Rides breaking down at alarming rate

[PamNC]

wow - just reading through this thread and I read the article that was linked. I get it that attractions will break down sometimes and some will close due to weather. BUT, that list is ridiculous. Truly not a premium experience and wdw-goers are paying a DEFINITE premium price. Not magical.

 

[leiaorgana]

Honestly, it got to the point this trip that we skipped certain rides likes Pirates and a couple of others altogether because of my condition because I didn’t want to risk getting stuck on there for any length of time with how unreliable it is these days. It’s ridiculous I have to even consider that tbh. I’m there to enjoy myself, not to have to worry about whether I’m going to get stuck on something for longer than half an hour.

I understand not wanting rides to be down for those “once in a lifetime” trips but realistically something needs to be done and long refurbs/rehabs need to take place because it’s ruining the experience for everyone else. I know they won’t though because of how much it would cost them and that they’d rather just slap a band-aid on what they can and lower the lights like a pp said and call it a day. I swear it was darker on Peter Pan than it normally is when we were there recently.

Also just want to say that with the omnimovers, I think a lot of the stop and starting on those is for people with accessibility needs and sometimes gets confused for breakdowns when really it’s just people who need a little extra time getting on and off. I’m not saying that they don’t break down for periods of time because I’ve experienced it myself but a lot of the time they’ve stopped for that specific reason.

 

[gatormom2tots]

We were at MK on Sunday and Pirates, Jungle, HM, and BTMRR were all down in the morning. BTMRR didnt open up until we were already seated for HEA. We just kept pulling LLs and they got switched to anytime passes since the rides were closed and took a break during the day.

We had a DAS pass for my daughter who is on the spectrum so they helped to ease the sting and allowed us to ride the rides the anytime LL didn't cover, but it would have been upsetting to pay for genie+ and have so many of the popular rides unavailable.

 

[goofyernmost]

If I were you guys I'd stay home. If all the rides are breaking down and you are throwing your money away, why do you go. Come to think of it, I do stay home but because of the costs of entry, G+ or LL. But if I were going there and paying that much money, there would be no future trips there.

 

[kylenne]

It's not just weather related. It's definitely a case of mechanics and engineers being stretched too thin in terms of maintaining the rides. Disneyland is also seeing multiple rides go down for hours and California doesn't experience daily thunderstorms on the regular. So many rides in the parks need a refurb but Disney won't give them the work that they need. Look at Dinosaur. Half of the animatronics no longer work and instead of fixing them, Disney makes the show scenes darker so you won't notice them.

If Disney wants to charge a premium rate for tickets, their product needs to reflect that.

I wonder how much institutional knowledge was lost when they had the massive covid furloughs and layoffs also. That kind of thing definitely plays a role in maintenance, especially for older rides. Losing a ton of people who knew the ins and outs and quirks of how to keep attractions (especially older ones) running smoothly, immediately being able to identify issues and figuring out workarounds, etc. could not have helped at all.

We were fortunate last month where this didn't really affect us too badly. The day we rope dropped EE at MK, Space was down, but we immediately pivoted to Buzz and were able to get a ton done. Like others have said HS and EP are the really bad ones when stuff starts going down because there's really nowhere else to eat all those people.

 

[leiaorgana]

If I were you guys I'd stay home. If all the rides are breaking down and you are throwing your money away, why do you go. Come to think of it, I do stay home but because of the costs of entry, G+ or LL. But it I were going there and paying that much money, there would be no future trips there.

Because I’m British and I go for the Florida sun and enjoy just milling around the parks, soaking up the atmosphere and taking my time throughout the day as well as riding a few rides. I’m not just going to Disney while I’m over there. I’m visiting the other parks in the local area too and they have their own issues as well as Disney but their’s are more regarding undertrained/unbothered staff.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I wonder how much institutional knowledge was lost when they had the massive covid furloughs and layoffs also. That kind of thing definitely plays a role in maintenance, especially for older rides. Losing a ton of people who knew the ins and outs and quirks of how to keep attractions (especially older ones) running smoothly, immediately being able to identify issues and figuring out workarounds, etc. could not have helped at all.

We were fortunate last month where this didn't really affect us too badly. The day we rope dropped EE at MK, Space was down, but we immediately pivoted to Buzz and were able to get a ton done. Like others have said HS and EP are the really bad ones when stuff starts going down because there's really nowhere else to eat all those people.

You're 100% on the money. This was absolutely the case for Disneyland. Probably is too for WDW. It doesn't help that in California specifically, Disneyland pays very low for engineers compared to other companies.

I mainly go to every park except HS and notice the most breakdowns at Epcot, not counting Test Track when there is thunder in the area. Frozen goes down so often it's ridiculous.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Honestly, it got to the point this trip that we skipped certain rides likes Pirates and a couple of others altogether because of my condition because I didn’t want to risk getting stuck on there for any length of time with how unreliable it is these days. It’s ridiculous I have to even consider that tbh. I’m there to enjoy myself, not to have to worry about whether I’m going to get stuck on something for longer than half an hour.

