First Time at Disney! Is the amount of rides and shows which are postponed or closed normal?

[ford91exploder]

Hello WDW magic.com community.

I first want to introduce myself. I am a long year Disney Fan from Germany. One of my dreams was always to visit the Disney world in Orlando and all the amazing parks inside of it. This goes back to the time I was a kid and watched the TV shows and read the books how everything was build and what a magical place it was. Now with 28 years I finally have the resources to make my dream come through and visit Disney World for two full weeks in November together with my girlfriend. When we decided to book this vacation a year ago. We were thrilled. We could ride all the awesome attractions we talked about for years. We could see the amazing nighttime shows and parades and even a new nighttime show was announced, Rivers of light. We were in the Disney bubble one year before the Vacation started. Maybe we had too high hopes but the following year there were only bad news coming out of Disney World. First we did not think much of it. We were aware that parks need to refurbish a ride when you are there we knew that from other theme parks in europe (We never saw in all the years more than one ride or show closed at the same time though). Also when Rivers of light was postponed we did not think much of it as it was still 6 months to go for our vacation and it would be ready when we are there. So half a year before we had the following status:

-Rivers of light was delayed.(We were in good hopes)
-Big thounder mountain railroad was going through a refurbishment(Sad for us but that is how it is. We were also in other parks were one ride was in refurb.)
- DHS was building Star Wars Land and Toy story Land (as major star wars Fans we were ofc hyped for the Fireworks and not mad that DHS is buildung star wars Land)

So still everything was fine and we were still more than happy to go to happiest place on earth. I read all the tips and tricks shown here in the forum and read a lot of threads here in this awesome community.
Now what happend in the next 6 months shocked us a little bit and left a sour taste in our mouth.
Current Status of rides and shows not working, getting refurb, closed with no replacement and not sceduled less than a month before we go:

• Rivers of Light (maybe the biggest disappointment. Not announced yet. We were counting on that a year ago. It was one of the major reasons we set late 2016 as a date. As even if the show had delays we would be easily be able to see it late 2016)
• Big thounder Railroad: nothing to say here was expected while a shame. Fine with it.
• Blizzard Beach closed: Same as above
• Rock n Rollercoaster: This was announced late and also makes me sad because DHS is already pretty empty which I do not mind as they are building new stuff. Still pretty sad.
• Dinosaur: Refurb gets extended TWO times. We were not expecting that to affect our vacation. Third Major ride that is closed during our time.
• The Main street electrical Parade: First Sad thing about it is that this was THE parade you have in mind when you thing about Disney parades in Europe at least for me. So seeing it beeing gone when we arrive was sad. But that there is NO replacement when we arrive is just a major upset.
• The Starwars Fireworks: When we heard the news that this is going to DHS studios we were pumped and it was with rivers of light a main reason to finally put money aside and go to Orlando. Besides the giant price tag.(One day disney costs 4-5 times as much as Europa Park which is awarded best theme Park in the world). Not beeing able to see it is one thing but no communication at all if it is there or not is worse.
• Stichs Great Escape: Again an announcement made after we booked our tickets etc.
• Sum of all thrills: While not mad about this still considering all the other closures this year pretty sad.
• All the closures in DHS: Expected so were are not mad about these.
• Nighttime hours AK: We were loving the idea and were super pumped to experience it.

All in all this is a major letdown for us as we are sitting here and praying everyday for not yet another ride or show to close. Our Planning is completly screwed. In AK for example we had 3 Days planed one day for major shows and a night safari trip for example that is not gonna happen. 3 Days are way to much for AK now.

So why am I writing this? I am not expecting any sort of compensation(I think it would be the right move but I am totally not expecting it). But I just want to let you know that my mood went from great anticipation for years to finally visit Disney World To a fear of what is gonna shutdown next and major disappointment on multiple fronts. While not beeing able to ride major rides when you traveled thousands of miles is one thing and not seeing a show is another. Combined this is just a major disappointment for me. I never visited a Park in my whole life where more than two rides and shows were closed at the same time. In MK we lost one show two rides. In AK we might loose one show one ride and a whole experience with the longer openings and the list goes on. All in all we have recieved eleven negative "suprises" while planning this vacation and none positive. Like a opening of a new show or a shortend refurbishment. Or any kind of new stuff at all really. I apologize for the bad english and I know you are not the people responsible for this. Is it just bad luck on our side or is this normal for Disney. I hope they announce something soon so we get at least a few of our anticipated shows and or replacements. But i highly doubt it as we are in the 30 day window.

