Disney Skyliner

The Disney Skyliner is a gondola lift system, part of the Disney Transport system, that opened on September 29, 2019, at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. The system is composed of five stations that serve four resorts and two theme parks, with a fleet of over 250 gondola cabins that can accommodate up to ten guests per cabin, or up to six with an open wheelchair or other mobility device. Guests sit on twin, inward-facing, wooden benches.

Predecessors
Almost a year after Disneyland opened in Anaheim, the Skyway, a gondola lift system, opened at the park on June 23, 1956, connecting Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. Magic Kingdom followed suit and built a Skyway, connecting the same lands when Walt Disney World opened on October 1, 1971, as well as Tokyo Disneyland on opening day, April 15, 1983.

The Disneyland Skyway closed on November 4, 1994, due to metal fatigue on one of its support towers, located inside the Matterhorn Bobsleds, which could not be repaired unless the latter's enclosed mountain was cut open. The Tokyo Disneyland Skyway closed on November 3, 1998, and the Magic Kingdom Skyway closed on November 10, 1999.

History
On February 15, 2017, the Reedy Creek Improvement District filed plans with the South Florida Water Management District for "various improvements." Among these plans was a design for a 100 ft building in the shape of a "V," consistent with a gondola lift changing direction. The blueprints described improvements to the south end of Epcot at the World Showcase, as well as in Disney's BoardWalk Resort and Disney's Hollywood Studios. These V-shaped structures were also planned for Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort, Disney's Pop Century Resort and Disney's Art of Animation Resort.

The gondola lift plan was confirmed by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products at the D23 Expo on July 15, 2017, detailing that the system was going to connect four hotels with Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios, affording "a bird's-eye view" of the area. The proposal was announced as part of the unveiling of 23 improvements across the Walt Disney World Resort, including a "makeover" of Epcot and carpool-style "Minnie vans." The Disney Skyliner would also connect to the upcoming Disney's Riviera Resort.

By 2018, the Disney Skyliner was already under construction. The towers and stations were more than halfway completed by summer 2018. In November 2018, Disney Parks announced that the Disney Skyliner would open in fall 2019. Testing with passenger cabins began in late January 2019, on the Hollywood Studios line. In July 2019, the Disney Skyliner was given a September 29, 2019, opening date and began operations as scheduled.

Routes
The lines for the Disney Skyliner are hubbed from a central terminus at Caribbean Beach Resort.

Epcot via Riviera Resort line
The Epcot line is the longest and most complex of the three lines.

Departing north from the Caribbean Beach hub, the line rises up to cross over the Jamaica and Aruba villages of the resort, before descending to a mid-station at the Riviera Resort, which is accessible from and adjacent to the Aruba village of Caribbean Beach. At the station, the line turns west and travels alongside Buena Vista Drive. As it reaches the parking lot and tennis courts of Disney's BoardWalk Resort, the line reaches the second mid-station, which is un-themed and only serves to turn the line to resume traveling north. After crossing over Epcot Resorts Boulevard and passing behind the France pavilion at World Showcase, the gondola descends into its final terminus at Epcot's International Gateway entrance to World Showcase.

The complex line features two sharp angle (greater than 90°) turn stations which create a z-shape. The routing enables the line to avoid bisecting World Showcase and avoid showing guests many of Epcot's backstage areas. Additionally, the line has more than 26 towers and a dozen different loading/unloading zones.

The journey time for a one-way journey along the full route from Caribbean Beach to Epcot is 12 minutes. A journey between Caribbean Beach and Riviera takes three minutes, and the journey between Riviera and Epcot takes nine minutes. The line is internally known as TIG for Trinidad (the Caribbean Beach village closest to the hub station) and International Gateway (the entrance to Epcot served by the line).

Hollywood Studios line
The Hollywood Studios line heads due west out of the Caribbean Beach hub. The first part of the line cuts through previously unused slash pine forest, before descending and crossing over the tollbooth entrance to the Hollywood Studios parking lot. The line then crosses through the parking lot before descending into its Hollywood Studios terminus, in between the park entrance and the bus stop.

The ride time for a one-way journey on the Hollywood Studios route is 5 minutes. The line is internally known as THS for Trinidad and Hollywood Studios.

