Theme park guests in 2015 have the priviledge of experiencing some of the most advanced and interesting feats of mechanical engineering and design over the last 50 years. However, as with any large-scale mechanical device, breakdowns are inevitable. In addition, attractions holding a few dozen of our favorite humans tend to demand a certain increased level of scrutiny.
We at TouringPlans.com help people plan, in great detail, a strategy for guests to experience the parks efficiently. But what does one do when grandma and the kids finally arrive at the entrance to Dumbo only to find devastation: “Temporarily closed”?
First, be aware that breakdowns happen—and they happen more often than you think. It is important that your travelling party knows that breakdowns are possible. Second, it is helpful to know which rides are more likely to break down. Here's a list (in order of likelihood), from Space Mountain, which breaks down about once every three days, to Haunted Mansion, which breaks down about once a week.
| Walt Disney World Resort (Florida) | Attractions Likely to Break Down (in order) |
|---|---|
|
Magic Kingdom |
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Epcot |
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Disney Hollywood Studios |
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|
Animal Kingdom |
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| Disneyland Resort (California) | |
|
Disneyland |
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Disney California Adventure |
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If any of these rides are on your itinerary, you can expect that one of them will be unavailable when you arrive at its entrance. Fortunately, in the vast majority of cases, these breakdowns are temporary. As likely as it is that one of these rides breaks down, it is equally as likely that it will be back up and running within half an hour.
So what should you do if a ride is down? The best strategy is to skip it; don't wait. Although the likelihood is for the attraction to back online within 30 minutes, you never actually know exactly how long it will take. So skip it—head to the next attraction on your touring plan. Once that is complete, take a peek to see of the broken attraction is back online. If so, go ahead and ride. The good news is that when a ride breaks down, the wait time right after it reopens is usually very short. If it is not back yet, skip it again until much later in the day.
TouringPlans users have the option of using LINES to plan for you. If a ride is broken down, skip it and re-optimize your touring plan to see when it makes sense to return.
Note: Cast members are intentionally tight-lipped about a ride breakdown. Asking “why is it offline?” and “how long until it is back online?” will likely get you nowhere. Partly because they don't want to make promises they can't keep and partly because they don't know the answers.
