Viewing Disney from 60 ft. up
Disney Skyliner system of 300 gondolas to open this fall.
Disney World’s monorails of the air were gliding smoothly Tuesday above a scenic lake separating two hotels.
Soon the Disney Skyliner system of 300 gondolas, opening to the public later this fall, will carry enough Disney-goers to roughly match the capacity of its monorail trains, company officials said.
“Our vision is, this is the most magical flight on Earth,” said Dean Huspen, a principal architect with Walt Disney Imagineering.
Disney leaders gave a construction
update Tuesday on the gondolas, which are in testing. All but one was covered in plastic, protecting them like a new car. They will gradually be unveiled starting around May to show off the eight bright colors and 22 Disney characters themes.
But don’t expect to catch a ride anytime soon.
By August, Disney employees could be among the first passengers during the testing process that will run for months around-the-clock.
Running on more than six miles of cable, the gondolas will
travel about 11 mph, giving passengers a bird’s eye view of Walt Disney World Resort’s lakes, roads, woods and into Epcot and Hollywood Studios. The typical ride will last between five to 15 minutes as gondolas fly from 15 feet up to about 60 feet in the air.
“They are fabulous views,” said Thomas Mazloum, a Disney senior vice president who oversees transportation and resorts, who said the ride will feel much faster than 11 mph.
Inside a gondola, twin wooden benches can carry up to 10 people.
On social media, some theme park followers have criticized the lack of air conditioning in the gondolas.
But Mazloum argued the ride is “absolutely comfortable.”
“We have specifically designed them with the Florida climate in mind,” he said, pointing to reflective windows that block out the sunlight and the mesh screens on both sides to bring in a breeze.
At the stations, gondolas will pull in, constantly moving, for guests to climb on. Disney will have the capacity to pause the gondolas for people in wheelchairs and those who need extra time to board.
Some cabins will be decorated in plain colors, like a vibrant teal or purple, while the other gondolas feature characters from Disney movies and attractions.
On Tuesday, Disney showed off a red gondola with images of Pluto and the chipmunks Chip ‘n Dale.
Huspen’s favorite is an orange cabin decorated from characters in the 2017 movie “Coco.”
“They all have their own personality,” he said.