Fans often suggest expanding the Disney Skyliner to connect more of Walt Disney World, with Disney’s Animal Kingdom emerging as an obvious candidate for another park link. But an extension would bring practical challenges beyond construction costs, according to an analysis by WDWInfo.
The existing gondola network connects EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios with several resort hotels through its hub at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. Animal Kingdom is considerably farther from that hub than the current Hollywood Studios route, the analysis notes. A hypothetical trip could take roughly 10 to 15 minutes or longer, depending on the route and operating conditions.
Distance alone would not necessarily prevent an expansion. The larger concern would be managing a major interruption along a longer route. In October 2019, a collision at the Disney’s Riviera Resort station led to a shutdown that left some passengers stranded for hours while Disney and emergency responders worked to evacuate the system.
A line to Animal Kingdom could be about twice as long as the Caribbean Beach-to-Hollywood Studios segment, WDWInfo said. That would not automatically double an evacuation time, which would depend on where gondolas are located, what caused the outage and what rescue methods are available. Still, a longer span between stations could leave more cabins and riders affected during a shutdown.
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Any future expansion would need to account for evacuation access, emergency response times, Florida heat and the logistics of bringing passengers down safely. The Skyliner carries thousands of guests each day, making those operational questions central to whether Disney would pursue another route.
Disney has not announced a Skyliner expansion to Animal Kingdom.
