Early Closing

[Tdavis]

Anybody want to comment on how disneyland management decides when to close early. On our last trip. THe last two days they shut the parks down early. Now the first ealy closing was understandable. I thought they would have to send boats instead of busses to pick us up. However they said there
was a chance of T storms the last night and we had a 5 minute down pour
and sunny skies after. Yet they still closed early. We lost 10 hours of park time. Thats almost a whole day. Shouldn't disney do something when they have to close down that much. People pay thousands of dollars for multiday
trips to the DL resort. I know they have a duty to keep people safe, but
it was obviouse the weather that day wasn't close to what it was the day before, once the condtions improved why couldnt they stay open? Most of the night shift had arrived before the cancellation was announced. Even the
staff was complaining about showing up and not getting to work.
Any thoughts?

[fairestoneofall]

Weird. I've been there when it was pouring all day and they still stayed open the hours they had advertised. Usually in late Jan-Feb weekday hours are shorter no matter what the weather is due to it being slow season. Odd though, I've never experienced that.

[FaithTrustPixieDust]

We've been there on days when it was absolutely pouring also but they never closed the park. Maybe because they said that thunderstorms would "possibly" be happening. Though I would be more concerned about lightning then thunderstorms. Can't give ya an explanation on that one, sorry. I feel bad for the CM's because the majority of them only work PT.

[cstephens]

Shouldn't disney do something when they have to close down that much.

What did you have in mind?


I'm presuming you were here when Southern California had the really awful storms a couple weeks ago. It wasn't just regular thunderstorms. As I recall, on the days that I heard Disneyland closed early, the rain was pretty awful, with flooding even on Main Street, and there were tornado warnings and such. We don't get a lot of weather-related problems here, but that was not a normal storm that blew through.

[Malcon10t]

Cstephens is correct. The days they shut down early was due to the thunder/lightening/funnel clouds. They shut for safety reasons. I am sure if you had gone to City Hall at the time, they probably would have offered some form of compensation, generally meal vouchers or seating to fireworks or fastpasses for the next day.

I am sorry you had so many problems on your trip. I hope if you come back, things go smoother.

[Tdavis]

we went feb 2 -7 It was the 6th and 7th they closed
Like i said the 6th it was just pouring but it wasnt as bad as the
weeks before when they did have the bad Tstorms. the little thunder shower on the 7th lasted maybe 5 minutes.. to give you an idea we went on tower of terror.l It was dry and sunny. When we got off it had obviously poured but it was over and there wasnt a cloud in the sky. I admit the weather has
been unkind to socal. But a closure like that needs to be considered more carefully. I have been to DL when it rained more and they never closed.
As far as seating they obviously canceled both days they were scheduled and we had to go home the 8th. So I dont know maybe some kind of gift card to the shops would have been nice. Now the 6th I understood because rides were breaking down and it kinda flashflooded at the end. BUt it doesnt take a geniuse to look on weather.com and see that the rain on the 7th
wasnt intense. THey said it was for a thunderstorm but those blow over in minutes. I dont know I guess I just felt ripped off we can only go every few
years. If They do that next trip 2 days in a row at the end of the week I'm going right to city hall.

[Malcon10t]

THey said it was for a thunderstorm but those blow over in minutes. I dont know I guess I just felt ripped off we can only go every few
years. If They do that next trip 2 days in a row at the end of the week I'm going right to city hall.

This was one a the very few times they have EVER done this. I'm sorry it happened during your visit. But it is just like the fireworks, what we may look across and see may not be what they are looking at. The OC Register reported a funnel cloud, which is what most likely prompted the early closure.

[AVP]

I'm with TDavis on this one. The closure on the 7th seemed to be an overreaction, and a lot of people complained about that one. I completely understand why the Resort closed early pretty much every other day they did, but that one surprised a lot of people.

AVP

[Malcon10t]

I'm with TDavis on this one. The closure on the 7th seemed to be an overreaction, and a lot of people complained about that one. I completely understand why the Resort closed early pretty much every other day they did, but that one surprised a lot of people.

AVP

I understand and agree. But he asked "Shouldn't Disney do something", which I took to mean offer some sort of compensation. I explained if he had gone to City Hall/Guest Services, most likely they would have been offered some sort of compensation. Should they have had employees at the exits handing something to each person as they left?

