This line of the Disney Skyliner system opened in September 2019 and has four stations.The last tower next to Epcot International Gateway station.Tower 24.The lift climbs quickly so as to not block a major park entrance.Landscaping around the D-Line terminal.Towers near Epcot.Cabins are 10 passenger Omega IV models.The section of the lift near Epcot is very short.A three section splice tower.View towards the return terminal.One of the angle stations is for turning only rather than loading/unloading.D-Line turn station.A tower with big combo assemblies.The turning angle station.Looking towards Epcot in the BoardWalk resort parking lot.D-Line grip and hanger.Another view of the BoardWalk turn.Towers are very tall in the section between mid-stations.Standard D-Line station in a non-standard environment.View from the mid towards Epcot.Side view of the second angle station.Between the two mid-stations, the line passes over a gas station.Remote forested section of the line.Cabins at significant elevation.The first two towers after Riviera Station.This station services both Riviera and Caribbean Beach resorts.Station with Riviera in the background.New landscaping to match the station theme.Cabins come in a variety of colors.The angle change here is over 90 degrees.Cabins gain significant height over Caribbean Beach Resort.Mega sheave assemblies.Custom station with a building added around.Another view of the first angle station.A cabin approaches Riviera station as another leaves.Tower 6.Tower 7.A tall tower.Cabins crossing Caribbean Beach villas.A partially wrapped cabin.What the Skyliner lacks in vertical it makes up for in height.One of the tallest towers near Caribbean Beach.Tower 4.T3 and the hub building.A tower in the middle section.There is a lot of non-standard equipment on each tower.Cabin parking area.Two towers adjacent to the Trinidad station.View towards Riviera from the gondola hub.All three lines meet here.Towers 1A and 1B.Unloading area.Cabins passing.Over the beach.Another view of tower 6.Riviera seen across a lake.Cabins in the loading area at Trinidad when closed.There are control pedestals at each loading zone.A night view of Trinidad station.Station interior.Loading at the apex is reserved for passengers with disabilities or needing extra time to board.Controls at the regular loading zone.Cabins are only loaded on straight sections as cabins speed up in the turns.Loading area in one direction at Riviera.The turns at Riviera are split into two sections each with a straight section in the middle.A cabin arrives at Trinidad from Riviera and Epcot.Quick gate for the double loading system.Double turnarounds.View towards Caribbean Beach from Trinidad.Cabin storage zone.Another view of the numerous parking rails.Line gauge bullwheel.Wheelchair loading area.Cabin doors open twice at Riviera and close in the middle.Riviera unloading.Epcot International Gateway unloading.Special needs cabins stop twice in most stations.The rear turnaround at Epcot.Dual loading at Trinidad.Big sheaves.Another view of the turn station.Cabins passing through at relatively high speed.There are two very short stub rails here.Rail for one cabin.View behind the Riviera turn station.Towers over the Caribbean Beach Resort.
19 thoughts on “Disney Skyliner TIG – Walt Disney World, FL”
Donald ReifSeptember 29, 2019 / 6:20 pm
The second midstation over the BoardWalk parking lot is due to the line being routed to avoid bisecting World Showcase and also keep backstage areas (mostly) out of sight from guests.
The routing is kind of crazy. The the turn station, you are only 1,750 feet from Hollywood Studios station, yet you end up going almost 10,000 feet to get there. At least those sections are among the most scenic.
Basically, you do a zig-zag if you’re going from Hollywood Studios to Epcot. Of course, even if they did it as a nonstop line between the parks, it would still need to do the turn station to navigate around the Boardwalk Villas.
This is because the system is not designed to take you from Epcot to Hollywood Studios, as they already have a boat system for that. It is meant for Riviera/Caribbean Beach/Pop Century/Art of Animation guests to get to the two parks and eliminate busses. It’s the same reason that the Boardwalk Villas has no stop, as they are already connected to the two parks by boat.
@skitheeast: “as they already have a boat system for that.”
Well, hypothetically, a gondola wouldn’t replace the boat system. This would be no different from how guests parking at the Transportation and Ticket Center can get to the Magic Kingdom by either taking a boat directly across the Seven Seas Lagoon or by taking the monorail.
People are absolutely allowed to use the Skyliner for transport between Epcot and Hollywood Studios. However, the Skyliner was built for the purpose of connecting resorts to the parks so they can charge a premium at these resorts. Hence, the zig-zag pattern in order to get from Epcot to Hollywood Studios.
On a separate note, if Disney is able to successfully increase room rates at the four Skyliner resorts, do not be surprised if the Skyliner is extended to Coronado Springs from the Boardwalk turn station with an additional line.
The turn station reminds me of Red Pine Gondola’s midstation, or the BreckConnect Gondola’s Peak 7 station for the two years before the Peak 7 Base Area opened, for some reason, as far as being a midstation that’s not used for loading or unloading.
