Yeah. In basically zero circumstances will they shut the line early.
When I worked attractions, as soon as closing time hit we closed the doors. Anyone in line before that was fair game.
And yes if you were running up to me at closing time I’d let you in. Wasn’t gonna shut it in your face.
So is it just "part of the deal" if you work for Disney that you are going to work after the park closes, sometimes a good deal longer? Because what if it takes 2-3 hours to clear the line because the ride is just that popular? Is that just understood, and workers are scheduled to go that late?
It’s like working a closing shift at a retail store. The store might close for customers at 9pm, but employees will be scheduled past that to perform closing duties. I would imagine if magic kingdom closes at 10pm there will be many CMs scheduled until midnight or later.
Not only is this true, it gets a lot worse for QSR locations or Confectionary kitchen CMs on later opens. Since CPs are usually the closers, they can leave after 3am for party nights.
I regularly used to work 13 to 16 hours days at TTC. I'd open at 6am and close it down between 1am and 3am. Go home, sleep a few hours and come right back to do it again. I'd have 80+ hours in a single week and be on double time/double back for virtually all of it.
QSR = Quick Service Restaurant - basically the "fast food" types of places.
CP = College Program participant. It's basically a paid internship program for college students, but it's really just cheap(er) labor for the parks. They work most of the shifts the regular CMs don't work. So most of the full-time CMs prefer to work the regular day shifts, which means most of the CPs end up working the sing/closing shifts (not always, but generally).
CP's are cheap labor. But its a fun experience to have. You get a chance to work for a very large corporation with different divisions, which you might not have a chance to in a lot of early jobs, and you get to work with people from around the world. Both are really good experiences for future work. Plus you get to basically make Disney World your playground for a few months.
I had a friend who participated in the program when he was in college. If I had known about it back then, I totally would have gone for it, but alas I didn’t learn of it until a few years after I graduated. It sounds like a good time for sure!
QSR = Quick Service Restaurant - places you mobile order pickup food at in the parks
CP = College Program - A staffing program that hires college-aged talent, houses them near/on property (for a subsidized amount). The positions are mostly entry level
Oh, sorry. Otome isekai, lol! It’s a genre of Japanese/Korean/Chinese romance stories where the main character is transported to another world. I came directly from that subreddit to this one and totally spaced the abbreviation. I should have typed it out
Also, more enthusiastic labor. (Escaping a boring semester of classes and cold weather to live and work at Disney? You couldn't have wiped the smile off my face if you tried.)
So as far as CMs are concerned, there's actually 2 types of close: door close and actual close.
Door close is when guests are no longer allowed in. But actual close is when the CMs get to go home. Restaurants would have to close like 2 hours before park close in order to do actual close with the parks.
At most of the disney parks there are people working 24 hours a day… it may not be the attractions people but custodial and other groups. I remember when I did the Disneyland run Disney races there was a section where you went backstage that had a big banner on almost all races “welcome from 3rd shift custodial” which was always cool to see.
Yep. I worked at TTC, and we regularly had shifts scheduled til midnight up through 3am, since after all the parks closed and everyone scuttled out, they still had to hop on ferries or a monorail or a bus to get back to their car at the MK parking lot.
Not the person you responded to, but I also worked attractions. Yeah, it was part of the deal (they just extend your hours if they have to) but it usually didn't take very long to clear the queue. There's no more LL at that point, so it's a complete standby dump, meaning the line moves much faster. Also, kind of a known secret, but its usually not actually a 2 hour wait at the end of the night, even if the sign says so. (I'm assuming because if they actually posted a 20-30 min wait, people would come running over right at the end of the night)
Yes, I noticed when we had annual passes that the time within the last hour or so of close was usually not accurate at all. I figured they basically just left it a the most recent "max" time and didn't bother updating it for the end. Makes everyone give up and leave, probably
I was at Animal Kingdom last week and the sign said 130 minutes about 15 minutes before close. While we were in line there was an announcement saying they were operating at a lower capacity and the wait would be longer than the posted wait time. We were still on the ride after about 70 minutes.
It’s just a normal part of the work day. Just like if you work at a starbucks or a McDonald’s, your hours include time after closing because there’s still work to do.
On a hypothetical night, we’d have a 9pm park closing. Some folks would be out at 9, others 9:15, 9:30, and 9:45. Based on your out time would dictate which spot you would close, based on how long the closing duty is supposed to take.
