The Rides Are Breaking Down

[hsmamato2]

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.

I'm here to back the OP today LOTS of things were down,all week long.....

 

[kamik86]

I have to wonder though in all fairness to Disney do other parts like Universal have alot of issues like this too? I personally have never been to another park that doesn't close for 3 months out of the year (local parks here close all winter) so there is an easy time to do maintenance on the first few days that they are shut down and then the couple of weeks before they open.

 

[CraftyMommy]

RnRC was definitely shut down. They had everyone in line leave and it took them a while to get us out of the limo. It shut down on the first curve.They had all sorts of CMs trying to get the safety rails off of us. I didn't time it, but it was a while. It was closed the rest of the night since it was 30 mins til closing time. They gave us FastPasses to ride it anytime before Dec 31 st but we won't be going back to that park so we will probably just give them to a stranger.

Don't take my original post wrong. We are having a great time. It is just difficult for me to convert EH into a Disney fan with all the breakdowns and room issues. There were also some other issues but they weren't't anything big.

 

[TennHokies]

We just returned from a week in WDW and had a WONDERFUL time and got lucky with rides (few break downs and very short wait times!). However, my DW did get stuck on BTMRR with my DD7 who was riding it for the first time. The ride stopped in a tunnel for about 5 minutes, it was completely dark and they ended up having to walk off the ride to exit. "No big deal" my DD said, "I wasn't even scared"

In true Disney fashion they gave my DW and DD each fast passes good for any ride in MK through the end of Dec. Lines we're so short for us they didn't even end up using them. So, the next morning, our departure day, my DD gave the 2 FPs to another family heading to MK on a busy park day.

Enjoying and sharing the magic - that's what Disney is to me.

Will a ride break down on your vacation? Probably, that's something not you or even Disney can control. What you choose to do about it when it happens is up to you.

 

[Masonmj84]

I was there from 12/8 to 12/16 and dealt with the following closures:

12/10 - Voyage of the Little Mermaid was closed most of the AM. We got FP's and were allowed to use them after the expiration of the return time (which was a good thing because the line was over 60 minutes by early afternoon).

12/10 - Big Thunder Mountain RR was closed early PM for a couple of hours. Got a FP and it reopened right before the return time expired.

12/10 - the Monorail was closed virtually the entire evening. We had a 5:30 pm ADR at Citricos. We were staying at the Poly, so we just walked.

12/11 - the Monorail was again closed from mid afternoon through mid evening. We had dinner at Artist Point, and then took the boat back from WL to MK. When we arrived at MK around 8 pm, the Monorail was up and running again.

12/12 - Test Track shut down in the mid afternoon. We had already rode it standby when the park opened and were trying to use FPs to ride it again. The FP line extended outside the building and didn't move for over 10 minutes. About the time we gave up, someone indicated that the ride was down.

Overall, however, we were VERY fortunate as these were the only clouseres we dealt with. We were especially glad that the Monorail was at least working in the mornings (we used it to get to 2 pre-park opening character breakfasts in MK as well as to EP).

 

[leafE]

We were there 12/8-12/14. Had a few things stop when we were on them, but the only one that was really a problem (that is, stopped for more than 5 minutes or so) was TT, which stopped once when we were in line and three times while we were in the car.

 

[ericar]

We just got back from 1 week stay and had a 40 minute stop stuck on a monorail and stops on Pirates ,haunted mansion, people mover, toy story mania and test track was shut down for 2 or 3 hours.

 

[hsmamato2]

I was a little freaked out,worrying that a monorail would stop running and I would be stuck on it.....just one of my phobias..... I just thought the mermaid being down every time we tried to see it(3 different days) was kind of ironic since it's brand new......

 

[Planogirl]

For us it's usually the RocknRoller Coaster. That thing seems to be down more than running whenever we go. Otherwise, we see few breakdowns.

 

[mommycal]

interesting you say this. Our last day last week we hit MK again and big thunder mountain was shut down. Kids were so sad they couldn't go on it again.


Same thing as the person above mentioned. We were counting on the monorail to get to our dinner at narcoossee's and it was down. wasn't fun taking a bus to dinner and we were really late since al other families were also seeking alternate non monorail related form of transportation.

