The Line Leaners

[ADisneygirl]

Alright, I know that waiting on lines at theme parks will get you into close proximity to a lot of others. But I have noticed that some people just do not seem to have any "personal space" boundaries, while everyone in my family does! I am not so rigid as to expect others to stand a certain number of inches from me, and the occasional bump is nothing, but we just returned from a week at WDW and encountered what my family has affectionately called the "Line Leaners". When there is plenty of space around, these line leaners lean all over us!

We were on line for Soarin' at Epcot. We had FP it earlier, and only waited 5 minutes to get on, but later on that night we wanted to ride again. Of course FP runs out by 1 or 2 in the afternoons so we were stuck on the line with a wait of 75 minutes. Now, anyone who has been on Soarin' already knows that the ramps and paths you line up and wait on are very wide and roomy. A family of 6 could stand next to each other while waiting. As we inched up slowly, every time we moved, some member of the family behind us leaned on us! We would move to the left side of the path, and one of them would follow over and be leaning on us soon. I was going crazy!

We encountered the line leaners all over. Does this make anyone else nuts or is it just me??

 

[billsfan]

I can't stand this!!!! It drives me crazy too. I find the easy way to resolve this is to "accidently" step on ther toes a couple of times and they seem to back up then.

 

[kilee]

I think some people just don't have a concept of personal space. It sounds like you took it in stride.

 

[mom2cinderella]

I don't like it either (although the worst offenders seem to be people at our local post office). Do people think they are going to get somewhere faster by breathing down my neck?

Michele

 

[HaleyB]

lol, Yes we run into the line leaners all the time too. DH has a great way to get them to give him a little breathing room. He coughs loudly and then says "You know I think the tuberculosis is finally clearing up, I told you I didn't need those antibiotics." He is a pretty dead pan kinda guy so he can go this with a straight face. If I can keep from busting up it works quite well.

 

[ADisneygirl]

lol, Yes we run into the line leaners all the time too. DH has a great way to get them to give him a little breathing room. He coughs loudly and then says "You know I think the tuberculosis is finally clearing up, I told you I didn't need those antibiotics." He is a pretty dead pan kinda guy so he can go this with a straight face. If I can keep from busting up it works quite well.

you are so funny...... I don't want to be mean and try to step on anyones' feet or push them, or really do anything physical, but your idea did make me laugh. I don't know if we could pull it off though since we are a bunch of goofballs and would probably laugh out loud. We did try sucking our teeth a few times, and moving away but they were oblivious and followed us everywhere. I even gave them my best New York eye roll when one of them nearly knocked me down while they were playing a slapping game. (grown adults not teenagers) And it wasn't just this family -- we experienced the line leaners all over.

I just can't understand the mentality behind the line leaners. Why lean on a complete stranger? Are you that exhausted? Do I smell that good to you? Have you developed an unrequited crush on me while standing in line??

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

Do you think there is any possibility that some of those "Line Leaners" really want to pick your pockets ??

 

[disneyholic family]

were they Americans????

We're Americans who live overseas. I've always believed that this is a cultural difference between Americans and many other nationalities (the spaniards, the french, the italians, all middle easterners, etc etc) who do not have any concept of personal space and will press their chests right up to your back when in line.
One of the nicest parts of every home visit to the states is regaining that personal space while waiting in line.

Are you telling me that Americans have lost it as well? I'll go stark raving mad if that's true.

 

[crazyj4488]

Yeah, this can get kinda annoying. Kids have short attention spans and lines can be a huge ordeal for them. There are also a lot of people that are dead tired standing in lines and it causes them to just zone out and invade personal space...kinda weird. There must be some sorta psychology behind line standing behavior...hehe.

 

[feenie]

I too like my personal space. One time we were in line and the person behind me was so close I thought it was my husband! No... it was some lady. I was shocked that someone would stand THAT close to someone the didn't know....