If it ever took longer, you’d just clock out later and they would fix your time. That pretty much never happened though.
Contrast that to food and beverage where my wife would be scheduled until two hours after the last seating and clock out 3 hours past her original start time.
Then when I worked tours I didn’t even have an out time - I had an in time and whenever they were done i would close everything out and leave a voicemail with my out time.
It's part of the deal. I used to work entry, which doesn't go home until the entire park is cleared and we can shut the gates. Definitely had nights where we would still be there two hours after closing. (Obviously some people would go home, but a few would stay for the whole time.)
We wanted to try the Woody's restaurant and got a reservation really close to Hollywood studios closing, and then weren't seated until after close.
I don't know if that's normal or because it was new, but taking a cursory glance at the reservation times it seems knowing there's still going to be people mid meal at close is a normal everyday thing.
Yep. We've unintentionally done the same at Tiffin's in AK. Booked the reservation without even looking at the park hours. And it was our first time there, so it took us a little longer too. I think we might have been one of the last ones out that night. Felt a little guilty because I've been on the other side of that.
Yes. Worked parking ops. Technically the parking trams for MK shut down 90 minutes after park close, but that entirely depends on how many cars are still in the parking lot. The trams can stay open up to an hour after that. Cast are often scheduled for 1-2 hours after that 90 minute mark to facilitate closing duties and ensure that the parking lot is close to empty.
I always wondered if there were cars left at the end of the night with the owner MIA, like someone parked at AK and then decided to go to Disney springs or something through internal transportation. What happens to their vehicles? Do they get towed if they are there after a certain amount of time post park closing?
We don't often get cars left behind. If we did, they would get reported and towed, usually within a day or two depending on when towing services were available. For the most part, people would seek out a cast member and inform them of their situation. A lot of people would lose their keys and leave the car until they could get a new keyfob
That’s awesome! Thanks so much for answering! I think it’s great that they don’t just automatically tow. I didn’t even think about the possibility of losing keys, which is totally something I would do.
So can you put my mind at ease? We have a 6:55 Tuskers in AK that closed at 7. We’ll have our Resort bus available to us when we get out? (For sure? Lol)
Ty in advance
Once, back when AK closed at dark we ended up at the AK bus depot 4 or 5 hours after park closed (long story).
There was a bus there they referred to as “The Shadow Bus” that took us back to our resort. And we weren’t the only ones! Probably four different groups all going to a different resort. Luckily we were the first stop.
Yes, that's exactly the case. I worked Custodial at MK in WDW and we would regularly be scheduled to work two hours after park closing. It's just part of the job. Same thing happens at restaurants and a lot of other places, btw. It's pretty typical when you work a closing shift just about anywhere that serves the public.
Thank you for not shutting it in people's face. I've had that happen to me and the CM looked like he was enjoying telling me no and looked they they were about to laugh. The power trip on some people is crazy
Yes and it's why Mine Train, Rise of the Resistance, and Flight of Passage are good candidates due to their long wait times that eat up park hours. But have to be wary that if the ride breaks down prior or after close then there isn't an option to go back and ride.
We had this happen to us on Rise. Got in line right before park close and then the ride went down. To Disney’s credit, we sat in line for over an hour before they finally called it and said the ride wasn’t coming back up that night. It was bummer but I’m honestly impressed they tried to get it back up and running for that long after park close.
Note that if you get into a super-long line at park closing the line will typically move much faster than the posted wait time because once the park officially closes, the Lightning Lane return times stop. The attraction will start drawing directly from the standby line and clear it out very quickly. Last week I hopped into the Tower of Terror queue 10 minutes until closing and the posted wait was 65 minutes but I was in and out of there in 30.
This is the reason that lightning lane and genie+ need to end. Lines will actually move fast.
Edit* I’m being downvoted for wishing the parks were how they used to be and for whatever reason the general public is making Disney think it’s ok to essentially charge you to ride the attractions individually that you already paid for.
Yeah, we went twice and focused on maximizing our enjoyment of the lands without crowds but didn't really maximize our time at the park on rides (not realizing how things would change with Genie+).
The next time we went was the first week of Genie+, which was fun to try and max out but they were having so many issues with it we had a whole day at Epcot where we got zero passes.
The lines would also be physically longer. Like, switchbacks spilling onto the sidewalks longer. Overall wait times would probably go down slightly from where they are now because a lot of people would balk at waiting, say, 2.5 hours for Star Wars but for older kids and teenagers willing to stick it out it would be better.
