Line etiquette

[tomshortridge]

What about Parades and Shows?

Do you guys mind one person saving space for a family of 6??

Tour Guide Mike's strategy depends heavily on this, but I dont want to get beat down by other guests for doing this.

Thanks

Tom

 

[bicker]

The same ethics apply to parade routes as with attraction queues: Parties should stay together. The only exception would be if a child needs to use the rest room, it would be appropriate for one adult to take the child.

 

[kg66]

We just got back last week and there were a lot of rude, line cutting people. If anyone has been to see the Nemo show at AK and stood in the line that goes all the way around back to Primal Whirl you know what I'm talking about. We were told by the CM's from the point where we were standing they couldn't guarantee we'd get in . The theater holds 1600 people. Anyway the line starts moving and just as it gets close to the doors, these people hop the rope and get in line, right behind us. My hubby freaks, and tells them in no polite way that they are rude, there's 300-400 people behind us waiting to get in. "Oh our families were holding our place in line". Hubby was quite vocal, even told the CM as we passed her and they were still exchanging pleasantries, and she let them all go by.

But the worst was upon arriving at Epcot, we went right to get our Fastpasses for Soarin'. There was a woman in her early 20's getting a stack or fastpasses equivalent to 2 decks of cards. And the CM was helping her. We and the people behind us complained loudly and he said we're trying to go as quickly as possible and let her keep going. Well the lady behind us got really vocal, and the lady getting the fastpasses said, "I'm a student!" Yeah so, so are all the kids here!! Finally the CM mad her step aside and let us and the lady behind us go through. Probably to avoid the scene. As we were getting our Fastpasses, a few ladies had joined this lady waiting to finish her 50-100 FP, and they began to yell at us because they wouldn't have the same FP time. Hello...it's a 1hr window when you can return. I can only hope she was smart enough not to hold the line for all those people upon returning to use her FP!

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

Tour Guide Mike's strategy depends heavily on this, but I dont want to get beat down by other guests for doing this.

Most people are afraid of confrontation and therefore won't say anything. It still isn't fair to the people who waited themselves to be crowded out by a family returning to the 6' of curb space held by mom for an hour or more.

 

[candlekatie]

I think it is not a huge deal if it is one person joining the group already in the line, I assume they had to use the rest room, but to have the group join the one person seems so rude. I would never think of doing that! My kids wait in the lines just like everyone else. Although, we use TGM, so we don't have too many lines to deal with!

 

[beattyfamily]

We are a family of 4 who always get a seat on the curb about one hour before.

Then between the stroller, ponchos, abd backpack, we save our spots. For the most part, we all sit there together and wait but sometmes DH takes the girls for an ice cream or something from the bakery or to the bathroom. Sometimes, I might run in and look at the souvenirs, and sometimes my girls stand and dance around on Main Street.

I don't feel we're doing anything wrong. My family isn't off riding rides, they are either getting food, going to the bathroom, or standing around and dancing.

I think it would be really difficult for one person to hold a spot for 6 people. Even with the 4 of us trying to keep our own spots for that whole hour, we somehow get squshed into a much smaller space than what we started with by the time the parade starts.

 

[buffy0214]

Line saving doesn't bother me if it is one or two people, adult or child, because you really don't know the reason. Autistic children have trouble waiting and others might have medical problems you don't know about. I am considerate of others as I do not know their situation. Even one person heading off to get fastpasses wouldn't bug me. But, if one person is holding the line for a group, then that would upset me.

 

[Disneyolic]

Funny how I never thought that saving a spot for your family for the parades was a big deal really, providing your family wasn't huge. We personally have never done it since we aren't really parade people but it doesn't seem the same as line cutting.

My feeling is that people know what time the parade is and if you want to stake it out and let some of your other members do a little something in between, then it would not be that big a deal. For the person who is staking out the area, it should only be an area that they can watch themselves - not too big a spot - or have another person wait with them. For those people who show up for the parade last minute trying to find room, well too bad for them. That's just as bad as line cutting.

Since a ride is almost always continuous, then line cutting should not be tolerated (except in the above needed situations, ie, restroom, etc.).

Just MHO.

 

[bicker]

Most people are afraid of confrontation and therefore won't say anything.

