"Temporarily Closed"

[theluckyrabbit]

This was the theme of the day yesterday. Holy cow. It was a real problem for us ALL day. Disney really needs to get a handle on this because it causes a chain reaction of issues, primarily due to Genie+ LL and "multiple experience" passes. When you have several major rides go down simultaneously and then one comes back up, the LL becomes RIDICULOUS and the Standby waits balloon to insane levels.

Disneyland also needs to figure out how to manage the increasing standby lines and the overflow in the LL when this situation arises. Some rides become complete madness, with one LONG line leading up to the ride entrance and half of the people being LL and the other half being standby and no one knows where to go so everyone ends up waiting in a line unnecessarily because there is no CM directing people where to go. This is maddening. This happened to us at Incredicoaster last night. The line went ALL the way back to the Abominable Snowman with people in it saying "this is the LL line" but as I walked back, others were saying "this is the single rider line" or "this is the standby line." I was like, this is stupid...walked back to the LL entrance and ASKED the CM standing there, "where is the back of this line, because no one seems to know." He walked with me and showed me a spot about 10 people back from the scanners, so I stood there. He then started yelling "standby to the left, LL to the right" and a flood of people walked into the (empty) standby line. I felt bad for the people all the way in the back who thought that was the LL line but Disney needs to create better signage and have CMs better managing these lines because so many of them spill out into walkways and no one knows where to go.

We also waited in the Space Mtn LL for over 30 minutes. The ride went down WHILE WE WERE IN the LL and they didn't evacuate the queue. Just told people "we're on a temporary delay." We didn't hear this until after 20 minutes and by that point they were saying it would come back online shortly so we just stayed there. They had to end up expanding the LL queue into a switchback up top. It was ridiculous. We got into the LL at 1:27. We didn't exit the ride until 2:13. We had mobile order windows at DCA that ended at 2:30 that we almost missed. We just made it, but by then my kid was HANGRY.

Get it together, Disney. The Genie+ is making everything worse, especially when rides break down. They clearly also need to have MANY more mechanics on the clock. We watched Goofys go down and sat at the tables next to it for 45 minutes. A mechanic didn't show up until well over 30 minutes after the ride went down. When it came back up an hour later, the wait was 80 minutes.

Have you sent in a comment about your experience/s? Disney needs to know what's going on; and you have enough information from frequent visits to give them detailed, on-the-ground information. They should know how their decisions are affecting guests, especially guests with DAS. If you send in a comment, cc to Ken Potrock, Josh D'Amaro, and Bob Chapek. They need to know that not all guests are fooled or okay with this.

For everyone else posting here about poor experiences in the parks because of lack of maintenance on rides and lack of CMs/poor training -- send in those comments!

 

[DLgal]

Have you sent in a comment about your experience/s? Disney needs to know what's going on; and you have enough information from frequent visits to give them detailed, on-the-ground information. They should know how their decisions are affecting guests, especially guests with DAS. If you send in a comment, cc to Ken Potrock, Josh D'Amaro, and Bob Chapek. They need to know that not all guests are fooled or okay with this.

For everyone else posting here about poor experiences in the parks because of lack of maintenance on rides and lack of CMs/poor training -- send in those comments!

I feel like I need to be careful. I've sent in several complaints/feedback emails since the reopening and literally the same employee respondes to all of them (her name is Alexis). I feel like I might have a mark on my permanent record at this point and I'm not trying to be "that guest."

 

[CO2CA]

I wonder if the multiple rides being temporarily closed is because of CM shortages? I know a lot have been ill recently, so it could be staff shortage (read one update that said 40-50 CMs from Indy alone were out at the same time...not sure of accuracy of that, though). When mandatory breaks/lunch come up, maybe there isn't enough to cover.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I feel like I need to be careful. I've sent in several complaints/feedback emails since the reopening and literally the same employee respondes to all of them (her name is Alexis). I feel like I might have a mark on my permanent record at this point and I'm not trying to be "that guest."

CMs have told me that "constructive feedback" can be very helpful -- they really do want to know what's going on in the parks. I would send in the comments, making clear that you are speaking up because you care about what's going on.

 

[DodgerGirl]

Why I think Disneyland is having so much ride breakdowns lately is simply because they haven't had any of the workers that handle the rides return to work yet and so Disneyland is training new workers to fill in until the current workers get called back to return to work. Yes it is an annoying pain when you want to ride certain Disneyland rides only to find out one of them isn't working and you are stuck looking for another ride to ride. I think ever since Genie+ debuted at Disneyland these ride breakdowns started occurring a lot and Disneyland thinks that this way is the way to attract visitors? As Regis Philbin says "the final answer is no" and what Disneyland should seriously think of doing is close the park for an entire month to repair any broken rides and once the rides are repaired open the park again. As far as the line system goes I think Disneyland should design the line queues like supermarket checkout stands where one line could be for Lightning Lane holders another line would be for non-Genie+ holders/Lightning Lane holders and the next line would for the handicapped people. I witnessed the same thing whenever my family went to Disneyland when we were trying to ride Indiana Jones Adventure when it opened and my cousin saw an empty line thinking it was for Indiana Jones Adventure and so we went to get in line and the cast members made my aunt and cousin and us leave because it was actually the line for Jungle Cruise and not Indiana Jones Adventure and so we moved to another line and we got on the the ride with no troubles. But if Disneyland didn't have so much ride troubles and breakdowns they would be worth going on vacation too. Next thing I predict the shows will start having glitches and breakdowns too

 

[Dug720]

we were trying to ride Indiana Jones Adventure when it opened and my cousin saw an empty line thinking it was for Indiana Jones Adventure and so we went to get in line and the cast members made my aunt and cousin and us leave because it was actually the line for Jungle Cruise

What would you have had them do? Make the Jungle Cruise line suddenly go to a ride that it doesn’t? It’s not their fault you got in the wrong line. Your choice would be to ride Jungle Cruise if it was running, or leave if it wasn’t or you didn’t want to ride it.

 

[Whistlebee]

I really don’t understand why they changed the ratio for pulling from the standby/fastpass lines. We were avid Maxpass users. Just because we were paying I didn’t expect to go in front of the Fastpass people that pulled Fastpasses for free. We haven’t been back since Genie+ started BUT I hate the reports of standby coming to a halt while they pull from the LL. I think the previous ratio worked with fastpass/standby. I will be using Genie+ and I understand that I will get on the ride sooner than someone that is not using it but I don’t expect standby to come to a halt while the entire LL is emptied. Out of all the reports I’m reading/hearing from the parks, this bothers me the most.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I really don’t understand why they changed the ratio for pulling from the standby/fastpass lines. We were avid Maxpass users. Just because we were paying I didn’t expect to go in front of the Fastpass people that pulled Fastpasses for free. We haven’t been back since Genie+ started BUT I hate the reports of standby coming to a halt while they pull from the LL. I think the previous ratio worked with fastpass/standby. I will be using Genie+ and I understand that I will get on the ride sooner than someone that is not using it but I don’t expect standby to come to a halt while the entire LL is emptied. Out of all the reports I’m reading/hearing from the parks, this bothers me the most.

I think they changed the ratio due to the change in genie. You can only ride each attraction once through the LL.

 

[pokee99]

This is so true in the current business world not just Disney!!!
Total different mind-set for sure and it continues to happen more and more.

Can't even imagine what people will be like in another 20 years.
It Is So Sad....

You've hit the nail on the head.

The service industry standards are now completely sub-par EVERYWHERE. When a place like Disney doesn't seem to give a sh!+ how they're doing, you KNOW there's a problem, right? And the thing that chaps my a$$ is that Covid is just a convenient excuse these days for lack of proper service. I mean, sometimes it's true. But other times, it's simply a scapegoat for companies cheaping out because they need to save money. I suppose that's indirectly related to Covid, but really everything is these days!

 

[pokee99]

I really don’t understand why they changed the ratio for pulling from the standby/fastpass lines. We were avid Maxpass users. Just because we were paying I didn’t expect to go in front of the Fastpass people that pulled Fastpasses for free. We haven’t been back since Genie+ started BUT I hate the reports of standby coming to a halt while they pull from the LL. I think the previous ratio worked with fastpass/standby. I will be using Genie+ and I understand that I will get on the ride sooner than someone that is not using it but I don’t expect standby to come to a halt while the entire LL is emptied. Out of all the reports I’m reading/hearing from the parks, this bothers me the most.

It's likely a delicate balance they're trying to achieve, and they're probably still working on the algorithm that calculates return times to achieve that proper balance.

The problem is, they won't sell ANY Genie+ if riders are reporting they consistently have to wait 30-60+ minutes for a ride, will they? I wouldn't buy it if waits were that long on busy days. And I'd be sure to complain incessantly if I did. And isn't that what's happening now at WDW... since they have more out of town tourists and less AP holders?

It's not to say that standby line times are less important than LL lines - but they are definitely obligated to prioritize minimizing the waits in those lines to ensure guests are seeing the benefit of the add-on. This is especially true for the ILL. I know I'd be asking for my $20 back for Rise if I had to wait 2 hours in the ILL line!!!

 

[Wilcojoe]

One of the biggest reasons I haven’t been back to DLR since my last visit was the over proliferation of AP holders. This was in 2016 and during fast pass. We didn’t stand a chance against any of the savvy regulars and it was not a very enjoyable experience. When I first heard about Genie Plus, I was immediately excited thinking it would give us a premium experience that the AP holders wouldn’t necessarily utilize. So I am not sure if these problems are due to more regulars taking advantage of the Genie Plus and $ll or staffing issues or possibly both.

