![]() ![]() ![]() If you were in the queue by 9:00PM, you were treated to a special announcement from a Norway cast member, something that had been a joke made by most fans of the attraction leading up to the final days:Īt the time of our final ride at 9:25PM, we ended up being in the 5th-to-last boat of the night. It may have been some low-level park manager and their family from why I could deduce, but I figure no one in Norway wanted to get in trouble for denying them the last boat. If it were a less emotional evening, I’m sure someone would have argued with those who felt they were more entitled than the rest of us, but everyone decided it best to just enjoy their final moments in the attraction. In the end, rumor had it that some group of guests had demanded by mid-day that they be the last guests, and for some reason, they were appeased and given the right to be last. To the best of my knowledge, there was no fighting between guests as to who would be last, which was somewhat surprising given how rowdy the crowd had gotten at that point. Many guests waited outside of the queue until just before 9:00PM, just so they could be in the very last or near the last boat of the night. By 9:30, the final boat was making its way through the attraction, so at most, I think some guests towards the end may have waited a little over an hour. So, on to the final moments of the attraction… While the wait time was posted at 130 minutes, I don’t believe anyone actually waited that long. I think some of these cast members were among the finest to ever wear the Disney name tag. Regardless, these young people represented their country and the Disney company in a way that restores a lot of my faith in front-of-the-line cast members. Nothing illegal or unsafe, just things that some manager at Walt Disney World might frown upon. While I can’t get into many specifics as I’m afraid I might get someone in trouble, I saw many excited guests get to do some out-of-the-ordinary things both yesterday and over the last few weeks. 85 minute wait, but the amount of FastPass+ being used certainly slowed down the stand-by queueīefore I talk about the final hour-or-so of the attraction, I want to first commend the wonderful Norwegian cast members who have gone out of their way the last few weeks since the closure was announced to make sure every guest got a proper final farewell. I’m fairly certain that in all of the time Maelstrom has had an electronic wait time system, those numbers had never flipped so high. In the attraction’s final hour, the stand-by wait time sign read 130 minutes. The very back of the line at 11:00AM when the attraction opened was about a 45 minute wait, and wait times continued to soar to around 85 minutes by the mid-afternoon. Long lines for the attraction were a constant through all of the day. Last week’s Off Kilter final performance was certainly rowdy and over-crowded, but the crowd of fans for the 26-year-old Norwegian boat ride were every bit as electrifying and probably way more emotionally overwhelmed. ![]() I can’t recall the amount of crying, anger, joy, and excitement for the farewell of Main Street Electrical Parade (circa 2001), Snow White’s Scary Adventures, or the Studio Backlot Tour reaching the levels they were at for the closure of Maelstrom at Epcot on Sunday, October 5th. I have attended some emotional farewells in my time visiting the Disney Parks, but last night was certainly one of the most memorable. Goodbye viking, cruise director, and scary fish-gutting boy… ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |