Walt Disney World typically closes the Skyliner gondola transportation system for annual maintenance during the winter off-season. This post covers historical refurbishment announcement and closure dates, why we wouldn’t book an impacted hotel, recommended resort alternatives and more.
This routine downtime of the “Most Magical Flight on Earth” affects all of the Skyliner routes and resorts. These gondolas service two Walt Disney World theme parks (Hollywood Studios and EPCOT) plus four resorts (Art of Animation & Pop Century, Caribbean Beach, plus Riviera Resort & Caribbean Beach again) via 5 stations.
The Skyliner gets annual preventative maintenance at about the same time every year, the duration of which and approach (all lines at once or in phases) has varied from year to year. This winter’s closure was the longest downtime that Disney and Doppelmayr have done since the Skyliner gondolas opened. Against that backdrop, the reasons for this post are threefold…
First, because we’re starting to receive a few questions about the closure from readers (albeit admittedly not many). Second, because we view it as make-or-break when booking a Skyliner resort.
Finally, because last year’s closure announcement was relatively last-minute, and once it was made, we heard from many readers who were upset that their trip was impacted. Understandably so, given the second point. With people already starting to book 2025 Walt Disney World vacations, we fear a repeat of last year’s late announcement, and want to get ahead of this potential news and give planners a heads up…
Here are the details of the Skyliner refurbishment, per the correspondence sent out by Walt Disney World last year. In order to maintain the highest quality standards, Walt Disney World must conduct refurbishments from time to time. During the Skyliner refurbishment, Walt Disney World offers bus service between the impacted hotels and the parks. This means increased frequency–the type of regular bus service you’d expect from a non-Skyliner resort that offer bus service.
This year, the Skyliner was closed for routine maintenance in Winter 2024 in phases, starting on January 16 and reopening on January 26. That was actually a couple days ahead of schedule–the Skyliner was scheduled to officially reopen on January 28, 2024. (Specifics on the phases aren’t really relevant here since they’ve varied from year to year.)
This year’s refurbishment of the Skyliner was not announced until October 25, 2023. That made it the longest closure, and the one announced latest. Given that Walt Disney World attempts to announce planned routine maintenance to pools a year or more in advance (sometimes urgent work is more last-minute), our strong suspicion is that scheduling with Doppelmayr delayed the announcement. (Not to give Disney too much benefit of the doubt–it’s possible they just dropped the ball and didn’t share the news until last minute.)
Regardless of the reason, it’s entirely possible that this happens again. Since past precedent suggests this is annual preventative maintenance for the Skyliner, here are historical dates for the gondolas refurbishment:
- Winter 2023: Skyliner system-wide closure January 22-29.
- Winter 2022: Skyliner system-wide closure January 23-28.
- Winter 2021: Skyliner individual routes closed for single-day downtime between January 24 and 28.
- Winter 2020: No Skyliner closure–it was only a few months old!
According to the DTB Archives, the 2021-2023 closures were all announced between early May and mid-August. This year’s closure was the anomaly, with a late October announcement. However, it’s already almost September, so either another late announcement is coming…or no closure at all?
The latter scenario–no Skyliner refurbishment in 2025–seems unlikely. Not to extrapolate too much from the above, but the trend is for the Skyliner refurbishment to get progressively longer each year as the system gets older. It’s unlikely that Walt Disney World will “neglect” maintenance as a cost-cutting measure (like could be argued has happened on other transportation and attractions over the years), as it’s almost certainly a contractual stipulation with Doppelmayr.
The bottom line is that the dates of the Skyliner closure could change in 2025–we have no way of knowing–but it seems highly likely that there will be another refurbishment and it will occur during what’s left of the winter off-season.
As for when, my best guess is that the Skyliner refurbishment will occur after Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. That’s January 8-12, 2025. Another relevant date is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which is January 20, 2025. That’s a holiday weekend, with crowds tending to arrive the Friday beforehand–so January 17, 2025.
Given the likelihood of a longer refurbishment rather than a shorter one, it seems unlikely that the Skyliner will happen between those weekends–January 13-16, 2025 just isn’t enough time. That is, unless it happens in phases, but that would also mean impacting more guests.
This year, the Skyliner refurbishment started the Tuesday after MLK Day. I think a repeat of that is highly likely. That makes January 21 to February 4, 2025 the date range we’d recommend avoiding. If history really repeats itself, the Skyliner will be closed for refurbishment from January 21 to 31, 2025. (We view that as the most likely scenario.)
That week tends to be a slow time at Walt Disney World, so we’re not suggesting that you avoid visiting that week (to the contrary, all of the dates in question are on or come close to making our list of the Best Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World in 2025 & 2026). Just tha you avoid staying in Skyliner resorts during those dates.
Winter isn’t truly crowded until Presidents Day, but it does get progressively busier. As such, I’m skeptical of a Skyliner closure happening beyond the first week of February. But again, this is all guess-work. I have zero inside information. I’m just speculating so you can err on the side of caution and prepare accordingly (if at all).
