FOP at closing time

[raider97]

Just a heads up that my family jumped in the standby line tonight at 7:45 and were told they were closing the line at 8 p.m. for a 9 p.m. AK closing. Just a heads up for anyone planning a closing trip.

 

[mckennarose]

Oh wow, I hope that won't be the new norm! Maybe just for this busy time?

 

[sharonabe]

Oh wow, I hope that won't be the new norm! Maybe just for this busy time?

That would be my guess. They did the same thing when it first opened, but haven't seen reports of them doing it again for a year or so.

 

[sanapp]

Was it a night with an after hours event?

 

[a1tinkfans]

Remember when... disney seemed to bend over backwards to extend that big Mickey hand n be sure you were getting that Magical feel?
And now... people plan n plan for weeks if not months, and unfortunately don’t get pixie dusted with a FOP FP.. but they trudge on and do what they think best.
decide to wait in a long stand by line for an Open ride.. but alas .. they close the line an hour Before a park closing? .
Have they figured out that people are using the “ wait till closing” strategy to get on FOP stand by line and trying to put an end to it? It’s the only way we got to ride more than one visit.
It just reminds me of when 7 dwarfs opened ... 3 visits to the park and we never got a FP, refused to wait over 1.5 hours ( yes, by choice) and felt cheated.
.. and Oh so Disappointed.

Now... we just figure eventually an opportunity will arise where “ the latest” will avail itself to us, lol. Less stress, and More enjoyable.
It’s a choice, I get it.. but with break downs, delays, price increases, such long lines despite every time of year now, it wears one down.
Or it could just be this awful head cold getting the best of me.
It’s all good...

 

[sharonabe]

Was it a night with an after hours event?

Nope. Last one in Dec was the 18th and not another one until Jan 8.

 

[mfly]

Out of curiosity, what was the posted wait time when you entered the line, and how long did the line actually take?

 

[raider97]

Out of curiosity, what was the posted wait time when you entered the line, and how long did the line actually take?

Posted at 170 took 120.

 

[serene56]

I read all the time how people jump in the line at the last possible minute but i have not had luck with that-- as the line is already closed.

 

[Tiggerette]

Thank you for any insights. This is a strategy that one of my travel companions wants to use. (Jumping in line near the close of the park.) I'd like to let them know if it's not going to work out as they expect.

 

[DisneyOma]

They used to do this with 7DMT when it first opened, but when I reported on here, lots of posters jumped down my throat and said I was wrong. Well, hmmph to all of them!

 

[Darcy03231]

Wow, that's too bad. We used that strategy back in August and it worked great.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

It’s interesting that there is only one report of this, and nothing on the WDW app about the ride closing early.

Maybe there was a private event in Pandora after closing time last night.

I wouldn’t jump to conclusions and declare that the best strategy for this ride is no longer valid.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

They used to do this with 7DMT when it first opened, but when I reported on here, lots of posters jumped down my throat and said I was wrong. Well, hmmph to all of them!

I don’t ever remember 7D closing early. We’ve ridden it several times over the years at closing time or just after the fireworks and often find a 10 minute wait.

Our longest wait ever using this strategy was 20 minutes and that was during opening week in 2014.

 

[gharter]

Hopefully that is just for the really busy time of year. We have used the end of the night strategy in October, April and May and it has worked well. Rarely more than a 20 minute wait.

 

[DisneyOma]

I don’t ever remember 7D closing early. We’ve ridden it several times over the years at closing time or just after the fireworks and often find a 10 minute wait.

Our longest wait ever using this strategy was 20 minutes and that was during opening week in 2014.

It didn't close early; they had a placard stating the queue would close to new guests at a certain point.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

With the recent change of Disney closing more attractions before park closing I could see this being in line with that kind of thinking. Close the unpopular rides and the lines for the popular rides early to reduce the staffing and save money.

 

[merry_nbright]

That’s weird. I was there on Labor Day weekend and my friend and I were able to get in line right at 8:45 for a 9:00 closing and waited only 30 minutes for FOP. Maybe they’re changing things up.

 

[singingpixie]

Purely speculating, but it wouldn't surprise me if there was a certain amount of time after closing that they'd be willing to run the ride that wasn't indefinite. Ie. if the line is posted/inflated at 120 but really only 60-90 mins, they would leave the line open until park close. But if the line is legitimately long enough to expect waits of 2-3 hours (as is possible this week), closing the line early so guests aren't in the park/staff being paid/etc for several hours after closing would make a certain amount of sense.

 

[NEM]

2 days ago we got in line right at 8:57pm and got off at 10:20.