Since its opening in 2019, the Skyliner has become one of the resort’s most used — and most popular — modes of transportation.

Skyliner at Disney’s Riviera Resort

The gondola system connects EPCOT and Hollywood Studios with the Riviera Resort, the Caribbean Beach Resort, the Pop Century Resort, and the Art of Animation Resort, making it a key piece of Walt Disney World’s infrastructure. Which means that, when the Skyliner goes down, things can be a bit of a nightmare.

According to Disney, the system’s 304 gondolas currently carry over 10x the ridership of New York City’s well-known Roosevelt Island Ariel Tramway annually. Suffice to say, that’s a lot of people, and it’s impressive that the system can manage it. However, that’s also a lot of guests depending on the system, which means that if it goes down unexpectedly — say for technical reasons or weather-related purposes — things can get a bit hectic.

The Skyliner was down…

We experienced this firsthand recently, as a member of our team was planning to travel from Hollywood Studios to the Boardwalk Resort by hopping off the Skyliner at EPCOT’s International Gateway. However, the gondola system went down, leaving guests essentially stranded. This led to the FriendShip boats (which also link Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, and the EPCOT Resort Area) getting crowded…

Crowded…

… VERY crowded.

VERY

Now, since the weather wasn’t bad on this particular day, our team members were able to stroll the walking path from Hollywood Studios to the Boardwalk, which took about 15 minutes. (Fun Fact: This walking path links Hollywood Studios and EPCOT, winding through the EPCOT Resort Area hotels.). However, walking might not work for all guests due to potential physical limitations. Not to mention the fact that if the weather had been a factor in shutting down the Skyliner, it likely wouldn’t have been pleasant to walk through either.

Walking Path between Disney’s BoardWalk and Hollywood Studios ©Disney

Each January, the Skyliner goes through a scheduled closure; for example, in 2027, the system will be down from January 24th to January 30th. However, given the long-scheduled nature of these closures, Disney is prepared and beefs up the remaining transportation infrastructure to ease the burden of the gondola system’s temporary absence.

Alternative transportation options during a previous planned closure

The Skyliner has become an integral part of Disney World’s transportation infrastructure in the years since its introduction, but that also means a bit of a temporary nightmare scenario when it goes down unexpectedly. Stay tuned to DFB for more on our Disney World experiences.

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Have you ever experienced the Skyliner unexpectedly going down? Let us know in the comments below.