Offline rides, is it serious?!

[dclDream2018]

I am getting nervous hearing about others' recent WDW experiences. For giggles I got Touringplans and downloaded the WDW app today, and see many big attractions "offline" right at this moment, which equates to who knows what with crowds? Is this becoming an issue? Right now offline: Astro O, Barnstormer, BTR, Dumbo, JC, Aladdin, Carrousel, SDMT, Splash and Tomorrowland Speedway. That seems like a lot.

 

[Debbie Jean]

Thunderstorm. These rides always close. They will reopen when it passes.

 

[Missingmypooh]

It’s raining cats and dogs here and has for the last hour. We got absolutely trenched walking to the car. Lots of rides close when there’s a bad thunderstorm like right now.

 

[mercuryvenus]

It’s storming.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

If this worries you so much now you will be a basket case after get there. We stopped this concern when we discovered GG could deliver beer and wine to the resort. Remember kids love the pool more than mickey and adults love other stuff too on vaca. It'll be all good

 

[scrappinginontario]

I am getting nervous hearing about others' recent WDW experiences. For giggles I got Touringplans and downloaded the WDW app today, and see many big attractions "offline" right at this moment, which equates to who knows what with crowds? Is this becoming an issue? Right now offline: Astro O, Barnstormer, BTR, Dumbo, JC, Aladdin, Carrousel, SDMT, Splash and Tomorrowland Speedway. That seems like a lot.

When I see that the first thing I do is check my weather app especially since all of those rides are outdoors.

 

[lynch34]

No

 

[patrickmit]

The following rides are outdoors and subject to weather restrictions for operations:

Magic Kingdom
Astro Orbiter
Barnstormer
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Dumbo
Jungle Cruise
Magic Carpets of Aladdin
Seven Dwarves Mine Train
Splash Mountain
Tomorrowland Speedway

Epcot
Test Track

Disney's Hollywood Studios
Slinky Dog Dash
Fantasmic!

Animal Kingdom
Expedition Everest
Kali River Rapids
Kilimanjaro Safaris
TriceraTop Spin

Additionally, parades and fireworks can also be delayed / cancelled. Particularly at the Magic Kingdom.

 

[chris benton]

I am getting nervous hearing about others' recent WDW experiences. For giggles I got Touringplans and downloaded the WDW app today, and see many big attractions "offline" right at this moment, which equates to who knows what with crowds? Is this becoming an issue? Right now offline: Astro O, Barnstormer, BTR, Dumbo, JC, Aladdin, Carrousel, SDMT, Splash and Tomorrowland Speedway. That seems like a lot.

When you have a thunderstorm contingency plan in place, you kinda HOPE for the ability to use it.
Crowds disperse, that's what happens with crowds.

As far as having many big attractions offline at the same time for mechanical reasons, that doesn't happen very often. Usually, when you see a bunch of rides offline at one park, you'll want to check the weather. The Disney Co hasn't found a way to control the weather at the parks...yet. And trust me, Mother Nature doesn't care how much you or I paid (and I guarantee you that there are WAY more ppl that have paid more than you or I, and they are going at the exact same time,) - she is in total control of the weather. We are not. Have a plan in place for when a storm brews and it doesn't move through quickly. They are generally quick, but if not, there's stuff to do that might be a blast for your group.

 

[acebatonfan]

If anything, quickie thunderstorms just cause a little bit of a longer wait for indoor attractions and QS during the storms (people trying to escape the rain) and after the storm a slight increase in lines for those rides that were initially closed down. The longer thunderstorms and rain showers all day are the best since a lot of people will just leave the park. It's nothing too crazy, especially when you're almost guaranteed an afternoon thunderstorm somewhere in Orlando every day during the summer/fall. Pack a few ponchos or foldable rain jackets before you leave, wear comfy shoes that can stand the water, and keep your plans open!

 

[gharter]

When you have a thunderstorm contingency plan in place, you kinda HOPE for the ability to use it.
Crowds disperse, that's what happens with crowds.

That's been our experience as well. If the rain lasts longer than 45 minutes, people start heading for the gate.
If you can find indoor things to do until the rain stops, the parks are much less crowded for the next couple of hours until everyone comes back.
At least, it used to work that way.

 

[ultimatefans]

When I was at MK a couple of weeks ago there were several attractions that were down throughout the day, none of it was weather related. Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, and Winnie the Pooh were all down when we attempted to get in line. Under the Sea and even Mickey's Philharmagic had temporary delays while we were in line but not to the point where they cleared the queue, we just didn't move for quite a while. (Philharmagic was due to a lost item of value in the theater so they held people for an extra 15 minutes on top of the normal wait while CMs searched an empty theatre) Some of the Space Mountain CMs were getting *really* frustrated as it went down so much that day. We actually got evacuated from SM so that was kind of fun to see the process. I realize ride closures happen but it seemed much more than normal. Not sure if that's been typical lately or if MK was just having an off day.

 

[PanchoX1]

does WDW have any kind of rain check policy for weather? We visited LEGOLAND on our trip and the park shutdown for like 3 hours due to weather. there, if the rides are closed for 120 min or more, they will give you a rain check ticket good for the next year for a return visit. Just wondering if Disney did anything like that, out of curiosity mostly.

 

[FCDub]

does WDW have any kind of rain check policy for weather? We visited LEGOLAND on our trip and the park shutdown for like 3 hours due to weather. there, if the rides are closed for 120 min or more, they will give you a rain check ticket good for the next year for a return visit. Just wondering if Disney did anything like that, out of curiosity mostly.

No, sorry.

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

Frequent occurrence in summer due to thunderstorms. Storms typically pass quickly. It's a good time to get a snack or enjoy an indoor show or other attraction. When we were there in August 2019, this happened every single day. We just rode the outdoor rides later, once they were back online.

 

[Pyxie]

When a large group of outdoor attractions are closed during the summer, you can almost always bet on thunderstorm.

 

[scrappinginontario]

does WDW have any kind of rain check policy for weather? We visited LEGOLAND on our trip and the park shutdown for like 3 hours due to weather. there, if the rides are closed for 120 min or more, they will give you a rain check ticket good for the next year for a return visit. Just wondering if Disney did anything like that, out of curiosity mostly.

Not the regular theme parks as there are things to do indoors. The water parks sometimes offer a rain check depending on how long the park has been open when the rides close for weather.

 

[wilbret]

If this worries you so much now you will be a basket case after get there. We stopped this concern when we discovered GG could deliver beer and wine to the resort. Remember kids love the pool more than mickey and adults love other stuff too on vaca. It'll be all good

We were there this weekend and left after lunch with plans to return for fireworks, etc... and after polling the kids, they were happy just swimming and playing on playground, looking for lizards and frogs, etc. In the old days, we would have pressed hard to get back and the kids would have been exhausted. Worked out for us!

 

[Kestryl]

I’m at Animal Kingdom today, we’re on our second storm, and, uh, it is not fun. It does not seem like anyone left after the first storm.

 

[Eastern]

We were there this weekend and left after lunch with plans to return for fireworks, etc... and after polling the kids, they were happy just swimming and playing on playground, looking for lizards and frogs, etc. In the old days, we would have pressed hard to get back and the kids would have been exhausted. Worked out for us!

For parents looking for a lizard resort, we found that POR/POFQ seemed to have a lot of them.