SKYLINER OPENS SEPT 29th

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

14 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

OK, you've seen the videos and heard the reviews of the Pixie Dust pumpers, but here's the truth: the TCD gang likes the Skyliner. The twins and I got to ride it during a castmember preview last night. 

For the previews, they have you park in the DHS lot and head to the station. Our arrival time was 7 pm, so the sun was setting, and it was in the high 80s with low humidity when we arrived. That helped a lot. 

The first thing we noticed was the queue isn't very big. Guests were overflowing out of the queue, so we wondered if they goofed on that. But the next thing we noticed is how fast the line moved. As advertised, the Skyliner cars never stopped, and the line moved steadily right up until we boarded. That was good. 

The next thing we noticed is the Skyliner cars are much bigger than they look from the ground. When I heard the capacity was 10 guests per car, I figured that would be with half the guests standing.  But, there's plenty of room for 10 with two facing benches that can easily seat 5 guests each. Signs in the cabin suggest that guests should remain seated. 

Another observation- there are a lot of the decorated wrapped cars- I thought there would be more unwrapped, but that was not the case. It is easier to get a wrapped car than not. 

For our first ride, we took off immediately, and what they say is true- there's great air circulation when the car is moving. As I said, the sun was going down, and it was a pleasant evening, so we were comfortable. But as others have noted, I don't think that would have been the case if the sun was beating down or the temperature and humidity were higher. As I have suspected all along, the term "passive cooling" is a lie. Passive cooling is no different than rolling down the windows in a car without air conditioning. It feels cooler when the car is moving, but the temperature and humidity inside the car is never going to be lower than outside. 

On our very first ride, we stopped for about 45 seconds over Buena Vista Blvd, and the cabin instantly became stuffy.  Also, we were so high at that point that I can't see how they would be able to evacuate guests from the cars there if there was ever a need.

One thing that I hadn't understood up until our ride was how the different routes for the Skyliner work.  It's actually simple, but not very convenient.  The Skyliner only goes to one place from DHS-the Caribbean Beach Resort station.  When you get there, you have to get off.  From that station, you can get in a new line to take the Pop Century/ Art of Animation route, or the Riveria Resort/Epcot route.  The lines move fast, but you do have to exit and change cars.  The Pop/AoA line is a straight shot and takes you to the bridge in Hourglass Lake. That's a great location for guests.  Same deal there- you can't stay in the car- everyone has to get out and get in line to reboard to ride back to the CBR station.

i didn't realize that the Riveria Resort has its own stop, but it does.  They let guests stay in the cars there for the previews, but I wonder if that will still be true when the resort opens. From there, you head to Epcot, with a turn at Boardwalk, and then arriving at the International Gateway station.  Same deal there- no round trips- get out and reboard.

All the line segments mean this is not the most efficient way to park hop, but it's great do the Riveria guests who have a straight shot to and from Epcot, and the CBR guests who get a straight shot to DHS.  Not so great for anyone else.

Bottom line, the Skyliner is nice and fun, but probably not during the day in the summer.

TCD

Thanks for the review.  Wow... so much for my paranoid mind to consider.  LOL     

Will it stop and you'll die of heat exhaustion?  Will it break down and (if so), how the heck will they get you out of there?  Mercy.

We may just observe these, from the ground 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

52 minutes ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Thanks for the review.  Wow... so much for my paranoid mind to consider.  LOL     

Will it stop and you'll die of heat exhaustion?  Will it break down and (if so), how the heck will they get you out of there?  Mercy.

We may just observe these, from the ground 

There is one more danger I forgot to mention. The cars move surprisingly fast as they enter the station, and it seems like they just stop in the nick of time to avoid hitting the car in front. Braking mechanisms break. It's only a matter of time. 

TCD

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

54 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

There is one more danger I forgot to mention. The cars move surprisingly fast as they enter the station, and it seems like they just stop in the nick of time to avoid hitting the car in front. Braking mechanisms break. It's only a matter of time. 

