"Get in line at closing time" strategy

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I wouldn't push it right until X:59 but if you enter within a few minutes of closing time you are allowed to ride. I am not sure, but I think I have read that if FOP is too full they cut off the line early? Someone might be able to verify that. In all honesty, this is not a strategy I'd count on.

They haven't done this since the first few weeks that FOP was open, and only then because they didn't want overly long lines in place when the nightly EMH started.

Disney has other processes in place to make the lines appear longer than they really are to discourage late night riders. You can often find the actual wait time to be about one-fourth of the posted wait, even on the most popular attractions.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

anyone know how long I could stroll (Pandora ) after closing before kicked out? I just want pics no ride. I have the ride fp+s but not for the night time shows. I have a 7:45 rol. I am not sure from 5:30-7 I could fit Pandora in and if it will be dark enough, but if not, could I head over after the rol? If the lines still open for the ride.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Is this true? If so, why isn't this strategy more often employed then rope drop for FOP tickets since this would be a much shorter wait?

You'll find the shortest lines of the day during the hour or so before closing time in all parks. Just keep in mind that wait times are intentionally exaggerated at night to discourage late riders. I first read about some of the tactics in place in the 1999 unofficial guide so this is nothing new.

Most guest get scared off by the posted times, so I guess their strategy works.

 

[Cirlonde]

As a former cast member, as well as a former ride operator at a non-Disney amusement park, yep, this. The non-Disney park I worked at had us close lines ahead of time because they only had us scheduled for something like a half hour past park closing -- if Disney didn't schedule their CMs to accommodate post-closing queues, they wouldn't let you get in line. It's been factored into their work schedules, same as they factor in the need for merchandise CMs to stick around for a while after the official closing time to sell you stuff on the way out.

This makes me feel better...if the CM working actually considers the end of the work day to be 11pm even though the park closes at 9pm, then me getting in line at 8:55 isn't really the same as showing up at the bank at 4:55.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

We used the get in line 15 minutes before Park close strategy at FOP once but we also has multiple FPs for the ride during our stay.

I’m not sure I’d do it this way if it were my only chance to ride based on the multiple reasons given by PPs.

And yes, the queue wait time posted was indeed exaggerated. My recollection was a posted 90 minute wait and we waited about 35-40 minutes.

 

[DisneyOma]

I remember running into that with one of the mountains (space or splash?) years ago. The park was still open but they had closed the line for numbers reasons.

I think it depends. Last week I was at HS and they closed the ToT standby entrance about 1 hour prior to park close. FP was still open, and it looked like the Fp entrance has gotten so backed up that they closed standby.

I've been at MK when the 7DMT queue had a sign saying the queue would close before park closing. This was back when it had just opened though.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

anyone know how long I could stroll (Pandora ) after closing before kicked out? I just want pics no ride. I have the ride fp+s but not for the night time shows. I have a 7:45 rol. I am not sure from 5:30-7 I could fit Pandora in and if it will be dark enough, but if not, could I head over after the rol? If the lines still open for the ride.

Last week when we were there, they had a sign as soon as you entered AK that Pandora would be closing at 6pm. When we exited RoL (just about 6) I saw CM's encouraging people to work their way out of that section of the park. I do not know if that was particular to the day we were there or if that was a more general thing.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

There's no guarantee it will be a shorter wait than rope drop.

Here's my favorite Rope Drop story:

I had a co-worker recently telling me about her trip to Disney World. They seemed to be pretty good planners and tried to maximize their time the best they could.

She was very excited to tell me about her experience riding Midway Mania without a Fast Pass. The got up really early, got to the gates about 45 minutes before they opened and waited in a pretty large crowd. Then they hurried as fast as they could to the ride and the wait was *only* 15 minutes. By the time they got off the line was almost an hour long. There were people all over the place.

I rode the same ride 4 times in about an hour late at night and didn't have to deal with the crowds.

 

[dlavender]

Here's my favorite Rope Drop story:

I had a co-worker recently telling me about her trip to Disney World. They seemed to be pretty good planners and tried to maximize their time the best they could.

She was very excited to tell me about her experience riding Midway Mania without a Fast Pass. The got up really early, got to the gates about 45 minutes before they opened and waited in a pretty large crowd. Then they hurried as fast as they could to the ride and the wait was *only* 15 minutes. By the time they got off the line was almost an hour long. There were people all over the place.

I rode the same ride 4 times in about an hour late at night and didn't have to deal with the crowds.

We will try this with FOP tomorrow night and report back.

 

[joelkfla]

Last week when we were there, they had a sign as soon as you entered AK that Pandora would be closing at 6pm. When we exited RoL (just about 6) I saw CM's encouraging people to work their way out of that section of the park. I do not know if that was particular to the day we were there or if that was a more general thing.

Pandora doesn't normally close earlier than the rest of the park. There was probably some sort of private event. Companies (and even wealthy individuals) can rent sections of the parks for private parties.

