Disney Struggles with Understaffed Ride Maintenance Department

The Walt Disney Company seems to be struggling on several fronts these days, but dealing with staffing issues seems to be one challenge that has been particularly problematic on the Disney Park front. Disney fans have noticed many Disney World rides in disrepair — and not just because they’re closing permanently, which seems to be the reason behind the disappointing state of Splash Mountain in the Magic Kingdom.

Journalist Kevin Wong recently pointed out in an article on Yahoo! Finance that “understaffing is a significant, contributing factor to this decline in standards” when it comes to Disney Parks and Disney World Guests’ somewhat lacking Disney Park customer experience.

According to Wong, “in late 2020, Disneyland laid off 32,000 park employees due to pandemic-related budget cuts. By June 2021, only half of those employees had returned.” Disney has been dealing with a lot of pressure from all sides recently as well, with Disney enthusiasts criticizing everything from Disney leadership (i.e. the current CEO of the Walt Disney Company, Bob Chapek) to bad Guest behavior to resellers who are plaguing the Parks and hogging the merchandise.

Apparently, the Walt Disney Company is attempting to rectify this understaffing issue (particularly in areas like maintenance where Disney rides would be taken care of properly) by offering some new hire bonuses. One job opportunity that Disney has advertised is indeed for a maintenance mechanic who can take care of the rides when they break down or need to be maintained.

The bonus for this particular job is an additional $1,500, and the job mentions a need for someone who can take care of “functional checks, troubleshooting, overhauling, maintenance, repair, and alteration of systems and equipment,” as well as “quality checks of completed work on attractions and ride vehicles.”

We have seen plenty of ride breakdowns or malfunctions in recent months, so hopefully, Disney’s hiring bonuses will be enough to convince mechanics to apply for positions like this one and, in turn, increase the quality of Disney Guests’ experiences as ride breakdowns happen less frequently!