the Caribbean Beach to Disney’s Hollywood Studios line, it’s all “real” gondolas–and ones featuring characters. Here’s a video to set the scene:
This was a pretty cool sight to behold, and one that will probably be short-lived. These 55 character gondolas are among roughly 300 cabins that will be used in operation, and the current testing at Disney’s Hollywood Studios was at least 75% characters. We assume this is so Walt Disney World can get cool promotional images and video (they’ve already released this) before more evenly distributing the character cabins among the entire fleet.
Suffice to say, if you want to see a real ‘characters in flight’ experience, you might want to get to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the next few days. We have no clue how long this current character-heavy lineup of Disney Skyliner gondolas will be in rotation, but we suspect it won’t be long.
Here are ~50 photos:
That’s it for this update on the Walt Disney World Skyliner gondola transportation network. Testing continues on a daily basis between Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Caribbean Beach, as well as Pop Century/Art of Animation and Caribbean Beach…and now, it seems, Epcot and Disney’s Riviera Resort. If you want to see this yourself while visiting Walt Disney World, wait around outside Disney’s Hollywood Studios for a few minutes. If you’re skipping that park, simply look to the sky while on a bus and you’ll see something eventually!
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
What do you think of the character gondolas? Cool designs, or gimmick that cheapens the naturally sleek and vibrant color schemes of the normal Skyliner cabins? What are your thoughts on the Skyliner? Does the video of the character cabins have you more excited to see and/or ride the finished Skyliner? Thoughts on construction progress? 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’m curious about the route. If we leave from Pop Century, do we have to change cars at Caribbean Beach to get to Hollywood or Epcot?
I think more transportation is necessary but I just don’t like the gondolas, at least in pictures. Maybe it will be better in person. Plus I winder what the usefulness of them will be when inclement weather hits.
Thx for all the pics! They look great. Wish all gondolas would be character 🙂
Re the pylons, I agree they look industrial, but painting them would take away from the gondolas unless they’re all the same color.
Do you know what will happen in storms??? Will they halt them?
Thx again for this blog and the newsletters!
I love the colors and characters! Such a great addition for WDW! Just watching the, is fun!
As a very overpaid Systems Architect (if you are reading this boss, I didn’t write this) nothing deployed is as quiet as the first few months. I first must wonder how loud the system in full operation will be, and what the noise levels will be in a few months’ time. This fact will most likely impact what rooms people will want to stay in at the resorts that use this system. And for my 2 cents, the cost of painting, for aesthetics, one of the pylons would run about $5K each and would need to be done probably every six months to keep looking good (experience with other things) so this becomes a bean counter decision (ergo what Disney is turning into) vice one to minimize guest distraction. Side note, to my eye the paint being used is designed to last five years or more in an environments harsher than Florida.
Thanks for some professional insight! I am looking forward to a new mode of transportation, and one that is presumably greener. However, noise had never occurred to me. I suppose not a big deal outside of the CBR lines.
I think the pylons are far less distracting with the gondolas on them. And I’m not sure what paint color they would use that would make them look any better or disappear…maybe the light blue. With so many towers, I can’t imagine they’d want to hassle with it for many reasons in addition to cost.
Is anyone besides me hoping they put some color on the multiple support towers?
Yes! I think they’re a major eyesore. So industrial and clunky.
Yes, very much…but I don’t see that happening, unfortunately.
They could add tree camouflage to them like they do cell towers ….
Thanks for all the great pictures. These look great. Just love the way you cover everything!
I wonder if the cast members assisting with passenger loading will allow families to stand aside and wait for a “character gondola” (or even waiting for quite a long time to ride a specific character gondola)? On one hand it seems like a very “Disney” thing to accommodate that type of request, but at the same time it could be problematic for operational efficiency and crowd management.
On a related note, Tom (or anyone else), do you know whether the “character gondolas” will have similar theming/imagery on the inside, or will the interior compartment be standardized across the system? Per my first question above, having the theming on the inside would certainly create even more demand to ride in a character gondola vs. a standard one.
“I wonder if the cast members assisting with passenger loading will allow families to stand aside and wait for a “character gondola” (or even waiting for quite a long time to ride a specific character gondola)?”
I doubt it.
In many cases there are only 1-2 cabins with particular designs on them. That means guests in line are unlikely to see (and thus, request) that design while waiting. Moreover, that cabin might not even be on that particular gondola line, so waiting wouldn’t even be possible.
I see this as akin to the monorail stripes and wraps–I’ve never heard of anyone waiting to ride in a particular monorail. Not only is it difficult to impossible, but the ‘coolness’ of the design is better appreciated from the outside than inside.
