Introducing the Walt Disney World Maintenance Report: A Running List of Broken Effects, Damaged Items, and More from the Parks

Tom Corless

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Introducing the Walt Disney World Maintenance Report: A Running List of Broken Effects, Damaged Items, and More from the Parks

Welcome to a new, weekly WDWNT.com feature – the Walt Disney World Maintenance Report. In this weekly report, the goal is to create a comprehensive list of broken effects, damaged props, and more at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Surely, someone will comment that an article like this is mostly negative in nature. While that is true, based on the current financial success of the Disney Company and the continuous rise in ticket prices, why should any guest settle for a list this long? I’ll admit, I lived in the dark for a long time, sometimes thinking my memories of extraordinarily clean paths and immaculate rides were just nostalgic visions of something that never existed. My recent trips to the Tokyo Disney Resort were an eye-opening experience. In the over 20 days I’ve spent there in the last year, I noticed that broken audio-animatronics and effects, dirty paths, and such simply just don’t exist. Over time, Walt Disney World has cut budgets or changed policies related to custodial, maintenance, and such to the point where it has become an inferior product to nearly every Disney resort around the world.

This post comes from a place of love. We love Walt Disney World and we want to see it looking as good as it can. We also realize that WDWNT.com has a tremendous reach, read by millions of park guests each month, and even thousands of cast members. We even know, for a fact, that many high-ranking Disney executives like to check out our stories from time to time to stay in the loop, so we figured a post like this might help everyone out. Perhaps the maintenance woes at Walt Disney World need some attention and we can provide the spark that lights the fire that reverses any decline.

It’s also important to note that the goal is to see this list shrink and we’ll tell you every week when anything listed below actually gets repaired. A “fixed” section will be added to the report starting next week. This isn’t about knocking the job anyone is doing, it’s about getting things to where they should be. It should also be noticed that this list is currently incomplete. These are only attractions and areas I have visited over the last two weeks.

The Magic Kingdom

Pirates of the Caribbean – Reported 1/14/19

  • The waterfall mist screen effect that shows Davy Jones, Blackbeard has been off for months now. The audio continues to play.
  • The “screaming pirate” added to the dark cave where boats take the plunge is missing. This was just added not long ago.

The Jungle Cruise – Reported 1/1/19

  • Only one of three native drummers was actually drumming
  • The hippo scene is particularly bad. Almost none are wiggling their ears and many were not moving. Some hippos had holes in them, destroying the illusion of them being living hippos.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – Reported 1/14/19

  • The falling rock projector in the cave-in sequence is completely off.

Splash Mountain – Reported 1/14/19

  • The Brer Frog projection in the queue was frozen
  • The Brer Frog audio-animatronic at the beginning of the attraction has a broken neck. The motion is pretty odd looking.
  • The signing frogs in the fishing scene have cracks and damage to their eyes. One of the fishing birds also has a damaged eye.
  • Brer Bear’s tail has been missing for at least 15 years in the scene where he’s hanging from a rope trap. I’ve been staring at this for so long, waiting for someone to notice it that it inspired the creation of this entire weekly report. You can see the tail in most videos of the ride recorded in the 1990’s.
  • One of the turtles in the Laughing Place is covered in black stains, including over his eyes. The other turtle wasn’t moving.
  • The “FSU” possum who comes out of the ceiling is not functioning
  • The projection of Brer Fox at the top of the lift hill is out of sync with its audio
  • Even though it was broken for most of last year, Mr. Bluebird in the finale scene is broken AGAIN. He’s completely immobile.

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Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid – Reported 12/30/18

  • The first Sebastian audio-animatronic figure did not having the moving eyes accomplished by screen technology.
  • The Ursula animatronic still has some tentacles that do no move. At least 4 did when the attraction opened, it always seems to be half of that.

Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak Station – Reported 1/14/19

  • Still needs to be cleaned and repainted in places
  • Many of the moving components no longer move

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – Reported 1/14/19

  • Projection of leaves blowing in The Blustery Day scene is off
  • The smoke canon in the Heffalumps and Woozles scene hasn’t worked in quite a bit
  • There is a lot of visible filth in the Heffalumps and Woozles scene. Anything yellow looks disgusting for the most part.
  • The speaker which plays audio from Tigger and Piglet going over the waterfall is blown out

“it’s a small world” – Reported 12/31/18

  • The “tick-tock” noises of the clock tower is off and has been for some time now
  • The balloon poodle in France was immobile
  • One light has a strobe effect on one of the can-can girls
  • The magic carpet carousel was immobile in the Asia room
  • The bicycles on wires in the finale scene are missing
  • The Native American at the ride’s finale is not drumming

Tomorrowland – Reported 1/14/19

  • The paint is already peeling off of the recently repainted rocks at the entrance to the land. The old red/orange coloring is showing through.
  • The Robo-Newz newspaper robot and the fake payphone interactive elements are completely off.

