You know Disney World is probably our favorite place on Earth. It is the Most Magical, after all.

When we step into the parks, we feel like we’re home. Now, it’s no accident that Disney has created the parks so perfectly that they make us feel that way. As much as we want to truly believe it’s all in the magic (which we’re convinced is real), it is also very much in the marketing. Disney doesn’t do anything on accident. The Imagineers, officials, and even Cast Members design the parks to be exactly what we want and need them to be so we feel at home (and spend all our money). But have you ever considered that one of our LEAST favorite parts of the parks is actually there completely on purpose?

Lines. We’re talking about long lines. Those multiple-hour waits that you’ll find at many of the rides in Disney World are there entirely because Disney wants them to be. Disney wants us to ride their rides (duh!). They want us to feel enticed to jump on Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Slinky Dog Dash. Disney does an excellent job of marketing them so we stand in those outrageously long lines.

So WHY would Disney want us to wait in long lines? Well, here are a couple of reasons to think about.

FOMO

In case you’re not familiar with the term FOMO, it is an acronym for “fear of missing out,” and in today’s world, you’ll notice FOMO being used against us just about everywhere. As humans, we want to be part of “the group,” we want to be doing what everybody else is doing. And Disney is capitalizing on that feeling with the long lines you find around the parks.

We would say that there are two ways our FOMO is leading us to wait in those really long lines. First, Disney has gotten really good at creating fun in the lines themselves. The queues have become part of the experience. So if you choose to not ride the ride or even get a Lightning Lane to skip the line, you risk missing out on the extra details that are part of the regular queue. These may be interactive experiences or just bits of the story that go along with the ride.

Sometimes, we are tempted to stand in ridiculously long lines simply to experience the amazing details Disney added to the queue! The second way FOMO is being used against us is because if we see a long line, we know we DON’T want to miss out on that ride, which brings us to our next point.

The Ride Is SO Good!

When we see an incredibly high wait time for a ride we have one thought — that ride has gotta be good! Psychologically, we’re convinced that the ride is going to be so good that it’s worth waiting upwards of 2+ hours to ride it. That build-up, suspense, and frustration all play into our theme park experience.

Honestly, we’re really happy that Disney decided to make queues more interactive, it certainly helps take our minds off things while we’re standing there building up our excitement for what’s about to come! Virtual queues have also helped us feel better about waiting in “line.” We still know the ride is popular and going to be good by how fast boarding groups run out, but we don’t have to stand in a hot, cramped, and super long line to find out (except for at Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, sorry).

Have you ever had the experience of pulling up to a restaurant at prime dinner hour and noticed it was pretty empty? What did you think? When we see this we think, well, this restaurant must not be very good if there aren’t a lot of people here eating. The same thing could be said about rides — the BEST ones must be the ones people are waiting in long lines for, right?

But guess what? Those long lines can offer you even more enjoyment — here’s how.

You Could Get More Enjoyment Out of the Line

According to The Dallas Morning News, a study published in the Journal of Marketing Research in 2010 found that people who focused on the growing number of others in the line BEHIND them found they had more excitement about the ride and liked it more than those who focused on the number of people ahead of them! 

So even though we don’t love standing in lines for hours, they may actually make you enjoy the line more IF you focus on the people behind you instead of ahead of you. Basically, if we don’t stress or worry about how much further we have, we will probably love the ride even more! Ever heard the phrase “Life is about the journey?” Turns out long lines probably work similarly. So hang out, enjoy the journey, and enjoy the ride even more.

Now, psychology aside, there’s one more HUGE reason Disney wants us waiting in lines…

“People Eaters”

Lines are “people eaters” (yes, that’s a term used in the theme park industry). Think about how crowded the streets and sidewalks in Magic Kingdom and EPCOT get before the evening fireworks — when most people in the park are NOT waiting in a line. Can you imagine the parks being like that all day long because no one is in a ride line?

Yikes! Maybe those ride lines aren’t the evil we thought they were! For more Disney news, keep following DFB!

ALL of the Disney World Rides That Interact With MagicBand+

Which is your favorite line to venture through in Disney World? Let us know in the comments!