Disappointed in temp closed rides

[mkulp98]

We are here at WDW now and have been disappointed in how many rides have closed the past few days. I understand a few malfunctions however, this is just what instances that have happened to my family in the past few days....
Monday...got stuck shortly on test track
Tuesday....got to mk rope drop. My husband walked quickly first thing to get 12 fast passes for our family and the ride was broke down until very late in the day

 

[jbharr1]

I was at MK on Tuesday and Peter Pan was down during my FP+ window but was open by noon. MDE sent me an email and replaced it with my choice of maybe 6 attractions to be used anytime or PP when it opened back up. Thought that was pretty cool

 

[conandrob240]

Yep, PP down for 5 hrs. Splash down all day on Tuesday. Very frustrating. Also, on Tuesday at MK, food places shutting down hours before park closing. Columbia Harbour House closed at 5:30pm?!?! Why? Many booths with popcorn, ice cream, etc closing down around 7pm. Really, really annoying.

Merchandise is old and stale. Same things in almost every store and nothing we haven't seen over the past few years. Boring! Can't shop of you don't get anything worth buying! trend D is the only store that feels somewhat fresh to me every time and I did find a cute scarf there.

I can honestly also say after 25+ visits that I have never seen the parks and hotel areas so littered ( garbage pails overflowing onto ground at hotel- AKL) and seen so many areas in need of general maintenance - chipped paint, little broken things, etc. Our room at AKV was actually filthy when we checked into it. There was literally a thick layer of black mold under the soap dish as if it had neverbeen washed and a less noticeable but still gross ring of black mold all around the shower tile grout. White old around bathroom door jams and then peanuts and food under sofa cushions and chair cushions.

And a final observation- many rides were just plain hot. AC not only not cranked up but felt like it wasn't even on in many rides.

For the first time ever, I am considering cutting back multiple annual visits to once every 2 years or so. The whole experience was definitely lacking this time around.

And, yes, of course we still had a great time. And of course it is still a great place but I honestly feel it slipped a few notches this year.

 

[AndyFL]

We are here at WDW now and have been disappointed in how many rides have closed the past few days. I understand a few malfunctions however, this is just what instances that have happened to my family in the past few days....
Monday...got stuck shortly on test track
Tuesday....got to mk rope drop. My husband walked quickly first thing to get 12 fast passes for our family and the ride was broke down until very late in the day��, got stuck on haunted mansion and buzz lightyear. Magic carpets broke down while we were in line.
Today.. Only was suppose to have 2 lights, motor, action shows. We stood in line for 30+ minutes for the 1:20 show and was told 10 times it was going to be delayed to just be cancelled. Then I got stick at the very end of rock n roller coaster.
Don't get me wring we are still making memories and having fun... Just wondering if this truly happens this often!!!!

Believe me.....I know what you mean. Today while waiting to Dinosaur to get back online I checked HS and 3 rides were down. Monday we were at Epcot and had designed our car, gotten in line, and were the very next ones to get on and the ride shut down. On the bright side, as we were about to leave AK and head back home I checked Dinosaur on my phone and it had opened so we were able to use our FPs with 3 min to spare on the expire time. Karma seemed to be going our way and so I treated the family to a Kitchen Sink at B&C and our favorite server, Brian, had just showed up.

 

[Simba77]

I wonder if this isn't tied to the time of year. Not that it's not an issue all year, but the end of the summer season marks the end of the longest "busy" period of the year. For basically three straight months, the crowds are thick, there's very little scheduled "down time" for attractions to do maintenance, park hours are longer (the night shift is shorter), resorts are full... I think it's just harder for them to keep up with everything that needs to be done. I think maintenance probably suffers the most in August than any other time of year because of this.

I know for some people this is the only time they can go (August is probably the best time to go for teachers, for example), but you'll probably find better temperatures, better maintenance, and less "crowd" mess (overflowing garbage, etc) during Oct/Nov/Jan/Feb.

The overflowing garbage thing sucks, but at times, it's almost inevitable. With more and more people drinking bottled water/drinks (instead of reusing/refilling them or taking drinks from water fountains), the trash bins are going to fill up during the crowded times. And instead of holding on to their trash for a bit until they find an empty bin, they just try to cram it into a full one, or worse, just toss it on the ground. People just aren't as respectful as they used to be, which also ties in with the chipped paint, gum being stuck on things, etc.

Also, with modern technology and computer integration in attractions these days, safety systems are incredibly touchy. Back in the day, an attraction wouldn't be shut down due to a faulty sensor or a strict computer safety routine; they didn't have them. It can take time to go through the safety checks to get an attraction running again after that kind of shut down.

And sometimes, it's streaky bad luck - wrong time, wrong place.

Yep, PP down for 5 hrs. Splash down all day on Tuesday. Very frustrating. Also, on Tuesday at MK, food places shutting down hours before park closing. Columbia Harbour House closed at 5:30pm?!?! Why? Many booths with popcorn, ice cream, etc closing down around 7pm. Really, really annoying.

I'll say that I've experienced this same thing at DLR. Food stands (popcorn, lemonade, churros) and restaurants closing well before park close.

Harbour House closing at 5:30 isn't the norm, but it does close early sometimes. It seems like it's usually open late (9PM or so). The WDW website posts the hours. (ETA: Just checked, here are the closing times for the next few days: 29th - 9PM; 30th - 5PM; 31st - 9PM; 1st - 9PM; 2nd - 9PM; 3rd - 5PM)

 

[Sheilby]

Well none of that sounds very magical at all. I hope things improve for you guys down there. And I hope everything is back running when I get down there.

 

[old lady]

I hate it when the rides break down. I went on the Haunted Mansion and it broke out. They had to find the repair man to fix it. He was on his day off.

 

[PoohLover78]

We once got stuck on Big Thunder Mountain in the inside section where they pull you up. Within a couple mins there were 2 CMs present though keeping us entertained (one of the best stand up comedy I've ever seen XD). They let us out about 20 minutes later when the were able to release the bars. After that, the ride was down for 5 days. Must have been something grave.

 

[Simba77]

After that, the ride was down for 5 days. Must have been something grave.

This would have been a fantastic pun if only you were talking about HM

 

[pklein09]

We are here at WDW now and have been disappointed in how many rides have closed the past few days. I understand a few malfunctions however, this is just what instances that have happened to my family in the past few days....
Monday...got stuck shortly on test track
Tuesday....got to mk rope drop. My husband walked quickly first thing to get 12 fast passes for our family and the ride was broke down until very late in the day��, got stuck on haunted mansion and buzz lightyear. Magic carpets broke down while we were in line.
Today.. Only was suppose to have 2 lights, motor, action shows. We stood in line for 30+ minutes for the 1:20 show and was told 10 times it was going to be delayed to just be cancelled. Then I got stick at the very end of rock n roller coaster.
Don't get me wring we are still making memories and having fun... Just wondering if this truly happens this often!!!!

I guess my first question is how often do you go to WDW? We've been going at least once a year for the past 10 years. What you've experienced isn't any different than what we have:
Test Track: This is the most complicated ride in the parks and stops on a regular basis.
Haunted Mansion and Buzz Lightyear: These continuous-loading rides will stop for someone in a wheel chair so they can transfer. We almost always stop in HM at some point.
Magic Carpets: I can't comment on this one as our kids are older and we don't ride it.
Lights Motor Action: Was there bad weather? If there is a chance of a thunderstorm which brings the possibility of lightning, I can see them holding off until the last minute to cancel. Frustrating? Absolutely.
Rock N Roller: I can't comment on this one getting stuck as we've never had an issue. Did you get stuck in the parking garage or were you still in the queue line? We were there when Sinbad (comedian) was there with his family. (They occupied an entire ride vehicle.) Because of who he was (and he was probably there with a private tour guide), they rode it twice in a row which slowed the queue line down.

I'm sorry you've experienced so many ride delays. I guess I figure it comes with the territory. I'm glad you're still enjoying the trip and making memories! My thought is I'd rather be in Disney (sometimes soaked in the pouring rain!) than be at home doing housework!

 

[glammadiva]

I guess I was lucky when I was there the 1st week of August. Stayed at AKL. Place was spotless. The Parks were clean, and nothing broke down or closed early. MK will be closing early on 9/6-7 for Night of Joy.

 

[mistysue]

We were joking about it being us on Tuesday. We watched the carousel go down as we were about to board. Went to use Peter pan fp and it closed. We were on the moving sidewalk for the TTA when it went down for a few minutes. Next item on the itinerary? Carousel of progress. It went down while we were on the TTA.
That evening were were finishing our pirate adventure map, got the kids out of the stroller for pirates and it was down.
We got on all of them by the end of the night, but I aplologize to all of you who missed rides in our wake.

 

[mom2rtk]

This has nothing to do with the time of year. This is just the norm any more. I will say I have noticed it a lot more the last few years. Well, except TT. That one has been breaking down since the day it opened.

 

[Simba77]

This has nothing to do with the time of year. This is just the norm any more. I will say I have noticed it a lot more the last few years. Well, except TT. That one has been breaking down since the day it opened.

Just because you've noticed it on sporadic visits (a week or two out of the year?) doesn't necessarily mean you can say definitively that it has nothing to do with the time of year. During the summer the parks are open longer than other times of year, which means attractions are consistently running much longer days (sometimes 3-4 hours longer than the "off season"). To me, that seems like reason for increased down-time, if only for the fact that extra park hours means more opportunity - to exaggerate the frequency: if attraction A breaks down once every 6 hours, it will break down an average of 2 times per 12 hour park day (9AM - 9PM), but 2.5 times for a 15 hour park day (9AM - midnight)

 

[NYDisneyKid]

Welcome to Florida

 

[mom2rtk]

Just because you've noticed it on sporadic visits (a week or two out of the year?) doesn't necessarily mean you can say definitively that it has nothing to do with the time of year. During the summer the parks are open longer than other times of year, which means attractions are consistently running much longer days (sometimes 3-4 hours longer than the "off season"). To me, that seems like reason for increased down-time, if only for the fact that extra park hours means more opportunity - to exaggerate the frequency: if attraction A breaks down once every 6 hours, it will break down an average of 2 times per 12 hour park day (9AM - 9PM), but 2.5 times for a 15 hour park day (9AM - midnight)

I'm talking about the consistency of reports here on the DIS in addition to my own experience. And my "sporadic" experience has been in the "off season, during the limited hours you reference.

 

[feet1]

When we were in Epcot back in 2007, on Universe of Energy...it broke down and we had to exit. On the way out, my then 7year old says "that was more like the universe of NO energy". It was so funny!!
We are finally heading back in 20 days...and we still talk about that ride being down, and DS comment...

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Truth is, ride malfunctions do happen; that is part of life and day to day operations in a theme park. The OP's family was right to shrug that stuff off and have a wonderful time regardless of those impediments.

Objectively speaking, Disney could do better. The cut corners have been showing for a while now. I am not a big "If Walt Were Alive Today" guy, but I can just imagine him strolling through some of the parks today and saying "That's not good enough." Disney is in sore need of a "That's not good enough" guy/woman with some power in the corporation.

 

[karenklo]

we have almost always stopped for HM and Buzz or other continuous in motion rides. It is usually for a wheelchair bound person to transfer. My boys used to get upset that the ride stopped but once I explained why they have never mentioned it again. They actually like getting stopped on Buzz for more shooting!

 

[Simba77]

I'm talking about the consistency of reports here on the DIS in addition to my own experience. And my "sporadic" experience has been in the "off season, during the limited hours you reference.

That's all pretty unscientific, isn't it? The proliferation of social media in the past few years, as well as the addition of free wi-fi at WDW has made it easier for people to post on the DIS about their experiences as they're happening, hasn't it? Could it be that the reporting of broken down rides has as much to do with the ease of the way people can report status updates from the parks during their trip?

At the very least, I don't think you have enough data to say flat out that it has "nothing to do with the time of year," unless you have a "breakdowns per hour" calculation based on the month. At least you could say "I don't think that's it" rather than dismissing it out of hand like you're presenting anything other than a general observation based on people's reports (which again, are subject to mainly, imo, the proliferation of free wi-fi and smartphones in recent years).