Guests at Walt Disney World Resort faced unexpected transportation issues on Thursday when one of the Disney Skyliner lines abruptly went down. The closure left some visitors scrambling to find alternate ways to get to and from EPCOT without prior notice from Disney.
Skyliner, my beloved!
Early in the afternoon, the Disney Skyliner line to EPCOT suddenly stopped running. The gondola system, which has three separate lines, usually connects EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, Disney’s Pop Century Resort, and Disney’s Riviera Resort. The Caribbean Beach station serves as the main hub, with most transfers routed through the central stop.
On September 4, Disney Food Blog reported that guests waited for about 15 minutes at Caribbean Beach Resort’s Skyliner station before being turned away. Disney cast members redirected guests to the bus station at the front of the Disney Resort hotel, where shuttles were provided to EPCOT.
The EPCOT line also passes through Disney’s Riviera Resort, so guests there were presumably given the same instruction: head to the bus station for alternate transportation.
The bigger challenge came for guests already inside EPCOT, hoping to return to their Disney Resort hotels. When the EPCOT line shuts down, guests are also directed to use buses. But while the Disney Skyliner station sits at EPCOT’s International Gateway in World Showcase, bus stops are located at the park’s main entrance in World Celebration—more than a mile away. That means Disney Park guests exiting through International Gateway faced a long walk before they could even catch a bus.
Walt Disney World Resort has not released an official statement on what caused the EPCOT line to close. Weather-related issues often force temporary gondola service suspensions, but in this case, two of the three Skyliner lines remained open. For now, Disney is relying on bus service to transport guests between EPCOT and the Skyliner Resort hotels.
Have you used the Disney Skyliner to travel to EPCOT or Disney’s Hollywood Studios? Share your experience with Disney Fanatic in the comments!
