[00:00:00] Dana Stanley: Welcome back to part two of my live from Disney World episode that I recorded while on our Disney World vacation. I ended up gabbing quite a bit about the Riviera Resort itself. I wanted to have this separate, dedicated episode just about my Skyliner experience. I’ll be honest with you, and just to prepare you, I did not enjoy recording this section of the episode because it really stressed me out even talking about it.

[00:00:27] Dana Stanley: Again, which will make sense once you start to listen, but also the entire point of these live episodes was to hear more of my unfiltered thoughts and feelings. And that’s definitely what you’re getting. So I’m going to be just diving right in, continuing where I left off. If you haven’t listened to part one, you can go back and listen to that now.

[00:00:49] Dana Stanley: Hello and welcome to the Laid Back Magic Way podcast. I’m your host, Dana Stanley. Creator of Laid Back Magic. As a mom of three, I know how tough it can be to find time to plan a Disney World trip. That doesn’t leave you feeling stressed or overwhelmed. That’s why I’m here to help moms like you create Disney vacations that feel even better than they look on paper here.

[00:01:09] Dana Stanley: We’re not chasing perfection, but creating our next favorite memories. So whether you’re brand new to Disney or looking to go deeper into the details, this podcast is your go-to for simple tips, mindset shifts, real life trip recaps, and expert insights to make your trip magical and manageable. New episodes drop every Monday, so be sure to subscribe so you never miss a moment.

[00:01:30] Dana Stanley: Okay, let’s dive in. If you had asked me the day that we got here, if I would be back at Riviera, I would say a hundred percent yes. Again, honeymoon phase, we had like. A great, wonderful day at the pool. Fell in love with the room. Girls love the room. The view is just spectacular. They did such a good job with the sight lines of like opening the door and having those big windows, and it is really just beautiful and I love it.

[00:01:58] Dana Stanley: I can say that I love it, but yesterday on the way back from Epcot, I did not have a good experience on the Skyliner, and this is all. Like a me thing. This is not Disney. The Skyliner didn’t stall for 20 minutes or any type of horror stories. I’m not about to tell you this like terrifying story, so don’t get nervous, but something to know about me.

[00:02:26] Dana Stanley: If you haven’t assumed or guessed from past episodes and what I’ve talked about is, number one, I have anxiety and number two, which you probably don’t know because I get on rollercoasters and I fly, is I have a terrible fear of heights. And the thing about my fear of heights is it’s very like niche of what sets me off so I can get on a plane.

[00:02:48] Dana Stanley: I don’t love it. I don’t like takeoff and landing, and I don’t like turbulence. But I can do it like once we’re up and cruising, I’m moderately, okay. I don’t love bridges, but I can get over them. I don’t love being like at the top of a rollercoaster when I can see out, but by the time I’m nervous, like we’re on our way down and it’s worth it.

[00:03:10] Dana Stanley: Like I still like getting on coasters. I prefer roller coasters, like Gardens of the Galaxy and Epcot, where it’s dark and I can’t see the ground. So when I was talking to a friend about this, she was like, oh, you’re scared of Open Heights. And I’m like, yes, that’s what it is. Like the. Farther out I can see.

[00:03:31] Dana Stanley: And the less like enclosed I feel, the more nervous and scared I get. And I’ve been like this for forever. Like even the second story of the mall, I can’t go to the edge and it’s not like a safety thing. I don’t think I’m going to fall. So we go home tomorrow. This is the end of our trip. So I’ve been on the Skyliner, I think like five times so far, and I’ve been very, very nervous.

[00:03:56] Dana Stanley: And it is definitely not my favorite and I have to like grip onto the seat and like stare at the floor and no one can talk to me. And it’s definitely like not something that I like, but I’ll do it because I, again, like it’s not a safety thing. I don’t think the cable’s gonna snap or the skyliners gonna fall.

[00:04:15] Dana Stanley: Like I am not scared in that sense at all. And I know if I get on and just like sit there. It’s a quick ride and it’ll be over soon, and it is. It’s a very convenient way to get from point A to point B. We have gone to Epcot and Hollywood Studios right around like 8 30, 9 o’clock, and there’s been no line, no weight.

