Single Rider Line, Abuse or Hidden Mickey Trick?

[Accident]

I've been seated with my daughter on single rider lines but it's never been we were put together, it was that there was no 2 people groups speaking up in the other line(s). If anything, when not in single rider, make sure you pay attention when your in ear shot as they do call out for smaller groups to ride before they pull from single rider to fill in.

As far as using it, it depends on the situation when we are passing it. There are times it make sense to just skip and sometimes one of us just wants to skip the ride and it's a great way for them to not skip while the other goes off to grab us some water or smell the roses until we're back. it works out great sometimes.

 

[AlixaLock]

My eight year old and I (and even sometimes my husband) use the single-rider line all the time. Of course, we never ask to be seated together, because that would be ridiculous. However, twice two of us have ended up in the same row on Test Track and we almost always end up on the same train on RnR. I'm not sure why this happened, because I wasn't paying attention. I would't assume, if I saw this happen, that the people in question were bending the rules.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Well a reason for using single rider is if you're the only person in the group who wants to ride something...

 

[angierae]

I'll confess, I don't understand the draw of the single rider line if you are in the park with someone else, either child or adult. My whole purpose of a Disney vacation is to create and experience special memories with those I care about. Am I really doing that if I ride in a different vehicle than my 10 year old daughter on Rock 'N' Roller Coaster? Is it the same experience if I can't hear her scream in that strange middle ground between fear and delight? Or, instead of it being me and my 12 year old son in the same car at Test Track, he gets to ride with the Johnson family of 5 from North Dakota instead? Same thoughts if it were just me and my wife. Those should be memories of us together.

Is getting to ride the attraction 20 minutes sooner actually so important that you would risk giving up those memories? I don't get it.

DD and I are spending a week or whatever together. Sitting next to each other on a 2 minute ride (or not) isn't going to make any difference in the memories of that trip.

 

[bumbershoot]

I've seen this before and never really thought it was a good idea to take your young child on a ride only to have them not sit with you.

Huh. Why?

Gotta say, though...you've seen families enter the line before, and I assume you always saw it work the usual way then. So having it happen the UNusual way twice isn't abusing the system. It's just chance.

I'll confess, I don't understand the draw of the single rider line if you are in the park with someone else, either child or adult. My whole purpose of a Disney vacation is to create and experience special memories with those I care about. Am I really doing that if I ride in a different vehicle than my 10 year old daughter on Rock 'N' Roller Coaster? Is it the same experience if I can't hear her scream in that strange middle ground between fear and delight? Or, instead of it being me and my 12 year old son in the same car at Test Track, he gets to ride with the Johnson family of 5 from North Dakota instead? Same thoughts if it were just me and my wife. Those should be memories of us together.

Is getting to ride the attraction 20 minutes sooner actually so important that you would risk giving up those memories? I don't get it.

I give up nothing when using sr line with my family. We have a good time in line. Then we each have our own unique ride that allows us to have more interesting discussions of the people we met in the vehicles later on. Win win.

If I have to be seated next to my kid for the time to count I might as well not go. As an odd numbered family, and as the mom, more often than not I'm alone anyway because ds chooses to ride with his dad. And dad is a big guy and we aren't going to squish ourselves, so most rides I'm alone or sitting with a single rider anyway.

Lucky I don't have to be seated right next to my family to have a good time!

I was in DLR last month and entered SR for the Racers. There were two girls ahead of me obviously together. The CM put the first girl in (not sure if this is exact) line 3, front seat of a car, the second girl in line 5 first seat of the car behind, and then me in line 4 second row of the car that the first girl was in.

They didn't complain but they did give each other sad faces so I offered to trade so they could be in the same car. (we switched while the CM was looking the other way, they were very appreciative and happy)

I think the CM wanted to make sure that the girls were separated, there were multiple signs saying you WILL be separated but, come on really? That was a dumb since there were two single seats in the same car.

That was also the ride that I watched a family get sent all the way back to the stand by line because they went in the FP line without FP's. They just stood there after the CM told them they'd have to do standby and started to argue (they didn't know, weren't told, would have to wait all over again (FP was maybe a five minute wait), but he said no and turned away from them. The family was in shock and just kept looking at each other. One middle age couple and one senior age couple so I guess they thought that they would allow it. And a family was annoyed that their handicapped person and one companion pushing thier chair was sent to the adapted car and they had to go to the regular line (granted they walked up the FP lane and were allowed to join the line there but they wanted the entire group (about probably 2 or 3 cars worth) to go in the handicapped area.

The Racer's CMs are strict.

They are strict.

I wouldn't have changed seats for a pouty face. We make joke pouty faces often then we smile and wave bye. It's possible the cm had seen them before and knew what they would try to do.

How did that group get in the line without FPs? Odd.

When I used the single rider line for RSR at DCA the family I was seated with was ANGRY that the cast member put me in the car with them...they tried to ignore me and wouldn't move over so I could get into my seat (they had left a middle seat empty). Maybe RSR brings out the worst in people??

Many people don't expect a stranger to get in. Cms don't do a good job explaining it to standby line people. So standby people sometimes think you're making a mistake by getting in your car.

