Any theories on why Disney poorly maintains many of their rides?

[Raineman]

Refurbishments use the "as built" as the standard to meet, its not re-engineering so if a design flaw from a mechanical process action causes an animatronic to not perform then that's not an end objective to address.

Would that not logically lead to eventually having to re-engineer something that is consistently having operational issues, eg a certain moving joint on an AA will always wear down/break over time, so that joint is strengthened, different materials used, etc. Maybe that is the type of refurb that Disney is not willing to do as much as it is required, as I'm sure that would take longer and incur more cost than simply replacing parts with the same part, but newer. I'm sure that when alot of WDW attractions were designed in the 60s, 70s and 80s, the engineering principles used to design them were alot less advanced than they would be currently, but to completely re-engineer the older attractions would not be feasible.

 

[spock8113]

I've done some maintenance in a field similar to this and it's called PM.
Not Preventive Maintenance however, we called it Panic Maintenance.
I think fix it when it breaks is what's been said here.
It may be micro-managing and micro-economics.
The money for the new "raises" has to come from somewhere.
I think they're looking for the boundries of financial restraint while just stepping to the line of safety.

 

[tomast]

I’m not sure anyone knows of problems with SM & SSE as there in the dark lol, I do think SM suffers from fast pass issues , they never use the right hand side of waiting bars fully, plus SSE is in need of some major new animatronics , I dont get Disney , I mean they spend a ridiculous amount on road systems and new ways to move people around ( gondolas) but skimp on updating rides that are in need of looking after, and they should update SM BIG TIME.mr W Disney would NEVER had let a European SM be better than his baby no way , And that’s s fact

thats true, and the gondolas does not seem to be a really efective transportation method neither as important as fixing some of the main atractions

 

[PurpleJesus]

I actually did this job for a long time at a commercial real estate company. The position is called "Maintenance Coordinator", generally.

It takes two things for it to go well.
1) Constant follow-up, and really obsessive attention to detail. Until you actually do the job you never really understand just how often stuff breaks. It's f'n constant, and the bigger the facility (like Disney), the more stuff that can go wrong and get sideways realllllly quick. So, you constantly have to go behind every job b/c nothing gets done well, or quickly if you're not constantly checking and pushing for speed/quality
2) The *boss* needs to be on-board with paying for all of it.

#2 - is the one that varies the most, and really makes or breaks the situation. I'd have some owners that wanted everything perfect at all times. Others that wanted things just barely kept up to snuff, all profit all the tim

Whoever is overseeing the Maintenance Coordinator for each land/park is most likely the key to why certain things aren't getting fixed. I tend to think #2 is a more viable option, but I worked with other MCs that were just flat out bad at their jobs. Being MC is a "fixer" job; almost all complaints. No one calls the MC because things are going well. It's a job that's only about problem solving, long-term planning, and pushing through as high of a volume of work as is humanly possible b/c tomorrow there will be more, and if you're not careful and getting enough stuff completed, you'll be bringing some of today's problems with you to tomorrow.

I would think that Disney can hire a high-quality Maintenance Coordinator. If not, I'd be more than willing to come out MC retirement to oversee a theme park. . They can pay me in annual passes, lol.

But, just as a for instance, remember when that dude got hired for Tomorrowland and everyone praised him because he said something to the effect of, "If there's a light that's been installed in Tomorrowland then it should work 100% of the time...." (I'm paraphrasing), and sure enough, they fixed every broken fixture, wire, switch, photocell, and bulb - but - do you have any idea how insanely difficult that was to do? Just the coordination of knowing WHERE each light is located....then, what type of fixture, what type of bulb, has code changed?, do we need to update that fixture?, how are we going to account for all of these, what's the future light changing schedule, who will be in charge of inventorying all of the bulbs and replacement fixtures?, do we need to get permission from Imagineering to change the hue of the pink lights b/c that particular color is no longer made....?" And on, and on, and on, and on.....

So, it's a hard question to answer as far as "Why isn't X getting fixed." In theory it's simple. Park manager hires MC. MC oversees repairs. Done. But, in practice, there's a 1000 shades of annoying crap to deal with to get anything done.