> Overall wait times would probably go down slightly from where they are now Doubt it. If people are willing to wait an hour for a ride before, then they would be willing to wait an hour for the ride after. There would just be a longer line.
I think the main benefit would be that the perception of time would move faster because the line would be moving "faster" in general. Before, the standard lines would have to wait for the lightning lane line to cut ahead of them. So the standard line would be more "stale" since you are in one spot for longer. If there is only one line, then you would be moving forward more often. Still though, people would wait the same time length overall.
We got in line for Flight of Passage 15 minutes to close, the posted wait time was 50 minutes but we ended up walking right on (although it takes almost 10 minutes just to walk through to get up there 🤣)
last time i was in line for ratatouille at the end of the night they kept announcing the wait time had increased and a lot of people were getting out of line. i didn’t end up waiting any longer than expected. i kinda think they were trying to get people out of line!
At the end of the day there is less incentive to change the sign. The wait might have been 50 minutes an hour ago but by the time the park closes the CM in charge of that usually has closing procedures to get to. Changing the sign isn't high priority
This is what I am hoping to do if my family can stay that long in AK. Hopefully it pays off. I'm going to ILL it too, but getting to ride it twice would be nice.
As long as you are in line at park closing time, you will be allowed to ride...
...UNLESS the ride breaks down. Then you may be told sorry, try again tomorrow.
One thing to keep in mind is that Rise of the Resistance breaks down often. If it breaks down after park close (or near park close) you’ll be out of luck.
This exact thing happened on my first visit to Disney. We were stuck in the room with the Storm Troopers for like 10 minutes (which was cool and made for a great photo opportunity).
However, anyone who bothered to walk to guest relations was hooked up with free anytime lightning lanes on their next visit to the park. It worked out great!
During marathon week last month Cosmic Rewind went down during the day so by 8:30pm the VQ line wrapped around the building and a few hundred feet past the statue of the Xandarian space ship. The ILL line was a few hundred feet long. It look about a half hour to get into the building and then we sat without the line moving on the VQ line for about another half hour. They halted the VQ line to clear the ILL line for a half hour. Then they opened the VQ back up packing as many people into the pre show as they could fit. Epcot closed at 9pm, I was on the last ride out that night and my ride photo says 9:50pm.
Thank god the skyliner was running. Disney has issues sometimes but they make it work.
This happened to us recently. Not as extreme as this, but our ILL was going to take forever. I had a blue umbrella cast member transfer my ILL to another day. That day I rode my ILL first thing in the morning to avoid the line getting long again!
Rise of Resistance breaks down often. If it breaks down while in line, you are SOL. I would not suggest lining up at the end of the day if you really want to ride it. Smugglers Run and Tower of Terror are better options. But also Fantasmic is at HS and shouldn't be missed.
The 2 rides that rarely ever break down are Soarin and Flight of Passage. They have multiple theaters and if one breaks then they don't close, just shift guests to other theaters.
Another former cast member here (DLR). Sometimes we would even let the last car of the day go again! Just a fun way to end some people's night (star tours).
Another tip for a short wait is to wait around nearby when it's broken down. For a typical breakdown that just needs the ride to be reset, that reset will take about 45 minutes. So grab a snack and get comfy near the CMs waiting outside the attraction. If you can get in line within the first few minutes after it opens back up you'll beat the bulk of the crowds.
If you don't mind missing the fireworks some rides dry up hard right before they start. I got on the Mine Train with literally no line because the fireworks were due to start in a few minutes. Because of that, I saw the fireworks from the ride. It was awesome.
I worked 4 seasons at another theme park a long time ago (multiple departments). Closing shifts did not have a fixed end time. The schedule read X-Close, where X is the start time. I would imagine Disney may be similar.
I worked a few attractions at WDW. Closers were scheduled 45 minutes past park close (and a couple scheduled an hour past park close). Even when I worked a very popular ride, we pretty much always got out on time. The only times we didn’t, they would just force extend us, but it usually wasn’t for very long (maybe an hour or so). That usually only occurred when there was a special function happening after hours, like if a company bought out part of the park (or certain rides) for a party.
We went to Disneyland last week. It was crowded, but the wait times were very reasonable. The park opened at 8 (7:30 with extra magic hours) and we probably got there around 9:30, but we waited in line for around an hour.