Have a nice Day,
Christian

Unfortunately this is the 'new' normal for Disney, At one time the parks were not an exercise in how many attractions can Disney close to save money.

 

[Musicman20]

Hi - sorry you are already worried!

We visited late Sept - to mid Oct 2016 for 3 weeks from the UK.

ROL was a disappointment for me, but you might actually be lucky for this! I still loved the later atmosphere in the park. Tree of Life awakening for example, Night Safari and riding EE at night.

Dinosaur was also closed for us. I was a little annoyed, but, to make up for it, go on EE as many times as you can as it is awesome. All of the shows are worth going to, particularly Finding Nemo.

If you like animals you will have lots of fun. They are the main reason to go...they are so interesting to watch.

HS - Sorry to hear about RNRR - is it definitely closed for your visit? It is a good ride, I admit. I don't ride ToT, so I can't ride it which is a shame, but ride that instead.

If you like Star Wars you will like HS. Fantasmic is awesome. Midway Mania is really fun. Star Tours is one of my all time favourite rides EVER.

MK - Thunder Railroad - We also missed this. Don't worry, MK is FULL of awesome rides. Isn't Stitch just open on certain days? I quite like it, many don't....don't worry if you can't ride it. Again, MK has SO much to offer...don't worry about this park.

Epcot - I wouldn't worry about anything here. Make sure you ride Soarin' a few times. You will need a lot of time to explore this park, especially World Showcase. Use time to queue for Frozen...we missed it as we didn't fancy the lonnnnggg queue after all the walking but I would highly suggest you wait. Test Track/Soarin/World Showcase/Spaceship earth are all awesome. Plenty of other rides as well. Get on the Ellen Energy ride...it's shutting soon.

Blizzard Beach - IMO, Typhoon is the better water park. You won't get much time for water parks if you like the main parks, so don't worry, but if you do want time at water parks, spend the time reserved for Blizzard at Typhoon.

Disney Springs is great as well.

We had three weeks and STILL didn't do everything. Don't let forum negativity spoil it for you...the forum is here to discuss all things, positive and negative, and often as humans we focus on the bad. Don't! Just enjoy it...

If you can, make sure you have 3-4 days at Universal. Must be done!

Enjoy - I bet you come back with a positive report.

 

[thomas998]

Hello WDW magic.com community.

I first want to introduce myself. I am a long year Disney Fan from Germany. One of my dreams was always to visit the Disney world in Orlando and all the amazing parks inside of it. This goes back to the time I was a kid and watched the TV shows and read the books how everything was build and what a magical place it was. Now with 28 years I finally have the resources to make my dream come through and visit Disney World for two full weeks in November together with my girlfriend. When we decided to book this vacation a year ago. We were thrilled. We could ride all the awesome attractions we talked about for years. We could see the amazing nighttime shows and parades and even a new nighttime show was announced, Rivers of light. We were in the Disney bubble one year before the Vacation started. Maybe we had too high hopes but the following year there were only bad news coming out of Disney World. First we did not think much of it. We were aware that parks need to refurbish a ride when you are there we knew that from other theme parks in europe (We never saw in all the years more than one ride or show closed at the same time though). Also when Rivers of light was postponed we did not think much of it as it was still 6 months to go for our vacation and it would be ready when we are there. So half a year before we had the following status:

-Rivers of light was delayed.(We were in good hopes)
-Big thounder mountain railroad was going through a refurbishment(Sad for us but that is how it is. We were also in other parks were one ride was in refurb.)
- DHS was building Star Wars Land and Toy story Land (as major star wars Fans we were ofc hyped for the Fireworks and not mad that DHS is buildung star wars Land)