I understand not wanting rides to be down for those “once in a lifetime” trips but realistically something needs to be done and long refurbs/rehabs need to take place because it’s ruining the experience for everyone else. I know they won’t though because of how much it would cost them and that they’d rather just slap a band-aid on what they can and lower the lights like a pp said and call it a day. I swear it was darker on Peter Pan than it normally is when we were there recently.

Also just want to say that with the omnimovers, I think a lot of the stop and starting on those is for people with accessibility needs and sometimes gets confused for breakdowns when really it’s just people who need a little extra time getting on and off. I’m not saying that they don’t break down for periods of time because I’ve experienced it myself but a lot of the time they’ve stopped for that specific reason.

I was at MK Christmas week and I was stuck on Small World for about 60-70 minutes. CMs had to call the fire department since they are not allowed to help guests that are unable to exit the boats themselves. When they showed up, the CMs went into the water and manually pushed the boats to an unload spot.

 

[Her Dotness]

I wonder how much institutional knowledge was lost when they had the massive covid furloughs and layoffs also. That kind of thing definitely plays a role in maintenance, especially for older rides. Losing a ton of people who knew the ins and outs and quirks of how to keep attractions (especially older ones) running smoothly, immediately being able to identify issues and figuring out workarounds, etc. could not have helped at all.

Precisely. This occurred to me immediately upon reading the OP.

I spoke briefly with a shop CM in fall '21 about how stressed CMs everywhere seemed to be and that I felt it wasn't just due to changes at the top. She said it was really hard losing so many experienced CMs to the layoff and retirement. That put more stress on those remaining who hadn't their knowledge base and skills. And then, there were new people coming in who were doing their best but were stressed trying to fit into their roles with the pandemic ongoing. Things were different, and not in a good way, she added, remarking that it would take years to recover from the loss of so many people.

So many of the most experienced maintenance workers likely were old enough to retire. If younger, they may have had no choice but to find other work to keep self and family going through the shutdown.

Somebody with maintenance skills is unlikely to struggle to find a job, I expect. Finding people who can eventually become proficient in keeping rides going has to be a monumental task for Disney. Probably, they have better opportunities elsewhere.

 

[Genie+]

From the article:

“Update: a few minutes after the original posting of this article, Prince Charming Regal Carrousel also joined the list of temporary closures. According to a maintenance Cast Member we spoke to, this is due to new safety protocol for the carousel, in which any sort of noise (such as squeaking) requires maintenance to be called in.”

I wonder if this new safety protocol is causing an issue. CMs may be having a hard time discerning how far to go. Is this new protocol related to the rollercoaster crack at Carowinds NC last week?

 

[Kennywood]

Got to love Dinosaur where half the dinos are sleeping!

 

[kylenne]

Precisely. This occurred to me immediately upon reading the OP.

I spoke briefly with a shop CM in fall '21 about how stressed CMs everywhere seemed to be and that I felt it wasn't just due to changes at the top. She said it was really hard losing so many experienced CMs to the layoff and retirement. That put more stress on those remaining who hadn't their knowledge base and skills. And then, there were new people coming in who were doing their best but were stressed trying to fit into their roles with the pandemic ongoing. Things were different, and not in a good way, she added, remarking that it would take years to recover from the loss of so many people.

So many of the most experienced maintenance workers likely were old enough to retire. If younger, they may have had no choice but to find other work to keep self and family going through the shutdown.

Somebody with maintenance skills is unlikely to struggle to find a job, I expect. Finding people who can eventually become proficient in keeping rides going has to be a monumental task for Disney. Probably, they have better opportunities elsewhere.

This sounds very familiar. Not anything nearly as fun or exciting, but in NYC government we are seeing the same thing. Large, complex organizations with a lot of moving parts (and lots of legacy systems) are very difficult for new employees to acclimate to without mentorship from experienced staff. Getting new people up to speed, even after thorough training, can be hard. Losing that kind of experience is devastating to an org and really does take a long time to recover from. At Disney that just means the guest experience suffers in the meantime.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Curious for those reporting they've been on a ride when it's 'broken down', how long do you feel is an acceptable wait to wait before saying that it has 'broken down'?

My parents are seniors and when we were able to visit Disney with them the last few times they both used scooters. The ride would often need to stop to allow them to board/disembark as my dad in particular could not handle the moving sidewalks. Stopping for him would cause the omnimover attractions to stop for a brief period of time and the announcement to 'please stay in your vehicle' to begin.

We are visiting Disney next month and after reading this thread it will be interesting to see what the status of attractions is. After more than 30 trips to Disney I feel I was only on an attraction a couple of times when it broke down and we had to listen to, 'Yo ho, yo ho a pirates life for me' for 45 solid minutes. (lol - my daughter still will not ride that now as the song reminds her). Another time we were stuck on the monorail in the same spot for more than 20 minutes so I consider that being on an attraction when it broke down also.

