There are several “unwritten rules” of Disney etiquette that most Disney theme park guests adhere to. Most of these come down to common courtesy so everyone can have the best possible experience. However, a controversial behavior has escalated in recent years and is now a hotly debated topic that has fans divided. This has even resulted in physical altercations.
A recent incident in the parks has raised new questions about Disney’s official policy on an issue that is causing increasingly growing tension amongst guests. We break down everything we know below and the reasons why this issue may not be getting addressed in the way that some hope. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including two new Disney World holiday popcorn buckets, and Disney World announcing 8 free Disney Vacation Club after-hours events for 2027.
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New Incident Raises Questions About Official Line-Jumping Policies
Recently, several incidents have occurred at the theme parks that have gone viral on social media, causing heated fan discussion about what should and should not be allowed in ride queues. Guests are divided over what type of “line-jumping,” if any, is acceptable.
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“Line-jumping” refers to when guests join others in their party who are further ahead in line. While there are sometimes only one or two people joining their party, guests have often witnessed a big group of people bypassing much of the line to meet a single member of their party who is holding their place in line. This can understandably cause quite a lot of tension, as many consider this to be unfair and blatant cutting of others who have been waiting their turn to experience the ride.
Recently, Disney World implemented a test where guests in line for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind needed to have their entire group together at certain checkpoints in the queue. The Cast Members enforcing this also offered assistance in cases where a guest needed to leave and re-enter the queue. While this was a test and not stated at the time to be a permanent solution, it’s interesting to see that Disney is starting to think about how to address this problem.
I, along with many other guests, have personally seen line-skipping in action several times at the parks. Some have even reported watching groups inch all the way to the front of the line, claiming they are meeting their party.
One of the most egregious incidents I encountered was a large group cutting a Lightning Lane queue that had backed up with a long line of about 30-40 people after the ride came back online from a closure. The leader of the group whispered to the others in his party to just ignore everyone else protesting and walked directly up to the scanner. While other guests did call them out, Cast Members did not intervene. Since then, I have been very curious to know how Disney is enforcing their line-jumping policies.
Recently, a user on the WaltDisneyWorld Reddit page shared an account of a line-jumping incident and opened it up to discussion. The post shed some light on what a Cast Member shared was the attraction’s internal operational rule regarding line-jumping.
User u/Bursurq on Reddit shared a post describing a line-jumping incident on Disney World’s Rise of the Resistance. They describe how a group of five men claimed they were joining their party later in the queue, and 5-10 minutes later, two additional men tried to do the same. When one of the guests in line objected and said their party should meet them at the back of the line instead, one of the two men called his wife to escort them forward.
The situation escalated when the man’s wife arrived, and the poster’s father (along with another person waiting in line) decided to address the situation. The father of the other family stepped forward to physically stop them from advancing, asking for them to get a Cast Member to clarify if line jumping was permitted, while the poster’s father “did not physically block anyone and simply stated, ‘Please get a Cast Member.'”
From there, the poster shares, “the wife shoved the father of the family behind us directly into my father with enough force to nearly knock my father off his feet.” When the other family’s father grabbed the woman to stop her, the situation escalated.
At the end of the night, they visited Guest Relations to report the altercation and clarify the line-jumping policy. According to the post, “The Cast Member stated that the attraction staff’s internal operational rule is: As long as the number of people rejoining is equal to or less than the number of people who remained in line, rejoining/skipping the line is permitted.”
It’s important to note that this is reportedly the attraction’s internal operational rule. For reference, this is Disney’s official Guest Courtesy and Attire Policies rule posted in Walt Disney World Resort Property Rules.
Please show common courtesy to fellow Guests and our Cast Members by not using profanity or engaging in unsafe, illegal, disruptive or offensive behavior, jumping lines or saving places in lines for others. For your safety and the safety of others, please refrain from running except in designated areas.
The post goes on to say that it seems the general consensus is that it’s not up to guests to enforce this policy, and Cast Members may not intervene out of fear of putting their safety at risk.
Many guests shared their thoughts and personal experiences in the comments. A top comment on the post from smittyleafs shares, “If there was literally ANY enforcement of the “policy” that you can’t rejoin a party that has fewer members than you…we’d be fine. But a policy without enforcement might as well not exist.”
However, other comments bring some important nuance to the issue. As we have previously mentioned when discussing the topic of line-jumping, Disney has offered Attraction Queue Meet-Up as a replacement for DAS (Disability Access Service) after its crackdown on the program, and this is meant to be an accommodation for guests with disabilities who have been denied DAS and cannot wait in line.
For reference, this is the policy under Disney World’s Accessing Attraction Queues policy. It seems that some guests could interpret rejoining one’s party in this context as something at odds with the posted Guest Courtesy and Attire Policies rule. However, an important distinction is the language of exiting and “re-entering” the queue rather than just joining.
Guests with specific needs that may arise while waiting in an attraction queue may exit the queue while the rest of their party waits in the queue. The Guest may then re-enter the queue prior to boarding the ride. A Guest may also wait outside the queue and meet up with their party before boarding the ride if needed based on the nature or condition of the queue at a particular attraction and the Guest’s specific needs. Every attraction has a defined process to support these options.
Commenter Spokker pointed out that “The line has been blurred because Disney considers rejoining a queue/party to be a bonafide accommodation for those with physical disabilities.” Later in their comment, they go on to say, “Obviously, five grown men meeting their party is egregious, but most of these cases involve one or two people, and it’s less obvious. By blocking someone meeting up with their party, a guest could be inconveniencing somebody who has a disability.”
Many guests agree that this is a legitimate reason to pass by others in a queue, along with exceptions for parents with small children who need to leave the queue to use the bathroom. Reddit user EbbLatter6212 said, “I’ve also been in positions where “hero” dads have told me I can’t rejoin my family when I return from taking my daughter to the restroom. It’s common that kids can’t hold it through lofty queues. Is it fair that a family lose their day waiting in the same queue 1.5 or 2x to enjoy an attraction only once, and possibly the problem persists more than once in a day? You can really lose time this way.”
It’s clear that though this issue is causing a lot of tension, it’s a nuanced problem, and one that is not necessarily easy to solve. I do agree that there needs to be a clearer policy, considering the clash between the Property Rules and new DAS accommodations, and subsequently, uniformity in how Cast Members respond.
In an ideal universe, I would really like to see the procedure of rejoining a line standardized and made into a much more organized process. Perhaps those who need to leave the queue for bathroom breaks with children are given a token to hand to a Cast Member upon their return. The issue of Attraction Queue Meet-Up remains a more complicated issue, as it cannot be up to the Cast Member to determine who is in genuine need of that accommodation.
I have also seen guests commenting online that it is simply none of their business who passes them in line, and that it only ruins the experience if they allow it to.
What are your thoughts on this issue? How would you respond? Please let us know in the comments.
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