Long Waits

Some attractions aren't worth a long wait. Others I'm willing to wait so long but no longer. I'd wait 30 minutes for Peter Pan's Flight or Haunted Mansion but not for Small World, for example. I've happily waited an hour or more for Toy Story Mania, but more than a few minutes' wait for the Muppets is too much. Thing is, as you well know, if you plan your day and your fastpasses right you can do pretty much everything with only moderate waits. So I'll bet these folks are first-timers who didn't preplan. If they come back they'll get it right next time.

I think families that don't want to wait in line want to avoid possible melt downs. Children and some adults have zero tolerance for waiting. A mother knows if her children are going to completely break down while waiting in a long line. A major melt down can ruin a large portion of, or even the whole, day.Whereas if they only go on FP+ rides each day, but avoid any major tantrums their vacation might end up being much more enjoyable with only a few rides a day.

I have to say that we are spoiled and have never waited more than 30 minutes for a ride for the most part. We always fast pass Toy Story because that never has a short line. We have skipped rides with long wait times but since we are both adults and we come back year after year it is not a big deal if we skip a ride or two. It will be interesting next year with taking kids along with us and what they want to wait in line for. My fast pass selections will probably have to change. Wondering how long a 3 year old will wait in line!

Planning, planning and more planning..

I've NEVER waited longer than 30 minutes for any ride, so if you plan it right, you can avoid the long crowds as well..

I use Touringplans to help me and it is GREAT!!

As I recall the longest wait I had during my first trip was while I waited to meet Sorcerer Mickey, about 40 minutes. Haunted Mansion was maybe half an hour but there sure was plenty to see.

I kinda get the not wanting to wait... Just because yes, kids (and adults) have meltdowns. I've only fastpassed 7DMT so I don't know how entertaining and exciting the interactive stuff is. The line for Soarin is pretty boring and it's line only kept me occupied for about 10 minutes.

We got in the TSM line and the wait said 65 minutes, it was more like 35.... Everything in HS that day was much shorter than posted...

Like may others, we go often and while I have my "I can't miss it this trip" rides, I know I can come back.

I have never waited in line for more than 30 minutes either, but if there was something I really wanted to go on I would wait longer than that. Like most other people on here, we go often enough that I can "eh, next time" if the line is just too much for me and I do not feel like waiting that day,

I admit I can be an impatient waiter myself, as well. But anything more than 30 minutes I don't even bother putting one foot in line.

As to why people refuse to wait long lines, well, it may be a combination of factors. I'm pretty sure there are people who are unfamiliar with Fastpass+ and may assume it costs extra to use given that other theme parks charge for the short wait time privileges like Universal, Six Flags or Cedar Fair. That misconception, however, is completely false. If they are aware of FP+ and they were unable to get a slot, however, then that's a different story. Some people aren't really morning, rope drop or bust people to begin with. And some may assume that wait times for certain rides won't drop very largely during the night hours.

Plus I also think some people grossly underestimate the crowds. They don't check crowd calendars or they may falsely assume that hot weather drives people away from the parks thus translating to a false perception of lower crowds. There's also the fact the Disney World park visitors are not mostly locals as it is for other theme parks so you have people from all different states and countries visiting there. Not the case for a local family owned and operated amusement park or a Six Flags park. So all of that, in turn, gives park visitors a negative surprise when they do arrive in the park and they see the big crowds, long lines and jaw-dropping colossal wait times.

I assume the mentality is that it's a waste of time constantly checking back and forth to see if the wait times changed. Bear in mind not everyone has the latest smartphone and park Wi-Fi has had a bad reputation for being slow from what I heard. So rather than wait it out, they basically say it's not worth dealing with.

There are certain attractions I will not wait that long for, but then again Disney isn't just about riding attractions, it's about the experience of being there with loved ones and enjoying vacation. I'm sure pregnant women and people who cannot physically ride the attractions still have a great time, while probably spending thousands for their vacation.

I agree with all this...

And this. I LOVE the rides but I'm not willing to wait for than 10 minutes for some (ie: It's a Small World), 20 for others (it: Muppets) and 60 for very few (ie: Toy Story Mania). I agree though that are so many things about WDW that we love over the rides. The buildings, the details, the shows, the shops, the shows, the parades. So when a line is too long for our liking, we come back later or try again another day. Usually though, the lines that are an issue we have Fast Pass'ed at least once on the trip.

I too am a line snob. I normally go during slower times of the year so I'll rarely wait more then 30 min. While you see it as wasting my time and money on a vacation where I won't wait in line for attractions, in my mind, waiting in line for 100+ min for one attraction IS wasting my time and money. I can always FP+ the attractions with long waits and there are plenty of attractions, shows, meals, etc. that usually have short waits that I can do instead. If it is too long of a wait there is always next time.

I agree with the planning,

If it's a ride that always has long waits, I use FP, if it's a personal fave I tried to get that one in my original 3, then fingers crossed for the others.

I also like you use a kind of wait vs like algorithm. The more I like it the longer I'll wait, or bizarrely I waited indoors for 20 minutes for something like muppets or EO but that was so I could have a breather from dashing about in the heat.

