A very disappointing visit - results of my email to DLR 7/9

[momof2n2]

If not getting on a ride or two makes for a wasted day in one's opinion than maybe DLR isn't the place to vacation. I simply can't understand how a ride or two would destroy a visit.

Go to their website.
See which rides are prominently plastered on the main pages.
Go to the park.
Said rides are down?
Yeah... I'd be extremely disappointed.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

And my whole family is coming! My parents are getting older and my sister has health issues. They decided who knows when everyone will be healthy enough so let's do it now, well spring 2015 lol!
.

I hope that you have a great trip. For almost 10 years we took a yearly trip to DL, my family, my brother and his daughter, my parents. I have so many fantastic memories and we had so many enjoyable days.

We still go, but now my dad has passed away. We knew when his trip would be the last, he was just so sick with cancer. In a strange twist, his funeral was scheduled for the day and time of the flight that we always took to fly out to DL. In my own morbid sense of humor way, I joke that he knew we would be sad about not going to DL that year, so he wanted us to have something to distract us.

OP, I am sorry that things did not work out for you. Has Disneyland been neglected? Yes, it has. Hopefully the upcoming 60th will bring some much needed attention to the park. However, it is still a magical place that bring me so much joy. I imagine that when I am older and all that I can do it sit on the bench and people watch, I will enjoy it just as much as I do now. Disneyland has so many different experiences to offer. It is preferred to go in with a plan, yes, but when the plan is no longer viable you seize the day and enjoy it regardless because life is just too short and not a one of us has a promise of tomorrow.

And if that makes me a fool, so be it. I wear the name proudly.

 

[Jennafoo]

Go to their website.
See which rides are prominently plastered on the main pages.
Go to the park.
Said rides are down?
Yeah... I'd be extremely disappointed.

$150 a person is definitely steep for only 2-3 rides, if not having those rides will make you miserable. If the rest of the rides are "garbage" except for those few ones, I'd say you're throwing away money at DLR even if the rides are up and running.

$50/pp per ride is steep for me.

 

[larina]

It's funny...I read your post and thought, "Wow. They got to do a LOT in one day! Sounds like fun."...

Yes, this is what I was think it when I read the original post. Seemed like they got a ton done in just one day. I can't imagine how much he could have gotten done with just a little less park hopping. We are "hoppers" and all that back and forth made my head hurt, lol.

OP, I'm sorry your experience was not all you had hoped. I can't even imagine doing less than 4 days, 5 is my preference, but 1? It's just not enough to have a nice visit, I'm sorry, unless you come a lot. Maybe you'll reconsider and plan a longer visit sometime, but it doesn't sound like that's going to happen.

 

[ronandannette]

Go to their website.
See which rides are prominently plastered on the main pages.
Go to the park.
Said rides are down?
Yeah... I'd be extremely disappointed.

Presuming the particular rides are not down for scheduled refurb, I also don't think it's completely unrealistic to expect to be able to do 3 headliners in each park in a single day if you're willing to park hop and have a game plan. Things happen that may prevent it, sure. That's life and we all need to "deal", but those that imply the OP's attitude is the problem are off-base. Why bother researching or planning at all then, if a $150/day ticket is just "pay your money and take your chances"...

 

[Malcon10t]

We've been here 3 days, and I haven't seen a ride 101ed this trip. In fact, SPace and Alice came up early.

Yesterday, we arrived in the park at 11am. We rode Space, watched Mickey's Magical Map, rode Roger Rabbit, IASW, BTMRR, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, 2 rides on Splash, Indy (it was now 430), stopped to eat for 90 mins, then hit ToT, Screamin', TSMM, Swings, back to Cars Land for Racers and Maters, off to ice cream, over to Mermaid, and walked up to WoC before calling it a night.

 

[Apps]

To be fair to the OP, disneyland has been pretty bad with ride closures this year. Feels way worse than the previous 4 years. I average 20 trips annually and ride closures were very very noticeable in the last year.

It also could be that it's never been as crowded so perhaps the rides are getting more wear and tear.

