Even Disney World Rides Have Bad Days — But That Doesn't Mean You Have To

There’s not much worse than arriving at your favorite ride in Disney World — only to find that it’s closed.

Haunted Mansion closed one day in Disney World

Disney World attractions close all the time for a variety of reasons but technical issues are often the culprit behind unexpected closures. Sometimes these malfunctions can cause a ride to be closed all day and sometimes it just means a brief closure, and here’s what you need to do if a ride is closed in Disney World.

We were walking around Magic Kingdom recently when we noticed that Space Mountain was closed! When a ride is closed, Disney will often empty out the queue entirely, and guests will not be able to re-enter the line until after the ride officially reopens.

A Cast Member let us know that this particular closure was due to technical difficulties, and guests also lined up to ask about their Lightning Lane reservations. Space Mountain is available as a Lightning Lane through a Genie+ purchase and, depending on when your return window is or whether you scanned into the ride already, you may want to speak to a Cast Member about your options.

Space Mountain has closed due to technical difficulties today in Magic Kingdom!

Guests are lining up to get Lightning Lane alternatives ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/oCz6vwEaXN

— AllEars.Net (@AllEarsNet) October 26, 2022

If a ride remains closed during your Genie+ return window but you haven’t yet scanned into the ride, you’ll typically be automatically granted a “Multiple Experiences” Lightning Lane. This type of pass grants you access to select alternative Lightning Lanes, and you can typically also make another Lightning Lane reservation at that time.

At the time that Space Mountain was closed, a Cast Member told us that the ride could open later in the day if fixed but they had no estimated time for its potential reopening time, which makes things difficult for planning purposes.

However, you can keep checking the My Disney Experience app for the latest information on ride wait times and closures. When a ride is closed, it will have a black star in the white bubble above the ride, and when you tap on the star you will see “temporarily closed” in red.

When the ride reopens, however, you can once again see the estimated wait time in the bubble above the ride! Space Mountain reopened not long after its initial closure, so people didn’t have to wait too long to enjoy the classic Disney thrill ride! If you look below, you can see that Space Mountain reopened with a 45-minute wait.

As a bonus, if you’re keeping a close eye on the app, sometimes getting in line as SOON as the ride reopens can be a potential way to experience a shorter wait time if you’re among the first people to get in line. It takes time for the line to build back up so don’t wait too long to get in line!

There are certain Disney World rides that more frequently experience technical issues so it’s a good idea to prioritize those rides as early in the day as you can. Otherwise, keep checking the My Disney Experience app to stay up-to-date!

We’ll be keeping our eyes and ears open for more updates on Disney World ride closures, so stay tuned for more information. And if you’re curious about getting Genie+, we recommend checking out our FULL guide here.

Keep following AllEars for more Disney World news!