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Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – Reported 1/14/19

  • The light-up panel in the center of the queue area is still missing. Even if it isn’t going to return, something has to be done with this strange, plain blue podium that guests have to stare at.
  • The spinning red light tunnel effect isn’t working and hasn’t in a very long time.
  • The speed tunnel projection looks horrendous. The film is clearly extremely dirty and is jumping all over the place. I think the time has come for this to go digital or at least be repaired.
  • The final Buzz Lightyear figure has a projected face that isn’t aligned correctly.

Epcot

Test Track presented by Chevrolet –  Reported 12/31/18

  • “Laser Trees” that appear while the car passes them did not function
  • Dashboards of cars and inside of show scenes are covered in dust and filth, extremely noticeable in blacklight environments

Gran Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros – Reported 12/31/18

  • Speakers are low or some are off in the opening scene with Jose and Panchito, character are nearly inaudible
  • The screen with Donald taking photographs was not on
  • One of the elderly men in the Fiesta scene was not stomping his foot
  • The Three Caballeros audio-animatronic figures are not in great shape, Donald and Jose both had arms moving in unnatural ways

Frozen Ever After – Reported 12/31/18

  • Olaf’s mouth during his first appearance isn’t working correctly. It appears as if he says every other word.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – Reported 1/15/19

  • The eyeball in the 5th Dimension scene is once again broken, displaying the default image of an elevator filled with guests. Guest photographs are not being taken to make this effect work.
  • The lights on the door that opens to the drop shaft have seen better days. The effect did not work as intended.

Toy Story Land – Reported 1/15/19

  • Woody’s Lunch Box is in horrible shape: chairs have large black stains, tables have tears in their covering, every prop shows some signs of damage, decals ripped in places

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Slinky Dog Dash – Reported 1/15/19

  • Tails on roller coaster trains are still missing
  • Temporary covers hide damage on coils attached to train cars

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Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Expedition Everest – Reported Probably A Decade Ago

  • The yeti audio-animatronic doesn’t move

DINOSAUR – Reported 1/1/19

  • The smoke in the first time travel scene was off, causing the laser effect to no function correctly
  • The running Carnotaurus audio-animatronic is missing, replaced with an immobile dinosaur head
  • The asteroid smoke trail effect before the drop past the Carnotaur head has not worked in several weeks. A trail of smoke would lead guests to believe that an asteroid has whooshed by them.

Primeval Whirl – Reported 1/1/19

  • Running dinosaurs on the Dino-Rama promenade were not moving, Their legs typically move back and forth. Not one was on.

How To Do Your Part

To report broken effects, damaged props, or anything else out of the ordinary, please submit photographic or video evidence of the malfunction or disrepair to tom@wdwnt.com or through WDWNT’s social media avenues (Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram). You can also submit proof that anything listed above has been repaired. Again, the entire purpose of this weekly post is to get Walt Disney World looking how it is supposed to look, so we are hoping to see this list shrink rather than grow over time.

97 thoughts on “Introducing the Walt Disney World Maintenance Report: A Running List of Broken Effects, Damaged Items, and More from the Parks”

  1. The smoke cannon in winnie the pooh worked today as i rode it this morning.

    The laser trees in test track go on and off with about every other vehicle. It worked for me about 2 days ago.

    • This is very helpful, but we’ll only be updating with photographic or video evidence or if we go personally. I will definitely check both of these out this week though.

  2. I can not tell you how happy/sad this post makes me. I have been an avid WDW visitor for over 25 years but noticed ALOT of these items over the last couple visits. It seems sad that Bob Iger just received a $65.5 million dollar raise and these things are so prevalent at Walt’s beloved parks.

    • But I didn’t get my $60 million bonus so don’t blame me for Robo Chapek skimming funds for his new hydraulic lines

  3. good to see this and hope it gets noticed by those with power. i’ll be seeing toy story land for the first time in a couple months. would hate for slinky dogs current state to be our first impression.

  4. Thank you for doing this. We saw several things on our trip the first week of December last year. For example, it’s utterly disappointing to read that now only 1 of the native drummers is drumming now. When we went on the ride, the middle drummer was the only one out. Meaning that it seems the ride has just further degraded and no one has done anything about it. I expect better, especially when they’re charging so much to enter the park and stay at their resorts.