 

[sharona]

We've been here 3 days, and I haven't seen a ride 101ed this trip. In fact, SPace and Alice came up early.

Yesterday, we arrived in the park at 11am. We rode Space, watched Mickey's Magical Map, rode Roger Rabbit, IASW, BTMRR, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, 2 rides on Splash, Indy (it was now 430), stopped to eat for 90 mins, then hit ToT, Screamin', TSMM, Swings, back to Cars Land for Racers and Maters, off to ice cream, over to Mermaid, and walked up to WoC before calling it a night.

I'm happy for you that you didn't run into any ride breakdowns. The fact that you (and so many others) know the Disney code for an unscheduled closure says it all.

I know a lot of you disagree and I respect your right to do so, but to me, the number of rides that were closed (4 headliners that day at various times), the length of some of the shut downs (RSR from 10am to after 9pm) and the attractions operating at less than capacity during busy season (TSMM, Soarin, POTC*) is completely unacceptable.

*POTC had several boats going out empty. There were white rags tied to the front to indicate to the CMs that they were not to be used.

 

[SLK1]

I agree, OP, that DL seems to have way more maintenance issues than WDW. We had several while we visited just last week. DH knows someone in engineering who said that 95% of the time a ride is down is because of RIDER ERROR!!! Who knows if that's just their way of covering their butts, but it could be true. It is super-frustrating to wait and see empty cars and/or have a ride break down when you're next in line (we have had our fair share of that).

I applaud your ambitious attitude though...you get an A for effort!

 

[wenrob]

To be fair to the OP, disneyland has been pretty bad with ride closures this year. Feels way worse than the previous 4 years. I average 20 trips annually and ride closures were very very noticeable in the last year.

It also could be that it's never been as crowded so perhaps the rides are getting more wear and tear.

I have to say, I didn't feel the crowds were that bad Tues 24-Fri 27. I had been nervous because predictions were 9 out of 10 for those days. Noting that we took late afternoon breaks I would have put them around a 7/8 that is with the exception of Thurs 26 which is when the OP was there. As I told my DH, it only *felt* like it was more crowded because rides were down so people weren't ON them and of course, headed over to DL looking to do rides there. We did not experience the waits and down rides the OP describes in DL but we also weren't aiming to get all the headliners in either. I do feel for the OP it sounds like she just had a run of bad luck all around.

As to going to the parks to only experience headliners, I have to agree with a previous poster, if that is the intent then maybe DLR isn't the right fit for some. There is SO much more to do and experience than that. My teen DD and I have spent the whole day in DL, never rode a single ride and still had the best day ever.

 

[wenrob]

I'm happy for you that you didn't run into any ride breakdowns. The fact that you (and so many others) know the Disney code for an us scheduled closure says it all.

I know a lot of you disagree and I respect your right to do so, but to me, the number of rides that were closed (4 headliners that day at various times), the length of some of the shut downs (RSR from 10am to after 9pm) and the attractions operating at less than capacity during busy season (TSMM, Soarin, POTC*) is completely unacceptable.

*POTC had several boats going out empty. There were white rags tied to the front to indicate to the CMs that they were not to be used.

What does the bolded mean?

 

[superlarz]

*POTC had several boats going out empty. There were white rags tied to the front to indicate to the CMs that they were not to be used.

Due to the growing weight of passengers on this ride, the back rows of boats are very prone to filling up with water. The boats they were skipping most likely had an inch or 2 of water throughout the boat. They will skip them until the water drains.

 

[alvernon90]

What does the bolded mean?

It means that ride breakdowns happen so often that even guests know the lingo for it. It's a fair point!

I wonder if it is true that the vast majority of "breakdowns" occur due to guest behavior. I would not be surprised, for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, many guests are idiots who seem to think that "magic" means the rules do not apply because no one can ever get hurt. Second, I've seen some rides continue to operate when the effects are in deplorable condition, so merely having a "bad show" is not enough to cause breakdowns.

 

[sharona]

It means that ride breakdowns happen so often that even guests know the lingo for it. It's a fair point!

