Skyliner Update: Construction Ends, Previews Begin!
We’re back at Walt Disney World’s Skyliner gondola resorts for our (final?) update as this new aerial transportation system begins previews today and glides towards its official grand opening date at the end of September 2019. In this photo report, we’ll take a look at the stations at Hollywood Studios, Epcot’s International Gateway, Caribbean Beach & Riviera Resorts.
As you might’ve seen at the beginning of our One 20-Hour Day at Walt Disney World trip report from the opening day of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival, we bet and lost on a soft opening of the Skyliner. Thinking surely that the Skyliner had to open in time for Star Wars Land, we booked a stay at Pop Century–and stubbornly stuck with it, thinking there was a good chance of a soft opening that day.
Obviously, that did not happen. I don’t think we were alone in being disappointed about this, but at least crowds not being sufficiently high for the Skyliner to be “necessary” has meant low crowds in the parks. The other good news is that previews begin today, and we’ll soon have reports from the very first riders of the Disney Skyliner gondolas. There’s still a bit more bad news, though…
Right now, these previews are only for Cast Members. Specifically, Disney’s Hollywood Studios CMs today from 4 pm until 10 pm, and September 18 from 8 am to 2 pm and 6 pm to 10 pm. On September 17, Epcot Cast Members have a chance to test the Skyliner (at Disney’s Hollywood Studios). No photos or videos are allowed on these previews.
After that, there are previews for all Cast Members from September 23-26, 2019. Unlike the previews for Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios CMs, these require registration and allow the Cast Member to bring a guest. (So, similar to the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge previews.)
This means we’ll have to wait a little longer to ride the Skyliner, as there won’t be general public soft openings prior to (at least) September 27, but we weren’t really expecting an extended soft opening here once the Skyliner missed the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opening. Personally, I’m looking forward to hearing first-hand reports, as this will only further build anticipation.
Figuring there would be a flurry of last-minute testing over the weekend to ensure things are running smoothly for today’s previews, I headed out to Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Caribbean Beach yesterday to see what was up…
We started our day at Epcot’s International Gateway, so that’s where we’ll begin here.
Despite doing a few Epcot updates already this month, I’ve neglected to show the progress on the new park entrance here. It’s moving along at a surprisingly quick pace and could be ready by September 29.
As for the Skyliner, I think the only progress here since our last update is this entrance awning and signage.
Otherwise, this Skyliner station is ready to go.
As we leave Epcot, here’s a bonus view of the gondolas gliding over Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.
Speaking of which, we should soon have new aerial construction photos of the France expansion!
From Epcot we walk over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios…
A quick stop at the turn station to take a look at what’s happening here.
This has been done for several months, so no real progress to report.
I did notice Spaceship Earth and the Eiffel Tower for the first time over here. As trees have been cleared for the Skyliner and other projects, views like this are increasingly common.
Not much to see at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Along with the Pop Century and Art of Animation Skyliner station, this is what’s been done the longest, and where testing/training has been taking place for months.
Several costumed Cast Members were working at the Disney’s Hollywood Studios station.
To my knowledge, all of these gondola cabins were being sent through empty.
The entrance for this week’s Cast Member previews of the Skyliner is set up.
The signage at this station is also now fully revealed. In addition to the Skyliner marquee, there are also signs indicating that this travels to Caribbean Beach, with connecting service to Epcot, Riviera, and Pop Century/Art of Animation.
After dodging a 10 minute downpour, we catch the bus to Caribbean Beach.
There, we’ll begin with a look at the Riviera Resort station.
From what I can tell, this is almost entirely completed.
The walkway to Riviera Resort is now fully covered, and the gates, ramps, landscaping, etc. are finished.
The only work left to be done is some clean-up in the Caribbean Beach parking lot. It also seems like that some more shrubs will be planted to conceal some electrical components and create a natural barrier.
It’s hard to see from the photo, but there’s a finished path that’ll connect the parking lot to the Skyliner station.
There will also be another path that’ll connect the main waterfront path along Barefoot Bay to the station. That’ll basically be where you see the current fence in the foreground of this photo.
To my knowledge, it’s still unknown whether the Epcot and Riviera Resort stations will open on September 29. The International Gateway project is now moving fast, but still seems unlikely to finish in another week. Having that station open without the new turnstiles and bag check is…not ideal. I guess we shall see!
Walking over towards the Caribbean Beach Skyliner station, we catch the test in the middle of a shift change.
There were a lot of costumed Cast Members coming and going.
It’s hard to tell from the photos, but there were also a ton of managers on hand, presumably on hand to observe things and train ahead of the first ‘real life’ tests starting today.
Pretty exciting to see the construction crews all gone and Cast Members take their place. It’s finally getting real!
