Radiator Spring Racers - it's got problems

[Minuet888]

Well finally visited the new cars land and it took three times to get on Radiator Spring Racers.
It broke down three times while I was in line one time for an hour an 45 minutes.
It broke down 15 times yesterday and I was told that it is pretty standard for it to do that.
Apparently the problem according to cast members is the animation.
I know it's a new ride and it's likely to do this until they work out the ugs
but some cast members are comparing this to rocket rods breaking down all the time and the maintainence costs will soon out run the profitability of the ride.
THis did leave several people very pissed off yesterday

 

[HydroGuy]

Disappointing but thanks for sharing.

 

[DLR29]

I think it has been a little excessive, but comparing RSR to Rocket Rods, especially in only its first week of operation, is a little harsh. RSR is here to stay.

 

[sonjaandsue]

Perhaps Expedition Everest is a better comparision - the Yeti has been non-functional for how many years now? I will just assume they learned from the Yeti and these kinks will be worked out for RSR.

 

[TotalDreamer]

Note to self: ride RSR first thing in the AM, before it breaks down.

I've tried not to spoil the ride for myself, but from what I can tell this ride has a lot going on animatronically.

 

[DLR29]

Note to self: ride RSR first thing in the AM, before it breaks down.

I've tried not to spoil the ride for myself, but from what I can tell this ride has a lot going on animatronically.

Problem with this is that for the past week I don't think there's been a day where RSR opened with the park or Early Admission because it's been breaking in the morning!

 

[BunnieGene]

Note to self: ride RSR first thing in the AM, before it breaks down.

I've tried not to spoil the ride for myself, but from what I can tell this ride has a lot going on animatronically.

Unfortunately it was broken down at EMH this morning... The first riders drove off after a 90 minute wait to get the ride up and running...I'm glad we waited, but that was crazy imo.

 

[JDCLL]

I've already prepared myself and my kids for them not riding it next week during our APEE. This way they'll feel lucky if we do ride it, but I'm not going to get them all excited for something that they may not ride. I refuse to wait in any line longer than 1 hour with three kids, so it's during EE or not at all.

I hope they get all the kinks worked out before we go back in October.

 

[MAH4546]

It's no more or less reliable than any other new major attraction in its infancy of operations.

Furthermore, rides don't charge individual admission. There is no such thing as a "profitable ride" at Disneyland.

 

[taaren]

Totally agree OP. The three days we were there (Sun-Tues) it closed down several times each day, twice when we were in line at the morning EMH. Fortunately it was on the entire time we waited with our FPs that evening. I also think offering the single rider line this early is a mistake. The line went much faster/more smoothly when they took that option away on Monday, and I told several CMs that when I was there when they asked for feedback.

On the other hand, Luigis also closed on at least 2 of the three days we were there as well, and during the morning EMH on Monday to boot so the only new ride open consistently on the first DCA EMH was Mater's!

 

[cmwade77]

Well finally visited the new cars land and it took three times to get on Radiator Spring Racers.
It broke down three times while I was in line one time for an hour an 45 minutes.
It broke down 15 times yesterday and I was told that it is pretty standard for it to do that.
Apparently the problem according to cast members is the animation.
I know it's a new ride and it's likely to do this until they work out the ugs
but some cast members are comparing this to rocket rods breaking down all the time and the maintainence costs will soon out run the profitability of the ride.
THis did leave several people very pissed off yesterday

These CMs were obviously not around for Rocket Rods. The biggest difference here is that they didn't do true soft openings for RSR with the general public. There is a big difference between running limited previews and opening for the general public.

As for maintenance costs, it will not match Rocket Rods, the problem there was that they didn't bank the curves, so there was A LOT of stop and go on the attraction. This massively increases maintenance cost, add to that the lack of popularity of the attraction with no real Disney tie-ins and it's maintenance to profibility was not a good ratio.

With how popular Cars is, even if the maintenance cost is slightly higher than Rocket Rods, it will be worth it for Disney. In addition, the kinks will get worked out and will reduce maintenance costs.

 

[aan1701]

OP have ever been on Test Track? If you have maybe you wouldn't have cared so much about the break downs. At Test Track a lot of the breakdowns happen because of the guests taking time loading and unloading and the ride backs up. By the way that info comes right from a Test Track CM. I don't understand why you don't think they should offer single rider. It's just a seat filler. It has nothing to do with the ride going "101". Also it goes down a lot due to the fact it is new technolgy and it takes time to work it out.

 

[luv2plan]

I have SoCal AP, reaffirming my decision to just wait until September!

 

[ducky_love]

It sounds like when Test Track opened. It seemed to stop every 20 minutes with a complete shut down and emptying of the line 2+ times a day. I hope we don't revert back to that when it reopens in the fall. (Of course by then the bugs will be worked out of RSR )

 

[jlima]

When the Buzz Lightyear ride opened, we were in line at 10:30 on a Saturday night during the soft opening; and seconds after we got in line a CM got in line 3 people behind us and closed the line, telling everyone who tried to get in line that the ride wasn't functioning, etc and was being closed for the night. We asked this guy why; and he said the projector was broken that animated Buzz's face; and that a detail that small was considered part of the ride experience and if it wasn't working, then the administrative staff didn't want anyone riding without the full experience of every ride element.

There is so much stuff going on in the dark part of RSR; and if they close the ride when even one element has to be rebooted then yes, they are going to close the ride a lot.

 

[Rhonna]

We asked this guy why; and he said the projector was broken that animated Buzz's face; and that a detail that small was considered part of the ride experience and if it wasn't working, then the administrative staff didn't want anyone riding without the full experience of every ride element.

That's hilarious considering how many other attractions they operate constantly without fixing all the ride elements that don't work properly. I wonder if the CM actually knew what he was talking about. I'm afraid I might have laughed out loud at his comment.

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

I remember when Indy opened. They had similar break-down issues, so this is nothing new.

I'm sure they'll work out the kinks in time.

 

[Priory]

That's hilarious considering how many other attractions they operate constantly without fixing all the ride elements that don't work properly. I wonder if the CM actually knew what he was talking about. I'm afraid I might have laughed out loud at his comment.

If true theres been quite a change in philosophy considering the entire week I was at dlr last month Buzz was gone with a cheap tarp surrounding his former home. Speaking of BLAB, those ride vehicles made the paint jobs on junkyard cars look shiny and new.

I am flying back to dlr in two weeks to see BVS and CL and these reports of RSR's breakdowns have me very worried. However I am going to have 2 days there so I should be able to get on once.

 

[jlima]

That's hilarious considering how many other attractions they operate constantly without fixing all the ride elements that don't work properly. I wonder if the CM actually knew what he was talking about. I'm afraid I might have laughed out loud at his comment.

ITA. How many dolls & animal figures on IASW aren't fully animated? Plus, if you didn't know there was something wrong with Buzz's face that night, you probably wouldn't have noticed. His face was frozen into one position but you could still hear his voice.

 

[cats mom]

I also think offering the single rider line this early is a mistake. The line went much faster/more smoothly when they took that option away on Monday, and I told several CMs that when I was there when they asked for feedback.

I'm genuinely curious about this. Why would the line move any faster without the single rider option? When we waited in the SR line we were pointed to our loading area in plenty of time to board the ride along with those who had waited in the regular or fp lines.The SR line just fills seats that would remain empty otherwise. How does that make the wait longer for anyone?