Extended Evening Hours question

[wdwfan94]

On headliners, you can get extra-long lines at park close from the surge of regular ticketholders getting in at close and the crowd of EEH guests thinking they will get a short line.

Waiting in a long line can eat up your EEH time, so try to be strategic about what attractions you do first.

Data point: I got in line for Guardians once near park closing and wasn’t off until shortly after 10pm on an EEH night when I wasn’t staying deluxe. So anyone who got in line at 9:01pm wasn’t getting off until after 10pm and using more than half of their EEH time in that line - at least on that night.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Data point: I got in line for Guardians once near park closing and wasn’t off until shortly after 10pm on an EEH night when I wasn’t staying deluxe. So anyone who got in line at 9:01pm wasn’t getting off until after 10pm and using more than half of their EEH time in that line - at least on that night.

Guardians at close is rough, especially if there are any operational challenges during the day— they have to clear out everybody who hopped in line as a last ride and also everybody with a LL—and that LL can be daunting towards the end of the night.

 

[MrBarraclough]

Do you get a special bracelet? What’s to stop everyone from just staying without having a deluxe hotel reservation?

There are no LLs during EEH. Or more precisely, there's no standby because they direct everyone through the LL at that point (or at least use the LL touchpoints if they need to use the longer standby queue) so you have to scan in to every ride.

 

[MrBarraclough]

Related to this thread, anyone know how Disney keeps track of people in the parks are actually staying at a deluxe? My wife and I attend the EPCOT extended hours and was astounded at how many people were there after the fireworks. We wanted early access to the Remi, however, the HUGE surge of people immediately following the fireworks was very surprising. We were lucky the wait was about 15 minutes (strategically located near France during fireworks and bee-lined to Remi), however, when we left, the wait had exceeded 60 minutes. We were going to try for Frozen, however the wait was over 80 minutes, and skipped. We did not see anyone checking bands for entry. It seemed the park was open to everyone for the extended hours.

They scan MBs/cards at the queues. What you were seeing were non-EEH guests who hopped in line just before regular park closing hours. Disney policy is to let guests ride if they joined the queue prior to park close. It can sometimes take an hour or so to clear the last-minute day guests out of the standby line.

Depending on queue layout, for some rides they may close off the standby line at park closing and direct EEH guests through the LL queue.

Personally, on EEH nights, I wish Disney would start closing standby lines for at least the more popular attractions once the standby wait exceeds the remaining regular park hours by some set margin. Say, something like 150%, so if the standby wait is 45 minutes at 30 minutes to park close, they should close the line to non-EEH guests at that point.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Personally, on EEH nights, I wish Disney would start closing standby lines for at least the more popular attractions once the standby wait exceeds the remaining regular park hours by some set margin. Say, something like 150%, so if the standby wait is 45 minutes at 30 minutes to park close, they should close the line to non-EEH guests at that point.

There is no need to close the lines early. Disney already has very effective processes in place to discourage late riders and funnel them toward the gift shops and eventually the exits. Those lines are nowhere near as long as you think they are.

We first learned about Line Stacking in the 1997 Unofficial Guide and have been using the info to our advantage ever since. They close off a majority of the waiting area making the line appear much longer than it actually is, then post an intentionally inflated wait time that is anywhere between 2 and 4 times the actual wait. That’s really all they need to do.