Park notes: Skyliner safety concerns / Disney Springs hotel perks / New Allegiant routes

Members of the firefighters union at Walt Disney World say the Disney Skyliner accident this past weekend shows why they need more personnel to cover the growing resort.

Disney has still not said what caused the accident Saturday night. Guests were stuck inside gondolas for nearly three hours, with at least one cabin requiring emergency evacuation.

Speaking to The Orlando Sentinel, Reedy Creek Fire Rescue union secretary Ryan O’Reilly said the incident required most of the department’s manpower from the fire district between 8:30 p.m. and midnight.

“If anything else would have been going on [at Disney] at that moment, it could have been catastrophic,” O’Reilly told the Sentinel.

Union vice president Sean Pierce argued to WESH that the situation showed why the district needs to hire more firefighters, saying 30 of the 32 workers on shift Saturday night being called to help.

“If this had been between noon and 4 p.m. and you had 100 cars with anywhere from four to 10 people on each car and you have to extricate those people off of those vehicles, it’s going to take a long time and 32 people aren’t going to get it done,” Pierce said.

The union told WESH that it would be willing to accept a new contract with no pay increase as long as new positions are added. John Classe, the administrator for the Disney-run Reedy Creek Improvement District, said the union is using safety concerns to negotiate for a new deal.

Disney Springs hotels to keep FastPass+, Extra Magic Hours perks

The seven hotels along Hotel Plaza Boulevard near Disney Springs will continue to offer two major perks usually reserved for guests at Disney-owned resorts

Guests at these hotels will be access to Extra Magic Hours at Disney parks and be able to book FastPass+ ride reservations 60 days in advance through Dec. 31, 2020. The perks were initially set to expire at the end of 2019.

The Disney Springs Resort area hotels are: B Resort & Spa, Best Western Lake Buena Vista, DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando – Disney Springs Area, Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace, Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, Holiday Inn Orlando – Disney Springs Area, and Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista.

Allegiant Air adds two routes to Orlando Sanford airport

Budget airline Allegiant Air will be starting nonstop service to two new cities from Orlando Sanford International Airport this month.

As first reported by Orlando Business Journal, the new destinations are State College, Pennsylvania (starting Oct. 9) and Traverse City, Michigan (starting Oct. 17). Flights will be offered twice weekly.

“We are proud to continue expanding our network as we bring even more visitors to the Sanford area and introduce our Sanford-based customers to new travel destinations,” Allegiant vice president and of revenue Drew Wells said in a statement.

Sanford is a focus city for Allegiant, which offers flights to 67 cities from the airport.

Orlando Sanford International Airport is currently undergoing a $60 million expansion to add 50,000 square feet of terminal space, including four new gates. The airport reported serving a record 3 million passengers in 2018.

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