 

[hsmamato2]

a start or stop on a ride doesn't bother me, as there are so many people transferring from wheelchairs or scooters....but the REAL breakdowns....that gets me all freaked out......if I'm stuck somewhere....I know...phobia.....

 

[kamik86]

I was a little freaked out,worrying that a monorail would stop running and I would be stuck on it.....just one of my phobias..... I just thought the mermaid being down every time we tried to see it(3 different days) was kind of ironic since it's brand new......

Or the fact that its brand new means they haven't gotten all the kinks out yet and it sometimes has issues.

 

[conniehar90]

I posted a similar thread after our visit last Aug. We visited the parks on 6 days. On 4 out of the 6 days, a major ride was closed right at park opening. RNR was shut down for hours on both of our DHS days. EE was shut down for 40 minutes on our AK day. Space was shut down for an hour on one of our MK days. I never complain but this was too much. We made sure we were at the parks for rope drop and then the headliners are closed. It really threw a wrench in our plans (especially at DHS). I really felt that something had changed scheduling wise and the crew didn't have enough time to test the ride properly before opening.

 

[Erin1700]

We were there last week. TT, BTMRR, PofC all were down multiple times.

 

[Nature Mom]

My DD12 and I got back Saturday night from a quick 4 day trip with only 2 park days. I am glad that I said we were focusing on NEW things this trip and we would hit our favorites if we could, because so many rides were down! We were at MVMCP on the 13th and many things were down off and on, including LM! When we were coming off BTMRR after waiting for it to come back up, finally let into the que to only be walked back out climbing over the train, a CM said it was because it was too cold. We finally were able to ride LM but never rode BTMRR, Splash, HM and a few others. The next day at Epcot, TT was down off and on all day, even the Matterhorn went down for a while. Hopped over to HS and more down there. It was very frustrating but we made the best of it although deep down I feel this was one trip I didn't get my ticket monies worth.

 

[Melissabo]

We were there from 11/28-12/4. Out of 4 days at MK POTC was down 3 of those. We attempted to ride it on 11/28, 12/1, 12/2 and during EMH on 12/3 the only time we actually got to ride it was on 12/1. It was a little frustrating. We saw SM down at one point, the express monorail was also down on two different days we were in MK. It certainly didn't ruin our trip but I did wonder about it because didn't remember anything down during our trip in 2009.

 

[RandFamily]

I'm wondering if it would help if everyone who posted on this thread also sent an email to disney costumer relations about their disappointment with ride closures. If they get enough complaints, perhaps they would ramp up the maintenance budget and hours.

 

[SueM in MN]

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.

That would be an emergency stop to avoid the woman falling.

They will not do planned slowdowns or stops of Peter Pan, but of course, if there is an emergency, they will stop it.
I have spoken with CMs there(along with other guests with disabilities) and Cheshire Figment has spoken to the area lead.
The reasons for not slowing down or stopping that we all have been given are that it causes a jolt to stop it and the biggest reason is that guests inside the ride are suspended above ground with a minimal restraint.

Guests with disabilities who would not be sble to board at 'regular' speed have been directed to come for the first ride or last ride of the day. That way, they can stop the ride with no one inside while the guest(s) with disabilities get on and off.

 

[mm1971]

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

I laughed at this as well. I would love the excitement of looking like we were going to hit the rails. Can you say adrenaline?

Hope you get everything fixed and your husband finds the magic!

 

[bedogged]

We were there Dec. 9th through the 14th. The Monorail was down at least a portion of EVERY day while we were there. On the 11th, they closed the Express Monorail at 5:00 causing us to wait for 6 Resort Monorails in order to return to GF. Because of the unreliability of the Monorail, we have decided not to book any of the Monorail hotels again until this problem has been addressed. I suspect that will be a very long time.

In addition to Monorail problems, a lot of the rides were down. Mermaid in MK was down every time we tried to ride it. The only time we were able to ride it was during the Xmas party we attended. I had also wanted to see rehabbed Country Bear Jamboree and was unable to because it was down. We were very frustrated because of the Monorail issues as well as all the rides that were down.