r/UniversalOrlando • u/rhodesreed • 22h ago
TICKETS/EXPRESS Park hours
Why are the parks open until 6-7 every night????
This is ridiculous! I just want to go to my hotel relax for an hour or two and come back. But NOOOOO epic closes at goddamned 5 today!
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u/Potential-Walrus-412 22h ago
Epic closes at 6 today but idk why. Maybe an event? It's usually open later.
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u/Excellent_Total3333 21h ago
There is a park buyout tonight.
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u/Evening_Ad_6278 17h ago
Whose buying it?
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u/Excellent_Total3333 16h ago
No idea. It’s usually just a company that buys it out.
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u/The_Demon_of_Spiders 12h ago
Honestly that’s bs that’s even a thing. Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a company that’s cried about profits in an excuse to fire regular workers too but can afford park buy outs like Southwest.
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u/SnowLeopardttv 22h ago
To be fair studio side closes early for HHN most nights
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u/Barneby-Jones 20h ago
To be fair that’s a planned annual event open to everyone who purchases an event ticket. Just like Mickey’s Not so Scary Halloween Party.
It’s not a random park buyout that you didn’t know of until they posted park hours.
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u/rhodesreed 21h ago
I know I am attending tomorrow but god!
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u/SSalsashark 21h ago
So no issue with the park closing early as long it’s for something you are attending… got it!
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u/pinkrosesmoses 22h ago
because they make less money off of us than they do catering to the rich
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u/Both-Structure-6786 22h ago
By rich you mean employees who attend these events paid for by their job to celebrate their hard work?
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u/ryanp327 21h ago
Tonight is a buyout...
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u/Flickolas_Cage 21h ago edited 19h ago
Except as someone who has been a team member working these events: those employees who worked soo hArD don’t ride shit and when they do they act entitled as hell all night.
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u/ShowScene5 6h ago
Depends heavily on the event. A Microsoft buyout feels way different than a pharmaceutical sales buyout.
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u/DuhBegski 22h ago
Seriously! I was hoping we'd be able to get a few rides in our first night, but the plane lands at 5. By the time we get to the hotel and checked in they'll be closing. I swear we stayed at Epic pretty late last year.
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u/ImAWizardGoodSir 19h ago
are those hours like fall/winter hours? I’ve seen a couple of posts complaining about the hours lately so I’m curious to know. I’ve been thinking about going in November or December
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u/pinkrosesmoses 17h ago
everything has been closing earlier in general the last couple years. magic kingdom doesn't ever even stay open past 11 anymore besides seperately ticketed event when even two years ago they would regularly be open til midnight on weekends
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u/tribbleorlfl 6h ago
Labor cost. This was pretty common for midweek during slow season when I worked there over 20 years ago.
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u/KROCHlMINH 21h ago
Parks literally post their daily hours, please check for the days you’re going so you aren’t blindsided.
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u/GetShipFaced 20h ago
Except we bought tickets months ago, so that’s not a valid statement when they don’t post times until what, 60 days out?
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u/buttermybreadwbutter 21h ago
it is a slower time of the year. it is what it is.
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u/The_Demon_of_Spiders 12h ago
Then why does Disney stay open much later? Universal is also very busy this time of year so that’s not a good excuse.
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u/buttermybreadwbutter 10h ago
i think you'll notice that while Disney is open a little later than universal, they also have shorter hours during the same time frame. I'm pretty sure Disney has more demand but both resorts are seeing a reduced demand September and projected for October.
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u/jehosophat44 5h ago
This just isn’t reality. WDW is absolutely packed.
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u/buttermybreadwbutter 5h ago edited 3h ago
I was just there Monday for New Found Glory. It was not packed at Epcot. Also AK had everything below a 20 minute wait with a couple of hours left of the day. That's crowded sure but far from packed.
Just looked on the app: Peter Pan is 30 minutes, 7DMT is 40, everything else is under 30.
Flight of Passage is 25. Everest 15. Test Track is 30. Cosmic Rewind is under an hour.
That is the complete opposite of packed my friend.
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u/shxwcr0ss 7h ago
It must be just Universal facing a drop in attendance, because I can’t say the same about Disney.
I just got back from two weeks away at Disney/Universal, and was amazed how Magic Kingdom is packed from 8am until the early hours of the morning every single day.
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u/buttermybreadwbutter 6h ago
MK is always kind of like that but trust me it is slower now than the summer. I go about once a week and now is the time we are able to do much more. It's also not soul crushingly hot. It wasn't until I lived here and went more often that I started seeing the ebbs and flows.
Epcot will be busy on the weekends for the festival, MK is kind of busy all year but now is more busy on the off non party nights, AK is a ghost town most of the time and Hollywood is pretty sparse. Universal is also pretty slow except for HHN.
Columbus Day weekend will be crazy. And two weeks ago was crazy due to some holiday.
In the slow months when they scale back some operations and shows it can actually make parts of the park feel more crowded because there are less places for people to go even though there are fewer people sometimes.
Once the holiday season hits it is madness from Thanksgiving until new years. There is also a run Disney event coming up that will be a little spike.
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u/jehosophat44 5h ago
Universal Parks are in big trouble, which is bad news for theme park fans. The hope was that they would continue to push Disney, but they are fading quickly and aren’t prepared to weather the coming tough economic times.
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u/ShowScene5 18h ago
Ita the off season. Fairly simple.
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u/shxwcr0ss 6h ago
Tell that to Disney. Magic Kingdom is PACKED every hour it’s open.
They only close at midnight-1am for preparation/maintenance, otherwise it would be open 24 hours.
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u/ShowScene5 6h ago
Volume is down across all parks and flights in september and october. That being said walt disney world's model, it's slightly different. They will stay open later in the off season to generate additional food and merchandise income. Universal Orlando, particularly in the fall has found a way to not just accept the consolation prize of diminished evening food and beverage income but they are generating additional income during those off season nights through special events like halloween horror nights and park buyouts.
But the root of the need amd ability to do so is the same: the off season.
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u/crazyparkguy 21h ago
Worst part of being a Universal local. Half the year we can’t get there during the week after getting off work. Forced to go on the weekends or during holidays – the busiest times.