Unfortunately UK theme parks make you pay for FP type services so the algorithm is even more important - 'do I like it enough to stand here for over an hour???' Shame that is normally the case for my all time favourite UK ride.

As for DLP I rarely use FP as the queue is normally longer than the ride queue! Also there are only a few rides that I really love, most of my DLP time is spent pin trading (I drive over for events)

There is probably one one ride I would consider waiting a long-ish time for...Toy Story Mania.

If its a long wait time but I really want to ride it I will get in line and start talking to the person in front of me or behind me, I have met some pretty awesome people standing in line waiting. You get to hear someones back story and figure out everything I think its Amazing!!!

I am also a line snob. But I have been somewhat spoiled. I have been going to Disney World for 19 years now and we have always gone during the slow seasons such as Mid January, late April and my new favorite time Mid to end September. The only line I have waited more than 30 minutes was Toy Story Mania the last time we went and that said 45 minutes and it was the lowest time I have ever seen on that ride ever so we hopped right in line. It seemed like it was closer to an hour wait though.
I have gone a lot so I know what's popular and what is going to be busy. I also usually know what days of the week are busy at what parks though sometimes I am off, lol. What I have down since I have been in my teenage years until now is the extra magic hours. I get up early and go to the park that is open early. Hit the big stuff and spend some time there and then we will go back to the room hang out go to the pool enjoy some kick back time and then get ready and hit the park that is open late and hit all the popular rides.
Last time we went, we went during NH school vacation week the last week in April 2013 (not exactly my choice to go then but my Aunt and cousin were going with us and she works at a school so that is the only time she could get off) surprisingly it wasn't all that crowded. We stayed at Boardwalk (one of my favorite places) and my boyfriend at the time, now fiance, rode the boat with my family over to Epcot when we got there. My family (which included two young kids) wanted to watch Illuminations. I told Adam that we could come over and watch it anytime since we were a stone throw away from the park. I wanted to hit the rides! And what better time than while everyone else is watching fireworks! Plus Epcot was open until 1am that night!
So we first hit Soarin which we literally walked right on there was like two people ahead of us the ride wasn't even full when we got on. Then we were starved because we hadn't eaten since before the flight that morning. So we got dinner at the Umbrella Cafe and then we went over to the Test Track, which just had opened from its updates, and we walked right onto that as well. And after that we hit Mission to Space. After we got off of that right it was about 12:40 so we walked back so we could catch a boat back to the room. It was pretty great knowing we got those big rides done without any waiting at all!
We had pretty good luck that stay, I can't believe we managed to get in line for Toy Story Mania at 45 minutes but it was awesome. First time I had been on it since it had opened! I could never even get a fast pass for it! They were always sold out before I could even get there!
If anyone has tried the Disney Experience app I actually used it A LOT last time we went to check out the wait time and to see how crowded the parks were. Actually my mom went in May and she texted me and asked me to look up wait times for stuff for her in another park because it was busy in the park they were in and she is smartphoneless. lol.
I definitely already have a game plan for next year. I am going to book my six months ahead of time. I already have my wrist band I just need to get Adam one. (My mom bought me a limited edition Haunted Mansion one whens he went) I just need to link mine with my account so when I book. I am going to do my fast passes ahead of time or try to. I know I am definitely getting Toy Story Mania and The Mine Train ride as that one is new and will be busy. Then maybe Peter Pan's Flight because that is usually always busy and they are redoing the line and for some reason Pooh is always busy. My fiance will kill me because even though its just the two of us, yes I am still making him go on all the little kid rides. Those are the best ones! lol. He would really kill me because I love Its a Small World, which he got stuck on as a kid so now he hates that song and ride, but sadly it is closed during our stay next year. He is thanking is lucky stars right now.

Oh and definitely doing a fastpass for Expedition Everest as that one is usually long. I have never had a problem getting on the Safari ride or anything. And September is very low lines so I doubt we are going to need the fastpasses too often.
I don't think a lot of people realize that it does take this much planning and thinking ahead to make your vacation a good one. But no I certainly would NOT wait in a line for 100 plus minutes. To me it is a waste of time and money. I would rather hit another ride again, or if the park is busy go back to the room and take a breather, go in the pool, have a drink and then try a different park later and hit some rides there.

Yea, it's tough to go to WDW without waiting in ANY lines. OK it's nearly impossible. Makes it important to like the person you're going with so you have someone to chat with while waiting.

I again go back to my point of that I see spending your whole vacation in line as a waste of time in money. There are tons of attractions, entertainment, dining, etc. that you can choose to do instead that have little to no waits.

Some people clearly have the all or nothing mentality. A lot of us here acknowledge that you can't do it all in one trip. But not everyone will get that message, particularly the folks who never take part in a Disney park discussion forum and literally don't know the ins and outs in terms of planning, dining, etc.

I think it comes down to a lack of research, they simply don't know it's going to be like that. These are the same people who go home and complain to everyone how horrible Disney is, but it really comes down to their own poor planning.

I need lines that are under and hour - preferably under 30 minutes and I schedule our vacations accordingly. The one year that we did go in a high crowd season, I think I only rode 2 rides, and that was because I hit them at times when the lines were short. But I know what to expect, a lot of people don't, and on their first trip they really aren't prepared for the mass of people.