Disney Skyliner – Lift Blog

News Roundup: Big Picture

September 13, 2019Peter Landsman5 Comments

Copper’s new lift up Tucker Mountain will be named Three Bears after three members of the Cumming family who founded Powdr Co.
Parks Canada green lights Lake Louise’s new long range plan including nine new lifts.
The Forest Service weighs environmental concerns about Breck’s planned Peak 7 infill lift.
Proposed federal legislation would set aside large swaths of the Wasatch for conservation and limit ski terrain expansion options.
The fixed grip chondola in Illinois still doesn’t have an opening date but progress is ongoing.
Revelstoke Mountain Resort previews the Stellar expansion and introduces a new trail map.
A local TV reporter learns how to operate the Portland Aerial Tram and a Discovery Channel personality plays tram mechanic in Palm Springs.
Wooward Park City, the all-new actions sports park with a Doppelmayr quad chair, will launch November 27th.
Charles Hlavac purchases Teton Pass and plans to reopen as soon as possible under a new name.
Disney bloggers discover the Disney Skyliner cabins feature automated narration. T-minus 16 days!
Stevens Pass will sell 216 chairs from Daisy and Brooks on Thursday, September 19th with proceeds benefiting the Epic Promise Foundation.
Eaglecrest opens a public survey to gauge interest in its gondola proposal and other projects.
Here’s a rundown from the Saddleback community meeting.
Mt. St. Louis Moonstone invests over CAD$6 million on a Leitner-Poma detachable six place lift to replace the Louis Express.
A new lawsuit seeks to block approval of the Squaw-Alpine gondola project.

News Roundup: Convoy

August 30, 2019August 29, 2019Peter Landsman8 Comments

Vail Resorts stalwart Chris Jarnot will depart later this year and the mountain division he leads will be split into three regions.
The latest Epic by Nature episode explores the rise of the Epic Pass and welcoming of a competitor.
Police confirm the Sea to Sky Gondola cable was definitely cut.
The Hermitage may still be sold whole although Lakeland Bank gets the go-ahead to repossess 48 snow guns.
Garaventa is building a one of a kind six pack in Switzerland with 180 degree loading.
The Forest Service anticipates making a decision on Timberline’s Pucci chairlift replacement project in November.
Ikon adds Zermatt Matterhorn, the first European destination and first with a 3S gondola on the pass.
The operator of urban gondolas in Bolivia says the mechanic who died last month did not follow procedures.
The Disney Skyliner may face a strong hurricane less than a month before opening.
Wolf Creek readies the D. Boyce detachable Pomalift for a return to service with a new haul rope.
Granite Gorge and an insurance company settle their lawsuit involving a broken double chairlift.
The Aspen Mountain Pandora’s expansion hits a snag.
Leitner-Poma gears up for a busy next few years with multi-resort, multi-lift contracts and possible urban lifts.

News Roundup: Changing of the Guard

August 16, 2019August 16, 2019Peter Landsman5 Comments

The developer behind Kicking Horse and Jumbo Glacier wants in on the Crystal Mountain reopening.
Disney Skyliner staff will wear custom uniforms that mimic gondola cabins.
The federal government looks to convert Timberline’s bankruptcy case to a Chapter 7 liquidation.
Stevens Pass and Doppelmayr successfully move the Skyline Express bottom terminal to its new home.
Steamboat’s gondola replacement project remains right on schedule.
Aspen Skiing Company raises its minimum wage for all workers to $15 an hour.
A chairlift is planned to be part of a new adventure park in Gilroy, California.
The province of Nova Scotia sells Ski Cape Smokey to a private ownership group with plans to replace an inoperable chairlift.
The former Intrawest executives who own the Sea to Sky Gondola aren’t sure when they will reopen and may delay a planned expansion.
André Lamoureux is set to retire as President of Doppelmayr Canada in October and will be succeeded by Luc Guy.

News Roundup: Companies

July 26, 2019July 26, 2019Peter Landsman5 Comments

All of a sudden, the Aspen Lift One project finds itself in jeopardy.
The City of Branson ends its exclusive agreement with a would-be gondola developer after years of false starts.
Two companies bid to replace the Barrows double at Howelsen Hill in 2020 or 2021.
Disney Skyliner attendants will start at $12 an hour.
Competing resorts comment on the New Hampshire Vail acquisitions as Attitash touts major lift maintenance investments.
A jury decides Wachusett Mountain should pay $3.3 million to the family of a child who was injured in a 30 foot fall from the Polar Express in 2015.
The Placer County Board of Supervisors unanimously approves the California Express gondola project.
Utah Olympic Park breaks ground on the first phase of its major expansion with a second new lift to follow in two to five years.
A study concludes Teton Pass, Montana would need to attract 15,000 visitors annually to reopen as a viable resort.
Big changes are coming to the EB-5 visa program, which some ski areas have used to pay for big ticket improvements in the past.
Timberline’s owners hire an investment bank to sell the ski area.
Berkshire Bank and others slam the latest Hermitage restructuring plan.
TransLink gets serious about building a 3S in metro Vancouver.

