The Rides Are Breaking Down

[CraftyMommy]

With next week being one of their busiest weeks you would think that Disney would want all their rides to be in good working order. But that does not appear to be the case. We have never experienced this many issues with rides breaking down. Tonight we were stuck on Rock n Roller Coaster because of an electrical issue. It took quite a while to get the seat restraints up. Star Tours had something wierd happen and they had to reset the "show" halfway through the ride. Last night Peter Pan kept stopping every 5 or 10 feet for a few minutes. I thought we were never going to get through to the end. I was never so happy to get off Peter Pan than at that moment. Each time it stopped it would be very abrupt and throw us into the bar. Earlier yesterday we sat in font of Madame Leota for 13 minutes. I was watching the clock because we had to get to an ADR. Last night Space Mountain had an issue and most of our ride was with the lights on. That is not cool when you see all those tracks whipping past you. In the light the track looks real scary. It does not look like there is much clearance between the tracks.

I convinced DH to come with us this trip. It is a little difficult for me to turn him into a Disney fan when he keeps saying "For as much as Disney charges they could afford to repair their crappy rides.".

To add to the experience we have had to call for maintenance twice about the water in the tub that won't shut off. It is not a drip, its a constant stream of water that is loud even with the bathroom door shut. We came back tonight and got showers. They fixed the water but in the process created a problem when they messed with the knob. Now it won't stay in place and it falls down into the hot zone. You have to take a scalding hot shower or bath or you have to hold the lever in place at the temperature you want the entire time the water is running. I will be placing another call in the morning.

Disney is not helping me in convincing SH why I love this place so much. His opinion so far is that it is very cheaply maintained.

 

[TunaSled]

Last night Space Mountain had an issue and most of our ride was with the lights on. That is not cool when you see all those tracks whipping past you. In the light the track looks real scary. It does not look like there is much clearance between the tracks.

Gift horse/mouth... You do not realize that some of us would pay extra for a lights-on SM ride! If I could be you for that moment... I'd gladly spare you the agony

Sorry about the rest of your frustrations though. The attractions are complicated and have bugs and hiccups fairly normally, which are usually quickly resolved. It sounds like you were in all the wrong places at the wrong times

 

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . I convinced DH to come with us this trip. It is a little difficult for me to turn him into a Disney fan when he keeps saying "For as much as Disney charges they could afford to repair their crappy rides . . .

1) Our neighbor across the street has been WDW Maintenance for 16-yrs.
2) He said the budgets have been reduced every year for the past 4-5 yrs.
3) His hours have been reduced, even in "busy" season.
4) In fact, he said that Work Orders sometimes are 3-4 weeks behind.

NOTE: He also complains about Work Order and Worker scheduling. (Of
course, I can't verify because I don't work there.) He says that some of
the newer "young bloods" in management have come up with some new
ideas on how to group and schedule work/people, and it isn't working
at all - in fact making things horribly worse.

 

[deakam]

Last time we were there the lights were on during our ride on Space Mountain. I informed the CM and he said that this always happens when they have a problem with the people mover. Because it cuts through Space Mountain they need the lights on when it breaks down.

The other rides stopping is usually caused by handicapped folks being transferred in and out of the ride. I do believe that 13 minutes is a bit long and it probably was a break down.

We were stuck on Dinosaur for quite a while. They finally turned the lights on and we had to walk out......after we climbed down a very large ladder. Seeing everything in the light really did ruin the Magic for me.

 

[goofy4tink]

On the other hand...I was there from Dec 6 to Dec 13...I don't think we had one single ride issue.

 

[mom2rtk]

On the other hand...I was there from Dec 6 to Dec 13...I don't think we had one single ride issue.

We were there Dec 7 to Dec 16. While we weren't majorly affected by ride issues, I was on the Disney Parks app a lot checking FP times and did notice a lot of rides down.

The day we got to DHS early to do TSMM, it was on a delayed start.

The day we went to Epcot TT was down all morning.

One time we had FPs for Ariel's ride and it was down. Because of our ADR we were unable to use them at all in spite of the fact that we could have gone back later.

Our final morning my daughter chose MK for one final BTMRR ride. It was down when we got there. When it came back up we got in line. When we got to the loading platform, it went back down again, and didn't come up again before we had to leave.

 

[SueM in MN]

Last time we were there the lights were on during our ride on Space Mountain. I informed the CM and he said that this always happens when they have a problem with the people mover. Because it cuts through Space Mountain they need the lights on when it breaks down.

The other rides stopping is usually caused by handicapped folks being transferred in and out of the ride. I do believe that 13 minutes is a bit long and it probably was a break down.

We were stuck on Dinosaur for quite a while. They finally turned the lights on and we had to walk out......after we climbed down a very large ladder. Seeing everything in the light really did ruin the Magic for me.

Of the rides the OP mentioned, the only one that stops for guests with disabilities to board is Haunted Mansion. Most of the time, they do not even the moving walkway on that one, but just slow it. And 13 minutes would be way longer than needed - 30-60 seconds of actual stopping would be fairly long.

Peter Pan's moving walkway can't be stopped or slowed for boarding guests with disabilities, so if they are not able to board with it moving, they can't ride. (Sometimes during the very first or very last ride of the day, they will stop it on request).
Star Tours stops for all guests to board, so that is the time allowed for guests with disabilities to board.
Rock N Roller Coaster has a very short 'window' of time to load, so a stop there is likely breakdown related as the OP thought.

