As others have stated, the current experience feels like you're not getting what you paid for. I don't expect 100% available rides and amenities every day, I understand that at any theme park things have to close sometimes, rides need maintenance, staffing, etc. But my list of negatives is just too long and there was too much lacking from my family's experience at the resort this week, and I'm left feeling like we paid full price for what amounts to a preview experience.
Hotel
Pool - Not open
Room - Scavenger hunt was not set up with prizes in the safe as expected. Missing door viewer “peephole” lens, just had a hole drilled straight through the door.
We were promised a 7pm dinner reservation that was never provided to the restaurant staff.
Off-site customer support is awful, no one answers the phone, emails apparently take 7-10 business days to answer.
False fire alarm triggered at 7:00am.
Park
Many food vendors closed in each area, long waits at open locations because of limited choices.
Open food vendors often were out of many items, had limited menus or unavailable options. One ice cream vendor was sold out of all flavors except one.
Rides closed (Dragon Jr, DJ’s Dizzy Disco Spin, Fire Academy).
Excessive wait times (some rides had 120 minute queues).
Many drink refill stands closed (we paid for the convenience of the souvenir refill cups, but were limited in refills by locations available/open).
No costumed characters that we say in 2 full days at the park.
Ride features not functional (i.e. none of the automated water spray features on Splash Battle were functional).
Play areas closed in Ninjago and City.
Miniland features missing (Mt. Rushmore animatronics, interactive elements, etc).
It all just feels rushed and incomplete. I think they can get all of this stuff resolved, get the hotel pool open and get staffed up to cover the closed rides and food stands. But it didn't happen this summer.
One staff member was honest with me and said that they are having staffing problems and don't have enough people to cover everything. That certainly was apparent.
But it also has me hopeful that they can learn from this rough start and do better next year.