Does line jumping/saving bother anyone else?

[luvmk]

It's very easy to talk the talk, MUCH harder to walk the walk.

AMEN!!

You wouldn't believe all of the things I said my children would or wouldn't do BEFORE I had children.


Rachel

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Said like a 17yr old who doesn't have children that need to go potty.

LOL

Whatever happened to "Do you need to potty before we get in line?"

 

[goofy4tink]

Okay, I'm waaaay past being 17..have 3 kids. My 11 y/o has always had to stand in the line with us. If she wants to ride, then she needs to wait. Yes, children do have to make potty breaks. That's why we try to make time for one every hour. My dd always says.."Remember what Meme taught us...sit when you can sit, eat when you can eat, pee when you can pee and if you see it..buy it!!" So, we take every opportunity to use 'the facilities as we pass them. This has worked since she was 5 y/o.

Now, if you have a 3 y/o, obviously this is going to be different. But, I still feel that in that case, an adult is taking the child to the bathroom while the other adult is waiting in line, with other kids. I don't feel that if the kids are old enough to be unsuperivsed, hence them being someplace other than the line, then they can be in the line, patiently waiting their turn. If they are too young to get the whole wait your turn thing, then a parent should be with them. Sorry if this comes across as harsh, but I see way too many people with very low expectations for their children. Children will surprise you every time...give them a higher expectation and eventually they will rise to meet it. It has never occured to my dd to not wait in line.

 

[taximomfor4]

Sometimes they don't need to go, yet, when getting in line.

And some kids have kidney abnormalities, etc, that mean GO POTTY AS SOON AS THE FEELING HITS!! Other kids are recently potty trained, or sometimes lines are just LOooooong and the shooshy dancing begins after you have been in line for some time already.

My kids have always stood with us in lines, but we have not yet taken them to Disney during Easter week, lol. That is coming up soon. We will play it by ear, and if they can't stand that long , need potty trips, whatever, we might let the younger out of line with one parent while the other waits. I would NOT make my family leave the parks because my 2yo or special needs 6 yo or even my normal active 5yo cannot stand in line for an hour. The best way to eliminate potential hard feelings is to all start out in the line. Then the people immediately behind you know you all were there. Then if the kids get antsy, start shooshy dancing, etc, you can leave the line for a little while. When you come back, those people will recognize you and probably see the situation clearly for what it was.

For the person who mentioned jumping out of line to grab surprise souvenirs, same deal! I would start out in line, then after a few minutes excuse yourself. People would most likely assume you had skipped out to use the restroom yourself.

JMHO, for what it's worth!

 

[FLAsomeday]

Said like a 17yr old who doesn't have children that need to go potty.

LOL

 

[imatoad]

Saving a spot for one or two is no problem, but you start saving for more than that and I really don't think it's very courteous or fair. I've had it happen that a woman ahead of us was saving space for 4 other people, yeah, I was not a happy camper.

 

[TrickyFish]

Okay, I am a "23 year old without children", but I do have neices and nephews. I've never taken them to WDW, but I have taken them to amusement parks. From a young age I always asked them before we got in line if they had to go potty. It was always, "do you have to go, because once we get in line we're not getting out for you to go to the bathroom"

Now, I know that there are emergency situations, but I've also seens circumstances where a line starts outside and then continues on into a building and one parent will hold the line at the building entrance so their DW or DH w/child can come out of the bathroom and still be able to find them. That's just a bit annoying, I think, especially when other children are patiently waiting their turn.

On a side note: I know lines are sometimes long and borring, but if you have your children play games while in line, please don't let it be something where its spread all over the pavement and they have to take 5 minutes to gather it up to move it.

 

[kirbsam]

I think if you want to ride, you should stand in line. If you need to go to the bathroom, just tell the people around you and they will understand, every time. Excuses and reasons for not wanting to stand in line are becoming more and more common. Some of you will think that is harsh, but like we are all fond of saying, we are all entitled to our opinion.

