Since its opening nearly 45 years ago, EPCOT has been a beloved park for generations of Disney World fans. Whether it’s the park’s attractions, dining, or even drinking around the world, many guests have had the best times of their trip at the park. However, that’s not everyone.
Recently, we asked our readers on Facebook to tell us their “biggest park-day disaster” at EPCOT over the years, and two major stories stuck out to us.
The first came from reader Claire Marie, who wrote about a less-than-ideal ride on Mission: Space. They wrote, “Going on Mission Space Orange. Rode it, couldn’t walk or see straight, somehow made it back to the resort, threw up, slept for 4 hours and then was fine.” Yeah, that doesn’t sound fun. Of course, stories like this have been common about Mission: Space since the simulator ride opened back in 2003. The attraction, which replaced the beloved-to-this-day Horizons, is often listed near the bottom of many fans’ rankings of all of Disney World’s attractions.
Speaking of rides and attractions, reader Paul shared a story that may as well be subtitled “a Disney fan’s worst nightmare.” They shared, “Our party was the next in line to board Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, shortly after it opened. We were so excited to see this new attraction. Yep, it broke down, and they closed the ride. It was near the end of the day, and it didn’t reopen before the park closed. It was our only day in EPCOT. Some day we hope to get back to see this attraction. But now, all we can do is have some eggplant parmigiana and dream of the adventure!”
Imagine waiting through a long queue for a (comparatively) new, in-demand attraction, making it all the way to boarding, only for the ride to shut down for the day? We know going in that there’s always a chance that could happen with any attraction, but it’s still brutal. Sounds like Paul has the right attitude, though!
Beyond these two ride tales, however, we received plenty of other responses detailing issues with weather, meals, health issues, and even reader Donnie’s somewhat amazingly nonchalant phrasing of “I took firework debris to the eye; it didn’t ruin anything, but it was crazy.”
Crazy indeed. Stay tuned to DFB for more tales of Disney trips gone right… and wrong!
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