All of the projects we previously reported on at Caribbean Beach Resort are now finished.
The new walkways are totally done, the bus loop has all of its signage up, and landscaping here looks nice. Caribbean Beach’s main hub is totally ready to go.
After ducking inside of Spyglass Grill to wait out a 15 minute downpour (and also do a “quality-check” on the Chorizo Burger–yep, still glorious!), I headed back out to make another loop around Barefoot Bay.
There’s really not much else to see here. This station is totally done and, aside from minor work around the parking lot, the Riviera’s station is done, too.
Personally, I couldn’t be more excited about this…which I think is fairly evident to anyone who has read these Skyliner updates over the last couple of years. I’l admit that I’m also slightly apprehensive about the guest response, as I’ve written a lot of strongly opinionated, pro-Skyliner material over the course of these updates…and I really hope all of that is vindicated. Even if others end up hating the Skyliner for their own reasons, I can’t wait to experience this myself and know I’ll love it. I’ve yet to experience a gondola that I haven’t loved, and can’t imagine Walt Disney World’s system will be the first to buck that trend.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Are you excited to experience the Skyliner? If you’re a Cast Member who has had a chance to ride…any first-hand review or feedback? Any other thoughts on the Skyliner? Will you be using it, or sticking to buses? 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!
After years of discussion of how hot (or not) the gondola cabins will be, I’ve always been 100% in Tom’s camp on this. I found an old comment from a previous post where I wrote “The idea I’m getting at is that the gondola experience will likely be similar to sitting in the shade with a light breeze for 10-15 minutes. ” Personally I think it’s obvious there’s a middle ground on the comfortability scale between a “shivering blast of A/C” and “sweltering on sun-scorched pavement” and I think the Skyliner will be solidly in that in-between territory.
Well, I just found a review from Attractions Magazine from someone who rode the Skyliner this week and had this to say: “The best way to compare the real feel would be standing in full shade with a medium-to-strong wind blowing. For as hot of a day as it was, the gondola was honestly very comfortable for its temperature which was a relief to me. It isn’t as cool as AC, but it is certainly cool enough for the relatively short trip times.”
(Link: https://attractionsmagazine.com/we-rode-the-disney-skyliner-in-the-hot-florida-sun-heres-what-you-need-to-know/)
Now I’m sure there will still be those who experience the Skyliner as too warm for their sensibilities, but I believe the “A/C” controversy will go down in history as being a lot of fuss over nothing.
Is the Gondola totally enclosed ? Thanks
Yes, other than louvered windows on each side to allow air flow. You cannot open the door and jump from the car.
I am taking a bit of a gamble on the Skyliner – taking a vacation in early 2020 and decided on CBR because it is the hub station. In terms of distance traveled to DHS and “Every Person Comes Out Tired”, it is the shortest, but being the hub could cause a longer queue at this station (plus the giant motors are housed there – hopefully they aren’t noisy.) I went so far as to request a room in Jamaica near the Skyliner hub. If they do put me there near the station, the benefit is the quick walk, but the drawback could be increased noise and foot traffic at park open/close times. Once the Skyliner opens, I am sure there will be plenty of feedback on all of the usual blog sites and YouTube channels to decide whether the stay at CBR is a good choice.
Hi. Just returned from CBR. They were running tests throughout our stay. They are soo quiet you forget that are there unless you look up. We were in Jamaica and it will be an ideal spot for you.
Super excited to use these during our November trip staying at Pop Century! Love the look of them and the added fun for transport!
While I am looking forward to the Skyliner, I will not be riding it after leaving Epcot later at night. The last thing I want is to be stuck in one of these with drunk people (not that everyone leaving Epcot late at night is drunk) with the possibility of one of them throwing up during the trip and just being stuck in the box with nowhere to move to until the next stop. I understand this could happen on other forms of transportation, but the thought of being in a more enclosed area with that possibility is not very appealing to me. I am of course assuming that they are going to try to fill these gondolas as opposed to only putting a single party on each one.
My girlfriend and I are doing a food and wine snack credit day tomorrow, (Tuesday the 17th) then chilling at Saratoga and Disney springs if you want to join us
I just love how the signage (referencing the international gateway picture) looks like it’s been there forever. It fits in so well. I feel like this is one of those things that I’d like to say when people ask me why I like Disney so much – but unless you get it, it sounds really weird haha
I was leaving HS last week and there was a sign that said “cast member event” at the entrance to the Skyliner and people in plain clothes were going in and getting in the gondolas. I asked if I could be a cast member for the day but they laughed and said no. Only a handful of people got on while I was watching.
