Whats up with the air conditioning

[blackshirt]

There have been several posts recently about the reduced usage of air conditioning at the parks as well as the installation of movement sensors in resort rooms. Are these posts correct or are the isolated incidents, temporary breakdowns at the parks. If these are planned events it would be a really sad way to save a little money in the Florida heat.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

I can't tell if it was planned or if a system was not working properly, but last Friday at E-Night neither Buzz or Space Mountain had air conditioning on in the que areas. Once in the ride the air was cool but in line in was not working at all. Lucky for us the lines were short because it was hot. Our room at the Swan did have a sensor and was warm when we returned. We like being able to leave the air on and come back to a cold room. It did not take long to cool off and stayed very cool while we were in the room.

 

[Safari Steve]

I haven't heard a thing... Last Saturday when I was working as greeter at Pirates, the A/C was on earlier than usual.

 

[Jeff in BigD]

Man, with that humidity, it must've been brutal.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

I don't want to worry anyone. The air was fine during the day, we just noticed it being off after E-Night started, about 10:00 or so. Even a cast member commented that it was not working. It could very well have been some sort of malfunction. Since it was later at night it was hot but we were only walking through the building to get to the ride not really standing and waiting and the temps were much lower than during the day. Had it been mid-afternoon it would have been unbearable. We still road both more than once, we just enjoyed the cool air on the ride.

 

[Mooobooks]

Was down at the World in June. It was brutally hot. I immediately noticed that the air conditioning did not have the blast of arctic love feeling to it when you walked inside the shops and rides. I found that often I continued to sweat. There really is no question that they are not cooling the park off to the degree they used to. Must be saving big bucks if they raise the temperature by only a degree or two.
Can't wait to feel the effects of that lousy sensor at the Beach Club Villas in September. I'm already trying to figure out something to hang in front of the sensor that will fool it.
Any thoughts, anyone?

 

[SnackyStacky]

If you can bring a small fan, you can just place that in the way of the sensor, I would think....

 

[lrodk]

I have heard that guests complaining of not having adequate A/C in their rooms at BC have seen maintenance personnel remove the covers of these sensors and adjusted them to counteract the motion function. Apparantly, and I have not verified this for myself, some guests have noted that there are written instructions on how to bypass the sensors under these sensor covers.

I'd like to further add that many hotel chains are also using these sensors in their rooms. Disney is not the first to do this. None-the-less, do complain to guest services should it become a problem in your room. They seem to be perfectly willing to remedy the problem for those guests who complain.

 

[Jeff in BigD]

So hotels now use motion sensors for the ACs?

 

[hopemax]

Where's raidermatt to do his mommy's impersonation, "If all the other hotels are going to jump of the Brooklyn Bridge are you going to jump too?"

 

[CWIPPERMAN]

If they really used motion sensors than what would keep the a/c on when you were sleeping? With a blanket over you.... it wouldn't detect the movement of your breathing. That doesn't make any logical sense to me.

 

[Safari Steve]

If you noticed it during e-night it probably was an honest mistake. At or shortly after park closing, DACS/Engineering Central turns many non-essentials off. They have been known to accidentally turn off things that weren't supposed to be turned off. (We've lost background music @ Jungle Cruise just before hard tickets because someone at DACS didn't know we would be operating for the hard ticket). I'm pretty sure something similar happened.

As far as the A/C not being as cool, I'm afraid I don't have the same experience. It's still downright freezing in the Mansion, and the air at Pirates last week was very cold as well.

I know the the Plaza Towers gift shops at Showcase Plaza (Epcot) were glassed in a couple of years ago to conserve energy on A/C, and I have not noticed as many doors propped open (although some still are). I also know that there is still a big push every summer to tell guests about indoor attractions and the benefits of resting in A/C (as well as drinking water and using sunscreen). No one wants the guests to overheat. That is not a justified savings.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Thanks Safari Steve, I too would guess it to be an honest mistake as it was during the late hours of E-Night. It did not effect our fun time as there were no lines to make us stand in the waiting areas.

 

[JeffH]

While we were swimming at the Poly pool a few weeks ago, when the lifeguards left at 11pm they accidentally turned the waterfall ON when they shut down the water slide.
The waterfall has been off for several months now (at least when we were there). The only other time we ever saw the waterfall running was when the new pool first opened (that was the only time we also heard the underwater music. Neither the music or waterfall operate nowadays.
Since the waterfall was on, I took the opportunity to camp under it, and I imagine that it was shut down due to the weight of the water that is falling, it is pretty brutal in some spots. I, being a big guy, enjoyed the pummelling, though. If that is the reason that it was shutdown, then boy was it a big mistake to accidentally turn it on AFTER the lifeguards left.

 

[Kajunswty]

how about tieing (sp) a balloon to the a/c. I know we have to buy a balloon on main street everytime we go. Walaaa - a solution!

 

[KNWVIKING]

I don't know how cold the a/c systems were at WDW because I wasn't there, but something to consider is that a/c systems can only remove a certain number of degrees from the ambient temp. The outlet temp of 50F on a 95F day will be 60F on a 105F day,(those numbers are examples only). Just think about how your car a/c operates in extreme heat-same thing applies to structure units. A/C units also breakdown all the time and go unnoticed most of the time.But when it's 105 outside people will notice a loss of a/c more so then when it's 85F. I doubt Disney would try and save a buck by turning units off when they are needed.

As for the room units,most new construction resorts have been using the sensor systems for years, several others are up-grading their rooms with them also. While I like the idea of walking into a COLD room when returning from the parks,I know how wastefull it actually. How many of us don't turn our home units up a few degrees if we are planning to be out for the day ?

 

[MelissathePooh]

We just got back yesterday and I froze everytime I went inside anywhere at theme park atttractions, restaurants and the hotel (room and lobby). DR was comfortable - not frozen like me, but comfy. It was pretty warm outside while we were there. We didn't notice any lack of a/c.

 

[OnWithTheShow]

It is just a nothing figment of everyones imagination to give them something to complain about.

 

[Mooobooks]

I'm pretty sure that it wasn't my imagination during my trip in June: the air conditioning inside all of the attractions and shops really did seem to be much less cool than usual.

 

[Peter Pirate]

From a thre day Labor Day stay and the AC was as cold as ever!!! Maybe they turned 'em back up for my arrival but they were on and cold at every attraction, store and venue in which we visited (and that was a lot). Further, my wife bought a long sleeve t-shirt for evening dining because the restaurants were so cold!