So still everything was fine and we were still more than happy to go to happiest place on earth. I read all the tips and tricks shown here in the forum and read a lot of threads here in this awesome community.
Now what happend in the next 6 months shocked us a little bit and left a sour taste in our mouth.
Current Status of rides and shows not working, getting refurb, closed with no replacement and not sceduled less than a month before we go:

• Rivers of Light (maybe the biggest disappointment. Not announced yet. We were counting on that a year ago. It was one of the major reasons we set late 2016 as a date. As even if the show had delays we would be easily be able to see it late 2016)
• Big thounder Railroad: nothing to say here was expected while a shame. Fine with it.
• Blizzard Beach closed: Same as above
• Rock n Rollercoaster: This was announced late and also makes me sad because DHS is already pretty empty which I do not mind as they are building new stuff. Still pretty sad.
• Dinosaur: Refurb gets extended TWO times. We were not expecting that to affect our vacation. Third Major ride that is closed during our time.
• The Main street electrical Parade: First Sad thing about it is that this was THE parade you have in mind when you thing about Disney parades in Europe at least for me. So seeing it beeing gone when we arrive was sad. But that there is NO replacement when we arrive is just a major upset.
• The Starwars Fireworks: When we heard the news that this is going to DHS studios we were pumped and it was with rivers of light a main reason to finally put money aside and go to Orlando. Besides the giant price tag.(One day disney costs 4-5 times as much as Europa Park which is awarded best theme Park in the world). Not beeing able to see it is one thing but no communication at all if it is there or not is worse.
• Stichs Great Escape: Again an announcement made after we booked our tickets etc.
• Sum of all thrills: While not mad about this still considering all the other closures this year pretty sad.
• All the closures in DHS: Expected so were are not mad about these.
• Nighttime hours AK: We were loving the idea and were super pumped to experience it.

All in all this is a major letdown for us as we are sitting here and praying everyday for not yet another ride or show to close. Our Planning is completly screwed. In AK for example we had 3 Days planed one day for major shows and a night safari trip for example that is not gonna happen. 3 Days are way to much for AK now.

So why am I writing this? I am not expecting any sort of compensation(I think it would be the right move but I am totally not expecting it). But I just want to let you know that my mood went from great anticipation for years to finally visit Disney World To a fear of what is gonna shutdown next and major disappointment on multiple fronts. While not beeing able to ride major rides when you traveled thousands of miles is one thing and not seeing a show is another. Combined this is just a major disappointment for me. I never visited a Park in my whole life where more than two rides and shows were closed at the same time. In MK we lost one show two rides. In AK we might loose one show one ride and a whole experience with the longer openings and the list goes on. All in all we have recieved eleven negative "suprises" while planning this vacation and none positive. Like a opening of a new show or a shortend refurbishment. Or any kind of new stuff at all really. I apologize for the bad english and I know you are not the people responsible for this. Is it just bad luck on our side or is this normal for Disney. I hope they announce something soon so we get at least a few of our anticipated shows and or replacements. But i highly doubt it as we are in the 30 day window.

Have a nice Day,
Christian

As long time visitor of both WDW and DL I can only say that the list isn't that bad compared to what I've experienced over the years. In general you made one mistake in your planning... You planned your trip too far in advance. When you have rides that you really don't want to miss on a trip it is better to plan the trip no more than maybe 6 months in advance if you are going to WDW and if possible maybe 3 months in advance is optimum... That way you will have a pretty good idea of what is going to be closed.... The other problem is that you are going in a non-peak time when they tend to close more rides than usual. But hey think goodness you weren't going to DL because they tend to close down even more rides that WDW this time of year for routine maintenance and refurbs.

The only downside I see to the rides being closed is if you were looking for some rollercoasters... In which case with thunder and rocknroll down you will only have Everest to ride.... But hey if you really want more of the thrill rides and that is bumming you out you can always take a day and go to Universal, as they will have more than enough rollercoasters to make you forget about the two that Disney has closed.

 

[righttrack]

At least it's not:

Seriously, bummer but minus RnRRC and BTM I think you're OK. I think September and November are really the months where most of the refurbs do stack up. It's going to be a great time.