Disneyworld maintenance is a joke

[drizgirl]

When they close the parks due to the Corona Virus, maybe they can do some refurbishments. It's coming folks!!

You really think if they close the parks that they're going to spend money on extra maintenance?

 

[Disstevefan1]

Alright, let's do this.

Haunted Mansion has been closed for emergency repair, and continues to struggle
Space Mountain is how old again?
Tower of Terror is constantly being critiqued for several broken effects
Why is Peoplemover closed now?
Dinosaur & Everest can both greatly benefit from a multi-month refurbishment
Pirates of the Caribbean mixes with Jungle Cruise as a boat is sent to Davy Jones locker

Anyone have anything else to add?

My post is a little sarcastic, because there are still several rides still running at an acceptable level. But some lack of maintenance, mixed with some of the most recent events occurring, is a cause for concern. How much longer until we have another BTMRR (DL) incident?

Oh, and now that park prices can amount to over 200 a day.. why is the lackluster maintenance okay?

I blame WDW management, not the workers that are more than likely willing to fix stuff given the chance. Management staff cuts, hours cut, create more before and after hour events that eat into time when maintenance could occur.

Another thing it seems is that management seems to let things go on a given attraction with the attitude, "we will fix it when the attraction is closed for the scheduled rehab".

This is all about cost cutting and squeezing our more and more revenue.

 

[Hockey89]

Come on, that's such a bad excuse for a company that's price gouging you.

Gouging??? Define that for me... Simple... Don't go... Really it is that simple... If you don't think you are getting the value for your money, go somewhere else...

 

[Model3 McQueen]

WDW maintenance is certainly not a joke. If you’ve ever been to central shops you know exactly what I mean. It’s a large scale war against the effects of time and weather on the parks. Sure, budgets can be increased, but in the overall scheme of things the cast in the maintenance department does a great job. They are the untold heroes of WDW.

Just to be clear, I'm not suggesting that the people in maintenance are a joke. I just think it's unacceptable to have broken or half-fixed effects and Band-Aids on what should be a call for major refurbishment(s).

And that's all on management. A CM I chatted with on my last visit really shined a light on the situation, and that was a year ago. Things have gotten worse since then.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Gouging??? Define that for me... Simple... Don't go... Really it is that simple... If you don't think you are getting the value for your money, go somewhere else...

I'm intrigued to see people stick up for a company that charges a mortgage worth of payment for a small vacation, yet they struggle to keep their current offerings up to date and / or in working order.

Every year prices are going up by fairly significant amounts. Why? For more IP, Reduced park hours, Extra charge after hour events, and yeah the lack of maintenance..? It's hard to watch.

 

[unmitigated disaster]

These kind of situations are really a no-win situation for everybody involved. If you shut down attractions for extended periods to do the necessary preventive maintenance or to repair, then you have some visitors whining & complaining that they can't ride their favorite attraction. If the attractions are kept running, despite maintenance needs, then you have some visitors complaining about bad show and the perceived reasons for the lack of maintenance. Personally, if I was a Disney executive, I would rather have people complaining about shutdowns due to maintenance needs to ensure the attraction runs like it should when it is not down for maintenance. You can never eliminate both types of complaints, so go with the one that makes it look like the effort and $ are still there.

Exactly. It's the same with hotels. We picked a low season low occupancy week to clean and reseal our pool, told everyone we were going to be doing this during their stay when they made the reservation and then people were all "you should do this when you're closed!" Which, we never are, and we warned you and I always want to add why are you vacationing in Tucson in June, anyhow ?

 

[PiratesMansion]

Somehow the other Disney resorts around the world seem to be able to do a much better job maintaining their attractions.

All with relatively comparable attendance park by park.

Magic Kingdom may not have as many attractions as Disneyland, but it certainly has more attractions than, say, either of the Chinese parks. Somehow those parks are able to be maintained grounds and attractions beautifully even so. Somehow they are able to schedule refurbs.

No excuse for the sorry state of the WDW parks right now. It's certainly not for lack of money coming in.

 

[bryanfze55]

Disneyland’s maintenance is significantly better than WDW’s.

I would venture to guess that TDO has made the decision it’s better to have mediocre show quality than to have popular rides shut down for refurbs during guests’ “once in a lifetime” vacation.

 

[MissViv]

You really think if they close the parks that they're going to spend money on extra maintenance?

I'm just saying they should - I was just there last week and could not ride Haunted Mansion (both days were shutdown) and people mover broke down and we had to be evacuated. They take in enough money to keep the rides upgraded. Just saying ….

 

[PiratesMansion]

I'm just saying they should - I was just there last week and could not ride Haunted Mansion (both days were shutdown) and people mover broke down and we had to be evacuated. They take in enough money to keep the rides upgraded. Just saying ….

It would seem to solve their "we can't refurb our rides because we just don't have the capacity if we close any of them to fix them" or the "my child will be DEVASTATED if _______ is closed on our vacation" excuses problems that are apparently the reason they can't maintain their attractions.

It would seem to present a perfect maintenance window, would it not?

