How do you react to line cutting?

[Jimsig]

After waiting about 30 min for Alice by the Tea Cups in MK the CM handler told us that we, DD then 6yo and myself, would be the last people before Alice had to take a few min break. DD was excited that we would get to see her last. As the group in front of us cleared a family of 6 foreigners (mom, dad, two kids, and a set of grandparents) came out of nowhere as they were not in line and cut us I said "Excuse Me" loudly, and they ignored me speaking loudly in there native tongue to drown me out and laughing loudly as well, you could tell they knew just what they were doing. The grandparents stood right in front of us to block us from walking to Alice. Alice was very surprised as she had already turned to great us when these people appeared. The CM then announced that those people would then be the last before her break. I looked at the CM and said "Seriously, you just told my DD we would be next and last and then you watched those people cut us and did nothing about it and now you are going to make us wait?" He tried ignoring me and then told Alice it was time to go to which I responded "Unbelievable' and shook my head. Even the people behind us couldn't believe what happened and said to the CM that he should let us go. My daughter asked what was wrong. As I was explaining to my daughter that we would have to wait longer due to some rude people cutting the line Alice gave her handler a look like "really buddy?" and called us over with a big smile, the CM was not too happy and said "all right fine" with an attitude. In character she apologized to us saying something like "Oh my I'm so sorry, that happened so quickly I hope you didn't fall down the rabbit hole" or something like that. I thanked her for taking the time for seeing us before her break probably 5 times. As they walked away to take her break I could hear her saying softly to the handler to never again tell people they will be last before the break and then not let them go because other people were so rude and cut.

 

[Gillbob316]

I have a weird story that boggles my mind to this day:

I was in line for Flight of the Hippogryph at Islands of Adventure last year. And there was a line at that point, not walk-on. 20-30 minutes or so. Now FotHG has a wide enough line that people can spread out a bit. I was solo and there was a couple in front of me and a girl behind me. When the line wasn't moving we'd frequently spread to the guard rails on either side and lean making the line a little "loose" (IE. Not Single File)

Well as we move, the line being loose, the girl behind me keeps edging around the side of me and kind of getting in front of me a bit. Because she has the room to do so. This gets on my nerves so I begin edging right back and making sure I'm still staying in front of her. All the while pretending like we take no notice of eachother (at least I was pretending, maybe she really didn't take notice of me, I don't know). I'm giving you an abridged version, but it was a real exercise in social etiquette and awareness of the people around you, the way we kept cutting one another and acting like we weren't cutting one another. We continue this dance for a good middle stretch of the line. Eventually she's blatantly moved in front of me, and I just don't have the energy anymore over 1 spot in line... so I give up and let her stay there. But after all the back and forth, I'm pretty much secretly seething about it and ready to explode at this point.

So we get up to the ride attendant... he asks how many to the couple now in front of her and they say 2. He asks the single girl behind them, now in front of me, how many and she says 2!?!?

And I. Instantly. Feel. Like. My. Head. Is. Going. To. Erupt.

I have no idea what her motivation was. I don't know if she was just trying to make sorting easier for the ride attendant. I don't know if she just misspoke. I don't know if this was her weird way of hitting on me. I personally don't think I'm much to look at, and neither was she if I'm being brutally honest, but even if this was her intention... NO WAY at this point was I interested. I was FUMING...

So the ride attendant directs me into the same car as her and in my head I'm thinking, "NOT A FREAKING CHANCE AM I RIDING IN THE SAME TINY CAR WITH THIS GIRL, IT'S ALL I CAN DO NOT TO SCREAM AT HER RIGHT NOW!" but I politely stare daggers at the ride attendant and through my clenched teeth say, "I'd like my own car please. They're kind of small." He says, "Naw! You'll fit!" and I give him the most deadly glare I've ever given anyone in my life. Not his fault, I know, he doesn't know what's going on, but in the moment... again, I was fuming and trying to keep a lid on it, so he caught some collateral anger.