Disney Skyliner Launches September 29th

July 15, 2019July 15, 2019Peter Landsman4 Comments

It’s official: the Disney Skyliner gondola network will open Sunday, September 29th. Three lines will connect the Trinidad hub with terminals at Epcot, Pop Century/Art of Animation and Hollywood Studios. The launch falls just one month after the highly anticipated grand opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Hollywood Studios on August 29th.

Recent photos show finishing touches like landscaping and painting underway in advance of the opening.

Disney Skyliner gondolas behind site of new bag check at Epcot International Gateway. pic.twitter.com/uxCY2pnwri

— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) June 29, 2019

Disney Skyliner testing today in the Epcot-Riviera-Caribbean line. Seen previously in the DHS line, seems to be a 24 hrs or longer non-moving load test. pic.twitter.com/Ow54DvkLKN

— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) June 29, 2019

Disney Skyliner passing over expansion of Epcot France for Remy's Ratatouille Adventure. pic.twitter.com/MNEvRxDXro

— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) June 29, 2019

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News Roundup: High Impact

July 12, 2019Peter Landsman5 Comments

Mission Ridge’s replacement of the Liberator Express with a bubble chair from Europe is pushed back to 2020.
Dagmar in Ontario plans to replace its Rendezvous triple with a quad as soon as next summer.
The scheduled foreclosure auction of Granite Gorge is cancelled.
Ghost Town in the Sky, a shuttered chairlift-accessed amusement park in North Carolina, goes back up for sale.
The Indy Pass now includes more North American resorts than both the Ikon and Epic passes.
Boyne Resorts announces a $60 million private debt offering with proceeds to be used for organic growth including “high-impact initiatives” over the next two to three years.
Alpine Media raises $2 million more to install digital screens on more chairlifts.
Mont Orignal plans a second lift as backup for the world’s first detachable six pack.
A Doppelmayr gondola which was delivered to Parral, Mexico in 2016 but never installed may finally get put together.
Despite rumors to the contrary, Disney says there is no Skyliner opening date yet.
The State of California concludes 25-40 mph winds likely caused a grip and communications line to become entangled on the Bayside Skyride at SeaWorld in February.
The United States Department of Justice argues the Hermitage Club’s reorganization plan is being illegally marketed to creditors and members.
Millennium Partners may have abandoned its Boston Seaport Gondola idea.
A chairlift at the Ohio State Fair will sport all new carriers this year due to concerns about the condition of the originals.
Leitner’s fourth 3S system goes into operation in Voss, Norway.

News Roundup: Stay Tuned

June 14, 2019Peter Landsman5 Comments

Vermont sees its best season in four with 4.2 million skier visits.
San Francisco’s Salesforce Transit Center will reopen July 1st and its mini tramway is undergoing testing.
The Hermitage website is back with a reorganization plan posted.
Berkshire Bank calls the Hermitage plan “not feasible” and members are stuck in the middle crowdfunding legal representation.
Leitner-Poma expects 2020 to be as busy as 2018 was after a slightly quieter 2019.
The Disney Skyliner evacuation boat gets a permanent home.
Eaglecrest eyes building a $30+ million adventure park including a gondola replacement for Ptarmigan.
MND Group’s LST division is working on another detachable lift.
Before the Skyliner opens, take a look back at Walt Disney’s original vision for a gondola-connected resort.
Stevens Pass is indeed moving the Skyline Express to make way for two new lifts and is considering even more lift projects in the future.
U.S. ski areas paid record rent to the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management last year.
Arizona Snowbowl is working on a master plan update which will include two new lift projects.