 

[Disstevefan1]

I worked at Disney for a few years and it’s mostly because everything is old and they won’t update it. Here a secret I always tell people; Disney world is the cash cow of all the parks around the world, no matter how dumpy or outdated it seems people will always spend money to go there. That’s why the wife and I aren’t going back until they update everything. The capacity is also a factor too, there are so many guests the rides go through a ton of wear and tear

I thought, and maybe this was when WDW first opened, they had full 2nd and 3rd shifts that did maintenance overnight when the park was closed. I suspect thats long gone now.

I know they still work thorough the night these days to change from Halloween to Christmas, stuff like that, but normal maintenance (or repair) overnight is not happening these days?

 

[rk03221]

I thought, and maybe this was when WDW first opened, they had full 2nd and 3rd shifts that did maintenance overnight when the park was closed. I suspect thats long gone now.

I know they still work thorough the night these days to change from Halloween to Christmas, stuff like that, but normal maintenance (or repair) overnight is not happening these days?

Afaik Second shift is still around and third shift was too but they probably cut a lot of those hours by now. I left Disney in 2016 so I’m sure it’s changed.

 

[Parker in NYC]

Well, now they have time on their hands to fix all the things!

 

[Rodj]

I blame WDW management, not the workers that are more than likely willing to fix stuff given the chance. Management staff cuts, hours cut, create more before and after hour events that eat into time when maintenance could occur.

Another thing it seems is that management seems to let things go on a given attraction with the attitude, "we will fix it when the attraction is closed for the scheduled rehab".

This is all about cost cutting and squeezing our more and more revenue.

I was talking with one of the people who works at the Tower of Terror and from him he said that the higher ups make the decision on whether something should be fixed or not. Lets not forget the refurb last Spring where Foxtrot and Echo had almost no speakers working right before the refurb and they never bothered to fix it during the refurb.

 

[skiir97]

WDW maintenance is certainly not a joke. If you’ve ever been to central shops you know exactly what I mean. It’s a large scale war against the effects of time and weather on the parks. Sure, budgets can be increased, but in the overall scheme of things the cast in the maintenance department does a great job. They are the untold heroes of WDW.

I wouldn't mind watching a 2 hour documentary about just the maintenance team

 

[Model3 McQueen]

I was talking with one of the people who works at the Tower of Terror and from him he said that the higher ups make the decision on whether something should be fixed or not. Lets not forget the refurb last Spring where Foxtrot and Echo had almost no speakers working right before the refurb and they never bothered to fix it during the refurb.

The timing has been wayyyyy off during the first elevator show-scene for years! I refer to the hallway ghost projection, when the lightning zaps those 5 people and the eery sound effect, before the blacked out hallway and star scene arrives, plays way too late.

I also had some bad complaints regarding Dinosaur and the pitch black nature of it all with a lack of show (running carnotaurus wasn't even working when I went).

Space Mountain was fun but darn if it doesn't feel a bit dated.

EVEREST! I loved Everest but my god, you can tell it's been neglected. BTMRR isn't far behind. I could go on.

 

[Rosanne]

Alright, let's do this.

Haunted Mansion has been closed for emergency repair, and continues to struggle
Space Mountain is how old again?
Tower of Terror is constantly being critiqued for several broken effects
Why is Peoplemover closed now?
Dinosaur & Everest can both greatly benefit from a multi-month refurbishment
Pirates of the Caribbean mixes with Jungle Cruise as a boat is sent to Davy Jones locker

Anyone have anything else to add?

My post is a little sarcastic, because there are still several rides still running at an acceptable level. But some lack of maintenance, mixed with some of the most recent events occurring, is a cause for concern. How much longer until we have another BTMRR (DL) incident?

Oh, and now that park prices can amount to over 200 a day.. why is the lackluster maintenance okay?

Many have been talking about how much Disney needs repairs but cant close parks to do it. Well now is the perfect time. What does everyone think about the maintenance men going out there and doing major repairs for the next few weeks while the parks are closed? I have a feeling the parks will be closed longer than 2 weeks. They may as well do something constructive while they are closed.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Alright, let's do this.

Haunted Mansion has been closed for emergency repair, and continues to struggle
Space Mountain is how old again?
Tower of Terror is constantly being critiqued for several broken effects
Why is Peoplemover closed now?
Dinosaur & Everest can both greatly benefit from a multi-month refurbishment
Pirates of the Caribbean mixes with Jungle Cruise as a boat is sent to Davy Jones locker

Anyone have anything else to add?

1) WDW has been trimming the Maintenance staff over the past couple of years.
2) According to my dear friend, in Maint, there are not enough to cover basic even Preventive Maint.
3) This causes major breakdowns, since the equip just gets worn out (sometimes just due to no grease/oil).
4) When emergency repairs pop up, the experienced Maint folks are not available.
5) WDW let go many of the long-term folks since they made so much money (top of pay scale).

 

[graphite1326]

I am sure they do not pay enough to get good quality maintenance personnel. That would be due to the arrogance of upper management, which is common in all businesses.

 

[Lilofan]

I am sure they do not pay enough to get good quality maintenance personnel. That would be due to the arrogance of upper management, which is common in all businesses.

Last I heard it was $25-30 per hour. Not good enough?