He seems to get the message, and directs me to the next car after her... I ride alone. I get off the ride and never see her again. To this day I have no idea what all that was REALLY about... but at least I have a funny story to tell, which is nice.

 

[Shanti]

After waiting about 30 min for Alice by the Tea Cups in MK the CM handler told us that we, DD then 6yo and myself, would be the last people before Alice had to take a few min break. DD was excited that we would get to see her last. As the group in front of us cleared a family of 6 foreigners (mom, dad, two kids, and a set of grandparents) came out of nowhere as they were not in line and cut us I said "Excuse Me" loudly, and they ignored me speaking loudly in there native tongue to drown me out and laughing loudly as well, you could tell they knew just what they were doing. The grandparents stood right in front of us to block us from walking to Alice. Alice was very surprised as she had already turned to great us when these people appeared. The CM then announced that those people would then be the last before her break. I looked at the CM and said "Seriously, you just told my DD we would be next and last and then you watched those people cut us and did nothing about it and now you are going to make us wait?" He tried ignoring me and then told Alice it was time to go to which I responded "Unbelievable' and shook my head. Even the people behind us couldn't believe what happened and said to the CM that he should let us go. My daughter asked what was wrong. As I was explaining to my daughter that we would have to wait longer due to some rude people cutting the line Alice gave her handler a look like "really buddy?" and called us over with a big smile, the CM was not too happy and said "all right fine" with an attitude. In character she apologized to us saying something like "Oh my I'm so sorry, that happened so quickly I hope you didn't fall down the rabbit hole" or something like that. I thanked her for taking the time for seeing us before her break probably 5 times. As they walked away to take her break I could hear her saying softly to the handler to never again tell people they will be last before the break and then not let them go because other people were so rude and cut.

Yuck. It's a good thing Alice saved the day. In your situation, I would not have stopped with "Excuse Me" (line cutters have no shame, so they really don't care about inconveniencing others), but would have actually gotten in front of the family that cut me. No way would they have stopped my child from seeing a character he'd patiently waited for.

 

[Delirium]

Had a couple of teens try to line cut at Soarin' one time. Told me they were catching up to their mom. I asked them to point their mom out to me and I would go get her and bring her back to them. They stayed behind us.

Had a foreign visitor try to cut one time in a line to see Daisy Duck. She insisted that her party had been in front of me and got shuffled out of line. A cast member came over and the family that had been in front of us for the last 10 minutes backed us up. She stayed behind as well.

If you don't do anything about the blatant cutters, they will continue to do it. It may not ruin your vacation, but at some point it could become a bad situation like the Alice story above demonstrates.

 

[Meeko5]

The only time I've ever said anything was when waiting for bag check in a very long line. A small group of 20 somethings walked right past 30 or so people and right in front of me when I was next. I just walked up next to them and said very nicely, "if you're waiting to get in, the end of the line is back there, and we've all waited our turn." And then steered my large stroller around them. The group behind us chimed in as well, and they returned back to the end of the line.

 

[earfulofmagic]

I would never cut others in a line. So when somebody tries to cut me in a line, I have no problem directly saying I was already here, and the line is behind me. Depending on the mood and person it might be softer (if someone is accidentally cutting, no need to be rude! people can be oblivious). If I'm not in a hurry and they are, I'll always let someone cut when asked. But in most cases, when someone is cutting just for funsies... your time is not magically more valuable than mine, so get in line.

~~~~~

One time I was in the security checkpoint line at my city's airport. It's probably about 8:30 AM, 150 or so people all patiently waiting. Line moves at an okay pace. I'm always early, in no rush at all. I'm looking forward to getting coffee right after I get through security. I'm ready, my driver's license and boarding pass are in hand, my phone and iPad are in an outer pocket so I can swiftly place them in their own tub, I have flats on, no liquids in my carry-on, nothing in my pockets, no metal on me, I'm just pumped and jazzed to go through security.

This guy in business clothing, clearly in a hurry, walks up. The security lines at this airport are roped off in that lovely, wide, zigzag path in the shape of a square, so he does not even attempt to enter the queue at all. Instead he walks to the outside, ducks under the rope guard and cuts everyone. A security guard catches up to the line-cutter, and he is not impressed. Guard pulls him out of the line. The guy has his monologue prepared, about how he'll be late for his flight and he needs to get to this concourse etc. and the security guard (rightfully) says, So? You ask for help, don't just cut everybody. And this fully grown man says I asked them, *gestures to literally a crowd of ~150 witnesses who are unwilling to corroborate this story*, they said it's okay. The security guard, hero of the hour, says loudly and dryly, SIR, it is physically impossible for you to have asked every single person in this line. This goes back and forth for a while. I'm laughing inside and very entertained, because this guy has endless excuses. Eventually the line-cutter butters up the guard and makes some kind of "I'm a man, you're a man, we're both important men, I feel so guilty now that you've apprehended me and I respect you so don't punish me" appeal and the guard escorts him to like the ~20th position in line.

JUST ASK if you have a real need.

~~~~~

But at a theme park attraction? 100%, I excuse bathroom breaks and 2 or less people meeting your party. If there's any legitimate excuse to be in such a rush that you must cut others to board a ride, I am not aware of any. (Just skip the line and go to your ADR or whatever.) But again, anyone with the attitude of "lol I am having fun so screw everyone else I wanna ride first and not wait!" does not get to cut me.

 

[IndianaRRT]

I generally pay no attention to line cutters as it's not worth the argument most of the time. One time, I did ask a gentleman and his companion if they lost their place in line because they kept bumping people. That's as heated as it's ever gotten for me. But last week in a ride line, I noticed a little girl ducking under arms and racing ahead. I didn't think about it at first, because little ones sometimes get distracted by activities in the queue and have to catch up. Then I noticed a woman coming up behind her. After observing and listening for a few minutes, it became clear that the woman was instructing the little girl to dart ahead several people at a time and wait. Then the woman would say, "Excuse me. So sorry. I'm trying to get to my daughter." They were advancing in the long line quite a bit. Another guest said something to a CM before I could and they took the lady and the child aside and spoke to them. They were allowed to remain in line, but they did not advance anymore. It's probably the most blatant line-jumping I'd ever seen, but the CM handled it well.

 

[goofyernmost]

If it isn't a large group of obnoxious Teens, I don't really care. If a small family is trying to catch up I figure that they are mostly going to be using the same ride vehicle and not matter at all. If a parent brought a child to the bathroom, I much prefer that they go through then for me to have to jump over a puddle or worse. Generally, each situation is different. If I don't know I will give the benefit of the doubt, if I do know that someone is trying to just cut... sorry, you have to get by me and I'm a big guy. Mostly though, it isn't something that I am going to let ruin my mood.

 

[Nick6300]

I think you're just

So let me grab my and

This is awesome... can I borrow this someday? I had a 14+ work day, on a Friday. Whew! Glad it's over. Thank you all for the posts.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

I'm a big proponent of Karma.

She'll take care of them eventually.

 

[Jimsig]

Yuck. It's a good thing Alice saved the day. In your situation, I would not have stopped with "Excuse Me" (line cutters have no shame, so they really don't care about inconveniencing others), but would have actually gotten in front of the family that cut me. No way would they have stopped my child from seeing a character he'd patiently waited for.

Unfortunately with it happening so fast, them coming from the side, and the grandparents blocking us, the kids were already hugging a very surprised Alice before I even got the "Excuse me" out. The grandparents basically pulled an NBA pick on us. I would have had to physically move the grandparents and throw the small kids out of the way to get in front of them. I didn't want to go to Disney Jail As bad as the cutting was what really got me was the CM handler doing nothing about it and telling us we would then have to wait after telling us we would be next. After the hugs he could have said to them they had to go to the back of the line but he allowed them to take pics etc.