TCD

Oh good grief... quick, let me jump on one.   LOL

[LONE-STAR 370]

I will ride it in the winter, but there ain't no way I would risk getting stuck in the summer time.

[Duane 152]

Andrew,

Since you have ridden in one of these things, what is your impression of what may happen during one of the many summer downpours, high wind events and/or thunderstorms?  Could/would rain have a way of blowing into the cabs?

I know they will try to suspend operations as best they can in extreme events, but I don't think the ones who are "out on the line" in between stations will fare too well...

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

Just saw a news story that listed this information.

WDW Transportation is the largest privately owned system in the World and moves up to 350,000 in 24hrs on the following:

300 gondola cars

423 buses

 61 mini vans

 30 parking lot trams

 29 watercraft

12 monorail trains.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

1 hour ago, Duane said:

Andrew,

Since you have ridden in one of these things, what is your impression of what may happen during one of the many summer downpours, high wind events and/or thunderstorms?  Could/would rain have a way of blowing into the cabs?

I know they will try to suspend operations as best they can in extreme events, but I don't think the ones who are "out on the line" in between stations will fare too well...

Good question. There are a lot of louvres in use for the ventilation system. I didn't see any controls inside the cabin to adjust those. The way rain blows in typical summer storms, I think there's no way that those cabins will stay dry. 

I also can't believe that they will run these things when there's lightning in the area. And that's nearly a daily phenomenon in the summer. 

I don't think it's a coincidence that they waited until October before opening the Skyliner. The weather shouldn't cause any major problems for the next 8 months or so. But, when June gets here look out.

TCD

[LONE-STAR 370]

1 hour ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Good question. There are a lot of louvres in use for the ventilation system. I didn't see any controls inside the cabin to adjust those. The way rain blows in typical summer storms, I think there's no way that those cabins will stay dry. 

I also can't believe that they will run these things when there's lightning in the area. And that's nearly a daily phenomenon in the summer. 

I don't think it's a coincidence that they waited until October before opening the Skyliner. The weather shouldn't cause any major problems for the next 8 months or so. But, when June gets here look out.

TCD

 I thought the same thing about why they picked this time of year to open it 

[Breezy2 18]

Perhaps it will become a "seasonal" mode of transportation and only be used in the fall and winter. Mother Nature will make that decision for them-LOL. Thanks for the great review, TCD!  There must not have been anyone on the design team that drove around Orlando in August with their car windows down and air conditioner turned off to enjoy the real experience of heat, humidity, wind and rain blowing thru their hair. Another missed opportunity to excel at something that had the potential to WOW guests rather than having them wipe sweat off their brows and be miserable. Just another perfect example of Disney's total disregard of the fact that Orlando is NOT California and not thinking it through. A reality check is going to happen real fast on this one.

 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

4 hours ago, Breezy2 said:

Perhaps it will become a "seasonal" mode of transportation and only be used in the fall and winter. Mother Nature will make that decision for them-LOL. Thanks for the great review, TCD!  There must not have been anyone on the design team that drove around Orlando in August with their car windows down and air conditioner turned off to enjoy the real experience of heat, humidity, wind and rain blowing thru their hair. Another missed opportunity to excel at something that had the potential to WOW guests rather than having them wipe sweat off their brows and be miserable. Just another perfect example of Disney's total disregard of the fact that Orlando is NOT California and not thinking it through. A reality check is going to happen real fast on this one.

 

I can't see them not running in the summer. There will be challenges, but they run the MK train, the resort boats in Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon, the Animal Kingdom safari vehicles and the monorails in the summer, and none of them have air conditioning.  The only problem I see with the Skyliner would be if you had to stop for a prolonged time in direct sunlight.

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

On 9/26/2019 at 1:22 PM, twiceblessed....nacole said:

We may just observe these, from the ground 

I'll be on the ground beside of you!

[Beckers 1,136]

32 minutes ago, CCIntrigue...aka Gwen said:

I'll be on the ground beside of you!

