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[upinthesky]

Hi all,

Booked a big family holiday in DLP back in February and we now have only two and a half weeks to go!

Absolutely gutted to check the refurbishment schedule to find LOADS of stuff has been added that wasn't there when I booked. With a young niece and nephew on their first Disney holiday I was looking forward to taking them on the Railroad and Its a Small World. My other (older) niece likes Crush's Coaster. All of these (and a couple of others) are now closed. None of these were scheduled for maintenance when I made the booking.

I know the parks are undergoing an extensive refurbishment programme at the moment and I appreciate it is an all year round operation. I don't expect all the attractions to be open all of the time but I am annoyed that so much has been added to the maintenance schedule since I made the booking. Had I known about these closures I would have picked different dates.

Has this happened to anyone else and is it worth complaining?

[Mileto]

I understand your disappointment, it's always painful when you are not able to go on favorite attractions. I had such experiences back in the years with the boat, Peter Pan, BTM.

But Disney states clearly that they announce the closures 3 months in advance and changes may apply. So you can expect anything to be closed. They don't sort the attractions to 1 class, 2 class. Just bad luck!
When exactly do you visit? Crush's Coaster closes on 14.09, you can still ride it on 13.09.

Complaining? I don't know, you can try but not sure what you'll get from that.

[arvidbux]

Complaining has no real use. They will note it down and don't really act on it. Mainly because they are upfront that the refurbishment schedule can and will change.

Having that said, I fully understand your frustration. We booked our honeymoon to DLR and just a few weeks before they started closing all the rides we wanted to visit. We should have known though as it was the weeks/months leading up to the Diamond Celebration.

[upinthesky]

Thank you for the replies.

I know Disney reserve the right to change the schedules but the latest casualty (Disneyland Railroad) has only just been added. That wasn't there last time I checked so that's appeared well within the three months timeframe. I've checked the dates around it and it doesn't seem to be a short closure either.

[DLPWonders (Banned)]

It's very simple....do some research before you book.
Especially when you're a member of a forum like this it should be easy to do some research.

1. It has been known for about 2 years now that 2016 will be an off-year for DLP.
Lots of major refurbs going on to make sure that everything is perfect for the 25th anniversary in 2017.
So you could've known that there is a huge possibility that a lot of things will be closed.

2. It is well-known that January and February are the two most "dead" months of the year.
Because of that, most refurbs will be in those months. Because it effects the least amount of guests.
This is a recurring thing every year, for a very long time already.
That's why it's also the cheapest time to go.
So if you do research, you know this before you book.

3. Lower your expectations.
I absolutely get that you want to give your niece and nephew the best experience possible.
Especially if it's their first time. But they are children. They will enjoy themselves.
Give them Mickey and princesses, and they will be happy. It's not children that make fuss, it's adults.
If you don't tell them about all the things they can do and see, they won't be disappointed.
Sure you can give them rougly an idea to prepair them and get them excited.
But don't get them TOO excited. Then they won't get disappointed.

[HildeKitten]

Sometimes if you can book so far in advance that the closures aren't even announced yet.
I've been in February at least twice and most things were open, so yeah ok they do a lot of refurbs, but when I went only one or two rides were closed.
I'm not sure it's always ok to just go "research issue" at people, considering there is only so much you can easily find out. It's clearly not that the poster did no research at all.

Anyway, upinthesky, I would advise to call Disney anyway. Explain the situation in a friendly manner, and maybe they'll let you rebook for the same money to a better date.
You never know, and its definitely worth a try in my opinion.
Worst case you'll be stuck with the dates you have now so you don't really have anything to loose but time and the cost of the phonecall

[twentythingamabobs]

Guys, unless i've read it wrong, Upinthesky booked the holiday in February but are actually going to be in DLP in 2 weeks... Is that right? So February being low season and 2016 being an off-year don't really apply here. It is clear the OP has done research and looked at closures when they booked to find there were none scheduled. I can totally understand your disappointment, I would be upset too 

[upinthesky]

DLRPWonders:

I assume English is not your first language and you misunderstood my post.

I booked the trip in February 2015 and I am going in September 2015.

