No matter what time of year you’re planning on visiting the Disney Parks and Resorts, you can count on new and exciting additions to look forward to. From the upcoming new Guardians of the Galaxy ride in EPCOT or the thrilling TRON coaster coming to Magic Kingdom, there’s always something new to keep things fresh for Guests.
One change however that has been negative is the overall experience in the Parks ever since the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020. Due to this virus outbreak, not just DIsney but all companies and corporations have had to change its rules, policies, and protocols. Over the past few years, however, Guests have started to notice more and more issues piling up.
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A recent post on social media highlighted an issue that several Guests have started to notice while visiting Disneyland. The issue is with rides and attractions seemingly breaking down a lot more often. See the full post from u/Pilotwing04 here:
Ride breakdowns. Is it just me….
I feel like there has been a significant increase in ride breakdowns as of lately.
Maybe it’s bad luck or seeing too many posts about it on this sub lately, but the last two days we’ve been in the park we have run into this a lot.
Day one it happened 4 times in Disneyland while we were in line or on ride. Day two, it was 3 times in DCA while in line or on ride. Not only that, but looking at the app, rides are constantly down. I do know it’s normal, but it seems like it’s happening more often. Opinions and thoughts?
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Throughout the post, over a hundred users recounted their experience of getting stuck or having to evacuate a ride in Disneyland recently. User u/jimbo_wales talked about a popular ride themed around the Indiana Jones franchise:
It’s gotten really bad. Indy breaks down nearly every visit and Matterhorn seems to be down almost as often.
I’ve been on a breakdown of Matterhorn, Big Thunder, Radiator Springs, and Indy all in 2021. I think I was on one breakdown all of 2019.
I’m not even counting rides that get stuck/loop which happened to me on Indy (no ball drop), Mr. Toad (got stuck in the city part), Haunted Mansion (stuck in the seance room for about 5 minutes)
User u/ignatz-25 responded noting how profitable the company is:
What is incredible to me is that ever since Disney+ started, Disney is more profitable than ever. They really have no excuse for it.
User u/gilmoregirlimposter also commented on the Indiana Jones Adventure:
I was there yesterday and Indiana Jones was a mess. Our car was stopped for a while and several of the animatronics weren’t working, including the boulder.
User u/ brought up the cost of Park admission:
For $215, the rides should be working. More often than most people here report they are not.
The apologia in this thread is astonishing. Disney’s CEO just took home a $32M bonus while many park employees barely survive on hourly wages. The fact that rides are complex doesn’t mean it’s okay they break down often.
Airplanes are complex. Does the complex argument pass for airplanes, too?
User u/mama2014 summarized with a bold statement:
I couldn’t have said it better myself. The unapologetic greed of Disney CEO and shareholders is appalling. I took my family a couple weeks ago as our Christmas gift for the kids (age 5 and 7) It was nearly $600 to go to one park for one day. We couldn’t spring for the extra $80 for genie+ so we went on a mellow day with smaller crowds. 5 rides broke down after we waited in line. Leaving Peter Pan line after my 5 year old waited 45 min was rough – it’s his favorite ride. We couldn’t pay the extra $80 to get us all in the virtual queue for ROTR, so we waited. After waiting an hour it broke down (this happened the last time we were there) but we stayed in line – it took 45 min to get back running, then another 20ish min for us to get on. They pay their employees like crap, keep raising prices, completely phasing out the middle class. Unfortunately that was our last Disneyland trip, no longer affordable and the blatant greed just turns me off and made me angry while in the park.
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When looking at the thread, there seems to be a lot of fans complaining specifically on the Indiana Jones Adventure. While there is no confirmation that the ride is undergoing a lack of maintenance, we have seen an uptick in ride breakdowns. More on the iconic Disneyland attraction here.
While a post on Reddit does not encapsulate the entirety of the Disney community, it is a good indicator of where a majority of Guests’ heads are at with the company right now. There is also a huge group of Disney fans and Guests who have taken a stance against current CEO Bob Chapek, citing him as a “cost-cutting” businessman rather than a true creative leader that they think the Walt Disney Company needs. It is uncertain what all issues are facing Disney right now but there is no denying that things have changed both for Disneyland and Walt Disney World since 2020.
Have you noticed an increased amount of ride breakdowns in Disney? Let us know in the comments below!
Let the expert team at Academy Travel help you plan your next magical vacation to Disneyland Resort, including Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure, and the Downtown Disney District. Or what about Walt Disney World Resort’s four theme parks — Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios — and the Disney Springs shopping and dining district!