[Tdavis]

Yeah the seventh was my main issue. Not only was it an over reaction but it was something they had time to change . Like I said before no fireworks
who cares I see that but keep the park open. Many people work years
and save and save and only go so often. It costs even for two people
at least a couple thousand dollars to visit the resort mulitple days and enjoy everything. yes I believe the company should have recognized that
and had staff passing out gift cards or something to at least say sorry. And
yes I wanted to go to city hall and give em a piece of my mind. but they should have come up with a "compensation" plan and announced what it was. Its vacation at DL I shouldnt have to complain to be taken care of they should have thought about that more.

[Drince88]

This kind of reminds me of some airlines when there's a decent delay. They'll give out free drinks. But they don't announce it. They just don't charge you if you order one. If they announced it, a LOT more people would order adult beverages.

So there may have been a set 'compensation', but you had to ask for it.

[Sansarc]

Well, maybe this is beside the point, but couldn't you write a letter to Disney's guest services and complain about the early park closure? I don't think it's too late, especially if it's still bothering you. I see your point about the amount of money that is saved, spent, etc., for each trip. I have a feeling they'd probably offer you some compensation -- even through the mail.

[codewoman]

This kind of reminds me of some airlines when there's a decent delay. They'll give out free drinks. But they don't announce it. They just don't charge you if you order one. If they announced it, a LOT more people would order adult beverages.

<derail> I was on a flight once that got cancelled for a mechanical problem. Nowhere to stay overnight, though, as there had been a big ice storm and all the hotels were full with people who still didn't have power. So we (my co-worker and myself) along with six others in the same boat (all the others had booked alternate flights) for the aircraft to be fixed. While we did, they fed us sandwiches and sodas. Eventually, they had us board the plane. Then they gave us airline playing cards, blankets and other giveaways. And plied us with free drinks. I had a gin and tonic. I think they just waved the tonic bottle over the glass -- I couldn't taste any. I called my husband from the jetway (courtesy of the airline) and he could tell I'd been drinking. That was unusual. They tried to offer me another but I declined, as I'd have misbehaved if I'd had any more. <end derail>

[SigalTchelet]

I understand and agree. But he asked "Shouldn't Disney do something", which I took to mean offer some sort of compensation. I explained if he had gone to City Hall/Guest Services, most likely they would have been offered some sort of compensation. Should they have had employees at the exits handing something to each person as they left?

I was at Marine World (before it switched to Discovery Kingdom) a few years ago on the 2nd to the last day of the season, for frightfest. A car hit a power pole on I-80 and knocked out power to half of Vallejo, including the park. We were on the Roaring Rapids ride, and managed to get off ok. They did not shut the park down until 5pm (it happened at 3), so we were going to miss all the Frightfest stuff. They gave everyone leaving (even Season Pass holders), a pass that we could use the next day, but since it was the end of the season, we could use it anytime the next season. We used the free pass the following year for frightfest. It would have been nice if Disneyland had some sort of system, like they did at Marine World!

[Tdavis]

Well I could email them or something. Im just doubtful anything would come of it at this point. My main point of bringing it up was just to see what other people thought of the situation. And I do want to add that we will return in 2012 and there was much that I enjoyed on that trip. It just bugged me that We lost 10 hours of park time during that week which is almost a full day. Not trying to bash disney or make people think twice about their trips, just wanted to know if anyone agreed with me.

[cstephens]

Well I could email them or something. Im just doubtful anything would come of it at this point. My main point of bringing it up was just to see what other people thought of the situation.

So you're annoyed enough to talk about it on here but not enough to actually tell DISNEY about it, the only people who might actually be able to do something about it? It's easy enough to submit a comment - go to Disneyland's website, click on the "contact us" link, and you can submit your comment that way. You're right, it's possible nothing will come of it, but if you don't do anything other than complain about it here, then you're guaranteeing that nothing is going to happen that might make you feel better about what happened, if you feel that you deserved something for the time you didn't spend in the park.

[Sansarc]

Well I could email them or something. Im just doubtful anything would come of it at this point.

