ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

The washrooms at Anaheim's Disneyland Resort were forced to close for two hours this summer after four local groundwater wells failed simultaneously.

The problem occurred in late July and led to the resort having to shut restaurants, bars and hotels. Long queues quickly formed around the few toilets that remained open and visitors reported chaotic scenes.

One social media user posted on Instagram: "This is getting wild. People are threatening to go in the bushes and workers aren't directing guests on how or where to go. Pretty crazy for a whole amusement park."

Another visitor claimed to have been prevented from entering several washrooms, adding that staff members had been as helpful as the situation would allow.

"Most guests understood that it was out of Disney's hands while others were upset with the inconvenience," she said. "It was a little chaotic but they handled it the best they could."

Anaheim draws approximately 75 per cent of its water from a network of 14 groundwater wells while the remaining 25 per cent is imported from the Colorado River.

When four wells experienced "technical issues" at once it meant that around 350,000 Anaheim city-dwellers people were unable to take a shower or use the loo.

The Disneyland resort has its own emergency systems, logistics infrastructure and internal communications systems. However it relies entirely on Anaheim's municipal water grid and has no independent water supply.

According to the resort's statement: "The water pressure issue temporarily impacted operations throughout the resort. Our teams worked quickly to take care of affected guests and we appreciate their flexibility."