Attractions Breaking?

[jojee33]

I just came back from Disneyland with my 2 teenage daughters. We are exhausted and had a great time. But my question is that I don't remember rides...excuse me, attractions, as I was corrected by a cast member, breaking down as much. The rides that were not working throughout the day were Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster, Alice in Wonderland, Indiana Jones Adventure, Pirates of the Caribbean. Luckily we were able to wait for another ride and then by the time we got back it had re-opened, but it happened over and over again all day long. Is this typical?

I did download a free app for my iPhone: Disneyland Wait Times Free (their are several). I found this one to be most accurate regarding wait times and it would also indicate when an attraction was down.

It was still a great day. Indiana Jones Adventure was our favorite (despite the 90 minute wait time). Not sure how I feel about the whole FastPass deal. When you have it, it's great. When you don't, it feels so unfair. Not many people understood how to use it. Thankfully I came to this site first.

 

[skiingfast]

Did you see all of those attractions down, or did the app say so? Apps can be inaccurate when they depend on user input.

The attractions can stop for a number of reasons, and this week is when they are stressed the greatest as they all run at thier max. So that number of attractions does not seem unreasonable.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

This is pretty typical in our experience of extremely high attendance times at the parks. I still remember the time when my boys were pretty little and we were there the week between Christmas and New Year's. Many rides broke down repeatedly throughout the week which didn't bother us too much since as you said they would usually open again. The only real disappointment was that every time we tried to ride Peter Pan it was closed. Finally, on our last morning, we went to Fantasyland and Peter Pan was open with hardly any line. My boys refused to get in line. They were convinced the ride would break down again, this time while they were riding it, and they didn't want the people with the long ladders to come and have to take them down from their flying vehicle. So that was one of our few visits to Disneyland that we didn't ride Peter Pan.

 

[jojee33]

They were actually down. I just mentioned the App because I would see what other attractions were available and it did notate the one I was standing in front was down. Since we were there all day, they all opened up eventually by the time we left. In fact, in Fantasyland some of the signs are hand turned since I saw a boy reach up and manually turn the sign and then laugh about it.

 

[blamar]

Sometimes rides breaking down are not really a case of breaking down. when things are really busy and more and more people are trying to get on an off the cars different people will not be as efficient as getting in and out as others. If a person has trouble walking then they may have to stop the doommobile in the haunted mansion. If someone drops their camera or glasses in a railcar on space mountain they have to stop the ride to find them. Combine that with lots and lots of people and there are bound to be snags.

To say the ride breaks down sounds like it is bad maintenance and I think I would have more faith in Disney maintenance then the collective silliness and differences in large groups of people.

 

[Kittyskyfish]

Sometimes rides breaking down are not really a case of breaking down. when things are really busy and more and more people are trying to get on an off the cars different people will not be as efficient as getting in and out as others. If a person has trouble walking then they may have to stop the doommobile in the haunted mansion. If someone drops their camera or glasses in a railcar on space mountain they have to stop the ride to find them. Combine that with lots and lots of people and there are bound to be snags.

To say the ride breaks down sounds like it is bad maintenance and I think I would have more faith in Disney maintenance then the collective silliness and differences in large groups of people.

So true! DH and I were waiting for Space Mountain and as we entered into the giant loading dock room/area, along the walkway as you enter the area there was a large quantity of [sorry] vomit on the ground. We tiptoed past it and noticed - after a few minutes - no one queued behind us. We then heard announcements that the ride will be closed for a period of time and people could wait or leave. Thing is, this was directed to people waiting outside on the upper level and beyond, NOT for those of us in the docking area. The CMs continued to load the remaining people (those past the mess) and run the attraction. We were the last to get on!

After the ride and as we exited, we could see that people were accessing Space Mountain again, so the closure didn't last long.

Usually we see short-time closures for all the major attractions when we go. To us, it's not a sign of bad maintenance but hints of "things happen" and we move on to something else. And with all the times we've been to DLR, it's actually very rare that any unexpected closure lasts for more than a half-day. Usually, they are pretty fast about about opening the attraction again.

