It’s been just over a week since Disney Parks debuted its brand new attraction, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, at Magic Kingdom Park. Despite rave reviews about the quality of the ride, which features brand-new audio-animatronic technology, throughout the preview period, there was growing concern about the attraction’s reliability. Frequent closures and frozen characters started a conversation about whether the attraction would benefit from the preview period, improving its dependability for longer periods of time before the public opening. One week after the grand debut of the ride, the question still remains as the higher demand sparks more disappointment with frequent temporary closures. On the second day of operation, reports flooded the internet of a four-hour delay in opening the ride, and a post on Reddit had one guest reporting being stranded for almost an hour right before the big drop. The general discussion about the new ride seems only to have one flaw: the reliability of the attraction to function as expected.
Anyone who has visited the parks in the last few years has likely noticed a higher percentage of temporary closures. On a recent trip to the Disneyland Resort, there was one point in our stay when roughly thirteen rides were closed at the same time across the two parks between scheduled closures and temporary breakdowns. The frequency of these temporary closures and ride breakdowns has undeniably increased, making the inconvenience of waiting in an attraction line for an extended period of time even more frustrating when the attraction closes as you reach the front of the queue. Now, in part, this is something that I can sympathize with as the age of the ride over time; there is no good time to close an attraction for maintenance. However, when it comes to a brand-new attraction, there is a certain expectation of reliability and quality that should be evident. After all, if not now, then when will it be functioning in its prime condition?
For those of you who know me from the DIS, you wouldn’t identify me as a complainer. I have a pretty genuine appreciation for the parks that usually remains positive, sometimes to a fault. And while I maintain that we are incredibly lucky to even have access to such a wonderful vacation option, this is one question that I can’t help but ask. Has Disney jumped the gun on opening Tiana’s Bayou Adventure? I get it; there is unbelievable pressure on Imagineers and Cast Members to get these E-Ticket attractions up and running. The parks need their headlining rides up and operational to draw in optimum crowds and help with crowd flow for a functional distribution of guests around the park. Even so, at what point do they simply need more time to ensure that quality is there for the guests making the trek to enjoy the attraction in its opening days?
The new attraction is nothing short of stunning, with an atmospheric magic that I’ve been delighted with. It’s a state-of-the-art addition to the Disney Parks and an exciting glimpse of what’s to come with future new Disney attractions. However, I do worry that we are collectively putting too much pressure on the process and rushing these projects before they are guest-ready. I’m curious to hear your opinions. Are these necessary teething problems that can only be tested with the demand of opening? Or, do all the pressures of opening need to be sidelined, giving the Imagineers the time they need to ensure a successful, reliable opening?