    I’m a shareholder so it’s not like I want to air dirty laundry and harm the parks, to the contrary like you I want this stuff to shrink and to see this park really get taken care of properly. I have no idea what’s going on with maintenance, but they must do something and soon.

  5. This is a great idea, but also makes me sad. Especially that some of these items have not been attended to in a long time.

  6. Kudos for doing this. We noticed a general lack of cleanliness in many of the restrooms during our visit just before Christmas. My personal opinion is that much of this is a result of the pressure felt by very senior management to deliver outstanding financial results in order to be considered as a successor to Iger. While I certainly understand the need to have solid financial performance, it is paying attention to the little things that has always distinguished Disney from everyone else. For those enough old enough to remember, a similar situation occurred during Eisner’s tenure and it was reversed after Roy Disney started to agitate. It seems that the lesson will have to be re-learned.

  7. The yeti really does need fixing. 10 years+ is too long for Disney to let this major problem continue. My 6 year old doesn’t believe me that the moving Yeti actually existed. For a new area like Toy Story Land even though the problems are largely cosmetic they should have had enough experience for this to have been avoided.

      • The size of the yeti and the force of its movements started to affect the structural integrity of the mountain and ride itself. It was purposely stopped to prevent damage.

      • No, the animatronics size caused the internal structure of the mountain to crack. Turning the animatronic on could further the damage to the mountain and cause severe issues with the ride, such as complete structural collapse of the section that he is in.

  8. “The waterfall mist screen effect that shows Davy Jones, Blackbeard has been off for months now. The audio continues to play.”

    Good, they need to remove this effect and all other references to the movies.

  9. Good for you Tom. It was high time someone pointed these things out, rather than hope that it will all be addressed at some point in the future… maybe. Pride and maintenance are supposed to be part of the magic and with the budgets rumored over budget already for Star Wars and the other new attractions, what hope is there for taking care of what is. Overflow Christmas crowds hasn’t helped any of this, but I am hoping that your publishing of this list will catch the attention of the higher ups that this sort of thing does matter EVERY day, not just for 50th anniversaries and target dates to come.

  10. In both October and December the Test Track “vehicle comparison” screens worked less than half the times I rode and when they did most showed data from other vehicles. Not sure if that’s an ongoing issue or just random flukes.

    If we want to expand to resorts: the men’s rest room stall doors in the Yacht Club lobby area are in horrible shape. The paint is peeling off the wood and the wood itself has been badly scuffed over the years.

    • We noticed this about the TT screens too. My daughter worked so hard to build our vehicle yet the only screen that worked showed vehicles that were not ours. Disappointing.

      Thank you for this article Tom!!

  11. Thank you for “putting” this out there for all to see. I am also a huge, lifelong Disney fan. It is sad to watch a slow deterioration of the parks, rides and overall cleanliness over the last 30 years. I long for the old days of Disney. As the years go on we pay more and more for less of the “Disney Magic” we love.

  12. I could be wrong, but didnt Expedition Everest have a smoke/fog/mist effect whent he train climbs the hill to stop before going backward? I feel like that hasnt existed in 5+ years.
    And I wont mention the piles of disgusting hair elastics that are littered on that area…

  13. So happy to see this new weekly feature, because maybe it will draw some much needed attention to these issues. One of many glaring problems we noticed during our trip in August was that one of the penguins in Antarctica of Small World was missing an arm. I’m not sure if that’s been fixed since.

  14. But what can you expect if you only have to pay 110+usd entrance fee?
    Bad food, old and damages rides and other rip off are the norm nowadays! But hey, it’s Disney.

  15. Thank you for this! I think it’s a terrific idea. It is also eye opening. We were there the week after Thanksgiving and I was very upset by a lot of things we saw. First of all, the bathrooms were disgusting and smelled absolutely terrible. I was so disappointed to see this. I also noticed a lot of damage/wear in many attractions and it’s so disappointing. We stayed deluxe this trip at Beach Club and our room was filthy. Covered in dust, stains on the headboards and pillows, and someone else’s dirty laundry in the closet. I absolutely love Disney and we go every year. Each trip it gets more expensive but the quality further deteriorates. We pay thousands of dollars for our family of 4 to go each year. I absolutely agree that something needs to change. Its definitely not the beautiful, pristine, spare-no-expense Disney World of my childhood memories. It was also much cleaner and nicer back in 2005 on our honeymoon, so it has greatly went down hill in the last few years. I hated coming home this trip and telling friends and family that it was up to normal Disney standards. These days it us not much different than a generic amusement park and that is so ai sad and unacceptable. It breaks my heart, as our family loves Disney and it’s our happy place. I agree that we deserve better, especially at current and definitely forever increasing prices. Toy Story Land is truly a shame, as it is so new and falling apart. My husband and I fear for Star Wars land, as I’d rather no new land at all if it’s going to be cheaply and poorly done. Again, thanks for this. Its a great idea. Disney gets all of our hard earned vacation dollars– we all deserve better!!

