Disney’s Awesome Things #3: Jumping in Line Right Before Closing Time
January 25, 2010 at 4:11 pm Matt 6 comments
#3Whether you like it or not, Walt Disney World is full of waits. Sure, if you’re an expert of the parks like me you can weasel out of a few ride waits, but there’s no getting around it: we’re stuck in line most of our trip.
Imagine it’s your last day of vacation in the Resort. The whole family is sad (well, at least most of them) and you’re running out of time to do stuff. Sure the park is fairly empty, but what is there to do? You walk towards the exit in a depressed state. But wait, there’s hope!
The park closes at 1:00 AM – what time is it now? Exactly 12:59 AM. Your family now happily runs like maniacs to their favorite ride nearby. Sure you have to get up early the next morning, but who cares? This is a passport to your favorite ride with no wait, no people, no noise, and no crowds.
I’ll let you go – it’s not time to enjoy your last moments in the park.
Photo by Joe Penniston of Splash Mountain’s queue
Entry filed under: Disney's Awesome Things. Tags: Animal Kingdom, awesome things, closing time, crowds, Disney, Disney World, Disney's Awesome Things, disney's hollywood studios, Epcot, line, magic kingdom, orlando, park, park closing, queue, ride, theme park, themepark, vacation, wait, Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort, WDW.
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1.
Joseph Stockton | January 25, 2010 at 8:48 pm
I need some info. You look like a veteran of WDW. Here are my Q’s.
How can I get a list of show times in the 4 WDW parks?
How many features in the 4 parks have extended rides through
the various park areas?
Do you just walk from line to line?
We are going the first week in June. Can you venture an estimate
of what percentage of each park can one make in a day?
How does FASTPASS work?
If you can’t or just don’t wish to comment, no problem. I still enjoyed your blog.
JOE
2.
Matt | January 26, 2010 at 10:39 am
Hey Joseph! I’m happy to answer any questions I can.
1) If you mean times for parades and fireworks, then check out this page: http://intercot.com/infocentral/calendar/events.asp If you mean times for things like action/stunt shows, etc. then you’ll want to get that info when you check in (if you stay at a Disney resort) or at the parks’ entrance when you arrive. I believe you can’t get this ahead of time because the times can vary day by day. Also, not all parks have live stage shows. I’m pretty sure Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the main one.
2) Not too sure what you’re asking. Each park has different “lands” with different themed rides, attractions, and restaurants. Not one ride goes to different areas of a park. (Except for example boats on the World Showcase lagoon that can take you across.)
3) You can walk from line to line. Disney is not normal in that they don’t simply have ride buildings set up one right after the other. There’s different pathways to explore taking you to different themed sections of the park. You’re free to do whatever you want! Food is also spread out between rides and themed areas, so there’s always plenty to choose from.
4) June will be crowded simply because lots of people get off in the summer. If you’re going to take it slow and enjoy the parks, then I think two days minimum for each park should be good. Animal Kingdom is possible to get done in one day maybe. Magic Kingdom and Epcot are the most popular and crowded parks with the most to do. Magic Kingdom has seven themed lands. Epcot has only two, but there’s a lot to each one. World Showcase in Epcot can easily be explored in one full day. Then the second can be spent in Future World, where most of the attractions are. (World Showcase has two boat rides only).
5) Fastpass is a free service by Disney. All you have to do is go to a Fastpass machine located near a ride entrance (not all rides feature FP). You then put your park ticket into the machine and you’ll receive your park ticket back along with a FP ticket. (Do this for each member of your party). The ticket has a time frame when you can return to the ride. When you return, you’ll find the FP queue (usually has a clock above it) and hop on! The FP tickets aren’t unlimited though – once you get one per ticket, it will say at the bottom of your FP what time you can get another one, which is usually about an hour or two after the current time. For information on which attractions offer FP and more details, here’s a helpful page on WDW Central: http://wdwcentral.wordpress.com/plan/fastpass/
Hope this helps, Joe – let me know if you have any other questions!
3.
chris | January 26, 2010 at 12:35 am
We do this too. One of my favorite things to do is jump on a ride (a lot of times, the CMs are all smiles because they just got an energy boost right before closing and they’re happy to see guests happy for one last ride), ride a quick ride, and then wait in the park until most of the people for have left. Last May I did a trip with my best friend and it was great just sitting there watching the castle change color and talking. It’s probably one of my favorite Disney memories. You really can’t beat the view of an almost empty Main Street as you leave, either.
4.
Matt | January 26, 2010 at 10:40 am
I agree Chris. It’s also a wonderful photo opportunity as well. An empty Main Street, beautiful castle, and no PEOPLE!
That is a good Disney memory. Thanks for sharing. =)
5.
Ashley | January 26, 2010 at 1:29 am
Hi – what is the picture of in your Jan. 25 e-mail. I cannot recognize where it is & I am embarrassed to ask this because I worked at WDW for 4 years. When you post the pictures, will you also list what they are of? Thank you!!!
6.
Matt | January 26, 2010 at 10:43 am
Don’t be embarrassed Ashley! It’s sort of hard to tell – it’s a picture of the Splash Mountain queue lat at night empty.
From now on I’ll definitely put where it was taken. Just look for it at the bottom of the post next to the “Photo by” caption.
Thanks for popping your head in, hope you’re enjoying the emails!