Again, our recommendation is to not stay in a Skyliner resort during the refurbishment. The reason for this is simple: all of the Skyliner resorts have a significant pricing premium due to the gondola service. It’s arguably their #1 selling point and best guest perk.
While you might think it’s impossible to quantify what each amenity actually contributes to the rack rates at each resort, this is not simply conjecture on our part. With the exception of Riviera, all of the other hotels pre-date the Skyliner, so it’s entirely possible to track their pricing both before and after the Skyliner.
Every single hotel has gone up in price since 2019. Two of the biggest ‘offenders’ in all of Walt Disney World in terms of percentage cost increases are Pop Century and Caribbean Beach. This is particularly pronounced at Caribbean Beach, which went from being one of Walt Disney World’s more aggressively discounted resorts to one that’s often in the lower-tiers of savings, or only offers the best discounts on preferred rooms, etc.
It’s possible that this is not entirely attributable to the Skyliner. Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort also had a massive reimagining prior to the Skyliner’s debut, which likely was not fully reflected in its pricing by late 2019. Maybe the low menu prices for that glorious family-style feast at Sebastian’s Bistro are subsidized by higher room rates!
Suffice to say, if you’re visiting Walt Disney World during the Skyliner closure, we recommend staying elsewhere. The obvious alternative is Coronado Springs, which itself saw a similar reimagining and expansion a few years ago. That Moderate Resort added the Deluxe-caliber Gran Destino Tower to its grounds, bringing many of the same improved amenities that Caribbean Beach saw added with Riviera Resort.
The biggest downside of Coronado Springs is the all-bus transportation, and one of the few reasons we hesitate to recommend that Moderate Resort to those reliant upon Disney to get around. (Those with their own vehicle, rental cars, or who will use Uber or Lyft should strongly consider it.) However, every Moderate Resort is all-bus transportation during the Skyliner closure, and with the transportation playing field leveled, Coronado Springs rises to the top.
In most other regards, Coronado Springs surpasses Caribbean Beach. Where it really matters for most guests looking at the Moderate Resort tier–pricing–Coronado usually wins handily thanks to better discount availability. Not only that, but one of our biggest complaints about Coronado Springs normally is that its buses and pool are overcrowded–two things that are unlikely to be true during the last week of January when occupancy tends to be low, and temperatures too!
For whatever it’s worth, I stayed at Coronado Springs during the Skyliner closure this year and it was fantastic. There was a medical convention going on which made restaurants a bit busier, but otherwise the resort was dead. The pools were all pretty much empty–I know this because I ‘replenished’ my pool photo stockpile with zero awkwardness!
Since convention-goers don’t really do the parks, the buses were a breeze. The spread out resort was actually quite nice during the winter weather, too. (Just be mindful that Coronado also hosts cheer and dance groups from time to time–you might want to avoid those.)
When it comes to other Value Resorts, the obvious alternatives are the All Stars. Music would probably be our go-to no matter what you’re considering at Pop Century or Art of Animation, as it’s the most recently updated and has family suites. Again, this is all bus transportation, but that’ll be the case with Pop and AoA that week, too.
The other reason we’re picking All Star Music is because late January might have some group bookings for ESPN Wide World of Sports youth events. Currently, only the 2025 Disney Girls Soccer Showcase and 2025 USA Field Hockey Sunshine Showcase are on the ESPN WWoS calendar for late January 2025.
I have no clue how large either of those events are, but they’re almost certainly not as big/bad as all the cheer and dance summits that normally occur in the first few months of the year. But that’s not the point. The point is that All Star Music is less likely to host those groups than All Star Sports, so staying at Music is a good hedge against youth events.
Ultimately, we just wanted to give you a heads up about the possible Skyliner closure in Winter 2025 and its potential refurbishment daes. To reiterate once again, this is all purely speculative–it’s certainly not official and it’s not even a rumor. We’re just making guesses based on past precedent. You can either use this info for contingency plans or ignore it…your call, as always!
We still absolutely love the gondolas and would choose one of the Skyliner resorts over their counterparts just about any time of year…except when it’s down for refurbishment or more likely to be impacted by storm season. Even the latter doesn’t make it a non-starter (the monorail also isn’t 100% reliable!), it just makes awareness of the weather more important.
For those who visit Walt Disney World regularly throughout or during different months of the year, our ideal times to stay at Skyliner resorts are November through May. Obviously, minus that 1-2 week stretch in January. As a matter of personal preference, we’d probably also remove the holiday season. Not because there’s any issue with the Skyliner then–to the contrary, that crisp breeze feels even nicer–but because none of the Skyliner resorts get decked out for Christmas all that impressively.
So really, our Skyliner ‘sweet spot’ is pretty much mid-February through May. We’ve also booked in September and October, but had to be more diligent about monitoring the weather during those months. As always, your mileage may vary.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Would you pay premium pricing to stay at Caribbean Beach, Pop Century, Art of Animation, or Riviera Resort while the Skyline is closed for refurbishment in Winter 2025? Are you a fan of the gondolas, or do you prefer a different ‘type’ of resort? Have you used the Skyliners at Walt Disney World recently? What has been the good, bad, or ugly for you? Any issues with Skyliner downtime during storm season? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
