Big Disney World Problems (With No Solutions)

Disney World might be the Most Magical Place on Earth, but that doesn’t mean that everything there is “perfect.”

You may face several “problems” during your trip to Disney World — from large crowds to transportation woes. While you can prepare for some of these problems to help you stay nimble if you do face them, many of these issues simply have no true solution.

Today we’re breaking down 7 Disney World problems with NO solutions, and how you can best prepare for them!

1 — Crowds

Let’s face it, you’re not the only one thinking of visiting Disney World at any given point in time. The parks can get extremely crowded, particularly during popular points of the year like around the holidays. There are some things Disney could do to ease these crowd levels. They could more strictly control and sharply reduce capacity, as they did when the parks first reopened, but that would mean they’d miss out on a large number of guests and a lot of revenue (not exactly an ideal plan for a business that ultimately does need to make money to function).

They could open a 5th theme park to help dispel crowds throughout more spaces. Or they could open up more rides, shows, etc. in the existing parks to give crowds more places to go. But ultimately all that this would likely lead to are further increases in capacity, leading to the potential for bigger crowds.

As long as lots of people want to visit Disney World, crowds will likely continue to be an issue you’ll have to face. There are ways in which the crowd “problem” can be alleviated, but no real solution to getting the parks to be as empty as guests would like while still getting the income/revenues they’re searching for. Listen, we’d ALL love a situation where you can walk on to any ride you’d like all day long, but that might not be feasible to maintain.

So what can you do to avoid the crowds? Well, you could try to visit Disney World during its “slower” times, consider taking breaks in areas that are usually less crowded (spots like Walt Disney Presents: One Man’s Dream are usually great), or spend time in spots like the hotels or other lesser-known activities outside of the parks to get some more breathing space. You can certainly try to plan a trip that works in adjustments to help you “beat” the crowds, if that’s one of your goals.

Think You Know the BEST Time To Go to Disney World? Think Again.

2 — Bad Weather

Contrary to what some rumors might say, Disney World is not protected by an invisible weather dome that helps control the weather in the parks. So if the weatherperson says “It looks like rain,” you better grab those umbrellas!

Weather of all kinds is something you’ll have to deal with in Disney World and it’s something Disney really can’t control or prevent. Sure, in theory, Disney could cover all of its parks or more of the parks, making more things indoors or at least covered, but frankly that’s not a realistic situation that’s likely to actually take place. The parks are already built and are HUGE. Trying to build some kind of covering for them would be a serious task. Not to mention that covering could break or be damaged and then require fixing.

We might see some more umbrellas pop up here and there in the parks, a few more awnings added to select spots, or more indoor attractions added in the future. But the fact remains that you’ll have to face the weather at some point during your trip when walking around the parks.

And you’ll have to face Florida weather, which comes with its own set of challenges. You may find yourself at Disney World during extreme heat, weirdly cold days during the winter, a hurricane, or days with a whole combination of weather situations. The best way to “beat” the weather, when possible, is to be prepared.

If you’re visiting Florida during the summer months (or really any point of the year), bring an umbrella or poncho. Even if the forecast doesn’t call for rain, you might get hit with some sprinkles at some point during the day. If you’re visiting during the winter months, bring a light jacket. Sometimes Florida can go through a cold snap and get strangely cool (at least “cool” in terms of Florida temperatures). During severe weather days, be prepared for potential ride closures.

Check the weather forecast ahead of your trip and during your trip, as things can change often. And if you forget that poncho in the room or at home, remember that Disney does sell supplies to help keep you protected during your trip. You’ll end up paying a premium for them, but those will let you keep going about your day and enjoying the parks, which is the goal.

Check Out What We Always Pack for a Rainy Day in Disney World

3 — Waiting for a Bus

Ah, the dreaded bus loop. Picture it: it’s the end of the night, you’ve just finished a long day in the parks. You head back to the front of the park to hop on a bus to get to your Disney World hotel and then you see it. THE LINE.

Sometimes there can be pretty long lines to get on the buses that take you to or from the Disney World parks and hotels. There are some ways that Disney could alleviate these bus lines, but it’s not clear if there’s any true “solution.” Disney could have more buses running at any given time, hire more drivers, or even revamp transportation so that there are more options that move quicker.

They could also expand the monorail service or Skyliner service to provide more options. And who knows — in the future we might get some of that to help alleviate the bus lines. But as Disney World grows and more crowds come, the lines likely could be impacted again.

