Timeout when passing variables with the url and fopen() in php - php

Question

I have done quite a bit of searching and cannot quite find my answer. My problem is that I am trying to call a link with GET variables attached to it and it just hangs and hangs until connection times out. When I just literally call the link in a web browser it works fine no problem.
Here is the fopen() php code example:
<?php
$url = "https://www.mysite.com/folder/second_folder/file.php?varA=val1&varB=val2&varC=val3&varD=val4&varE=val5";
$ch = fopen($url, 'r');
if(!$ch){
echo "could not open!!! $url";
} else {
echo "Success! ($url)";
}
?>
I can call file.php without the GET variables just fine. Returns with no error.
NOTE: I will say that file.php with one of the var's that get passed, does some functions and then does a header Location rewrite. I do not think it is even getting to this point when it does a connect timeout though because when I had problems, I put in a "check point" prior to the header Location point which should email me, and it does not email me.
Again, if I run the URL in a web browser it works just fine.
So what is going on if anyone can help me? I just need to run the URL as if PHP is clicking on the links. I have used fopen before but for some reason it does not work now. Also cURL did not work on this.

Answer 1

Try changing '' to " " in this case.
My working code is
<?php $handle = fopen("c:\\folder\\resource.txt", "r"); ?>

Answer 2

I think you want to be using
$ch = file_get_contents($url);
Edit: cURL option
// open
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $url);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_FORBID_REUSE, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
$page_data = curl_exec($ch);
$page_info = curl_getinfo($ch);
// close
curl_close ($ch);