What's the problem with waiting in line?

[mr.bungle]

I'm a local and a line snob. I remember just a few years ago I could go on a Tuesday in February and basically walk on to all the rides. This is why I dislike waiting. It's also boring, but it more patient now and will wait up to 45ish for most rides and if I really feel like going on it, 60. Otherwise I'm like "I've done it before, I have a pass and I'll be back."

 

[dotfurio]

It kind of depends on the type of line for the ride. I hate spending a long time in a narrow line like storybook canal where we're just crammed in with the same people, BO, restless littles (mine included) and I won't wait more than 20 minutes for those. If it's a line that has some space I'll wait for 45-60 minutes. We play games to keep ourselves entertained, but 45-60 minutes is about the limit of my youngest before she drives us nuts (and others around us, I'm sure!).

 

[Gisele]

^ Oh that's right. How could I have forgotten that stink from some humans.

 

[LALA8971]

For me, it all depends on the ride. If the wait for Splash is 30-45 minutes, I have no problem standing in it. The Matterhorn, not a chance! The one thing we told my DS before his first trip (he was 7) was "you will be doing a lot of just standing and waiting in lines". We made sure to prepare him in advance and if the wait was more than about 20 minutes, I let him play angry birds on my phone. We saw so many kids melting down in those lines!
For our trip in Oct. 2016, my friend and her 3 girls are coming and she is already prepping them!

 

[minnie mum]

I see, and I can definitely appreciate the different perspectives.

I guess I can just remember when I was a kid, my parents weren't wealthy and had 4 kids, so even though we only lived 1 hourish away if we went to DL once a year we were very lucky. And anytime we went if we wanted to ride something we always waited in line, regardless of the wait time, and most of these trips were in a time before fast passes.. I remember the year Indiana Jones opened we waited like 2 hours to ride. We'd sit and wait an hour for a parade to start, it was just something that came along with going to the parks. And I completely agree, different strokes for different folks.

I think it is just the unwillingness to wait at all and insulting people who do that wait in line (I mean there are obliviously LOTS of people who will wait as long as it takes otherwise those lines would not be as long as they are) that hits a nerve with me.

Ah yes, the rose coloured days of "when I was a kid".
- the days when a day ticket didn't cost over $100.
-the days when FP didn't exist at all, so its not like you had a choice.
- the days when the parks weren't regularly crammed with high level crowds swelling those lines and wait times.
- the days when you could find a spot on Main Street only an hour before the afternoon or evening parade.
- the days before line/wait time apps where you can quickly see which rides have long waits and which ones don't.

Those days are gone. I only get to DL every 5 years or so. I have a finite amount of time to see as much as possible. I'm not going to waste that time standing in a 2 hour queue or staking out a viewing spot hours in advance. If others want to do that, and its quite obvious that thousands a day do, then more power to them. But I don't refuse to wait in any line - just those lines that are too long for me (balanced against just how much I want to experience that attraction).

I don't recall ever insulting anyone who chose to wait in a long line. I give those people the courtesy of assuming they have a good reason for doing so. Just as I hope someone else would do me the courtesy of assuming I had a perfectly good reason for NOT doing so.

I don't think your complaint holds much water, OP. If the majority of people refused to wait in any kind of line, then there would be no long lines! Just tens of thousands of people milling around in search of short ones. The far more likely scenario, as most of the PPs have mentioned, is one where people manage their available time wisely, for their particular needs, and prioritize their waits that yield the best value for them.

 

[4Siamese]

I love TSMM but I won't wait over 45 mins for it

This is my break point as well...the reason being that 90% of the queue line is in the sun.

Unless the parks are totally slammed with hordes of people there is an ebb and flow to the lines. Its better in certain areas of the park eg. the New Orleans Sq. area where you can see numerous rides and judge the lines. If BTMRR is 45mins then Pirates or HM might well have shorter waits and I will adjust where I am going to go next accordingly.

