Credit: Disney
If you know anything about the Disneyland or Walt Disney World Resorts, chances are you know that, if nothing else, you will be waiting in line at some point during your trip.
Whether it’s a line to meet your favorite princess, to order food, or it’s one of the many long lines to wait to ride your favorite ride, lines are everywhere at the Disney parks. Over the years, Disney has tried various solutions to cut down on the seemingly ever-longer lines, including creating the FastPass system, which became the FastPass+ system, which is now the Lightning Lane and Genie+ system. They’ve also created the Virtual Queue sytem, which is when you essentially book your ride time in advance and return to ride later in the day. Currently, the Virtual Queue system is only used for newer attractions, like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT and Tron Lightcycle / Run at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
On an average day, guests can expect to wait anywhere from 20 minutes all the way up to several hours, depending on the time of day, the time of year, and the attraction in question. In the last couple of months alone, Inside the Magic has reported on guests waiting over three hours with the many guests taking to social media, sharing shocking wait times listed on the various park apps.
Unfortunately, some guests take solutions into their own hands and decide that the best way to handle waiting in line is to not wait at all. There have been an increase in complaints about people line cutting at the parks, although it has always been an issue at any theme park. Recently, we reported on a situation where it seemed as though a group of over 50 people attempted to cut the line at a popular attraction at Walt Disney World.
And it’s not just an issue in the Orlando theme parks either, as one recent guest took to the Disneyland sub-Reddit to share a very similar complaint. However, although many shared their own stories of being cut while waiting in line, several comments pointed the blame right back at Disney and their former FastPass system. The original poster asked, “what is up with all the line cutting in disneyland? this is our first time to disneyland, and today we are in california adventure and I have NEVER experienced anything like this in disney world.”
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While several expressed their empathy and own experiences, one commenter explained what they thought had happened to cause such an increase. “Ride lines are longer now when they added paid FP and new FP lines to rides. So, family ride dynamics are different now than before,” explained u/throwawaydeeez. “People have to get out of line to pee. Families go on different rides now leaving other family members to stand in other lines. This is speaking on people who aren’t cutting to cut but are meeting up with family ahead in line. Also not saying that is the ‘right’ thing.”
“FP, paid FP, higher ticket prices. Just three of the changes,” they continued. “FP created higher wait times.Paid FP created higher wait times at attractions that normally didn’t have it s as more FP lines mean more company $$$.” Or as u/natanialuvv said, “minutes count at Disneyland & if I can shorten the time I will.. If everyone did it, the lines would be shorter.”
Whether or not the implementation of the former FastPass system is truly to blame, there’s no doubt that as the cost of a Disney vacation has increased, there’s a bigger sense of pressure to maximize your time and overall experience.