  16. Love this!!! For how much you pay to go there, these things shouldn’t be happening, I wish they would take note!

  17. Disneyland has similar problems. I don’t remember noticing so many things needing repair or rides breaking down so often in the past.

  18. My “eye” is highly trained to pick out every defect as I walk the Parks, or do the Attractions….

    And it bothers me to see things which should be addressed, as I long for the days when Magic happened over-night, and the next day the issues were corrected…

    Clearly, things which were once unacceptable, are now longer a priority…

    Creating a priority budget to address these issues is part of the answer.

    HOWEVER; the average Guests will NOT notice many of these issues.

    COMPLAINTS are INCREASING in large part because Guests feel they are paying MORE AND MORE, and what they are paying for is becoming LESS AND LESS.

    The BALANCE of VALUE is a perception, and the scales have been tilting.

    There is NO PLACE in the WORLD where I would rather be then in Walt Disney World, and I would feel that way no matter what; although I too feel the pain when I see things I love being desecrated in any form.

    What is required is ONE man as the ICON at the TOP, who LIVES THE DREAM, makes it PERSONAL, and who once again gives the Park Human Identity, instead of having the cold separation of the Giant Corporation.

    I am just that person in my Amusements World, and that single factor has made what I do a success; I know the same success would be a MARKETING BLESSING if only Corporate Disney would have the “EARS” to listen to what I propose.

    A live figure head icon, who Guests see at the park everyday, living the experience, and giving it life, just as an Owner/Operator in any Small Business, and as Walt Disney once did at Disneyland.

    • Yeah you lost us at cold separation of the giant corporation. Don’t call us, we’ll call you.

      • I personally do believe that Disney make every effort to create that perfection for every guest as if it is their first time there and try to make it perfect! Perfection is extremely difficult, from one guest to another you are going to get different feedback. My family and I have loved every Disney experience we’ve ever had (except small world???) However this is a huge company and as issues are raised they need to be addressed ASAP to continue to provide that perfect first time experience. Please don’t let small things thwart a guest’s experience!

      • It is common sense fact that a Giant Corporation is NOT monitoring the daily operations of individual attractions, or the functions of individual parts of these attractions;

        These issues are addressed by those “on the scene”, and there is indeed a huge separation between those making the top level corporate decisions, and who are not at the Parks living the everyday dream of front line operations.

        The “cold separation” is the “perception” acquired as a result because there is no iconic live person living the daily dreams through front line operations.

        This is the “stigma” which needs to be addressed, and the basis of what I have intelligently recommended.

        It is for the high level Corporation to recognize these truths, and act by creating the remedy as they see fit.

        I can only offer my recommendations for your consideration.

  19. Great idea to make this topic.
    Sometimes it’s as simple as middle management not knowing. I work for a major company that is big on meeting budget, but is very supportive of maintenance, as long as the proper paper work is completed.

  20. Thank You for doing this,We are Disney fanatics(We spend almost 10k a year in WDW) and it’s very disappointing to notice all the things in the parks not being kept up.There is no reason these thing are not taken care of,it really feels that all Disney cares about is how to empty our wallets with the least amount of effort.
    P.S Paint in Space Mountain Que is really beat up.

  21. I would like to possibly add:

    -the squirting elephants on the Jungle Cruise.

    -the newsprinting BIG wheel in the turn-of-the-century scene of Spaceship Earth.

    -the spirit of EPCOT in general.

    • I would love to read this feature as a positive way to inform Disney of what is broken and/or in need of repair – but my unfortunate assumption is that they already know. WDW has turned to quantity (of paying guests) over quality of that guests vacation experience. From a pure business standpoint, it seems to be working… as the parks are most often packed. The issues at Toy Story Land really resonate with me given that it is so new. The one thing I remember most from my DVC pitch (we own at BLT) was when the sales person told us, “Disney knows how to build things that last”. Clearly some of these issues are just the age of the parks and rides, but many are simply neglect or perhaps “taking the lowest bid” on construction of newer areas and attractions.