I disagree! Okay, I've probably related this story before, but I'll do it again anyway: we went during Xmas one year, and the parks were wall-to-wall people. So crowded, that we all felt frightened and uncomfortable and basically left. We'd paid full price for all of our tickets and we'd also paid for a hotel room at the Sheraton. However, we left after just two or three hours in DLR. When I got home, I wrote a letter -- probably a week later. I explained what had happened and mentioned how frightened we'd felt, for our safety in the parks. I wasn't thinking or hoping to be reimbursed for our tickets -- in fact, I wrote the letter simply because I wanted to know how Disney monitors its crowds on days like that, how many people are actually allowed in, and what they would do if there was a stampede, or someone screamed accidentally, or panicked, and the crowds became uncontrollable. (Soon after this incident, FYI -- I found Mouseplanet!!!!). So my intention was to get basic information about crowd control -- not free tickets -- and to let them know how unbearable and useless our visit had been because of the large crowds. Less than a month later, I received a letter from Disney along with 3 free tickets. The letter did explain their crowd control policies, and explained how the crowds are monitored by the OC fire department as well. It was helpful and specific and actually answered almost all of my questions. So . . . write your letter! At the very least, they should know what happened to you, and why you were dissatisfied with your visit!!! Go for it!!!! What have you got to lose?

[Malcon10t]

I've also written after the fact when something happened that negatively impacted me. I really didn't expect anything from it, but wanted them to know what happened. I was very pleased with the results of my letter. They sent me meal vouchers to cover a meal that wasn't pleasant. It was a very nice ending that I really did not expect.

[wenidog]

We stayed at the DLH about 7 or so years ago, my husband and boys ages 3 and 4y/o at the time. We booked a 1 BR suite in the old Bonita Tower. They gave us the top floor front corner room, which was great. But, the room had been rented the previous night by a group of teenagers. The drapes were hanging off the rods in sections, the pull-out sofa beds springs that support the mattress were broken and the mattress was sliding off. The room was filthy. We didn't complain until my 4 y/o stepped on a piece of rusty tack strip that joined the bathroom and bedroom carpet. His foot was open and bleeding. I'm a nurse, called the front desk. The night manager came with a wheelchair, AED, some emergency personal to look at theinjury. She offered us Goofy's Kitchen passes for breakfast for the inconvience.

My child's wound healed without incident. I learned from hotel staff that the room was scheduled to be taken out-of-service the NEXT DAY for remodel, which is apparently why repairs had not been made. When I got home I wrote a letter to the DLH general manager. My main objective was to express that the condition of the room was unsafe and not anywhere at Disney standards. He did comp us 4 nights for our next vacation. If you want a different outcome, you need to speak up!

[Tdavis]

The marine world system would have been great. Thats exactly what I wish disney had done. Great discussion though. Thanks all

[HTanner]

Yeah the seventh was my main issue. Not only was it an over reaction but it was something they had time to change . Like I said before no fireworks
who cares I see that but keep the park open. Many people work years
and save and save and only go so often. It costs even for two people
at least a couple thousand dollars to visit the resort mulitple days and enjoy everything. yes I believe the company should have recognized that
and had staff passing out gift cards or something to at least say sorry. And
yes I wanted to go to city hall and give em a piece of my mind. but they should have come up with a "compensation" plan and announced what it was. Its vacation at DL I shouldnt have to complain to be taken care of they should have thought about that more.

Don't discount Disney just yet.

First, we don't know what information they had been given to make a decision to close the parks. They close the parks, they lose money, too. They don't have guests in their parks eating, buying; etc. Might save some money on operations, but I don't think its a win-win for Disney.

Still, I think you have a legitimate right to be upset. These trips ain't cheap. You had two days cut off your trip that you can't get back. Write to Disney, explain the situation. Disney, of all companies, is more likely to act in a humanitarian and gracious way, imo.

I know my parents went one summer and they had a horrible time. Everywhere they went, there were rude and aggressive people jumping lines, pushing, shoving. My dad was even threatened by one young punk. It made them just miserable. They felt like Disney CMs didn't do enough to prevent the blatant line jumping (especially by tour groups). They wrote to Disney just to ask them to consider taking some action to stop the problem - and Disney sent them free tickets for the days they were inconvenienced.

That impressed me to no ends.