 

[luvmk]

We have been lucky with our children waiting in line. We didn't start taking them until they were four. They were well past the potty training stage. If someone in front of us needs/ wants to leave the line, I don't care. If it's an adult or adult/ child that leave, it's not affecting when I get on the ride. I'm not having to wait any longer. As long as they aren't being rude or inconsiderate about the situation, I'm not going to get my britches in a bunch over something so trivial. Of course, this doesn't include families that have 4-6 people jumping in at the last minute, but then again, that would be rude and inconsiderate.


Rachel

 

[BostonRob]

I'm surprised no one has offered this scenario:

When waiting in any line, anywhere (not just WDW),
if someone in our party is missing and going to be hopping back in
I make it a point to smile at the person behind me
and explain that "__________________" (fill in the blank).
This applies to potty breaks, or calming a young child down,
or running over to a store, etc.
To me that is just common courtesy,
and most people are very nice about it, say "no problem,"
and are thankful that I cared enough to mention it to them.
I really think it takes any "edge" off of a potential situation
if the people behind us were to be annoyed.
Just a thought...

ETA: Jamesbyr, you're a naughty DIS'r!! But funny

Your sentiment here is nice, but what about the people behind them and the people behind them? They are all affected by "line jumping" or "cutting" too, so shouldn't you explain your situation to everybody in line behind you?

This is a bit of an exaggeration - I don't expect you to do that. And I don't have a problem with parents holding a place in line for the children. I'll try to keep my 2 year old in line with me when we go to Disney, but if she can't handle it, I won't let it ruin our trip.

 

[mom-2greatkids]

I've got 2 kids (DD6 and DS3). Each has been going to DW since they were 2. The have ALWAYS stood in line with us, and I wouldn't consider letting them do something else while DH or I stood in line. The only exception would be if they had to go to the bathroom, however in 5 trips neither have ever needed to get out of line to go to the bathroom. My thought is if they are old enough to go on the ride, they are old enough to wait in line.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Ohhh man,

Sorry, but I just hate people who try to tell people, well, that's what I did, or would do, so everybody has to suffer thru making the same decision..... ( Yeah, Grandpa walked 24 miles to school and back, in the snow, barefoot!! )

Sorry, if the courtesy of somebody saving a spot in line for a little while for their loved one(s) bothers you, IMHO, it is time to stop letting little things bother you!!!! Just how in the heck does somebody doing this affect you anyhow????

Wouldn't ruin my day!!!! I guess I just don't see the big deal....

EDITED TO ADD: Nope, I don't feel I should ask the complete strangers around me for their blessing to go to the restroom, have hubby stand aside with a fidgety youngster, run into the shop right across the way, etc... Frankly, it's none of their business.

Now, of course, that does not apply to those who may be selfish enought to 'save' all the best seats in a theater... And, cutting in line... Well, that is just plain wrong!!!! I mean, somebody cuts in front of me, and I am like tar-n-feather 'em and kick them out of the Park!!!!

 

[LindsayDunn228]

I think if you want to ride, you should stand in line. If you need to go to the bathroom, just tell the people around you and they will understand, every time. Excuses and reasons for not wanting to stand in line are becoming more and more common. Some of you will think that is harsh, but like we are all fond of saying, we are all entitled to our opinion.

Awesome post!

 

[sue1013]

The only reason I can see for line jumping is for a potty break. I know how no one has to go then 2 minutes later they can't wait anylonger. Unless you have a special needs child there is no reason for them not to wait. If they want to go on a ride the wait is part of it. When my kids were small there was no fast pass so always had a wait. My DS was a typical wild little boy but that doesn't mean he didn't need to learn patience. We would play little games,etc. to help with the wait. Maybe this sounds harsh to some of you but both my kids grew up to be happy and well adjusted without any psychological problems because they had to wait on line.

 

[Jennasis]

Ok. I'm 28, I have no kids and don't plan to. But then again this thread isn't necessarily exclusive to holding spots for children is it?