    • Listen we gave you a pregnant giraffe giving birth while you were on Kilimanjaro Safaris, a squirting elephant is too much to ask for.

  22. Thanks for this. I hope someone who can do something about these problems sees this.

    I’m bringing my family for our (most likely) once in a lifetime trip to WDW, and I’d hate for my kids to have a sour opinion because of lack of maintenance.

  23. Thank you for pointing these problems out, Tom. Hopefully the heads of Disney will take note and fix them. Between the lack of maintenance and the good attractions that were done away with, it has become Disappointment World, and my wife and I have stopped going.

  24. The really depressing part of this luidt is Toy Story Land. This part of the park has only been open for 6 months and it is clear that the shortcuts they are taking in the materials will NOT stand the test of time. The tables at Woody’s Lunch Box are disgraceful. There is no reason that the tables should have peeling paint already unless inferior paint was used. And it shows on all the painted surfaces. No wonder they aren’t fixing the old attractions, they can’t even put in the money to make the new areas look good! And what will this mean for all the future attractions? Star Wars, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ratatouille and all the rest that are being done? Will they all look as dirty and unmaintained as Toy Story Land 6 months after they open ? I’m afraid we will never again see the WDW we so fondly remember, the park that I told so many friends they had to visit because if they dropped something there was someone right there to clean it up almost before it hit the ground and the attention to detail on each attraction included making them always look like new. It’s a shame that the bottom-line of Disney is going to make WDW finally lose out to its competition and even to its sister parks. I think even Disneyland is being spruced up more than WDW. It makes me want to cry.

  25. Quick comment on Slinky Dog’s tail on the coasters. It’s been reported they were all removed for safety concerns, so I’m not sure they will be returning.

  26. Was there the week before Thanksgiving and the squirting elephant on JC was broken. Also there was an entire hula girl missing from one of the hula girl rows in Small World.

    Also, is it just me or do you just want to take a soapy cloth to the black light scene/room in Winnie the Pooh?? That room is so filthy and seems like it would only take a few hours to wipe down for a vast improvement. Why don’t they do that????? It’s gross!!!

  27. Yes, it’s been a conversation among our family of late. WDW has asked for more and more from us all while park hours and overall conditions offers less and less value. I love Disney too, a little accountability here will hopefully go a long way. Thanks for being fair in your reporting and being accurate in your future posts as these issues are resolved.

  28. I hope this makes a difference. I haven’t been since 2015 because the drop off in quality was apparent then. I can’t believe there are holes in the hippos and I know it’s a maintenance nightmare but Splash hasn’t been consistently kept up in over a decade. The blackened turtle makes me sad too.

  29. If most people would give the Disney Theme Parks a time out (for at least a year), maybe some changes would be made, repairs no longer ignored, and prices perhaps even dropped instead of years of unjustified increases.

    Wait until Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge opens: The two giant attractions will have some breakdowns within a few months, and as long as people keep coming, they will be in no hurry to repair them.

  30. I like this idea to help fix up things around the parks! We went the week after Christmas through New Years and I noticed many the effects on this list that were not working.

  31. While most of these are fair, it’s not fair to say the Yeti is a broken show effect or the tails on Slinky Dog are missing. The yeti as you know is off because of design flaws, and the tails (as obviously you also know) were removed because of design flaws. This kind of thing is not unprecedented at all, hell look at Top Thrill Dragsters original trains they are completely different than the way they look now.

    Also the rock scene on thunder mountain was shut off as well because of an accident I believe at Disneyland Paris the company didn’t feel it was safe to operate them anymore.

  32. The fish in the Polynesian scene of IASM only two were rotating against the blue wall (jumping out of the water) makes the scene look goofy. That was a couple weeks ago. Can anyone verify?

  33. This is a great idea! I love WDW but have also seen a decline recently. This is so sad to me because everything about Disney used to be about appearance. I feel as if now it’s efficiency for the least amount of money. I would love to see a list of this that includes the resorts. I now refuse to stay at any of the All Star Resorts. I have stayed at every resort on property and the last time I went into an AS I was appalled at the quality of the rooms. Carpets were gross, bathrooms outdated with very little room, I could feel the springs of the mattress, plus, who uses double beds anymore??? They need a major refurbishment!

  34. Thanks for this article. Disney HATES their own theme parks by neglect. We were there over the holidays and promised to read about it, and enjoy what WDW was, and never return. We know. We won’t be missed. Our money will be though. WDW has A LOT of problems. Very poorly run. Not worth going even if admission was free. That bad.