 

[Wubar]

Pandora doesn't normally close earlier than the rest of the park. There was probably some sort of private event. Companies (and even wealthy individuals) can rent sections of the parks for private parties.

I didn't know that. I would probably be somewhat upset if I had made plans for an entire day at AK, only to find out the day of that an entire land was closed off to the public at 5pm. Yeeesh.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I think it depends. Last week I was at HS and they closed the ToT standby entrance about 1 hour prior to park close. FP was still open, and it looked like the Fp entrance has gotten so backed up that they closed standby.

That's interesting. during the summer, ToT is the only ride that will stay open later than park closing time. When Fantasmic is performed a half hour after the park closes, ToT will often keep the gates open for about 20 minutes after the rest of the park closes. This allows for a couple of extra rerides before heading to the amphitheater for showtime.

Another one that used to stay open late was TSMM. A few summers ago, this attraction would close an hour early to get ready for the Star Wars fireworks. In reality, they had to clear the area 20 minutes before showtime so they would leave the ride open up to a half hour later than the posted closing time if the line was short. This was another good way to pick up 2 or 3 quick rerides before they actually put the chain up.

This summer, our goal is to be able to ride FoP twice consecutively without a Fast Pass. The plan is to hit the ride 45-60 minutes before closing time and hope the inflated wait time has scared off a good number of potential riders. If all goes well, we should have enough time to make it through and back to the ride entrance before the park closes. I'm fairly certain that this same strategy won't work in the morning. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[WEDWDW]

This strategy also "extends" the Park day for Guests in the same way that arriving at DAK 90 minutes before Park Open allows a Guest to ADD time to the Park day by "standing in line" for FoP for 90 minutes BEFORE the Park opens INSTEAD of arriving AT Park Open and standing in line then.

 

[AZGurl]

We did this a couple of weeks ago for FOP at AK. The park closed at 8pm, posted standby wait time was 120 minutes. We got in line at 7:30pm and were off the ride very close to 10pm. We were ushered quickly out of the park and onto the Disney buses. My only comment is they may need to add a bathroom somewhere along the ride queue!

 

[PollyannaMom]

...why isn't this strategy more often employed than rope drop...?

Simply because I don't like to stay up late. Otherwise, I'd do it.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

This strategy also "extends" the Park day for Guests in the same way that arriving at DAK 90 minutes before Park Open allows a Guest to ADD time to the Park day by "standing in line" for FoP for 90 minutes BEFORE the Park opens INSTEAD of arrivng AT Park Open and standing in line then.

Also, the line can be considerably shorter at night than in the morning. For example, I checked FoP stats on Touring Plans recently and saw the following:

30 minutes after opening:
Posted Wait - 210 minutes
Actual Wait - 240 minutes

30 minutes before closing:
Posted Wait - 60 minutes
Actual Wait - 30 minutes

That's a big difference.

 

[dlavender]

Also, the line can be considerably shorter at night than in the morning. For example, I checked FoP stats on Touring Plans recently and saw the following:

30 minutes after opening:
Posted Wait - 210 minutes
Actual Wait - 240 minutes

30 minutes before closing:
Posted Wait - 60 minutes
Actual Wait - 30 minutes

That's a big difference.

Well, we tried it tonight. Got in line for FOP at 9:33. Posted wait of 135 minutes. Off the ride at 10:50. So wait was really bout an hour. Not too shabby. I’m a believer.

 

[twodogs]

I believe the waits at closing are exaggerated to discourage getting in line, and waits at closing will be shorter than morning (unless near front of RD crowd). However, if your only chance to ride for your entire trip is going to be at or near closing, be prepared to possibly skip it entirely IF the ride goes down. This happened the first time we rode/tried to ride TT in Epcot. It had been raining on and off all day. Our FPs from earlier in the day for TT could be used anytime later that day since it went down during our FP window. We didn’t get back to the ride until about 30 minutes prior to park close. Got in line and were actually boarding the ride vehicle when the ride went down again. They said they would not be reopening the ride that night since it was almost closing and there wasn’t time to fix the issue. They gave us a FP for the next day, but we were leaving to go home the next day! It took us two years to get back to WDW, and TT was the priority for my DD after just missing her first ride on it!

 

[scrapquitler]

I wouldn't push it right until X:59 but if you enter within a few minutes of closing time you are allowed to ride. I am not sure, but I think I have read that if FOP is too full they cut off the line early? Someone might be able to verify that. In all honesty, this is not a strategy I'd count on.

When we tried to ride FOP late at night back a few weeks after it opened, they did indeed close the line about an hour before the scheduled park close. I don't know if they still do that, but the potential is probably there.

 

[scrapquitler]

Last week when we were there, they had a sign as soon as you entered AK that Pandora would be closing at 6pm. When we exited RoL (just about 6) I saw CM's encouraging people to work their way out of that section of the park. I do not know if that was particular to the day we were there or if that was a more general thing.

Thursday the week before Thanksgiving? There was a private event in Pandora and that's why the area was closing to regular park guests early at 6PM.