/rant

 

[BlahK-Man]

Fixing any issue, either mechanical or cosmetic, causes the ride to be shut down for a given amount of time. Sometimes the fix can be done overnight, sometimes the ride needs to be shut down for days at a time. In some cases a part needs to be ordered/manufactured before anything can happen (which adds to cost). Now, if it's "the lava lamps in Studio C are clumpy and not working" that isn't a major issue because a regular guest doesn't give two cares about it but if it's "there's a crack in the track" then the issue gets addressed and while the ride is down for that repair other cosmetic things might get looked at that could be fixed. It's all about capacity per hour and making sure people can ride the rides they came to whichever park for, cause if little Timmy is all of a sudden 48 inches tall and wants to ride RnR but it's closed to remove the Shocker then we have a whole new bundle of issues to deal with.

BLAH

 

[Matty_godfrey]

"Meh, it's fine. We got these people's money already so why fix it unless it's a safety hazard and we could lose all that money in a lawsuit/settlement?"

I don't have a good answer though in seriousness.

Here's one for you all, As I live over here in Australia and near the Australian Theme Parks in Queensland. It doesn't matter who you are or how big your organisation is there are always consequences. I have inserted a article for your reading, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04...ent-ride-pre-inquest-hearing-brisbane/9612462 the park has suffered in attendence since this happened and are now in the process of legal procedings. Its all about accountability.

Let me know your thoughts....

 

[Disneyrailfan1996]

Disney clearly has the money to maintain their rides but in many instances does not. They leave many things broken and wait far to long between overhauls.I wonder if it's not partly do to some internal struggle for funding between different departments. I really find it odd that TDO spends billions on new hotels and infrastructure to draw and funnel guest's to the parks and then don't maintain the attractions the people are coming to experience.
Any Theories ??

Hmmm.... I guess it varies from ride to ride
I’d group it into 3 categories: neglect, on the border, and well maintained.
First neglected: this is a tough call... I’d put peoplemover here, but it seems as though it breaks less frequently now.
Borderline: Carousel of Progress. Sometimes the speakers are shot, sometimes a figure needs some work, an effect is broken, or, god forbid, the ride needs work.
Well maintained: I’d say the WDWRR, but that’s obvious because it’s all steam, they have a different maintenance program (for lack of a better term) for that. So I’d say for this I’d say small world.

 

[WDWDad2907]

Something is inherently off with that explanation.

If indeed Disney feels guests don't notice or appreciate broken effects on rides then why put them on in the first place?!?!
Something is sheerly incongruent here.

We have engineering, construction and time costs to get these features(AA's, lighting, sound, set pieces, fire, steam, stationary props.....almost anything under the sun) initially installed. So if they are unnoticed or underappreciated by guests then there would be absolutely no reason to add them in the creation of the project to begin with, no?

Absolutely agree. People certainly do notice them. I'll use Frozen as an example. That seemed hastily put together without the attention to detail and unique feature we have come to expect from Disney. While it was certainly popular to start (because "IP!!") I see it's popularity waning because it just isn't that interesting, and the novelty eventually wears off. My hope is they start to realize that decision (and those like it) are incredibly shortsighted. The details are what make these rides unique, which is what makes them timeless. I would think that would be Disney's goal in order to avoid continual updates/overlays, but what do I know.

 

[Damon7777]

but what do I know.

You know quite a lot.

These short sighted, grab that flavor of the day IP, and stick it in our faces via new attractions lacking in quality is an unwise move.

IP(branding or packaging)over substance is a mistake.

 

[geekza]

Absolutely agree. People certainly do notice them. I'll use Frozen as an example. That seemed hastily put together without the attention to detail and unique feature we have come to expect from Disney. While it was certainly popular to start (because "IP!!") I see it's popularity waning because it just isn't that interesting, and the novelty eventually wears off. My hope is they start to realize that decision (and those like it) are incredibly shortsighted. The details are what make these rides unique, which is what makes them timeless. I would think that would be Disney's goal in order to avoid continual updates/overlays, but what do I know.

It's still popular. Does it get the multi-hour waits that it did when it opened? No, but it only ever had those waits because it was something new in a park that had seen very little that was new for several years. Now it just has the expected wait time of an established, popular attraction. As far as it being thrown together, I dispute that. Yes, it's a repurposing of an existing ride, but it looks really nice and some of the AA figures are among the best on-property. It's unfortunate that their intricacy has led to more-frequent malfunctions, but I have yet to hear a convincing argument that the attraction looks cheap or isn't fun for what it is. It was a definite signal of the beginning of the end of attention to theming consistency in Epcot, but it's a solid, traditional Disney dark ride.

