Disney's trick at night with some of the rides?

[SL6827]

I know that Disney lies about wait times a lot, especially at night. But some have mentioned a trick at night they do as well, the switch back? Could someone explain this to me and what rides they practice this with?

 

[musicguy856]

I know that Disney lies about wait times a lot, especially at night. But some have mentioned a trick at night they do as well, the switch back? Could someone explain this to me and what rides they practice this with?

It’s called “line stacking” where a section of the queue that you can’t see is closed and you take a more direct route when you get inside. Rides I’ve seen do it are ToT and Space Mountain. Also TSM did it back in its most popular days.

Really any ride could do it by having a CM hold people in a certain location In the queue and only letting a few groups through at a time.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

7 Dwarves is another good one for line stacking as a good portion of the waiting area is obscured by trees and shrubs. At night it looks like far more guests are in line than there really are. Disney will put up an 80 minute wait time which does appear to be believable but the actual wait could really be 10-15 minutes.

 

[Lesverts]

This also works in the middle of the day when Disney wants you to get in a long line. Oh look the entire queue is in use, but it looks like the line isn't bad. You get in line. Oh lord, what have I done? Jungle Cruise is a pretty good one for this.

 

[katmigordon]

Why do they do this?

 

[musicguy856]

Why do they do this?

They want to discourage people from getting in line late at night - they want you spending money in the gift shops or heading to the exits so the rides can clear out at a reasonable hour.

 

[Narcoossee11]

Also CM want to go home.
Those poor CM plan on a few in line at closing time not 100.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Why do they do this?

We first read about this in the 1998 Unofficial Guide so it’s been going on for a long time. You can get a lot of quick rerides during the last couple of hours of operation while most guests are leaving.

 

[brockash]

Also CM want to go home.
Those poor CM plan on a few in line at closing time not 100.

Well...Disney could just adjust their hours and then we wouldn't have to worry about those poor CMs working their scheduled hours... nor those poor paying customers who paid for hours through closing time. I mean there are tons of jobs that have hours just as late, some later and some over nights. - Some ppl. prefer later hours, it's just a matter of personal preference.

 

[Sweettears]

I experienced it on Rat last trip

 

[musicguy856]

I experienced it on Rat last trip

Rat was especially fun the last time I rode it at night because the standby line was backed up outside the building and I got to watch several families go to the LL after closing and get turned away because the park had closed. LOL

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Also CM want to go home.
Those poor CM plan on a few in line at closing time not 100.

I believe Disney takes this into account when creating schedules. Just because the park closes at 9 pm doesn’t mean you are scheduled until 9 pm. I bet they are scheduled until 10 pm or later. That’s how it was when I worked fast food and retail as a teenager and you had the closing shift. As an hourly employee you don’t want your hours shortened since it means less pay.

 

[Upatnoon]

Disney knows some people will be hanging around to jump in those lines at the last minute, they just don't want to encourage that behavior. It's better to have 100 in line than 1,000 at closing time.

They are just trying to empty the park and quickly and efficiently as possible.

 

[Mle8308]

I can confirm. I was an attractions manager at Disney at one point in my career. CM’s are scheduled as long as 2 hours beyond park close depending on the location, however there is still a ton of work to do once all guests are clear of the attraction. I have no shame in admitting I’d post a 45 minute wait at about 30 minutes before park close even though the ride was a walk on. It was so we could cycle through the line at a reasonable hour and get all the closing procedures done on time. It’s not as simple as just turning off the ride. Now you can’t do it with all rides, where the whole queue is visible, but at attractions like Pirates or 7DMT, it was easy.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I can confirm. I was an attractions manager at Disney at one point in my career. CM’s are scheduled as long as 2 hours beyond park close depending on the location, however there is still a ton of work to do once all guests are clear of the attraction. I have no shame in admitting I’d post a 45 minute wait at about 30 minutes before park close even though the ride was a walk on. It was so we could cycle through the line at a reasonable hour and get all the closing procedures done on time. It’s not as simple as just turning off the ride. Now you can’t do it with all rides, where the whole queue is visible, but at attractions like Pirates or 7DMT, it was easy.

Thank you for the confirmation. We’ve been playing this game for years and can accomplish far more late at night than we ever could in the morning, no matter how early we would arrive.

You just have to understand the crowd patterns and the impact of the inflated wait times.

 

[cdurham1]

I can confirm. I was an attractions manager at Disney at one point in my career. CM’s are scheduled as long as 2 hours beyond park close depending on the location, however there is still a ton of work to do once all guests are clear of the attraction. I have no shame in admitting I’d post a 45 minute wait at about 30 minutes before park close even though the ride was a walk on. It was so we could cycle through the line at a reasonable hour and get all the closing procedures done on time. It’s not as simple as just turning off the ride. Now you can’t do it with all rides, where the whole queue is visible, but at attractions like Pirates or 7DMT, it was easy.

Who sets the official wait times? I always assumed their was some secret complex algorithm or it was managed in some "attractions war room" deep under Cinderella's castle. I picture it looking like mission control for NASA.

But you are saying the times are just set by the managers walking around?

 

[mckennarose]

Thank you for the confirmation. We’ve been playing this game for years and can accomplish far more late at night than we ever could in the morning, no matter how early we would arrive.

You just have to understand the crowd patterns and the impact of the inflated wait times.

I think you also have to understand the queue a little too. The craziest one we've seen was at MK and PP was posted a wait time of like 30+ minutes but as soon as we walked up on the outside to see where the ride loads, there was no one in line.
We've done it on FoP, Peter Pan, Ratatouille and NRJ, off the top of my head.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I think you also have to understand the queue a little too. The craziest one we've seen was at MK and PP was posted a wait time of like 30+ minutes but as soon as we walked up on the outside to see where the ride loads, there was no one in line.
We've done it on FoP, Peter Pan, Ratatouille and NRJ, off the top of my head.

Our go-to attraction for Line Stacking has always been Toy Story Mania. Even during the height of it’s popularity, you could always count on a short wait during the last hour of operation.

Posted waits would be 80-90 minutes and of course no one would want to get in line for fear of missing Fantasmic. The actual wait even in mid-summer would be 15 minutes or less and you could easily ride 4 times and still make it to the show.

Those late night Toy Story family tournaments are still a highlight of our trips.

 

[SL6827]

Well...Disney could just adjust their hours and then we wouldn't have to worry about those poor CMs working their scheduled hours... nor those poor paying customers who paid for hours through closing time. I mean there are tons of jobs that have hours just as late, some later and some over nights. - Some ppl. prefer later hours, it's just a matter of personal preference.

Yep. I absolutely love 3rd shift hours.

 

[musicguy856]

I think you also have to understand the queue a little too. The craziest one we've seen was at MK and PP was posted a wait time of like 30+ minutes but as soon as we walked up on the outside to see where the ride loads, there was no one in line.
We've done it on FoP, Peter Pan, Ratatouille and NRJ, off the top of my head.

Sometimes at Pan they hold the standby line back inside the building and don't allow you to fill the final outdoor part of the queue at the front. In the past I've considered pretending that I just walked through standby and had no wait if someone asked me, so the LL folks would think they just wasted their money!