Thanks, Tom, for the thoughtful response. I tend to agree, but I’m imagining my own kids’ reaction if seeing a Frozen or Star Wars-themed gondola (or a couple of other ones) pass right before their eyes when waiting to board, then seeing that they’re going to be getting on a “plain” gondola. While they might not ultimately get their way, I’m 100% sure they’d ask “Daddy can we ride one with characters? Pleeeease!!!”
Note: “Pleeeease!!!” is a demand and not a request in this context…. 😉
The word “garish” springs to mind lol
I wish they had gone with the more pastel color palette from Dumbo/classic Fantasyland.
If we’re talking Fantasyland inspiration, I think the obvious comparison is the old Skyway buckets–and these colors are almost spot-on to those.
Any idea if there is some sort of small air conditioning system in each gondola? It appears that there are “vents” or “windows” at the top but the units look too small to have air conditioning. Has anyone heard anything? We all know how hot and humid it can be!
They have said there is no a/c in these. They claim that the vents and the fact that these are going at 11 miles an hour will keep them cool enough.
I took a Minnie Van on Tuesday and the driver and I chatted about the gondolas. He said since the gondolas are “green” they didn’t use A/C but that there’s a cooled forced air system that should help. I don’t know anything about air conditioning so I’m not sure what the specific differences are. Just repeating what he said as we drove underneath.
Tom in other news how is the love big situation down there? Is it getting any better thinking of coming next weekend!
The last couple of days have shown signs of improvement–I think the worst of it was over the weekend. They are still very noticeable, but not infuriatingly bad.
Wow, these look so great! So much better than I expected. This really adds a Disney flair to the sky! I wonder why they didn’t make them all like this.
I’m staying at CBR in 4 weeks (early June). Do you see any chance that the CBR to Hollywood Studies line might have a soft opening by that point? I would *love* to be able to avoid the buses. It’s my first time staying at a Disney hotel and I’ve been a bit concerned after reading about how long the buses to the parks take .
I have been in early and mid June and never had issue with busses. So early June you should be good even if this new system isn’t running yet. And I have stayed several times at CBR and busses ran well. Yes there is a loop around with multiple stops but have never waited too long. Only time waited 20-30 minutes was when we walked up as bus was already leaving and waited for next one. They have monitors showing busses in route and wait time. Now all busses are crazy right at park close and as fireworks end and many rush out at same time. Just plan dodging the rush if you want to avoid it. Even when I have been in the middle of it we are always first or second bus on. I am excited though about having this new option and enjoying the view.
Thanks so much for this helpful reply. How long would you say you took from exiting your room to entering a park? About an hour?
If the Skyliner isn’t ready, take Lyft or Uber — not only faster than the buses, but door-to-door travel time will be comparable to the skyliner (depending on what building you’re in and how long your driver takes to arrive). Assuming you’re in a party of 4 or less it’s a minimal expense, and totally worth it if you can get over the idea that you’re paying for transportation that’s supposed to feel “free”. You’re also guaranteed a seat (not always the case on buses) and A/C (not true on Skyliner).
Thanks Tom! This looks great.
I’ve gotten more excited over the past ~6 months reading your updates. I think this will really enhance the experience when staying at those resorts.
Exciting. Thanks for report. I can see it now….families lined up to load and 1 kid says, I want to wait for Stitch and other kid, no I want Snow White 🙂
Gonna be staying at Pop Century the last week of August and sure hope they have this up and running by then but have my doubts about using this in the Florida heat, but then again if we are not crunched for time it might be a nice alternative to try for the experience.
I think they are fantastic!! Totally Disney fashion!! Can’t wait until they’re ready!! â¤ï¸
How many requests for the Madame Leota gondola will there be? I’m predicting visitors will wait in hopes of catching that one. There’s going to be a whole new fan culture and lore born with these.
Do we know if the character images are a screened wrap that are placed on the windows like city buses have, or are they more permanent?
Great pics.
Will people be able to take the skyliner from Epcot to HS?
Not directly. But I believe one could ride from Epcot to Riviera to Caribbean Beach then from Caribbean Beach to HS.
I think I’d actually prefer the gondola’s to be uniform and less bright… but then again I’m a pretty boring person. 🙂 I can definitely see my daughter getting excited over getting the Frozen/Coco/Lilo & Stich gondola.
I love the vibrant colors, but I am glad they aren’t all covered with characters. Having them sprinkled in among the normal gondolas (which themselves look good IMO) is a better approach–a bit of whimsy without being over the top and tacky.
Will you have to show proof that you are staying at one of the resorts being serviced by the Skyliner or can a day guest or someone staying off property ride them just for enjoyment?
Will you have to show proof that you are staying at one of the resorts being serviced by the Skyliner or can a day guest or someone staying off property ride them just for enjoyment?