A potty pass?

[sbkline]

I think under this situation, I would ask both the people in front of me, and the people behind me if they minded if I ran to the restroom with my child and came right back.

It's not necessary, but it is the courteous thing to do. I bet 99.9% of people you asked would say "No problem"

It's like when lived in an apartment and I wanted to have a party and I knew that it might get loud. I always invited all my neighbors even though I knew they wouldn't show up.

If you ask those around you, they are appreciate the fact that you cared enough to discuss it with them....and btw...no one EVER called the police on me for my loud parties.:animwink:

While I commend anyone for trying to be courteous of others, I just don't think it's necessary in this case. As the OP said, had the people said "no", she would have been out of luck. I guess that's the problem I have with asking permission in this case when permission isn't even necessary. It opens up the possibility of them saying no when they have no right to say no and now you've just put yourself in the position of needing their permission.

As myself and others have said, it's a totally different story if you're waiting in line alone the whole time just to hold places in line for everyone else in your party. In that case, the people behind you think there's only one person in line in your case, and they go through the whole line expecting you to get on the ride alone and that they will be seated right behind you. It's rude to surprise them with the other 5 members of your party at the last minute. However, in this case, they go through the whole line knowing that there is a party of, say, 4 ahead of them, who are going to be riding together. When one of them has to leave to take the little one to the restroom and then come back, no extra people are being sprung on those behind you. They knew all along that those two people were in line and I don't think they are entitled to a say on whether or not they can come back in the line after having to tend to the child's potty needs.

 

[sbkline]

First snow in Fla and now must be a heat wave in the Arctic.... I agree.

And why does everyone feel the need to preface any agreements with me with phrases like that??? :ROFLOL:

 

[onetimeDisney]

don't wait so long

However, does anyone know what CMs do if you've been standing in a line for an hour and your child says they urgently need the bathroom and you leave the line to go and find restroom, do they allow you back on without lining up again?

Thanks for your help

Ok, first of all, there is NO need to wait an hour or longer in a line..NONE!!!!! I've been once when my boys were 2 and 5 and I am now going back with my 3 children and I never waited for more than 20 minutes for something.. We got there early and hit the most crowded attractions first and utilized our fast passes to the max. For example here is our day at MK

Rope Drop
Dumbo(husband runs to Space first to get fp for Space while we do Dumbo)
Winnie the Pooh
Peter Pan
Snow White
Mad Tea(I can't ride this as it makes me sick, so I run to get FP to Splash Mountain)
Go to Frontierland
Big Thunder (
Pirates (Watch the Pirate Show at 11:20)
Jungle Cruise
Ride Splash with Fast Pass
Railroad to Toontown
Get a fast pass for Buzz Lightyear
Use FP to ride Space Mountain (if time, if not save it for return after lunch)
Lunch at Crystal Palace
Nap at hotel


I have a schedule for when we return after our rest and it involves using those fast passes we collected. If you utilize your time correctly, get there early and use fp then you do not have to wait..

Elizabeth

 

[wdwmomof3]

When my children were younger, we took potty breaks often to avoid this but, I don't really see any harm in taking a small child to the bathroom & then returning. I'm not sure about adults, they should know how to plan better.

 

[Boray]

When my daughter was 3 (and still struggling with potty training) she had to go after we had been waiting at Test Track for about 15 min. We had reached the doors that let you into the TV room (where they "set up" the track we're about to experience) when my daughter says she needs to go. I looked at the CM and told her we had to leave for the bathrooms. The CM let me out the doors behind us and told me to come right back to these doors when we were done, and he'd let us in to catch up with our party. He escorted us to my husband and son when we returned and we all rode together. I think the configuration of the queue and the understanding nature of the CM on that particular attraction made it a great experience. In hindsight, I don't think I would have re-entered any queue that was that inaccessable from the entry point. Maybe something like Peter Pan would allow me to reenter after the potty break (after asking those around me if I could re-enter, of course). I would think that with some planning (and she had just gone before we entered the line - she was just nervous about the ride and I think that activated her bladder!) you aren't likely to have to leave the line.

 

[George]

You know, for many of Disney's more popular attractions, there are large elaborate queue's. I've always thought that placing a family bathroom or two in the queue itself would be a great idea. Especially if the bathroom was near the front of the line. It would become policy that you can't just go to the bathroom and jump on the ride (unless you made it to the front the old fashioned way). Someone would have to be holding your place for you. But, people are a lot less annoyed if you are going back in line (as opposed to forward).

Here's two quick arguments for letting someone with a little kid re-assume their place in line. 1) In general, any extra wait incurred will be minimal. 2) Here's a specific story. When my son was 3 we waited in a long line and he had to urinate when we got to the end. We left, went to the potty, etc. He was so dissapointed that on that trip, the next time he had to urinate he didn't say anything. He just went in line. :lookaroun Luckily, I used my super dad powers of persuasion and he only did that once.

