AIBU to hold place in line for the kids?

[Dontjumptoconclusions]

At an amusement park. It's a timed entry so as many rides and things you can do for 2 hours.

One ride that the 3DC (5,3,3) wanted to go on, the bunjee trampoline one (whatever it's called). There were 4 trampolines. Quite a long queue as each kid is on the trampoline for 5 mins each. There were maybe 5 or 6 kids in front of us, so I guessed around a 20 min wait.

So I said to DH and the kids, I'll wait here and you carry on with the other rides with less/no queue and I'll call you over when we are near the front.

Then when we got close to the front, the 3DC came over and jumped on the trampolines.

It was only afterwards that I wondered if i should have waited with 3DC, missing out on the other rides out of principle that we are queuing up for this one? AIBU or would you also do the same to make the most of the time in the place?

That’s not what people are saying. Why did you make this thread if you are convinced you are right?

YABU, this is rude behaviour.
Those who are going on the ride need to wait in line. Also saying that next time you will just tell people behind you shows how entitled you are. Do you then expect them to pass it down the line like Chinese whispers? Anyone looking at a queue assumes those standing in it are the ones going on it. So if I join at the back I might count how many children are ahead. I would not expect to see 3 children coming off another ride and getting right in front.
Taking a desperate child to the toilet is fine, but saving them a place while they do other things is inconsiderate and queue jumping.

It is also good for children to learn that sometimes you have to wait for something. Making them think they don’t need to wait their turn is not going to help them as they grow up.

It’s because it is unfair for someone to stand in a queue and someone else not to have to. You know this, it’s not a difficult concept.

To ride a ride there is a wait of 30 minutes, so you wait it. You don’t just have someone else wait it for you,

There is no wonder kids don’t have resilience anymore if they’re too precious to wait. We need to teach kids they don’t just get everything the second they want it, they have to earn it or wait for it. They don’t get the shiny new thing because they can and to hell with everyone else.

I don’t believe you are this unaware, I think you are being intentionally obtuse

It wasn’t good OP. You know this (if you stop protesting so much)

😂

People look at queues and judge the length by who (or what for something like a shopping till) they can see there. Adding extras in that add to the queue time pisses people off that they were decieved into making a less efficient choice.

Still disproportionately peeved by the CF with an equally full basket that rushed and pipped me in Aldi... before being joined by a second person with another full basket, thus making a trolley's worth of transaction and breaking the pre-self checkout ettiquette of letting smaller, quicker transactions go ahead

Imagine every fucker in the queue is like “I actually represent 3 people” “I represent 4” “There’s only one of me here but actually there are 6”

😂

What if I was a teacher. Would it be acceptable for me to stand in the queue for 30 students?

Does 3 child plus one adult increase the time spent on the trampoline significantly? For example is it five minutes for one child, or twenty minutes for the four of you?

or does it make no difference if one person rather than 4 waits in the queue, the time spent on the ride will still be the same?

I think in a nation dedicated to queue adherence you're not going to get a lot of love for this OP.
Personally if I was behind you, as long as you told me that you were holding a place for your three kids and they appeared before it was their turn, I wouldn't really mind and would probably be glad that they weren't infront of me getting fidgety and bored.
But if they hadn't appeared by the time it was your turn, I'd be nipping in front you with my daughter, not waiting longer while they were flagged down.
So as long as there is a bit of flexibility on all sides it is probably an okay system and if it became the norm, it would likely be a bit more comfortable for everyone involved.

Well everyone's said you SHOULDN'T be holding the queue for 3 kids not that you should let others know that that's what you're doing.

Your kids having a great time on rides whilst other kids are in your queue waiting their turn is obnoxious CFery and I sincerely hope that the park staff chuck you out of the queue next time

You're under playing this OP. You should have taken DM, DDad, MiL, FiL, cousin Sarah and the guy next door and your kids could have nipped between rides all day without ever having to queue.

Massive CF behaviour. Hopefully you'll be chucked out the park next time. The sense of entitlement is astounding, I imagine you'll raise children just as entitled as you who think they are too special to queue.

People complain about behaviour of kids but what chance do they have these days

A tour guide did that to me once. I was queuing behind him to buy a ticket for a boat ride. He bought 30 tickets for his group which meant the boat was then full. (None of them were queuing).

I was thoroughly pissed off, naturally, and as I watched his line trailing along after him I sincerely hoped they’d have a rotten time. When I saw how tightly they were packed on I thought they probably would.

I went off & found a different boat, which was both cheaper and quieter. I forgave them after that.

It happened me one time waiting in line for face painting. My 2 children stood for ages. There was 1 child onfront of us then just as it was their turn 2 more children turned up and skipped the line. I said to the face paint lady excuse me my 2 children where here before these 2 extra children. Children need taught to queue. Your very selfish your children getting extra rides while you queue. Unfair on adults who go alone with their children and need to queue. Why do you think your precious little darlings dont need to learn to queue?

Of course it's not fair, let's take a step back and look at it another way.
The venue is set out to naturally manage demand. The less popular rides have no queue so kids can literally go on back to back rides. The popular ones have long queue so they can only go on one ride every 20 minutes.
The kids can make their ride decisions accordingly.

However bring in plenty of queue holders for half the families and then suddenly for those families, the kids can get on those rides too without queuing, artificially increasing demand. However the effect on the non queue holding families is the queue is artificially lengthened until all the queue holding families have had their go(s).
With enough queue holding families the adults could in theory make a 2 hour queue on the best ride and exclude everyone else, while those kids could go on back to back rides.

There's no overall increase in capacity of the ride, just your kids get more goes on everything at the expense of those that queue properly

Yes I get "it's only taking a little bit from everyone, for a big benefit for our special kids" but it's still selfish.

Yabu

You were at an amusement park in the school summer holidays on a sunny day. Queues are part of the amusement park experience unless they have fast track passes available. If your behaviour was acceptable then people would pay someone to queue for them that day.

A Dad did similar at a market. My son was waiting patiently for his turn to get face painting, thought he was next but nope the Dad called 3 kids over. 😂

No.
Announcing you're being a dick doesn't absolve you of guilt.

Because now the people behind have an extra 15 minutes wait time!

People are so brazen! Hate this kind of entitlement

It’s so annoying. My DD was patiently waiting for her face painting once, when there was only 1 person in front of us he suddenly had 3 children given to him, so instead of being next DD had 4 people ahead of her! Oh and the dad had his face painted too, after he’d already pushed in 3 children whilst there was a huge queue in 30 degree heat and only one facepainter.

Cue lots of British tutting and performance parenting about how rude it is to queue jump and a little preschooler behind us declared loudly ‘he was a very bad man’ 😂😂😂

I hate this

YABU

There is a direct impact on the patient kids waiting their turn behind your kids. Why aren’t they under as much pressure as you to go on the popular rides?

I heard they open Harrods and fortnums secretly early or late for people like Kate Middleton and Madonna. That’s fine but queue dodging just sucks - and you know it deep down.