Waiting in long lines with kids

PrinceOfPeace

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 29, 2011
Messages
295
We are going in September if all works out and want to go on the frozen ride. Just wondering...how do you wait so long in line with kids without offending someone? Thinking we might have to pass this up.
 

We played a lot of I SPY in lines when the kids were younger.
 
When my 4 yr old and I waited in a 40 minute line for Jedi Training, I let him play on my phone. Sad thing is, it rained and his session got cancelled. Ugh.
 
Slightly off topic, but if one has to stand in line for a ride for 5 hours, is it possible to leave the line to visit the restroom and return to your prior place in the line? I know how crazy these threads about "line rules" have gotten in the past. But surely no one expects people to wait in line for 5 hours without a potty break??????
 
Slightly off topic, but if one has to stand in line for a ride for 5 hours, is it possible to leave the line to visit the restroom and return to your prior place in the line? I know how crazy these threads about "line rules" have gotten in the past. But surely no one expects people to wait in line for 5 hours without a potty break??????
I have to say yes that's fine by me (I have a debilitating bowel disease) but a lot of people on here have expressed dismay as it's difficult to determine who is just pretending to "return" to family. I think with a queue that long a CM should hand you a toilet pass to return to your family!
 
There is no way ANY kid can actually wait politely for 5 hours!!!! With that said, for 20-30 minute waits we just talk to the kids, about what we've done, what we are doing next, anything. We also play games like I spy and alphabet games. For the one time we waited more than that, around the 30 minute mark we handed over our phones for them to play games with the volume extremely low. We will NOT get in a line that is more than 60 minutes no matter how much we want to ride it or see a character, it's not worth it.
 
If you are specifically talking about Frozen- a couple of years ago when Anna and Elsa first were in Norway and the lines were hours long, the CMs would let 1 person from a party wait in line until they got close/inside the building. I don't know if they are doing that now but it is possible. Now for other regular lines you can't do that. Play heads up, i spy, hidden Mickey's, plan your next ride or show. Don't do bubbles.
 
I have to say yes that's fine by me (I have a debilitating bowel disease) but a lot of people on here have expressed dismay as it's difficult to determine who is just pretending to "return" to family. I think with a queue that long a CM should hand you a toilet pass to return to your family!
Generally speaking, I hate it when people do this. However, with super long lines people (myself included) are much more forgiving. It turns into a "community through shared suffering" kind of experience.
 
My DD9 actually refuses to stand in any line longer than half an hour. I would be willing to wait longer, but I won't force her to. When I was a teenager, I used to wait at concert venues for like 10 hours to be guaranteed a spot in the front of the stage, so I am willing to do what it takes if someone wants to see something bad enough lol. But so far, it hasn't come to that.

This has only backfired on us once...we always said we would stop to see Marie when the line was shorter, but we never got a chance to. And now she seems to be permanently gone, so we probably never will :( We should have sucked it up and waited in line for her.
 
Personally I would never wait 5 hours for a ride, but if there is a 45min - 1 hr wait I will give them snacks, dum dum lollipops, matchbox cars, games on our phones, etc.
 
Waiting in line with kids without offending someone...not something I would worry about as everyone is offended about something. Unless your kids are rude screaming or slamming into the folks standing in line by them or dropping f-bombs every 30 seconds what is there to get offended about? It's boring, it's long, it's hot. Sit quietly & wait...there's not much else to be done if you want to ride the ride. Maybe play that game on the phone where you have to guess the word (head ups?)?

Now I will admit I am entertained when people (usually adults) decide to have the blow out screaming "we spent XYZ dollars to be here & you're going to enjoy it" fight that usually results in all the children crying while 1 adult comforts them & the other stomps off. That helps pass the time in a long line. :rolleyes1
 
I have AP's and go often so I didn't mind waiting in line when I took my goddaughter to meet Anna and Elsa. I waited for 4hrs while my oldest daughter entertained her around the park. I had a great time making memories with the other people waiting. It did helped that it was beautiful day in FL.
 
Think of all the things you could be doing for 5 hours, rather than waiting in line. I would not make my family wait for 5 hours for any attraction. It was hard just waiting for the parade, fireworks or Fantasmic! when they were young, and that was 1 1/2 hours at most. If we had done everything else that we wanted to do, maybe we would wait 2 hours, but that's only if the posted time was less and we were already stuck there. I used to bring Disney Trivial Pursuit game cards and ask questions to my kids and those around us.
 
Last edited:
If you are specifically talking about Frozen- a couple of years ago when Anna and Elsa first were in Norway and the lines were hours long, the CMs would let 1 person from a party wait in line until they got close/inside the building. I don't know if they are doing that now but it is possible. Now for other regular lines you can't do that. Play heads up, i spy, hidden Mickey's, plan your next ride or show. Don't do bubbles.


Best comment ever. Thank you. I was there in March waiting in line for Gaston and a kid was blowing bubbles getting in everyone's eyes.
 
We are going in Sept too and really hoping that this craziness has died down by then. We will certainly FP it, but I won't wait an hour in the FP line for it. I would really like to ride it, but I don't think we'd wait longer than 30 minutes...
 
We don't and haven't gotten in any line with more than a 30 minute posted wait, and we have gone 10 times since our kids were little. We either get FP or come back later.
 












Receive up to $1,000 in Onboard Credit and a Gift Basket!
That’s right — when you book your Disney Cruise with Dreams Unlimited Travel, you’ll receive incredible shipboard credits to spend during your vacation!
CLICK HERE


New Posts





DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter DIS Bluesky

Back
Top Bottom