Stupid Guest Tricks

I loved working rope-drop at Soarin'! I just got accepted for Entertainment, and I really hope to be doing some more rope-drops at Epcot, only from a way cooler costume!

I thought of you on Monday... I got behind this one family at the Tomorrowland Speedway, and they just totally didn't 'get' lines/queues....it was the craziest thing. What's worst was that they thought I was the idiot -- no kidding...

First, rather than wrapping themselves through the rope line that is there, they decide to just swing the line out into the sidewalk - totally leaving the rest of the rope queue EMPTY and holding up traffic. So as we approached the clod of people, I tried to figure out where to go - considering the line seemed to just leave the queue area. So I said, "Are you all in line, because it actually feeds through here..." I swear I didn't say it snotty or anything -- just trying to figure out where we were going to stand. (I'm thinking Safety - if for no other reason - they are TOTALLY clogging up the walkway because they are too lazy to bend back into the rope queue. (It was one of those times when the ropes were open (to allow people to come in at the end without having to thread through the whole back and forth), because the line wasn't always long -- so these folks just felt like it meant they didn't have to stand inside there at all.

So they were like, "Well, YOU can stand there if you want, but the line ends right here (in the middle of the sidewalk)...." I said, "Okay - I'll stand here, so at least other folks will know where to stand. You guys are out in the middle of the sidewalk." The Dad of the group had a lightbulb moment and gingerly tried to explain to his family that he understood what I was trying to say, blah, blah -- but by then, the line finally inched them back into a 'real queue' and at that point they just thought I was a loon... nice...

Soooooo, we make our way through the rest of the line, up to the covered part and back and forth, until we reached the - you guessed it, DOUBLE TURNSTILES.... Well, I picked the left turnstile (because it seemed to be going a little quicker and had a slight gap at the end of the line... The 'queue family' had chosen the right-hand turnstile and was sort of distracted by the process, taking them even longer to get through to the next line.

Well, as you can imagine, they get through the turnstile and look up to 'pick' which line they want to be in (never mind that the turnstile selection sort of did that already), they saw me (the line nazi) IN FRONT of them!! OMG

So the teenage daughter (I remember being this ballsy) speaks up and says, "Um, you've got our space in line -- we were in front of you..."

Well, I'm sorry to say that the accusation stunned me -- and I didn't really even have time to process exactly HOW the line thing happened, until after the 'confrontation'...and by that point, I really didn't feel like going there... "Wait, I know what happened - you guys took the other turnstile, that's what happened.....you should have gotten into that line, blah.....blah.....nice...."

So anyway, I just sort of exhaled and said, 'You know what, whatever -- you go ahead....' The family was really shocked that the daughter had tried to start something -- guess they were afraid of a 'Teacup Incident' - because the Dad said something like, "Honey, be quiet, it's not worth it...." -But they wouldn't go ahead when I motioned for them to get back in front of me. -But obviously, I wasn't going to say or do anything to them (CM or not) -- talk about 'not worth it'...

But, it's frustrating to me - even now -- because they think I'm the nut!! It's upsetting, because I didn't do anything wrong or out of bounds... #1: Just trying to clarify their queue position (in the da#^ middle of the sidewalk) when there was 50 feet of room in the designated queue area, and then #2: following the logical path from my selected turnstile....they picked 'right' and should have gotten in that line. I mean, isn't the point of the turnstile to give them a count on each of the lines??? If you go through one turnstile and cross over to the other line, doesn't that screw up the count, if nothing else?

Alright - that's all -- just had to share...hope I made any sense with this one...wish I'd had the presence of mind to have explained to them what happened....not that they would have believed me....

Anyway -- you guys were probably the only people who would hopefully understand my frustration.

So that's it -- somewhere out there is a family that thinks they were victimized by a queue-nazi line cutter, but it just wasn't the case...just their perception, I'm sure...

smatterchu wrote:Alright - that's all -- just had to share...hope I made any sense with this one...wish I'd had the presence of mind to have explained to them what happened....not that they would have believed me....

The operative statement there is that they wouldn't have believed you. That's why the old saying advises not to try to teach a pig to sing. It's impossible, and it just annoys the pig.

I never figured out the motivation for the annoyance of my Epcot "friends." All I can figure is that they had gotten there way earlier than me and resented the fact that I was going to get into the park at the same time. Other than that, who knows..it takes all kinds.

smatterchu wrote:So as we approached the clod of people...

Freudian slip or not, that's a pretty funny description.

Syndrome wrote:The operative statement there is that they wouldn't have believed you. That's why the old saying advises not to try to teach a pig to sing. It's impossible, and it just annoys the pig.

I never figured out the motivation for the annoyance of my Epcot "friends." All I can figure is that they had gotten there way earlier than me and resented the fact that I was going to get into the park at the same time. Other than that, who knows..it takes all kinds.

I know what you mean -- glad we've got folks to commiserate with on here. It was funny, though, because as soon as the racecar fumes settled, I immediately thought about you and your EPCOT 'friends'... ;)

It does take all kinds -- and while I try to really stay out of the fray with folks, I just seemed to be all up in these people's fray...

hobie16 wrote:Freudian slip or not, that's a pretty funny description.

:D: -- I love that word anyway, and it totally fit...

I didn't mention it before, but during the initial 'conversation' with this bunch, this one woman got sorta snotty and said, "Well, it doesn't matter anyway, because I'm just here waiting for someone anyway." I just blinked and said, "Beautiful." ...and then she moved her stroller off to an area over closer to the viewing stand...

So what the hell.....she was just standing in the quasi-line, blocking traffic with an EMPTY stroller, just waiting for folks....who I assume are riding the speedway at the time??

Color me puzzled....somebody get me a churro!! :)

On our trip earlier this month we ate at Columbia Harbour House on several occasions. Each time when I went to one of the registers to order, the right line was 7-9 people deep and the left side of the register was completely empty. Of course I went to the left and my order was taken next after the person being served on the right. I got numerous dirty looks and few comments about being a line cutter but I did not care as I was eating while the sheeple were still in line on the right. ;)

mgilmer wrote:On our trip earlier this month we ate at Columbia Harbour House on several occasions. Each time when I went to one of the registers to order, the right line was 7-9 people deep and the left side of the register was completely empty. Of course I went to the left and my order was taken next after the person being served on the right. I got numerous dirty looks and few comments about being a line cutter but I did not care as I was eating while the sheeple were still in line on the right. ;)

Sheeple! I love it!! :D:

Whazzup wrote:Sheeple! I love it!! :D:

You may have coined a new term for SGT!

Didn't you guys know? (insert park/random attarction/show name here) is like Brigadoon. If they can't get in right away it'll disappear for 500 years.

mgilmer wrote:On our trip earlier this month we ate at Columbia Harbour House on several occasions. Each time when I went to one of the registers to order, the right line was 7-9 people deep and the left side of the register was completely empty. Of course I went to the left and my order was taken next after the person being served on the right. I got numerous dirty looks and few comments about being a line cutter but I did not care as I was eating while the sheeple were still in line on the right. ;)

Exactly - and I know what you mean. I see it all the time --at both the security line and the CS food lines. I feel bad 'appearing' to be cutting, but usually the clump of people on the other side is usually ordering together anyway -- right??

Whazzup wrote:Sheeple! I love it!! :D:

:p: That's one of my favorite words -- feels really appropriate a lot at WDW...

Sioban wrote:Didn't you guys know? (insert park/random attarction/show name here) is like Brigadoon. If they can't get in right away it'll disappear for 500 years.

Ahhhhhhhh, that must be it.. LOL