It is unfortunate that some travel guides actually advocate this sort of behavior. It is an insidious transgression, since readers will use the travel guide as justification for their actions, consider themselves "smart" for being "in the know", and then think kindly on the travel guide based on the benefits they derived from such behavior -- all to the deteriment of guests who either bypass such advice or are courteous enough to realize that the advice is bad and refrain from engaging in it.

 

[kg66]

While we were there last week, we got our spot early , like I'm talking an hour early, for Spectromagic. We were right in front of the castle, where the hub is that meets Main St. The Street to the Left of the castle is open partially for sitting because once the parade enters from Main St. it stays to the right of the hub. The area was marked out in tape but nobody was sitting there.We asked a CM and she said as long as you stand within the taped lines, you're welcome to sit there. Well after an hour of waiting, don't you know that this woman comes up to my hubby 5 min before the parade and says "If you moved your stroller I could stand there!" My hubby told her in no way was he moving the stroller that our DD was sleeping in! She was not very happy. Dh told her we'd been there for an hour, and so had all the people sitting behind us. Everyone cheered for DH standing up to her. But what does she do next, she sends her kids in behind us, now remember we've been there an hour, and we're front row, with many people behind us. The 2 little girls try to push their way between me and the stroller. There was no way I was letting them push their way in after how rude their mom had been. So when they couldn't get in they proceeded to yell to all the characters as they walked by. I swear they were trying to wake up my DD so we'd leave. Some people really aren't teaching their children good life lessons. 'Cause you know when those kids grow up, they're going to be the rude adults our kids are going to have to deal with when they are adults!

 

[bicker]

Related thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1371748

 

[elump1]

The article you posted was very interesting. We went to Disney last week (with 2 small children) and I was amazed at how many teenagers and young adults attempted to "join their friends" at the front of the line. Another problem we noticed was the number of teenagers in rented Disney wheelchairs that used them to get their entire group to the front of the line. I understand that sometimes people do need to rent wheelchairs (we have before when someone had a knee injury and was on crutches), but I saw teenagers playing around in them, swapping places, and nearly running into people and strollers because they were horse playing!

I was also amazed at how little regard people have for those pushing strollers. At park opening, my group would split up - my mom would take my daughter (14 months old) and go get a stroller, and my husband and I would take our nephew (who is 5) to go get Fast passes and get in line for popular attractions. Mom would always get the stroller and try to move to the side and wait until the beginning rush ended before meeting us. Even though she would move to the side, other people would push her and try to run over her in their rush to get to the rides. She actually ended up with bruises! I was amazed at how little regard some people have for others!

I agree with everyone about the line cutting business. Everyone should be there when you get in line, or you can ride without them or move back in the line to where they are (we did this a few times). If you are worried about standing in a line for too long and have small children, get a fastpass. We chose the rides that were most important to my nephew and those are the ones we got fast passes for and rode. (We also used TGM so we got to ride most rides and our waits in regular lines were not long!) On the rides we did have to wait, we told him that we would have to wait and gave him the choice of riding or not. He learned that sometimes he has to be patient to get what he wants.

On a side note, Disney does have passes for those who have children with special needs that cannot stand in line for long periods.

I understand that everyone wants to get the most out of their Disney visit, but I do not think that it should be at the expense of others who are playing by the rules, and it does appall me that some parents are teaching their children to be selfish and inconsiderate.

 

[buffy0214]

On a side note, Disney does have passes for those who have children with special needs that cannot stand in line for long periods.

While it is true that Disney has special passes, not everyone knows about them nor uses them. My DH threw his back out on our last trip. He rode around in the electric scooters but when it came to standing in line he just didn't feel right about going to the front of the line even though we were always offered it. He prefered to sit until I got close and then join me.

I understand that there are rude people out there but perhaps we could be considerate of others who might have problems that we don't know about.

 

[pikaboo27]

I haven't read any guidebooks that advise sending one person to stand in line and then everyone join them. That would just be wrong. I have seen plenty that recommend that the group go to one ride and stand in line and one person go to a nearby ride to grab a fast pass. Or to go on a ride like Dumbo with a child to send a second adult a certain number of people back so that when the child gets off the ride, they can join the 2nd adult and ride again since small children usually want to ride again and dumbo is a slow loading ride. I don't really have a problem with either of these because it is only one person, but I would have a problem if a large group joined a single person.