We were at CBR for two weeks leaving last Wednesday and heading back to the UK. Saw a lot of testing and the station changing day by day. Must say that the bus links to CBR are very frustrating. However, I cannot see the Skyliner making much difference. It will become a ride in itself for all visiting WDW. This will surely make the queues at CBR horrendous for guests. Just my opinion. Thanks for al the updates Tom
So I see on the map it goes from say POP to Beach Resort to HS / Riviera.
What are the transfer points?
Does it skip Beach to HS or do you get off at Beach and hop on a different one to HS?
I saw a map of the Skyliner on the Food Blog. It doesn’t really go to the Beach Club, but instead goes to Caribbean Beach resort. I wasn’t sure you had that or not. You will not have to change at Caribbean Beach if you are going from Pop/AoA to DHS. But if you are going to Epcot or Riviera you will. Coming from Epcot to DHS, you will have to change at CBR.
You won’t be able to stay on the Skyliner at the end of the route. You’ll have to get off and get in line to ride the opposite direction.
On another Disney blog, there is an interview from a cast member who rode the Skyliner and he said the views were amazing, and the breeze from the venting made the ride very comfortable in the cabins which are also outfitted with two emergency callboxes. The trip between CBR and Epcot took 30 minutes per the CM.
whoa, 30 minutes? that seems a bit long! that in and of itself might be a dealbreaker. i was expecting this to be a shorter mode of transportation, not equal or longer than a bus ride.
and that’s not factoring in if you have to get on at Pop/AoA, that;s even more time.
I just found the original interview and it says “The ride from Caribbean to Epcot is 30 min. round trip” so I think that would mean 15 minutes each way?
I don’t see what’s not to love! Even if you don’t think the Skyliner is going to be your cup of tea, they almost have to reduce the number of people taking the buses at those locations, right? It’s a win-win!
Riders just better not look in my CBR window, lol. “Oh, my eyes!” will echo down the SkyLiner corridor if this coincides with me getting dressed.
if they don’t reduce the number of buses first. i can see that being the next cut, so if you’re staying at one of these resorts, don’t wish to ride or don’t wish to wait for the skyliner, you have to wait extra for a bus because they’ll cut back.
Is there anything posted on hours of operation? With ExEMH’s at Hollywood Studios I’m hoping using the skyliner is an option.
i am very much pro on the idea of these, i just hope as people start riding that they report back on exactly how hot or not the cabins actually are. i still have some apprehension on how well this ventilation system will or won’t work in the hot/humid conditions of florida, especially from june-september.
my other thought- how busy is this going to make international gateway? i can see a lot of bottlenecking in the future if that space isn’t fully prepared. how many turnstiles will they have and security checks?
To me, it feels like having the guests spaced out more evenly (6-10 every minute or two vs a bus that drops 50-60 at a time) should help with the bottlenecks here.
I know this is transportation and not an attraction but to not give Annual Passholders a chance to ride it is just another slap in our faces in addition to the recent risen prices. So we pay more for less again.
Thanks for another great update.
We are really excited to try these out. Every knock I hear about CBR (since the renovations completed) is about the bus system there. With this in place it like you will have a really fun option for 50% of the parks. Even if the buses there are still lame, it’s not like you will be dealing with it every day.
We will be going with another family for their first trip, and they are really excited about having access to these as well.
I’d be psyched! Have fun. The CBR renovation turned out magnificent.
I’ll be at Disney for a day in December pre-cruise and I plan on taking some time out of my day just to ride this and see how well it works!
I can’t wait! We specifically booked our upcoming February 2020 trip at CBR for the Skyliner gondolas! We are planning to jump on one and head to Hollywood Studios the day we check in.
Yes! I booked CBR specifically because of Skyliner too, first week of March. Our plan is to gondola over to Riviera Resort to eat dinner after we arrive.
Does anyone know about loading the Skyliner? Does it actually stop to load or is it more like the ski lift at Blizzard Beach? We arrive 9/29, but I’m not sure we’ll even hit the Skyliner on this trip.
From what I’ve seen in other various blogs & vlogs, it appears that these pause momentarily in the station for loading/unloading (it’s hard to describe, but based on zoomed in video shots I’ve seen when they were testing them, as the cable continues moving the gondolas appear to be “lifted” off the track to allow them to pause briefly for unloading before moving on to the loading platform & then being put back on the cable to move on – it all appeared to be very seamless in operation, granted the human element was not in play during these tests) and there’s an option for them to pull them to a siding for passengers who might need additional time to load/unload
Thanks, Sarah.
Been watching them run from 4th floor of Pop. Kind of bummed out that we will head home just before they open to guests. We do, however, plan to use your guidance for our first Food and Wind Fest. Armed with some of your knowledge and a bucketful of snack credits, we will get over the disappointment.
Will you have to show proof that you are staying at one of the select resorts serviced by the Skyliner or can anyone ride it?
Anyone can ride.
no like all transportation on the property and the resorts anyone can ride