Radiator Springs Racers Woes
Radiator Springs Racers, the signature attraction in Cars Land, continues to suffer multiple breakdowns, some lasting several hours at a time. This past Friday a shut down forced riders to evacuate and walk off the attraction. Most of the guests, who had already been waiting in over 100 minutes of the line in the scorching 90 degree July heat, chose to stay in the line while the ride was restarted. But after close to an hour of waiting, an announcement was made that the attraction would remain closed “indefinitely” after the ride suffered more technical problems during the restart procedure.
This caused a firestorm of angry guests, as well as those who were returning eagerly with their FastPasses in hand, to vent their frustration out on the front line Cast Members who were trying to keep guests informed. The front of the queue, which is a bit of bottle neck and dead end, became packed with upset guests. Guest Service plaids were also brought in to help clam the situation, handing out additional FastPass tickets to those who were displaced from the line. After a few hours, Radiator Springs Racers did reopen, but these shut downs are causing some major emotions in a situation where guests spend hundreds of dollars and line up for hours for their chance to ride this signature attraction to only have it break down.
Although a specific cause for the numerous breakdowns is not yet known to me, I can say that this is a high-tech attraction which sees very little downtime for maintenance. Each morning the park opens at 7 a.m. to early entry and 8 a.m. to guests. Even though Disney California Adventure is scheduled to close at 11 p.m. on most nights, Radiator Springs Racers will continue to run well past this time to ensure every guest in line prior to park closing will have a chance to ride. This can easily mean that Radiator Springs Racers can run, almost non-stop, for 18 hours each day. This doesn’t leave much time for maintenance.
Guests being walked off of Radiator Springs Racers near the Willy’s Butte turn.
We’ll know for sure when the summer months come to a close and the brief reduction in crowds between summer and the Holiday’s arrive.
