Making friends in line

[MadamLeota]

I have to admit, for as outgoing as I am, I typically keep to myself when I go places solo, but I wanted to mention what a great time i had waiting in line the other day during the Haunted Mansion merch day at WDW.

I'd already spent an hour & a half in line for Frontier Trading post for merch & decided to head to the long line for Momento Mori. Looked shorter, so I figured why not. It ended up being well over 2 hours. Along the way, I passed the time chatting with the people around me. Constance, who had awesome fan pins everyone loved and a great Haunted Mansion running skirt, a woman who's name I didn't get in a gorgeous grey haunted mansion dress, and a guy who's name i also didn't get with a little Groot hanging out on his shoulder (who was also a Tomorrowland Merch alum like me!).

You three made the wait fun and distracted me from how uncomfortable I was (between having not eaten a meal in nearly 24hrs and being pretty dehydrated in the terribly hot weather.) Also, huge shout out to you (and the few behind us and in front of us) who told me & Constance you'd save our spot when we were about to end up in the sun for another 30 or so minutes & we needed shade/food. Had a great welcome back from everyone saying they were worried we wouldn't make it!

Also, i'm not the type to ask if I can sit at someone's table, but Constance went right over to a couple girls (on a trip from NC) who let us sit with them for lunch and we all had a good chat about pins, passholders, and the haunted mansion.

In case any of them are on this board, I just wanted to say hi and thanks for being awesome. Didn't get to say goodbye as we all separated when we began shopping & i left as soon as I was done because I was beat.

10/10 would do again, just need to be more prepared for the weather lol.

Anyone else have a fun story about making friends in line?

 

[BrianL]

It's always fun to meet people like that. When you're in a like-minded crowd of fans it seems everyone can kind of bond. I hope you got some good stuff!

 

[Pmlocke]

My wife and I are in our 60's and travel every year to WDW. One of our favorite things is meeting and talking to people in line from all over the world and the US. Where else in the world can you meet so many different cultures at one place and time. The same goes for the bus rides back and forth. Why sit there staring straight ahead. Speak up and make new friends. Our favorite line story came outside our hotel (ASMu) heading to the Magic Kingdom. There were two young couples, each with two boys. The boys were running around a lot and the one girl turned and apologized for the kids making such a ruckus. We told her not to worry, if my knees would handle it I would be running around too. She saw our Happy Anniversary pin with the number 43 years on it. She exclaimed "Oh how wonderful, you have been coming here for 43 years". Her husband rolled his eyes and I told her we were celebrating our 43rd wedding anniversary. She apologized and asked if she could ask me a personal question. She asked "What is it people your age do here. I mean, do you actually go on rides and walk around the whole park?" I pointed to the 4 boys and asked her if this sounded familiar, "I'm hungry, I'm tired, I don't want to wait any more, Can I have that, Jimmies hitting me, Billy started it, Can we go swimming now, etc." She said yes, that was her whole day yesterday. I stated, we go on what ever rides we want, we walk through the whole park, just slower than them, when we see a long line we keep walking because we don't really have to do that ride again, especially if it means waiting two hours. We eat what we want when we want and we really get to enjoy the parks. I told her, wait until you are older and can get away without the kids and you will truly begin to enjoy everything these parks have to offer. We do take trips with our kids and now our grandkids and great grandkids, but we still take trips, just the two of us and they are usually the best ones.

 

[tguz]

Last year we met a guy and his two kids while riding the bus back to the resort from Hollywood Studios. We have become facebook friends and we communicate often. They may be going back in 2021 as are we so hopefully we can have dinner. We just got back from Disney and were hoping they were going this year but they weren't.

 

[DisArmyWife215]

I'm fairly introverted in person, thankfully my husband is the opposite. We had a great time getting to know some ladies from Canada while passing our 2 hour long FOP wait during our last visit. Definitely made the time go much faster than if I'd just been looking around.

 

[JimmyBean42]

DW laughs b/c at home I'm pretty laid back when it comes to meeting new people. But at WDW, mainly the busses, I'll chat up anyone who starts a conversation. I find it's easier to find common ground at WDW then at normal places at home.

 

[RedK]

I was in line at Navi behind a grandmother, mother and son. We chatted and laughed for 45 minutes. The little boy played at my feet and was very fun. When we finally got to the boat and the CM asked how many, the grandmother said "4, she's part of the family by now." They made the wait in line go quick, and being embraced by them warmed my heart. One of my favorite Disney memories.

 

[BrianL]

Oh, I've been there - it just depend on how friendly those around you are. I am always happy to chat, usually answering questions for people. I'm not necessarily the most outgoing type, but I guess at Disney I am in my element. This last trip I found people at Blizzard Beach to be particularly friendly (mostly from outside of the US). I had a lot of fun chats there. I've joined other groups too, once when a mom and her two young kids were in line for 7DMT - that ride wouldn't allow a parent to ride in a different row, so I had to stand in for one of them. I was happy to do it. It kind of varies each time, but I think most people are pretty friendly at the parks.

 

[Alicefan]

I find it's easy in this day and age where everyone is so keen to be noticed and heard, I mean come on...people post pictures of their dinner on FB because they seriously think anyone cares. If you think about it, social media has made total attention hoes out of all of us lol. People in lines seem to speak loudly and glance at you as if they WANT you to hear them and be curious enough to jump into their conversation so I just do it. No one these days ever seems offended that you were eves dropping, It's pretty much welcomed! It's a sign of the times for sure. Folks like to share experiences and knowledge and we love attention. It's easy to read people and you'll know the ones who seem like they want to talk and the ones who are in their own bubble. There's always things that come up, like a line jumper or a temporary ride break down etc.. that will cause mass conversation around you and we shall all commiserate together lol.

 

[Disney Frenhines]

I live in an unfriendly place, I can go for days not getting the chance to talk to anyone, so I love it if someone strikes up a conversation with me in line.
Just remember someone could be solo, not because they want to be, but, because circumstances dictate it.

 

[bryanb]

I met a really nice retired couple, I think in their 70s, at the Magic Kingdom bus stop on the way back to the resort. The man was really tired and couldn't walk so well and I ran ahead to try to stop the bus from leaving, but it was too late.

They were celebrating their wedding anniversary at WDW. In fact, they honeymooned at Walt Disney World in 1971 about a month after it opened! They usually tried to come back once a year, missing only a few times due to whatever circumstances. Sadly, they said this would probably be their last trip as it was officially too tiring for them. But we spent the time talking about what Disney World was like at the very beginning and all the things that have changed over the years.

While I don't go out of my way to chat up people around me, this really stood out as a chance to meet two people who were such a happy couple still enjoying themselves and each other's company at the most magical place on earth.

 

[helenm29]

I love talking to and meeting new people! my DH however hates it when I talk to people I don't know...any one else have this problem? it doesn't stop me though.....HI everyone!