Line etiquette

[kailuagirl]

I don't mind one or two people either. But when it's a group that's another story. Several years ago we were in Disneyland and Storybook was going to open soon. There were only 2 or 3 people in line so the 3 of us got in line. We are all excited that we will be on the first boat of the day and one of the people in front of us informs us that there are 25 more in their group coming that they are saving a spot for. I was flabbergasted. seriously holding the spot for 25 people and this was the family of the day that opened the park. Disney picked a wrong group that day. So instead of letting the 3 of us get in front of them we had to wait for all 25 to cut in front of us. It was just them and us in line.

 

[Kindermouse]

Actually having an older child hop the line and join me when I got to the front was a disneyland CM suggestion I got once. My son has anxiety, adhd, OCD and tourette's which can make waiting in confined spaces tricky (his ticcs might make him swing his arms around while his compulsion might be to wash his hands every 5 minutes). Their first suggestion was to have him wait outside the line and then join me later at the front but I rejected this right off the bat. I have seen first hand people get loud and beligerent when they see people "cutting" and 1 loud inappropriate jerk yelling at him for "cutting" would cause an end to our entire day-maybe even our entire trip. I kept pushing for the DAS.

Keep that in mind if you see an older child or adult getting in line to join their party-they may be following what a city hall cast member told them to do.

 

[kathy040690]

I hope i dont get shamed for this but sometimes my husband will go in line with the older kids and i have taken the baby to change a diaper and meet up with them at the front of the line... should i not be doing this? i ask because im honestly serious and do not want to piss anyone off !!!

 

[cakebaker]

I hope i dont get shamed for this but sometimes my husband will go in line with the older kids and i have taken the baby to change a diaper and meet up with them at the front of the line... should i not be doing this? i ask because im honestly serious and do not want to piss anyone off !!!

This is a old debate on the Dis. To me, if you're in line and anyone in the group needs the restroom, it's acceptable to leave and rejoin your group. Sending people ahead to save a spot isn't. But that's my line in the sand for myself and my family.

Twice while we were in line- almost ready to board a ride- my 4 yr old grandson decided he had to potty immediately. We just asked the CM at the front of the line and they let him and mom exit up front, stood the rest of us to the side and let mom and grandson come back thru the front exit. Just an FYI if your child decides at the last second they have to go!

 

[Indiana Scott]

I hope i dont get shamed for this but sometimes my husband will go in line with the older kids and i have taken the baby to change a diaper and meet up with them at the front of the line... should i not be doing this? i ask because im honestly serious and do not want to piss anyone off !!!

I think your fine and that's within Disney's guidelines.
What gets me is the large group that's just "catching up with our friend".

 

[mmmears]

I hope i dont get shamed for this but sometimes my husband will go in line with the older kids and i have taken the baby to change a diaper and meet up with them at the front of the line... should i not be doing this? i ask because im honestly serious and do not want to piss anyone off !!!

I have no issues with this, or when a parent leaves the line with a toddler who "has to go now!" I've been there, too. But we always tried to take care of those things before getting in the line, and if someone "has to go" we will all wait for that person. It's the large groups who barge in at the last moment that upset me and my family... often it's pretty obvious that they were squeezing in an extra ride and had one person in this line holding 12 spots for them. Totally different than needing to use the restroom.

 

[Mysteryincorp]

I hope i dont get shamed for this but sometimes my husband will go in line with the older kids and i have taken the baby to change a diaper and meet up with them at the front of the line... should i not be doing this? i ask because im honestly serious and do not want to piss anyone off !!!

This is absolutely fine and have done it myself. And you can almost always tell when this is the case. 12 adults, that's ridiculous. Adult s can hold it, adult can wait patiently in line, adults can wait to get a drink. Kids can't and that why I have no problem ducking out of line for those reasons....but seriously.....12 adults! Ridiculous!

 

[kathy040690]

only time i leave the line and rejoin is when the baby has made a "mess" in their diaper or one of the kids NEEDS to go that second.. All my kids are under 7 so bathroom emergencies happen often to us lol !!! id never get a spot saved for me in line or be in a group cutting that is very wrong and isnt fair !!!