  35. I think the problem lies in many aspects. The cleanliness is an easy fix. The rides get a little complicated because these are major repairs for the most part that would shut them down for a while. Then the complaints would be about time lines. I’m okay with them being shut down for repairs, but I am fortunate to go more than once a year. A lot of the guest in Disney only have the opportunity to go ever so often and they don’t notice the little details we Disney veterans notice. So Disney does quick fixes or patches to keep things running without months of shut down. This too creates its own Catch-22 because the longer you hold something together with chewing gum, the harder it is to fix. Toy Story land is a whole nother issue in itself. I personally would be okay waiting if it’s done right. Lastly, the condition of the parks/resorts is also to me another tiered issue. I think the cast and the guest are both to blame. Now, this comment does not reflect all cast and guest, just some. I think with the cast, you get the bright eyed, I love Disney, oh my gosh, I work for Disney, group who then realize Oh my gosh, this is a job, and I now have to really work and be nice to people, this isn’t what I signed up for, and things get lost in translation/transition. As far as guest go, I think a lot of the awe and respect has gone. Groups just blindly follow a flag/flower/leader to the next ride/attraction leaving a path of destruction in their wake. They only care about whether or not they can get inline before you and don’t care how they accomplish this. Again, this is not all, just some. Unfortunately people have been packing their angry eyes way too often. I myself have had to stop and say, This is not how I should be handling this. Parents are over stressed at this point. It is almost impossible to just enjoy the parks without having every minute planned out and that’s stressful. Children (and sometimes adults) run amuck (amuck, amuck, amuck) and it’s almost impossible to factor in cultural differences now a days. Now, all this said, mostly because there is two sides and unfortunately the balance has yet to be conquered. Hopefully the force will shine though once again through the dark side (even if they have better cookies).

  36. My understanding is that the yeti from EE will most likely never be fixed. They turned off the anamatronic due to its foundation being cracked. The yeti’s foundation is separate from the mountain, but in order to get to it the mountain would need to be removed. It would take a lot more time and money then they are willing to spend. It makes me sad because I never got to see the yeti move, and when I rode it for the first time I was disappointed to not have the yeti swipe at me.

  37. I went to Disney World for the first time last month, so I was blissfully unaware of any of the things that I was missing. That being said, unless I’m imagining things (that I didn’t know to imagine), we definitely saw Davy Jones projection on the waterfall and some little creature come out of the ceiling on Splash Mountain.

  38. Tom

    Was just in wdw 2 days ago. If I knew about this post I would have taken pictures… but in EPCOT the hot air balloons have not moved up and down for years Also In the imagination pavilion . Journey into imagination the panels that drop in the last scene the far panels are down can can not move back up to hide the last show scene

    I am sure there are lots more to add to your list. It is just a shame! You are correct with all the record profits this should be a non issue. Maybe all of the extra hotel rooms coming on line and that driving more guest to the parks the increased attendance without a sufficient of extra added capacity to the parks are putting stress on every area of the parks. Instead of shrinking maintenance workers they need to double them. Bad guest experience after shelling out to dollar may not effect immediate bottom line but it will eventually. And if there are 2 many people in the parks that leads to poor guest experience also. People will eventually pass on spending the money to go to wdw for over crowded parks, poor maintenance, dirty parks and dirty bathrooms.

    The argument that people will go anyway is not a good one there is a tipping point…. there always is! Same with the price for perceived value there is always a tipping point! Maybe Disney has not reached it but once they hit it only then will things start to change!

  39. I LOVE Disney too and totally agree with what you’re trying to do here! Especially after that huge raise that Bob Iger received! Disney should be ashamed of how the parks are looking.

  40. We have gone to WDW every year for the last 10 yrs (last trip being this past November). We have noticed a big difference in the cleanliness, quality and upkeep of the EVERYTHING since our first trip. It’s just sad. This year, instead of spending our dollars at Disney, we are going to Europe……for nearly half the price! I don’t know when…or if…..we will be back. We are being priced out and the return just isn’t what it used to be.

  41. Similar to the yeti, the cearadactylus / pterodactyl in Dinosaur hasn’t moved in years.

    Also, we rode Dinosaur four times last week and the PhotoPass photos were never linked to our account.

  42. The more people in the park the more damage being done. Lot of this seems like it could be wear and tear and with the amount of people constantly flowing into the parks, They can’t really shut done a bunch of sections and attractions to make fixes all the time.
    Hopefully someone notices the little things and management can come up with a better plan to get thing in shape. Not really likely to happen soon but we can hope.

