How Long is Too Long? - Standby Lines

[Mousemommy1]

OMG we are soooo alike! You just summed up exactly what I've been thinking.

I am trying to understand other perspectives however, because everyone is different and everyone vacations different......and that's ok.

I've just never found someone with such similar views to me!

I have been on the boards for awhile but found out quite early on that our touring style is "odd" (I guess)

To answer your other question, we spend a lot of time at the resort....swimming and enjoying the amenities. Probably 50/50 of our waking hours split time wise. Makes for such a relaxing vacation. I do realize that a lot of people see Disney as just a theme park. We see it as our happy relaxing place, and if we get bored relaxing, there are four amazing theme parks we can visit and break up the boredom!

 

[Planogirl]

A lot depends on the queue. For example Splash Mountain has a hot, uncomfortable queue and I don't want to spend much time waiting in it. Other queues are more comfortable and I might allow a little more time.

However I wouldn't ever want to devote more than an hour total to a ride. That includes wait time and ride time and I would only ever wait that long if I really wanted to ride something a lot.

 

[Rosanne]

If I were traveling by myself or with other adults the line waits wouldn't be as big an issue. Traveling with small children (though always growing ) makes it stressful to wait in lines that are terribly long. The max for us would be 40 minutes but I wouldn't want to do that more than twice in one day. Typically we wouldn't do more than 30 minutes unless it was something like Splash, TT, Soarin' or BTMRR.

 

[CWdreamer]

For me usually an hour tops (maybe longer depending on the ride). If i'm going to be at the parks a few days during the trip, I don't mind waiting in lines. I've grown up going to the Six Flags near me with lines that are typically an hour at their shortest, so wait times don't bother me too much.

That's us too! (Six Flags, Kings Island, Cedar Point and we don't pay for front of the line passes), so we are used to longer waits so an hour isn't too bad. FP+ is just a bonus as far as we are concerned.

 

[ks-man]

For us it is about the alternative. If we are in the MK on a 4-6 kinds of a day, by 12pm there aren't all that many rides you can go on with under a 20 minute wait. The longest wait was probably on our first trip where my 2.5 year old daughter wanted to continually do Dumbo and we ended up waiting about 40 mins. I'm guessing we would do a 45-60 minute wait for Enchanted Tales if other rides in the area were about a 25 minute wait however we wouldn't wait 45 mins if we had a group to select from that were only 5-10 minutes. One benefit of having two young kids is that they don't mind going on the same ride multiple times so if we find a few rides with low wait times we can continually hit those up.

Of course this doesn't get into my biggest concern with our upcoming trip. My daughter (remember her) is now 5.5 and obsessed with Frozen. I'm cringing at all the posts about 2-4 hour waits to see Elsa and Anna if you don't RD and race to the line. Please god have them in the Fantasy of the Festival Parade and have that running by the end of April.

 

[nugov2]

Are rides the top priority for your trip every time?


We have gone to Walt Disney World a few times and only gone to a park 1 day, and spent the rest of the time at the resorts and swimming, etc. Have you ever done a relax vacation and not worried about lines/ rides/ wait times? I personally LOVE so much of Disney that isn't just the rides and attractions. I love the atmosphere, the hotels, the food, the details...etc.

Is that just a trip/ style that is unheard of to most people on these boards?

To answer your first question...I won't wait more that 30 minutes. We went in June and were able to do this. In MK we were using at least 8 FP and then stood SB for short waits.

To answer this question...yes we do, but we don't go to WDW to swim. We rent a lake house with boat and jet skis when we want to mostly swim and relax. Or and oceanfront house. I love WDW, but for the parks not the resorts. I would never vacation there and only do resort activities, but that is just me. I also wouldn't stay onsite for more than a couple of days. We are a house rental family(5 of us) we need our own rooms and lots of space to have an enjoyable week or more vacation. I like the WDW deluxe resorts and have stayed onsite they are nice in addition to the park, but not a stand alone vacation IMO. I can go a lot of places and rent bikes, swim in a pool, fish, hit the spa, eat at nice restaurants all a lot cheaper than WDW and also in much nicer accommodations. Deluxe resorts are priced high(b/c they can), but they are no where near the same standards as true deluxe resorts. They are similar to a nice Marriott...nothing like a premiere resort you would get somewhere else in that dollar range. It is WDW though and they can get it.

