Good morning all. I decided to head down to MK last night (Friday) to see what the MK was like after the strike of midnight. I have been there before when the park closed at 1am, but they were running EMH, meaning a 3am close.
***Sorry, no pictures, I didn't feel like taking the camera and the Blackberry camera at night stinks.***
We arrived at MK around 1045. Heading into the Poly and then to the park, majority of the foot and car traffic was heading the opposite direction. Once at the park, they did not have separate lines for guests with/without bags. Security was checking as you walked up to the turnstyle.
At Main Street USA, people were either leaving the park or getting ready for Spectromagic. The crowds for Spectro were not as insane as I thought they would be, but then again, it was the second show of the evening.
We headed over to Space Mtn (the reason we went mainly because of upcoming refurb) and it was sporting an 120 minute wait. No Thanks! We walked over to BTMRR and Splash Mtn. By the time we arrived there, it was 1130ish. Splash posted a 30 minute wait, but it was only seven minutes from entrance to log.
After getting off, we went to BTMRR, it was now midnight so the park was closed, but open for EMH. The CM's were dealing with a lot of guests who just missed the cut and were not happy. The posted wait was 25 minutes, but we were on in five.
Next up, Country Bear Jamboree. I have not seen this show in 26 years! There was no wait, only for the doors to open and go in. It was fun, but the audio was over modulated for the amount of people who were in the building. I could honestly barely understand what the bears were saying. Oh well, still a nice relaxer.
It's now 1 am. Fantasy Land was up next. Dumbo, Tea Cups, Pooh, and Small World were all walk-ons and had a five minute posted wait. Peter Pan had a 25 minute posted wait, and by the look of the line, it looked like it was 25 minutes. The que was full. We didn't go on it as we headed back over to Tomorrow Land, but hitting the Haunted Mansion on the way, which was a walk-on.
Once in Tomorrow Land, Buzz was sporting a 10 minute wait, but we walked right on. The ride stopped multiple times, and the five minute ride lasted about 15 minutes (no worries though, I scored 999,980).
The Speedway was packed. It posted a 30 minute wait, and the que was half full, so it looked to be holding true to the posted time.
It's now 2 am and Space Mtn still had a 40 minute posted wait. We decided to do it, as it will be December before we can ride again. The A/C was off in the line and 99% of the people in line, as us, were either exhausted or drunk from Epcot, or both :lol:. We honestly waited 20 minutes from entrance to car. They only had Alpha (I think that's the correct way of saying it) running and the A/C was working in the loading area. The extended que was not in use. Maybe it was the cocktails, being tired, or both, but I was disappointed in the ride. I've been on it what seems like millions of times, it's always a blast, but at 2 am, it left me getting off with a "eh" feeling.
It was about 2:30 now, so we headed over to Jungle Cruise. We walked right on. We had a skipper from Australia who was "on." She was tired, we were tired, but she kept the ride fun and entertaining. Also, this was the first time I have ventured on the Jungle Cruise at night. The fog effect (or what seemed to be the fog effect ) during the first quarter of the ride is pretty cool in the dark.
Finally, we headed over to POC. We walked right on. It was a blast as always.
Getting out of the park was simple. However, at 3 am, nothing is open. If you're there for EMH and put off buying stuff until you're heading out, you're out of luck. Honestly, I don't blame them for closing the merchandise and food places down. I don't think people in the park at that time were looking to spend money, but there to ride the attractions without the insane que times that were posted earlier in the day. The stroller rental shop was the lone place open for us to buy a bottled water before getting back on Monorail Pink and heading back to the Poly.
To close, I'm very happy with how ALL the CM's we encountered acted for being so late. Sure, many were in the college program and would be out having fun if they weren't working, but still, NONE were publicly complaining about how tired they were or how they were working late. They all smiled and said "hello" or "good night" every time we passed one. I am shocked at the number of babies that were in the park until close. I have a four month old, who stayed back with mom to get some sleep, I couldn't imagine bringing her into the park that late, but I understand people who are not from the area plan vacations well in advance of a newborn sometimes and want to get all the enjoyment out of their vacation.
Kudos to the CM's, they were great, the guests were all great with each other even though everyone was exhausted, and kudos to the characters who were out until 2 am!
