If you take an afternoon break, when do you ride the "afternoon" rides?

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I think the link I posted to shows actual (albeit averaged) wait times, but maybe that's just something I assumed. Correct me if I'm wrong. There have been lots of reports of posted wait times outside of attractions being wrong. Mostly I see reports that they're exaggerated. Sometimes, I see reports that they're worse than what's posted. Seems like there would be a way to make these more accurate.

Holy crap. TOT 13 times? That's like a nightmare I had once.

I don't believe that Easy has access to the actual waits anymore. I do know that Disney keeps two sets of books.

 

[sleepymouse]

No, we do this on non-EMH nights when the bulk of the crowd is waiting for Fantasmic. I've got another tip for fireworks nights that works just as well.

Don't know if your tip would help for Frozen fireworks night. If so would love to hear it since TSMM closes by 8:45 on those nights.

 

[Disneylover99]

At DHS, the kids rode Tower of Terror 13 times in 2 hours recently when the posted wait was 30 minutes.

Is this even possible?

By the time you get to the library, watch the video, go to the loading zone, wait to get on, board, ride, go through the gift shop and back up again.....I'm thinking even a complete walk on would take 15 minutes from start to finish.

Or were they just allowed to stay on the ride because nobody was getting on. Is that what you meant?

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Don't know if your tip would help for Frozen fireworks night. If so would love to hear it since TSMM closes by 8:45 on those nights.

This works for both Star Wars and Frozen fireworks.

They have to clear the area 15 minutes before the scheduled fireworks starting time. So if fireworks are at 9:30, the Pixar area has to be empty by 9:15. Toy Story "closes" at 8:45 only if the actual wait is 30 minutes, which it usually isn't by that time of night.

If the line is short, they will leave the entrance open until shortly after 9 pm, giving guests in the area time for a couple more rerides with very little waiting.

The ride isn't actually closed until the chain at the door goes up.

Tower of Terror sometimes stays open for a few minutes after the park closes, but I can't figure out the pattern. It's usually good for a few last minute rides before heading over to the late showing of Fantasmic. We try to enter the ampitheater right at show time, as its rarely much over half full for 2nd performance.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Is this even possible?

By the time you get to the library, watch the video, go to the loading zone, wait to get on, board, ride, go through the gift shop and back up again.....I'm thinking even a complete walk on would take 15 minutes from start to finish.

Or were they just allowed to stay on the ride because nobody was getting on. Is that what you meant?

No you can't stay on Tower. They had to go around each time. I sat on a bench near the exit and watched them run by every 9 or 10 minutes of so. They were about to stop after 11 trips at 9:45 but I encouraged them to go through 2 more times, mostly because I didn't want to go ride RnR again.

The bigger challenge in my opinion was Space Mtn 4 times in 35 minutes. That's a long walk in an out of the ride but it can be done in 9 minutes.

 

[itchin2go]

I don't believe that Easy has access to the actual waits anymore. I do know that Disney keeps two sets of books.

Curious about 2 things:
(1) Do the wait times posted on easywdw look wrong to you?
(2) What do you mean about two sets of books ... posted vs. actual? Or something else?

 

[sleepymouse]

This works for both Star Wars and Frozen fireworks.

They have to clear the area 15 minutes before the scheduled fireworks starting time. So if fireworks are at 9:30, the Pixar area has to be empty by 9:15. Toy Story "closes" at 8:45 only if the actual wait is 30 minutes, which it usually isn't by that time of night.

I apologize for getting a bit off topic, but do you or anyone else know what happens if you have FP that's good until 8:30pm and the ride is closed early/before 8:45pm?

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Yes, they track both the posted and actual wait times. Josh used to have access to both but I seem to recall that his access to the actual wait database was lost a year or so ago.

Knowing that the posted waits are bogus is the #1 tip to late night touring, although it does make me sad when I see a family walk up to a ride like Toy Story and see a posted wait of 70 minutes at 9:30. They usually just turn and walk away. But if you ask the attendant, he'll probably tell you that it's closer to 10 mins.