These are also ideas that don’t come without their own faults or complications. Building new transportation methods or expanding existing ones isn’t exactly a cheap or simple option, and those types of things can take a long time. There are only so many buses and bus drivers Disney can probably have in play at one time before it becomes ineffective or inefficient from a cost, staffing, and logistics point of view.

If you’re visiting Disney World right now these ways to alleviate the problem likely aren’t things you’ll get to see played out in real time. In other words, until and unless Disney takes some of those actions in the future (assuming they would even help the bus situation) you’ll still have to deal with long bus lines.

So how can you beat this problem? Well you could pay for a taxi or ride share service to take you to your hotel, but you’d have to be willing to swallow that extra cost when Disney transportation is free. If you have a car, you could drive to the parks and park for free (if you’re staying at a Disney World hotel or otherwise have this perk) rather than use Disney’s buses. But you’d have to be willing to drive, which some folks would rather not do.

You can also try to leave a bit earlier (before the mass exodus of park crowds after fireworks or things like that) or leave a bit later and wait for the crowds to die down (just be sure to not miss that last bus out of the park). There are a few options here, but if your goal is to use Disney transportation exclusively, you’ll want to prepare for some potentially long lines at certain points during the year or during the day.

The BIGGEST Transportation Problems in Disney World

4 — Waiting in Lines (Especially If You Don’t Want to Pay a Little Extra)

You could visit Disney World during the “slower” period to beat some of the crowds, try to arrive at the parks early or stay late when some guests have already left for the day, and do other things to avoid the longer lines. But realistically you’re bound to wait in a line for something at some point. That line might be relatively short, but still, a Disney World without any lines at all is probably a Disney World you’ll find in your dreams.

You might have to wait for an attraction, a restaurant, your Mobile Order pick-up, a popcorn stand, a snack spot, a merchandise check-out location, or something else.

Some of these lines can be avoided…if you’re willing to pay. Disney Genie+ and Individual Attraction Selection, for example, can help you skip the lines at many Disney World attractions, but these services are not free. If you’re not willing to pay the starting price of $15 per ticket per day for Genie+ or the changing price for pay-per-ride selections, then you’ll have to stick to the regular standby lines and (in all likelihood) have a bit of a wait.

Again, some of these lines might be short, especially if you go during less busy times of the year. But lines are just a reality to deal with in Disney World and there’s no real “solution” to ending all lines forever. Even with the introduction of things like Mobile Order, lines still exist for Mobile Order pick-up. Lines can certainly be alleviated with the introduction of new technologies or the analysis of logistics, but as long as multiple guests want access to the same thing at the same time, lines of some kind will likely continue to be a reality.

How can you beat the lines? Be prepared. If you know you want that popular sipper, try to get in line as soon as you can so you can avoid even longer waits. If you want to use Mobile Order, consider scheduling your pick-up time to be just before or after the typical mealtime rushes. Consider using things like Mobile Merchandise Check-Out (where available), Mobile Check-In, and other technological methods to help you beat the lines.

And, if you’re willing and you feel like it’s worth it for you, look into buying Genie+ or pay-per-ride selections to help you beat the attraction lines.

Click here to see our secret to never waiting in long lines in Disney World!

5 — Other Guests

Disney World is a transformative place. It can make some people act in a way that is kinder and more helpful. But Disney trips can also be stressful and impact people in the opposite way. While some guests might be all smiles, others might be upset, on edge, and frustrated, leading to some…interesting situations.

You may find guests who break the rules (sometimes knowingly), go a little overboard on drinking around the world, or do other less-than-ideal things like taking flash pictures throughout a dark ride.

Cast Members do a fantastic job enforcing Disney’s rules, but there’s only so much they can do when it comes to some guests. Cast Members can’t really be everywhere at all times, so you may find some guests commit bad behaviors that slip through the cracks.

And there’s really not much other guests can do to police those around them. Getting involved in situations like that could put the intervening guest at risk of an uncomfortable and perhaps unsafe situation.

If you see a guest breaking the rules or doing some other behavior that is not allowed, the best thing to do is to get a Cast Member to get involved so that the guest can see the rules being enforced by a source of authority in the park. But at the end of the day, it might not always work. You might still find that person who manages to sneak a flash photo on Peter Pan’s Flight or who curses within earshot of little kiddos.

