REVIEW: The Magic in the Sky: Disney Skyliner

Disney Reviews 9

Travel by aerial gondola for a bird’s-eye view of various locations around Walt Disney World Resort!

The clock at Gondola Hub
Disney Skyliner at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

Disney is opening up its Disney Skyliner on September 29, 2019. Guests can discover this incredible new way to travel around Walt Disney World Resort! We were able to get a preview of it!

DHS Gondola Hub
Disney’s Hollywood Studios

It was 92 degrees outside with a humidity of 38%. This is low humidity for Florida. In the middle of summer it might get intense for Guests.

Each cabin has a maximum capacity of 10 people. You must be seated; there is no standing. It’s surprisingly roomier than what it looks like from the outside. Most gondolas are wrapped in Disney characters. It was fun having my kids guess which one we would get (kind of like which monorail color). Some gondolas were not wrapped; I’m not sure why.

We entered the gondola with 2 adults, 3 kids and a stroller. We did not have to fold up the stroller. ???? With an unfolded stroller and all of us inside, there was still room for at most 4 other adults.

Take Off

View at take off from DHS
View of the take off from DHS to CBR.

When not moving, the cabin maintains the same temperature as the outside; however, once you’re moving there is a constant breeze throughout and it’s quite enjoyable. Inside there is an emergency call box for your safety. Let’s hope this never gets pushed! ????

Emergency Call Box in the Gondola

Travel Times

These do not include any unplanned stops along the way for loading/unloading guests.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios ????Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
~6 minutes

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort ???? Disney’s Art of Animation/ Pop Century
~6 minutes

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort ????Disney’s Riviera Resort
~4 minutes

Disney’s Riviera Resort ???? Epcot
~10 minutes

On our travels from CBR to Epcot, we were stopped for a total of 10 minutes; most of which was stop-and-go. When we were stopped, the sun was beating down on the cabin and there was no airflow. Needless to say, I started to get a nice glisten on my face. ????

Epcot Hub which goes to Disney’s Riviera Resort

Best Resort for the Gondolas

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is the best place to stay because from there you can go to Epcot (with a slow stop at DRR) or Disney’s Hollywood Studios without stopping off.

Disney’s Riviera Resort is the second-best. It the closest to Epcot, but you have to stop off at CBR before going to DHS.

If you stay at Art of Animation/Pop Century, you will have to stop off at CBR before going to DHS or Epcot.

Bathrooms at CBR

For those interested about bathrooms, here are a couple pictures of the men’s bathroom at the CBR hub.

Bathrooms at CBR Gondola Hub
Bathrooms at CBR Gondola Hub

Overall

I have mixed feelings about the Gondolas. I’ll sort them into pros and cons.

PROS

  • Helps with the crowds.
  • Quicker than waiting for buses if staying at DRR, CBR, AOA or Pop.
  • Fun to see Disney property from an aerial view.
  • Can be perceived as an attraction like the monorail.

CONS

  • Can get hot when making an unplanned stop.
  • Can see back stage in some spots where you really shouldn’t.

We will see how the gondolas do when they officially open on September 29, 2019.

By steve
Steve is the founder and administrator of D-COT. If anything breaks on the site, @TheSwedishChef is the founder and administrator.

9 Comments

  1. Seeing backstage is definitely a pro. Always

    • Way to ruin the magic. :P

      • You can still see it and appreciate it the same way one does in the parks. I’ve seen many a backstage areas and it hasn’t ruined Disney for me one bit :)

        • You listen to me! LOL I’m just kidding around. However, seeing backstage does affect Guests differently. I’m glad you’re OK with it. :D

          • I’m one of those people who would prefer NOT to see how the magic is made. It’s one thing if you can’t really see anything, like when we were evacuated from POTC and walked behind the Jungle Cruise, but it’s something different when you can like the Rip Ride Rockit storage area when you go backstage during Halloween Horror Nights

  2. Well at least we don’t have to worry about the snow in December :snow: :olaf:

  3. Thanks for the review! :) I have a couple questions:

    1. If I’m understanding this correctly, you have to get off and switch routes most of the time, correct? When I stay at Pop in January, I can’t go from Pop to Epcot, I’d have to go Pop –> CBR –> Epcot, right? Only CBR has direct park routes?

    2. If the weather is kinda chilly, would it be cold in there? I know FL’s mostly pretty hot but on our last trip in October there was a cold front where the lows were in the 40s and the highs were in the 50s-60s. 60s sounds pretty nice but if there’s a strong breeze maybe it would feel cold

    3. Why do they keep stopping? I feel like that’s a dumb question but I don’t know the answer LOL

    • 1. Correct. You cannot go from Pop to Ecpot without getting off at CBR. CBR has direct route to DHS. Going to Epcot you will have to do a slow stop at DRR without getting off.

      2. It will be the same temperate as the outside with a breeze.

      3. Since we went during a preview, I’m sure they were working out kinks. Other reasons would be the same as a doom buggy slowing down… to allow a guest more time to enter the ride vehicle.

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