I wonder if the turn station between the riviera resort and epcot was designed to eventually become a transfer to a future extension of the disney skyliner system.
If the Boardwalk Villas were a little closer, it would likely be convertible into a station for that resort, but alas there’s a parking lot between the two.
Notice how short it is, They would need to seriously modify it if that were to happen, not to mention the platform would have to be built way up in the air.
Yup, highly likely the turn station ever becomes a boarding station. The geometry and gearing are completely different from Riviera. The entire system is designed never to have anyone loading or unloading on a curve and the the slow parts of the BoardWalk station are entirely curved.
From the Boardwalk it’s a pretty easy walk over to the Epcot International Gateway entrance – that’s a closer and more interesting walk than going out the back way across the parking lot. The Boardwalk is entirely oriented the other way and it’d be about the same distance.
It would’ve been nice if this line continued another leg to the Epcot main entrance so as to provide a direct connection to the monorail (and thus give Boardwalk area guests a way to reach the Magic Kingdom besides the buses and rideshare services), but I also note that the line would have to deal with the backstage areas as well as the Imagination, Soarin’, Land, and Living Seas pavilions being in the way.
Are the angle stations on lifts like these separate haul ropes for each section or is this accomplished by using angled shives to route the haul rope around within the station or are there differences between different manufacturers or model year?
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The second midstation over the BoardWalk parking lot is due to the line being routed to avoid bisecting World Showcase and also keep backstage areas (mostly) out of sight from guests.
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The routing is kind of crazy. The the turn station, you are only 1,750 feet from Hollywood Studios station, yet you end up going almost 10,000 feet to get there. At least those sections are among the most scenic.
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Basically, you do a zig-zag if you’re going from Hollywood Studios to Epcot. Of course, even if they did it as a nonstop line between the parks, it would still need to do the turn station to navigate around the Boardwalk Villas.
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This is because the system is not designed to take you from Epcot to Hollywood Studios, as they already have a boat system for that. It is meant for Riviera/Caribbean Beach/Pop Century/Art of Animation guests to get to the two parks and eliminate busses. It’s the same reason that the Boardwalk Villas has no stop, as they are already connected to the two parks by boat.
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@skitheeast: “as they already have a boat system for that.”
Well, hypothetically, a gondola wouldn’t replace the boat system. This would be no different from how guests parking at the Transportation and Ticket Center can get to the Magic Kingdom by either taking a boat directly across the Seven Seas Lagoon or by taking the monorail.
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People are absolutely allowed to use the Skyliner for transport between Epcot and Hollywood Studios. However, the Skyliner was built for the purpose of connecting resorts to the parks so they can charge a premium at these resorts. Hence, the zig-zag pattern in order to get from Epcot to Hollywood Studios.
On a separate note, if Disney is able to successfully increase room rates at the four Skyliner resorts, do not be surprised if the Skyliner is extended to Coronado Springs from the Boardwalk turn station with an additional line.
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The turn station reminds me of Red Pine Gondola’s midstation, or the BreckConnect Gondola’s Peak 7 station for the two years before the Peak 7 Base Area opened, for some reason, as far as being a midstation that’s not used for loading or unloading.
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And Sunshine Village’s angle station
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I wonder if the turn station between the riviera resort and epcot was designed to eventually become a transfer to a future extension of the disney skyliner system.
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If the Boardwalk Villas were a little closer, it would likely be convertible into a station for that resort, but alas there’s a parking lot between the two.
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Notice how short it is, They would need to seriously modify it if that were to happen, not to mention the platform would have to be built way up in the air.
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Yup, highly likely the turn station ever becomes a boarding station. The geometry and gearing are completely different from Riviera. The entire system is designed never to have anyone loading or unloading on a curve and the the slow parts of the BoardWalk station are entirely curved.
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Caribbean Beach to Epcot:
Epcot to Caribbean Beach:
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From the Boardwalk it’s a pretty easy walk over to the Epcot International Gateway entrance – that’s a closer and more interesting walk than going out the back way across the parking lot. The Boardwalk is entirely oriented the other way and it’d be about the same distance.
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It would’ve been nice if this line continued another leg to the Epcot main entrance so as to provide a direct connection to the monorail (and thus give Boardwalk area guests a way to reach the Magic Kingdom besides the buses and rideshare services), but I also note that the line would have to deal with the backstage areas as well as the Imagination, Soarin’, Land, and Living Seas pavilions being in the way.
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I think the non-loading mid station is really cool because of the angle.
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Peter, The chart says that the lift has been in operation in 2018, but the top subtitle says that it opened in 2019.
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Are the angle stations on lifts like these separate haul ropes for each section or is this accomplished by using angled shives to route the haul rope around within the station or are there differences between different manufacturers or model year?
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This is a very cool D-Line Gondola! Probably one of Doppelmayr’s biggest projects 😂
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