  43. Thank you for pointing out all of these issues in the Disney parks! I’ve been going to WDW since 1975 and I too remember how clean everything. I remember they used to have maintenance cast members working in the MK every night to clean everything until it shined, and also repaint anything that was peeling, or just regular maintenance to maintain a certain level of excellence. I travel from NJ to WDW four or five times a year because it is truly my happy place, but it makes me a bit sad to see the decline in the cleanliness of our Florida parks. I really hope the powers that be at Disney see your list and do something about these issues. The paths don’t shine anymore like they used to, the bathroom cleanliness is another issue, the peeling paint around the park is definitely something that Walt Disney himself would not be happy with.

    • We first visited Disney World back in 1976. We absolutely loved it. So clean and everyone was friendly. The staff did everything possible to make a great trip for us. The MK park was spotless and the Contemporary was a clean dream. We are DVC people and have visited Disney everywhere 65 times. But, now we notice some things are not up to par. Dirty bathrooms are the worst. Also the park staff is not as friendly or helpful. We were just there for RunDisney. I wish Disney would put the old helpful/friendly/clean/happy back into Walt Disney World for that Most Magical Time.

  44. Hello! Me and my daughter just came back from Disney–of course it was amazing. But I did notice a few things…
    1. The floor on the tea cups! It was crazy dirty and an easy fix…made me feel like I was at my local carnival..it was still amazing though loll
    2. The seat belts on Dumbo, Aladdin and Astor Orbiter all had this smell to them. I’m assuming they are super old so also an EASY FIX.
    3. Aladdin was SUPER loud. Had a screeching noise as it went around and around. Needs OIL.

  45. I’m pretty sure the lack of a tail on Brer Bear in certain scenes is intentional. I think some people thought it looked less like a tail and more like something inappropriate lol

  46. I have heard rumors that Joe Rhode might try to fix the yeti soon. Pandora is still fairly new, and with all the new rides and lands opening, this seems like the perfect time to do so.
    But these are only rumors, and it has not been confirmed that Joe will fix the yeti soon. But he has said in the past that he wants to fix the effect, so there may be some hope.

  47. Wasn’t it Disney himself who said “All horses jumping, no chipped paint.” He would not be happy with this.

    • Completely agree, WDW in it’s current state not up to Walt’s standard. I have long thought an easy way to remedy some of this would be to have the cast members who open the rides actually RIDE their ride first before the park opens and jot down quick notes of broken elements to then be passed onto maintenance every day (such as the video on the tv in the moon landing scene of spaceship earth that was off, only with the audio playing for about a year. Was so glad to see it back on this past Nov!) I have started politely telling the teenage cast at the end of the rides of broken parts and generally, they smile and say “we know,” but the squeaky wheel (should!) get the grease, right?!

  48. One of my biggest disappointments is the water effects not working in the “Laughing Place” segment of Splash Mountain. It was delightful when the “jumping water” would playfully leap over the ride vehicles. I can’t remember the last time this worked correctly and I sorely miss it.

  49. This is a great idea. Thanks for doing it and when we go again I’ll keep an eagle eye out. We went the week before Thanksgiving and on Carousel of Progress the 1940s scene where Jimmy is carving his pumpkin never turned on. You just heard the audio. However, they FINALLY fixed the water pump in the 1920s it’s been ages since water ACTUALLY came out of it! I will say places like Tokyo DIsney is likely kept up due to the culture of Japan and keeping things immaculate and pristene. It’s the opposite in Shanghai DL from the videos I’ve seen because, again, it’s a culture thing.

  50. I think “How To Do Your Part” should also include a reminder to guests to treat the Park with respect, a lot of these things we can’t fix. But we can respect the tables, seats, railings, queue areas, restrooms, etc.

    • Totally agree. Some of the guests that visit the WDW in Florida leave their garbage on tables in the counter service restaurants when they’re done instead of disposing it in the trash cans. They don’t flush the toilets or urinate on the seats. I just don’t understand people sometimes. If we all do our part then it would be a cleaner park to visit for sure.

  51. I am actually very happy to see a list like this start. Very disappointing to go to WDW multiple times a year and see it going downhill. I will take note in a few weeks when we are there for additions. Flip side, makes me very happy for my DL Tokyo trip!

  52. It seems to me that in any business there should be middle managers and individual managers who should be reporting or repairing these problems in their areas. There must be someone in charge of each attraction. They should be looking for small problems that need to be fixed. Many of what you reported seem to be easy things to fix.

