How Did the Skyway Work?

Originally Posted By Hista98

So I've hered that they used the tomorrowland Station as the overnight storage area, and I've hered storeis about beng able to take buckets off. How did this work? They all seemed to be attached to the line and since it was a taught wire I don;t see how they could remove them, and they were too heavy to lift. anyone know??

 

Originally Posted By sjhym33

Some people think that the buckets are attached to the wire. That is not true. The buckets had a mechanism that attached itself to the wire when the bucket was dispatched from the station. It was a locking pulley system. The Tomorrowland station had a switch beam that when a bucket entered the station the switch could be moved and the buckets were stored in rows in the Skyway barn.

There were only a handful of people in the world with the skill to put a new cable on the Skyway. The man that did it for many years would come with a small crew and it usually took him a 3-4 weeks of work to run a new cable (actually 2 cables...one from Tomorrowland to the center of GrandPrix transfer station and another from Grand Prix to Fantasyland) and then weave (I guess you would call it) the ends together. It was a very difficult skill and I gather it was an expensive proposition to have him do it.

Skyway was one of my favorite places to work. When I wanted to work some overtime it was the first place I looked. The constant moving of the buckets made the day go quickly.

 

Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom

I always liked the skyway. It was a quick and easy way to get from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland without having to hoof it. It also worked so well as part of Uncle Walt's concept to keep crowds moving so as not to create any bottlenecks in the park.

Having said that.... I feel compelled to state some of the disadvantages, of course some riders would throw things at unsuspecting guests bellow including spitting on folks below.

 

Originally Posted By sjhym33

I think safety on several levels was the reason Disney decided to take out Skyway. To evacuate the Skyway we would close Fantasyland AND Tomorrowland, bring in a Cherry Picker and evacuate buckets one at a time. People were always spitting or throwing things. I remember a guest who had something dropped on him ran after the bucket and grabbed the kid at unload and hit him.

Also, people would rock the bucket which was also dangerous. Add to that the cost of maitaining the cable every two years it was a no brainer for Disney.

Having said that...I miss the Skyway. It added something to the park.

 

Originally Posted By Disneymom443

I had only been on the skyway at DL, I would love to go through the Matterhorn. It was my fav. I also loved to watch the people walk by.

 

Originally Posted By disney pete

yeah i liked the skyway it gave you a great view of the park,i never saw any throwing or spitting but you know it went on.

 

Originally Posted By Hista98

it's too bad they couldn't have made the buckets like the one's in tokyo with plexiglass windows. that would have prevented people from throwing things.

 

Originally Posted By grlweatswchpstx

When I was trained at the Walt Disney Story at DL I was informed the actual reason was that the Skyway could not be made to fit with the ADA regulations, although I'm sure everything else didn't help its case, this was the major reason.

 

Originally Posted By Mr X

That makes sense (although, if so why are the Subs still alive and Grandfathered?).

 

Originally Posted By grlweatswchpstx

Because they created a seperate but similar experiece for ADA guests to take if they are unable to board the sub.

 

Originally Posted By Mr X

Ah.

But, similarly, couldn't they have made a "skyway experience" booth where folks with disabilities could enjoy a "separate but similar" experience?

I'm being sarcastic, of course, but in any case there are certain amusement park experiences that not everyone can enjoy (unless they've figured out a way to strap a quadriplegic into a Space Mountain vehicle without risking harm to the persons' limbs somehow). I find it sad that they'd kill the skyway for that reason (if so, they should eliminate ANY attractions dangerous for pregnant women or people with back trouble...good luck with that!).

 

Originally Posted By CarolinaDisneyDad

I wish I had been there when the skyway was working. I always loved them at six flags growing up and then all of a sudden they disappeared at all parks everywhere. It had to be some kind of regulation for everyone to eliminate them around the same time. It wasn't just Disney.

 

Originally Posted By LindsayC

I recently posted a few unprinted black and white photos of views from the MK Skyway (from 1996) on Flickr. I wish I had the opportunity to do shots like that again (and I wish they had put the Skyway in DLP if only for a few years)

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/talesfromthelaughingplace/" target="_blank">http://www.flickr.com/photos/t...ngplace/</a>

(They start halfway down the first page)

 

Originally Posted By bobbelee9

<<The constant moving of the buckets made the day go quickly. >>

The constant swaying of the buckets made me go away.

 

Originally Posted By Hista98

I don't think it was due to ADA regulations if a ride is open before the ada rules took effect. then it didn't need to change. I never got why it closed at disneyland so much eailer then at WDW. DL's Closed in 94, WDW's in 1999. My guess was DL had a seperate reason to close it.

 

Originally Posted By Hista98

It had to be some kind of regulation for everyone to eliminate them around the same time. It wasn't just Disney.
but the san diego zoo still has a working skyway today

 

Originally Posted By sjhym33

The ADA regulations exempts facilities that were built before the regulations went into effect. That is until a major rehab of the structure that will change a certain % of the structure. At that point all ADA regulations must be met. Skyway did not fall under the ADA regulations.

Having said that...there are lawyers who are going around and suing companies over access regardless of the laws. Their hope they say is to force companies to become disability friendly. Some say they are doing it for the money. That may have had something to do with Disney's decision but my inside sources tells me that Disney felt the Skyway was an accident waiting to happen...like teens rocking the bucket so hard that it dislodges from the wire. Then the lawsuits would be unreal.

 

Originally Posted By Bob Paris

"People were always spitting or throwing things. I remember a guest who had something dropped on him ran after the bucket and grabbed the kid at unload and hit him."


Good.

That kinda thing should happen more often so less little b******s would get away with things.

 

Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub

Lindsay thanks for your link. I sneaked a peak at more than Skyway! Love the Disney Night Sky hotel lobby Tokyo Disney and the Li-Mouse-ine(limosine)outside the hotel. ALso who knew the EE village at AK has a name..Serka Zong,Asia. And of course my favorite snow at DLP 2002. ANd all the photos of Mickey Mouse. All the images of the MOuse could fill a book!

 

Originally Posted By LindsayC

Glad you like the photos MMC... you had quite a peek around with all those you mentioned!