Still overestimating wait times?

[Belle & Ariel]

This past Friday frozen was posted as 45 minutes about 8:15 pm. We were on in 20 minutes. As we left the sign said about the same. I glanced in and there was less line than we had.
We had similar experience on 7 dwarves late one night.

 

[randumb0]

This past Friday frozen was posted as 45 minutes about 8:15 pm. We were on in 20 minutes. As we left the sign said about the same. I glanced in and there was less line than we had.
We had similar experience on 7 dwarves late one night.

That is to deter a long line near closing time.

 

[PSUGuy]

This has been my observation pretty much forever. Only once, riding Jungle Cruise, have I ever experienced a wait longer than that advertised. It's almost always shorter than stated, Dinosaur being the most notorious example. Several times we'd roll up to a 20 minute standby wait only to walk right into the pre-show.

Bill From PA

 

[CanadianAli]

I think KS is the one biggest chance of it being over posted time but still operating (rather than just a ride going down). Animals do not always agree with the posted times, and may choose to sit down or want to cross the road. Or just generally move differently. Happened to me a few times in April and our normally 20 minute ride went for almost 45 minutes.

 

[Simba's Mom]

This past Friday frozen was posted as 45 minutes about 8:15 pm. We were on in 20 minutes. As we left the sign said about the same. I glanced in and there was less line than we had.

Ironically Frozen is the attraction where we had the longer wait than posted, thanks to all the FP+ people being let through. Our wait was also posted at 45 minutes, difference is that it took us an hour and 10 minutes to get on the ride. But I'm sure that your time of day made a big difference.

 

[DSLRuser]

end of night wait times are always wrong. Cast members cant go home untill the last guest gets off the ride. They leep letting people on the ride up to the minute the park hours close.

So it is 10:59pm, the park closes at 11:00pm. if there are 90 minutes worth of people in que, you don't get to go home until 12:30. A smart cast member will leave a real high wait time posted to keep as many people as possible from getting in the line in hopes the can go home on time.

I would say posted wait times the last 2 hours of any night are all but worthless.

 

[FCDub]

end of night wait times are always wrong. Cast members cant go home untill the last guest gets off the ride. They leep letting people on the ride up to the minute the park hours close.

So it is 10:59pm, the park closes at 11:00pm. if there are 90 minutes worth of people in que, you don't get to go home until 12:30. A smart cast member will leave a real high wait time posted to keep as many people as possible from getting in the line in hopes the can go home on time.

I would say posted wait times the last 2 hours of any night are all but worthless.

"On time" still means after the park closes. Just like with any business with hours, there are after-hours duties to perform. They don't just turn the lights off once the last person is off and get in the car to go home.

 

[DSLRuser]

"On time" still means after the park closes. Just like with any business with hours, there are after-hours duties to perform. They don't just turn the lights off once the last person is off and get in the car to go home.

no...but those "duties' dont start until the last guest leaves.........so...on time for an 11:00pm park closing may be 11:30.........not 12:30

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I would say posted wait times the last 2 hours of any night are all but worthless.

It depends on how you look at it, but those late night posted wait times are far from worthless.

A properly inflated wait time will run people off faster than shouting Fire in a crowded theater. But for those that know how the game is played, the intentionally exaggerated wait times do serve a purpose and create the very shortest lines of the day. A good rule of thumb is that the posted wait is about 4x the actual wait during the last hour or so of operation. Use this as a guide to determine how many times you can get back in line before they close for the evening. And yes, you can get back in line up until the moment that the park closes.

 

[Davey Jones II]

This past Friday frozen was posted as 45 minutes about 8:15 pm. We were on in 20 minutes. As we left the sign said about the same. I glanced in and there was less line than we had.
We had similar experience on 7 dwarves late one night.

Epcot was closing at 9?

 

[AngiTN]

That is to deter a long line near closing time.

This is not technically the reason. It's a benefit of the way the lines operate though
They inflate wait times all day long, not just at closing. However, the stand by wait time posted close to closing includes FP returnees. But, there are no FP returnees after closing since FP distribution ends at closing time. And they stop updating wait times close to closing. So stand by times are off even more. Plus, you have even more no show FP late at night than any other time of day. More guests who decide not to go back to the park at night, leave early, don't use their late FP for whatever reason. So there are a whole lot of reasons why there are fewer FP returnees at night and anytime you have fewer FP returnees you have shorter stand by wait times.

 

[AngiTN]

no...but those "duties' dont start until the last guest leaves.........so...on time for an 11:00pm park closing may be 11:30.........not 12:30

That is not how their shifts are assigned. If it was they'd be getting more hours than scheduled for. And they aren't.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

This is not technically the reason. It's a benefit of the way the lines operate though
They inflate wait times all day long, not just at closing. However, the stand by wait time posted close to closing includes FP returnees. But, there are no FP returnees after closing since FP distribution ends at closing time. And they stop updating wait times close to closing. So stand by times are off even more. Plus, you have even more no show FP late at night than any other time of day. More guests who decide not to go back to the park at night, leave early, don't use their late FP for whatever reason. So there are a whole lot of reasons why there are fewer FP returnees at night and anytime you have fewer FP returnees you have shorter stand by wait times.

I first read about intentionally inflated wait times, line stacking, etc. in the 1999 Unofficial Guide, which was published over a year before the first implementation of Fast Pass.

For years, the late night wait times have been exaggerated and other methods have been put in place to make lines appear longer than they really are.

The intention is to steer guests away from the attractions and toward the gift shops then eventually the exits.

Fortunately, the gate attendants do know the actual wait times and are often willing to share that info if asked nicely.

 

[KBoopaloo]

That is not how their shifts are assigned. If it was they'd be getting more hours than scheduled for. And they aren't.

This exactly. Disney does a pretty decent job of estimating how long the rides will be running after close to accommodate everyone in the line and CMs are scheduled accordingly.