As you will see from my signature I am not new to DLP. I've been 6 times in 3 years and I am familiar with the concept of checking for closures before I book.

As for lowering my expectations I have stressed that I don't expect everything to be open. The point I am trying to make is how annoying it is to book a trip six months in advance with a couple of ride closures posted only to log on two weeks before departure to find half a dozen.

[Disneylove]

We're going 2016 and there's going to be 5 closures, 3 of which we really wanted to see and I find it incredibly annoying. I think what's more annoying is that because Disney are advertising it, they think that's acceptable. I personally think they shouldnt be rushing it for the best interest of their guests, and close one attraction at a time. But since it's the 25th anniversary coming up they're going to want to have it spotless as there's always higher admission rates on anniversaries throughout that year. It's just coming across as being pretty greedy and focusing so much on producing more revenue. I've kind of always thought that the Disney Paris have always been like that, but I think it's because they've been in so much debt. But I can't help but think if they focused on customers wants, the revenue would increase anyway.

I also think that because they think it's okay to advertise it early and then everyone has to be okay with it is the most frustrating part. The ticket prices are still the same, and they aren't any plans to compensate visitors at all. They could give out free vouchers for maybe a hot drink and a snack, increase the amount of meet and greets (as I've found paris to be the worst for meeting characters), slightly reduce the admission costs for these periods, give out a special pin to visitors during these times, a discount voucher for meals/store, an extra short parade during the day. Any of these things would at least feel like they're considering the customers and that its obviously going to affect their experience, it even could stop visitors from returning. It doesn't have to be something huge and expensive but just SOMETHING as a gesture of good will for the inconveniences would definitely makes things better and make them appear more considerate.

[HildeKitten]

I absolutely agree with you!
Seriously, well put!

[Mileto]

I have to write it too - very good said, Disneylove!

[Rapunzel1]

So right. We are probably not going in 2016. Too many closures.

[HildeKitten]

Same, I'm skipping 2016 also. I feel I'm just not getting value for the money they charge. I understand that the refurb need to happen, but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it.

[arvidbux]

Besides you go to DLP for the rides, I also go for all the other entertainment. Having that said, my wife and I were dissapointed in the amount of street entertainment they offered in 2013 and we have hopes (and we see more things scheduled now) that it will be better.

With the APs we had for DLR we managed to go about 6 times in a year. And most of the time we stayed 3 to 4 days and only went on 1 or 2 rides a day. For the rest we enjoyed all the other things the park has to offer.

[lovindisney87]

We're going 2016 and there's going to be 5 closures, 3 of which we really wanted to see and I find it incredibly annoying. I think what's more annoying is that because Disney are advertising it, they think that's acceptable. I personally think they shouldnt be rushing it for the best interest of their guests, and close one attraction at a time. But since it's the 25th anniversary coming up they're going to want to have it spotless as there's always higher admission rates on anniversaries throughout that year. It's just coming across as being pretty greedy and focusing so much on producing more revenue. I've kind of always thought that the Disney Paris have always been like that, but I think it's because they've been in so much debt. But I can't help but think if they focused on customers wants, the revenue would increase anyway.

I also think that because they think it's okay to advertise it early and then everyone has to be okay with it is the most frustrating part. The ticket prices are still the same, and they aren't any plans to compensate visitors at all. They could give out free vouchers for maybe a hot drink and a snack, increase the amount of meet and greets (as I've found paris to be the worst for meeting characters), slightly reduce the admission costs for these periods, give out a special pin to visitors during these times, a discount voucher for meals/store, an extra short parade during the day. Any of these things would at least feel like they're considering the customers and that its obviously going to affect their experience, it even could stop visitors from returning. It doesn't have to be something huge and expensive but just SOMETHING as a gesture of good will for the inconveniences would definitely makes things better and make them appear more considerate.

Totally agree with you on this one we booked in February to go in January 2016, luckily their is not too many favourites of ours shut, Big Thunder Mountain is the main fav but that's closed for a long time. Others say shut until January so not sure if we are gonna catch those or not. Definitely agree with them possibly bringing out a few more characters over the whole period of this big refurbs, cant see that its gonna cost them any more to chuck out a few more random characters 😁