Party on the ground 😂

[Travisma 1,317]

15 hours ago, Breezy2 said:

Perhaps it will become a "seasonal" mode of transportation and only be used in the fall and winter. Mother Nature will make that decision for them-LOL. Thanks for the great review, TCD!  There must not have been anyone on the design team that drove around Orlando in August with their car windows down and air conditioner turned off to enjoy the real experience of heat, humidity, wind and rain blowing thru their hair. Another missed opportunity to excel at something that had the potential to WOW guests rather than having them wipe sweat off their brows and be miserable. Just another perfect example of Disney's total disregard of the fact that Orlando is NOT California and not thinking it through. A reality check is going to happen real fast on this one.

 

Florida is another animal all together.  I think the Legoland builders missed that aspect also.  Within a year the brick displays they built were already fading, especially the red bricks that quickly turned pink.

The sun and weather in FL creates different issues than in other parts of the country.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

20 hours ago, CCIntrigue...aka Gwen said:

I'll be on the ground beside of you!

 

20 hours ago, Beckers said:

Party on the ground 😂

 

Sounds good!  GG at the bottom of the Skyliner 

[Ivy 36]

On 9/28/2019 at 11:38 AM, Tri-Circle-D said:

I can't see them not running in the summer. There will be challenges, but they run the MK train, the resort boats in Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon, the Animal Kingdom safari vehicles and the monorails in the summer, and none of them have air conditioning.  The only problem I see with the Skyliner would be if you had to stop for a prolonged time in direct sunlight.

TCD

Thanks, TCD for your review!  

If it is a short ride, it may not be too bad riding in the summer. But being stopped for a long period of time would be not be pleasant. I will be interested to see how often they get stopped and for how long.

[Beckers 1,136]

One of the people I follow on IG was stopped this morning for about 15 mins. They said there was a breeze so it wasn’t bad but it was also like 7:30 in the morning.

[Duane 152]

On 9/28/2019 at 11:38 AM, Tri-Circle-D said:

I can't see them not running in the summer. There will be challenges, but they run the MK train, the resort boats in Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon, the Animal Kingdom safari vehicles and the monorails in the summer, and none of them have air conditioning.  The only problem I see with the Skyliner would be if you had to stop for a prolonged time in direct sunlight.

TCD

"Re-imagined" revenue stream...  Disney can up-sell those squirt/fan water bottles just before the loading areas.  Turn it into a new souvenir.  The water bottle part can look like the cab with the trigger/fan part on the top!  Charge $25.00 a piece and call it a day!

[Travisma 1,317]

On 9/24/2019 at 3:15 PM, Beckers said:

Been watching the video and reading reviews. They say as soon as it slows down or stops it’s instantly and oven 😬

 But when it’s moving it’s not too bad.  There’s also emergency kit with water and snacks underneath one of the benches in case it gets stuck for half an hour or longer 

WDW News posted a picture that a reader sent to them of an opened emergency box.

According the the reader there are packs (not bottles) of drinking water, a glow stick, a notebook (no mention of a pen/pencil) and waste disposal bags.  Maybe the TP is in the bag?

No mention of snacks?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

For what it's worth we rode the Skyliner from Epcot to DHS last night on opening night. We left Epcot right after Illuminations. The crowd was very heavy because it was the second to last Illuminations performance. The line to board the Skyliner was LONG, but it moved constantly at a quick pace. It took us 20 minutes before we boarded, and 41 minutes total before arriving at DHS, and that's with a six to seven minute stop we encountered right after boarding. Total transportation time wasn't bad- quicker than the boat that time of night, but these stops in the air are a problem. From our limited experience, these stoppages happen frequently. I don't know what the issue is, but I suspect it's guests who can't get in and out of the cars in the time allotted at the transfer stations, which results in the whole line being shut down and a delay in restarting.  That's going to be a continuing problem.