It sure as heck doesn't ruin my whole vacation or anything when I see people holding spots for other people (assuming we are talking about one or two people and not more than that). And if somebody has to make a potty break then you gotta go!

Potty breaks are different altogether as the person has already been waiting in line when the urge hit. I have no issue with Mom taking a kid to the bathroom and then getting back in line with Dad...

I don't think it's cool for Dad to go wait in line while MOm shops, changes baby, takes toddler on Dumbo and then gets back in line.

Do all the things you need to do before you get on line. Then start teaching your kids the hard life lesson of "Sometimes you have to WAIT your turn."

If your kid is too "wild" "unruly" "bored" "antsy" "sleepy" etc, maybe you shouldn't bring them to a place where you must spend most of the day surrounded by hot sweaty strangers in close proximity waiting on line?

Honestly I haven't ever had a problem with any of the kids around me in any of the long lines I've ever had to wait in. Most were well behaved NORMAL acting kids (laughing, giggling, swingign on the bars, playing with siblings, studying park maps, and occassionally crying....yes crying is normal). It has ALWAYS been the parents who cause the problems (SCREAMING AT KIDS, hitting, etc..)

 

[NeverlandClub23]

I definitely agree that if the child is old enough to be running around DQ unsupervised they're old enough to be waiting in line. Of course "potty" emergencies are a good reason to have to leave a line and return back to your party. Also coming from someone who has worked at a children's area at an amusement park, if you leave your child unsupervised that means NO ONE is watching them. I've seen many 7-10 year olds left unsupervised and then once the parents walked off the kids just left the children's area and when the parents returned it took them several hours to find their children. Same is true of DQ, those children can leave the building and it is 5 floors of games so it's very easy to lose your child.

 

[alicenwonder99]

We have always taught our children to wait in line. We explained about lines and having to wait. From the time my daughter was 2 she was in line waiting for rides no matter how long it took, and there was no FP then. I remember my DH standing in line, out in the sun, for almost an hour waiting to meet Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eyeore. The character greeting was at the old 20,000 Leagues place. My daughter stood with him-wearing her sun hat of course. My son, who does not have the patience of his sister, also has learned to wait. Same explanations to him about waiting and long lines. We tell them if they can't wait in line and be good, they don't get to ride. It is just that simple. We choose not to reward bad behavior. If my kids are too tired to wait in line, then that tells me to take a break and do something else like go back to the room and swim or take a nap. I am not saying that this works for everyone. This is just our own personal practice. So yes, it does bother me a bit to see children jump in line at the last minute. Of course potty emergencies are another story. I have those myself.

I agree! I remember waiting in long 1-2 hour lines with a 4 year old in August (before fastpass). If she couldn't wait in line, we didn't ride the ride. I can understand if you are waiting in line already, then a child has to use the washroom. But beyond that, I feel if you can't wait in a line, then go to another attraction that has a line you (or your child) can tolerate. If you have to use the bathroom, use the bathroom before the whole family gets in line. If you want to do some shopping, do your shopping before the family gets in line.

Mary

 

[dizprincess717]

Only get out of line for the bathroom. The only thing that bothers me more than people taking flash pictures on rides that clearly says "No flash photography" is line cutters and holders - unless it's for the bathroom.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

I've been taking my DD's since they were 21/2 and 4 by myself so having a spot held even while we run the bathroom wasn't an option.

They were always told if they don't want to wait in line we didn't have to go on the attraction, end of story. They always rose to the occasion and it was a great place to quietly interact with my children. Was it easy to keep up a conversation with two toddlers , no, but who said parenting was easy?

 

[ujpest_doza]

Not so much line jumping that bothers me, but table saving in the dining areas annoys me intensely.

Manys the time our food has gone cold while trying to find a table when there are lots of tables with people sitting with no food yet saving the table for someone waiting in line.

If everyone waited until they had their food this wouldn't happen.