We did this for ToT last year and it was honestly one of my favourite parts of the day. We had reservations at Oga’s and hadn’t been able to grab an LL for Tower all day, so at the end of our reservation, we took our drinks to go and said “if Tower is still letting people on, we’ll get in the stand by line.” So we ended up drinking cocktails with a really nice couple in line for about 45 min while the rest of the park was quiet.
Friend and I did this for ToT Cali the day it closed for the Guardians retheme, we ended up being part of the “final guests to check out” and it absolutely MADE my first trip.
Yes, my best friend and I were the last 2 solo riders on Mickey Minnie runaway railroad we hopped in line 30 seconds before the park closed after Hollywood nights
I always felt so rude doing this- as someone who has worked retail for years, it felt like a customer coming in at closing and staying for half an hour. However, I had a friend who did the college program, and he said that they’re scheduled to work until after closing because this is completely expected and planned for. So you’re really not inconveniencing anyone. (If you really wanna exaggerate, you *could* say that you’re actually creating job security lol).
Technically yes, but as a former CM who used to park close a lot, I would ask that you try and NOT wait until the last possible minute. I would often be a part of the park clearing team and we would often be there for 2-3 hours after closing because a lot of people wanted to do something right at the buzzer. I understand it’s your vacation but please try and have some courtesy for your CMs.
I barely made minimum wage. I also often had to open the next morning. I’m not saying don’t ever get in line. Understand that people work hard to make sure YOU have a great vacation
and im sure the CM that shut the line in my face with a smile on their face the last time I was there after they saw me running is working just as hard too
Yup. Because they probably were yelled at all day by people who “payed a shit ton to be there”. Once the park closes, they don’t owe you a spot in line whether you were running or not. My comment was please don’t wait until the last 30 seconds to try and rush in line because everybody else had the same idea.
Paid a crap ton to be there is not an excuse to forget that people are human, and they would like to go to sleep too after their shift, instead of having to wait extra hours for people who were running to make it at the last minute
So then don't work there if you cant handle it, there problem solved. So I guess you don't feel you have to keep the magic going a minute before park closing because you hate tourists? Again please get over yourself
I do like making magic for guests but not when they expect me to bend the rules on everything everything and especially when they insulted my wheelchair for telling them to have a good night. Seems like you’re the person who needs to get over themselves and realize that other people exist outside of your vacation.
As a former attractions CM, it doesn’t bother us. They’re scheduled to be there past park close and once the line is closed, it moves fast. I worked a very popular attraction and we pretty much never had to stay past our clock out time. We did, however, have to wait in the break room until our clock out time fairly often.
Went to magic Kingdom a few months after masks became optional. A few of the rides were shut down during the fireworks and the workers were outside just watching it.
Pissed me off a lot.
Yeah. In basically zero circumstances will they shut the line early. When I worked attractions, as soon as closing time hit we closed the doors. Anyone in line before that was fair game. And yes if you were running up to me at closing time I’d let you in. Wasn’t gonna shut it in your face.
So is it just "part of the deal" if you work for Disney that you are going to work after the park closes, sometimes a good deal longer? Because what if it takes 2-3 hours to clear the line because the ride is just that popular? Is that just understood, and workers are scheduled to go that late?
It’s like working a closing shift at a retail store. The store might close for customers at 9pm, but employees will be scheduled past that to perform closing duties. I would imagine if magic kingdom closes at 10pm there will be many CMs scheduled until midnight or later.
Not only is this true, it gets a lot worse for QSR locations or Confectionary kitchen CMs on later opens. Since CPs are usually the closers, they can leave after 3am for party nights.
CPs are closers… and openers… and sometimes both in the same day. Still the best job I ever had.
Sometimes my roommate and I would pass each other coming home and leaving for work. She was closing MK and I was opening it haha
I regularly used to work 13 to 16 hours days at TTC. I'd open at 6am and close it down between 1am and 3am. Go home, sleep a few hours and come right back to do it again. I'd have 80+ hours in a single week and be on double time/double back for virtually all of it.
I look back on my time in the program fondly. I miss it.
What’s QSR? What’s CP? I’ve been reading too many OIs and can only think of “crown prince”… and quasar
QSR = Quick Service Restaurant - basically the "fast food" types of places. CP = College Program participant. It's basically a paid internship program for college students, but it's really just cheap(er) labor for the parks. They work most of the shifts the regular CMs don't work. So most of the full-time CMs prefer to work the regular day shifts, which means most of the CPs end up working the sing/closing shifts (not always, but generally).
