Why Can't They Clean Rides Better?

[Chef Mickey]

Seriously, I've seen the same splashes, spit, and whatever other crap on the Space Mountain mission control class going up the track for many trips.

All they'd need to do is get some Windex and clean that up!!

It's not just Space Mountain...I've noticed many other attractions having quite a bit of dust, dirt, trash, and spit. Carousel of Progress is quite dusty.

Does anyone have insight into the management of ride integrity? Does someone walk the track nightly to ensure everything is at least clean and neat? I'm sure each attraction has a "manager" to report big problems, test things, and clean if necessary. Am I wrong? I know the working order of all effects and animatronics is a different issue, but couldn't they at least keep things completely clean? Low cost effort here...

 

[Obi]

agree with you on better management on keeping the rides cleaner and maintained...

but i have to also ask the same question on why can't people not spit, throw trash, etc. on the rides?

 

[Patrick_Ears]

here we go... lol

 

[MattC]

agree with you on better management on keeping the rides cleaner and maintained...

but i have to also ask the same question on why can't people not spit, throw trash, etc. on the rides?

If you ever figure out the answer to that, let me know.

 

[WWWD]

agree with you on better management on keeping the rides cleaner and maintained...

but i have to also ask the same question on why can't people not spit, throw trash, etc. on the rides?

I agree that people seem to be getting worse, but I don't necessarily believe it's bad management causing rides not to get cleaned. I don't think they can keep things clean like they used to because they just can't keep up with what people do nowadays. Even when I fly, I notice how dirty airplanes are anymore. They use to at least look clean, now they're no cleaner than a city bus. All four legs of my recent flight had duck tape employed to "repair" cosmetic damage in the cabin. Heck, my 10 year old mini van used to haul 3 kids around is cleaner than any plane I have recently been on.

 

[Obi]

If you ever figure out the answer to that, let me know.

i don't think i'll ever figure it out either, but if i do, i will share that info.

I agree that people seem to be getting worse, but I don't necessarily believe it's bad management causing rides not to get cleaned. I don't think they can keep things clean like they used to because they just can't keep up with what people do nowadays. Even when I fly, I notice how dirty airplanes are anymore. They use to at least look clean, now they're no cleaner than a city bus. All four legs of my recent flight had duck tape employed to "repair" cosmetic damage in the cabin. Heck, my 10 year old mini van used to haul 3 kids around is cleaner than any plane I have recently been on.

agreed.. it's just getting worse with people in general... still, surely disney can come up with an answer on trying to keep the rides a little more cleaner...

 

[Tom]

I agree that people seem to be getting worse, but I don't necessarily believe it's bad management causing rides not to get cleaned. I don't think they can keep things clean like they used to because they just can't keep up with what people do nowadays. Even when I fly, I notice how dirty airplanes are anymore. They use to at least look clean, now they're no cleaner than a city bus. All four legs of my recent flight had duck tape employed to "repair" cosmetic damage in the cabin. Heck, my 10 year old mini van used to haul 3 kids around is cleaner than any plane I have recently been on.

Excellent point - it's not just Disney. It's everywhere, and the cost to employ people to follow beyond society does not justify itself.

 

[rob0519]

I agree that people seem to be getting worse, but I don't necessarily believe it's bad management causing rides not to get cleaned. I don't think they can keep things clean like they used to because they just can't keep up with what people do nowadays.

I agree. People in general are getting worse in general at taking care other people's property (Disney's, airplanes, buses, trains, parks, beaches, wherever). It is however, a deliberate managment decision to determine how much money is spent on the maintenance of a property and where that money is spent. One would guess that sweeping the streets, cleaning the restrooms and washing the windows on Mainstreet would take priority over glass somewhere inside an attraction. Disney does a fair job of that. I would imagine any cleaning inside an attraction only happens during refurbishment, which is a shame.

However, the overall maintenance of the parks and hotels in regards to simple dust, dirt, window washing, etc. has been deteriorating for years in my opinion as well. With the right number of workers and the right schedule a lot of the "cleaning" issues would be taken care of. For a resort of this size that cost would be enormous. TDO obviously does not belive that cost is justified.

 

[ewensell3]

If you ever figure out the answer to that, let me know.

Automated sentry turrets loaded with spitwads at various points along the ride path. Optical recognition software watches for foreign objects ejected from the ride vehicle and pelts all the vehicle occupants.

Given enough time "innocent" guests should become conditioned enough to keep an eye out for malcontents and take preemptive actions to prevent further peltings. Once the general population of a given ride becomes self policing the turrets can be moved to other attractions as needed.

 

[copcarguyp71]

Overloaded parks + low ratio of attractions to guests = longer times in queues to get bored, disgruntled and careless. Coupled with outsourced cleaning of rides in which Disney does not maintain control of the quality of cleanliness and if they 1099 the outsourced contractors then technically they cannot give specific direction to the contractors. Round and round we go!

 

[MickeyisMyBestFriend]

The rides should be cleaner but I imagine it's hard when there is so much they need to take and only so many employees. Yes, I know Disney could hire more people but I don't think we want Disney to just go on the street and hire people without proper background checks, etc.

 

[MattC]

Automated sentry turrets loaded with spitwads at various points along the ride path. Optical recognition software watches for foreign objects ejected from the ride vehicle and pelts all the vehicle occupants.