 

[BrookeMQ]

The shower knob did the same thing at our hotel. We were at all star sports. I would fill the tub for the kids and it would keep turning all the way to hot. Annoying.

 

[Tinkerboy00]

Thats annoying, I understand your frustration. I guess mechanical things are never reliable.

We go quite a lot and we have never really had any issues with rides luckily. *knocks on wood*

 

[WolfpackFan]

Week before last, Winnie the Pooh broke down just before we were supposed to get on it. And Ellen's Adventure was broke down also.

 

[kellyg403]

We were there 12/10-12/15. We were stuck on HM for about 10 minutes, Ellens Energy Ride for at least 10 to 15 minutes. They couldn't get the doors to open at the end of the ride. BTMRR was down all day Friday 12/14, which was a bummer because we wanted to end our vacation riding everything again in MK. There were a couple other issues on rides as well but nothing lengthy.

It did seem there were nore issues this time than in previous trips. We had no resort issues, but even dh commented on a few things. He is not a WDW 'lover' per se but indulges my love for the place and rarely says anything negative. Even I had to voice some negativity a few times!


Kelly

 

[ttintagel]

1) Our neighbor across the street has been WDW Maintenance for 16-yrs.
2) He said the budgets have been reduced every year for the past 4-5 yrs.
3) His hours have been reduced, even in "busy" season.
4) In fact, he said that Work Orders sometimes are 3-4 weeks behind.

NOTE: He also complains about Work Order and Worker scheduling. (Of
course, I can't verify because I don't work there.) He says that some of
the newer "young bloods" in management have come up with some new
ideas on how to group and schedule work/people, and it isn't working
at all - in fact making things horribly worse.

I'm not surprised to hear it. That's becoming the standard for corporate America.

 

[kamik86]

As much as I don't doubt that Disney is cutting maintenance budgets I think the amount of shut downs your seeing are higher then normal.

I have been in a few really bad breakdowns (A ride through pirates taking 30 min because it kept stopping and running into other boats etc) but never so many in one trip.

 

[mad madam mim78]

Of the rides the OP mentioned, the only one that stops for guests with disabilities to board is Haunted Mansion. Most of the time, they do not even the moving walkway on that one, but just slow it. And 13 minutes would be way longer than needed - 30-60 seconds of actual stopping would be fairly long.

Peter Pan's moving walkway can't be stopped or slowed for boarding guests with disabilities, so if they are not able to board with it moving, they can't ride. (Sometimes during the very first or very last ride of the day, they will stop it on request).
Star Tours stops for all guests to board, so that is the time allowed for guests with disabilities to board.
Rock N Roller Coaster has a very short 'window' of time to load, so a stop there is likely breakdown related as the OP thought.

They do stop the walkway on PP. I witnessed it first hand. Little lady behind me could walk fast enough to catch her boat so we all came to a screeching halt.

 

[Reddog1134]

I was there from 12/3 to 12/14 and went to the parks every day except one. The only ride problem I saw was Test Track being down one day.

 

[disneyworld1977]

That's alot of breakdowns and issues that you seemed to have on your trip. I have to say I havent had that much from what I recall. I just remember once on Space Mountain but I think that was at DL. As far as WDW, I can't recall anytime where I have been stranded for a long period of time.

 

[North of Mouse]

Guess we are some of the fortunate ones - have been going to Disney since the MK opened, and have had very few ride malfunctions that impacted us.

We were there recently 11/27- 12/7, and the only ride we had to leave the line was the new Mermaid ride. This was before grand opening, so technically doesn't count as it was still soft opening. We had to wait a few extra minutes when about to board Soarin', but this was just a small glitch.

We did see from a distance that Mt. Everest was closed once while at AK. As I said, maybe we have hit things just right, but never see the amount of closures, breaks, that others say they are impacted with.

We, *personally*, have no issues with their maintenance there.

 

[dawnmichele]

We were there 12-6 to 12-13. We were stuck on Living with the land for maybe 15 minutes one night and IaSW for over an hour the next night. They closed the ride and we had to climb through several boats to get off (the worst part is they wouldn't turn off that music!). We didn't get stuck on anything else, but there were other rides we weren't able to ride because they were down -- especially my favorite BTMRR. We still had a fantastic trip, but I have to agree a lot of rides seemed to be down.

 

[chikita]

Was there from 12/4 to 12/15. Splash Mountain down, POC down, BTMRR down, numerous times. Toy Story Mania Down, and on more than one occasion either 1 or 2 screens were not working when we were able to ride. Country Bear Jamboree down. Test Track was down a lot. SOTMK had issues. Monorail was also down for pretty much the whole day on 12/11 and off and on after that. The dust particles on Soarin are so bad its almost comical, my daughter thought they were UFO'S being chased by jetfighters.
I also ran into numerous CM's that did not want to be there, from eyerolls to misinformation and out right lies.
In all my trips I have never experienced anything like it. My family already agreed that our next trip will be at Universal.

 

[hsmamato2]

I was there from the 10-16....test track went down, Thunder Mtn railroad,splash mtn,The mermaid ride,(REALLY? it's 5 days open!) this was multiple times over the week,we never got to the mermaid ride...... on the plus side, we got quite a few open fastpasses for later on,and used them.....tho DH was a bit sad he never got to ride his beloved thunder mtn LOL we still had a blast,and the hotels were perfect as always.... I wonder the same thing,with crowds building, what do they expect people to think when so many things are closed or breaking down?