Waiting in line for characters...slight rant

[Angel Ariel]

How many of those lines were organized, though? I don't know about you all, but when I'm in a mass of waiting people, I have a pretty good idea of who was before me. But as those people go for their picture and leave, and then more people come and take their place, I get a little lost as to where I am in the line. I've been tapped on the shoulder before and told that it wasn't my turn, which I respond to with an apology. And 100% of the times that I've had to tap someone on the shoulder and say, "I'm sorry, but we were ahead of you", the person responded with their own apology.

Mostly, I believe, people are just doing the best they can with large crowds and chaos and small children. There are some exceptions, of course. But unless you say something, you'll never know if those people who cut in front of you are rude or just unaware.

Tracy

They were actually pretty organized. THe parks weren't overly crowded..especially on Friday morning. It's not like there were masses of people hanging around the area where the characters were. It was very clear that there was a line. Especially inside the Animation Building where all 3 characters had lines going, the lines were very clear.

I give people the benefit of the doubt, generally. Especially at Disney. But sometimes people are just rude.

 

[dizneedoll]

I find that the people at DL tend to stand in lines for characters much better than in WDW. At least some characters in DL can still walk around without handlers, but at WDW, it's a nightmare of people rushing and shoving their kids if the character doesn't have a handler.

I'm not sure if it's because DL is more of a "local" park, so people are used to seeing the characters and forming their own lines (of course you still get the people that just run up to them, but the locals will usually mention that there is a line).

WDW is a nightmare when it comes to meeting characters (in my opinion). Geesh, I remember getting my picture taken with that Sunkist Orange at WDW (wayyyy back in the day before it became a "me/my snowflake" society).

Does anyone else remember that orange that used to walk around WDW?

See, I was just going to say I think it's better at WDW because they have more dedicated lines and meet and greet areas for the characters. Whereas at DL the problem with line cutters isn't just limited to the characters, there is a definite problem with people cutting the line or one person holding a space in line for the 50 friends that came with them who all file in ahead of you at the last minute.

OP: I totally feel the frustration. I hate the line cutters whether it's for characters or rides. It depends on the circumstances if I say something or not.

 

[kaoden39]

When our kids were little we would get in line and invariably they would get shoved around and other parents would force their kids in front of ours. I finally got so frustrated it became DH's job to block. I think that sometimes that the crowds to see characters are about as bad as the black Friday crowds at the stores. It got to the point that my one daughter would not stand in line to see the characters anymore, it ruined her fun. I can be more forgiving of a small enthusiastic child than their parent that push them ahead.

 

[Eeee-va]

How many of those lines were organized, though? I don't know about you all, but when I'm in a mass of waiting people, I have a pretty good idea of who was before me. But as those people go for their picture and leave, and then more people come and take their place, I get a little lost as to where I am in the line. I've been tapped on the shoulder before and told that it wasn't my turn, which I respond to with an apology. And 100% of the times that I've had to tap someone on the shoulder and say, "I'm sorry, but we were ahead of you", the person responded with their own apology.

Mostly, I believe, people are just doing the best they can with large crowds and chaos and small children. There are some exceptions, of course. But unless you say something, you'll never know if those people who cut in front of you are rude or just unaware.

Tracy

I agree with you overall. Once when I tried to meet Jessie in a non-line, I didn't manage because it was just chaos.

In my case with Mary and Bert it was a line, though--just a somewhat loose line with no handlers. I wouldn't be shocked if the person shoving in front of me kind of figured that we adults were just watching (at the front of the line? ). It's easy to get confused if there's not a very clear line...but some people kind of see what they want to see, too.

 

[tholczer]

I agree with you overall. Once when I tried to meet Jessie in a non-line, I didn't manage because it was just chaos.

In my case with Mary and Bert it was a line, though--just a somewhat loose line with no handlers. I wouldn't be shocked if the person shoving in front of me kind of figured that we adults were just watching (at the front of the line? ). It's easy to get confused if there's not a very clear line...but some people kind of see what they want to see, too.

People do make assumptions they shouldn't. But that's sort of my point. Until you tap someone on the shoulder, thereby giving them the benefit of the doubt, you'll never know for sure. I just think, for most people, it's easier to assume people are rude than it is to actually say something. I see lots of threads about other people's rudeness, and they go on for pages.

OP - not talking to you personally, just something I've noticed in general.

Tracy

 

[AmericanItGirl]

Handlers are only as involved as they want to be. At DisneyParis, saw a nasty little boy shove a candy wrapper up Perla's "nose" and the handler did nothing. Perla kept turning away from him but he kept doing it....he was about 9 or 11. Finally she gave the boy a little push and started walking away. The handler just stared into space most of that time.

That's horrific. It's a shame how really helpless the characters are when it comes to dealing with rude guests. I remember talking at an audition to the father of a Prince Charming working at Tokyo Disney and apparently, while working one day, a grown man tried to take Cinderella away from him, telling her to leave Prince Charming and come live with him, to the point of where he was physically trying to drag her away towards the gate. All that Prince Charming could do is hold onto her and white-knuckle grip the guy's wrist until he let go of Cinderella's arm. If park officials had heard of Prince Charming grabbing the guy's wrist, he would have been fired for being physical with a park guest.

 

[ahill004]

Its funny because we experienced an adult couple pushing our girls out of the way to meet Belle and Beast at Epcot. We were clearly in line and the CM annouced that B&B were going to take a break in 10 minutes. The couple came over and pushed in front of our girls (2 and 5 at the time) who were standing nicely in line. I said something (politely) about my girls already waiting in line and them cutting and they didn't even apologize or act like they hadn't realized the girls were there! Instead, they said they had looked all day for Belle and beast and really wanted to meet them. They heard the CM announce they were shutting down the line soon and wanted to make sure they got their picture - surely we could let the girls meet some other characters. I explained that my girls also wanted to meet B&B and had been waiting patiently for awhile. The couple actually stormed off angry because I wouldn't let them cut in front of my girls!