    This shows that budgets are being cut. The real problem is the corporate people who are maximizing profits at the expense of doing the repairs. Put back the maintenance budget and the problem goes away.

  53. I’m happy to see this. My blood pressure goes up when I notice things that really impact show quality & also the simple to address things, like trash, filth or paint.

    I feel bad for families that are spending so much money and do not get the experience in something like in “it’s tough to be a bug” where that great Hopper AA didn’t work a couple years ago on my visit.

    Rising prices are going to happen unfortunately and are even necessary, to be fair. But to have huge price increases and a general lack of maintenance occurring at the same time is unacceptable. Temporary breakdowns are going to occur but they need to be corrected pronto.

    I recall when I was on CP in 92(yikes), sitting at lunch with a maint guy who had his radio out. There was a ton of chatter about something under the bridge between China and the Outpost area. The way they were talking and calling for a boat to get under there, I was thinking, “omg there’s a body”… Turned out to be a spider web. That’s the type of detail I remember and, like you, I had begun to think maybe it wasn’t ever that way. But I swear, it was.

    As you do this, perhaps it would be good to also report on things that have been on the list that have been rectified as well, to call attention to the good as well as the bad. You’re probably planning this already.

  54. I missed a paragraph after a jump, so glad to see you will be pointing out items that are repaired as well. I know this type of forum always makes it seem like rage from everyone (myself included), when we do all know that in fact WDW does far more good than bad, so it is important to highlight where they do that as well.

    But I do see that this topic has received many more comments than any single one I have seen. That in itself should be an indicator of how passionately guests feel about this topic and the issues the parks face.

    I hope it does some good.

  55. Unfortunately Disney is reaching the point of no return. Execs are so worried about expansion, their bottom line and pay raises, that they’ve lost site of maintainence on what they have. They have no problem raising ticket prices and nickel and diming their customers for everything but the toliet paper (shouldn’t have mentioned that, don’t want to give any ideas), that they have lost site of the millions of little people who can no longer afford their product.

  56. Because of the raise Disney did not want to give cast members, they are severely understaffing attractions, resorts, and restaurants so as not to cut in to their profits. Many cast members are now doing double the job they were before and can’t keep up with the workload. Their allocation of money on executive raises instead of spending on maintenance and the people who make the parks run smoothly and safely shows some very skewed priorities.

  57. Not a ride, but inside the Pyramid at Epcot, huge sparks used to fly out of the volcano by the San Angel restaurant – the effect was brilliant – I have not seen it in many years : (

  58. Magic Kingdom. It’s a small world. The hippo in the jungle with the eyelids always blinking out of sync really bothers me

  59. The magic carpet scene in it’s a small world worked yesterday. However the silk flowers on the first float in the festival of fantasy parade are so dingy looking and missing in many spots. Also the girls with the blow up bubbles in their skirts had many deflated bubbles.

  60. Our 1st trip to WDW everything was so clean! Bathrooms were very very clean. Last time we came 2016 (our5th trip) the bathrooms were filthy, employees were crabby. We are coming back 2020. So hoping bathrooms are cleaner!

  61. They just *cut* Custodial Budgets *again*. Disney will *not* let available Custodial Cast Members work available hours, and, as a result, Custodial is operating about *half* the *staff* it should have most of the time. When rides are closed down (like FOP) for hours at a time, it’s most often because of a Custodial Emergency (vomit, other bodily fluid, etc), not a Mechanical problem. Disney calls all temporary “closings”, whether they’re Custodial or Mechanical, “maintenance”, or “a problem”, or “an issue”, but Disney does not clarify whether it’s Custodial or Mechanical. Most people automatically assume that if a ride is shut down for 3, 4, 5 hours, it must be a Mechanical problem… it’s not. They close rides for 3, 4, 5 hours at a time to clean them up, and even then Custodial is only working partially staffed to do the cleanup, so it takes hours longer than it should. So in addition to the dirtier parks, trash, etc, those times when you can’t get on an adored popular ride for hours on end, it’s very often because Custodial has been so short staffed they don’t have people to do the work needed on the ride, or enough people to fully staff the job. The staff that are working are doind so, so short handed they’re being run into the ground. Disney has become a huge disappointment in this arena. I remember the days of pristine walkways and superbly well cared for attractions. Just to be clear, I’m not, nor have I ever been, a Cast Member. I’ve just been going to WDW almost every year since it opened in 1971.

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