Get ready to ride in a Skyway gondola for a birds-eye view of Fantasyland and Tomorrowland at the Yester Magic Kingdom. Your one-way journey can begin in either land. Let’s start in Fantasyland.

The line moves slowly because this isn’t a high-capacity ride. Eventually, it’s your turn. A Cast Member pulls a gondola onto a stationary overhead rail. He opens the door for you. Have a seat! Each gondola can hold four adults or 700 pounds. If four of you board, two of you face forward and the other two face backward.

Ascending (left) for a view of the Cinderella Castle Cake (right)

Enjoy the view! You can’t miss the world’s largest birthday cake—the 189-foot-tall Cinderella Castle Cake—although it looks less like a cake from the Yester Fantasyland side than from the front.

After closing the door, the Cast Member pushes your gondola onto the moving cable. Your gondola rocks back and forth a bit and ascends high into the sky above the park. Your aerial tram ride has begun.

This is hardly a thrill ride by the usual definition. But if you’re afraid of heights, there’s a thrill element here—especially if you’re facing backward and your gondola suddenly rocks back and forth because you’re at a support tower that you didn’t see coming. Gasp!

There’s so much to see. It’s like being a bird in flight. The aquamarine 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea lagoon is crystal clear, even though the Jules Verne-style submarines stopped operating in 1994.

Now comes the most unusual part of this aerial journey. Your gondola descends almost to ground level (where a Cast Member waves to you), makes a right turn toward the Tomorrowland terminus, and ascends for another, shorter aerial segment.

The ride takes less than five minutes but is quite exhilarating. Who says every attraction has to tell a story? Sometimes it’s just about the experience—and flying like a bird above the Yester Magic Kingdom is a delighful experience.

The Skyway was built by Von Roll of Bern, Switzerland, which built similar sky rides for over 100 amusement parks, theme parks, and exposition grounds. The first Von Roll sky ride in the United States was the Skyway at Disneyland in 1956. Each gondola in the original Disneyland version was round, had a center post, and held only two guests. These gondolas were often called “sky buckets” because of their appearance. In the 1960s, Disney Legend Bob Gurr designed new gondolas which doubled the guest capacity from two to four, eliminated the center post, and improved the appearance—all without raising the weight.

The Skyway connecting Tomorrowland and Fantasyland at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom was one of the original attractions when the park opened on Friday, October 1, 1971. Technically, it was two attractions— Skyway to Fantasyland and Skyway to Tomorrowland .