Ever since it opened in 2019, the Disney Skyliner has been one of the most popular transportation methods on Walt Disney World property.
Disney World’s Skyliner
The mass gondola system connected two of Disney World’s theme parks and four of the park’s resorts in an ever-moving transportation loop that allows guests to glide through the air between them. With the system’s popularity and efficiency, it only makes use that many guests want the Skyliner to be expanded beyond its current route. However, that seems unlikely.
Currently the Skyliner’s path connects EPCOT (with a terminal at the park’s back International Gateway entrance) and Disney’s Hollywood Studios with four of the property’s resorts: the Riviera Resort, the Caribbean Beach Resort, the Pop Century Resort, and the Art of Animation Resort (the latter two sharing a single station in the middle of the lake between them). As can be seen on the system’s map, all of these locations are relatively in line with each other, and close by. This brings us to the first issue with connecting the Skyliner to say, Animal Kingdom or the Magic Kingdom.
©Disney
Animal Kingdom is far from the current Skyliner route on the western portion of Disney World’s property, with the All-Star Resorts, Coronado Springs Resort, and Blizzard Beach in between the park and the core of the Skyliner’s route. It would be a large and immensely costly project to weave a Skyliner expansion through these properties to reach Animal Kingdom.
The case is similar when it comes to Magic Kingdom. While the park and its resort area at the northern end of the property are more of a “straight shot” from EPCOT, it would still take a massive amount of construction to weave the line through the various properties that sit between the two parks. In addition, the Magic Kingdom resort area is also connected to EPCOT (and interconnected) by the Walt Disney World Monorail, the track of which any potential Skyliner expansion would need to maneuver around.
Skyliner
Speaking of the Monorail, we can look towards that method of transportation as “proof” that the Skyliner will never be expanded. The Monorail line, while popular amongst guests, has not been expanded since EPCOT opened in 1982, for many of the same infrastructure and cost reasons that will likely hamper Skyliner expansion.
In addition to these cost reasons, there’s another practical hurdle in the way of further Skyliner expansion: Weather. As popular and well-received as the gondola system is, weather-related closures have been the one Achilles’ heel that has worked against it since it opened. It seems unlikely that Disney would invest the massive required capital in an expansion to Animal Kingdom and/or Magic Kingdom for a system that often needs to be shut down due to weather that’s relatively common in Florida.
Skyliner
Despite the popularity and success of Disney’s Skyliner system, it seems unlikely to us that the route will be expanded to the resort’s other theme parks for several major reasons. Stay tuned to DFB for more on Walt Disney World?
I Go to Disney World Every Day, and I CRINGE When I Hear This on the Skyliner
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They just need to link the skyliner to the monorail…by tram even.
Think about it the cost and delay of the original path to connect with the other parks, Think about it right now we have half the parks @ twice the price???
Since we drive, I’m a fan of anything that makes people happier with Disney transportation and means fewer cars on the road and in the parking lots lol. Disney also needs to improve transportation options for the father-flung parts of the resort, like Animal Kingdom, Disney Springs, etc. Transportation to Disney Springs is particularly devoid of good options, unless you are at a hotel with boat service to DS and the boats are running. Even that you want to save for the right kind of weather/tempuratures. The best parking decks at DS are often full, the last resort options are a long walk away, and depending on where you want to go at DS, the walk from the buses just may not be worth it, especially if you’re going after a park day or on a ‘rest’ day. It seems like they are still trying to attract many more people to DS, but the transportation and parking options still need to improve.
I would love to see the skyliner expanded to the Port Orleans resorts!
Have a landing or exit hub near the monorail. Right now you have to go through Epcot in order to use them. And you would need a park ticket to epcot to access them.
There is no reason gondolas couldn’t run between the All-Stars and Animal Kingdom. Yes, everything costs money. Maybe leave the riverboat and the Rivers of America alone for a bit. There are already plenty of people in that park.
So internally it has been said that whenever they decide to do another route they already have a plan for Animal Kingdom. Which isn’t as big an ask as you made it out to be. They already surveyed land for this proposal and it has been talked about.
Light rail could be a solution.