Rant: The End of Line Jumping

Anyone who has witnessed my berserker mode only need bow to the master of all that is Anti-Linejumping. ;)

1) With Moosh in line for Riddlers Revenge, summer 2002. We reported it to the powers that be, but nothing was done to the jumpers. Bastards.

2) With the guys at PKI, in line for TR:TR, just prior to SRM. Oh... you shoulda seen it. I think Rob, Mike, Danny and Jeff are still shaking. ;)

It may not be right, but I don't **** around. I guess I'm a car accident waiting to happen, eh?

Hell, I'm only 5"5', but I'll be damned if I allow any little punks who think they are above everyone to pass so they don't have to wait their turn in line like everyone else does. Since their parents obviously never taught them any manners, I have no problem raising a stink and putting them in their place.

I simply block the pathway and when they try to pass, I simply turn to them and say very loudly NO LINE JUMPING! They always give the same ol excuse "oh my friends are up there", to which I just ignore them and continue to block their way. They usually get the message that it aint gonna happen, and go back to the end of the line. They may act and talk tough, but 99% of the time, if you confront them, they'll back down. Inconsideration never gets rewarded anyway under any circustances in my book.

Uh, oh, looks like we're generalizing again! Don't make me go off on a tangent again about this sort of thing. Just look at my sig. It's nice to know that you don't like line-jumpers as much as the next guy, but you don't have to say that we're little punks. You hurt my feelings. Waah.
How else would I make my 200th post without bi***ing?

jomo, 'little punks' are one thing, but dudes that can arm wrestle my whole torso are not worth confronting. It may piss me off, but I'm not going to tell off Ivan Drago when he glares at me and says, 'I must break you.'

Well Rob, I didn't say it then and I haven't said it until now, BUT we were the actual line jumpers. I don't know if you remember, but we ducked under the rail instead of walking all the way around. It didn't look like anyone was in line, therefore no big deal. But I did notice those two girls putting their backpacks in the lockers IN the line. Where we ducked the ropes was between them and the entrance to the tomb, both of which was past the actual entrance to the ride.

The funniest thing was that they were only trying to get to the guys right in front of us. Man were your nostrils flairing. I wasn't about to say anything then. And I've let you have your fun retelling the story here. But I just can't hold it in anymore, I feel guilty.

As far as me shaking in my boots. I wasn't scared about a confrontation. I was scared of the end results of said confrontation. Ejection from the park and possible assault or battery charges against me would not look good when applying for admission to the bar. Too much to lose on my end, although it was an entertaining experience.

I given up on people ever being civilized at SFA, or SFGadv., which is why I'll probably being going to HP and PKD instead this year.

I actuly think waiting in line can be fun. For example last year at about 1130 pm I was in line for millennium force luckily there was a awsome DJ and it was a perfect 70 degrees. It was a perfect day to add. Back to the topic a couple of kids walked right next to me and up about five rows. This doesent bother me unless everyone starts doing it. Besides that the only time it bothers me is on a 100 degree day and someone cut in front of me while in a water ride line.

TTD was built, TTD was broke, TTD is alive *** Edited 3/26/2004 9:08:15 PM UTC by CP Dude***

Incidentalist,

You must go to some nice clubs...you have to apply for admission? ;) ;)

No offense TTDTom, I hope everyone understood when I say little punks, I was talking about these kind of brats that don't know how to behave themselves. I have no problem with well behaved considerate kids, but punks, yeah they rattle my cage!

And Vater, I agree, most of the time it is the "little punks" that pull this kind of stuff. I guess the fact that I've been told many times that I look mean helps a bit, but someone alot bigger I would also think twice.

That's quite alright, I was just yankin' your chain. We need some more excitement during the offseason.

Well so far I'm in the lead for shortest anti-linejumper (5'4"). Anyways I always try to stop the people who try to line jump. The worst I've come across was a couple of people my age (16) at PCW last summer when I was with my little cousin. I tried forming a queue wall like usual, but it didn't work. The person just yelled "move!" and shoved his way past my arms with his "bro" (lol) in tow continuing down the line.

Another thing that bothers me is people throwing garbadge on the ground right beside a trash can. Confronted someone about that once and scared the heck out of my friends. But that's for another topic I guess.

I've never seen big burly guys line jumping. It's always youger punks age 10 to mid-teens. They're obviously the exception rather than the norm, but always in that age group.