 

[bcwife76]

A parent with a child? No problem. 12 people? PROBLEM. Down right RUDE. No Cuts, not butts, no coconuts!!

 

[MillauFr]

12 people? That is crazy. One time 4 teenagers tried to get by my family. They didn't get through. Not sure how people can really squeeze by all of those people. Those lines are packed in tight with people.

I rarely had problem with line cutters. Does it happen? Sure but it isn't very common.

 

[Disney Rose]

I hope i dont get shamed for this but sometimes my husband will go in line with the older kids and i have taken the baby to change a diaper and meet up with them at the front of the line... should i not be doing this? i ask because im honestly serious and do not want to piss anyone off !!!

I think its safe to say almost everyone would rather you change the baby's diaper and join your family in line, than stand in line with a baby needing a change!!

Someone ducking off to the toilet, or nappy change, or nursing a baby and then coming back is, in my opinion, totally fine and I'd barely even notice.

 

[Disney Lvr of Old]

I don't mind one or two people either. But when it's a group that's another story. Several years ago we were in Disneyland and Storybook was going to open soon. There were only 2 or 3 people in line so the 3 of us got in line. We are all excited that we will be on the first boat of the day and one of the people in front of us informs us that there are 25 more in their group coming that they are saving a spot for. I was flabbergasted. seriously holding the spot for 25 people and this was the family of the day that opened the park. Disney picked a wrong group that day. So instead of letting the 3 of us get in front of them we had to wait for all 25 to cut in front of us. It was just them and us in line.

OMG- I had the EXACT same experience on Storybook. I was in line with my son (2 of us) and there was 1 woman in front of me. Next thing I know she is joined by a dozen people. I could not believe that they had to go ahead of us. I think that was the angriest I ever got. But then they needed 2 people on a boat 3 boats ahead of her and I have to admit to smirking smugly as we walked past her group.....

 

[hawkfam]

We once had a group of 3 or 4 that tried to get by us to rejoin their group (even though I never saw them leave the line). I happily offered to either have their friends come back from the front to join their friends behind us or just let us switch spots with the group further up front but apparently that group didn't want to lose their spot. So, they rode separately because we didn't allow the one group to go past. Guess it wasn't as important for them to all ride together as they led us to believe...

 

[5forMickey]

This post makes me fell a little guilty. It's very difficult to travel with my elderly parents. We have a large party but it usually takes two of us to get the parents out of their ecv's and into line with the kids. Remember, they like to ride with their grandchildren also. Sometimes we just take them to the CM's and they let us get in line once our party get's close (TSMM is wonderful to accommodate us for this) but other times we have to do the "excuse me" thing. I would hope we could judge each situation for what it is. We have actually had very positive experiences for the most part people are usually very kind and understanding.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

This post makes me fell a little guilty. It's very difficult to travel with my elderly parents. We have a large party but it usually takes two of us to get the parents out of their ecv's and into line with the kids. Remember, they like to ride with their grandchildren also. Sometimes we just take them to the CM's and they let us get in line once our party get's close (TSMM is wonderful to accommodate us for this) but other times we have to do the "excuse me" thing. I would hope we could judge each situation for what it is. We have actually had very positive experiences for the most part people are usually very kind and understanding.

Don't worry I don't think anyone is going to give elderly disabled grandparents a beat down for cutting. Although, George on Seinfeld had a different experience on the ECV's. Ha Ha.

 

[Sagginit]

Honestly this is an issue because Disney looks the other way. This was a huge annoyance for me when I was in DL last fall and as a couple could not use this to my advantage so I took the hit on line times. Lots of families send one person to wait in line while they ride other rides. So then we got pushed around every time they need to "catch up" and had our wait extended. We saw this happen numerous times at TSM for example, the line does slow down for those in it every time a family has 1-2 people wait in the entire line and then decided to have 2-4 people "catch up". This was easily adding an extra 10 people to the line every few minutes that weren't there previously.