I wonder if it is true that the vast majority of "breakdowns" occur due to guest behavior. I would not be surprised, for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, many guests are idiots who seem to think that "magic" means the rules do not apply because no one can ever get hurt. Second, I've seen some rides continue to operate when the effects are in deplorable condition, so merely having a "bad show" is not enough to cause breakdowns.

While this may be true, it is up to Disney to find a better solution to the problem since it impacts their ability to provide a good experience. Rides closing due to bags, hats, sunglasses falling out of the vehicle? Take a page from Universal and enforce a no bags/loose items policy for those rides and provide lockers to store the items. Idiots trying to stand up during the ride? Change the rider restraints to make this a non factor. Even if it was the initial cause of the shutdown, I doubt that rider error can explain their inability to get RSR back online for over 10 hours.

 

[LizzyS]

Okay, if you're that disgusted, just don't go back.

Regardless of what is down at any given time, I'm still at Disneyland and I love the atmosphere, personally. Some of the e-ticket rides are my favorite and I'd be bummed if they were down, but there's plenty to do there and it would in no way ruin my trip.

We're actually planning a one day trip in December to check out the Christmas decorations.

One day trips are just not ideal if you are dead set on doing a handful of things or else you're not satisfied, in my opinion.

 

[whoever]

Rides closing due to bags, hats, sunglasses falling out of the vehicle? Take a page from Universal and enforce a no bags/loose items policy for those rides and provide lockers to store the items. Idiots trying to stand up during the ride? Change the rider restraints to make this a non factor. Even if it was the initial cause of the shutdown, I doubt that rider error can explain their inability to get RSR back online for over 10 hours.

Or just ban people who do stupid stuff on rides. Stand up... BLACKLISTED.

For Pirates, they usher you to a numbered gate. No reason they couldn't weigh each row via pressure sensors encompassing the gate staging area and adjust riders accordingly (hold an entire row). It would solve the water problems.

 

[Gisele]

Or just ban people who do stupid stuff on rides. Stand up... BLACKLISTED.

For Pirates, they usher you to a numbered gate. No reason they couldn't weigh each row via pressure sensors encompassing the gate staging area and adjust riders accordingly (hold an entire row). It would solve the water problems.

Um yeah no......don't care to be weighed if I am the only person in the row. Lol!

 

[whoever]

Um yeah no......don't care to be weighed if I am the only person in the row. Lol!

When I Single Rider it, I'm always the only person in the row, and I'm pushing 230 these days since the I gained the requisite 30# everybody seems to gain once they join my company.

 

[Dot2Vegas]

One day trips are just not ideal if you are dead set on doing a handful of things or else you're not satisfied, in my opinion.

I totally agree! Due to my husbands busy work schedule we usually only go to Disneyland for one day trips, 3 or 4 times per year. The key to enjoying a one day visit is having an open mind and going with the flow. We've been when favorite rides are down, when its literally shoulder to shoulder people, when our kids or ourselves have gotten sick....we keep the plans loose and don't focus on any one thing. We also have a rule that we don't get bummed out for more than 10 minutes when something doesn't go our way. Sulk a bit and then move on! And I know due to different circumstances in each family this is not always possible for everyone, but we can generally, even on a crowded day, accomplish everything we want. Including most major attractions. Again, this is done with good planning but also flexibility.

 

[Ember]

I am willing to offer sympathy to the OP. I bumped my entire trip to Japan by a week so that some of the unique attractions would be back up. (Journey to the Center of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea were both in refurb over the initial travel time we had chosen. We hadn't booked anything yet, so it was just a matter of deciding to go a week later.) They are unique and special so we shuffled dates so we could experience them. I would have been really disappointed if they had been down when we went. It's a long way to try and go again!

I also am willing to cut the OP some slack for the comment about not wanting to go again. I call it Disney rage. When Disney screwed up my wedding photos I had it. I swore up and down I was never, but never, giving another dollar to the company. What can I say, eventually the rage simmered down and I was able to remember why I loved Disney as much as I do.

OP, I hope you give Disneyland another chance one day. It has a charm to it that makes it very special and I hope next time you get a chance to experience it.