 

[Danno Magee]

The line leaners are annoying, but I try not to let it get to me. If the line area isn't too wide, I usually let my family get a little ahead of me so that they can still have some space. I usually stand there with my arms out to prevent any "sneak arounds". Once I feel some leaning going on I usually start humming or singing some silly song (or random Disney song) and start bouncing up and down. The line leaners apparently don't like bouncing too much. They usually back away a little. I'm sure they give me a weird glance, but who cares. I look like I'm enjoying myself bouncing along to my little song.

 

[bicker]

Beth hit on a major consideration: There are cultural differences regarding personal space, and Disney is a very multi-cultural place. It's funny, because this is the exact opposite of a scenario I was reading about yesterday, where a DIS members was commenting on how when the person in front of her would move side-to-side, his back-pack would hit her in the face. Now, on first glance, doesn't that sound like she's following too closely? Different people have different perceptions of how closely they should follow behind others.

 

[Leota]

lol, Yes we run into the line leaners all the time too. DH has a great way to get them to give him a little breathing room. He coughs loudly and then says "You know I think the tuberculosis is finally clearing up, I told you I didn't need those antibiotics." He is a pretty dead pan kinda guy so he can go this with a straight face. If I can keep from busting up it works quite well.

Love it! Guess I might be coming down with a case of tuberculosis just in time for my Aug. trip!

 

[wdwdavem]

LOL I also can't stand line leaners. But how about the "side liners" , you know the ones who feel they need to stand next to you or even slightly in front of you when they're actually behind you.

 

[720L]

This drives me crazy also! Not just in Disney but the other day at Target I'm in the return line when this person comes to get in line behind me. I'm the only one in line, and there is plenty of space to stand back from me, but this person stands RIGHT behind me! If I took a step back I would have stepped on her. I could hear her breathing. I turned around and gave her a dirty look but she kept standing there.

 

[disneyholic family]

this is the most depressing post I've read.

I've apparently been living in the illusion that Americans are very patient and stand nicely in line. This post is making me very sad, if what you all are saying is true....
Well......at least i've been forewarned.....maybe i won't let it depress me when we're at WDW...

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

This thread is a perfect example of why many Manhattanites think that NYC should be considered a foreign country. If "foreigners" have no idea of personal space, than we New Yorkers are truly foreigners! You think standing in line at WDW with someone standing a couple feet behind you is close? Try standing on the downtown 9 train during rush hour...it will definitely change your entire concept of personal space!!! Forget a couple feet...try everyone completely pressed up against each other! I long for our Disney vacations where other guests might occasionally lean into me in line. It's a refreshing change!

 

[MickeyMacks]

Once I feel some leaning going on I usually start humming or singing some silly song (or random Disney song) and start bouncing up and down. The line leaners apparently don't like bouncing too much. They usually back away a little.

OK, OK, I've got it all planned now: Line leaners will first hear a subtle, "It's a small world after all..." from me, then some bouncing as the volume goes up, and if they're still leaning, I'll start swinging my arms around, maybe even try to grab their hand and swing it too, belting out "It's a small, small world!" while grinning maniacally at them! Think that'll do the trick???

 

[lauran cameron]

Line Leaners *shutters*

some T.B. would be good thsi august!

 

[ADisneygirl]

This thread is a perfect example of why many Manhattanites think that NYC should be considered a foreign country. If "foreigners" have no idea of personal space, than we New Yorkers are truly foreigners! You think standing in line at WDW with someone standing a couple feet behind you is close? Try standing on the downtown 9 train during rush hour...it will definitely change your entire concept of personal space!!! Forget a couple feet...try everyone completely pressed up against each other! I long for our Disney vacations where other guests might occasionally lean into me in line. It's a refreshing change!

LOL I've been on plenty of trains just as you describe. Buses too for that matter. It is not fun to travel during rush hour in Manhattan. But even in close proximity, my fellow New Yorkers weren't leaning on me just for the fun of it. They had no choice. But these people I described on line at Soarin' were not a few feet from me at any point. If I was lucky, they were giving me a momentary 1-2 inches of space, but then they'd realize that I moved and they once again would begin to lean on our backs!

And for what its' worth disneyholic family, they were from New Zealand.