Actually, the best is an anti-line jumper in that age range. There was once a very long line for the front seat, and a group of girls held grabbed this kid who was trying to run up in the line on the other side. (For those who have been on Xcellerator, you know how it's set up). They held him there, cussed him out for a while yelling at him to get to the end of the line, and then encouraged others to hurl insults at him as they passed by. I couldn't have been happier. It was a very funny scene.

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Jeff said:

The worst I've seen it anywhere was at SFGAdv.

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Which, for better or worse, is my home park. I don't allow it either, for the most part. I actually have the park's phone number on speed dial on my cell phone, so if need be I can call security. If I am close to the station I let them by then when I get to the station I point them out to the ride ops, who typically take care of it. MOST IMPORTANT: thank the ride ops when they do take care of it, they appreciate it.

My incident on Kraken was a little unnecessary, but I was gonna post it, me and my gf were in line, and this guy jumped in front of us. i let it slide, but told her if it happened again i would lose it. 2 guys did it, and i snapped, told them to get back here (only with swears) and started mouthing off to them. they started back, and at the station we were ready to fight. a little girl was covering her ears. they got kicked out of the line, and i got to ride twice for the inconvenience. was it an acceptable part of my life, probably not, but i had had it.

What gets me is these people knowingly break the rules, and they know it is an inconvenience to others in line. They know it is rude. They know it is selfish. Yet when someone puts a stop to it... it's like the jumper is offended and appauled anyone would question their actions. Thing is, this attitude has to carry over to other aspects of life. How can someone live with people constantly giving them dirty looks and knowingly upseting others? Blows my mind.

That was my fav part about being a ride in-charge. Watching people being escorted to the security jeep by two security guards is just priceless.

Two big muscleheads linejumped ahead of me at SFGAm last season while waiting for Superman.Seems like all SF parks have this problem.the problem is the more someone gets away with it the more they will do it.Why wait when there are no repercussions.Anyway I told these guys off and they thought I was crazy -they got in my face and kept spouting off and they were waiting for me to back down and I didnt so they just said I wasnt worth the effort.We all deal with the miserable heat at the park and suffer while jerks cut in line and nothing is done.Sorry for the long rant.Lets form a united front and we could come up with a cool acronym.

A lot of people have suggested mentioning the line-jumpers to the ride-ops or attendants. If you're by yourself this is much harder. True example: You've got an already loaded ride, and people are yelling at each other (the accusers vs. the accused), as well as yelling at you to do something about it. You haven't witnessed the event either. It could take x amount of minutes for a manager to arrive. a) Do you remove the people on the ride who've already waited for sometime to ride? b) Do you leave them sitting there until the conflict is resolved? c) Do you run the ride and ignore the conflict, which could escalate? There are no easy answers, which is why someone needs to come up with concrete answers so no one is confused as to what the policy is.

Or how about a situation where you have to yank a little kid off of a ride, because the adult has accused the kid of cutting (which excited kids will do), leaving no one happy. I suggest that parks either have security monitoring the big rides (and actually doing something, not just sitting there in a lifeguard chair), or have someone in the area who can take care of problems quickly. In my opinion, this shouldn't be up to the ride ops. They have enough to do without worrying about line-jumpers. Any way you look at it, it's a no-win situation.

MForcer, please look at the bottom of your keyboard. There you will find a magical device called a "space bar". It makes sentences much easier to read.

The worst I did was at DLP in 2001. I was waiting for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril coaster. I was with a few friends... I see 4 british kids cutting in front of everyone... I tell them in french to go back at the end of the line. They tell me an insult back in english... thinking I did not understand it. I asked them in english to leave the line. They swore back again... I lost it and told them in precise term what I was thinking of them and what could happen if I they did not leave at that very moment...

At that point, my friends told them to leave, which they did (I'm 6'3, 255 lbs..) and they had to calm me as I was... primed, lol.

I've had my share of line jumpers, usually with the excuse of "My buddy is up there." I tell them that they can wait for them at the exit then. I refuse to let them by. As for the "big guys," and it not being worth it to get whupped, I'm 6'5" and weigh 265. No, I'm not fat. And believe me, there are plenty of big guys like me who will back you up in a heartbeat for standing up to someone trying to take advantage. My favorite was at SFDL on S:RoS, I gave a guy grief for trying to cut in front of someone else. I was a bit ahead in line, he said I'd best be gone by the time he got through. Man, that ride couldn't end soon enough. I waited for him, he came down that exit ramp, and nearly crapped himself. Nobody's gonna start a fight over a spot in line. Don't let them make you think they will, or they've won.