 

[ILuvJimny]

I think it is not a huge deal if it is one person joining the group already in the line, I assume they had to use the rest room, but to have the group join the one person seems so rude. I would never think of doing that! My kids wait in the lines just like everyone else. Although, we use TGM, so we don't have too many lines to deal with!

Okay, I thought I was getting the hang of all these acronyms, but what is TGM? Is that a program or service that helps you set up a good itinerary for your day?

 

[bicker]

I understand that there are rude people out there but perhaps we could be considerate of others who might have problems that we don't know about.

Considerate, yes; Tolerant of queue avoidance, no. It's a consideration that would be too readily abused by miscreants if such abuse could be undertaken with impunity. Folks who have trouble with queues must either learn about special assistance passes, or find a way to manage navigating the queues with everyone else.

 

[bosox18]

Okay, I thought I was getting the hang of all these acronyms, but what is TGM? Is that a program or service that helps you set up a good itinerary for your day?

Tour Guide Mike, a sponsor of these boards.

 

[mirthmaiden]

Considerate, yes; Tolerant of queue avoidance, no. It's a consideration that would be too readily abused by miscreants if such abuse could be undertaken with impunity. Folks who have trouble with queues must either learn about special assistance passes, or find a way to manage navigating the queues with everyone else.

I completely agree with Bicker here. DH has cancer and will be in a wheelchair when we visit. His chemotherapy requires avoidance of too much sun. So we will get a GAC, he will wear a hat, and we will queue up in a separate area. But, from what I've read, that still doesn't mean we won't have to wait the same amount of time as everyone else. I just means we won't be waiting in the sun. I wouldn't expect to go right to the front of the line. In fact, I did that at USF once when we stayed on property and - maybe I'm weird - but it just felt wrong looking at all those "stand-by" passengers who were waiting.

 

[Disneyolic]

I haven't read any guidebooks that advise sending one person to stand in line and then everyone join them. That would just be wrong.

I do remember reading that in a book. I'm not positive but I believe the book may be Walt Disney World for Kids by Mary ?. I thought that was a cool idea when I read it at first but never actually did it because of the way I felt about other "abusers".

 

[SueM in MN]

Another problem we noticed was the number of teenagers in rented Disney wheelchairs that used them to get their entire group to the front of the line.

That is a common misconception that people using wheelchairs get to the front of the line, but it's not true.
People using wheelchairs or ECVs (electric scooters) don't get out of waiting in line.
The only people who do get front of the line access are children on trips sponsored by Make a Wish or similar wish-granting organizations for seriously ill children.

He rode around in the electric scooters but when it came to standing in line he just didn't feel right about going to the front of the line even though we were always offered it. He prefered to sit until I got close and then join me.

(Note: I'm not saying this was not your experience, just that it may not have been what you thought it was).
Most of the lines at WDW are wheelchair and ECV accessible, so there are very few situations where someone actually goes thru a wheelchair entrance. A few are wheelchair accessible, but not ECV accessible because the line is too narrow for an ECV to go through. Some of those lines are accessible for people using smaller, narrower ECVs rented from off-site, but not accessible for the big 4 wheeled ones rented in the parks.
In the cases where the line is not ECV accessible, the CMs have a wheelchair at the entrance to the queue that people using ECVs may switch into if they wish.

In most cases, wheelchair/ECV users wait in the same line with everyone else. For a very few attractions, there is an alternate entrace because the regular one isn't accessible and was not able to be made accessible (most in MK or Epcot since they were built before accessibility was thought of). There are some others, where the boarding area is not accessible and wheelchair/ECV users wait in the regular or Fastpass line and then are pulled into a different area for loading (Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain are examples).

