Line Cutting PSA

LK I'll answer your question...

No it still irritates me to end when people cut in line. Everyone can stand in the cattle corral and wait their turn, or pay for express access to the slaughterhouse (which doesn't bother me in the least... You're familiar with the Golden Rule, right? He who has the gold, makes the rules!). I don't care if their sister is up there waiting for them. I don't care what their excuse is. It's all shenanigans, and I call people out as such.

LostKause said:

Sigh... I was trying to have a conversation. Nothing I said was negative.

So, it's just an accident that for years you've been using the term "cut" whenever paid FOL access is being discussed?

Of all the deceased horses in this forum, piling on Travis at every chance is certainly the most rotted corpse.

Travis, I can see where you might have a point, but I have to disagree. I think people are just going to cut the line either way. I think most guests, especially now that VQ services have been around for over a decade, compartmentalize VQing into a different place in their brains than line cutting. I don't think people look at VQ and say, "That's cutting" and I certainly don't think they take that as permission to actually cut in the real line.

I suspect the real issue is that, in spite of all the warnings (which most people don't even read), to most guests saving spots in line is not cutting. Though some of them are just jerks...stop that Mr. Simpson.

Sorry, I think my post broke the thread on a tangent, I was just stating that the line cutting has made the flash pass/virtualQ/ride reservation system a must for me. Especially the first time I visit a park.

I think the cutting and up charges are unrelated. I hope parks aren't purposely ignoring the issue on the hopes of more up charges. I account the line cutting, or saving of spots just an entitled rudeness. I see this mostly from teenagers, who probably don't see the value of VQ since they don't wait on full lines, and they probably don't have the cash anyway.

If parks had even roving security check long lines from time to time this problem would go away. Teens might not see this as a breach of protocol as AppolloAndy said because their are no consequences. When is the last time you personally saw security taking someone out of line? I would have to say for me it would probably be 1995ish...

I once had an op that saw a bunch of kids try to cut in front of me to get on Hang Time at Dorney with their friends up on the platform. The queue was full and they were so rude they actually called me a bitch and pushed me when I would not move to let them through. The op asked what the problem was, and when they complained--because somehow I was in the wrong--The op then sent not only the line cutters but also the friends on the platform to the end of the line and made all of them wait all over again. They complained, and he told them that he could kick them out of the park instead. It was beautiful. This was only a few years ago too.

An interesting solution would be to install a few video cameras and post that they are in use. It would at least act as a deterrent.

"Warning: Line jumping may result in removal from the park without a refund. Security cameras are in use throughout the line area."

...or something like that.

LostKause said:

An interesting solution would be to install a few video cameras and post that they are in use. It would at least act as a deterrent.

"Warning: Line jumping may result in removal from the park without a refund. Security cameras are in use throughout the line area."

...or something like that.

That seems like a good solution that would be cheep, but to be truly effective they would need to eject someone every once in a while

Or, they could do what SFGAm did with Goliath this year - hand out numbered boarding passes to everyone who enters the line. If the op at the station stairs receives a number that is wildly out of order (meaning more than a small group's worth, I'm sure if you've got #6 and the guy behind you had #9 or #10, and the guy behind him was #8 they could safely assume you were all together and mingling), there's a problem.

My guess is that line cutting is such an infrequent thing with such minimal ramifications that the parks needn't spend much time or resources policing or monitoring it.

If you're just considering whether or not the park is concerned with the order in which people arrive on the platform then I'd say it's not an issue. Who shows up and when doesn't affect operations on a busy day.
I'd think the bigger reason to crack down on line jumping in general would be to ward off altercations between guests, a real and potentially serious thing. I've seen it happen more than a couple of times, and while disturbances like that may be isolated, a park really can't afford to let it happen once. Outside of an accident, it's the worst kind of trouble (where everyone's safety is affected) they can have.

Sadly, enforcement at most parks is left to ride ops (with a plan B attached) and they'd probably prefer to stay away from that kind of situation all together. I know it would be my least favorite thing, (well, right up there with vomit.) Anyway, so maybe it's no wonder the parks appear to take a lax approach.

LOL Gator - I won't mention the potential line jumpers in Blackpool on the Grand National and the Wild Mouse where you and a certain pink-hatted other individual dealt with the situation with humour and great aplomb ;)

Oh, do tell, one of you. I love humour. And aplombs.

RCMAC said:

Oh, do tell, one of you. I love humour. And aplombs.

And pink hats. Don't forget pink hats.

Classy. Well done. That we can't have a gentle joke with friends on here without the usual arseholes flapping their gills?

Wait, what?

Something got deleted, or was lost in translation?

No deletions. I don't get it either.

I thought about the passing out numbers idea too, but that totally misses the point of my post. Adding video cameras to watch a line would "deter" line jumping, just like cameras "deter" shoplifting. The point is not to catch someone doing it. The point is to keep people from doing it in the first place.