Disney Skyliner: What You Need To Know

I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t super enthusiastic about the Disney Skyliner when it was first announced. It wasn’t the addition of a new mode of transportation or a change to the skyline in some parts of the resort that got me, it was the details. There were 2 details that had me convinced that I’d never step foot on the thing; the lack of air conditioning and the capacity per vehicle. As if those two details weren’t enough, only a short time before my scheduled vacation, the Disney Skyliner suffered a malfunction that left guests stuck for hours. This had me convinced, there was no way I was going to ride that thing. . . . . certainly not so soon after it opened.

Christmas at Walt Disney World has a way of breaking even the strongest among us though! And so after an unsuccessful attempt to do much of anything at a well overcrowded [and yet still not at capacity] park, we did what everyone does at least once during their vacation; we went against our better judgement. . . . . . . and I’m very glad we did!

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Now, I realize that this might seem like a frightening way to start off a discussion like this, but I’m doing it for a reason. Thing is, I’d imagine that there are some of you out there who feel the same way I did. You might be thinking to yourself that dangling above the ground while crammed into a metal box with a bunch of other people seems like a terrible plan. Like I said, I felt the same way too. Everything didn’t turn out the way I expected it to though. So that’s what I’d like to focus this chat on today. I’d like to share some of what were [and still are] my concerns regarding the Disney Skyliner, what my actual experience was and what you can expect if you decide to take a “flight” during your next visit.

What Exactly Is The Skyliner

Let’s start off with the basics. The Disney Skyliner is a mode of Walt Disney World transportation that takes guests, free of charge, to various locations around the Walt Disney World Resort. In a nutshell, the Disney Skyliner is a gondola system where guests board a hanging cart at one of the 5 stations located around the Walt Disney World Resort and then travel along a cable that is suspended, having guests about 60 feet up in the air.

During normal operation, the Disney Skyliner is constantly moving. At the stations, they are slowed down to approximately 1 mph giving guests the ability to enter the vehicles with ease and then increase to about 11 mph while in the air. However, it’s important to note that the Disney Skyliner can be slowed and stopped to accommodate guests who are in wheelchairs or for other reasons.

Where Are The Stations

There are 5 Disney Skyliner Stations at the Walt Disney World Resort. They are located at Epcot’s International Gateway [walking distance from Disney’s Boardwalk and Beach Club Resorts], Disney’s Riviera Resort, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort and Disney’s Pop Century Resort. [Note: There is one station that serves both Art of Animation and Pop Century.] There’s also technically a 6th station, known as the Turn Station, but it’s only used for turning the Skyliner. Guests can not disembark at this station.

How To Get Where You’re Going

The Disney Skyliner has a few different routes or lines that can get guests where they want to go. In other words, you’ll need to decide what your destination is and take the appropriate Skyliner Line to get there. This is not as complicated or time consuming as it might sound. Skyliner stations have clear and easy to understand signage posted to direct you to where you want to go. Cast Members are also available to help guide you to your destination.

With all of the straightforward stuff out of the way, it’s time to get into the more nitty gritty discussions. After all, your burning questions are not likely about where the stations are. Am I right?

Capacity

Remember how at the beginning of today’s chat I mentioned the 2 things that had me not wanting to set foot on the Disney Skyliner? Capacity was one of them. According to Disney, the gondola style Skyliner vehicles have a capacity of 10 people. This means 5 people sitting on each bench. Now, I’d love to tell you how long the benches are, but unfortunately that information doesn’t seem to be anywhere on the internet and I wasn’t carrying my tape measure at the time. That said, though there is likely enough room to accommodate 5 average sized human bodies on either of the Skyliner’s wooden benches, I hesitate to say it would be comfortable. Honestly, I can’t even imagine trying to fit 10 people in one Skyliner vehicle on a hot day. . . let alone what it would be like if the vehicle stopped.

[We’ll get to that in a bit though.]

Though the Disney Skyliner has a max capacity of 10 guests, it seems less than likely that you’ll end up finding yourself in a situation where 10 people are sharing one ride vehicle unless you happen to be traveling in a party of 10. In fact, during our multiple rides on the Disney Skyliner, we only ever shared the vehicle once and it was with another party of 2. Though we were in the same enclosed space, the 4 of us had plenty of room to spread out. I can’t say it wasn’t awkward though. With the way sound travels through the vehicles, it wasn’t really possible to have 2 conversations going at the same time [as we didn’t know the other couple] and so we found ourselves sitting quietly while they went on about whatever it is they were talking about.

Air Conditioning

There is no air conditioning on the Disney Skyliner. . . . . . Yeah. I made that same face when I found out too! Of course, this seems like a poor choice for anything that will be slammed by the Florida sun. However, Disney ensures us that this is not a problem because of the airflow system that they have installed.

