The Miscellaneous Thought Thread

[coffeefan]

Why are Disneyland and DCA closing an hour early (11pm & 9pm, respectively) for the foreseeable future? Cynical cost-cutting measure?

Yeah, most likely the economy. Tourism in LA was down 9% last summer. I'm sure DL felt some of that. The World Cup and Olympics will be interesting.

 

[Too Many Hats]

Yeah, most likely the economy. Tourism in LA was down 9% last summer. I'm sure DL felt some of that. The World Cup and Olympics will be interesting.

Very depressing. Hopefully it's not a permanent change. 11pm-12am is peak Disneyland.

 

[mickEblu]

Very depressing. Hopefully it's not a permanent change. 11pm-12am is peak Disneyland.

For all six people that are still there. Haha. No but seriously, how many people are still there at the that time? It’s been quite a while for me.

 

[PiratesMansion]

For all six people that are still there. Haha. No but seriously, how many people are still there at the that time? It’s been quite a while for me.

Depends on where you are, of course, but there are a healthy amount of people there until midnight. Frankly, til later than midnight, as some nights you can sit on Main Street and watch floods and floods of people leave.

There had been more than usual, I would say, due to how they opted to schedule Fantasmic and Paint the Night during the summer.

I'm honestly shocked it was basically unnoticed on here that the hours had changed until now. I'm going during the top Fall Break week and am more than a little annoyed that suddenly I have an hour less of park time for no good reason, and I'm sure that annual ticket increase is right around the corner.

 

[D.Silentu]

For all six people that are still there. Haha. No but seriously, how many people are still there at the that time? It’s been quite a while for me.

That is precisely why it is peak. After the mass exodus following the fireworks, you have a quieter park with wait times dramatically reduced. Such a wind down is the nicest way to end the day.

 

[Touchdown]

Wind down, ha, post Fantasmic “Golden Hour” usually results in me doing 3-5 rides (PotC first always, HM is always on the docket as well, 1-3 wild cards, usually BTMRR, Indy, Sweeper Train, sometimes Alice, Tiana, Matterhorn, Space, iasw holiday)

 

[mickEblu]

So fried chicken at the Plaza Inn was about a 7 the other day. So not its best day but definitely not its worst. That’s what I get for eating at an off hour like 3pm.

 

[D.Silentu]

Wind down, ha, post Fantasmic “Golden Hour” usually results in me doing 3-5 rides (PotC first always, HM is always on the docket as well, 1-3 wild cards, usually BTMRR, Indy, Sweeper Train, sometimes Alice, Tiana, Matterhorn, Space, iasw holiday)

It is a wind down for me, a more relaxed way to experience the park and a reprieve from the strategy and app based planning that dominates a day at Disney, while accomplishing just as much or more.

 

[mickEblu]

That is precisely why it is peak. After the mass exodus following the fireworks, you have a quieter park with wait times dramatically reduced. Such a wind down is the nicest way to end the day.

But someone else just recently said it’s not a Ghost Town. If it is I can see why that’s appealing if you have still have any energy left.

 

[PiratesMansion]

But someone else just recently said it’s not a Ghost Town. If it is I can see why that’s appealing if you have still have any energy left.

Depends on where you are.

Much of Fantasyland, Space Mountain, etc. aren't much lighter than they are the rest of the day.

But Pirates? Mansion? Runaway Railway? Much of the western side of the park? You pretty much have them all to yourself if you are so inclined. Even attractions like Indy can be experienced with a relatively short wait right before close.

It's much like the first few hours of the day, except that people are steadily leaving, not arriving, so the later you stay, the better it gets. There are enough people around that it doesn't feel like you're walking around an empty park, but not enough to have much effect on many of the wait times.

 

[Too Many Hats]

For all six people that are still there. Haha. No but seriously, how many people are still there at the that time? It’s been quite a while for me.

It's me and 5 other sickos marathon-ing the Fantasyland dark rides before midnight.

Jokes aside, there's usually a decent number of guests still in the park after 11pm on a Friday or Saturday, enjoying a few final attractions with lower-waits and spending some money on Main Street. No doubt Disney has run the analytics and I'm sure this move makes financial sense, but I would've assumed guest spending on Main Street, even after midnight, would justify keeping the park open. I guess not.

