What is the etiquette re: lines?

[DisLiss]

Emergency bathroom breaks for children are one thing, but all adults should get in a line and wait.

This is your opinion, and of course you're entitled to it, but given the heat in Florida and the fact that some lines can be a few hours long, some adults may really need to keep drinking in line, and therefore may also need to use the facilities at some point as well. And that's not even taking into account people with issues that require more frequent use of the bathroom.

 

[CmdrThor]

I’m fully aware of the zipper merge, my friend, I even mentioned it in the post. It fails when the car passes the car in front of them that zippered in and proceeds to the terminus of the lane.

That's the point though. In heavy traffic you zipper at the terminus of the lane, not far in advance.

Just like the lines at WDW right now. They are one lane after you pass the CMs at the normal standby entrance. Up until that point there is no problem with your party zippering in.

 

[Timandalicia]

Yeah... I see that, LOL! Sorry, didn't mean to open that can of worms. I legitimately was trying to figure out the best way to handle my condition.

It sounds like people would be less annoyed if I get in line first and then duck out if I need to use the restroom again. Sometimes I go, and then five minutes later need to go again So rather than just sending my family ahead, I should go with them, and then pop out if I need to go again. And only while the line is outside and there's no squeezing past.

If I'm having a bad flare, I'll consider the DAS but under normal conditions, I don't think I'll need it. My symptoms come and go (i.e. "flare"). I might just need an extra trip to the restroom here and there.

I personally also think that it really depends if the addition of a person is going to change the wait time for the people behind. In my case, it wouldn't because 3 people vs 4 people wouldn't use up another car or row - the seat would most likely just be left empty if I wasn't there.

One suggestion I can make is to really figure out the queue. They are winding and disorienting and sometimes hard to figure how to get out or back into. In a real pinch, a cast member that is understanding of your situation will help you re-enter to find your party.

 

[Timandalicia]

Emergency bathroom breaks for children are one thing, but all adults should get in a line and wait.

Well an adult shouldn’t stay in line if it’s an emergency though right? You said that they should stay in line. I mean that means (if it’s an emergency) they will have an accident. If they can hold it then it’s not an emergency. Or were you saying that adults should have accidents in line? I don’t think you really thought that statement through.

 

[winterwhite]

Everyone else could do the exact same thing. The current de facto rule is one person can wait in line for everyone else before you enter the normal standby queue. You can complain about it, but that's not going to change anything.

Beyond that if someone needs to exit the line for a bathroom break after you've passed that normal standby entrance, you typically can talk to the CM at the FastPass entrance and they will let you go up and wait for the rest of your party at the point where the lines merge. I agree no one should be trying to squeeze by others in the normal standby queue.

I’m not complaining about it. If everyone did it, the policy would likely change, as it creates crowd control and capacity planning issues. There are people watching those lines, they don’t exist in a vacuum. If everyone sent one person and then tried to squeeze five more in, the policy would change (like it already has at 7DMT) that you can’t enter the fixed queue until everyone is with you.

I was responding to the idea that it’s just too hot to function so that particular family shouldn’t have to wait in line and instead go get snacks, vegetate in the air conditioning, and then meander back at their convenience. If everyone did that, wait times would be a complete cluster. I understand the appeal. Behavior like this is why we can’t have nice things.

 

[ekendall2]

So here is the rule straight from the website...

"Please show common courtesy to fellow Guests and our Cast Members by not using profanity or engaging in unsafe, illegal, disruptive or offensive behavior, jumping lines or saving places in lines for others. For your safety and the safety of others, please refrain from running except in designated areas."

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/p...ourtesy to,running except in designated areas.

I think we can all agree that if someone (child or adult) has an emergency, it is acceptable to let that person out of line and then back in.

I use the rule of, was that person already in line? If not, that is line jumping. This is just my opinion though and not policy.

 

[Dug720]

Honestly the worst is character pic lines on the cruise ship. I have lost count of the number of times I've been in what appeared to be a short line only to have multiple people (like 4 or more) join people ahead of me - sometimes resulting in me (and a couple of others in front of me) missing that character because we had been at the tail end of their line before another character appears. And nine times out of ten, those people had been in line for another character but sent one person ahead to the other line.

 

[robinb]

Honestly the worst is character pic lines on the cruise ship. I have lost count of the number of times I've been in what appeared to be a short line only to have multiple people (like 4 or more) join people ahead of me - sometimes resulting in me (and a couple of others in front of me) missing that character because we had been at the tail end of their line before another character appears. And nine times out of ten, those people had been in line for another character but sent one person ahead to the other line.

And ... those expanding families end up taking photos of every combination of their family of 5 and have every autograph book signed.

 

[KittyKitty]

I noticed while walking thru the standby line, early in the morning for FoP, there was a bathroom. Now I'm not sure it was real, or just decoration, but thought it was a great idea.

 

[unrequited23]

If the line stretches way past the stroller parking, we would keep the kid in the stroller until we got close to the parking. One parent would step out and park the stroller, the rest of us would stay in line and the parking parent would catch up. Some people would consider this common sense, others would call it cutting. It's all subjective.

