Disney’s Skyliner Now Has An Opening Date!

Hey Disney Moms!

Hold on to your Minnie ears, because Disney has finally announced the opening date for their latest transportation project at The Walt Disney World Resort: Disney’s Skyliner Gondola system!

The Skyliner cars will officially take to the skies on September 29, 2019!

*Note: The Riviera Skyliner Station will open on December 16, 2019 (which is the same as the resort’s opening date).

I know a lot of guests are already looking forward to using this new mode of transportation, but I think one of the coolest things about the Skyliner is that you can actually take to the skies with your favorite Disney characters.

What is the Disney Skyliner?

The Disney Skyliner is an upcoming gondola system that will have 6 stations between the resorts and theme parks in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. There will be more than 300 gondolas in the Disney Skyliner fleet and they will travel at heights of up to 60ft. It is said that they will have a cruising speed of 11mph and will slow down to about 1mph when arriving at the station and people are exiting and loading.

Plans for the gondola system were originally announced on July 15, 2017 at D23 Expo.

The Skyliner was designed by the Doppelmayr Garaventa Group, an Austrian company that manufactures chairlifts, gondolas and cable cars for ski resorts and amusement parks.

It will connect Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot to the following Resort hotels: Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, Disney’s Pop Century Resort, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort as well as Disney’s *NEW* Riviera Resort.

Guests will also be able to enjoy a gondola ride to the following restaurants: Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, Disney’s Beach Club Resort and Disney’s BoardWalk Inn.

As far as designs, there are going to be 2 types of Skyliner gondola cabins – ones with solid colors, and the other with the Disney characters on them.

Check these Skyliner cars out – featuring Frozen and Beauty and The Beast:

How Many People Can Fit Inside a Disney’s Skyliner Car?

Disney has confirmed that each car can hold 10 passengers, and there will be twin wooden benches. The gondolas will also be able to transport passengers in wheelchairs.

Will The Disney Skyliner Have Air-Conditioning?

Disney has confirmed that the Skyliner will NOT have air conditioning. However, it does look like there will be significant airflow through them.

Disney Skyliner Map and Travel Times

Here is the proposed Skyliner map released by Disney – and it looks like quite the system! Furthermore, it should provide some amazing bird’s-eye views of Disney’s property.

Approximate Disney Skyliner Travel Times:

Resort to Resort:

• Caribbean Beach Resort to Disney’s Riviera Resort: ~ 5 minutes

• Caribbean Beach Resort to Disney’s Art of Animation & Pop Century Resort: ~ 6 minutes

Resort to Epcot:

• Disney’s Riviera Resort to Epcot: ~ 9 minutes

• Caribbean Beach Resort to Epcot: ~ 15 minutes

Resort to Hollywood Studios:

• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort to Disney’s Hollywood Studios: ~ 5 minutes

Disney’s Skyliner Station Locations:

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
The Caribbean Beach Resort station is near the ‘Jamaica’ section of the resort.

Art of Animation Resort/Pop Century Resort
On the bridge across Hourglass Lake.

Disney’s Riviera Resort
The Riviera Resort station is on west end of the resort (adjacent to the Aruba section of Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort).

Epcot
Epcot’s Skyliner station will be outside the park at the International Gateway entrance (between France and United Kingdom pavilions in World Showcase).

Disney’s Hollywood Studios
The Hollywood Studios station will be outside the park next to the existing Bus Stop.

Disney’s Skyliner Concept Art

Here is a collection of concept art released by Disney, which shows examples of the resort stations:

Art of Animation Station:

Caribbean Beach Station:

Hollywood Studios Station:

Disney’s Riviera Resort Station:

Disney has also just released a video via YouTube giving an update on progress.

 

What do you think of the Disney Skyliner? Do you think you and your family will use it? Let us know in the comments below.