 

[NiceOneSimba]

When I was there for a conference in April, Space Mountain was closed when we got to start of the line. We asked the CM how long it would be down, and he said, "Well, we're cleaning up after a little meteor shower. It shouldn't be too long."

It cracked me up!

We actually decided to wait in that hallway area between Captain Eo and the Pizza Port. The wait was quite short (less than 10 minutes?) and we had no wait, and picked up FPs on our way in for later in the day! ;-)

 

[DizFan13]

Closures aren't uncommon, and I agree with previous posters that they are more frequent with larger crowds. I am actually reassured by the way Disney handles these things. The fact that they are quick to close helps to provide safety for the guests, in my opinion. In 2007, my DS and I were escorted off of BTMRR, mid-ride, and since that day I have been more comfortable in knowing that if the CM's suspect a problem, they will react first to ensure guests safety. It is hard sometimes, such as on our last trip when it seemed that Space was down more than up, but I just relax and trust that there must be a reason.

 

[LisaT91403]

When I was there for a conference in April, Space Mountain was closed when we got to start of the line. We asked the CM how long it would be down, and he said, "Well, we're cleaning up after a little meteor shower. It shouldn't be too long."

It cracked me up!

When Casey Jr. was down, DS(3) asked the CM if it would be running again soon. The CM said "Casey thought he could...but he couldn't." I thought that one was funny too

 

[PinkBudgie]

In our experience, Space and Indy are the two most frequenly shut down rides. We've been on both rides when they broke in addition to seeing the line closed when we went to go on them. Indy especially must be due for a good overhaul.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

When we were there Sunday - Friday during Thanksgiving week this year, we saw each of the following rides closed temporarily at least once (and not due to fireworks, rain, or another "normal" closure reason):

Star Tours, Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Alice, Teacups, Peter Pan, Big Thunder, Haunted Mansion, Indy, Jungle Cruise, Toy Story, and Screamin'.

Some of those were shut down on more than one occasion when we walked past or went to ride, and I'm sure there were others that we never knew about. You just kind of have to expect it and roll with it at busy times.

 

[williamson_ja]

I haven't been to DL in about 5 years, but we've been going to WDW in those in between years. Last year at WDW, it became almost comical how often the rides we were on would break down. It usually happened WHILE we were on the ride. We got stuck on Pirates for 15 minutes... which means that we got through most of the ride, but then got stuck in one spot for 15 minutes... looking at the same scene without moving. After that, the boat started moving again. That one was really bizarre. A couple of other rides stopped mid-ride, but not for very long (1-2 minutes). Then, there were other break downs that happened before we got onto the ride. FYI, we always travel at the slowest times of the year. I can't handle crowds very well and insist upon going when no one else is there.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

Space Mt has timing issues to the point if it takes too long to load or unload a vehicle they have to stop and reset the ride. This is why there's a separate loading car for those that need more time.

 

[BelleBway]

Last Saturday (12/24), it took me 4 tries before I could get on a ride that was operational. At the time, it was really annoying because I'd gotten to the parks early so that I could ride attractions before they had a line. Haunted Mansion holiday was down most of my stay, and when it was open, it wasn't offering Fastpass. (which I could understand the day when it came online late at night moreso than the day it was operational by afternoon) BTMRR was down a couple times, Indy was down at opening at least once, and Matterhorn may have been down briefly. It doesn't sound like a lot in retrospect, so it was just my dumb luck to keep trying things that were closed.

I was more disturbed by the lack of peppermint fudge; I *loved* that last year.

 

[NicholsFam]

We have been really lucky lately (knock on wood!) and haven't had to experience many broken down rides. We did have to endure the Matterhorn being "offline" for 30 minutes while they searched for a guest's lost cell phone!

 

[cp11]

We just came back and it seemed Haunted was always down. We all were a little frustrated by this ride and after two tries, we finally quit trying. The second one was a walk-off, which we were glad to experience, but after that we were like, that's good enough for us.