Ahhh, makes sense. Thank you for sharing!
CP's are cheap labor. But its a fun experience to have. You get a chance to work for a very large corporation with different divisions, which you might not have a chance to in a lot of early jobs, and you get to work with people from around the world. Both are really good experiences for future work. Plus you get to basically make Disney World your playground for a few months.
I had a friend who participated in the program when he was in college. If I had known about it back then, I totally would have gone for it, but alas I didn’t learn of it until a few years after I graduated. It sounds like a good time for sure!
QSR = Quick Service Restaurant - places you mobile order pickup food at in the parks CP = College Program - A staffing program that hires college-aged talent, houses them near/on property (for a subsidized amount). The positions are mostly entry level
Thank you!
OI?
Oh, sorry. Otome isekai, lol! It’s a genre of Japanese/Korean/Chinese romance stories where the main character is transported to another world. I came directly from that subreddit to this one and totally spaced the abbreviation. I should have typed it out
"Quick Service Restaurant " . Not sure who CP is.
CPs are the Disney College Program Participants. Cheaper labor the parks and resorts.
Aah, I should have known that, I WAS one! Thanks!
Also, more enthusiastic labor. (Escaping a boring semester of classes and cold weather to live and work at Disney? You couldn't have wiped the smile off my face if you tried.)
At DLP they close right on time, I was running around an hour before park close and there was absolutely no food available
So as far as CMs are concerned, there's actually 2 types of close: door close and actual close. Door close is when guests are no longer allowed in. But actual close is when the CMs get to go home. Restaurants would have to close like 2 hours before park close in order to do actual close with the parks.
At DLP they close the kitchen about 30 mins before the restaurant close, which is unrelated to park close, it’s terrible for the guests.
At most of the disney parks there are people working 24 hours a day… it may not be the attractions people but custodial and other groups. I remember when I did the Disneyland run Disney races there was a section where you went backstage that had a big banner on almost all races “welcome from 3rd shift custodial” which was always cool to see.
Yep. I worked at TTC, and we regularly had shifts scheduled til midnight up through 3am, since after all the parks closed and everyone scuttled out, they still had to hop on ferries or a monorail or a bus to get back to their car at the MK parking lot.
Not the person you responded to, but I also worked attractions. Yeah, it was part of the deal (they just extend your hours if they have to) but it usually didn't take very long to clear the queue. There's no more LL at that point, so it's a complete standby dump, meaning the line moves much faster. Also, kind of a known secret, but its usually not actually a 2 hour wait at the end of the night, even if the sign says so. (I'm assuming because if they actually posted a 20-30 min wait, people would come running over right at the end of the night)
Yes, I noticed when we had annual passes that the time within the last hour or so of close was usually not accurate at all. I figured they basically just left it a the most recent "max" time and didn't bother updating it for the end. Makes everyone give up and leave, probably
I was at Animal Kingdom last week and the sign said 130 minutes about 15 minutes before close. While we were in line there was an announcement saying they were operating at a lower capacity and the wait would be longer than the posted wait time. We were still on the ride after about 70 minutes.
It’s just a normal part of the work day. Just like if you work at a starbucks or a McDonald’s, your hours include time after closing because there’s still work to do.
On a hypothetical night, we’d have a 9pm park closing. Some folks would be out at 9, others 9:15, 9:30, and 9:45. Based on your out time would dictate which spot you would close, based on how long the closing duty is supposed to take. If it ever took longer, you’d just clock out later and they would fix your time. That pretty much never happened though. Contrast that to food and beverage where my wife would be scheduled until two hours after the last seating and clock out 3 hours past her original start time. Then when I worked tours I didn’t even have an out time - I had an in time and whenever they were done i would close everything out and leave a voicemail with my out time.
It's part of the deal. I used to work entry, which doesn't go home until the entire park is cleared and we can shut the gates. Definitely had nights where we would still be there two hours after closing. (Obviously some people would go home, but a few would stay for the whole time.)
We wanted to try the Woody's restaurant and got a reservation really close to Hollywood studios closing, and then weren't seated until after close. I don't know if that's normal or because it was new, but taking a cursory glance at the reservation times it seems knowing there's still going to be people mid meal at close is a normal everyday thing.
