RoR Near Park Closing

[Babe the Blue Ox]

If this is a must do or one time shot for you, you need to consider the risk. All of the HS headliners have been going down here and there, and it's possible the ride is closed. That strategy would have worked last week, sure, but there is risk.

I’ve been checking every day for the past week, and all I’ve seen are short waits with no break downs.

These rides are more likely to not fire up properly first thing in the morning than they are to break down during the evening hours.

 

[RoseGold]

I’ve been checking every day for the past week, and all I’ve seen are short waits with no break downs.

These rides are more likely to not fire up properly first thing in the morning than they are to break down during the evening hours.

Sure, and mostly they aren't down at all. But if this is a must do or a big deal to a kid or something, it's worth considering the possibility. Rides do go down, and Rotr was particularly finicky when it opened.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Sure, and mostly they aren't down at all. But if this is a must do or a big deal to a kid or something, it's worth considering the possibility. Rides do go down, and Rotr was particularly finicky when it opened.

In that case, I would recommend paying for a $ILL reservation.

But if someone wants to ride it for “free”, lining up later in the evening is a much more efficient use of time than the early morning.

 

[parasail_of_congress]

In that case, I would recommend paying for a $ILL reservation.

But if someone wants to ride it for “free”, lining up later in the evening is a much more efficient use of time than the early morning.

Right, it's just that others are saying that there's still a chance the ride could be down at any given time, so it's probably best to not necessarily bank on the ride always working near closing time.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Right, it's just that others are saying that there's still a chance the ride could be down at any given time, so it's probably best to not necessarily bank on the ride always working near closing time.

We’ll be there in 2 weeks and I’m anxious to see how Genie+ works for us.

What does seem familiar is big attractions with a 3 hour wait in the afternoon dropping down to 15 minutes or less in the evenings. Some things never change.

 

[Cathyn35]

Maybe there is an advantage to being a night owl after all!

 

[Cathyn35]

We’ll be there in 2 weeks and I’m anxious to see how Genie+ works for us.

What does seem familiar is big attractions with a 3 hour wait in the afternoon dropping down to 15 minutes or less in the evenings. Some things never change.

I remember when the first big Harry Potter ride opened. 2 hour wait in day, 25 min before park close.
I appreciate all the reports. I can’t believe how short the EOD waits are.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I remember when the first big Harry Potter ride opened. 2 hour wait in day, 25 min before park close.
I appreciate all the reports. I can’t believe how short the EOD waits are.

Disney has techniques in place to make the lines appear longer than they really are late in the evening. This is known as Line Stacking and is intended to steer guests away from the attractions, toward the gift shops and eventually the exits.

We first read about this in the 1998 Unofficial Guide so it’s nothing new. This type of info can be very helpful late in the day and can lead to some really short wait times.

My family gets very competitive on Toy Story Mania and we like to have a 4 or 5 round tournament during the last hour of operation. We’ve been doing this since it was brand new and all the rage at DHS.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Tonight (5/2) the posted wait time at Rise was 20 minutes for the last half hour operation.

This makes me wonder, is it possible to ride it twice in less than 30 minutes when it is a walkon. I’m pretty sure you can’t do that in the morning, no matter how early you arrive.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I was finally able to try this for myself on Monday night. The posted wait about a half hour before closing time was 50 minutes but the actual wait was less than 10.

We’re doing it again tomorrow and are expecting similar results.

 

[glocon]

I was finally able to try this for myself on Monday night. The posted wait about a half hour before closing time was 50 minutes but the actual wait was less than 10.

We’re doing it again tomorrow and are expecting similar results.

You got on RotR twice in the last 30 minutes?
That’s so fun!!!

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

You got on RotR twice in the last 30 minutes?
That’s so fun!!!

Two more rides tonight. Could have done a 3rd trip but opted for Tower instread.

For the first trip on Rise, the posted wait was 85 with an actual wait of 17 minutes.

On the 2nd loop, the posted wait was 20 with an actual wait of 5.

At Tower, the posted wait was 80 with an actual wait of less than 10.

This was a pretty successful hour and 20 minutes. That’s how you end a day.

 

[bluedolphin32]

I was finally able to try this for myself on Monday night. The posted wait about a half hour before closing time was 50 minutes but the actual wait was less than 10.

We’re doing it again tomorrow and are expecting similar results.

Awesome. I look forward to testing this when we go May 2023. Hoping for similar success with similar dates as yours. I do think we might book ILL for Rise to make sure we get on, then try for another ride EOD like you. I think with ETPE being only 30 min and for all parks, most people can get there 30 min early. They couldn't back when it was 1-2 hrs early. Less advantage than it used to be.

 

[WDW Traveler]

We were at HS on a Saturday (9/24). Wait times during the day were upwards of 3 hours, most of the day. About 8:15pm (park closing at 9:00pm) we were in the area and the wait time was showing as 90 minutes. We decided it was now or never. The actual wait was less then 40 minutes. On and off the ride before park close.

 

[Lisa P.]

Awesome. I look forward to testing this when we go May 2023.

An awful lot can change between now and next May. Fantasmic! is coming back in November. It used to begin before park closing. Having a real nighttime show again in HS may significantly affect crowd movement patterns (park-hopping), as well as retaining daytime crowds longer through the days/evenings than currently reported at HS. Re-evaluate after Fantasmic! has been showing for a couple months.

 

[SL6827]

I’ve been checking every day for the past week, and all I’ve seen are short waits with no break downs.

These rides are more likely to not fire up properly first thing in the morning than they are to break down during the evening hours.

I wonder why in the morning there is a higher chance of Rise going down verses the night. Good to know though.

 

[bluedolphin32]

An awful lot can change between now and next May. Fantasmic! is coming back in November. It used to begin before park closing. Having a real nighttime show again in HS may significantly affect crowd movement patterns (park-hopping), as well as retaining daytime crowds longer through the days/evenings than currently reported at HS. Re-evaluate after Fantasmic! has been showing for a couple months.

Good points. Sometimes it's hard to plan so far in advance because so many things are changing between when you start planning and when you go on your trip. And then even so, you have to be flexible once you are there even if you have a solid plan.

 

[DavidNYC]

I wonder why in the morning there is a higher chance of Rise going down verses the night. Good to know though.

Because in the morning it's often not the ride "going down". It's that the ride experiences a problem in starting up for the day.

 

[SL6827]

Because in the morning it's often not the ride "going down". It's that the ride experiences a problem in starting up for the day.

Ohhh. Ok.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Ohhh. Ok.

Another thing to keep in mind is that these parks tend to be much busier in the mornings than in the evenings. So if a headliner doesn't fire up on time in the morning that just means that the other attractions will have even longer lines. If one of these does happen to break down in the evening then you can just hop in another short line.