Sometimes when pushing down, Dawn will Morph instead of taking the elevator. The setup for the instant elevator is very simple to do, and can be done from either your standing or Morphed character. As you come up to the elevator, hold down plus either left or right simultaneously for downward elevators, and up plus either left or right for upward elevators. Doing so will cause Dawn to use the elevator as soon as she is within range to activate the platform.

This easily solves the problem of downward elevators especially as they are sometimes less cooperative.