Like on Big Thunder sometimes a solo person will try to get into a car with others. That's not correct. It's the solo not understanding that they are the next ride. So standby people think it's the same error on lines with SR.

Also some people think strangers ruin their pictures. Anyone going to Disney who doesn't expect strangers in their pix is fooling themselves.

 

[kaybird]

Probably has already been mentioned, but there are often times that there are 2-3 seats to fill. In this case, it may happen that singles riders get to ride with their family. Happens to us occasionally, we just never count on it!

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

DD and I love using the single rider lines, and we have been using them since she was 8. We are perfectly happy to wait in line together, ride in cars near each other, then get together at the exit. I would say we end up seated together 5%-10% of the time. We don't even necessarily look like we are together at the front of the line since we are typically single file by then - they just sometimes need 2 single riders to fill 2 spaces that are next to each other.

There was one trip when we did Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at Universal so many times that the team members recognized us and seated us together almost every ride. That was fun and unexpected!

 

[quagmire0]

removed

 

[bjscheel]

I give up nothing when using sr line with my family. We have a good time in line. Then we each have our own unique ride that allows us to have more interesting discussions of the people we met in the vehicles later on. Win win.

YES! We have a lot of fun doing single rider and then meeting back up to look at each of our ride photos and talk about our ride companions, who so far have all been nice and some even visited a bit. Maybe a big guy admitted to being scared or a younger boy compared notes with DD on how many times he's ridden EE. One time my very fair skinned DD was on Test Track with a group of boys who were very dark skinned...it was a picture you could have captioned "One of these things is not like the others" and we found it humorous. Things like that can make the 9th consecutive ride a bit more entertaining.

We have been seated together on EE at least once for some reason.

Single rider was very useful at Radiator Springs. Almost always the four of us would be seated in 2 different cars that usually ended up racing each other, so that was kind of more fun than being in the same car because some of us would get bragging rights for winning.

 

[bjscheel]

Oh, also since there are two adults in our family, we send one parent on first, the kids in the middle, and the other parent last, so that the kids aren't alone on either end. (Though now they're 14 and 17 so it doesn't matter.)

I know some people probably have the intention of abusing it- someone asked on here not too long ago if it would work to go SR and then ask to be seated with their 5yo.

 

[rlovew]

Since DH can't ride the big rides because of medical issues I always have used the SR lines. I have been told many times at RNR that I would not ride with my party if I used the line- I always look around because I am the only 1 in my party- I know they don't expect me to take 2 different seats- but there especially at that entrance they mention it most all times. Since we are taking our newly adopted daughters for our first family trip this summer I don't plan on using the SR this summer but by the time we take our 3rd trip next spring we might use it some depending on how the girls do on various rides.

 

[Pixie Dust ✨]

Sometimes the CMs just need a party of two. GMR even has a designated "party of two" queue. When the next few available parties in standby are 3+, the quickest way to get a party of two is to pull two people from single rider. That particular parent & child just lucked out!

 

[bumbershoot]

We have a lot of fun doing single rider and then meeting back up to look at each of our ride photos and talk about our ride companions, who so far have all been nice and some even visited a bit. Maybe a big guy admitted to being scared or a younger boy compared notes with DD on how many times he's ridden EE.

Our ride companions are always either totally neutral (nothing sticks out) or fabulous and kind.

I desperately miss the SR option on Toy Story at DCA. It is so incredibly boring riding that with no one next to me. I miss being the SR when I'm on my own, and I miss getting a SR when I'm officially riding with DS and DH but I can't interact with them in any way. I used to love teaching newbies how to best pull the string (you don't have to pull it out all the way but you do have to let it go all the way back in!), or to chat about how many times they've been on it, etc.

Oh, also since there are two adults in our family, we send one parent on first, the kids in the middle, and the other parent last, so that the kids aren't alone on either end.

We do, too, but FWIW on a ride like RSR (there are more SR lines at DL than at WDW so DL rides come up more often) you can totally end up with the unexpected car leaving before the expected, and it gets mixed up. We made sure to talk about that AND to make sure we all knew that anyone can be sent to the HA ride area to fill in a gap, and those cars let off in a different area.


Basically BEFORE we EVER let DS ride single rider we talked about it all with him. It was baby steps. We always go through the normal line so we're all familiar with it, and choose a spot. We talk about what to do if there's a ride stop. To listen to CMs, etc. If the adult is on the ride stop, DS waits until we are there (and he knows how to spot signs of a ride stop when you're not on the ride). I don't let him go alone if I don't think he could deal with an evacuation or if I can't handle it. So I still ride with him on the BIG Universal rides, because the idea of him being all alone on a stopped Dragon Challenge is more than my heart can bear. Even though he's nearly 12 and is now taller than me. But any Disney ride? Go for it, kid.

 

[Minnesota!]

