I just got back from a 3-day/3-night trip to DL, and holy crap was it nuts! I have been there at Christmas, and at other busy times, so I was prepared for the crowds. I new going in it would be packed, and while really don't enjoy the crowds I can deal with them. This was the first time, however, I felt that the cast members at DL were not handling the crowds well at all. Rides were breaking down all over the place, the restrooms were dirty, the trash cans were overflowing, and the cast members did not seem to know how to deal with any of it. Crowd control during parades and fireworks was almost non-existent.
I have been at DL when a ride has gone down, but I have never felt there was a big maintenance problem before. On Sunday alone we were evacuated off of Splash mountain, sat on a train on Big Thunder for 20 minutes before they decided it was broken, and had to find alternate things to ride when Indy, Jungle Cruise, and Astro blasters were down when we went to get it line. At various other points in the weekend Radiator Springs Racers, Grizzly, Screamin, Soarin were also down, and we had other issues with the DL rides on Friday and Saturday too. The fast pass machines and the ticket-takers machines at the entrances were also having problems.
Overall we had a fun trip. It was our first time doing the Halloween party, and it was so fun seeing all of the costumes and the decorations. It was Disneyland, so even with its issues it was still great. That said, it is really frustrating to spend a ton of money for a vacation and to then have so many things broken. I have sort of gotten used to maintenance issues at WDW, but have never felt that DLR was poorly maintained. I am really hoping that this weekend was an aberration and is not the new normal.
I have been at DL when a ride has gone down, but I have never felt there was a big maintenance problem before. On Sunday alone we were evacuated off of Splash mountain, sat on a train on Big Thunder for 20 minutes before they decided it was broken, and had to find alternate things to ride when Indy, Jungle Cruise, and Astro blasters were down when we went to get it line. At various other points in the weekend Radiator Springs Racers, Grizzly, Screamin, Soarin were also down, and we had other issues with the DL rides on Friday and Saturday too. The fast pass machines and the ticket-takers machines at the entrances were also having problems.
Overall we had a fun trip. It was our first time doing the Halloween party, and it was so fun seeing all of the costumes and the decorations. It was Disneyland, so even with its issues it was still great. That said, it is really frustrating to spend a ton of money for a vacation and to then have so many things broken. I have sort of gotten used to maintenance issues at WDW, but have never felt that DLR was poorly maintained. I am really hoping that this weekend was an aberration and is not the new normal.
No, actually the light saber wavers were only sort of yelling at guests, but otherwise standing around staring at the crowds in a confused sort of way. For example, for the Paint the Night Parade on Friday, the cast members kept putting up ropes and then taking them back down to put them up somewhere else. Every so often some guy with a clipboard would come by and look unhappy and then the rope moving would start again. I kind of felt bad for them. I was just there in June and their light saber waiving and rope placement were much better coordinated and effective than they were this weekend.
