Silly Question re Character Lines

[dgundry]

I should know better after going to WDW so many times, but....

Can one person stand in line and wait for a character greeting while others in the group continuing to ride attractions and do other things? If so, how do the others reconnect with the person standing in line and "holding their place"?

This applies to our upcoming trip for MVMCP and the longer lines such as Seven Dwarves and Scrooge.

Thanks in advance!

 

[MakiraMarlena]

If so, how do the others reconnect with the person standing in line and "holding their place"?

Cell phones, text message.

2 issues.

If you have one person standing in line and two or three guests join them, nobody's going to freak out most likely. But you have one person standing in line and 6 to 12 guests join them at the last minute expect some objections.

If you get to the front of the line and your party hasn't arrived yet, you'll need to either meet the character by yourself or go to the back to wait for them.

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

I should know better after going to WDW so many times, but....

Can one person stand in line and wait for a character greeting while others in the group continuing to ride attractions and do other things? If so, how do the others reconnect with the person standing in line and "holding their place"?

This applies to our upcoming trip for MVMCP and the longer lines such as Seven Dwarves and Scrooge.

Thanks in advance!

It tends to be pretty frowned upon, but it is definitely do-able. Just text. 1 or 2 people shouldn't be a big problem, but if Dad is suddenly joined by Suzie, Jimmy, Tommy, Mom, Grandma, grandpa, Uncle Dan and Aunt Phyllis, you're going to get some comments, and they probably won't be very magical.

 

[Gracie09]

Also, depending on how the lines are set up, you may have to push your way through the line to get to your party. It will not make you a popular person when everyone else is waiting and you come pushing through (no matter how polite you are in doing it).

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

 

[piccolopat]

Frankly, I think it is very unfair to everyone who is already waiting in line. I have absolutely no problem if Mom has to leave Dad in line to take little Susie to the bathroom. I think it is another thing to expect Dad to hold the line while everyone continues to enjoy the park. Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear but I've had this happen while I was waiting on line and never thought it was fair. Also consider the chaos if everyone did this or worse yet we have a situation where people hire a person to wait on line for them (kind of a spin on the hire a disabled person for the day to get a GAC).

 

[shanejoseph]

I should know better after going to WDW so many times, but....

Can one person stand in line and wait for a character greeting while others in the group continuing to ride attractions and do other things? If so, how do the others reconnect with the person standing in line and "holding their place"?

This applies to our upcoming trip for MVMCP and the longer lines such as Seven Dwarves and Scrooge.

Thanks in advance!

Not cool! Like another post, it's one thing for daddy, or mommy, to bring someone to restroom. However, it's totally elitist, for someone to not be inconvenienced by waiting in a line, and some dupe holding a place, for one, or twenty!

 

[Mrsjvb]

I should know better after going to WDW so many times, but....

Can one person stand in line and wait for a character greeting while others in the group continuing to ride attractions and do other things? If so, how do the others reconnect with the person standing in line and "holding their place"?

This applies to our upcoming trip for MVMCP and the longer lines such as Seven Dwarves and Scrooge.

Thanks in advance!

it is beyond rude to do it that way. it is NOT fair to everyone else who IS standing in line missing out other stuff.

 

[LadyRayado]

I think there are certain exceptions, but for the most part I think it’s not cool as well. If you're talking about holding a place while someone runs to the bathroom, as others have mentioned, that's fine.

I'm ok if it’s an outdoor line like Chip and Dale in Frontierland or the princesses in EPCOT, where you wouldn't have to push past other people. But, if you're going to do it that way, I'd be mad if it was more than 1-2 people, and especially mad if you then took 20 different poses and group shots with the characters (i.e. Mom, then Mom and Dad, then Mom and Susie, Susie and Johnny, Johnny, Johnny and Dad, Suzie, Johnny, and Grandma - and so on). I don't think it’s ok at all if it’s an indoor/winding line like Princess Hall where you'd have to make your way through the whole line to find your party. It is definitely not ok, in my opinion, to do it during a special event like MVMCP because those characters are in such high demand and everyone is in the same situation as you.

I have a toddler and I know his ability to wait in line maxes out at 30 minutes. Therefore, we don't wait in lines that are longer than 30 minutes. I wouldn't send someone else to hold my place, and definitely wouldn't expect other guests to let me push past them.

 

[dgundry]

Thanks! That is very helpful. The last thing I want to do is rain on anyone's parade.

 

[jahber]

I'm a big rule follower generally, but I joined the line for the 7 Dwarfs at the Halloween party a few minutes after my friends queued up. But I didn't feel too bad because a) I had a baby I was dealing with, and generally people frown on changing diapers out in public, and b) we were only allowed one photo anyway, so it's not like we added any time to the line (ok, maybe 15 seconds of jostling for position). The CMs handling that character interaction were serious about crowd control--they were polite, yes, but they really kept things moving along.

I would never have joined the line if we were all planning on taking our own pictures. The laser beams emanating from the eyeballs of the people in line would have done me in. Not to mention it's rude. But mostly laser eyeballs.

 

[ksinniger]

I generally agree it's not a great idea to hold the place in line for others, BUT when you are limited to one photo (like for the Dwarves during the parties) and the line is outside (so you can reconnect without having to push past others), I don't have a problem with it. I'd rather have other people's kids or elderly parents who can't stand stand in line for long periods join in later. When we were at the Christmas Party on the 7th, I can say with authority that out of the first 20-30 people in line for the dwarves, half were in line for larger parties, all of which joined in 15-20 minutes before the dwarves came on. I actually encouraged the dad behind me to take his 2 kids to get the Elsa SOMK cards while mom waited, since they didn't know they were being given away before 7.

 

[pmaurer74]

I asked this question last year for the dwarves and the answer was it was encouraged to have a place holder. Since the line is out doors and you are allowed only one photo.... it makes no difference if it is 1 person vs. 20. We were about the 4th family in line last year and we ate our dinner in line and took turns taking the kids to other things. 90 minutes is a long time for little kids to wait in line. No one cared and most people did the same thing. A&E greeting last year in EPCOT, same thing. It was expected to have someone in place for others. We plan to do the same thing this year. We have a party of 6. I plan to wait in line while the others go to dinner. If I read that the expectations have changed regarding line holding then I will reconsider.

 

[piccolopat]

How is it fair to anyone that is waiting on line if you have a placeholder and then the rest of your group goes on more rides, eats dinner, etc.? It's unfortunate that lines are as long as they are but if you or anyone in your party can't wait the time needed, perhaps you should choose to go on something else or get a FP. It is definitely not right in my book if I have to wait 90 minutes and then you parade ahead of me after just having a nice meal. It is this situation that led to the abuse of GAC by some wealthy moms who hired a disabled person just to avoid waiting on line. Before long you would hear people hiring someone to be their placeholder so they could avoid lines and simply receive a text when it's their turn to ride or do a m&g. Even on party nights, if Disney isn't giving out numbers or pagers so an entire party could get their picture taken at one time, everyone should wait in line or not go.

If we were in a situation where friends got on line after us, we would have waited for our friends and let everyone pass by us rather than have them push ahead of others to catch up to us. We would also NEVER have a part of our party leave to enjoy other things and then expect to cut in front of other people that were waiting patiently. That, IMO, is only fair.