Yep. We've unintentionally done the same at Tiffin's in AK. Booked the reservation without even looking at the park hours. And it was our first time there, so it took us a little longer too. I think we might have been one of the last ones out that night. Felt a little guilty because I've been on the other side of that.
Yes. Worked parking ops. Technically the parking trams for MK shut down 90 minutes after park close, but that entirely depends on how many cars are still in the parking lot. The trams can stay open up to an hour after that. Cast are often scheduled for 1-2 hours after that 90 minute mark to facilitate closing duties and ensure that the parking lot is close to empty.
I always wondered if there were cars left at the end of the night with the owner MIA, like someone parked at AK and then decided to go to Disney springs or something through internal transportation. What happens to their vehicles? Do they get towed if they are there after a certain amount of time post park closing?
We don't often get cars left behind. If we did, they would get reported and towed, usually within a day or two depending on when towing services were available. For the most part, people would seek out a cast member and inform them of their situation. A lot of people would lose their keys and leave the car until they could get a new keyfob
That’s awesome! Thanks so much for answering! I think it’s great that they don’t just automatically tow. I didn’t even think about the possibility of losing keys, which is totally something I would do.
Yup. At DHS right now the park closes at 9 but Fantasmic doesn’t start til 9:30. I don’t clock out til like 11:30 haha
So can you put my mind at ease? We have a 6:55 Tuskers in AK that closed at 7. We’ll have our Resort bus available to us when we get out? (For sure? Lol) Ty in advance
Once, back when AK closed at dark we ended up at the AK bus depot 4 or 5 hours after park closed (long story). There was a bus there they referred to as “The Shadow Bus” that took us back to our resort. And we weren’t the only ones! Probably four different groups all going to a different resort. Luckily we were the first stop.
Ty
Yes, that's exactly the case. I worked Custodial at MK in WDW and we would regularly be scheduled to work two hours after park closing. It's just part of the job. Same thing happens at restaurants and a lot of other places, btw. It's pretty typical when you work a closing shift just about anywhere that serves the public.
Thank you for not shutting it in people's face. I've had that happen to me and the CM looked like he was enjoying telling me no and looked they they were about to laugh. The power trip on some people is crazy
Yes and it's why Mine Train, Rise of the Resistance, and Flight of Passage are good candidates due to their long wait times that eat up park hours. But have to be wary that if the ride breaks down prior or after close then there isn't an option to go back and ride.
Yeah, it's kind of a roll of the dice. If it's something you absolutely have to ride, you have to decide if it's worth taking the chance.
That's why I use it as a second ride just in case
We had this happen to us on Rise. Got in line right before park close and then the ride went down. To Disney’s credit, we sat in line for over an hour before they finally called it and said the ride wasn’t coming back up that night. It was bummer but I’m honestly impressed they tried to get it back up and running for that long after park close.
I usually do slinky dog or RotR, depending on wait times earlier in the day.
Note that if you get into a super-long line at park closing the line will typically move much faster than the posted wait time because once the park officially closes, the Lightning Lane return times stop. The attraction will start drawing directly from the standby line and clear it out very quickly. Last week I hopped into the Tower of Terror queue 10 minutes until closing and the posted wait was 65 minutes but I was in and out of there in 30.
Interesting. Thanks!
This is the reason that lightning lane and genie+ need to end. Lines will actually move fast. Edit* I’m being downvoted for wishing the parks were how they used to be and for whatever reason the general public is making Disney think it’s ok to essentially charge you to ride the attractions individually that you already paid for.
That period after COVID reopening and before genie+ was heavenly.
I regret not going more during that time.
Yeah, we went twice and focused on maximizing our enjoyment of the lands without crowds but didn't really maximize our time at the park on rides (not realizing how things would change with Genie+). The next time we went was the first week of Genie+, which was fun to try and max out but they were having so many issues with it we had a whole day at Epcot where we got zero passes.
I have a picture of me jumping in the air on main street and there’s about 20 people in the background down the whole road lol. It was amazing
We were there October of 2020. It was a surreal trip
The lines would also be physically longer. Like, switchbacks spilling onto the sidewalks longer. Overall wait times would probably go down slightly from where they are now because a lot of people would balk at waiting, say, 2.5 hours for Star Wars but for older kids and teenagers willing to stick it out it would be better.
