Getting in Line for Ride at Closing Time

kjpotter · Mar 4, 2015

If the park closes at 7pm, would we be able to get in line for FJ at 6:59pm even if it's an hour wait?

What if it's a Grad Night?

Thanks!

Cherryb · Mar 4, 2015

I don't know about Grad Nights so I can't answer that. You can't do 6:59 if there is a line, last time I was there Gringotts was 30 min and they were turning people at the entrance and at 6:30 you were not able to get a locker (they were closed).

kjpotter · Mar 4, 2015

That is good to know. What about quick service? Are places like Three Broomsticks open until park close?

We will only have 2 days in the parks, so we are looking to maximize our time.

Kivara · Mar 4, 2015

All I know, is don't plan on getting icees or butterbeer at closing. The worker told us, they turn off the icee machines 30 minutes before closing. We got butterbeers right before closing once, from the HogsHead, for our walk back to our hotel...the mix was off, the top was seperated a bit & we ended up chucking them in a bin after a few sips.

Cherryb · Mar 4, 2015

I think they all stop serving minutes before closing (30 min as previous poster said). You can get in the stores and at 7:00 they will close but won't kick you out of the one you're at.

johde · Mar 4, 2015

Cherryb said:
I don't know about Grad Nights so I can't answer that. You can't do 6:59 if there is a line, last time I was there Gringotts was 30 min and they were turning people at the entrance and at 6:30 you were not able to get a locker (they were closed).

For the most part, I think Gringotts is the exception to no getting in line a closing. I got in line for the Hogwarts Express 5 minutes before closing on the IOA side. The let us know that by the time we got to USF the park would be closed. We ended up getting there about 2-3 minutes into Cinematic Spectacular.

I would guess there would also potentially be a problem getting in line right at closing on Grad Nites and HHN where they are trying to clear the parks.

HM · Mar 4, 2015

We got in line (Express) about 5 minutes before closing at Minions.

DPCummerbund · Mar 4, 2015

Wow, the responses in this thread are quite a bit different than what I had heard in the past. I have been told that the park "really" stays open an hour or so past the posted closing time (though I had heard that some restaurants, food stands, etc. might close early). If they start shutting down rides and shops promptly at closing or earlier that's going to be a bummer.

Kivara · Mar 5, 2015

Probably a lot will depend on how long the lines are and if you have express pass.

If the park, say, closes at 8, and the regular line is at a half hour wait...they USUALLY stop letting people get in line at 7:30. Those people will be just boarding the ride at 8, then riding, then making their way out of the park. If they kept letting people in a long line, the park would never close...haha!

But, if the line is shorter or you have express pass, they usually take that into consideration. As with all theme parks, they do try to keep people happy, so they don't yank people out of line & kick them out...but they have to stop the queue sometime.

So, yes, the parks do stay open about an hour after "closing time" to let people finish up and meander out; but if a line in already at a half hour wait, I wouldn't plan on jumping in line at 5 mins til closing.

Cherryb · Mar 5, 2015

I do think it had something to do with the line. Gringotts was 30 min wait and it was like 15 min to park closing. Also the next day I was at a simpsons store and they did close at 7 but they didn't kick out me or any of the other people that were inside. I wanted a donut and when I exit the store they were already closed. The big store at the entrance (Universal Company Store?) DID close later, but it was really crowded.

johde · Mar 5, 2015

Cherryb said:
I do think it had something to do with the line. Gringotts was 30 min wait and it was like 15 min to park closing. Also the next day I was at a simpsons store and they did close at 7 but they didn't kick out me or any of the other people that were inside. I wanted a donut and when I exit the store they were already closed. The big store at the entrance (Universal Company Store?) DID close later, but it was really crowded.

At times I think Universal (and Disney) inflate the wait times near closing to discourage people from getting in line. It's a Disney example but I got in line for 7DMT at 12:15 a.m. (1:00 a.m. closing). The posted wait time was 1 hour. I waited about 35 minutes. I was able to make a beeline over to Peter Pan that listed a 40 min. wait time (at 12:45 a.m.) and basically walk on after a slow stroll through the new queue. I'm sure Universal does the same thing at times. I will agree with everyone else though about the dining. There have been times just prior to Cinematic Spectacular that I can find anything open for a snack (even around the lake). To the OP, if you want to maximize your time in the parks, you may want to plan on eating a "late" dinner in City Walk. The City Walk restaurants will stay open until 2:00 a.m.

*LittleMermaid* · Mar 5, 2015

I will tell you my experience. Lets say that the parks close at 7:00. You are allowed in line until 7:00 PM. If you are in line, then you ride. I have noticed a few exceptions. The other day during one of the days that Gringott's was down almost all day. The ride opened 45 minutes before park close. It was 7:05 PM and I still saw them letting people in line. They had a 30 minute posted wait time. I do not know at what time they stopped because I left the area. During days when Gringott's just opened and had wait times of 5 hours, they had to cut the line early in order to close on time.

Imagineer22 · Mar 7, 2015

When we were there in February they would let people into the lines right up to park close time. One night we got to Rip Ride Rocket 2 minutes before closing. The ride attendant at the line was shouting out how much longer the line would be open. They let everyone know they would not hold the line open if you were putting something in a locker. The standby line was posted at 30min wait. We were one of the last people in the single rider line. Express was way backed up, Single Riders was to the bottom of the stairs and the standby looked pretty long as well. About 20 minutes after the park closed the express line was finally empty, next they cleared the single rider line by filling trains from the single rider line only (even though there was still stand by riders). There was about 2 trains full of singles left in line at that time. The standby line was down to the switchback on the load platform (maybe 4 trains worth or so).

I never saw if Gringotts closed early. I did see Transformers close its line right at park closing time one night and Mummy as well, so I assume most rides keep their lines open till the very end.

macraven · Mar 8, 2015

DPCummerbund said:
Wow, the responses in this thread are quite a bit different than what I had heard in the past. I have been told that the park "really" stays open an hour or so past the posted closing time (though I had heard that some restaurants, food stands, etc. might close early). If they start shutting down rides and shops promptly at closing or earlier that's going to be a bummer.

a lot of different experiences for everyone.
some dates you can get in a ride line before closing and sometimes it is different based on the ride.

i've been shut out on gringotts once at an hour before closing as the inside building was estimated to have all on the ride around closing time. (7:00 closing on the night i went for in october)
but, on a different night, was let in for the ride 15 minutes before closing time.
it's changable based on the number already inside the building.
and if a ride breaks down, no one really knows how that will upset the line waits when it first happens.

the restaurants tend to stop taking orders about 30 minutes to closing time.
but, if you want to eat at Louies, and there is food available, it is quite possible that you can order that food.
i was lucky last fall and what they already had made up was what i wanted to purchase.
allowed to get food around 20 minutes before closing time.
i used louies as an example as twice i was able to get food there in october and last january.

i guess exceptions can be made at different eateries in the park.
if the food is still on the counter area, it's wiser to sell it than to have to toss it at closing time.

i'm in the parks for 12-13 days for my fall stays so i have the time to return for a ride a lot more easier than those that are only there for one or two days.
those that have a limited time for the parks, can get really sad if they are unable to do the rides they have looked forward to doing.

i wish i could say if you are in a line before closing time, you will be able to ride it.
sometimes it doesn't work out that way.

Getting in Line for Ride at Closing Time

kjpotter

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Cherryb

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kjpotter

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Kivara

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Cherryb

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johde

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HM

My tag from the Tag Fairy is now too long to use.

DPCummerbund

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Kivara

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Cherryb

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johde

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LittleMermaid

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Imagineer22

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macraven

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