What amount of time is your 'wait' on a stopped attraction to say it has broken down?

just curious. I think for us it would be 3 mins without moving, I would consider 'broken down'.

We've never been evacuated from an attraction but secretly think that would be a kinda cool experience, within reason.

 

[Jrb1979]

I wonder how much institutional knowledge was lost when they had the massive covid furloughs and layoffs also. That kind of thing definitely plays a role in maintenance, especially for older rides. Losing a ton of people who knew the ins and outs and quirks of how to keep attractions (especially older ones) running smoothly, immediately being able to identify issues and figuring out workarounds, etc. could not have helped at all.

We were fortunate last month where this didn't really affect us too badly. The day we rope dropped EE at MK, Space was down, but we immediately pivoted to Buzz and were able to get a ton done. Like others have said HS and EP are the really bad ones when stuff starts going down because there's really nowhere else to eat all those people.

There could be some truth to that. This quote is f on Len Testa about D22.

"my understanding was that WDI didn't have the staff to generate enough ideas to present to the board for funding. They didn't have people or money.".

f WDI doesn't have the staff or money to present anything for D22 I can see that extending to the park.

 

[leiaorgana]

For me personally, if it was over the 5 minute mark and getting closer to 10 on an omnimover than I would consider that as there’s an issue and we’re stuck/broken down. I know some people with accessibility needs need a little longer than other people with accessibility needs to get on and off so if it was only a few minutes then I’d just consider that as a normal stoppage for someone getting in and out of the accessible vehicles and wouldn’t think of it as a ride issue. Anything longer than 20 minutes and it starts to become an issue for me personally due to my condition.

Curious for those reporting they've been on a ride when it's 'broken down', how long do you feel is an acceptable wait to wait before saying that it has 'broken down'?

My parents are seniors and when we were able to visit Disney with them the last few times they both used scooters. The ride would often need to stop to allow them to board/disembark as my dad in particular could not handle the moving sidewalks. Stopping for him would cause the omnimover attractions to stop for a brief period of time and the announcement to 'please stay in your vehicle' to begin.

We are visiting Disney next month and after reading this thread it will be interesting to see what the status of attractions is. After more than 30 trips to Disney I feel I was only on an attraction a couple of times when it broke down and we had to listen to, 'Yo ho, yo ho a pirates life for me' for 45 solid minutes. (lol - my daughter still will not ride that now as the song reminds her). Another time we were stuck on the monorail in the same spot for more than 20 minutes so I consider that being on an attraction when it broke down also.

What amount of time is your 'wait' on a stopped attraction to say it has broken down?

just curious. I think for us it would be 3 mins without moving, I would consider 'broken down'.

We've never been evacuated from an attraction but secretly think that would be a kinda cool experience, within reason.

 

[SL6827]

So people are getting stuck on rides for an hour or longer?

 

[leiaorgana]

There was a video on sm the other day where some people were stuck on Pirates for almost 3 hours due to how long it took the CMs to get back to them when evacuating the boats. It appeared they were near the Barbosa boat and had babies with them. One man ended up getting out of the boat and was wading around in the water because he was sick of waiting.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

Stopping for him would cause the omnimover attractions to stop for a brief period of time and the announcement to 'please stay in your vehicle' to begin.

For me personally, if it was over the 5 minute mark and getting closer to 10 on an omnimover than I would consider that as there’s an issue and we’re stuck/broken down. I know some people with accessibility needs need a little longer than other people with accessibility needs to get on and off so if it was only a few minutes then I’d just consider that as a normal stoppage for someone getting in and out of the accessible vehicles and wouldn’t think of it as a ride issue. Anything longer than 20 minutes and it starts to become an issue for me personally due to my condition.

Omnimovers would stop often for an extended period of time as I was in the boarding or disembarking area. I know they slow down for mobility issues however I didn't see anyone being helped. And usually it's just a slowdown. Like Spaceship Earth rarely stops it's just a matter of slowing down enough to help board anyone that needs the extra help. On one of my Spaceship Earth rides it stopped probably 4-5 times and once was almost 5 minutes. That can't be to help those that need extra time to board.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

I was at MK Christmas week and I was stuck on Small World for about 60-70 minutes.

WITH the music playing? Because that sounds like hell lol.
Not to hijack my own thread but what would be more torturous...Having to ride Small World nonstop or watching the Enchanted Tiki Room show on a loop non stop? Would there be a worse one than either of those two?

PS I love both rides but imagine spending the rest of your life on them?

 

[leiaorgana]

Oh I agree it’s not always people getting on and off that causes stoppages. As I previously said, we had an issue at HM on the morning of the 4th where we stopped 10-15 minutes both times and that was clearly a ride issue and not them needing to stop it fully for someone needing extra assistance.

I’d say the rides that stopped the most for people getting on and off that I saw this trip when either boarding or getting off or whilst on the ride were Under The Sea, Buzz and Winnie The Pooh. I saw them bring those rides to stop for a few moments/minutes a couple of times whilst I was in the queue to board or just having gotten off so that people who needed extra time getting on and off safely could.