Two other thoughts I agree that minimizing line waits and lots o' potty breaks are good, but sometimes in the middle of the afternoon on a crowded day it may be an OK decision to wait in line for something the family loves. You're at WDW, the queues are air-conditioned or shady. What else you gonna do? Also, as Boray as pointed out nerves play a big part in this. Both of my kids are of the conservative/cautious variety and before they do something new, they may internalize it a bit too much and the physical result could be a potty break.

Lord knows this isn't just a problem with little ones. I tend to gorge myself like I'm the King of England on vacation. As I wave my turkey leg around and slosh my 372 ounce refillable soda with the cheetah family drink topper my excitement for FNTM is slowly building. But, as I lick my chocolate ice cream stained lips I may realize that down in the nether regions various chemical and physcial reactions could be conspiring to make me uncomfortable for the duration. What to do? What to do? :lookaroun

 

[MichWolv]

I have found that when given the opportunity, other guests understand (probably because many have been there) the "emergency bathroom break" situation, and as long as you have all been in line the whole time, are just fine with allowing one parent and the child in need to run off to the restroom while the others in the party continue to wait. But the CM probably can't dictate the outcome.

 

[benzgraveyard]

Could you imagine if they let everyone out of line whose child had to ______? There would be no line, it would be mass chaos.

 

[benzgraveyard]

apprently they mask the work pe e in these posts, so thats wht the word was

 

[gettingsmaller]

I don't know how it would work in the middle of the line (i.e., just out in the queue somewhere), but I think if you manage to get to a CM and explain it to them, they will likely let you back somehow...

Last Sept, we were at Test Track. I think we may have had fastpasses. We were past the last fastpass CM (the one you actually hand them to) when someone in our party just had to go (kids 4,6,8 at the time). So, we explained it to the fastpass CM. There is an exit door right there where you wait to go into the 'preshow' area. She directed us out that door, and I can't recall if she said to just come back to that door or gave us some fastpasses to get back in... I think she told us to come back to that door... in any case, we were able to take care of the emergency and come back to where we were...

 

[fosse76]

Very often, lines are configured so that it is just about impossible for a Cast Member to allow a parent and child back into the line easily. While I personally have no problem with allowing folks who left the line for legitimate reasons (like a bathroom break) back in ahead of me, very often other people in line get very angry. It's not always simply up to the Cast Member.

When I worked at Six Flags, my home unit was a large family coaster...but the offical policy of the park is that if you leave the line for ANY reason, you can only re-enter at the back of the line. However, ride employees did have some control over that, so the few times a parent approached me I usually allowed them to return immediately afterward, not later in the day. It is usually only a courtesy to ask other guests if they don't mind. In reality, it isn't up to them, it is up to the employees operating the attraction.

 

[Scooter]

While I commend anyone for trying to be courteous of others, I just don't think it's necessary in this case. As the OP said, had the people said "no", she would have been out of luck. I guess that's the problem I have with asking permission in this case when permission isn't even necessary. It opens up the possibility of them saying no when they have no right to say no and now you've just put yourself in the position of needing their permission.

As myself and others have said, it's a totally different story if you're waiting in line alone the whole time just to hold places in line for everyone else in your party. In that case, the people behind you think there's only one person in line in your case, and they go through the whole line expecting you to get on the ride alone and that they will be seated right behind you. It's rude to surprise them with the other 5 members of your party at the last minute. However, in this case, they go through the whole line knowing that there is a party of, say, 4 ahead of them, who are going to be riding together. When one of them has to leave to take the little one to the restroom and then come back, no extra people are being sprung on those behind you. They knew all along that those two people were in line and I don't think they are entitled to a say on whether or not they can come back in the line after having to tend to the child's potty needs.

Thats why I clearly stated in my post that it was not necessary, just courteous.

To me, it's the differance between being smiled at when you return from your emergency bathroom break and being glared at by those who didn't see you leave because you never ask them courteously if it was ok to take your child for a potty break and only saw you cutting in front of them.

Bottom line is that line cutting is not allowed under any circumstances but by asking people around you if they mind, it:

1) eases any tension that people around you may be feeling
2) lets the people around you know that you actually care how they feel
3) sometimes makes you new friends.

 

[Laura]

Ok, first of all, there is NO need to wait an hour or longer in a line..NONE!!!!!

I agree with that also. I go at peak times usually and never wait in line.

 

[KingStefan]

This is going to be an interesting trip this September as my partner just received a kidney transplant early this year and is required to use the restroom whenever he feels the urge. Since his bladder has not been used in over 4 years, he gets the urge quite frequently. I can see the strange looks as a 46 year old man has to run for a potty break while waiting in lines. :lookaroun

I know most people will be understanding if a member of a party must leave for a potty break. Just realize that there are those out there that have an "attitude". As they say, choose your battles wisely. Most lines have a cast member "greeter" as you enter, allow them the opportunity to guide you when you leave the line and if it would be appropriate to reenter the line after you run off and take care of "business". I know on a few occassions I have seen a castmember escort a family to meet their other family members while they waited in line. No one dared make a comment, but if someone tried to catch up even after hearing them ask "permission" to leave for a second, other guests would cause a "scene", be it grumbling or full out argument.