One of the other things that people who don't use wheelchairs don't know is where people with wheelchairs go when they are taken out of the line. They assume those people who 'disappear' from the line are boarding right away, but that is not usually the case.
If they can't board at the regular boarding spot, they are pulled out of the line - usually just before the regular line gets to the boarding area (so they have already waited as long as everyone that got in the line the same time as they did).
For example, at Buzz Lightyear, the 'pull off point' is after you have gone thru the room with the large Buzz Lightyear, near the point where regular line is beginning to enter the actual boarding area. Guests with wheelchairs/ ECVs are pulled out of line at that point and sent to the exit - not to board right away, but to wait. If there are too many people with disabilities already on the attraction, you have to wait for some to get off (for fire safetly and evacuation reasons). Because our DD can't get out of her wheelchair easily, we have to wait extra for a special car that the wheelchair can be loaded on. We usually see the people who were right ahead of us in line getting off after riding while we are still waiting to board. In some rides, boarding at the accessible area means you miss part of the attraction; for example, at Haunted Mansion, you miss the entire 'stretching room' part of the attraction.

The Safari at AK is notorious for extra waits for people with disabilities. Our longest wait there was an EXTRA 40 minutes at a time when the regular line was walk on and Safari Trams were pulling out partially loaded because people were not walking up fast enough to fill them.

Spaceship Earth is a ride with a handicapped entrance, but during times when other passengers are able to walk right on, our wait is usually 20-30 minutes.

AK and the Studio were built with what are called 'Mainstream Lines'. These are lines where the regular line is wheelchair/ECV accessible and a person using a wheelchair or ECV waits in the same line with everyone else.

Here's what it says in the official WDW Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities about Mainstream Lines and the list of attractions with Mainstream Queues:
As you can see, most of the lines are Mainstream Queues:

Magic Kingdom® Park
Ariel's Grotto
Astro Orbiter
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
Donald's Boat
Judge's Tent
Mickey's Country House
Mickey's PhilharMagic
Mike Fink Keelboats (seasonal)
Minnie's Country House
Pirates of the Caribbean
Space Mountain®
Splash Mountain®
Stitch's Great Escape!™
The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacres Farm
"The Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management"
The Hall of Presidents
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Tomorrowland® Indy Speedway
Toontown Hall of Fame
Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress (seasonal)

Epcot®
FUTURE WORLD
Imagination!: All Attractions
Innoventions East
Innoventions West
Mission: SPACE
Test Track
The Living Seas: All Attractions
The Land: Soarin' and the movie
Universe of Energy: "Ellen's Energy Adventure"
Wonders of Life: All Attractions (seasonal)

WORLD SHOWCASE
China: "Reflections of China"
France: "Impressions de France"
FriendShip Boats
Norway: Maelstrom
The American Adventure: "The American Adventure"

Disney-MGM Studios
Disney-MGM Studios Backlot Tour
Fantasmic!
Lights, Motors, Action!™ Extreme Stunt Show
Muppet*Vision 3D
Playhouse Disney - Live On Stage!
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster® Starring Aerosmith
Sounds Dangerous - Starring Drew Carey
Star Tours
The Great Movie Ride
The Magic of Disney Animation
"The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™"
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Walt Disney: One Man's Dream

Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park
Caravan Stage: "Flights of Wonder"
DINOSAUR
Expedition Everest
Grandmother Willow's Grove: "Pocahontas and Her forest friends"
It's Tough To Be A Bug
Kali River Rapids
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Lion King Theater: "Festival of the Lion King"
Maharajah Jungle Trek
Primeval Whirl
Theater in the Wild: "Tarzan Rocks!"
The Boneyard
TriceraTop Spin

And, some attractions have limited number of spots for wheelchairs. That is often a situation where wheelchair or ECV users are pulled to the front. But, it's not an advantage, it's so they don't have more people with ECVs or wheelchairs waiting for the show than there are spots for.

We have already shown up for shows where there was still room for ambulatory people, but the wheelchair spots were already filled for that show and we had to wait for the next one (Voyage of the Little Mermaid, where we had Fastpasses; and ITTBAB, where the CMs were practically begging people to come into the queue because there was no wait in the standby line.

On a side note, Disney does have passes for those who have children with special needs that cannot stand in line for long periods.

They are not actually passes (i.e. get to the front of the lines), they are called Guest Assistance Cards (GAC). Disney changed the name from GA Pass to GA Card in 1999 or 2000 to make it more clear that the Cards were about accomidation rather than being a pass that gives priviledges. Accomidations might be things like a quieter place to wait, a place out of the sun, etc., not access without waiting. It does say right on the cards that they are not meant to shorten or eliminate waits in line and the card suggests using Fastpass to avoid long waits.