TCD

[Travisma 1,317]

3 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

For what it's worth we rode the Skyliner from Epcot to DHS last night on opening night. We left Epcot right after Illuminations. The crowd was very heavy because it was the second to last Illuminations performance. The line to board the Skyliner was LONG, but it moved constantly at a quick pace. It took us 20 minutes before we boarded, and 41 minutes total before arriving at DHS, and that's with a six to seven minute stop we encountered right after boarding. Total transportation time wasn't bad- quicker than the boat that time of night, but these stops in the air are a problem. From our limited experience, these stoppages happen frequently. I don't know what the issue is, but I suspect it's guests who can't get in and out of the cars in the time allotted at the transfer stations, which results in the whole line being shut down and a delay in restarting.  That's going to be a continuing problem.

TCD

With the amount of people that are too important to follow rules (have strollers folded before boarding the bus, the tram is departing stay behind the yellow line, etc.) I think your observation is spot on.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

1 hour ago, Travisma said:

With the amount of people that are too important to follow rules (have strollers folded before boarding the bus, the tram is departing stay behind the yellow line, etc.) I think your observation is spot on.

Yeah. Regulation sized single strollers can be wheeled right on, but the rule breakers with their giant strollers have to unload their precious cargo and fold their strollers, and while one parent drags the giant folded stroller on board, the other has to herd a kid who doesn't have much practice walking into a car. And that's if there's two parents available. Single parents and families with multiple young ones are going to have a problem getting everyone on board and seated in the few seconds you have to do so.  

But no worries, the people holding things up aren't dangling in a square metal cube with no circulation. So they can take their sweet time  

TCD

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Like everyone keeps saying, in the cooler months delays will not be a problem but come the hot months and it will be a different story. 

Can you imagine being stuck in the air in a hotpod with a screaming kid, yeah no thanks. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

1 hour ago, Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie said:

Can you imagine being stuck in the air in a hotpod with a screaming kid, yeah no thanks. 

Been there done that. When its busy, they load 8-10 guests in each car, so you get to ride in a confined space with strangers. There's no music or engine noise so there are no private conversations. On one of our rides we got to witness some horrible parenting with a mom saying horrible things to her little 3-4 year old boy who was justifiably antsy, and the hen pecked dad sitting there and pretending nothing was wrong. On another ride we got to hear a 40 year old man mansplain everything about the changes coming to Epcot, the Riveria Resort and the Skyliner. I thought the twins' eyes would roll out of their heads- this guy got so much wrong. They got a huge laugh out of him. On yet another ride, a 60+ year old dude answered his flip phone and had a 10 minute conversation with an equally hard of hearing buddy. We all loved that. 

TCD

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

2 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Been there done that. When its busy, they load 8-10 guests in each car, so you get to ride in a confined space with strangers. There's no music or engine noise so there are no private conversations. On one of our rides we got to witness some horrible parenting with a mom saying horrible things to her little 3-4 year old boy who was justifiably antsy, and the hen pecked dad sitting there and pretending nothing was wrong. On another ride we got to hear a 40 year old man mansplain everything about the changes coming to Epcot, the Riveria Resort and the Skyliner. I thought the twins' eyes would roll out of their heads- this guy got so much wrong. They got a huge laugh out of him. On yet another ride, a 60+ year old dude answered his flip phone and had a 10 minute conversation with an equally hard of hearing buddy. We all loved that. 

TCD

Classic 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Travisma 1,317]

13 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Been there done that. When its busy, they load 8-10 guests in each car, so you get to ride in a confined space with strangers. There's no music or engine noise so there are no private conversations. On one of our rides we got to witness some horrible parenting with a mom saying horrible things to her little 3-4 year old boy who was justifiably antsy, and the hen pecked dad sitting there and pretending nothing was wrong. On another ride we got to hear a 40 year old man mansplain everything about the changes coming to Epcot, the Riveria Resort and the Skyliner. I thought the twins' eyes would roll out of their heads- this guy got so much wrong. They got a huge laugh out of him. On yet another ride, a 60+ year old dude answered his flip phone and had a 10 minute conversation with an equally hard of hearing buddy. We all loved that. 

TCD

Correct me if I'm wrong, but there is no electric in the cars, so no lights at night?

Also I saw a picture of an emergency call button/intercom?  Battery operated and two way radio?