You should definitely get a Guest Assistance Card (GAC). I'm pretty sure that, although you may not get into the ride any faster, you'll be able to wait in an area where you're partner can take a bathroom break and come right back without having to worry about people thinking he is line jumping. Can any CMs comment on how this might work?

 

[DABIGCHEEZ]

Ok, first of all, there is NO need to wait an hour or longer in a line..NONE!!!!! I've been once when my boys were 2 and 5 and I am now going back with my 3 children and I never waited for more than 20 minutes for something.. We got there early and hit the most crowded attractions first and utilized our fast passes to the max. For example here is our day at MK

Rope Drop
Dumbo(husband runs to Space first to get fp for Space while we do Dumbo)
Winnie the Pooh
Peter Pan
Snow White
Mad Tea(I can't ride this as it makes me sick, so I run to get FP to Splash Mountain)
Go to Frontierland
Big Thunder (
Pirates (Watch the Pirate Show at 11:20)
Jungle Cruise
Ride Splash with Fast Pass
Railroad to Toontown
Get a fast pass for Buzz Lightyear
Use FP to ride Space Mountain (if time, if not save it for return after lunch)
Lunch at Crystal Palace
Nap at hotel


I have a schedule for when we return after our rest and it involves using those fast passes we collected. If you utilize your time correctly, get there early and use fp then you do not have to wait..

Elizabeth

Welcome to the boards....

Wow... you are quite the planner. Just so you are not surprised some rides occasionally do go over the 20 min mark . We have pretty much done your plan or something very similar and always get messed up in tommorrowland.(esp the cars or the Astro orbiter or what ever it is called these days.

 

[TigerLily_CM]

Ok, first of all, there is NO need to wait an hour or longer in a line..NONE!!!!! I've been once when my boys were 2 and 5 and I am now going back with my 3 children and I never waited for more than 20 minutes for something.. We got there early and hit the most crowded attractions first and utilized our fast passes to the max. For example here is our day at MK

Rope Drop
Dumbo(husband runs to Space first to get fp for Space while we do Dumbo)
Winnie the Pooh
Peter Pan
Snow White
Mad Tea(I can't ride this as it makes me sick, so I run to get FP to Splash Mountain)
Go to Frontierland
Big Thunder (
Pirates (Watch the Pirate Show at 11:20)
Jungle Cruise
Ride Splash with Fast Pass
Railroad to Toontown
Get a fast pass for Buzz Lightyear
Use FP to ride Space Mountain (if time, if not save it for return after lunch)
Lunch at Crystal Palace
Nap at hotel


I have a schedule for when we return after our rest and it involves using those fast passes we collected. If you utilize your time correctly, get there early and use fp then you do not have to wait..

Elizabeth

I agree that you don't have to wait for an hour in line but after 27 vacations to WDW and 18 months working there the only way to guarantee that is...don't get in the line I've seen lines range from 5 minutes to 4 hours (yup...4 hours) so you'll have to decide how much you want to do a ride depending on how busy the park is.

I'm sure you know that things at WDW don't always work as well as they do on paper (or screen) but you certainly get an "A" in the planning dept I'm not sure if everyone in your family goes on every ride but that's always a good time for a potty break for anyone not on the ride.

Also, if you get a lot of Fastpasses you either have to ride the 1st ride or wait 2 hours before getting the next Fastpass so you just can't schedule when you can get Fastpasses and when they can be used. I've also waited up to an hour in a Fastpass line before so then you may have to leave the fastpass line for a potty break which opens another can of worms :lol:

It never hurts with little ones to check at every washroom you pass especially if you're heading to a ride.

I also think it doesn't hurt to let your fellow linees know that you're leaving due to a little one's potty break. I'm not saying you need to ask permission but even just to say, "excuse me, we have to run to the washroom but we'll be right back to join our family ASAP"

Some lines are definately harder to get back through but if you don't get back in maybe junior will realize that next time mommy asks if he needs to potty before the ride he'll make his business instead of missing out

 

[Elonwy]

Personally I don't mind when someone takes a child out of line for a bathroom break...nor do I mind if an adult (that's ONE adult) has to go then come back to catch up with his group. Honestly...it's not like that's going to make my wait longer just because one or two people left and came back and if it means i have to get on the next log at Splash Mountain, I can handle the 10 second wait.

As with most others...what i don't like is when 6 or 7 people shove their way through the line because their "group" is already in line.

I also didn't let two women pass me in line at the RNR because they were inching through saying "excuse me...we have to catch up with our husbands, they held our place while we rode the Tower of Terror"

They said their little speech to me twice and I didn't budge then one woman said..."EXCUSE ME...I HAVE to catch up with MY HUSBAND" to which I replied.

"If you want quality time with your husband then he'll have to get out of line because you're not getting past me"

She waved a CM over and said I wasn't letting them join their husbands. I told the CM they used their husbands as placeholders while they went on another ride and the CM said not to worry, there's an easy solution...he asked for the husbands names and said he would go get them and have them join their wives at the end of the line

A few minutes later the CM came back and gave the ladies a message from their husbands....they should just go sit in the shade because the guys are doing the ride and they're not losing their place in line :lol: