Just Back-Won't Return To Disneyworld Ever

[stargrazer]

Just another two cents...

Sure, rides break down. But for me, the magic isn't just about the rides. I mean, yes, it's a lot of the fun...but so are all the ones you didn't mention, and the shows, and the scenery, and the shopping, and the parades, and the fireworks...

Maybe don't invest so much into just rides and you'll have a better time, IMO.

And just for discussion sake...I went on Sunday at rope drop for a daytrip and it went like this...

AK - Dinosaur, FOTLK, ITTBAB, Everest
HOP
EPCOT - Lunch @ Alfredo's in Italy, Test Track
HOP
MK - Space Mtn (closed, went back later and rode), Buzz, Peter Pan, Philharmagic, Splash Mountain and BTMRR

So , just bad luck that day I guess! Just wanted you to know it doesn't always go that way!

 

[cf0423]

One less "Grumpy" at WDW, that's not so bad is it?

Real classy (hope you feel good about yourself), I just wanted to advise people of the breakdowns, but whatever. As a poster said I am entitled to my opinion. I hope you all have wonderful trips. Best of Luck. Although I think Disney is great, apparently one wrong word on this board will bring out the vultures. If the trip wasn't bad enough some of the posters on this board are a little obsessed and viscious.

 

[litlpixie]

That's stinks that the OP had a crappy trip to the World, but there's just a little part of me that thinks the OP doth embelish a little. The OP stated that they "went to all 4 parks and there wasnt a ride or attraction that wasnt broke down already, or the line was 1.5 hours long".......I do not understand how that could be possible......was this on the news that evening? EVERY RIDE IN ALL 4 PARKS?!?!?!......holy moley!!!!

As BostonRob put it "Oh Well"

I have never been to WDW and seen EVERY SINGLE RIDE operating with no problems....I also make ADR's and usually have to wait anyway, I have gotten stuck on rides, gotten some "crappy" rooms at deluxe resorts. Ate some Disney food, and paid for it later. Met some rude people and rude staff............and I still go back twice a year......because for me it is all worth it!! It's the only place I can go and really "play" with my kids, eat junk food and not care about how much time I will have to walk on the treadmill, experience real sunshine.....being from NY, we dont have this thing called sunshine., sing, laugh, act silly in front of other adults....this is the place we go.......and now, my friends, we have one less person in the Turnstile line, and that's ok with me

 

[Nala2007]

I'm sorry you had such a bad time, we have NEVER had a ride breakdown during a visit. We hate lines to, so we FASTPASS it, and never had to wait more than 40 minutes tops...

I guess to put it in perspective, if you had visits prior to this that went smoothly, THEN had a vacation where rides broke down here or there, then it would be different, but I guess I would be upset too if my first trip I couldn't ride the best rides!

You are entitled to your own opinion and shouldn't get flamed for it.

 

[marcbelt]

In the last 12 years, I´ve been to WDW some 30 or more times. Most of the times when a problem has occurred, a CM has been there to help out or "make things better". In the case of broken down rides, on more than one occassion I have been given a 6 person fastpass to return to the ride at a later hour or day.

Once I dropped a large drink, a CM came over and asked me what I was drinking and immediately replaced it----no charge.

DD once lost her autograph book at MK. Luck would have it the PARK MANAGER was next to us when it happened-----he took an autograph book from the nearest stand and ordered a CM to collect all the autographs he could to "replace" our loss-------WOW!!!!

DS was crying in his stroller once, so a CM came over and gave him a small Winnie the Pooh doll (free)----a Disney Magical Moment.

I´m not saying that nice things ALWAYS happen, but it does seem to me that you let a few long lines and breakdowns get to you.

 

[jjarman]

I am a bit confused, I've been to Disney during peak times and never waited more than an 45-60 minutes tops for an attraction. I can't imagine there being a line of 90 minutes or more. did you use fastpass?

I've been on rides that broke down, BTMRR and Haunter mansion to name a few, no big deal, its mechanical, it happens. I've gotten stuck in lines with the kids (we have 5) and we just make the best of it. its a family vacation and we spend time with each other whether in line or on a ride.

What week did you go, presidents week?

I feel the same way. We have been in June and at Spring Break. We leave this Saturday for a week during Spring Break. All of these were peak periods. We NEVER waited more than 20 minutes for a ride unless we wanted to (out of FP and really wanted to ride something). Sure we had some breakdowns (Splash is the only one I can think of off hand but I am sure there were others) but it didn't ruin my trip and it won't this time either. But then I am of the opinion nothing can ruin my vacation short of a death in the family.

 

[daisyduck123]

I'm sorry you had such a bad time, we have NEVER had a ride breakdown during a visit. We hate lines to, so we FASTPASS it, and never had to wait more than 40 minutes tops...

We have never waited more than 20 minutes for a ride, and that was only once for the Winnie the Pooh ride.
Other than that ride, we've never waited more than 10 minutes.

We:
-have never gone during school vacations - we pull ours out of school.
-use FastPass - boy am I good at that!
-get to a park at opening.

 

[boomhauer]

Real classy (hope you feel good about yourself), I just wanted to advise people of the breakdowns, but whatever. As a poster said I am entitled to my opinion. I hope you all have wonderful trips. Best of Luck. Although I think Disney is great, apparently one wrong word on this board will bring out the vultures. If the trip wasn't bad enough some of the posters on this board are a little obsessed and viscious.

I think the thing is, we're all aware of ride breakdowns. Yeah, it stinks, but it happens. It happens everywhere. It's frustrating, but really is nothing more than an inconvenience. Would you prefer Disney do nothing when something is "off" then get hurt on a ride?

As for long lines, not really anything can be done about that. As I said, with advance planning (serious planning) you can avoid the lines.

 

[DisneyFan06]

Did you say 2.5 hours for POTC... Um.... Are you sure? Did you expect to just walk on every ride?

I have never waited more than 30 minutes and I typically go during the heat of summer and it is packed!

 

[Princess Jayne]

In the last 12 years, I´ve been to WDW some 30 or more times. Most of the times when a problem has occurred, a CM has been there to help out or "make things better". In the case of broken down rides, on more than one occassion I have been given a 6 person fastpass to return to the ride at a later hour or day.

Once I dropped a large drink, a CM came over and asked me what I was drinking and immediately replaced it----no charge.

DD once lost her autograph book at MK. Luck would have it the PARK MANAGER was next to us when it happened-----he took an autograph book from the nearest stand and ordered a CM to collect all the autographs he could to "replace" our loss-------WOW!!!!

DS was crying in his stroller once, so a CM came over and gave him a small Winnie the Pooh doll (free)----a Disney Magical Moment.

In my opinion thats what disney is all about and the rides are just an added bonus. take the rides away and you still have disneyworld, take away the parades and the magic then all you have is another theme park! x

 

[orljustin]

Did you say 2.5 hours for POTC... Um.... Are you sure? Did you expect to just walk on every ride?

Yeah. There's no way that was true.

 

[mb168]

"Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."
-Yogi Berra

 

[dizprincess717]

In my opinion thats what disney is all about and the rides are just an added bonus. take the rides away and you still have disneyworld, take away the parades and the magic then all you have is another theme park! x

Well said!

I'd like to know what the OP is going to take away from this trip (minus the Cruise Line)... Instead of remembering his child's (children) happy face when seeing their favorite character, the first thing OP did was come back to the Boards and complain of rides breaking down.

Like I said before... I worked at Splash. Ride downtimes are a fact of life. When Splash goes down for a week for refurbs, even that can't fix everything. If you can't accept the fact that sometimes your well thought out plan isn't going to go over so smoothly... Grab yourself a Mickey bar and some popcorn, sit down, and people watch! Shop! Check out some of the out of the way things that Guests don't do all the time!

 

[Buzz Litebeer]

There were so many ride breakdowns it was ridiculous. Especially when you wait for 2 hours only for Disney to say it wouldn't be running that day. The cast members should either get better information as to what is going on or else they should keep their mouths shut. No info is better than wrong info.

Just a couple of quick points in case you're interested in hearing them:

• As a CM I've never once seen anyone wait for two hours without being told "Yes, the attraction is closed, and no, we do not know at this time when it will be operational."
• You complain in your posts that the rides "broke down" and that Disney doesn't spend enough on maintenance. Are you certain the ride closures were due to poor maintenance? Did a CM tell you that? Or did they just say "technical difficulties" which covers anything from mechanical errors to guest shenanigans?
• You say the cast Members should "keep their mouths shut." Did a CM tell you they knew exactly when a ride would reopen, or did they advise "Just check back with us later on in the day?"
• Did you notify Guest Relations, or did you think that any change would come about by complaining on a computer message board full of Disney fans?

