Theater Loading (Or WDW Herding Cattle)

[DisneyPrince1982]

Our strategy is just to hang back (and we're only 2 or 3 of us) for the herding/theatre seating attractions. We always end up with a good middle of the row seat that way.

This is the correct strategy.

Also, for those who have said their families have been broken up, all you have to do is hold hands with each member of your party creating a long unbreakable line. I don't see how that would get broken up unless someone just torpedoed you.

 

[Jon84]

I do get a kick out of those that insist upon scrunching their way to the doors and through them first only to find out they got an end seat as a result.

Unfortunately these are the same people that stop mid-row and sit down and make people climb over them, ignoring CMs in the process!

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Unfortunately these are the same people that stop mid-row and sit down and make people climb over them, ignoring CMs in the process!

When the parks are not crowded, I understand this behavior. I mean, why should the best seats remain empty. These rules are meant to help load a theater when crowds are high and the theater will be filled to capacity (or close). But those who do not follow this rule during high crowd seasons disgust me.

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

When the parks are not crowded, I understand this behavior. I mean, why should the best seats remain empty. These rules are meant to help load a theater when crowds are high and the theater will be filled to capacity (or close). But those who do not follow this rule during high crowd seasons disgust me.

I never stop mid-row unless I know the theater isn't going to be very crowded and then I do pick and choose the exact seats I want. But I can tell you what the mentality of the people who stop mid-row in a crowded time is: "I got in first so I should get the best seats. Why should people who came in after me end up with better seats?"

 

[disnut8]

There are a few ways of keeping nine people all together on every single theatre attraction.

First choice - to have all nine join hands and spread out in your own line and don't let anyone come in between you. Whoever is at the head of the line will then have the responsibility of leading the line into the theatre and choosing a row that will satisfy everyone in the line. Pros of this is all nine stay together. Cons to this is one person picks the row and also, everyone else around those nine people in the theatre will have to wait for those nine people to get situated before they themselves can pick out a row and get seated.

Second choice - hang back a bit - not until the entire preshow area is already inside the theatre but maybe half. Then follow choice one above.

Or, you can split up into a group of five and a group of four so there are two leaders and smaller groups.

For me, it's just two of us and we hang back and let the first surge of "gotta get into this theatre NOW!" people shove their way through the doors once they open and then we just join the rest at a normal pace. If there are mid-row stoppers, we just excuse ourselves and either bump into their knees or step on toes on the way past, or they have to stand up and let us by.

But, no matter where you sit in a Disney theatre, and we've sat just about everywhere, the view is going to be a good one unless you have a very tall person in front of you.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Also, for those who have said their families have been broken up, all you have to do is hold hands with each member of your party creating a long unbreakable line. I don't see how that would get broken up unless someone just torpedoed you.

IMO, it is rude for a large party to do this (understand a smaller party, as you can navigate around them). There are many people who will need to move forward or backward to find a row that will allow them to enjoy the show for various reasons (like vision problems). Huge parties linked up like this make that type of movement impossible.

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

IMO, it is rude for a large party to do this (understand a smaller party, as you can navigate around them). There are many people who will need to move forward or backward to find a row that will allow them to enjoy the show for various reasons (like vision problems). Huge parties linked up like this make that type of movement impossible.

Well that's really the only solution unless you want to just wait for everyone else to find their seat and then your large party can see what's left. Those are the only 2 options.

 

[Auntie Sherry]

After our last trip to WDW, I have to wonder, is there a better way to load these massive theaters? Given, we were in a decent (but not gigantic) sized group of 9. But the herd into a pre-show area and then the massive pushing and shoving game to squeeze through the open doors is really awful and makes it really hard for families to sit together. I often had to carry DS for fear of him being squeezed away from us or stepped on. We usually ended up in the very back because we simply refused to get caught up in the chaos. My step-mother is a bit claustrophobic and the whole experience was pretty uncomfortable for her as well. We also didn't usually get to sit together. I feel like there has to be a better way to do this, but I can't pinpoint what it is. Ideas? Does anyone else feel like this is an area that needs improvement?

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Well that's really the only solution unless you want to just wait for everyone else to find their seat and then your large party can see what's left. Those are the only 2 options.

I get it, but it is a battle between 2 rude behaviors, neither of which is better than the other. You can't complain that others are crowding forward and pushing if you are engaging in your own form of rude behavior by blocking others.

