Thank you so much, dsny1mom, for chiming in and clarifying your position. I didn't want to derail the original thread, hence my creating a new one, but I also didn't want you to get the feeling that I'm talking behind your back, so I'm very glad you are joining this thread. I was just genuinely surprised by the statement and wanted to find out more about it, especially since this year is the first time ever that this possibility even applies to us.
While there is no "rule" per se for SR some people (and CMs are people too) do find parties that load their 2, 3, 4, 5, 10 or whatever size group into the single rider line are lacking in Disney etiquette and are using the system to get their wait shortened at the expense of others.
Wouldn't one, by this logic, have to say that Fastpass users (and, for that matter, people utilizing many of the other time maximizing strategies suggested on this board) are even worse, because FP holders are pulled
instead of standby riders rather than, as singer riders,
in addition to standby users to more efficiently use single seats which would otherwise go unfilled? So, while FP holders kind "sneak ahead" by using their FPs wisely, single riders actually increase the total capacity of a ride. I'm NOT saying that this is what I believe, just that somebody could make that argument (which I am sure you would find as ridiculous as I do). Thorough research beyond the official Disney website often (but not always, since there are always variables, e.g. ride closures, fluctuations in crowd levels, and many others, which make any strategy a bit of a gamble) can yield BUT WON'T GUARANTEE (anybody who doesn't understand this is probably in for at least occasional disappointment and frustration) rewards of shorter wait times and the ability to do more, one could say "at the expense of others," who are either not willing or not able to do the work.
Some feel if Disney intended for parties with more than one person to use the SR line to shorten their wait they would mention that perk in the guide the way they explain how FP can shorten your wait in the guide. Or perhaps if CMs thought groups should pile into the SR line they would tell people entering the SB line about the perk. However neither of those things happen.
I noticed indeed that it is hard to find clear information about this and many other usage policies on the official Disney website. Most of what I know about single rider lines I learned here on the Disboards. I have a hunch, however, that this is not due to their wanting to discourage usage of SR lines or hide them but due to Disney's reluctance to put any such policies in writing, which makes it easier for them to change policies at their leisure. Analogous to very little information coming up about SR lines (beyond info as to which attractions allow it), I have also found very little information on the official site about rider switches with babies and toddlers. I don't believe that this means they don't want you to use such options, just that people who need them will probably find ways to ferret them out.
In the other thread I don't recall seats being left open to "punish" anyone. Seats were being filled from the SB line. Some times single rider lessens your wait but it can make it longer if there is no need for single riders. You take that risk when you enter the cue.
Agreed. Again, that's why it's a gamble.
In the other thread the original poster complained because her perceived shorter wait scheme backfired and she ended up waiting longer than standby guests. So apparently that person, and I am sure many others, have the perception that SR =a sorter wait and when that doesn't happen something must be wrong! The CM is lazy or not doing their job! Nope nothing wrong happened in this case but rather the CM loading the attraction was doing their job right.
Makes sense. It seems to me to think that any strategy, including the usage of SR lines only works most of the time but not all of the time. To think that, just because I did my homework beforehand any and all of my strategies are guaranteed to work would constitute a sense of entitlement on my part, I feel. Same thing with rude people who enter the SR ride without previously finding out what that line is about and then make a scene when their younger kids are not allowed to ride it by themselves or when their party is split up. Unfortunately, we will always find the occasional person, who is misinformed and then, when called upon it, will blame everybody but themselves.
CM's should only be pulling from the SR if they can't fill every seat from the SB line with guests close to the front of the SB line. If there is a couple 10 people back in the SB line they should be brought forward to fill two empty seats before two from the SR line are considered.
Exactly.
Oh and one last thing...... just because some are ok with their kids sitting in close proximity to a stranger with out them there doesn't mean all are. Just so you know a guest has every right to refuse to allow a stranger to sit next to them or their child in close proximity on an attraction. If my 7 year old was about to ride Goofy's Sky School alone and a CM attempted to load an adult stranger in the car with them I can assure you that would not happen!!!
So, are you saying that a person who came in from the standby line with a child has the right to refuse having a stranger from the SR line sit next to his or her child? I figure situations like this can in most cases be easily avoided by the standby riders sitting down so the kids sits next to the parent rather than the stranger (e.g. in Radiator Spring Racers at one of the sides rather than the middle).
Or did you mean to say that not all 7 year olds will be able or willing to use single rider? Yes, I agree with that, too, which is why we are planning to use the SR with discretion with my youngest, if at all (I'm just trying to figure out all my options here, so I know what is possible and considered good etiquette and what is likely to cause extreme frustration to others, which is something I'm trying to avoid). The only time we would be using it is at a ride she has already done. For example, we might get a Fast Pass for Radiator Springs Racers on our first day and then, on the second or third day, when we start out in
Disneyland and don't come back to CA until all the Radiator Springs FPs are gone consider, if she really, really wants to ride it again, consider the SR line (of course after carefully explaining to her what that entails: not sitting with mom or sis but next to somebody she doesn't know).
It is of course always possible that she'll change her mind about being ok to ride alone at the last moment, when about to board, which means that we, in that case, would NOT EVER insist on being seated together but would simple not ride the ride, even though that would mean wasted wait time. This is also why I would make sure she's on the ride before I go, letting other SR pass us and go first, if there is any doubt on her part until we are sure she feels ok about doing it. Riding any ride is a privilege in my eyes that ought to be only available if I stick to the clearly communicated rules (and one would hope that the SR line cast members check with any family with small children before they go into the SR line to make sure that they understand the policy and that the kids are old enough... though there are probably all different kinds of cast member skill levels and all different levels of cast member conscientiousness about things such as that). Riding anything, however long I waited, is not a right, upon which I can insist, to the detriment of other guests, who would not only have to listen to my griping and complaining but who would also have their own ride be delayed by my tying up cast members who have other things to do than trying to calm me down.
As you can probably see, I put a lot of thought into this (including the remote possibility that my kid would be seated next to possible child predator, who may use the few minutes of the ride to groom or grope the kid). Even though I don't think of that scenario as likely, I have considered it, which is why I would not let my kid enter the SR line by herself but only when I could have an eye on whomever she'd be sitting next to, just in case and, again, if I'd have a bad feeling about somebody, skip the ride rather than risk to traumatize my child. Fortunately, the vast, vast majority of people I met at the parks are wonderful, caring, kind and happy people, so I'm choosing to be an optimist about this (besides my kid has a clear sense of boundaries, understand that "NO means NO" and would talk to both me and a cast member afterwards if anybody acted inappropriately towards her, so I sincerely pity the person who'd try)!
Thank you again for clarifying! I appreciate it!!
