Disneyland water pressure issue shut bathrooms and restaurants
A city water pressure drop in Anaheim closed many Disneyland bathrooms and restaurants Tuesday before operations returned to normal.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
2 min read
A Disneyland water pressure issue turned Tuesday night at the Anaheim park into a restroom scramble, with TMZ reporting that many bathrooms were closed for hours and some restaurants also stopped serving guests.
The problem was not limited to the theme park. Anaheim city officials said a technical issue with drawing water from groundwater wells caused a sudden drop in pressure that affected a large part of the city, according to TMZ.
Inside Disneyland, guests posted clips and complaints online as staff blocked access to multiple restrooms. An Instagram user posting as travelwithtiffanymmt said in a July 28 post that every bathroom at Disneyland appeared to go down at the same time because of a water line problem in Anaheim.
That user wrote that after being turned away from a sixth bathroom, the group regretted drinking lots of water at dinner. The post quickly became part of the night’s very public theme park vent session.
Why were Disneyland bathrooms closed?
Anaheim officials said the city had trouble pulling water from groundwater wells, which led to a sudden pressure drop. Low water pressure can affect plumbing systems and force closures of bathrooms and food service areas until pressure is restored.
TMZ reported that staff members were stationed at some restrooms and were not letting guests enter. The report described fans complaining online as the closures spread through the park.
Another Instagram user, jamieeastonn, posted that the situation was getting out of hand and claimed people were threatening to use bushes because workers were not telling guests where to go. The post tagged Disney Parks.
Restaurants were hit, too, according to TMZ. That added another layer of frustration for guests because many sit-down meals at Disneyland are booked in advance before a park visit.
Instagram user insearchofcoffee posted that the trouble happened around 6:30 p.m. on July 28 and seemed to be resolved within about an hour. TMZ reported that by Tuesday night, the pressure issue had been fixed and Disneyland operations had returned to normal.
The citywide nature of the pressure drop matters because it points away from a Disneyland-only failure. Anaheim officials attributed the trouble to municipal water system issues, and TMZ reported that the impact stretched across a large portion of Anaheim.
Disneyland guests still had to deal with the immediate fallout: closed bathrooms, shuttered restaurants and little patience left for a park night that usually runs on careful planning, dining reservations and a whole lot of walking.
This story draws on original reporting from TMZ.