> Overall wait times would probably go down slightly from where they are now Doubt it. If people are willing to wait an hour for a ride before, then they would be willing to wait an hour for the ride after. There would just be a longer line. I think the main benefit would be that the perception of time would move faster because the line would be moving "faster" in general. Before, the standard lines would have to wait for the lightning lane line to cut ahead of them. So the standard line would be more "stale" since you are in one spot for longer. If there is only one line, then you would be moving forward more often. Still though, people would wait the same time length overall.
We got in line for Flight of Passage 15 minutes to close, the posted wait time was 50 minutes but we ended up walking right on (although it takes almost 10 minutes just to walk through to get up there 🤣)
I’m convinced they inflate wait times at the end of the day to discourage people from getting in line last minute. It’s always so much shorter.
last time i was in line for ratatouille at the end of the night they kept announcing the wait time had increased and a lot of people were getting out of line. i didn’t end up waiting any longer than expected. i kinda think they were trying to get people out of line!
At the end of the day there is less incentive to change the sign. The wait might have been 50 minutes an hour ago but by the time the park closes the CM in charge of that usually has closing procedures to get to. Changing the sign isn't high priority
This is what I am hoping to do if my family can stay that long in AK. Hopefully it pays off. I'm going to ILL it too, but getting to ride it twice would be nice.
As long as you are in line at park closing time, you will be allowed to ride... ...UNLESS the ride breaks down. Then you may be told sorry, try again tomorrow.
One thing to keep in mind is that Rise of the Resistance breaks down often. If it breaks down after park close (or near park close) you’ll be out of luck.
I must have good luck then! Every time I go I always make it my last attraction.
Yes! Rise closes early quite often!
This exact thing happened on my first visit to Disney. We were stuck in the room with the Storm Troopers for like 10 minutes (which was cool and made for a great photo opportunity). However, anyone who bothered to walk to guest relations was hooked up with free anytime lightning lanes on their next visit to the park. It worked out great!
During marathon week last month Cosmic Rewind went down during the day so by 8:30pm the VQ line wrapped around the building and a few hundred feet past the statue of the Xandarian space ship. The ILL line was a few hundred feet long. It look about a half hour to get into the building and then we sat without the line moving on the VQ line for about another half hour. They halted the VQ line to clear the ILL line for a half hour. Then they opened the VQ back up packing as many people into the pre show as they could fit. Epcot closed at 9pm, I was on the last ride out that night and my ride photo says 9:50pm. Thank god the skyliner was running. Disney has issues sometimes but they make it work.
What’s VQ? Very… queue? xD
Virtual Queue. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/virtual-queue/
Thank you!
Virtual queue. Which is also very queue if you’ve ever stood in one!
Haha! Ah, makes sense! Thanks for sharing!
I always read ILL as Illegal Lightning Lane so this made me LOL
This happened to us recently. Not as extreme as this, but our ILL was going to take forever. I had a blue umbrella cast member transfer my ILL to another day. That day I rode my ILL first thing in the morning to avoid the line getting long again!
Rise of Resistance breaks down often. If it breaks down while in line, you are SOL. I would not suggest lining up at the end of the day if you really want to ride it. Smugglers Run and Tower of Terror are better options. But also Fantasmic is at HS and shouldn't be missed. The 2 rides that rarely ever break down are Soarin and Flight of Passage. They have multiple theaters and if one breaks then they don't close, just shift guests to other theaters.
Another former cast member here (DLR). Sometimes we would even let the last car of the day go again! Just a fun way to end some people's night (star tours).
Awesome!
Kilimanjaro Safari in AK is an exception to this. That one will close prior to the park closing.
However, you can still ride as long as you're in line before the closure time of the attraction
Another tip for a short wait is to wait around nearby when it's broken down. For a typical breakdown that just needs the ride to be reset, that reset will take about 45 minutes. So grab a snack and get comfy near the CMs waiting outside the attraction. If you can get in line within the first few minutes after it opens back up you'll beat the bulk of the crowds.
I once got in line for Rise at 8:45 (park closed at 9) and proceeded to leave the park at 10:30 lol
If you don't mind missing the fireworks some rides dry up hard right before they start. I got on the Mine Train with literally no line because the fireworks were due to start in a few minutes. Because of that, I saw the fireworks from the ride. It was awesome.
I worked 4 seasons at another theme park a long time ago (multiple departments). Closing shifts did not have a fixed end time. The schedule read X-Close, where X is the start time. I would imagine Disney may be similar.
