VIDEO - Take a complete first ride aboard Disney Skyliner on all three routes

Sep 23, 2019 in "Disney Skyliner"

Gallery / 16 Photos
Disney Skyliner preview

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Posted: Monday September 23, 2019 11:23am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney Skyliner opens next week at Walt Disney World, and we got a sneak preview of the new gondola transportation system on all three lines.

Caribbean Beach station

The hub of the system is at Caribbean Beach Resort, and the station there allows access to all three destination - Hollywood Studios, Epcot/ Riviera Resort, and Art of Animation/Pop Century. The station features a Joffrey kiosk, along with restrooms.

A wide view of the main Skyliner connecting station at Caribbean Beach Resort

Skyliner station at Caribbean Beach Resort - Art of Animation line

Skyliner station at Caribbean Beach Resort - Epcot line

Caribbean Beach station signage

Boarding the gondolas is fast - with the continuous loading operating similar to an omnimover ride like Spaceship Earth. Once onboard, the ride is very smooth and stable, and is a very enjoyable experience. Inside the 10 seater cabin, there is no air conditioning, but significant airflow during forward motion combined with insulated glass eliminates any temperature concerns. It feels cooler inside the cabin that it does outside.

Disney Skyliner seating

Although the character wrapped gondolas look great from the outside, the wraps do impact the view, and the clear glass cabins offer the best views.

There is onboard audio, offering safety information and points of interest. Although this was not working in all cabins during the preview today.

Here is a look at the 5 minute ride from the main Caribbean Beach station to Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Next is the 12 minute ride from Epcot to the Caribbean Beach Resort station.

Finally the 3 minute ride from the Caribbean Beach station to Art of Animation and Pop Century.

Click the gallery for more pictures from the Disney Skyliner previews.

Disney Skyliner opens to guests on September 29 2019. Learn more about Disney Skyliner here.

Disney Skyliner preview

Discuss on the Forums

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TrainsOfDisneySep 18, 2023

Wrap presents not transportation!!!!!

arich35Sep 18, 2023

I am surprised they haven't announced the annual maintenance yet

UnbansheeSep 18, 2023

Blogmickey posted photos of the Encanto Skyliner design https://blogmickey.com/2023/09/encanto-disney-skyliner-gondola-wrap-debuts-at-disney-world/

Thumper 32Sep 08, 2023

Quite happy to be proven wrong! That looks great!!

DCBakerSep 08, 2023

Photos of the Coco bus.

DisoneAug 22, 2023

Although it'll be the fair I've been in that line when it has backed up from the Epcot station to the beach club. And it was about a half hour long. And I've definitely waited 45 minutes in a much shorter line. Bus line It was shorter physically, but longer wait time. Mine was long enough for about three bus loads,. Buses were coming pretty quickly but they were still about 15 or 10 minutes in between buses plus 5 to minutes or so just to the load the bus.

TrainsOfDisneyAug 22, 2023

that is the downside - it’s great for a constant flow of moderate crowds, but it backs up quickly with large crowds. I saw the same thing in Icy Straight Point Alaska, I had planned to take one of the aerial trams back to my ship, but another ship had just arrived so the line was backed up so I had to walk back to the other dock. It’s the exact same system.

UNCgolfAug 22, 2023

That is definitely another big issue, although it ties in with the speed/efficiency issue and that's far from the only problem along those lines.

CastAStoneAug 22, 2023

IMO the big issue (as has been noted dozens of times in this thread) with expansion is that the CBR main station is already at/over capacity at peak hours and the park stations are past capacity at park close.

Tha RealestAug 22, 2023

Long wait times, unreliable in rainy weather, most optimized by the guests willing to pay more than others - yeah, it’s a an attraction.

UNCgolfAug 22, 2023

It's strange. I just looked at Disney's site and for some dates CBR is more and other dates POR is more. In October, e.g., the CBR rooms are about $10 more than the POR rooms, but in January 2024 every room at POR is $15-30 more than the counterpart at CBR -- except the preferred rooms, which are still $10 more at CBR even though everything else is cheaper.

UNCgolfAug 22, 2023

I was looking at Mouse Savers -- they have the 2023 rack rates at POR higher than CBR for most dates, but obviously Disney's website is the best source.

mattpetoAug 22, 2023

I don’t believe that’s accurate. CB has been more expensive since the skyliner.

DisneyFanatic12Aug 22, 2023

That’s true, they couldn’t do any “through” stations like at Riviera, because that causes the line to slow down a lot (at the other stations, the stationary boarding area allows the line to almost never have to slow down). Even if the line never slowed down, though, Coronado Springs to Disney Springs would take a crazy long time. I do think something like a loop to AK and it’s surrounding resorts could be doable, but it would be hard to make a line without having one for every resort (not laid out as well for a Skyliner line). I wish we could walk to AK from AKL, because it’s just silly how close it is to have a lack of direct access… at this point I don’t even need a pretty trail in the trees, just a sidewalk along the road would work!