Art of Animation/Pop Century line
The Art of Animation/Pop Century line is the shortest of the three routes. This line heads south from the Caribbean Beach hub towards the Art of Animation and Pop Century resorts. The first half of the line travels over reclaimed swampland. After passing by the Art of Animation Resort's Little Mermaid section and parking lot, the line descends and travels across Hourglass Lake, ending at a terminus on the middle of the lake at the preexisting "Generation Gap Bridge."

A one-way journey on the Pop Century Resort/Art of Animation Resort line takes 4 minutes. The line is internally known as TPD for Trinidad, Pop and DAAR (Disney’s Art of Animation Resort).

Operation
The Disney Skyliner uses the D-Line detachable monocable technology from Doppelmayr. The Austrian company is also the maintenance contractor for the Skyliner. It is only the second D-Line system in the Americas after the Big Sky Resort’s Ramcharger 8, which opened just months before the Skyliner.

The Disney Skyliner begins service up to an hour prior to each park's earliest opening time, and all routes remain open until an hour and a half after each park closing time. Because the Skyliner uses tall metal towers and the cabins can swing on the ropes, the system is closed when lightning is nearby or when strong winds are measured. When this occurs, buses are dispatched to operate over the routes normally served by the Skyliner.

Platforms and stations
Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort station, is the hub of the Disney Skyliner system. The drive wheels for all three lines are located at the station along with parking rails for cabins not in active use.

At the end terminals of each line, most cabins unload their guests at the primary unload platform immediately after decelerating, then turn around before loading guests on primary loading platform on the opposite side. Cars on this loop move slowly but continuously. The Skyliner is only the second aerial lift system in the United States to have such a double loading system after the Quicksilver Super6 at Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado.

For passengers with mobility issues, including those using a wheelchair or other mobility devices, at all stations other than the Rivera Resort, their cabin is routed to a secondary unloading platform where it will remain stationary. The cabin then advances to a secondary loading platform where it will remain stationary while guests board. Cabins then rejoin the main conveyor of gondola cabins. The Disney Skyliner is the only gondola system in North America to include separate stationary loading and unloading platforms at each station.

Cabins
The line has nearly 300 Omega IV model cabins, built by CWA Constructions, a subsidiary of Doppelmayr. Inside, guests sit on twin, inward-facing, wooden benches; strollers measuring 30 x or smaller are able to roll directly into the gondola without having to be folded.

Cabins have indirect LED lighting of the floor and a speaker for announcements and recorded information for passengers, both powered by a battery onboard, which is recharged when in stations. Adding power-intensive air conditioners to each cabin would be unfeasible, so to maintain a comfortable temperature in the tropical climates, the glass on each cabin has reflective glazing and there are numerous windows and vents to create cross ventilation when in motion. When stopped for an extended period, gondolas can get hot and the battery for lighting could be depleted. To address these issues, each cabin has an emergency kit stocked with glow sticks, instant cold packs and water. There are also emergency call boxes in each cabin.

Select Skyliner cabins feature exterior designs with characters from Mickey Mouse, Disney Animation, Pixar, Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy as well as Walt Disney World attractions The Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. With over 250 cabins in operation, each one features onboard audio, which is unique to each of the three routes. Each cabin has wooden bench-style seating that fits a maximum of 10 people, 5 per bench, while strollers that measure up to 30 x can roll directly into the gondolas without being folded; accessible gondolas can accommodate up to 6 people with an open wheelchair or mobility device.

Incidents
During normal operation, the Disney Skyliner can experience full stops of its lines, which are usually reset either immediately or within 20 minutes, depending on the cause of the stop. In extreme circumstances where the system shuts down and cannot restarted, provisions have been made for evacuation. Gravel access roads were built under all over-land portions of the route which can support aerial platform vehicles. For the over-water portion of the route, Disney has a specialized boat to reach the cabins. The Reedy Creek Fire Department has also practiced rappelling from the gondolas.

On October 5, 2019, a gondola became jammed at the Riviera Resort station, just before taking off for Epcot. A subsequent backlog of gondolas ensued and got stuck behind the jammed gondola inside the station. There were no known injuries, but the Epcot line was closed for the remainder of the night.