 

[kalliyan1]

So many people seem like they use (used) the FastPass system to ride all their rides, or the majority of them, and act like they never have waited in a line before.

I can tell you we didn't act, we didn't wait in line using the FP- system. It's how we toured the parks and it worked very well for us and we were able to ride lots of rides. This has worked in June, Sept, Dec, and March for us.
We have a trip scheduled the first week of March

My family has not done lines. We were heavy FP users and rope droppers, so lines have generally never been something we had to contend with. And that includes Christmas and New Year's, Easter, everything.
My family would be miserable if our trips became all about waiting in lines. The phrase "or we can just wait in line" has never (and probably will never) come out of anyone's mouth at my house. Unless that meant 10 minutes!

I totally agree with this. We would often walk by standby lines for Space Mountain for example and wonder WHY people would stand in line for 60+ minutes to ride when they could just pull a FP, come back and have pretty much no wait

 

[nugov2]

That's us too! (Six Flags, Kings Island, Cedar Point and we don't pay for front of the line passes), so we are used to longer waits so an hour isn't too bad. FP+ is just a bonus as far as we are concerned.

We are spending a week on Lake Norris this summer and going to Dollywood for 2 days and for sure getting their Q2Q system for the park and waterpark.

We will pay(my dh grumbles about it) at any park that offers it, if it is crowded. I am anti long waits. Just can't do it, so the kids benefit b/c mommy is impatient

 

[Retro Magic]

40min is the most I would ever wait and only if it was something special or a must-do.
Otherwise the general rule for me is if its any more than 20 I won't bother until the line gets smaller.

 

[jmkrat]

When we go we are going for the whole Disney experience and not just the rides. We've tried to get some Fast passes and for the big rides and they were usually out and have always had to wait in line. We're not RD people so most were gone by the time we got to the park, even if we were there early. We'll wait over an hour if need be and have for some rides. We love it all and try to plan some of our rides during Magic hours. I'm disappointed this year because we will miss MK Extra Magic hours, but I know we'll have fun anyway. I'm just thrilled to be there so we spend some time shopping and eating too. We also enjoy the gorgeous resorts we've stayed at. Always need time to enjoy the pool

 

[ajwolfe]

We usually try to cap it at 45 minutes, but depending on the ride and how many more opportunities we will have to ride it we will wait longer. I'm sort of shocked by how many people put there max at 20 minutes. We are a theme park family and even at the local Six Flags or Silver Dollar City (season passes both) we rarely wait less than 20 minutes for a ride unless it's an off day. It's part of it to us and we want our kids to understand that not everything is instant gratification, so they need to understand some times there is a little wait.
We used FP in legacy, just not that heavily and we will use the FP+ as well. For us, it will just sweeten the pot a little bit.

 

[mco65]

Over the past decade, I can't remember waiting much more than 30 minutes for any rides. Maybe, but it would have been a exception to the norm. I don't think I would mind waiting longer but we have always gone during off peak times of the year and are RD folks that relied on the old legacy FP system to make our park times go smooth!

I am a bit worried about our upcoming trip. We had to reschedule because of the SNOW days here in GA and will now be going during Spring Break. That coupled with the new FP+ system, i can foresee some longer wait times. I think me and the kiddos will be fine with it, not so sure about momma.

 

[hgeisler]

I think it depends. For some that don't go often, they feel the need to experience everything, thus time is an issue when waiting for attractions. If you want to squeeze everything in, then you can't be waiting in long stand-by lines.
However, I used to live in Florida, do I've been several times. Eventhough I no longer live in Florida, I plan on going many more times So, I'm never in a rush to ride anything. I usually won't wait in stand-by for longer than 30 min. If I miss the ride this trip, I can always do it the next
I know some go crazy for TSMM and Soarin', but unless I have a FP it's a no go for me. I just don't think they are that great to wait up to 2 hrs for:/

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

My cap is 25 minutes and that's only for my absolute favorites or ones with the better queues such as Splash Mountain, Jungle Cruise, Tower of Terror, or Haunted Mansion.