[00:04:42] Dana Stanley: I do know for a fact, just from what my members say, that there can be long lines when you’re rope dropping and things like that during busier times of year. You can hear my voice cracking because I’m like getting a little anxious talking about yesterday. But what I’m trying to say is it has been very convenient in terms of lines and getting people on and off has been easy.

[00:05:07] Dana Stanley: But yesterday, coming back from Epcot, the Skyliner slowed down for probably 30 seconds, and I’m saying slowing down because I don’t even think. It stopped and the skyliner can stop and will stop for issues that I am not going to pretend that I am, you know, savvy to, but even staying here and being able to stare at the skyliner, anytime I’m in this room and I’m looking at it right now and it’s not moving, so I know that it does stop.

[00:05:37] Dana Stanley: I’ve watched it stop for 30 seconds to 10 minutes. I don’t know if there’s people on it. But it’s something that I’m nervous about. Like when I see it stopped, I’m like, oh my gosh, are there people on it? Why is it stopped? Is there lightning in the area? So something to know is that the skyliner will close down for heavy winds and lightning.

[00:05:58] Dana Stanley: I have seen it running in rain, honestly. So I think it can run in the rain as long as there’s no lightning. But of course, people that have gotten stuck on the skyliner. For 20, 30 minutes, you hear about those stories, you know, those are the people that are like, oh my gosh, I got stuck on the skyliner, blah, blah, blah.

[00:06:16] Dana Stanley: That has not happened to us since we’ve been here. It’s been like very easy. I don’t know if we’re getting lucky with the timing. My friend Melissa, who is staying here right now, we’ve been texting a lot and it seems like it’s been closing down every time she wants to go to Epcot, and that’s been later in the day like a.

[00:06:35] Dana Stanley: More of an afternoon problem, it seems like to me, is the afternoons you have a more chance of a pause or a closing down. And that’s what happened with us. It just paused for, again, 30 seconds. And the reason why it sent me into a spin, if you wanna call it, that was where it stopped. So. There is a section between Epcot and Riviera where you’re going over the highway.

[00:07:04] Dana Stanley: What’s it called? I think it’s like Lake Buena Vista Boulevard. So multiple lanes of traffic and there’s like a sandy patch, so it’s like light and open. There’s not a lot of trees. It’s just like the sand and then the highway. It’s. Kind of like at the tallest point that the skyliner goes, like, we’re at the tallest tower spot where everything’s connected.

[00:07:27] Dana Stanley: And I, yeah, like it’s hard for me to even like talk about it because I had like a full blown panic attack and I have not had a panic attack before. I have had anxiety episodes, but this was textbook panic attack of like I couldn’t breathe, so I am holding. My son, and I’m trying not to scare the girls, and I don’t want them to be scared, and I’m full blown just having like a hole.

[00:07:57] Dana Stanley: I’m crying, I’m shaking, and then all of a sudden I can’t breathe. I feel like there’s like an elephant sitting on my chest and by the time I kind of like handed. Crew, like, I can’t hold anybody right now. The Skyler started moving and we were back at the Riviera within a minute. It was not a big deal, and I know that’s not how most people would be, but then last night we were going to Fantasm, so we had to go to Hollywood studios.

[00:08:24] Dana Stanley: And while I had put crew down for a nap, I mean, I was completely like toast, like my nerves were shot. I felt like I had the flu, like I just laid in bed for like two hours because I was so exhausted from whatever my body did with that episode. And so when we had to go to Fmic, we just Ubered because there was no way in heck that I was getting on that.

[00:08:49] Dana Stanley: And I got a little lucky because the Skyliner actually was shut down when we were going to Fmic. So it wasn’t like an option that I had to choose. And I was planning on kind of forcing Colton to just Uber home, even though he wanted to take the Skyliner. But as we were walking past the Skyliner station, even after Fmic, there was no line.

[00:09:11] Dana Stanley: Like it was a very short line and it was moving really quick. And Colton was like, come on, like can’t you just do it? And I thought because it was nighttime, I would do better because like I can’t see the ground as much. Even rollercoasters don’t tend to scare me as much at night. And we got on the Skyliner.

[00:09:31] Dana Stanley: They put another group in with us, which is fine because they’re trying to get the line consistent because it’s the end of the night and they don’t want it to back up. And I totally understand that. And it was fine. It was a mother and a daughter who were very calm and not scared of the skyliner. And sure enough, of course it paused.

