Disney Ride Breakdowns Due to Guests "Getting Bigger", Reportedly

It wasn’t too long ago that all Disney Guests were publically fat-shamed by then Walt Disney Company CFO Christine McCarthy. Now, others think that Guests getting larger may be the cause of attractions breaking down more frequently at Walt Disney World Resort.

During a Walt Disney Company fourth-quarter earnings call in 2021, the issue of inflation and the potential for increased prices at Disney Parks inevitably came up during the question-and-answer segment. Walt Disney Company CFO Christine McCarthy addressed the situation, noting that Disney has no plans to raise outright prices within Josh D’Amaro’s Parks, Experiences, and Products division. She did, however, indicate that Disney is looking at a number of ways to cut costs behind the scenes, including “reducing portions” at Disney Parks restaurants.

McCarthy noted that this would be “good for some people’s waistlines” when they visit Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort. Of course, this reply was not the right one to give to Guests who have been saving up for months, and in some cases, years, to visit the Disney Parks, and do not want to feel restricted on their vacation. Plus, calories don’t count in Disney, do they?

Lately, we have been reporting a lot more attraction breakdowns than usual, and other Guests have noticed it too. One Disney Guest took to the internet after returning from vacation, stating, “Just got home last night. I was only there for the weekend, but my wife and daughters were there all week. Not only from what they told me all week, but from what I noticed, it seems the ride breakdowns are getting worse. Does anyone else feel the same? I always felt Disney did a great job staying on top of Maintenance, but it seems that it has been slipping.”

Many Guests joined in agreement, noting that they, too, have noticed a lot more attractions closed at the same time due to maintenance issues. One comment really stood out, however, as it indicated that as Guests have weighed more, attractions are breaking down due to the larger load.

“I agree. Some ideas: the rides have gotten more use and the regular scheduled upkeep isn’t enough. We are getting bigger, so the load on rides is heavier. More severe weather this summer. I’ve been a few times this year and it seems like ride breakdowns are frequent. When I was younger the one thing that stood out was how I felt Disney did such a better job than other parks keeping rides going. It’s not the crème de la crème anymore.”

Disney’s attractions are meant to withhold large amounts of weight, so even if Guests were getting larger, this should not cause an attraction to break down. Other Guests joined in on the sentiment that Disney is not taking the same care of their attractions as they have in the past. One writer chimed in:

Maintenance at the park is not what it used to be, as recently as 10 years ago. A premium was placed in the Eisner era on ensuring the parks were always in tip-top shape; they prouded themselves on no lightbulbs being out and would paint over the parks continuously, whether they really needed it or not.

Disney has been in dire straits financially since before Covid, as the Fox acquisition was a disaster and Disney+ has not performed to standard. Additionally, mass layoffs of cast members during Covid meant rehiring maintenance staff was a long, laborious process. We’re just now seeing Disney World being fully-staffed again.

Compound these factors with the fact that many of these rides are just super old and also had issues with breakdowns (I’ve ridden the Haunted Mansion literally hundreds of times and can probably count on one hand the number of times the ride hasn’t stopped when I’ve been on it), and you wind up with more frequent breakdowns.

Also, I will add that the influx of social media/vloggers has made these issues more apparent. It seems like they occur more often because we’re constantly seeing tweets/insta posts about breakdowns.

Many other Disney fans also praised Micheal Eisner, and how he took care of the parks during his reign as Disney CEO before current Disney CEO Bob Iger claimed the helm of the Mickey Mouse-shaped ship.

Just recently, we shared that popular Disney coaster Rock’ n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith had been down for three days, even after a recent multi-month refurbishment. “it’s a small world” at Magic Kingdom also recently had operational errors, which caused a Guest to force her kids to get up, hop into the water, and leave the attraction.

Most recently, TRON Lightcycle / Run was evacuated at Magic Kingdom. All Guests were evacuated at the sound of a siren. Most recently, Guests in The Land pavilion at EPCOT experienced a sudden evacuation that caused Guests to be evacuated from multiple attractions and an entire land. One Disney Guest stated, “Anybody in EPCOT today knows why the entire Land Pavilion was briefly evacuated? My group was about to board Living with the Land before everyone was rushed out of the building.

More information here. 

Other EPCOT attractions have been known to break down, including the newest ride, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. An evacuation can indeed occur at any attraction at Disney World and often is not a cause for concern to Guests. When Guests are evacuated, they will receive a Multiple Experiences pass, allowing them to enter the Lightning Lane of another attraction. The ride which was evacuated will likely temporarily close for maintenance and often returns to regular operations later in the day.

What do you think about recent ride closures at Walt Disney World Resort? 

If you are looking to visit Walt Disney World Resort for a magical vacation, the Walt Disney World Website can be a great tool to begin planning your trip! You can begin exploring their theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT. You can also take a look at their water parks where you can splash around in the chill of Disney’s Blizzard Beach (alongside new Frozen characters, Anna, Elsa, Sven, and Kristoff), or hit the waves at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon. When you get hungry or want to go shopping, Disney Springs is the place to be, especially with World of Disney there ready to help you pick up some souvenirs! You can also begin looking for your Disney World Resort! If you are looking to stay at a Deluxe monorail Resort like Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa or a Value Resort where you can hop on the Skyliner like Disney’s Pop Century Resort, it is always fun to begin looking for a room that would best suit you and your party. Plus, it has all the information you need to know on Disney Genie+ so that you will be ready to go on your My Disney Experience app once you download it! Click here to check it out today.