The last thing anyone wants to think about while zooming by in a Disney Skyliner over Hourglass Lake is the thought of having to evacuate, but thankfully, it’s something Disney has thought about––enter the Disney Skyliner Water Evacuation Boat:
In the unlikely case your new highway in the sky is acting up, guests can now be unboarded from Skyliner Gondolas and loaded into this large, life-saving pontoon. To access the Skyliner Gondolas, the pontoon is outfitted with three stories of platforms and stairways.
A closer look reveals a number of ring buoys and even a wheelchair from Disney’s Hollywood Studios, one of the parks the Skyliner services.
A raised platform will be used as a landing platform for the gondolas as the boat wedges beneath the gondola before securing it to unload passengers onto the main area of the pontoon.
The entire boat is lined with foam barriers to ensure no damage comes to any machinery or gondola exterior (… or people.)
Two motors provide enough power to push the pontoon back to safety.
The boat is currently docked by The Little Mermaid section of the resort, opposite of where the Skyliner station currently resides.
A ramp was also installed at the dock to ensure for a smooth unboarding process, although we hope it never have to use it. (Just kidding, we totally do, but we’re weird like that.)
While the Art of Animation Skyliner was seen testing these past few days during stormy conditions, we’ve yet to see the evacuation boat used in testing. We’ll keep a close eye on it in case we get to see it in action!
Do the Gondolas go that low or are they able to lower them to reach the boat? It doesn’t seem high enough…
They do go that low over the water
How would they get an ECV off with this setup?
Unlikely?? Haha have you not been to Disney?
Can’t wait to see them evacuate on this on a stormy day with wind and rain
That thing is crazy looking, like it was built for partying in the swamp. When I look at it I think ”Redneck Yacht Club” by Craig Morgan