With the Real time line wait apps that you can get, well that really helps as well.

I won't wait in a super long line if I can find an alternative, because I can always try again later for that particular ride. If there is no other alternative then I will suck it up and wait but i don't think that trying to maximize my time/enjoyment is a sign that I am impatient or entitled.

 

[Allison]

I don't recall ever insulting anyone who chose to wait in a long line. I give those people the courtesy of assuming they have a good reason for doing so. Just as I hope someone else would do me the courtesy of assuming I had a perfectly good reason for NOT doing so.

Agreed.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

If we choose to go at a crowded time, we expect to wait in lines. We know how to maximize Fast Pass, but you can only get one every two hours and some rides don't have them. My family went last year between Christmas and New Year's. We flew in early the first morning and didn't get into DL until around 11:00 a.m. Some FP return times were already running for late at night. At first, my teen boys grumbled a little about how the lines we so long. I told them if we didn't hop into a line and wait, we could waste the entire day walking around and doing nothing. We got into the longest line we've ever seen for Pirates. It moved pretty quickly, but still ended up being around 40 minutes. Same for Haunted Mansion. Sometimes it was hard just to find the end of the lines because they wrapped around a few times. It was our choice to go at that time of year, so not unexpected. We just rolled with it and ended up doing quite a bit.

What I don't like about lines is unfairness. I'm more than happy to follow the rules and wait my turn, as long as everyone else does as well. I don't mind the occasional person needing to squeeze by and join their party, especially if they have a small child with them. I just assume it was a restroom emergency. What really annoys me is large groups of people squeezing by to meet up with a single person who was "saving" spots for them. Sorry, get in line as a group. If everyone's not ready, wait until they are and line up together. It's common courtesy. Luckily, my family has never been into watching parades. I do not like standing in one spot for an hour, only to have people come up at the last minute and try to squeeze in front of us.

 

[Beamo2014]

Well all the feedback on this is good stuff to consider and prepare for as the kids get older and are more able to vocalize their wants and needs about what they would like to do during a day at the parks. I just want them to be flexible and have the right expectations about how things have to be sometimes. One of our last trips the kids wanted to ride RSR late in the day, so no more fast passes. The wait was an hour, but DH decided he would give it a shot with the two older ones. They ended up meeting a little girl in line and played around with her while they waited. DH said the wait was a breeze and at the end of the day they had no recollection of waiting in line but they remembered how much fun they had riding the ride. And that's what its all about...

I've never actually made them wait 2hrs for a ride. I think that might be too much, but I do want to ride the Matterhorn someday and see the new effects, so guess one of these next trips we'll have to be one of those folks in that line.

 

[tarheelalum]

We go to DL quite a bit so maybe its different for folks who do not go as often but we would rather get a fast pass or do something else like check out the shops or a show than wait for something more than 20/25 minutes. If you use the fast passes well and show up early you can get a lot of rides in with minimal waiting. We usually don't wait for more than 15 min for most anything.

 

[clanmcculloch]

My family doesn't wait in long lines for anything. In my every day life and on vacation I do a lot of planning (I'm kind of OCD about it) To make that happen. I don't see it as my kids learning to expect instant gratification. I'm teaching them how to use their time efficiently. We get to stores when they open, if we eat out it's at non-peak hours. If we go somewhere like a museum we get there when they open and the night before we'll have discussed which areas we'll focus on if it'ss too big to see in the one trip. They know to pick and choose their priorities and understand we won't do it all. We do the same at DL & WDW. My Disney planning goes farther and I've read up on crowd patterns and best times to be in different are of the parks, FPs, etc. With good planning, we can ride every one of our top choices without ever waiting more than 20 minutes. We just did it at WDW over Christmas with no problems. Why wait when we don't have to?

I'd never mock or insult people for making different choices Though. Whatever works for you is what works for you. Enjoy it and own it.

