The Skyliner at Disney World is a newer addition to the Disney transportation family.
Skyliner
It allows guests to quickly and conveniently get from EPCOT and Hollywood Studios to hotels like Disney’s Art of Animation, Pop Century, Riviera, and Caribbean Beach Resorts. Sometimes, however, the system malfunctions leaving guests finding a new way to get around property.
After riding the Skyliner yesterday, we can confirm that the Skyliner went down for a while! Cast Members were not sure what caused this closure, but there were signs at the stations stating that it was unavailable.
Skyliner Sign
This closure applied to all Skyliner lines. Reader Kim Suter was stuck in the Skyliner for about an hour! When she was able to get off, she told us that Cast Members gave each person a water bottle and a $25 Disney Gift Card.
Skyliner Down
Today, we noticed that the gondolas were cruising through the sky once again, but we can’t say this big closure didn’t give us flashbacks to the great Skyliner incident of 2019!
Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
The Skyliner is typically a reliable method of transportation in Disney World, but it has had some hiccups in the last year that it has been open. Shortly after the gondolas debuted to the public (less than a week after really), the Skyliner had a pretty major incident.
Disney World Skyliner Rescue Vehicles 2019
You might remember the big news that the Skyliner had stopped, leaving guests stranded mid-air for three hours. Yes, THREE HOURS.
Click here to learn more about the Skyliner collision!
After that, the option remained closed for some time while Disney worked out the kinks. But, WOWZA, it seemed like quite a nightmare.
Want to know what it’s like to be stranded in the Skyliner for three hours? Click here!
Everyone got out safely, but not until after Disney instructed stranded guests to crack into their in-gondola emergency kits.
Emergency Call Button
We even chatted a bit about what Disney should add to the kits…and some of the items would be pretty darn useful if we do say so ourselves.
To see our IMPROVED ideas for a Skyliner emergency kit, click here!
Thankfully, another MAJOR closure like this hasn’t happened since, but whenever the Skyliner goes down for a while — like an hour — we start to think back.
Skyliner
As we mentioned, the Skyliner is typically an awesome and reliable way to get around, but even regularly, you might find that it isn’t an option. The gondolas will shut down due to weather or wind sometimes. So don’t panic if you see the lines unavailable, they could just be waiting for the weather to pass!
Riviera Resort Skyliner Station
If there’s ever a time when the Skyliner is closed when you need to take it, signage and Cast Members will be posted to direct you to alternate transportation. Typically, Disney will dispatch buses in these instances.
Skyliner Not Operating
We’re certainly not going to let a few hiccups deter us from riding the Skyliner. It’s usually a GREAT way to get around! As always, you can stay tuned to DFB for the latest updates from Disney World!
Is Riding the Skyliner Any Different in a Reopened Disney World?
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Sounds like something happened around Sunday 5:30p.
As with all public transportation it is a wise move to have everyone in your party go to the bathroom before getting in line. Buses get stuck, monorails break down, and city metros also stop running.
The Skyliner is a mechanical system. When you don’t do proper maintenance on machines, they break. I am guessing the maintenance staff has been fired/laid-off/downsized/furloughed whatever you want to call it. The increasing frequency of rides and other mechanical things at Disney breaking down is a symptom of Disney hemorraghing on average a BILLION dollars per month.
As much as I (used to) love Disney, even they are not “too big to fail.” Disney losses like they have, cannot be sustained for long. Disney needs to reopen fully and drop the fear-porn health theater, and people (and revenue) will return. Until then, Disney will continue to post Billion Dollar losses until they are forced to close indefinitely.
We just got back from an 8 night stay at CBR and loved the Skyliner. They do seem to have a little bit of work to do with that hub when it Hollywood Studios is open and it is getting close to Epcot opening times. One day when heading to Epcot about 10 it was a bit messy trying to navigate the lines and who needed to go where. They tried to put people ahead of the line that got off it from the other resorts and it caused a bit of stir until someone took charge and moved things around. It seems a bit of a bottle neck though. I will say though at the end of the night to after a long day at the park to get your own car back was wonderful!
I’m not surprised by this. I made the decision that I will not ride the skyliner last year after it took Disney three hours to rescue everyone. As someone who uses a scooter while at Disney World due to severe osteoarthritis in both knees being stuck on this thing while it’s broken and having to be rescued is a nightmare scenario for me. And lets not forget that it took Disney three hours to rescue everyone due in part to the fact that the hadn’t developed a solid plan for rescuing people if the skyliner broke down while over water.
Just wondering what time this happened? We went on a skyliner ride just before leaving Disney’s riveria for the airport. An hour delay would have been scary close!
We always stay at Pop Century. We love the Skyliner! Convenient and safe. There needs to be a Skyliner info channel on the Disney TV system. You may walk all the way to the Skyliner to find out that it’s closed and then you have to walk all the way back to bus transportation. Better communication for Skyliner operations is needed.