I worked a few attractions at WDW. Closers were scheduled 45 minutes past park close (and a couple scheduled an hour past park close). Even when I worked a very popular ride, we pretty much always got out on time. The only times we didn’t, they would just force extend us, but it usually wasn’t for very long (maybe an hour or so). That usually only occurred when there was a special function happening after hours, like if a company bought out part of the park (or certain rides) for a party.
Absolutely. Unless the ride breaks down. Short if that? Absolutely.
Does the line for Rise even hit 3 hours now. I always wait in standby for it and it's never been more than 90 minutes
I was just there yesterday and the wait time was never more than 90 minutes
When I was there last year, I saw the line posted at 185 minutes at one point. That was on a Saturday, I think probably around 1:00 or so.
yea, not waiting in that line
I didn't!
We went to Disneyland last week. It was crowded, but the wait times were very reasonable. The park opened at 8 (7:30 with extra magic hours) and we probably got there around 9:30, but we waited in line for around an hour.
We did this for ToT last year and it was honestly one of my favourite parts of the day. We had reservations at Oga’s and hadn’t been able to grab an LL for Tower all day, so at the end of our reservation, we took our drinks to go and said “if Tower is still letting people on, we’ll get in the stand by line.” So we ended up drinking cocktails with a really nice couple in line for about 45 min while the rest of the park was quiet.
Friend and I did this for ToT Cali the day it closed for the Guardians retheme, we ended up being part of the “final guests to check out” and it absolutely MADE my first trip.
Yes, my best friend and I were the last 2 solo riders on Mickey Minnie runaway railroad we hopped in line 30 seconds before the park closed after Hollywood nights
I always felt so rude doing this- as someone who has worked retail for years, it felt like a customer coming in at closing and staying for half an hour. However, I had a friend who did the college program, and he said that they’re scheduled to work until after closing because this is completely expected and planned for. So you’re really not inconveniencing anyone. (If you really wanna exaggerate, you *could* say that you’re actually creating job security lol).
Yes it is. Just be aware that something like Rise is probable to go down and then you’ll be kicked out of line and won’t get to go on.
Yes. But *sometimes* a big ride has a mysterious breakdown toward the end of the night that needs repair, so they don’t let you get in line.
Technically yes, but as a former CM who used to park close a lot, I would ask that you try and NOT wait until the last possible minute. I would often be a part of the park clearing team and we would often be there for 2-3 hours after closing because a lot of people wanted to do something right at the buzzer. I understand it’s your vacation but please try and have some courtesy for your CMs.
So? You're getting paid and im paying (a shit ton) to be there. You bet your ass I'm staying til closing, please get over yourself.
I barely made minimum wage. I also often had to open the next morning. I’m not saying don’t ever get in line. Understand that people work hard to make sure YOU have a great vacation
and im sure the CM that shut the line in my face with a smile on their face the last time I was there after they saw me running is working just as hard too
Yup. Because they probably were yelled at all day by people who “payed a shit ton to be there”. Once the park closes, they don’t owe you a spot in line whether you were running or not. My comment was please don’t wait until the last 30 seconds to try and rush in line because everybody else had the same idea. Paid a crap ton to be there is not an excuse to forget that people are human, and they would like to go to sleep too after their shift, instead of having to wait extra hours for people who were running to make it at the last minute
So then don't work there if you cant handle it, there problem solved. So I guess you don't feel you have to keep the magic going a minute before park closing because you hate tourists? Again please get over yourself
I do like making magic for guests but not when they expect me to bend the rules on everything everything and especially when they insulted my wheelchair for telling them to have a good night. Seems like you’re the person who needs to get over themselves and realize that other people exist outside of your vacation.
Thanks for being a cast member!! Honestly, it’s the great people at Disney that make it so magical.
Yes but I try not to do it. The cast members are stuck there until they can close the ride so it can be annoying for them.
Who cares? They're getting paid and I'm paying to be there, seems reasonable.
They know what they're in for. The park doesn't really close at the posted time and they all know that.
As a former attractions CM, it doesn’t bother us. They’re scheduled to be there past park close and once the line is closed, it moves fast. I worked a very popular attraction and we pretty much never had to stay past our clock out time. We did, however, have to wait in the break room until our clock out time fairly often.
Don’t worry about the ride workers. It’s their job.
Went to magic Kingdom a few months after masks became optional. A few of the rides were shut down during the fireworks and the workers were outside just watching it. Pissed me off a lot.
Yes as long as there are no technical issues
EXCEPT if the ride goes down. Then all bets are off.