I'll confess, I don't understand the draw of the single rider line if you are in the park with someone else, either child or adult. My whole purpose of a Disney vacation is to create and experience special memories with those I care about. Am I really doing that if I ride in a different vehicle than my 10 year old daughter on Rock 'N' Roller Coaster? Is it the same experience if I can't hear her scream in that strange middle ground between fear and delight? Or, instead of it being me and my 12 year old son in the same car at Test Track, he gets to ride with the Johnson family of 5 from North Dakota instead? Same thoughts if it were just me and my wife. Those should be memories of us together.

Is getting to ride the attraction 20 minutes sooner actually so important that you would risk giving up those memories? I don't get it.

Well, for me and my family? Yes. We have been to WDW 25+ times. Kids have been there 10+ times. Maybe the first time riding it is important to be with your family. But, from then on….it’s all about the thrill. And how many times you can achieve it. I don’t care if the person next to me begging for mercy is my own kid or Sven Johnson from North Dakota.

After 25 times, it’s not the ride memories that stick out…it's how many times did I get to scream on RnRC during my all too short vacation! Or, how many times did I get that wonderful stomach drop feeling on Splash!

 

[ktlm]

We single rider a lot. We like to ride the first time together- but for repeat rides -it is about the ride- not who you are sitting by. Plus- now with the tiers we FP+ Soarin- and there is no way we are going to stand in an hour line for TT, if the single rider line is only 15 minutes. We miss getting a picture together- but we would rather have that 45 minutes together doing something other than standing in line. Last year we rode RSR 4 times in a row one day at DLR. The standby line was 60 minutes, we were walking on with a zero to 5 minute wait each time. In riding single rider, there are many times that I have been sat with either DD, or pre-DD, DH. Typically it happens when they have a big group and have 2 seats to fill- but either not enough time to find a party of 2 from standby--- or when the parties in the closer area of standby are larger than 2 people groups. We also have had it happen when the CMs aren't getting the line slots filled fast enough from the standby line and they just grab us from singler rider and load us immediately. It is easy for them to pull quickly from single rider to fill slots because all parties are considered "1", so you can just pull the first 2 or three people to fill the empty space- who sometimes are related and sometimes not. I wouldn't say the parent and child were trying to cheat the system (assuming the child was 7)- they probably just got lucky. We did see a Dad and son try to cheat the system at RSR and be placed together-- he was telling the attendant they had 2- and the attendant was telling him he was in single rider and they were not sitting together and the Dad was unhappy that the CM was telling him no.

 

[Lothlórien]

I was in the single rider line for Rock N' Roller Coaster when I noticed a parent in line with their child. They were in the single rider line together. I've seen this before and never really thought it was a good idea to take your young child on a ride only to have them not sit with you.

But then I watched as the Cast Member assigning seats let the parent and child sit together, as a couple. AS in right next to each other, as if they had waited in the normal standby line. They were not separated. They were not assigned to single seats, filling in the gaps of odd number groups.

We got right back on the ride for a second time, using our FastPass+UberDuberExpress option. For the second time, I watched a Cast Member do the same thing. They let a parent and child in the single rider line rider together. Which allowed them to get on the ride in less than half the time of the current standby time that was posted. (yes I use my Apple watch to time wait times)

Clever wait time work around?

Or not?

(sorry, there's no hidden Mickey here, just couldn't think of an interesting title, so I guess I just abused the Hidden Mickey discussion guidlines. sorry again)

I saw a lot of this, mostly at Test Track, in December. The parents would argue and the CMs would load the whole family together. In several instances, the single rider line moved slower than the stand-by line because of it.

 

[scrapquitler]

Many people don't expect a stranger to get in. Cms don't do a good job explaining it to standby line people. So standby people sometimes think you're making a mistake by getting in your car.

Like on Big Thunder sometimes a solo person will try to get into a car with others. That's not correct. It's the solo not understanding that they are the next ride. So standby people think it's the same error on lines with SR.
.

But sometimes they DO put a single person in an empty seat next to you on BTMRR or 7DMT. It happened to me on both rides during our recent trip. DH and DS were riding together, and I was in the row behind or in front of them,and on both rides, at least once I DID have a stranger put there by the Cast Member.

 

[Pixie Dust ✨]

But sometimes they DO put a single person in an empty seat next to you on BTMRR or 7DMT. It happened to me on both rides during our recent trip. DH and DS were riding together, and I was in the row behind or in front of them,and on both rides, at least once I DID have a stranger put there by the Cast Member.

I would have no issues with that on 7DMT. On BTMRR, I would refuse. It's not appropriate to ask people to sit next to a stranger on that one, given how the ride moves.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I would have no issues with that on 7DMT. On BTMRR, I would refuse. It's not appropriate to ask people to sit next to a stranger on that one, given how the ride moves.

They loaded a stranger next to me on BTMRR. He actually asked if I was ok with it, since the CM didn't. I didn't have a problem with it, as it was busy when we rode.

 

[GillianP1301]

I don't really have a problem with 2 or more people in the same group using the single rider line as long as they are doing so expecting to be separated. What drives me crazy is the parent and child getting to the front of the single rider line and asking to be seated together and what drives me even crazier, is when the CM obliges. It's one thing if you luck out and they happen to need 2 singles right away where the seats are together, but other than that, you should take what you get.