 

[1GoldenSun]

I make sure to keep very hydrated in the parks because otherwise I tend to get headaches. But I'm also a high-frequency pee-er even without the extra water intake, so this makes for lots of restroom stops. My family mostly just jokes about it, as in every restroom we pass by my kids joke that mom is actually walking by a restroom for a change. But it does keep us out of the longer lines, because while I probably could do it without an actual accident, it isn't exactly comfortable and I'm always worried about the possibility of the ride breaking down.

I had to get out of line to visit the restroom once while in line for Frozen. We'd never ridden it because the wait was always too long, but finally decided to just bite the bullet. Never again. It was so embarrassing and difficult getting back to my family in line; I am not a pushy person. I just don't go on the rides with long lines now.

 

[beesly]

Honestly the worst is character pic lines on the cruise ship. I have lost count of the number of times I've been in what appeared to be a short line only to have multiple people (like 4 or more) join people ahead of me - sometimes resulting in me (and a couple of others in front of me) missing that character because we had been at the tail end of their line before another character appears. And nine times out of ten, those people had been in line for another character but sent one person ahead to the other line.

The most frustrating thing for me last week was the bus lines first thing in the morning. My DD and I got up early to both get in line our first day. We appeared to be the 9th and 10th people in line. Over the course of 30 minutes, at least 10 more people joined the few people that were in front of us. Luckily, we (barely) still made the first bus to MK. I get that it’s tough for a lot of people to get up that early on vacation, but sending one person to hold a place for 6 on the bus just isn’t cool.

 

[kps7795]

I use a majority rule:
-If 6 people are joining 2 in line, you should go to the end.
-If 2 people are joining the 6 already in the line, it's cool.

This is a sliding scale by how hard it is to join the line as well. Squeezing by people in the cattle pens is a much bigger deal than joining the FOP line when it's by Festival of the Lion King.

I couldn't agree more with this sentiment. There is a difference between one or two people catching up to the group and a group of people joining one or two people who got onto the line.

 

[mafpi]

Me personally have no problem with this. I’m on vacation and will not let others get me irritated or upset during it. So what if it costs me a minute more in line, not enough to get upset over. Save away

 

[fairestoneofall]

I don't mind someone joining the line while the line is still outside the more enclosed queue. Once we're within the more specific queue (usually indoors, or within railing), I don't like people pushing passed me (pre-Covid or with Covid).

 

[nkereina]

I'm in agreement that if one person is holding the space in line and 3+ people join up with them, that's a bit egregious. If its several people in line and one joins up with them or someone is clearly bringing a child from the restroom, then I take no issue with it. Either way, I'd try not to sweat it and probably wouldn't say anything. Its such a small thing adding maybe minutes to the overall wait time (if that), so nothing I want to let grind my gears.

 

[Dug720]

And ... those expanding families end up taking photos of every combination of their family of 5 and have every autograph book signed.

Oh yeah. Super annoying. One time it was so bad, the handler took Chip and Dale into an area and came and got myself and the couple of families around me who had been waiting for them but got cut off because of expand-a-family and we got a private meet and greet.

 

[kmacht]

I agree with most of the comments here. If it is just one person catching up with their group or a kid (not teenager) who had to stop for a bathroom or other break I have no problem with it. When a group of 5 or 10 adults or teenagers decide to try to cut the line to catch up with one or two people far ahead is where I have a problem. We ran into that on one trip not long after FOP opened. I let the first two people go but then another group of 4 and another group of 2 tried to get by all to the same group much further ahead. After having been in line over an hour I had enough so my wife and I stood shoulder to shoulder and physically wouldn't let them by. We aren't talking kids here. These were adults and late teens with an entitlement attitude. It got to the point of them shouting at us and threatening to get violent. When we got to the entrance we and a number of other people around us notified the cast member of what was going on and they called security to escort them away. I'm usually a let it be type of person but there are times where you just need to stand your ground on principal.

 

[Twitterpaited]

The guests really need to join before you get inside or into the switchbacks, basically by time you need to park the stroller. The only exception would be a bathroom emergency, particularly for children.

 

[Twitterpaited]

I wanted to hear some opinions before sharing why I was asking...

I have a chronic bladder condition. Travel and dehydration have high potential to lead to flares, which lead to a bit more time in the restroom. I would hate to constantly make my family wait for me but I also really hope that I don't end up missing everything, especially having the experiences together with them. I would NOT squeeze past people in an indoor/tight situation during covid! Nobody, including me, would want that type of close contact with strangers right now. But I was hoping that maybe for rides that had really long, outdoor lines, it might not be considered too bad if my family went ahead if I get delayed and I could join them a few minutes later. Three of them in line, one of me possibly joining (under circumstances that allow). Also, I'm not sure that taking my group from 3 people to 4 people changes wait time at all for the other people in line, except maybe single riders which don't exist right now anyway. My condition is NOT something I want to be blurting out to a crowd of people to explain why I'm "cutting" so there won't be any way for people around to know why I'm joining my family late. Just wanted to get a sense from the group if it was highly, highly frowned upon or even not possible to do in many cases, or if people were pretty understanding.

You might be able to go to Guest Relations to try to get a DAS pass.