Disney World Announces Skyliner 2028 Closing Dates

Walt Disney World will close the Skyliner gondola system for a routine refurbishment in Winter 2028. This post covers dates & details of the annual maintenance, why we wouldn’t book an impacted hotel, recommended alternatives, other ‘worst’ times to stay at Skyliner Value Resorts, closure history, and other commentary.

We’ll start with kudos to Walt Disney World for providing ample advance notice of this routine refurbishment. At least when it comes to the Skyliner, they have learned a lesson. The 2024 closing dates were announced less than 3 months in advance, long after most guests had booked hotel reservations. That announcement also came after discounts had been released and price increases occurred, making modifications or rebooking reservations tricky.

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! The fan backlash to that was pretty fierce, including here. Consequently, we’ve seen this announcement happen earlier and earlier since, with ample notice provided for 2025, 2026, 2027, and now, 2028.

The 2026 Skyliner closure was announced in April 2025. The 2027 closure was scheduled in mid-September 2025. Now, the 2028 Skyline refurbishment is being calendared on September 1, 2026, the earliest ever, and nearly seventeen (17) months in advance. This is how it should be done. (Now how about a similar approach to routine ride refurbishments, Disney?!)

It’s nice to see the company announce this Skyliner refurbishment comparatively early, long before 2028 Walt Disney World vacation packages are even available for booking. Since we were highly critical of tardy notice, it’s only appropriate to offer praise when they listen to guest feedback and fix issues. Kudos to Disney on giving ample notice for the 2028 Skyliner closure.

This routine downtime of the “Most Magical Flight on Earth” affects all of the Skyliner routes and resorts in January and February 2028.

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 2028 closure is once again relatively brief. It’s three days longer than 2027, but still manageable for planning around.

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, 2028 through February 2, 2028, Disney Skyliner will be closed for refurbishment.

During the Skyliner refurbishment, Walt Disney World will offer complimentary 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.

Note that these dates are consistent with past precedent, right down to the identical start dates in both 2027 and 2028. If you’re already looking forward to early 2029, a similar Skyliner closure during roughly the same date range is possible–perhaps probable.

It’s also possible that Disney and Doppelmayr will be able to do preventative maintenance after hours, and skip a year. Alternatively, perhaps a longer closure will be necessary as the system glides toward its 10th Anniversary!

Since past precedent suggests this is annual preventative maintenance for the Skyliner, here are historical dates for the gondolas refurbishment:

• Winter 2028: Skyliner system-wide closure January 24 to February 2, 2028
• 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 2026-2028 have established precedent, which is to announce dates before the annual product release. So not necessarily ~16 months, but more than 3-6 months!

Our strong recommendation would be to not stay in a Skyliner resort during these dates in late January or early February refurbishment in 2028. 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 to 2028). 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 2028, but we’d recommend booking Winter 2027 ASAP. Ideally, before the next round of special offers is released (which will happen in the next month or so).

Generally speaking, we’ve become increasingly reluctant to stay at Pop Century or Art of Animation during peak season dates, due to long lines for the Skyliner. This was something we encountered each of the last two years during spring break, as documented at length in Avoid Staying at Skyliner Resorts During Disney World’s Worst Weeks of 2026 & 2027. That advice presumably applies to 2028, too.

More recently, I stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort during the ‘last hurrah’ of summer and a time when the parks were surprisingly busy. Not as bad as Easter, but not slow, either. Regardless, the Skyliner was an absolute breeze, and this was true of both the central hub and the Riviera station. Suffice to say, this is an issue with only the shared Pop Century and Art of Animation station.

Another other ‘worst’ window we typically flag is much longer: Storm Season at Walt Disney World. if you’re visiting Walt Disney World from June 1 through November 30, the official Atlantic hurricane season according to NOAA, you should be prepared for rainy days–or worse. Narrowing that down a bit, August and October is the heart of hurricane season.

There’s a storm radius for the Skyliner and if a lightning strike occurs within that, the gondolas will cycle until they’re empty, dumping guests from the lines and not reloading until there have been X minutes since the last strike. Disney has sophisticated weather tracking technology, and they’ve honed this process over the years for pools and outdoor attractions.

No one is going to be stranded inside gondolas during a storm. Even if you were due to a series of unfortunate events, the Disney Skyliner is grounded. It also can operate in wind and rain, although there are some limits to this. If conditions are bad enough, even in the absence of lightning, the Skyliner can close due to inclement weather.

Worth noting that storm season coincides largely with summer, and the hottest months of the year. Since the Skyliner is not air-conditioned, this might enter the calculus when determining whether you want to stay at a Skyliner resort during your stay.

Personally, I don’t mind doing Skyliner stays during summer. It does require being more mindful of weather, but you living in Florida for several years taught me to do that, so I don’t get caught unprepared when the sky opens up and starts dumping out buckets of water.

Our reason for avoiding Skyliner resorts at times when the gondolas are being refurbished or are otherwise less useful is simple: Disney charges premium pricing for these properties.

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).

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.

The obvious alternative to Caribbean Beach is 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. 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 to enjoy efficient point-to-point transportation.

When it comes to other Value Resorts, the obvious alternatives to Pop Century and Art of Animation are the All Stars.

Normally, my go-to is All Star Sports. 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. Like Coronado Springs, it also tends to offer better discounts than the other All Stars. (See Easy Tip for Cheaper Hotels at Walt Disney World in 2026.)

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. Nothing is currently on the calendar, but it’s too early 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.

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, more likely to be impacted by storm season, or peak dates at Pop and Art of Animation. Even storm season doesn’t make it a non-starter, it just makes mindfulness of the weather more important (you should really have this for Walt Disney World as a general ‘best practice’ regardless).

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 a Skyliner resort while the system is closed for refurbishment from January 24, 2028 through February 2, 2028? 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? 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!