[00:09:49] Dana Stanley: And the difference of this pause versus the Epcot pause was there was an announcement that came up and said. Like we have a delay of the skyliner, like stay seated. And I didn’t have like a full panic attack probably because I was trying to not seem like a nut job next to these strangers. And she was telling me like, oh, that happens all the time.

[00:10:14] Dana Stanley: We’re staying at pop. This is like the fourth time we’ve stayed here this year, and it’s not gonna be longer than like a minute. But I still was a hot mess. And then I had to go from the Caribbean beach station to Riviera and I was about to like walk. And Colton was like, Dana, we have to get these kids to bed.

[00:10:34] Dana Stanley: And he was totally right. And I essentially just had like a mini panic attack the rest of the night and it was awful. And my nerves are still shot and I’m just happy that I don’t have to think about getting on it because we’re going home. So if any of that sounds familiar or makes you wonder if you would act the same way or have the same experience or going with someone that might have that experience?

[00:10:59] Dana Stanley: I would say two things. I would honestly probably skip this resort completely or be committed to just Ubering and using minivans and ride shares. Or driving your own car to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. And honestly, like that’s not a crazy idea. Like I would stay at Riviera again if I would do those things.

[00:11:25] Dana Stanley: The problem is that my kids like the Skyliner, so I’m not really sure what I would do in that scenario if I could maybe take some strong medication. Which I am not opposed to because I do not want to experience that ever again. And it was definitely bad enough that it wasn’t something that just like some breathing would get me through.

[00:11:45] Dana Stanley: But I wanted to really talk about that because I don’t see a lot of people talking about it and just, man, if you have a fear of heights, I don’t know how you can do the skyliner. And I know it like scares some people. It makes ’em a little nervous. But this is like another level where like it would impact your trip significantly.

[00:12:08] Dana Stanley: Besides that, the Skyliner was fine. Even the Hollywood studios pause was truly at maybe two minutes. It felt like forever, but it was probably only two minutes, and we brought a double stroller, which are allowed on the skyliner. But with strollers, if you have a single stroller, you can just walk it right on.

[00:12:33] Dana Stanley: And if you have a double stroller that’s like in line, like a tandem front and back, double stroller, you can walk that on. But ours is a double side by side and those, they will ask you to fold up. And honestly, this wasn’t a big deal because I have my husband with me, so we would kind of pull off to the side before we got in line, get my bag.

[00:12:52] Dana Stanley: I would hold the baby. He would fold off the stroller. And we would just walk right on. It’s a little bit of an inconvenience, but it was not worth renting a different stroller or bringing a different stroller for that like 2% of our day versus having the stroller that we already owned and in turn free and love to use.

[00:13:15] Dana Stanley: All in all, I’m loving Revera. So far, any negative that I have is obviously very personal to me. I think I’ve seen things here and there that there isn’t enough theming. Or Disney, but I think it’s perfect with the amount of touches of Disney. I definitely feel and know that I’m staying at a Disney resort without it being like in your face and overstimulating like the overall feel has been very, very relaxed.

[00:13:40] Dana Stanley: Just make sure you’re not relying on it if you are afraid of heights like. We’re gonna be heading back topos tomorrow for breakfast before we leave, so I’ll give you all a full update on the rest of our trip. In my next episode, I think it’ll probably be an episode about how I broke so many rules on this trip so far.

[00:14:01] Dana Stanley: Like all of my. Things that I never do. I feel like we did, so I can’t wait to share more on that. If you want more updates or tips, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast, and if you have any questions about Riviera or anything specific. Feel free to send them my way. Thank you for listening, and I’ll talk to you again after our trip.

[00:14:24] Dana Stanley: Thank you so much for joining me on this episode of the Laid Back Magic Way podcast. If you enjoyed today’s episode and it was helpful for you, it would mean the world to me. If you’d write a quick review, your reviews, help more moms like you find the show, and I read every single one of them seriously.

[00:14:40] Dana Stanley: Thank you in advance. You can find me on Instagram at somewhere worthwhile, and I’d love to hear from you there. DM me. If you have any questions about this episode or what you’d like to see in future ones until then, keep planning for your next favorite memory and I’ll see you next time.