I guess those Easy numbers look ok, but they are probably a tad high. I'm looking at the "Heavy Crowd" chart and I wouldn't expect waits that long over the last few hours of operation.

On our last visit in early June, the longest wait we encountered after 8:30 pm was Pirates at about 10 minutes.

We also noticed a trend where MK late night seemed less crowded on a day that opened at 8 am vs. a day that opened at 9. I guess a lot of guests got tired and left early.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I apologize for getting a bit off topic, but do you or anyone else know what happens if you have FP that's good until 8:30pm and the ride is closed early/before 8:45pm?

If your Fast Pass window expires at 8:30, you'll have until 8:45 to get in line with the 15 minute grace period. We don't like to use Fast Passes that late though as having to stop and scan twice can slow you down if the ride is a walkon.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

What they do at TSMM is close off all of the inside line area including the area by the Potato Head. The short line then spills out into the courtyard and they put up a 70 minute wait time. Most guest see this, shake their heads and leave.

If you're brave enough to get in line (or know this secret) you'll find that the line goes straight to the area where you pick up the glasses then up the stairs. 15 minute wait on average.

 

[itchin2go]

Yes, they track both the posted and actual wait times. Josh used to have access to both but I seem to recall that his access to the actual wait database was lost a year or so ago.

Knowing that the posted waits are bogus is the #1 tip to late night touring, although it does make me sad when I see a family walk up to a ride like Toy Story and see a posted wait of 70 minutes at 9:30. They usually just turn and walk away. But if you ask the attendant, he'll probably tell you that it's closer to 10 mins.

I guess those Easy numbers look ok, but they are probably a tad high. I'm looking at the "Heavy Crowd" chart and I wouldn't expect waits that long over the last few hours of operation.

On our last visit in early June, the longest wait we encountered after 8:30 pm was Pirates at about 10 minutes.

We also noticed a trend where MK late night seemed less crowded on a day that opened at 8 am vs. a day that opened at 9. I guess a lot of guests got tired and left early.

Interesting. Yeah - I can totally see why it's in Disney's interest to inflate the wait times close to closing.

Yes, sad about the families that walk away after seeing inflated wait times, but I guess lots of people walking away contributes to the wait times being so much lower.

And you are probably completely right about the 8 am opening affecting later crowds.

 

[wisblue]

Ah, but only part of the reason we do rope drop is strategy. The other part is that we're up early anyway and it's easy for us. By contrast, we are not late night folks so forcing this would be ... unpleasant for us.

I don't doubt that a late night strategy can be as successful as an early morning one. There is more than one way to have a successful day at Disney World.

FWIW, my family did ride BTMRR twice at rope drop. That crowd may look daunting waiting outside the gates, but Frontierland was pretty empty when we got there ... owing mostly to the crowds that went to A&E and SDMT. After riding BTMRR twice, Splash was a walk-on. Now, you do have to stay ahead of the crowds because they will start to build, especially at headliners.

One other thing to consider is that not everyone wants to ride things (at least not everything) multiple times. My family will ride certain things more than once, BTMRR, SDMT (if it's possible), TSMM, Test Track, for instance. But there are certain things my husband will just not go on a second time.

It sounds like you have found a good strategy for you though. Late and nights and no break would drive my husband crazy, but I know there are plenty of people who wouldn't have it any other way.

You are totally right, but that 45 minute wait for the rope to drop (which is longer than we actually wait, but even so), will pay off at more than one ride. If it only paid off at one ride, you would be right - it would be a wash.

In reality, they can now walk over to RNRC or TOT and find waits to be 30 minutes shorter (or more) than the waits will be just a few hours later. See charts of wait times at the end of this:

http://www.easywdw.com/cheatsheets/hs_cheatsheet_v3.pdf

As OP noted, and according to the charts, wait times closer to closing are really manageable as well.

I completely agree with the points you're making here.