News Roundup: Win-Win

May 31, 2019May 31, 2019Peter Landsman25 Comments

A bill introduced in Congress would allow National Forests to use some of the fees collected from ski resorts to be used to expedite permitting for improvement projects.
Poma will break ground on its first urban 3S in July.
Lookout Pass intends to buy a second Skytrac quad for the Eagle Peak Expansion and relocate Chair 1.
In addition to its Lake replacement project, Owl’s Head decides to also remove the Panorama double without a direct replacement.
Breckenridge proposes building an infill chairlift on Peak 7 to improve skier circulation.
Local electeds vote in support of an urban gondola to Simon Fraser University’s Burnaby Mountain campus.
Retired Riblet double chairs bring in $146,000 for nonprofit organizations surrounding Schweitzer Mountain Resort.
Towers supporting the world’s first eight passenger monocable gondola are history.
This video shows how the Disney Skyliner’s innovative loading works. Every 9th gondola goes to a second turnaround, stopping about 50 seconds for unloading and another 1:10 for loading before rejoining the moving line. Pretty slick!
The Hermitage Club files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing more than 200 creditors. A company called Restructured Opportunity Investors could lend the club up to $1.75 million for restructuring if approved by a bankruptcy court.
Berkshire Bank wants the Hermitage receiver to stay on the job while a different bankruptcy court considers whether to initiate a Chapter 7 liquidation, which at least 187 club members now support.
At Smugglers’ Notch, hundreds of trout take a spin up Sterling to their new home in Vermont’s highest pond.
A Dutch-American joint venture proposes building an indoor snow park on a Northern Virginia landfill serviced by a two stage gondola.
It sure looks like the Skyline Express is moving as part of the Brooks/Daisy replacement project at Stevens Pass.
The haul rope is up on the Bretton Woods Skyway.
Construction is well underway on Jackson Hole’s 10th chairlift.

News Roundup: Skier Days

May 24, 2019May 25, 2019Peter Landsman1 Comment

After missing last season, Mt. Timothy gears up to reopen under new ownership.
Tariffs on imported Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum are history as of last weekend.
The “Balsams Bill” becomes law in New Hampshire.
Creditors seek an involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy of the Hermitage Club.
Jackson Hole wants to increase clearance under the aerial tramway for big snow years.
The first indoor chairlift in America should finally open this fall in New Jersey.
Utah crushes its previous skier visit record, hosting more than five million skiers for the first time in history.
Jay Peak and Burke Mountain’s former owner and ex-CEO are indicted by a federal grand jury on 14 counts.
As of April 30th, 26 potential Jay Peak buyers had signed non-disclosure agreements. The resort says revenue was up 4 percent this season, skier visits increased 3.5 percent and room nights shot up 11 percent.
Burke Mountain is still losing money but revenue increased by 26 percent this season, skier visits were up 20 percent and room nights 47 percent.
With the Forest Service’s blessing, Ski Cooper embarks on adding 71 acres and a Leitner-Poma T-Bar for next season.
The Poma-built urban cable car in the Dominican Republic capital transported over four million passengers in its first year.
Mexico City’s transportation authority rejects all three Cablebus bids from Leitner, Bartholet and Doppelmayr.
A Loveland, Colorado developer still wants to build a gondola as part of an amusement complex.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority selects Elon Musk’s Boring Company to build a new people mover over Doppelmayr.
Still no opening date for the Disney Skyliner but gondola merchandise has arrived.
In a few years, you may be able to ride twin tramways between Russia and China with immigration and customs facilities at each end.

First Disney Skyliner Cabins Revealed

May 19, 2019May 19, 2019Peter Landsman9 Comments

It's a colorful morning at Disney's Hollywood Studios! Check out 40+ photos of EVERY Disney Skyliner character gondola out on the lines! https://t.co/PzLm8ZoJdZ pic.twitter.com/PO3xm7SwYh

— BlogMickey.com (@Blog_Mickey) May 9, 2019

In addition to becoming one of the most-ridden gondola systems when it opens this fall, we now know the Disney Skyliner will also be among the most colorful. After nearly two years of construction, cabins are finally out and about on all three new gondola lines spanning Walt Disney World Resort.

Disney Skyliner gondolas in testing are unwrapped. Others in storage still in protective white plastic. pic.twitter.com/pWKJQ7oqea

— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) May 18, 2019

The cabins crisscross between the world’s seventh and ninth most-visited theme parks plus four resort hotels. Last week, Disney and Doppelmayr removed protective covers from 55 cabins that will service Hollywood Studios, revealing a cornucopia of colors and characters.

BREAKING: First Disney Skyliner Character Gondola Uncovered at Disney’s Hollywood Studios https://t.co/LQfW3oUKKs pic.twitter.com/QbiFhYQFGX

— BlogMickey.com (@Blog_Mickey) May 5, 2019

Stitch making mischief on a Disney Skyliner gondola. pic.twitter.com/Rq4ORaYhim

— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) May 19, 2019

There are eight core colors including multiple shades of blue and red. Some cabins are monotone while others feature Disney icons from across nine decades. Beauty and the Beast, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars, Toy Story and Winnie the Pooh are just some of the storied franchises highlighted on gondolas.

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