Alright, that's enough. I'm going back to sleep.
***Sorry, no pictures, I didn't feel like taking the camera and the Blackberry camera at night stinks.***
We arrived at MK around 1045. Heading into the Poly and then to the park, majority of the foot and car traffic was heading the opposite direction. Once at the park, they did not have separate lines for guests with/without bags. Security was checking as you walked up to the turnstyle.
At Main Street USA, people were either leaving the park or getting ready for Spectromagic. The crowds for Spectro were not as insane as I thought they would be, but then again, it was the second show of the evening.
We headed over to Space Mtn (the reason we went mainly because of upcoming refurb) and it was sporting an 120 minute wait. No Thanks! We walked over to BTMRR and Splash Mtn. By the time we arrived there, it was 1130ish. Splash posted a 30 minute wait, but it was only seven minutes from entrance to log.
After getting off, we went to BTMRR, it was now midnight so the park was closed, but open for EMH. The CM's were dealing with a lot of guests who just missed the cut and were not happy. The posted wait was 25 minutes, but we were on in five.
Next up, Country Bear Jamboree. I have not seen this show in 26 years! There was no wait, only for the doors to open and go in. It was fun, but the audio was over modulated for the amount of people who were in the building. I could honestly barely understand what the bears were saying. Oh well, still a nice relaxer.
It's now 1 am. Fantasy Land was up next. Dumbo, Tea Cups, Pooh, and Small World were all walk-ons and had a five minute posted wait. Peter Pan had a 25 minute posted wait, and by the look of the line, it looked like it was 25 minutes. The que was full. We didn't go on it as we headed back over to Tomorrow Land, but hitting the Haunted Mansion on the way, which was a walk-on.
Once in Tomorrow Land, Buzz was sporting a 10 minute wait, but we walked right on. The ride stopped multiple times, and the five minute ride lasted about 15 minutes (no worries though, I scored 999,980).
The Speedway was packed. It posted a 30 minute wait, and the que was half full, so it looked to be holding true to the posted time.
It's now 2 am and Space Mtn still had a 40 minute posted wait. We decided to do it, as it will be December before we can ride again. The A/C was off in the line and 99% of the people in line, as us, were either exhausted or drunk from Epcot, or both :lol:. We honestly waited 20 minutes from entrance to car. They only had Alpha (I think that's the correct way of saying it) running and the A/C was working in the loading area. The extended que was not in use. Maybe it was the cocktails, being tired, or both, but I was disappointed in the ride. I've been on it what seems like millions of times, it's always a blast, but at 2 am, it left me getting off with a "eh" feeling.
It was about 2:30 now, so we headed over to Jungle Cruise. We walked right on. We had a skipper from Australia who was "on." She was tired, we were tired, but she kept the ride fun and entertaining. Also, this was the first time I have ventured on the Jungle Cruise at night. The fog effect (or what seemed to be the fog effect ) during the first quarter of the ride is pretty cool in the dark.
Finally, we headed over to POC. We walked right on. It was a blast as always.
Getting out of the park was simple. However, at 3 am, nothing is open. If you're there for EMH and put off buying stuff until you're heading out, you're out of luck. Honestly, I don't blame them for closing the merchandise and food places down. I don't think people in the park at that time were looking to spend money, but there to ride the attractions without the insane que times that were posted earlier in the day. The stroller rental shop was the lone place open for us to buy a bottled water before getting back on Monorail Pink and heading back to the Poly.
To close, I'm very happy with how ALL the CM's we encountered acted for being so late. Sure, many were in the college program and would be out having fun if they weren't working, but still, NONE were publicly complaining about how tired they were or how they were working late. They all smiled and said "hello" or "good night" every time we passed one. I am shocked at the number of babies that were in the park until close. I have a four month old, who stayed back with mom to get some sleep, I couldn't imagine bringing her into the park that late, but I understand people who are not from the area plan vacations well in advance of a newborn sometimes and want to get all the enjoyment out of their vacation.
Kudos to the CM's, they were great, the guests were all great with each other even though everyone was exhausted, and kudos to the characters who were out until 2 am!
Alright, that's enough. I'm going back to sleep.