We are the same way when it comes to arriving early vs staying late. At home I am always up by 6 AM after years of having to get up early for work. But, I am usually done for the day by 11 PM. Because of that, it is no hardship for me to get up early to get to a park. But, if I tired to stay at one until midnight or later, meaning I wouldn't get back to my resort and into bed until at least an hour later, I would be totally out of whack.

Plus, we have no interest in riding the same thing multiple times in a row, much less 13 times, so the fact that it can be done does not appeal to me. But, I certainly understand how those late hours are as golden to some people as the 7 AM EMH at the MK over the holidays are to us.

As for the crowd at RD, as you say, it isn't just a matter of how long it takes to get on and off the first ride. Because I'm up already anyway, I might as well spend the last 15-30 minutes before they let people in the park soaking up the atmosphere and talking to my family or other people in line as sitting around the room. Using DHS as the example, even if it takes us 30-45 minutes after we arrive at the park to get on TSMM, the key is that we will be getting OFF of it shortly after the park opens. That quick start will translate to shorter waits at RNRC, TOT, GMR, Star Tours, or whatever else we want to do. The 30 minutes spent waiting for the park to open will save much more than that over the course of the day.

It's not a matter of one approach being inherently better than the other. The fact that different people have different preferences is what makes both approaches work for those who use them. For the people who can arrive at rope drop and stay until closing, I can only tip my cap. I might be able to do that one day, but I would pay for it for the rest of the trip.

 

[itchin2go]

It's not a matter of one approach being inherently better than the other. The fact that different people have different preferences is what makes both approaches work for those who use them. For the people who can arrive at rope drop and stay until closing, I can only tip my cap. I might be able to do that one day, but I would pay for it for the rest of the trip.

Agreed. I'm glad OP is pointing out the late night strategy though because I think some folks don't want to get up early and are happy to be out late. I think it's true that you can encounter some really short lines late at night too. I don't know that I will ever actually know this for sure , but I believe the reports I read.

 

[cakebaker]

It's not a matter of one approach being inherently better than the other. The fact that different people have different preferences is what makes both approaches work for those who use them. For the people who can arrive at rope drop and stay until closing, I can only tip my cap. I might be able to do that one day, but I would pay for it for the rest of the trip.

As do I! I don't think we've ever stayed open to close. We do often open one park, then close another park that evening- but with a really long break in between those 2- and even then it's very tiring and I can only handle a couple of days of that during our trips.

I do think it's great so many people seem to have such different ways of touring the parks with one thing in common- it works for them!

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

It's not a matter of one approach being inherently better than the other. The fact that different people have different preferences is what makes both approaches work for those who use them. For the people who can arrive at rope drop and stay until closing, I can only tip my cap. I might be able to do that one day, but I would pay for it for the rest of the trip.

Waking up at 6 am while on vacation would be thought of as punishment to my family. On the other hand, EMH until 3 am is right up our alley. No way would we try to do both.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Interesting. Yeah - I can totally see why it's in Disney's interest to inflate the wait times close to closing.

The goal is to steer you away from the attractions and toward the gift shops. Not everyone realized that the stores are open at least an hour after the parks close.

 

[sleepymouse]

What they do at TSMM is close off all of the inside line area including the area by the Potato Head. The short line then spills out into the courtyard and they put up a 70 minute wait time. Most guest see this, shake their heads and leave.

If you're brave enough to get in line (or know this secret) you'll find that the line goes straight to the area where you pick up the glasses then up the stairs. 15 minute wait on average.

I assume you can't tell if the line is shortened (potato head area roped off) before entering, right?

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I assume you can't tell if the line is shortened (potato head area roped off) before entering, right?

No you can't, and that's why this strategy works so well. Always ask the gate attendant for the actual wait if the posted wait appears to be unreasonably high.

 

[sleepymouse]

No you can't, and that's why this strategy works so well. Always ask the gate attendant for the actual wait if the posted wait appears to be unreasonably high.

Thanks! Great advice!

 

[mom2rtk]

No you can't, and that's why this strategy works so well. Always ask the gate attendant for the actual wait if the posted wait appears to be unreasonably high.

Just know that they won't always give you a straight answer.