How To Survive Long Lines

[magical nugget]

I thought I would make this tread to help folks who are either going to Universal that aren't paying the extra money to skip the lines (I DO NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE TO BUY THAT tbh) or people who couldn't get a fp to there favorite attraction at wdw...
So here is how our family survives the dreaded standby line(side note: totally recommend a portable charger):

• Play Heads Up!-Honestly this is probably the best family mobile game ever. No matter how moody your teen is, there will still crack some hits here and there. Every time we play this game people around us always join in on the fun. Also it's a great way to meet new people!
• Play Candy Land-If you're looking for a less active game and you just want to chill, this is the best option.
• Play a good old game of iSpy-No phones required! This game is good for taking in the great detail Disney puts in there line queues.

Personally our favorite hands done is playing Heads Up. Whenever we play this it feels like we never waited at all.
So how does your family survive long waits?

 

[thetallone101]

Why wouldn't you recommend buying the express pass from Universal?

 

[minnie mum]

Go somewhere elase. If wait times are too long, we find an attraction with shorter ones. There's at least half the problem solved.

No electronics allowed in the parks for our family except DHs smart phone. And that's only for FPs, wait times and emergencies. We talk to each other. An old fashioned concept, to be sure, but it works for us. With the kids, play I Spy, 20 questions, and look for hidden Mickeys. People watch- an under rated but highly entertaining past time. Sometimes have a snack that we've brought with us. And sometimes, just sometimes, we do nothing at all for a few minutes. Even our 4yo DGS doesn't need to be constantly stimulated.

 

[magical nugget]

Why wouldn't you recommend buying the express pass from Universal?

We once waited in a "200 minute" line for the forbidden journey and it actually wasn't that bad. Also, honestly a lot of Universals and IoA rides are quick loads so waiting isn't that long for me to recommend buying the express passes. (but I do think they lie on the wait times and in general times on lines can be intimidating )

 

[AshleeH]

We talk to each other. We tend to skip really long waits (only done one over 200 minutes and it was a necessity - we missed FPs for TSMM and it was our last day at HS and my kids were dying to ride it, so we bit the bullet), but in general we just go back to the rides with the huge wait times later in the day if it's important to us. We are rope drop people though - we try and get those out of the way early and have FPs for the long waits later.

 

[loves to dive]

If I'm solo I either look at all the details in the line or read my kindle on my phone. If I'm with my grown son, we usually talk or make up stories about things we see. We give back stories to just about every person we see, not where they can hear them of course.

 

[loves to dive]

Oh and just to add, if you see someone on a phone I wouldn't assume they are ignoring the other people/person in our party. I often pose a question innocently, like I wonder if the original Brown Derby is still around? And my son will have his phone whipped out in two shakes of a lambs tail, after about 1 minute I will know more about the Brown Derby then I ever knew possible. Happens all the time, we are a curious bunch and wonder who,what,when,where, how are asked constantly.

 

[JulieNMM]

We have played that heads up game when it was me and a few teenagers and we all enjoyed it. We have also played I Spy and 20 questions.

Would love to hear what others do!

 

[AngiTN]

Why wouldn't you recommend buying the express pass from Universal?

We are the opposite. I wouldn't dream of going to Universal without it. Especially when it's busy. Which of course, means it costs more. We are usually single day for Universal so the front of the line pass is hugely important

 

[warrenz1963]

Why wouldn't you recommend buying the express pass from Universal?

Not everyone can afford the added expense. Not everyone can afford to stay in one of the hotels that offer EP as an amenity. If one can afford it, go for it! I don't ever use it though, have never found it to be necessary for my touring style. And the attractions I like most don't offer it.

 

[AngiTN]

Go somewhere elase. If wait times are too long, we find an attraction with shorter ones. There's at least half the problem solved.

Same here. We don't wait more than 30 min. But I've never felt entertainment was needed for a line. It's Disney for goodness sakes, you are bombarded with entertainment. Sometimes nothing is exact what is called for

 

[bigbabyblues]

We spent 7 days in the parks last week, and we handled it by not getting in a line with a wait posted more than 30 minutes. We either came back later or got a FP when it became available. I do find that the lines move quickly enough, we pass the time talking to each other or playing the interactive things in the queues (BTMRR is the only thing we really had to wait for, that was about 25 min total).

 

[mindeola]

We do not wait in a line more than thirty minutes. When we are in a line that long we love to play Disney Head's Up!

 

[emij]

Last trip, I got a tiny hand held pinball game at the dollar store. Super light to carry and totally entertained my 4 &6 yo kids for the week. It was pulled out several times per day and very useful waiting for the parade. I know many recommend cards for the parade wait, but I didn't want to deal with keeping track of them all.

 

[disneydeal]

We never wait more than 15/20 minutes for a ride ever.
Ways to do that are rope drop, park hopper, fast passes, extra magic hours and maybe the most important is have long enough vacation 10+ days on property to where to can avoid midday madness by enjoying other activities like resort pools, shopping around area etc from 1 pm to 8 pm.
Last night walked right onto it's a small world, buzz lightyear, pirates of Caribbean, little mermaid ride with no waits between 11 pm and 1 am.
Also yesterday morning walked onto Dinosaur and Everest with 5 min wait. Then hopped over to Hollywood studios and used fast passes. Walked onto Toy Story Mania at noon.

 

[J'Adore Disney]

Head's Up Mobile App is the best! My family and I were waiting in line to ride Test Track, my niece brought out her phone, turned this App on and it instantly brought my family together, the kids had a great time and even the guests behind us played along.

 

[Parker Clan]

People watch

 

[usetr99]

Why wouldn't you recommend buying the express pass from Universal?

It's not worth the money. The express pass is only good for one time and it's only for some rides, not all of them. PLus, most of the time, you can do one park in half a day without it (even during the summer time). The only time a universal express pass is worth he money is during Halloween Horror nights because without it, you can't go to all of the houses.

 

[disnut8]

Pipe cleaners. Very inexpensive, colorful, not that harmful and you can do lots of things with them. You can "sword fight", you can make shapes, you can make earrings and nose rings and necklaces and bracelets. You can pass some to others who are also waiting in the line.

 

[MichelleWDWfan]

I don't stand in any line if it's more then 30 mins.
We use fastpasses all day long one after another.
I'm always at the park for rope drop.

When we did go to universal, I paid the extra money for the unlimited express pass.
It was well worth it for us.