Walt Disney World will close the Skyliner gondola system for routine maintenance in 2027. This post covers refurbishment dates and details, why we wouldn’t book an impacted hotel, recommended resort alternatives–plus why it’s great to see Disney “fix” the lack of notice provided in the past.
We want to start with kudos to Walt Disney World for providing ample advance notice of this routine refurbishment. The 2026 Skyliner closure was announced back in mid-April of this year. Now, the 2027 closure is being scheduled a full sixteen (16) months in advance. This is how it should be done.
Notably, this stands in sharp contrast to last year’s closure, which was announced on October 25, 2023–less than 3 months in advance and long after most guests had booked hotel reservations. That last-minute closure caused frustration among Walt Disney World vacation planners, many of whom premium pricing to stay at Skyliner resorts…to use the Skyliner. Obviously!
It’s great to see the company announce this Skyliner refurbishment comparatively early, long before 2027 Walt Disney World vacation packages are even available for booking. Kudos to Disney on listening to guest feedback and moving this announcement forward.
The last closure never should’ve been announced as late as October in the first place. Nevertheless, we were highly critical of that tardy notice, so it’s only appropriate to offer praise when they listen to guest feedback and fix issues.
This routine downtime of the “Most Magical Flight on Earth” affects all of the Skyliner routes and resorts in January 2027.
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 preventative maintenance almost annually at about the same time almost every year, the duration of which and approach (all lines at once or in phases) has varied from year to year. The good news is that the 2027 closure is once again relatively brief–it’s one of the shortest closures that Disney and Doppelmayr have done since the Skyliner gondolas opened.
Here’s the announcement from Walt Disney World:
From time to time, certain maintenance is required to keep our amenities and offerings updated. As part of these efforts, from January 24, 2027, through January 30, 2027, Disney Skyliner will be closed for refurbishment. Complimentary bus service will be available.
During the Skyliner refurbishment, Walt Disney World will offer bus service between the impacted hotels and the parks. Hopefully, this means increased frequency, as our past experience using and testing bus routes between the Skyliner resorts and parks left a lot to be desired.
Looking forward to early 2028, a similar Skyliner closure during roughly the same date range is possible–perhaps probable. But as this year demonstrates, there’s no guarantee of that. It’s also possible that Disney and Doppelmayr will be able to do preventative maintenance after hours.
Since past precedent suggests this is annual preventative maintenance for the Skyliner, here are historical dates for the gondolas refurbishment:
- Winter 2027: Skyliner system-wide closure January 24-30, 2027
- Winter 2026: Skyliner system-wide closure January 25-31, 2026
- Winter 2025: No closure
- Winter 2024: Routes in phases from January 16-26.
- 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. But our view is that 2026-2027 have established precedent, which is to announce dates before the annual product release. So not necessarily ~10-16 months, but more than 3-6 months!
Our strong recommendation would be to not stay in a Skyliner resort during the late January refurbishment in 2026 or 2027. The reason for this is quite simple: all of the Skyliner resorts have a significant pricing premium due to the gondola service.
That week tends to be a slower time at Walt Disney World for crowds, so we’re not suggesting that you avoid traveling that week (to the contrary, the dates in question come close to making our list of the Best Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World in 2026 & 2027). Just that you avoid staying in Skyliner resorts during those dates.
Another thing to note is that although crowds tend to be low to moderate in late January, hotel occupancy is high. In fact, this has become one of the most popular times of the year for on-site resorts, which is reflected in availability. Obviously, you have plenty of time to get your ducks in a row for 2027 (obviously, since bookings aren’t even open), but we’d recommend booking Winter 2026 ASAP. Ideally, before the next round of special offers is released.
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. This is true both in terms of rack rates and when it comes to effective pricing after discounts. The two 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 being one of the most popular.