People have different versions of what they consider ethical and why they do it. I think it crosses the line of unethical when the people "catching up" were on another ride, getting FPs, eating a meal, at a show etc. Bathroom emergencies or health issues are a different story, especially since some queues are not conducive to EVCs and such. I grew up going to Six Flags in NJ. They have a no line cutting policy and enforce it. If you are caught they will remove you from the park and you forfeit your pass. This meant as a child there was no such thing as suddenly deciding I needed to go potty while in a line or splitting up as a group. People will continue to do this as there is no punishment for doing so. My take on it is Disney will eventually have to step in when or if conflict arises. For ex. in Six Flags a fight would break out over line cutting, so they enforce the policy to keep the peace. Disney doesn't have this issue as people there are mostly families that want to take the high road. Also it is a cultural thing. In other countries people tend to push more and don't wait in queues as peacefully. Since they have a large international base it may be hard getting people to comply with the policy when they aren't even used to neat orderly lines lol.

 

[mmmears]

I do think this sort of thing is on the rise. When we had a little one in a stroller, we'd park the stroller and get her out and when we were all together we would get in line. On our March trip to WDW, I noticed there were quite a few families who would race to a ride, send one or two people into the line, and the rest would collect the little ones, get everyone together, and then push their way past everyone to meet up with their one "runner." Luckily it didn't happen very often, but it was annoying when it did and it inconvenienced people.

As for changing diapers and kids needing to leave the line to go to the restroom, please take them! We've seen kids have accidents because their parents didn't want to leave the line, and nobody likes standing near a baby who really needs a change.

 

[maltdizzy]

I hope i dont get shamed for this but sometimes my husband will go in line with the older kids and i have taken the baby to change a diaper and meet up with them at the front of the line... should i not be doing this? i ask because im honestly serious and do not want to piss anyone off !!!

This post makes me fell a little guilty. It's very difficult to travel with my elderly parents. We have a large party but it usually takes two of us to get the parents out of their ecv's and into line with the kids. Remember, they like to ride with their grandchildren also. Sometimes we just take them to the CM's and they let us get in line once our party get's close (TSMM is wonderful to accommodate us for this) but other times we have to do the "excuse me" thing. I would hope we could judge each situation for what it is. We have actually had very positive experiences for the most part people are usually very kind and understanding.

Don't feel guilty.

As I (and others) noted there is no consensus on this. The fact that you are conscious and considerate of others feelings shows you really aren't abusing a privileged. Honestly, it's none of my damn business why other people re-join lines.

I have seen some people be real a**holes about it (usually at WDW...let's face it, DL is in So. Cal. where the lifestyle is very "live and let live"),...and I don't care who cut in front of who, it's the guy screaming or making a scene that is ruining everyone's day. Myself, it's not worth me getting angry over, I stay in my happy place (admittedly, my wife and I will have fun with very catty remarks about whatever incident).

 

[cp11]

I know a post above said adults can hold it. Well, I for one, am not one of those people. I approached a CM about this issue because as I felt guilty for cutting and asked for a solution. I cannot stand in a long line and hold it for that long. They actually told me I could get out of line and come back through to join my party.

Before they got strict with passes, they actually would give my family and I one to use. I haven't tried since they starting getting strict, so now I just hop out of line and have to cut back in. I would never be able to go on such rides as TSMM if I do not do this. I must admit, usually me having to go, suddenly one of my kids usually do also.

The only time we've held spots is sitting and waiting for things such as Fantasmic or a parade while the rest usually goes and gets snacks and comes back.

 

[offwithyourhead]

I'm okay with cutting back in when it's kids or the elderly. I also don't mind if it's one or two adults. A number of things could have happened in those situations; someone needs to use the washroom (or in the case of a child, had an accident), needed minor first aid, was having allergy symptoms or something and needed to get some water to take their benadryl with, a diabetic feeling faint who needed to grab something to eat, or someone who is heat sensitive needing to cool themselves down quickly.

I think everybody deserves to have a pleasant time at Disney. Lots of things can quickly turn a good day sour, like having your eyes running like Niagra Falls because of pollen or feeling lightheaded because you forgot to eat in all the excitement. If someone has to take care of themselves, I don't mind if they cut back in line with their 'placeholder' person.

But when it's a large group wandering around doing other stuff while one person holds the place in line, no ailments or 'needs' to be had, that's rude.