The best thing you can do is get a Cast Member involved if necessary, distance yourself from that other guest(s) as much as possible, and ask for a modification if you feel like you need to move from where you’re seated or where you’ll be riding an attraction, and just keep yourself and your family/friends focused on having a good time. As several have been quoted to say, you can’t control other people’s actions, but you can control the effect they have on you or how you choose to let their actions impact you.

Click here to see things people do in Disney World that guests HATE

6 — Change

Change. It’s part of Disney’s DNA, so to speak. Walt Disney once said, “Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.” The same holds true for Disney World. And as imagination takes the parks and hotels to new places, it means changes get made.

Sometimes those changes are small — some paintwork here and there, a little adjustment of a ride feature, a menu change, etc. Sometimes those changes are pretty substantial — like the closing of a ride, the opening of a new ride, the reimagining of an entire ride, significant changes made to an attraction’s storyline, or a massive park-wide transformation.

Changes also get made on a more immediate scale sometimes when it comes to things like adjustments in the health/safety policies. Especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney World has changed a lot over the past year and a half or so. And Disney World will likely continue to change. There’s really no way out of that.

In theory, Disney could keep things as-is and never get rid of older rides or reimagine them or change things in any way. They could keep the parks frozen in time, which would likely make some fans very happy. But it would make others upset or disinterested. It would also limit Disney’s ability to create new experiences. Some things may stay the same in Disney World for many years to come, but others will likely continue to evolve and change.

If Disney were to keep all of the old things just as they are and only expand to new areas to build new attractions, it could cause issues from a logistics perspective, or we find that the older rides are simply outdated and no longer relevant to the current audience.

So we expect change will continue to take place in the parks and hotels in one way or another. And yes, some of those changes are bound to bring sadness with them — the loss of a beloved ride or the removal of a nostalgic piece of the parks. But sometimes change will bring great joy — a new attraction to make memories on, new experiences that will blow your expectations out of the water, new treats to become your favorites.

What will the next 50 days, months, and years bring in terms of change to Disney World? We can’t wait to find out.

Click here to see big changes that have stuck around in Disney World (and could be here for good)!

7 — Technical Issues and Temporary Ride Closures

Sometimes technical issues or other problems arise in Disney World that can impact your park experience. You might find that the My Disney Experience app is having issues (affecting your ability to place a Mobile Order or check wait times), or a ride might experience technical problems that force it to be shut down for a period of time.

There are some ways Disney could alleviate some of these concerns, but there’s no true “solution” for all of them. They could potentially change their servers, make other technological advancements or choices to help things be more stable, do more maintenance on their rides to discover issues earlier and prevent them from happening, etc. But the truth is that even the biggest companies in the world are subject to experiencing technical issues sometimes.

That’s the thing with machines and technology, complications can happen. Sometimes the ride closures and other issues at Disney World are also related to human actions. A ride may shut down because someone drops something in the track or stands up, etc. There are ways Disney can help alleviate this, like creating more barriers to prevent certain guest actions, but to a certain extent some things may continue to be out of their control.

Disney can also potentially be impacted when the services they rely on experience issues. This can sometimes cause complications with things like payment methods, if certain servers or pieces of technology fail to work properly.

So what can you do to prepare for these situations? When it comes to anything technology related, be sure to bring phone chargers that you can use on the go; take screenshots of important information like room numbers, reservation times/numbers, Park Pass information, etc.; and when in doubt, seek out a Cast Member’s assistance. In terms of payments and things like MagicBands, be sure to bring an alternative form of payment and ID with you, rather than only relying on your MagicBand (which can also experience technical problems).

When it comes to ride closures, these can be unpredictable. You might be on a ride when it temporarily shuts down, or you may be in line waiting to get on. The most important things you can do here are (1) listen to any instructions provided by the Cast Members, especially if you’re on the ride and being evacuated; and (2) stay flexible. If you can remain flexible in your plans, then you can adjust things and keep enjoying your day without feeling like your trip has been ruined by this inconvenience.

It isn’t always easy to deal with these technical problems. But the more prepared you are, the better things can be.

Click here to see more about technical problems and how they can impact your trip.

And that’s a look at some of the Disney World problems that have no true or easy solution. If you come prepared to face these issues, however, you could have a much smoother trip. Be sure to check back with us for more Disney tips to help your next trip be the best one yet.

What are other problems in Disney World with no solution? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

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