These three rides have a couple of things in common… In the past few months (pre-pandemic) three major rides debuted at Orlando’s theme parks. I’m of course talking about Rise of the Resistance and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. There are two things that all three rides have in common. They are technologically advanced beyond anything that we could have imagined even a couple of years ago. The second is not quite as exciting; all three rides break down fairly often.
I hear one complaint all the time. “Disney (or Universal) should shut the ride down until they figure out what is wrong with it!” Unfortunately, it is not as simple as that. When a ride is operational, it will run continuously for hours. Problems that were unforeseen during the tests will often rear their ugly little heads.
When a ride breaks down, it does not always mean that there is something major wrong with the ride. Often it is a small issue that can be fixed right away. The entire system then needs to be reset, which can often take up a large chunk of the time.
Whenever I ride something that is brand new and hasn’t stood the test of time, I know that I might need my patience. I realize that there is a chance that it will break down. There have been times when we’ve been at Universal and Hagrid’s was not running all day. I’ve also seen lengthy delays for both of the rides at Disney’s Hollywood Studios when I’ve been there. We’ve even given up our Boarding Group because there was a long delay, and we knew that we would not still be in the park by the time our number was called. When that happened, I made sure that I canceled our spots so that they might potentially go to someone else.
The thing is, the theme parks at Walt Disney World as well as those at Universal Orlando Resort are amazing. I’m glad to be able to spend a day in a park again. If a favorite ride is broken down, I’ll just go ride something else. It is up to me whether or not I will let a technical issue ruin my day. I might be disappointed, but I will still make sure that I have an incredible time. If you pack your patience, you can as well.