 

[ThumperWabbt]

I'm one of those who won't wait more than half an hour in a line; it's not that I don't think it's worth it or I'm too good to wait, it's because I can't stand that long without an incredible amount of back pain. I'm better off skipping the long line and walking around for half an hour; movement hurts less.

If the line is in the sun, forget it. I'll throw up or pass out.

I sound like a delicate flower LOL

 

[sweethannah]

It's waiting in line, not a rite of passage. If your kids don't want to wait in line (bless their hearts) don't let it piss you off. I'm not sure how it's insulting to you if people don't want to wait in line unless it's the preconception on your part that 'those people' consider their time more valuable than you do yours. Rather to me it's about prioritizing. Wait in line for an hour or do a different ride and have time for a snack?
You seem pretty hard core about riding those 'must do rides' and imo, if you want to ride the Matterhorn why make your kids stand in line if they don't want to? You are free to do it and wait in line no? Speaking of flexibility isn't that exactly what is being shown by using time in a way that suits your schedule? Flexibility to me is not doing a super busy ride because I have to do it right this second regardless of the wait but when it's most convenient. I have 5 days in that Park once, maybe twice every two years. In an 8 hour park day waiting 1 hour for a ride is not the best use of my time. It's not that I think I'm superior but I have to budget our time in the parks.

 

[Beamo2014]

You seem pretty hard core about riding those 'must do rides' and imo, if you want to ride the Matterhorn why make your kids stand in line if they don't want to? You are free to do it and wait in line no?

I'm not sure how my saying I'd like to ride the Matterhorn so I can see the new effects = my being pretty hardcore about riding "must do rides." It's a newly refurbished ride that I honestly haven't ridden in years and I'd like to see the new additions. My kids want to ride it too they just don't want to wait in line. They are just tall enough to ride these kinds of rides now too so they are excited to finally ride them all, I don't force them to go on rides just because I want to do them.

 

[Minniesgal]

Nothing wrong with waiting in one but as far as I'm concerned disney has no rides worth waiting 45 minutes or more for

 

[KeKy4]

We see it as, if we can wait 15m in fast pass line, instead of an hour in standby for the same thing, why would we? For rides like Pirates, Alice and Peter, there's no fast pass, so we wait because those are important to us. We might pass up certain rides with a long wait to see if it lightens up later if they're not top priority.

 

[Barnabe]

I agree with another poster who said they don't mind the lines as much as long as there's movement. FP+ at WDW has increased the SB lines and most of the time is spent standing still. Not a fun experience. I think everyone knows that all aspects of our lives involve waiting in lines. I just think everyone has thier own maximum tolerance.

 

[lizabu]

I don't like waiting in lines. I don't really think line waiting is character building. I'd rather spend my time otherwise. I tend to make a plan, using EMH, riding the popular rides early in the morning. We like to take a break in the afternoon and fill the rest of the day with shows and things that have a high capacity and low wait times. I could show up at noon with no plan and wait the heck out of all the lines I want to and build all that line waiting character but that's not really my idea of a good time.

 

[jlwhitney]

You don't go to Disney, or other theme parks and expect no lines. It just part of the day. It happens. My good friend has not rode a ton of rides at WDW because of the lines, and her inability to plan and actually make her fp's on time. Makes no sense to me at all, she spends all the money to be in the park and spends less than 5 hours and maybe does 2-3 things on a good day.

I have rides I won't wait super long for now that I have rode them a ton, but others I will no matter what. I go to the parks to have fun and walking around avoiding lines is not fun to me since I can walk around anywhere and not pay a ton to get in .

 

[sunshine1]

Honest answer: i have no patience.

If a ride says 25 min wait these days, i wont even bother.

I think back in 2007, i waited 35 minutes for Soarin at Epcot. That the most i have ever waited for a ride.

I remember the same year waiting for Mickey at Disneyland Paris, for an hour. Why? Because he was wearing a different costume. I must have lost my mind that day!

The same when there is a huge line to get food. I just walk by. I cant do it

It helps that most of my trips are solo and i go off season.