Given enough time "innocent" guests should become conditioned enough to keep an eye out for malcontents and take preemptive actions to prevent further peltings. Once the general population of a given ride becomes self policing the turrets can be moved to other attractions as needed.

Got my vote!

 

[bethymouse]

Impossible in the summer! But, I think they could do a better job when the parks are a bit less crowded. Hand sanitizer.... frequent trips to the bathrooms to wash hands... baby wipes... anything to try to keep yourself clean. Others.... no control over that sadly. Overall, the rides aren't too "germy"/"dirty", but they do need a good cleaning. Don't they do that each evening though when the parks close?

 

[rct247]

You want the honest truth... because there is a good portion of the 3rd shift custodial team who only does what they need to to get by and then sleeps in breakrooms, watch TV, or waste time doing other stuff. My friends who open in the morning always talk about seeing a number of 3rd shift cast members sleeping when they arrive. Unfortunately, there aren't as many leaders at night and management won't ackowledge this is a problem, primarily because finding people willing to work 3rd shift custodial is harder.

Another honest reason is because attraction refurbishments don't occur as often as they should for many attractions. With less and less of an off season, there are more crowds with more extended hours and less time to work at night. Budgets also come into play for this too.

Other than that, attractions have opening checklist that not only ensure each morning that things are working, but also ensure that they are "show ready". Unfortunately, with most managers, show is not as high on their list. Paint scratches, dust, and other minor custodial or maintenance issues will not cause an attraction or vehicle to be taken out of service, will largely be pushed aside, or the opening cast members simply don't notice or care enough document or tell someone.

 

[loveofamouse]

You want the honest truth... because there is a good portion of the 3rd shift custodial team who only does what they need to to get by and then sleeps in breakrooms, watch TV, or waste time doing other stuff. My friends who open in the morning always talk about seeing a number of 3rd shift cast members sleeping when they arrive. Unfortunately, there aren't as many leaders at night and management won't ackowledge this is a problem, primarily because finding people willing to work 3rd shift custodial is harder.

Another honest reason is because attraction refurbishments don't occur as often as they should for many attractions. With less and less of an off season, there are more crowds with more extended hours and less time to work at night. Budgets also come into play for this too.

Other than that, attractions have opening checklist that not only ensure each morning that things are working, but also ensure that they are "show ready". Unfortunately, with most managers, show is not as high on their list. Paint scratches, dust, and other minor custodial or maintenance issues will not cause an attraction or vehicle to be taken out of service, will largely be pushed aside, or the opening cast members simply don't notice or care enough document or tell someone.

Bingo. People have been trashing the public since there was a public. It wouldn't take much effort to pick up some trash, run a quick sweep, etc. I thought about this myself yesterday as I was on the MK railroad going around the park. Plenty of trash around the tracks. When the boats launch on IASW, they pass under ride control where there are platforms on either side. Besides the drink cups (McD cups, mind youj), it was just dirty! IASW was dirty! my son remarked about all of the money on the ferry ports. Does no one pick up all that change anymore?

 

[rob0519]

It all comes back to what are the management's goals and what is required to meet those goals. If there are no repercussions to the supervisor or manager of an attraction or area for dirt, dust and trash accumulating then there is no reason for them to believe it needs to be cleaned up. It's quite obvious that guest safety is an important management goal. It's also quite obvious that the standard of cleanliness and esthetic quality once set by the Disney corporation is no longer an important management goal, having been replaced by reducing operating expenses.

As a previous poster said, as long as a store or attraction can open and run safely, management doesn't seem to care if it's a little dirty.

 

[FettFan]

I remember a modern parable about what's going on here.

There was a particular town that was facing a financial crisis and was looking to cut costs wherever they could. The town planners found that one man was paid $100 a week, but they had no clue as to why they were paying him. They followed him one day to find out what he was doing, and witnessed him hauling two buckets of water up a hill each morning, then at the top of the hill he would dump both buckets into a hole. That was what he was getting paid for. "AHA!" said the Mayor. "We shall stop paying him to waste time like this! Our worries are over!"

Then everyone died in a fire two weeks later.

 

[Chef Mickey]

I know there are a lot of moving parts and things at play. However, a team of 5 good people, even overpaid, could make a huge difference if someone cared enough to open the budget and give it management attention.

I think everyone is right about it just not being a top priority and cutting costs is more important. I like Bob Iger, but I liked "dumber" CEOs better. Iger is a cost cutting machine and it shows. I truly believe Tower of Terror was the last true testament to what Disney can really do when given the appropriate time, budget, and approval. Iger just isn't willing to wait....and why should he? Share price at an all time high and attendance, guest spend, etc etc all at all time highs.

Back to the topic. Just think what you could personally do if it was your JOB to clean up attractions every night (not that you'd want to). I think in about a month of working, I could get all the major attractions looking pretty good. After that, it'd just be maintaining it.

 

[Patrick_Ears]

Makes you wonder when you get on a attraction what’s actually on those lap bars or whatever you touch..

 

[Chef Mickey]

Makes you wonder when you get on a attraction what’s actually on those lap bars or whatever you touch..

I try not to think about that...haha. The things you can see are what bother us more, I think.

I will be at Tokyo Disney soon and I'll give a report back on what I see there. I know it's supposed to be cleaner and have better management.