 

[mergatroid]

It's still popular. Does it get the multi-hour waits that it did when it opened? No, but it only ever had those waits because it was something new in a park that had seen very little that was new for several years. Now it just has the expected wait time of an established, popular attraction. As far as it being thrown together, I dispute that. Yes, it's a repurposing of an existing ride, but it looks really nice and some of the AA figures are among the best on-property. It's unfortunate that their intricacy has led to more-frequent malfunctions, but I have yet to hear a convincing argument that the attraction looks cheap or isn't fun for what it is. It was a definite signal of the beginning of the end of attention to theming consistency in Epcot, but it's a solid, traditional Disney dark ride.

Have to agree. My wide and I think it's very impressive.

 

[trainplane3]

I wrote a list in another thread recently.... in brief

Queue displays not lit / poorly lit
Load displays broken
Load ceiling laser projections broken
Lift displays broken
Lift control room lighting broken
Alpha lift wall lighting broken
Omega lift wall lighting partly working
Lift displays broken
All star projectors and gobo projections immobile
Most Ride off ride sound fx down
Off ride music indistinct still
Re entry tunnel audio still out of sync

And it was like this for three weeks. A lot of the issues listed are over a year old.

That’s just what I’m aware of as a guest. Why should I have to tell the company what’s wrong with their rides? There should be regular rides by cast, faults logged, then fixed. I can say that Tower faults are logged, reported and then sat on.

I believe both sets of lift lighting are now busted on SM. The lift is just black now. At least it was on my ride through this past week. I started laughing at the light bleed from the outside rear exit when I rode it at night. Half the dome was lit. It's starting to turn into a joke which is sad since it used to be a favorite of mine. The final helix audio just wasn't working either. Off ride music was a pretty bad idea personally, it just doesn't do much even when it's working. The sound effects are nice...when they work...or are audible...which is nearly never now.

It's slightly angering riding SM and just being able to tell what's broke.

 

[marni1971]

It's slightly angering riding SM and just being able to tell what's broke.

We’ve decided we’re going to ride two other Space Mountains next year. And neither are in Orlando. TDO has broken us for a while.

 

[geekza]

We’ve decided we’re going to ride two other Space Mountains next year. And neither are in Orlando. TDO has broken us for a while.

Wow. Coming from you, one of WDW's biggest fans, that's really unfortunate. Understandable, but unfortunate.

 

[Maeryk]

There's really no single answer, but it's an amalgamation of different issues.

Budget, obviously, factors into everything.

How many attractions can be down at a time is another major concern. Disney has a refurb schedule for it's rides, and it factors what is closed and when carefully. Secondary effects can break without warning, but the ride can still go on. If the main President goes down in HoP, you'll likely see closure until it's fixed. If some other guy's arm doesn't move right, then it's going to be let go until a refurb is planned.

Another issue Disney faces is the baling wire and duct tape.. they have 50 years of progressive technology all attempting to work together in the same space. What might be an easy fix on something that was built last year, may be quite a bit more complicated on something built 45 years ago. Any spare parts that existed from then are likely exhausted, so anything needed needs to be made, which takes time, even for Disney.

Also, the parks themselves are open a lot longer than they used to be, which cuts back on the time maintenance has to work on things.

Plus, we clamor for bleeding edge tech on everything, and then complain when it's bleeding edge and doesn't work right. (See, also, the shaman). They aren't buying some tested thing off the shelf at Costco. These are all individual designs, and even with the level of engineering Disney puts into things, not everything leaps from the drawing board to real life with no issues. (cough *yeti* cough).

So, it's a mix of things. The continuing downward spiral of Space Mountain makes me think it's in for some big changes when it finally does go down for a long refurb. It doesn't make sense, from an accounting standpoint, to put a lot of money into theming/effects that they know won't be around long. But they also can't really just close it while other things that eat people are also shut down, and leave TL without an anchor.

We complain here (A lot) about seeing dead plants or burned out bulbs at Disney, but take a walk through just about any other park, and you'll realize it's still miles above what else is available.

Also, things just break folks. If rides shut down to be immediately brought back to opening day standards every time something minor stopped working, you'd only have two things open in the park. That's just the reality of the situation.

 

[trainplane3]

We’ve decided we’re going to ride two other Space Mountains next year. And neither are in Orlando. TDO has broken us for a while.

After the little hang out with our friend (you know who) the other night, they did some really nice persuading to my parents to look at DL, DLP, and Tokyo. Hopefully enough persuasion to actually get to the other parks, especially Tokyo. The OLC seems to just love setting new bars while WDW just crawls by...

 

[WDWDad2907]

We complain here (A lot) about seeing dead plants or burned out bulbs at Disney, but take a walk through just about any other park, and you'll realize it's still miles above what else is available.

