What to Do When You're Having a ROUGH Day in Disney World

Sometimes things don’t go according to plan in Disney World.

Even though it’s dubbed “The Most Magical Place on Earth,” sometimes Disney World is less than magical when things like weather, sickness, or crowds put a damper on your plans. So what do you do when you’re having a really ROUGH day in the parks? We’re here to help you solve your problems!

Your Favorite Ride is Closed

Let’s start with a pretty common problem in the parks — what do you do when your favorite ride is shut down? Whether it’s down for an extended refurbishment or just temporarily closed for technical difficulties, there are a few things you can do.

Temporary Closure at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

First of all, we recommend checking the day view calendar for each park on the Disney World website before your visit. This calendar shows scheduled ride refurbishments so that you’ll be prepared going into your park day.

And if there’s a particular ride that’s a must-do for you, it might be best to get it done first thing in the morning. That way, you’re not disappointed if it gets shut down for multiple hours later in the day.

But if you do encounter some technical issues with your favorite ride, keep watching the My Disney Experience app’s wait times section. Here, Disney lists the rides that are closed at any point in the day, and once a wait time pops back up, you’ll know that the ride is ready for operation again. It might be a good idea to hang out near the ride as well (if it’s likely the ride will reopen soon) so that you can be first in line and avoid the long wait.

Keep in mind that once a ride reopens after a closure, the wait will get very long for a few hours due to the backup of Lightning Lanes. Those who had Lightning Lanes reserved for times during the closure will return and be given priority access to board for a while.

You Have Problems Scanning Your Ticket

It has happened to the best of us — you get to the tapstiles at the park entrance, scan your ticket and your finger, and then the light on the little Mickey head turns blue instead of green. What do you do?

If your ticket has an error, the Cast Member will first try to have you scan again. It’s possible that there was just a glitch and it’ll all work the second time. But if you keep having issues, there could be some other problems at play.

Keep in mind that it’s required for certain guests to have Disney Park Passes to enter any theme park. That includes anyone with student group tickets, sport and convention tickets, Disney Military Salute tickets, or an Annual Pass.

If you didn’t make those reservations ahead of time or you made them for the wrong day or park, you likely won’t be allowed to enter. (Unless there are some available still and the Cast Member can make you one at the gate.) Also, Annual Passholders should note any “Good to Go” dates on the availability calendar. On those days, Passholders do NOT need a reservation to enter any park.

If you’re planning on Park Hopping and have a ticket type that requires a Park Pass, you’ll need to make your Park Pass reservation for the first theme park you want to visit that day. Then, you’ll need to scan into that park before hopping to the second.

When you book a Disney Park Pass successfully, you should get an email confirmation. We recommend making a folder in your email account to store these confirmations — that way you have proof of reservation just in case you need it at the gate. You could also log into your My Disney Experience account on your phone for proof.

Pandora

There’s also a chance that it’s not a Park Pass issue at all — it could be that you’re just using the wrong finger to scan in! When you first use your ticket, pick one finger to do the biometric scan, then use that same finger every time you enter the park. If you try to use a different finger, you will likely encounter issues when scanning.

You Can’t Get the Dining Reservation You Want

Another common issue is missing out on the dining reservations you want! Whether you’re experiencing this 60 days before your trip when the reservations first drop or during your park day, it’s frustrating no matter what.

Cinderella’s Royal Table is one of Magic Kingdom’s most expensive restaurants

If you’re looking for a particular restaurant, you’ll want to try and make that reservation at 6AM ET 60 days before your trip begins to have the best chance of getting the time and place you want. But sometimes that’s just not possible or they book up quickly.

If you’re in the park and you don’t have a reservation, we first recommend checking for dining reservations through the My Disney Experience app. Sometimes there’s last-minute availability. You can also select “now” as your dining time and check out the Walk-Up Waitlist, where there might be spots available for walk-up dining.

If neither of those things work, check out Mobile Order at the quick service restaurants! It’s a feature available in the app as well, and you can order your food ahead of time at many spots in the parks and resorts. You can even place your order multiple hours in advance by selecting a later pickup time slot!

It’s LITERALLY Raining on Your Parade

Finally, we have to mention the weather! It rains a lot in Florida, and that means that often, the weather affects operations in the parks. Most outdoor attractions are forced to close when there’s lightning in the area, and poor weather conditions can cause outdoor entertainment to be modified or canceled.

On top of that, the parks can be extra stressful when you’ve got soggy socks and no poncho. So how do you conquer the rainy day?

First of all, we recommend packing some ponchos and rain gear in your park bag no matter when you visit. And as far as ride closures go — just wait. They’ll most likely be back up when the weather clears.

Don’t forget the ponchos when the sky looks like this!

If you find yourself unprepared, Disney World sells rain jackets and ponchos in many gift shops. It’s a good idea to keep a weather app on your phone as well, that way you can track incoming storms and decide when it’s a good time to take a break indoors. There are plenty of indoor shows, rides, and restaurants, so you can still be accomplishing something even when it’s storming.

Don’t let the rain get you down — oftentimes, people will leave the park when it’s raining and if you stick it out, you might find shorter wait times afterward. Just come prepared for the weather whether it’s on the radar or not!

Those are some of the most common reasons why people have “bad days” in Disney World, and many of these problems can be prevented!

Stay tuned to AllEars for more tips on how to have the best vacation ever in Disney World! We’re in the parks every day and we’ve got some expert advice to share.