 

[smartlabelprint]

One of the biggest reasons I haven’t been back to DLR since my last visit was the over proliferation of AP holders. This was in 2016 and during fast pass. We didn’t stand a chance against any of the savvy regulars and it was not a very enjoyable experience. When I first heard about Genie Plus, I was immediately excited thinking it would give us a premium experience that the AP holders wouldn’t necessarily utilize. So I am not sure if these problems are due to more regulars taking advantage of the Genie Plus and $ll or staffing issues or possibly both.

I haven’t heard a lot of the regulars on this forum mentioning genie+, except on a special occasion. It’s not an add on to the AP. OP was trying to use DAS, which use the LL.

 

[pokee99]

One of the biggest reasons I haven’t been back to DLR since my last visit was the over proliferation of AP holders. This was in 2016 and during fast pass. We didn’t stand a chance against any of the savvy regulars and it was not a very enjoyable experience. When I first heard about Genie Plus, I was immediately excited thinking it would give us a premium experience that the AP holders wouldn’t necessarily utilize. So I am not sure if these problems are due to more regulars taking advantage of the Genie Plus and $ll or staffing issues or possibly both.

Actually, isn't the large proportion of locals who are AP holders at DL make programs like FastPass, MaxPass & Genie+ a huge advantage for tourists who visit infrequently? In comparison to WDW anyway, where there are mostly tourists?

 

[DLgal]

We're back again today. They now have a labeled overflow standby queue at Incredicoaster. It's something, I guess.

It's still early, but lines are long again for all the LL rides.

I'll report on how the day goes.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Actually, isn't the large proportion of locals who are AP holders at DL make programs like FastPass, MaxPass & Genie+ a huge advantage for tourists who visit infrequently? In comparison to WDW anyway, where there are mostly tourists?

Yes, this exactly. I am an international tourist and I bought Genie+ on all my park days two weeks ago. Each time I either booked a Genie+ Lightning Lane, I booked almost immediate return times. Theres a very low % of people buying Genie+ on any given day, therefore you can get almost immediate return times throughout the day and into the evening. And then when you redeem, theres very few people redeeming at your time and you can almost walk onto the rides. For me, spending $60 for 3 days Genie+ was so worth it, maximizing my time in the parks. I would look at a wait time of 30 or 40 minutes and go nope, open the App, book the Genie+ Lightning Lane, scan in and walk right to the loading area, and get loaded onto the next ride vehicle.

 

[Wilcojoe]

Actually, isn't the large proportion of locals who are AP holders at DL make programs like FastPass, MaxPass & Genie+ a huge advantage for tourists who visit infrequently? In comparison to WDW anyway, where there are mostly tourists?

Well that’s what I would have thought but it’s possible many AP holders are purchasing Genie Plus at higher rates than one would think.

 

[MonocularVision]

We are back from a Friday-Saturday trip and can confidently say the return times for G+ yesterday were way further back then what we experienced back in December before Christmas. It wasn’t entirely surprising considering it felt busier. I had to perform the refresh trick for 10-15 minutes to get return times in the next 30-60 minutes on quite a few rides, otherwise we would have been waiting 2.5-3.5 hours.

 

[gelatoni fan]

You've hit the nail on the head.

The service industry standards are now completely sub-par EVERYWHERE. When a place like Disney doesn't seem to give a sh!+ how they're doing, you KNOW there's a problem, right? And the thing that chaps my a$$ is that Covid is just a convenient excuse these days for lack of proper service. I mean, sometimes it's true. But other times, it's simply a scapegoat for companies cheaping out because they need to save money. I suppose that's indirectly related to Covid, but really everything is these days!

I don't agree that service industry standards are sub-par everywhere. Due to the pandemic, luxury hotels in Asia dropped prices while increasing food quality to attract locals for staycations. United Airlines started giving out sanitizing wipes and improved food offerings on their planes and lounges. Prices for such flights are also lower so you're getting more value for less money. But for every company that improved, there are many more who are doing worse. Southwest Airlines dramatically cut their snack and drink offerings. Many hotels in the US have cut housekeeping. Disney is one of the worst offenders of using COVID as an excuse to offer less while charging more.

The amount of maintenance issues at Disneyland is worse than other parks, including Disney's own parks in other countries.

 

[pokee99]

Well that’s what I would have thought but it’s possible many AP holders are purchasing Genie Plus at higher rates than one would think.

I guess AP holders are buying G+ more frequently now. So it's looking like more G+ sales affect return times, more than they do the LL line waits?

 

[disneycat321]

We are back from a Friday-Saturday trip and can confidently say the return times for G+ yesterday were way further back then what we experienced back in December before Christmas. It wasn’t entirely surprising considering it felt busier. I had to perform the refresh trick for 10-15 minutes to get return times in the next 30-60 minutes on quite a few rides, otherwise we would have been waiting 2.5-3.5 hours.

I'm new to G+. I'm assuming by "refresh trick" you mean constantly refreshing until a sooner time opens up? Does that often work? I know I did this for FP+ at WDW, but I never did it for MP at DLR.