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Mall rules for waiting in line overnight?

Hankster

Hankster

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 30, 2008
2,475
440
Washington DC
Never waited in line at Apple before, both stores near me are in malls. What's the general rule for waiting the night before? Are people allowed to wait outside the mall door? What about parking? One mall near me has paid only parking so there are tellers/gates to get into the parking area.

Anyone with prior experience are to elaborate? Thanks!
 
The rules definitely do vary from mall to mall. I would try to ask now to avoid any troubles.

I have been in a mall late (when movies get out), and it is very Dawn of the Dead creepy!! :eek:
 
I was thinking the same thing. My mall opens at 10AM but Apple at 7AM. I dont know how this works. Anyone who's done it before care to explain?
 
Go to this subforum. Look for your particular area or mall, and if there is already a thread, you'll probably see some information. Otherwise, start a thread asking about your specific mall, because it really does vary, and what I know won't help you.
 
Where I live the actual mall doors are open at any given hour, but the STORES all open/close as they please. I'm sure the mall doors are locked at some point, but you can walk in and out of the mall long after all the stores have closed. Mostly because there are a couple bars in there without their own independent exits and they don't close until 2am.

Anyway- if I were you I would go to/call the mall customer service and ask them what the deal is. Unless the Apple store just moved in, the mall staff probably has at least a rough plan based on previous releases.
 
@DaGreat1

Most malls don't want people on their property unless a specific store's employees are overseeing the line in case security needs to be called for any issues. Even then, they just don't like the liability of having people on their property after hours. One example is EB Games when a new game is midnight-launched. The employees come out and organize everything. Apple hasn't done this in the past since I am sure Apple doesn't want employees working without management present...and the managers are going to ALL be there ALL launch day, more than likely.

As far as Apple opening at 7am, people will show up like 4,5, or 6am and wait in their cars as much as they can without being told to leave. Then there will be a crush for the door that is going to be opened to get access to the Apple store. So I would suggest rolling around every 1/2 hour or so to see how much traffic is building and when you think the time is right, park.

Just personal experience of course and not all malls will be the same.
 
Whatever time the Apple store opens, if it is 7AM, the mall will open at 7AM. Apple has a contract with all the malls they have stores in. So if they open at a special time, the mall is notified. As for lining up before the store opens. The mall nearest my house will make you wait outside the mall, and only open the doors to mall when the Apple store opens. When I waited for my 3G they had security outside the mall with ropes set up. When they opened the doors, there was more security inside the mall to make sure that everybody got the Apple store in an orderly fashion. Then once at the Apple store, people all lined up again. It was sort of chaotic, but it did work out, at least for me.
 
Thanks for the feedback and the link to the Mall Directory. I'm worried the mall I'm targeting will be different because there is a gate to drive into the parking garage. So if there's no one at the gate you can't drive in and park and wait in the middle of the night.
 
Check with your local mall. I am guessing they already have a plan/process in place for Thursday
 
DaGreat01 said:
I was thinking the same thing. My mall opens at 10AM but Apple at 7AM. I dont know how this works. Anyone who's done it before care to explain?
Click to expand...

Call the Apple store in the mall. I called my local Apple store in a mall, and they said the mall opens at 7am for them.
 
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