 

[Tink_83]

Edit: I had started to respond and then stopped but apparently it was saving those responses so when I posted this response it included the other partially completed posts as well... sorry...

Unfortunately with it happening so fast, them coming from the side, and the grandparents blocking us, the kids were already hugging a very surprised Alice before I even got the "Excuse me" out. The grandparents basically pulled an NBA pick on us. I would have had to physically move the grandparents and throw the small kids out of the way to get in front of them. I didn't want to go to Disney Jail As bad as the cutting was what really got me was the CM handler doing nothing about it and telling us we would then have to wait after telling us we would be next. After the hugs he could have said to them they had to go to the back of the line but he allowed them to take pics etc.

I would have been inclined to go to guest services and complain about the CM because they didn't really handle it well. Behavior like that upsets everyone and the CM should have addressed it. Although I say that now but probably while at the park I would be inclined to just give up... to much hassle to track down guest services...

 

[Shanti]

Unfortunately with it happening so fast, them coming from the side, and the grandparents blocking us, the kids were already hugging a very surprised Alice before I even got the "Excuse me" out. The grandparents basically pulled an NBA pick on us. I would have had to physically move the grandparents and throw the small kids out of the way to get in front of them. I didn't want to go to Disney Jail As bad as the cutting was what really got me was the CM handler doing nothing about it and telling us we would then have to wait after telling us we would be next. After the hugs he could have said to them they had to go to the back of the line but he allowed them to take pics etc.

It's appalling that the CM allowed that. It's pretty easy to say, "I'm sorry, but this family was actually next." Especially since the CM knew you were next and had already told you you'd get to meet Alice. Again, glad Alice handled it. If she hadn't I would have reported the CM to guest services, because that's pretty outrageous is my book. Those character lines take forever, so the CM knowing & accepting a family blatantly cutting right to the front of one is pretty poor customer service.

 

[Araminta18]

My first time at Epcot, my husband and I were in the single rider line Test Track. There were two girls in front of us wearing matching bachelorette "drinking around the world" shirts. After about 5 minutes in line, 8 more of the bachelorette girls cut in front of us to join their group. In a normal line, I probably would have let it go, but in the single rider line? I was livid (course, I was also exhausted, tired, and my feet hurt, so that was probably part of it too), and totally called them out, saying to them that it was really really rude of them to jump the line in the single rider line because they make each person behind them wait that much longer. They pretty much ignored me, though a couple said "it's not rude, we're just joining our group" or something like that, and then I continued to grumble under my breath to my husband while they complained about me to each other for the rest of the 30/45 minute single rider line. Seriously, so rude, in the single rider line where each additional person adds more time to the wait. I didn't do anything else, cause no CMs were around and I was just so irritated and exhausted at that point that I think I just wanted to make my displeasure known.

 

[Jimsig]

I would have been inclined to go to guest services and complain about the CM because they didn't really handle it well. Behavior like that upsets everyone and the CM should have addressed it. Although I say that now but probably while at the park I would be inclined to just give up... to much hassle to track down guest services...

Yuck. It's appalling that the CM allowed that. It's pretty easy to say, "I'm sorry, but this family was actually next." Especially since the CM knew you were next and had already told you you'd get to meet Alice. Again, glad Alice handled it. If she hadn't I would have reported the CM to guest services, because that's pretty outrageous is my book. Those character lines take forever, so the CM knowing & accepting a family blatantly cutting right to the front of one is pretty poor customer service.

If Alice hadn't said something to him I would have been more inclined to go to Guest Services but also that day it was only me and my DD, my DW was shopping at what was then Downtown Disney. I felt being somewhat scolded by Alice was enough and didn't want to subject my daughter to a line that didn't have a ride or food at the end