Guest Claims Disney Has “Given Up” on Ride Quality

For more than five decades, Walt Disney Imagineers have been at the forefront of theme park technology. They changed the game when they created audio-animatronics — now simply called animatronics.

One Reddit user recently visited Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge in Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort. While there, they rode the popular attraction, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Rise of the Resistance is one of Disney’s most advanced trackless rides, and it takes guests on a thrilling ride through a Star Destroyer as they try to escape Kylo Ren and the First Order.

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Despite how fun the ride is, the Redditor noticed something that did not sit right with them. Each time they rode, they noticed some features of the attraction were broken. That led them to wonder if Disney has “given up” on fixing its rides.

They also wondered if Disney has tried to do things on the cheap side, leading to a breakdown in overall quality. And it wasn’t just on Rise of the Resistance. They also noticed problems while riding the iconic Fantasyland attraction “it’s a small world”.

TLDR (Disney’s falling apart and they don’t seem to care). Rode Rise 3x yesterday. Disney has given up on Rise – flawed and failed ride?

Kylo at the Star Destroyer Bridge is frozen completely still.

Kylo at the end where he should “fly out of the punctured side of the ship”. Turned off entirely.

AT AT blasters never lower anymore. Just stay up pointed at the ceiling. Doesn’t make sense how it blasts you anymore.

It breaks and they clear the que constantly. Been here many times this year and your odds of it breaking down are 75 % likely.

What in the name of Quality and Engineering is Disney doing so wrong these days? It’s everywhere… It’s a small world has non-working/missing people etc. Replaced with a wood board in a few instances… It’s filthy dirty with dirt/dust and such everywhere – especially under the return bridge.

It’s embarrassing… Magic Carpet has had a ripped cover over one for 4 months…

Anyone else noticed a severe failure to keep things flawless and to make rides that work?

Disney’s Broken Ride(s) and low standards? Rise is completely broken and they’ve given up?
byu/dashmybuttons22 inWaltDisneyWorld

Related: Disney Responds to Lawsuit, Says No Patent Infringement Was Committed on Popular Ride Design

Some commenters pointed out that the OP (Original Poster) rode the same ride three times in one day, so, of course, the things that were broken were not fixed. The OP agreed, but then said that they have had issues with things on the ride being broken, or the ride being broken down, nearly every other time they have visited Disney World and rode the attraction.

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Others defended Disney, saying that such a complicated ride was bound to have issues, but they felt that Disney did their best to fix problems when they happened.

Rise is a very technical ride. I spoke with a cast member who was off work and we rode the Skyliner together. She opened Rise and said that Disney pushed the envelope on this ride.

The entire ride is managed by WiFi. Everything from the vehicles to the animatronics. When one goes down, the entire system needs to be rebooted. This is partially why the turbo laser don’t move back and forth, it kept crashing the vehicles WiFi.

To stop downtime, they have B and C modes of the ride. These were programmed to make sure the ride is up longer, without some effects. I bet over the next year or so, Rise will closed for a refurbishment and tackle these issues. I remember when Seven Dwarves opened, it was down constantly to work out the bugs.

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Related: Admit It. Rise of the Resistance Has Lost Its Appeal

Some commenters pointed out that, even if Rise of the Resistance does need to undergo refurbishment, Disney is putting it off because of how much money it makes. Rise is not part of Disney’s Genie+ service, so if guests want to use the Lightning Lane to ride it, they have to purchase Lightning Lane access separately. They said that Disney makes too much money off the ride to shut it down for an extended period.

Are Ride Breakdowns Getting Worse?

It seems that guests are taking to social media more and more often to share their stories about being stuck on a Disney ride because it broke down. Sometimes, these guests can be stuck for hours.

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Recently, one guest shared a terrifying story of being on Soarin’ when the ride suddenly dropped. Soarin’ Around the World takes guests high into the air as they visit some of the most iconic places in the world. They fly around the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, through the African savanna, and so much more.

The guest shared an image on Reddit of people suspended in the air in front of a blank screen after the seats suddenly dropped while they were dozens of feet in the air.

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Related: Guest Sticks Arm Under “it’s a small world” Boat

Earlier this year, guests riding Spaceship Earth in EPCOT were forced to evacuate when the ride experienced a significant breakdown. Guests near the top of the attraction had to walk down endless flights of stairs before they were able to get outside. The ride was then down for hours as Disney crews worked to figure out what had happened.

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Related: “Karen” Gone WILD! Woman Causes Massive Disturbance Over Attraction Breakdown

Of course, Disney isn’t the only one called out for ride breakdowns. Sometimes, the guests are at fault for a ride needing to be evacuated.

Last year, disruptive guests visiting Disneyland caused the iconic Splash Mountain to shut down when they took off their clothes and jumped into the water. Splash Mountain is now permanently closed as Disney Imagineers work to transform it into Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The new attraction is set to open later this year.

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Disney rides and attractions undergo A LOT of wear and tear, so breakdowns are to be expected. However, regular maintenance can help lessen the breakdowns, but some feel that Disney is not doing maintenance frequently enough. Over in Tokyo Disney, rides undergo regular maintenance. That means that guests can easily plan their trips around the regular refurbishments.

Do you think Disney is not doing enough to prevent their rides from breaking down? Let us know in the comments!