A Brief History of Gondolas and Cable Propelled Transit

The Walt Disney World Skyliner isn’t Disney’s first journey into the world of cable transportation. Both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom have featured smaller gondola attractions in the past. But where the Skyway was just a fun way to get from A to B, the Skyliner represents a growing trend in the adoption of what is turning out to be a faster, more efficient, and cheaper form of transportation. So let’s look at the history of gondolas and where they might be taking us.

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Additional Sources
“There’s Magic in the Air with New Disney Skyliner.” Walt Disney World News, 2019
“Disney planning gondola system”, The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Florida), 19 Apr 2017, page A1
“Colors of La Paz”, WIR Magazine, 01/2020
“Officials OK Disney World’s initial gondola system budget”, The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Florida), 25 Jan 2018, pA12
“The Past, Present, and Future of Urban Cable Propelled People Movers” by Edward S. Neumann, Journal of Advanced Transportation, Vol 33, No 1, pp51-82
“Cable Propelled Transit Systems in Urban Areas”, International Scientific Conference on Mobility and Transport (June 2018)
Grabar, Henry. “The Golden Age of Gondolas Might Be Just Around the Corner.” Bloomberg.Com, Bloomberg, 9 Apr.‌

[themostrandombird]

As someone who used to work at the skyliner i got the learn alot behind the scenes. I would love to work there again

[ripnico]

I live in La Paz and this is definitely the best method of transportation because of how fast it is and the view it provides. It will fit Disney world perfectly

[BellePullman]

In London we have the (incredibly confusingly named) Emirates Air Line - crossing the Thames by cable car seems like a great idea, but it's more a tourist attraction than real transport since there's not a whole lot of reason to go to the area on the north side (unless you're at a convention I guess!) and there's underground links that cost half as much. Great views though! There's talk of it failing and being closed down, just as there's a whole lot of redevelopment work in that area which might bring it to life.

[loraleistandish]

It’s so cool that the hogwarts express is actually a funicular railway!

[hazeldavis]

This vid is two of my favorite things: Theme Parks and Modern Marvels. Fantastic job!

[SuperMakki]

As much as I love monorails, Disney parks are supposed to be about the future, and I can see CPT as a futuristic mode of transport. Also there's a funicular here in Edmonton, it's super useful to get up steep hills. Surprised its not more common

[brysonbackus]

I had the opportunity to ride the entirety of the La Paz gondola system when I visited last year! (For some reason they had a free day so it cost us nothing to ride all across the city.) Its a very quick, low hassle form of transportation that especially thrives in a city like La Paz that is built in the mountains and has very narrow road ways. I really hope to see this form of transportation adopted in more cities here in the US. And as always loved the video Rob keep up the great work!

[markusstudeli]

Cable cars are very common here in Switzerland, primarily in mountain resorts, but even most lowland cities feature funiculars that connect their near hills for quick access to recreation areas. The city I live in with roughly 60'000 inhabitants features two such funiculars connecting two nearby low mountains. In the US such reacreation areas tend to be accessible primarily by cars, which in my opinion spoils the experience quite a bit. Funiculars and gondolas do mix well with pedestrian zones.
There's mountain villages like for example Stoos or Braunwald which have banned car traffic and which are only accessible by cable cars. It contributes to their appeal, as it keeps them calm, less noisiy, relaxing and with unspoilt clean air. Horse carriages, small electric cars and lorries limited to 30 km/h are used to transport bagage, small goods and the walking impaired to hotels, stores and restaurants.

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

The Skyliner is the Skyway’s reincarnation. Efficient system and I like the gondolas with the characters. When you think of gondolas, you usually think of a fair or a ski resort. Not a transportation system and the Skyliner proves it can be a great transportation system too

[monroejosh]

Oh man do I love funiculars! thrilled to see them discussed in a Disney video.

What about cable cars like those used in SF that also release from a continuously moving cable?

[ladyrei]

Fascinating and informative as always! I love the new channel name and graphic identity as well!!

[jhawk]

History of these lifts is very interesting I will say!

[m.hoffman]

love riding these cable ways in the alps along with a spectacular mountain view

[bdchiaccio]

I love how I learn something new every time I watch your videos and I get excited when a new one is posted. Keep up the great work Rob!

[JohnVanderbeck]

Came to this video because I have been researching the Disney Skyliner. It is very convenient but really freaks m out. The best way to overcome fear of something is understand is so here I am. Great video. I would love to see one detailing there mechanics and safety systems used in CPT. In my mind I can’t get over the thought that the car is going to sway too much and just slip off the cable :D

[woodencoasterfan]

Von Roll was one of the leaders in the industry as well and built the Skyway at Disneyland and Disney’s Magic Kingdom as well as Busch Gardens Tampa and Williamsburg, SeaWorld San Diego, Cedar Point, San Diego Zoo, and many other locations worldwide.

[LRGRU]

I love videos like this. Taking a concept often overlooked at the Disney resorts and going deep into their rich history. Excellent job!

[elliotearles]

The Palm Springs aerial tramway is one of the few examples of these outside of a ski resort or amusement area

[LegosheepIsAwesome]

The energy statistic could be misleading, as gondalas tend to be slower than most other transport options. I think it'd be a lot more fair to compare the KW/h per passenger MILE.

[KISSFanDan]

I rode one of these from Magic Kingdom to Epcot and back last year. It was pretty awesome and the breeze was nice.