No late night ice cream at DCA?

[TeKa21]

Not sure if this is common but I ran into this problem at DCA last Sunday.

I had been planning to get a treat at Abominable Snowman Treats all weekend, but figured it worked best for me to head over right after the 9:00 WOC was over. I got over there by 9:35 and it was closed! Thought maybe it was my fault for not checking the hours, but the app said open until 10pm. Tried not to be too pissed and figured I had time to run over to Cozy Cone for an ice cream cone since the app was showing them open so I hustled over there by 9:45 and guess what, all the other cones were still open but the ice cream "cone" was putting down their blind and closing for the night. ***? Then I said, I'm not leaving here without an ice cream so I ran over to Clarabelle's and guess what, they were closed too!!!! In my mind, I have paid a ton of money to get a full park experience from park open until park close. The hours in the app stated very clearly that the locations were open until 10PM. So then why on earth would certain food establishments just be able to close whenever they felt like? Does Disney not think that following a large nighttime show people might want to grab a little creamy treat on their way out of the park? Make it make sense to me.

 

[Wesley815]

Make it make sense to me.

I agree they should update Disney App hours of closing, just like how Attraction's have real time updates.

It could be due to low staffing Disney might pick ice cream places as the 'first' to close late night.

 

[Cal-Pie]

The app is a liar. I found that out at Star Wars Nite last year when I was really hangry.

 

[DizMe]

I wonder if Ghirardelli's would also have closed early?

 

[SpaceMan5]

On the subject of ice cream....How about no Sea Salt w/ Caramel Ribbons at Salt n Straw in Downtown Disney during our Jan 2023 visit.

 

[soniam]

On the subject of ice cream....How about no Sea Salt w/ Caramel Ribbons at Salt n Straw in Downtown Disney during our Jan 2023 visit.

They had it this week.

 

[SpaceMan5]

They had it this week.

Oh man! That is so cruel.

 

[Iceman93]

Maybe I have an overly romanticized memory of the past, but I used to remember that EVERYTHING stayed open until park closing time, including queues. So you could hop in any line, as long as you were there before park closing time, and get the experience the attraction.

All dining locations (including carts and kiosks) were also open until park closing time. Then the shops along the main route to the exit would stay open for 30-60 more minutes to accommodate all the guests leaving.

Doing this costs Disney VERY little, and I suspect is more than made up for in incremental spending. I blame the change on two things:
- Managers and executives who are pennywise and pound-foolish
- Cast members who no longer take immense pride in their jobs (and I don't totally blame them for this) and who start to close things early so that they can clock out immediately

 

[soniam]

Maybe I have an overly romanticized memory of the past, but I used to remember that EVERYTHING stayed open until park closing time, including queues. So you could hop in any line, as long as you were there before park closing time, and get the experience the attraction.

All dining locations (including carts and kiosks) were also open until park closing time. Then the shops along the main route to the exit would stay open for 30-60 more minutes to accommodate all the guests leaving.

Doing this costs Disney VERY little, and I suspect is more than made up for in incremental spending. I blame the change on two things:
- Managers and executives who are pennywise and pound-foolish
- Cast members who no longer take immense pride in their jobs (and I don't totally blame them for this) and who start to close things early so that they can clock out immediately

Welcome to post-Covid, where grocery stores, gas station stores/bathrooms, and pharmacies aren’t open 24 hours

EDIT: If Disney doesn’t pay them beyond certain hours that give them enough time to clean and close properly, I get it.

 

[Chili327]

I agree they should update Disney App hours of closing, just like how Attraction's have real time updates.

It could be due to low staffing Disney might pick ice cream places as the 'first' to close late night.

Could be winter hours type of thing too, maybe they think ice cream isn’t needed as late during “winter” or since it is southern CA better referred to as slow time (refurbs, etc)

 

[StarlitNight05]

Could be winter hours type of thing too, maybe they think ice cream isn’t needed as late during “winter” or since it is southern CA better referred to as slow time (refurbs, etc)

That's what I was thinking.

I know it's disappointing though, OP. I've been burned by the posted hours before too.

 

[MonocularVision]

I don’t get upset if places don’t stay open until close. I do get upset if they close before their posted time

 

[nalababybear]

Same thing with Popcorn for us earlier in Feb for a WOC run -- Cones closed. Grizzly peaks closed. Only one open was 20 person deep Hollywood Blvd popcorn.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

Maybe I have an overly romanticized memory of the past, but I used to remember that EVERYTHING stayed open until park closing time, including queues. So you could hop in any line, as long as you were there before park closing time, and get the experience the attraction.

All dining locations (including carts and kiosks) were also open until park closing time. Then the shops along the main route to the exit would stay open for 30-60 more minutes to accommodate all the guests leaving.

Are these two things no longer true? I was hoping to hop in line late for RotR, and I often make purchases as I leave the parks. (I have not been to DLR since Aug 2013, but have been to WDW in 2016, 2020, and 2022, where these were true.)

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

All of the operating times are listed in the app. For today it looks like Clarabelle’s and Cozy Cone close at 9pm and Ghirardelli and Adorable Snowman are open one extra hour until 10pm. But it sounds like Adorable Snowman closed earlier than the stated closing time for the OP. That’s definitely annoying and frustrating when you’re expecting it to be open.

 

[MonocularVision]

Are these two things no longer true? I was hoping to hop in line late for RotR, and I often make purchases as I leave the parks. (I have not been to DLR since Aug 2013, but have been to WDW in 2016, 2020, and 2022, where these were true.)

RotR usually closes before park closing. Its operating time is listed in the ride details in the app. We often hop in line in the last hour or so of operating time and find the line to be way faster than whatever is posted. I feel they get especially egregious with wait time estimates at the end of the day to discourage folks from getting in line.