The official Disney line about lines is this, “Please show common courtesy to fellow Guests and our Cast Members by not jumping lines or saving places in lines for others.”
It’s impossible to be a Disney guest without having to spend some time waiting in a queue. Line etiquette at Disney really isn’t any different from anywhere else, but you will definitely encounter a number of situations that may or may not bother you (i.e. line jumpers, the unprepared, the slow, the distracted, and the rude).
Here are some suggested best practices.
Stay together
Don’t enter a line until your whole party is ready. If one or two people in your group have to use the restroom, then your whole group should wait to get in line together. It’s also not good form to ask the fastest members of your group to sprint ahead and save you a place.
Don’t Break Up Families
On the flip side, knowingly getting in a line between a family is obnoxious. Pause to allow a whole family to enter together or wave ahead those left behind. Most often these are grandparents or responsible adults trying to hustle with a small child.
Read Your Audience
When waiting in line, there’s nothing better than standing next to another group of Disney fans and trading stories. It can make a 45-minute wait fly by. But not every family wants to chat. If you try to strike up a conversation and your fellow line goers don’t bite, don’t worry. Chat up the guests on the other side of your party or play a game of Heads Up with your group. Try not to be a loud-talker or close-talker (If you’re not familiar with the term, see Seinfeld Episode 82).
Trust Your Fellow Line-Goers
Nine times out of 10, a person really did have to leave the line for the bathroom or a drink. Just believe them. A lot of people underestimate how long they can hold it. And children? Forget it. They have no concept of time or bladder control.
Which brings us to our last bit of advice.
Don’t Let Shady Line Jumpers Ruin Your Day
Some WDW villains—we mean guests—have no guilt about line jumping. Thankfully, they are a rarity. Of course, you can report offenders to a Cast Member, but that doesn’t often get you any satisfaction (Cast Members are more like diplomats than police officers).
The best advice is to “Let It Go”. At worst, you may have to wait another minute in line. It’s not worth stewing over.
And if it makes you feel any better, inside WDW there’s an invisible princess. Her name is Karma and she takes care of nice people.
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