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

I get it, but it is a battle between 2 rude behaviors, neither of which is better than the other. You can't complain that others are crowding forward and pushing if you are engaging in your own form of rude behavior by blocking others.

Personally I don't think it's rude to interlock hands so that a party can sit together. Parties of 9 aren't the norm, it's typically 4 or 5 or 6 (maybe parents with children). Nothing wrong with uniting forces to prevent evil from occurring

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

IMO, it is rude for a large party to do this (understand a smaller party, as you can navigate around them). There are many people who will need to move forward or backward to find a row that will allow them to enjoy the show for various reasons (like vision problems). Huge parties linked up like this make that type of movement impossible.

Well I really don't mind if people do that to make sure their kids are with em.

 

[Goddesstree]

A long chain of handholders messes up the flow of the crowd too much. You are basically blocking access to a section of seats - not just one row. If you do need to do this, please be considerate and go to the very front or very back of the theater so you are not holding up the people beside you.

Also, make sure everyone in your group understands that the person at the front of your chain-gang is the one who will pick the row, and the rest need to keep following along like lemmings.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Unfortunately these are the same people that stop mid-row and sit down and make people climb over them, ignoring CMs in the process!

Oh you don't have to tell me about those types. My mother was one of those. She flat out would not budge. And of course the CMs by that point just want to get the show started and everyone has climbed over here already. So she got away with it. And here I am wishing I had a paper bag over my head in case anyone I knew saw me.

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

Oh you don't have to tell me about those types. My mother was one of those. She flat out would not budge. And of course the CMs by that point just want to get the show started and everyone has climbed over here already. So she got away with it. And here I am wishing I had a paper bag over my head in case anyone I knew saw me.

If CM's aren't going to kick a lady changing diapers at the front of the Jungle Cruise line, they certainly aren't going to do anything about someone stopping mid row.

 

[PersonalizedMouse]

Shows are bad but haunted mansion is the worst. It really is like herding cattle after you leave that room. When the pushing starts I always say "MOO".

 

[DisneyPrince1982]

Shows are bad but haunted mansion is the worst. It really is like herding cattle after you leave that room. When the pushing starts I always say "MOO".

The first few hours of the day it's fine. It's in the afternoon when the loading ramp gets backed up then it's truly hell on earth.

 

[disneyjunkie]

This is the correct strategy.

Also, for those who have said their families have been broken up, all you have to do is hold hands with each member of your party creating a long unbreakable line. I don't see how that would get broken up unless someone just torpedoed you.

There were 7 of us there during Easter week and getting split up wasn't an issue at all.

Sure there may have been a few times when an excited kid or adult wondered between us, but a simple excuse me fixed that.

 

[PurpleKomodo]

Haunted Mansion is pretty bad too, but at least with that one, big groups have to split up into doom buggies anyway so at the most you will get off 30 seconds after some others in your party if you get mixed up, but my DS's grandparents certainly wanted to hear him cackling during Muppet Vision or trying to grab bubbles in Philarmagic. Being split up in shows where it should be possible to stay together is just annoying.

 

[jon18uk]

Philharmagic seems to be one of the worst for this, people cram up to the door expecting to get the best seats. We quickly learnt at Disney that to get the best seats, hang back as the CMs will make you keep going all the way to the end of the row!

Only exception is Carousel of Progress, no need to move all the way to the end of the row on that!

 

[kj2mom]

Like I mentioned previously, our biggest issue was Philarmagic and the reason my children were at the front by the door line was because a CM told them to (and they listened, imagine that !). My children are now 13 so I wasn't concerned with being separated from them, I just gave them a thumbs up when I was taking my seat letting them know it was okay and we met up exiting.

This thread made me think of when we went to the Tiki Room. The CM's were asking people to stand up and move down. I was in the middle so I stood up and was looking at the people in the beginning of the row waiting for them to stand up and move down so we could all follow suit. Nope, nothing. The CM's announced again, I looked down again, nope nothing. It was raining and many of us were using the show to escape the downfall so I think the CM's were expecting a full crowd. One more time the CM's asked and one more time I looked down, that time the lady on the end motioned for me to go sit in the empty seats to her left (I guess she thought I wanted to move?). I said out loud, although doubtful she could hear, I was just trying to follow instructions. No one shifted!