One common question we get whenever the topic of the Skyliner refurbishment comes up is whether Walt Disney World will offer more aggressive discounts during these dates at impacted resorts. To date, the answer has been a resounding NO! This is the cheapest rack rate timeframe and highest occupancy season, and those two factors colliding mean that these resorts are likely to sell out without deeper discounts due to Skyliner downtime.
The price difference between Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs or Port Orleans Riverside is sometimes over $100 per night. Not usually during the winter rate season, but it does happen (it’ll probably be more like a $30-40/night difference after discounts).
This didn’t used to be the case–one of the reasons we started booking CBR was that it was often the cheapest Moderate, with Coronado Springs being priciest because it was the “convention resort.” Now, I’ve been able to score Gran Destino Tower on occasion for about the same amount as Caribbean Beach–or the outer buildings for much less.
There are parallels between Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs–both added fancy towers and upscale amenities–so the difference maker seems to be the Skyliner. The outer buildings at Coronado Springs haven’t gone up too much in price and offer great bang for buck. Not only that, but they’re frequently deeply discounted and slower to book up.
Point being, if you’re visiting Walt Disney World during the Skyliner closure, we recommend staying elsewhere. Note that this recommendation only applies to Disney’s Riviera Resort, Caribbean Beach, Pop Century, and Art of Animation.
Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts, BoardWalk Inn, Swan & Dolphin, and Swan Reserve are technically serviced by the Skyliner at EPCOT’s International Gateway. So you could take that to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and we know many guests who do.
We’d never recommend doing that. Walking to International Gateway and then transferring at Caribbean Beach and then taking the Skyliner to Disney’s Hollywood Studios is usually slower than taking a boat or walking. Trust us, we’ve done a head-to-head “race.” Our preferred form of transportation is our feet, which tends to be the most direct, reliable, and consistent–albeit also the most tiring. Your mileage may vary.
The obvious alternative is the hotel we’ve already been discussing throughout this post: Coronado Springs.
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 transportation to get around. That disadvantage obviously still exists, but during that timeframe it’ll exist at Caribbean Beach, too.
In most other regards, Coronado Springs surpasses Caribbean Beach at this point. Where it really matters for most guests looking at the Moderate Resort tier–pricing–Coronado usually wins handily thanks to better discount availability. With the money saved staying at Coronado Springs, you can easily afford a couple of Ubers or Lyfts per day (or even a Minnie Van!) to enjoy truly efficient point-to-point transportation.
When it comes to other Value Resorts, the obvious alternatives are the All Stars. Normally, my go-to is All Star Sports. Coronado Springs and All Star Sports are the hotels where I stay more than anywhere else, largely due to discounts. I’ve been singing the praises of All Star Sports for a while, most notably in My Favorite Hotel for Cheap Disney World Weekend Getaways, which covers its strengths. Suffice to say, All Star Sports punches above its weight and is a surprisingly well-managed resort.
I hesitate a bit to recommend All Star Sports as enthusiastically because late January might have some group bookings for ESPN Wide World of Sports youth events. Currently, nothing is on the calendar for 2026 or 2027, but it’s too early for the latter to have anything scheduled. Usually, the big cheer and dance competitions are a bit later, so you’re probably “safe” with these dates in either year.
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. Another option is upgrading to one of the Moderate Resorts. Discounted rates at one of the Port Orleans Resorts or Coronado Springs are often very attractive, especially in the winter months.
You could always start out by booking All Star Music and switching to Sports later if there’s no ESPN WWoS event. When Sports isn’t hosting youth teams, it’s usually among the last resorts at Walt Disney World to fill up (part of the reason why I book it so often at the last-minute).
Ultimately, 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 this week-long stretch in late 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.
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 Skyliner is closed for refurbishment from January 24, 2027 through January 30, 2027? Are you a fan of the gondolas, or do you prefer a different ‘type’ of resort? What has been the good, bad, or ugly for you? Any issues with Skyliner downtime during storm season? What about buses as alternatives from those resorts? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Other thoughts or concerns? 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!