The system that Disney is referring is a set of vehicle length windows that can be opened and angled to direct airflow into the vehicle. These windows, coupled with the 11 mph cruising speed of the Skyliner, do a really good job of keeping the air moving. The problem with this system is that when the vehicle is not moving, neither is the air.

Now, during our trips on the Skyliner, we experienced some vehicles with windows open and some without. We also had rides where we were cruising and others when we were at a standstill. We’ve also had the opportunity to ride during various seasons and weather conditions. In our experience, while the Skyliner is moving, there is definitely plenty of airflow to keep guests cool. . . provided the windows are open. However, when the ride vehicles slow or stop it does get hot rather quickly. It can also get pretty hot in there when the Skyliner is moving if the windows are not open.

Unexpected Stops

There are a lot of things that make the Disney Skyliner unique, but one of them is that it’s a [somewhat] continuously moving system. In other words, the vehicles do not come to a full stop to load and unload guests. That doesn’t mean that you are always going to have a delay free ride on the Skyliner though. In fact, it’s not uncommon for the Disney Skyliner to make unexpected stops mid “flight” to accommodate for some guests, such as those in wheelchairs, or for other reasons.

These stops far above the ground in a hanging vehicle can be quite the unique experience. Though the vehicles are very much secure, without forward momentum, they can feel unstable as they swing back and forth from the cable above. On some days this might not seem like much movement, but it can be very unsettling if it’s windy outside.

The lack of movement also means lack of airflow inside the ride vehicle. Regardless the weather conditions and temperature, this can make it feel very stuffy inside the vehicles. It also can get very hot when stopped, as we mentioned above, because of the lack of air flow when the Skyliner is stationary or slow moving.

Whether or not these unexpected stops, with their heat and swaying far above the ground, will be a problem for the people you’re traveling with is something you’ll need to determine before you take your first ride on the Disney Skyliner. I know that there are some people who I thought would struggle being on the Disney Skyliner who turned out to be just fine and others who I anticipated would be fine and don’t want to ever ride the thing again.

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We’ve talked about the basics and the things I think you should really know about the Disney Skyliner. I guess the only thing left to do is give you my opinion. . . . . so here it is!

I think that the Disney Skyliner is a great addition to the Walt Disney World Resort transportation system. Like I said when we first started this discussion, I was really prepared to hate it and I had a lot of apprehension considering some of the malfunctions that it had right there are the beginning, but it turns out that the positive outweighs the negatives in my opinion.

The thing that stands out to me about the Disney Skyliner above everything else is how convenient it has made getting around the Walt Disney World Resort. In particular, how much easier it is for some of the more affordable and out of the way resorts. We’ve talked about Walt Disney World transportation in the past and think that [despite its faults] there are a lot of great ways to get around. But the challenge in some corners of the resort is how inconvenient and crowded it can be to get on a bus or how far and few in-between the buses can be. The Disney Skyliner seems to address this issue. I also really like that the Disney Skyliner gives a really fun and unique experience to more affordable resorts [Caribbean Beach, Pop Century and Art of Animation] that you’d only really get at a deluxe resort.

This all having been said, it’s important to keep in mind that not all that glitters is gold. The Disney Skyliner comes with a long list of problems that guests should be aware of, especially if they’re choosing a hotel along the Skyliner route for their Walt Disney World vacation.

For example, while it is a continuously moving form of transportation, the Disney Skyliner is not immune to the problems other Disney Transportation options face. There are crowds and guests will line up well in advance of when the Skyliner starts running to ensure that they can get where they’re going. There’s also the problem [at some stations] of guests being unable to board, because those who got on at an earlier station are already occupying the Skyliner vehicles. [This is something that guests staying at Disney’s Riviera Resort and heading towards EPCOT are most likely to encounter.]

There’s also the matter of crowding multiple parties, including those with strollers, into one Skyliner vehicle. This is something that we experienced more recently when riding the Disney Skyliner during a busy time of year. While it is understandable that Disney would want to move as many people as possible in one vehicle to keep lines moving, it was very crowded and uncomfortable to be sharing the vehicle with multiple parties and an unfolded stroller. [This is because the benches on either side of the Skyliner vehicles aren’t too far from each other. With just enough space to not sit knee to knee with other guests you might be sharing a vehicle with, adding a stroller into that narrow space meant we had the stroller physically pressing up against our knees/legs the entire “flight”.]

It’s also worth mentioning that the Disney Skyliner vehicles, particularly ones wrapped in fun designs, can be uncomfortable for those who feel claustrophobic during certain times of the day when the sun is rising or setting. This is because the design on the outside acts as a bit of a sun shade and can be hard to see out of under certain conditions, making you feel as though you’re enclosed in this space.

Of course, not everything we discuss here will be a problem or so much as notable for everyone. However, with the Disney Skyliner playing such a large role in the vacations of guests staying along that Skyliner route, we thought that it would be worth outlining so that you know what to expect. Have you ever taken a ride on the Disney Skyliner? Let us know your thoughts and what you think other guests should be aware of in a comment!