 

[dizprincess717]

Just a couple of quick points in case you're interested in hearing them:

• As a CM I've never once seen anyone wait for two hours without being told "Yes, the attraction is closed, and no, we do not know at this time when it will be operational."
• You complain in your posts that the rides "broke down" and that Disney doesn't spend enough on maintenance. Are you certain the ride closures were due to poor maintenance? Did a CM tell you that? Or did they just say "technical difficulties" which covers anything from mechanical errors to guest shenanigans?
• You say the cast Members should "keep their mouths shut." Did a CM tell you they knew exactly when a ride would reopen, or did they advise "Just check back with us later on in the day?"
• Did you notify Guest Relations, or did you think that any change would come about by complaining on a computer message board full of Disney fans?

Ahhh a fellow CM. Well said! I believe I said that whole spiel way back on the first page... Hopefully I will be moving back down to the World in January. I miss it way too much! And working at the local Disney Store makes me miss it even more!!!

Okay. Back on topic!

 

[tinkgurl]

Even if the most horrible things happen to us on the trip, we see it as "We'd rather be going through this at WDW than at home!" Your trip is what you make it. Sorry you had such a bad time.

 

[thebarefootone]

Two things:

Fast Pass and Touring Plan

Know how to use them and you will avoid most all of long lines.
And you don't even have to have a commando touring plan, just
know what times of the day to ride what rides.
It doesn't take much homework to make a BIG difference in your trip.

I went to Six Flags Marine World in Cali last summer. O.....M.....G.....!!!!
We were there from about 11am to 6pm and rode 2 rides!!!! 2!
We were in line for the main rollercoaster for 2.5 hours!!!!
The whole time I was there I was like "This would NEVER happen at Disney!"

First of all, Fast pass is free and easy to use. And it works very well.
Also, there is SO much info out there about when to ride what rides.
The only ride I got irritated about breaking down when we were there was Test Track in Epcot. And they gave us Fast Passes for our trouble.
Six Flags would NEVER do that.
And they charge for their little wannabe-Fast Pass system.
And it probably doesn't work as well.

And for me personally, I feel like Disney has at least put effort in to making the standing in line part as enjoyable as possible. You know, cool things to look at in line...neat surroundings...hidden mickeys to find...music. Everything is themed and decorated. Many times the standing in line area is all about getting into the ambiance of the attraction. (ie: TTBAB, Haunted Mansion, Aerosmith...) Lines at Six Flags and other non-Disney parks are reminiscent of cattle corrals.

So basically my point is, if you are boycotting Disney for the lines and rides delays...you should boycott every theme park in the world.
Because Disney is the only one that does it right.

 

[CanadianGuy]

We were at the Parks 2/25-3/4 (Hey Canadian Guy, didn't the weather turn out almost perfect for us despite all the doom and gloom forecasts?! One shower and one cold day - not bad!)....

Not to hi-jack the thread .. but absolutely.. the weather was beyond fantastic for last week.. We left on Saturday so we missed whatever day was cold. We didn't find any of the days to be anything but pleasant .. weatherwise.

I had a few grumpy moments over getting separated from my friends and sitting outside TestTrack for 2 hours for nothing. But I got over it in a hurry and I met some really wonderful people too while I was waiting.

J

 

[mb168]

If you can't accept the fact that sometimes your well thought out plan isn't going to go over so smoothly... Grab yourself a Mickey bar and some popcorn, sit down, and people watch! Shop! Check out some of the out of the way things that Guests don't do all the time!

I totlly get what you're saying, but I also live 4 hrs away and go to WDW 4-6 times/year so people watching and parkhopping 3 parks in one day to ride 1-2 rides in each on APs makes sense for me.

But, some people don't go even every year or two. They go expecting to ride rides, they can people watch at their local malls for free. Now I agree that op probably had a snowball affect including likely high crowds and an ER trip with a kid that made things worse than they may have appeared and were beyond Disney control, but you do have to remember that not everyone can viit the parks often enough to not care about the rides.

 

[Princess Jayne]

[*]Did you notify Guest Relations, or did you think that any change would come about by complaining on a computer message board full of Disney fans?
[/LIST]

Thats a good point.

If the person who started the thread never wants to go back to WDW then-whatever thats your choice. But if you just want things to change before you go back then you're complaining to the wrong people. I'm sure if you complained direct to disney they'd take on board what you say!