 

[melissarose]

Longest I will wait is 40 minutes. I've never jumped into a line with a wait longer than 40. I'd never wait 40 for really short ride though, such a Barnstormer, as someone mentioned. This past trip we got in line for the Little Mermaid ride and the wait was 40. We did so because none of us had ever been on it and I knew I wasn't going to be back for quite some time. The ride was pretty short so I kind of felt like I waited for too long, but at least I got to do it! We usually find that when we go most rides have a 20 minute wait mid-day anyways.

 

[TeachTink]

I am used to going to Disney during the busiest times of the year (Easter, Christmas/New Years), so I have never experienced short waits. If I walked up to Haunted Mansion and saw the wait was 40 minutes, I would think, "Okay, it's 40 minutes, let's get in line!" I am excited to think that when I go in May, I might not have to wait forever for everything. I don't think I've ever seen anything shorter than 40 minutes for BTMR.

When my mom and I would go around New Year's, it was always a 1 or 2 day trip to MK because we would be in FL for a football bowl game. If we didn't wait in line at some point, we wouldn't get to ride the ride. I like walking around and stuff at Disney, but I am a ride person for sure.

 

[Dreams0308]

We usually try to cap it at 45 minutes, but depending on the ride and how many more opportunities we will have to ride it we will wait longer. I'm sort of shocked by how many people put there max at 20 minutes. We are a theme park family and even at the local Six Flags or Silver Dollar City (season passes both) we rarely wait less than 20 minutes for a ride unless it's an off day. It's part of it to us and we want our kids to understand that not everything is instant gratification, so they need to understand some times there is a little wait.
We used FP in legacy, just not that heavily and we will use the FP+ as well. For us, it will just sweeten the pot a little bit.

I am a little shocked too... but that's why I asked the question. I wasn't aware that some people consider that a long wait. I am trying to figure out the different viewpoints though so that I can better understand what people are talking about. I look at the wait times on the MDE app here and there and I will see 25-30 min and I will be like "omg that such a good wait" and think "if only I were there right now!" But for some people, they think

I grew up in Northeast Ohio, and we had Geauga Lake (later Six flags, now gone) and Seaworld Ohio! I don't really remember exact wait times, but going to amusement parks through the years I agree with you, for good rides there's rarely less than a 20 min wait.

I like your point too about understanding that not everything is instant gratification

 

[ks-man]

We usually try to cap it at 45 minutes, but depending on the ride and how many more opportunities we will have to ride it we will wait longer. I'm sort of shocked by how many people put there max at 20 minutes. We are a theme park family and even at the local Six Flags or Silver Dollar City (season passes both) we rarely wait less than 20 minutes for a ride unless it's an off day. It's part of it to us and we want our kids to understand that not everything is instant gratification, so they need to understand some times there is a little wait.
We used FP in legacy, just not that heavily and we will use the FP+ as well. For us, it will just sweeten the pot a little bit.

I agree. Reading some of the posts in this thread does make it easier to understand the outcry around here about FP+. The days of spending a day in the park never waiting more than 15 mins for a ride seem to be over. If you want to be there during the middle hours of the day (and go on rides) you will have to spend some time in the SB line.

 

[Dreams0308]

I don't think I've ever seen anything shorter than 40 minutes for BTMR.

Neither have I ... I thought I was crazy or something

 

[isabellea]

Are rides the top priority for your trip every time?


We have gone to Walt Disney World a few times and only gone to a park 1 day, and spent the rest of the time at the resorts and swimming, etc. Have you ever done a relax vacation and not worried about lines/ rides/ wait times? I personally LOVE so much of Disney that isn't just the rides and attractions. I love the atmosphere, the hotels, the food, the details...etc.

Is that just a trip/ style that is unheard of to most people on these boards?

Our style is similar to yours. This summer we will be at AoA for 3 nights but only going to MK one day. The rest of our time there will be to enjoy the pool and activities of the resort and Downtown Disney. My max wait would be 1h IF the waiting line is fun and entertaining for the kids like the Pooh ride.