Does it cost a family of four $500 for a day visit to one of those "other" parks? And that's just the starting point for the spending. The complaint is as much about the value many customers place in these "extra" touches and details we expect from Disney and how lately there has been a much higher disregard by the company in providing that value despite continuous increases in prices. IMO

 

[Maeryk]

Does it cost a family of four $500 for a day visit to one of those "other" parks? And that's just the starting point for the spending. The complaint is as much about the value many customers place in these "extra" touches and details we expect from Disney and how lately there has been a much higher disregard by the company in providing that value despite continuous increases in prices. IMO

If you are talking price, Disney is in it's own class. Universal is getting there, with a few resort properties, but Disney is really the 800 lb gorilla. It handles more people, with more rooms, more transportation, food, etc etc and so forth than any other similar destination in the world.

And Disney, while big, is not big enough to control what their costs are. Everything is, and has been, getting more expensive. From tires to chicken , flour to light bulbs, prices increase. Factor in millions and millions in new rides (Because otherwise they are "old" and "stale" and "never update dated attractions"), expansions to transportation options, and even just the maintenance on long term infrastructure, and prices are going to increase. There is no way they cannot.

I wish Disney would release an itemized budget for what the WDW resort costs them to operate, so people understood that while it seems like a lot of money to pay what.. 129$ to enter the park? That's a drop in the bucket towards just the cost of operating it, let alone turning a profit. They aren't printing money off the parks, regardless of what people think. Of course they are making a profit.. TDO was never a charity and never meant to operate as one, but there's no scrooge mcduck vault full of gold coins that Iger is diving head first into.

 

[WDWDad2907]

If you are talking price, Disney is in it's own class. Universal is getting there, with a few resort properties, but Disney is really the 800 lb gorilla. It handles more people, with more rooms, more transportation, food, etc etc and so forth than any other similar destination in the world.

And Disney, while big, is not big enough to control what their costs are. Everything is, and has been, getting more expensive. From tires to chicken *******, flour to light bulbs, prices increase. Factor in millions and millions in new rides (Because otherwise they are "old" and "stale" and "never update dated attractions"), expansions to transportation options, and even just the maintenance on long term infrastructure, and prices are going to increase. There is no way they cannot.

I wish Disney would release an itemized budget for what the WDW resort costs them to operate, so people understood that while it seems like a lot of money to pay what.. 129$ to enter the park? That's a drop in the bucket towards just the cost of operating it, let alone turning a profit. They aren't printing money off the parks, regardless of what people think. Of course they are making a profit.. TDO was never a charity and never meant to operate as one, but there's no scrooge mcduck vault full of gold coins that Iger is diving head first into.

I understand what you are saying, but its definitely not an inaccuracy to say that the parks are "printing" money. They are practically propping up the entire company at this point in addition to the movie studio. Price increases support the mediocre performance of the rest of the company as much as they support the parks budget.

 

[Maeryk]

I understand what you are saying, but its definitely not an inaccuracy to say that the parks are "printing" money. They are practically propping up the entire company at this point in addition to the movie studio. Price increases support the mediocre performance of the rest of the company as much as they support the parks budget.

It's this weird circular logic thing. The parks are their biggest advertising venue, so it's how they get the word out about their projects and upcoming films, and then they feature those films in the parks. People seem to get cranky about IP in the parks, but it's been there since day one. r half as many seats recliner and table theaters. So yeah, movies now don't do the box office numbers they used to. And Disney has to adapt to that. And people aren't buying DVDs like they used to either. It's all on demand now, and they are trying to take advantage of that as well, with their streaming service next year. And people are increasingly demanding everything be in their hand. They don't want kiosks, or brochures, or to have to talk to a human being. They want an app for that.

There's a lot of investment that is basically invisible going into adapting to all those changes. Until they figure out how to make the studios profitable again like days of yore, your main income is going to be feet into the parks, and merchandise. That's just the way it is.

They could probably throw a pile of money at the "issue" of the one pirate not waving or that plant over there having brown leaves, or the light in the MST marquee being burned out... but the vast majority of guests don't notice, or don't care... they want shiny new rides, and interactive queues, and new experiences. At least, that is my belief. And Disney knows it, and they are responding to what they think their biggest market share is clamoring for. And their biggest market share at the moment is not us 50+ year olds. It's our kids, or in some cases, our kids kids. THAT is who they need to set the hook into, and THAT is who they need to appeal to with "newfangled" tech and systems.