 

[Too Many Hats]

I'm honestly shocked it was basically unnoticed on here that the hours had changed until now. I'm going during the top Fall Break week and am more than a little annoyed that suddenly I have an hour less of park time for no good reason, and I'm sure that annual ticket increase is right around the corner.

If this is a permanent move, Disney is following the same playbook as every other company this decade -- raise prices, offer less. It's a huge bummer.

 

[Too Many Hats]

It is a wind down for me, a more relaxed way to experience the park and a reprieve from the strategy and app based planning that dominates a day at Disney, while accomplishing just as much or more.

8am-9:30am and 10:30pm-12:00am are the only times Disneyland feels like the old days of Disney parks, before the app and endless planning. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, IMO it'd be tragic to lose that final hour.

 

[Parteecia]

I watched the "Destination: Walt Disney World" infomercial. Why can't we have a Villains show in the FL theater? And why do their magicband interactions have a touch point while here I have to flail madly with a ~10% success rate?

 

[Too Many Hats]

Depends on where you are.

Much of Fantasyland, Space Mountain, etc. aren't much lighter than they are the rest of the day.

But Pirates? Mansion? Runaway Railway? Much of the western side of the park? You pretty much have them all to yourself if you are so inclined. Even attractions like Indy can be experienced with a relatively short wait right before close.

It's much like the first few hours of the day, except that people are steadily leaving, not arriving, so the later you stay, the better it gets. There are enough people around that it doesn't feel like you're walking around an empty park, but not enough to have much effect on many of the wait times.

In my experience, Fantasyland is pretty chill after 11pm (aside from Peter Pan's Flight). Alice might still be 15 minutes, but Toad, Snow White, and Pinocchio are typically walk-ons. Maybe I've been lucky.

Also, the app lies. "25 minutes" for Indy after 11pm? I can almost guarantee it's a walk-on. "50 minutes" for Space Mountain after 11pm? More than once I've waited half that posted time.

 

[PiratesMansion]

If this is a permanent move, Disney is following the same playbook as every other company this decade -- raise prices, offer less. It's a huge bummer.

I'm not yet convinced it's permanent.

Based on what I saw last year, I think there's still a strong case to be made for, say, peak Christmas season to have normal closing times (truthfully, extended, in the sense that DCA stayed open until 11 PM last year).

Additionally, despite seemingly lower attendance, the later sunset plus Paint the Night running (along with everything else that would typically run on a summer day) would probably also normal operating times as well, at least for Disneyland proper.

But the fact that they've cut hours NOW, when crowds are ramping up, is what worries me. I'm going to be there Columbus Day weekend, one of the busiest weekends of the year, when I know-and they know-that due to fall break schedulings, the parks will be busy. Yet the 9 and 11 closing times remain. It's ominous.

 

[Touchdown]

I’m not sure how ominous it is, up until the pandemic the park closed at 9pm weekday nights. They’ve found away to spread out the crowds thus they need to stay open later all the time in the fall now. That coupled with the added cost of PTN probably is doing this.

 

[PiratesMansion]

I’m not sure how ominous it is, up until the pandemic the park closed at 9pm weekday nights. They’ve found away to spread out the crowds thus they need to stay open later all the time in the fall now. That coupled with the added cost of PTN probably is doing this.

I have never known them to NOT close at 10 PM and Midnight respectively on weekends.

Even if we're going with the notion that Halloween isn't as popular of a season (which I'm not sure I buy), you would think the weekends, at least, would justify the typical DCA 10 PM closing and the Midnight DL closing.

They're also getting an additional revenue stream that doesn't normally exist in OBB.

To me, there is NO clear reason to cut the weekend hours at the very least, apart from cost cutting.

 

[truecoat]

But the fact that they've cut hours NOW, when crowds are ramping up, is what worries me. I'm going to be there Columbus Day weekend, one of the busiest weekends of the year, when I know-and they know-that due to fall break schedulings, the parks will be busy. Yet the 9 and 11 closing times remain. It's ominous.

They change the closing times. I could be wrong but I think I was there once and they extended the closing time by an hour while I was at the park from 11 to 12.

 

[PiratesMansion]

They change the closing times. I could be wrong but I think I was there once and they extended the closing time by an hour while I was at the park from 11 to 12.

Sure, that happens on occasion, but it's not really something you can count on to occur on a regular basis.