Dreaming Disney – Lines: The New Car Game

Last summer I was lucky enough to win a year subscription to Lines through a podcast I listen to.  Lines is an smart phone application that provides users estimated wait times for Disney attractions.  I was pretty excited because I planned to use it with future vacation.  But I found that even living Between Disney I could have a fun time with it.  For my family Lines has become the new car game.  As we drive from one Between Disney location to another, which in the Midwest can take hours and hours and hours especially with a toddler, we pull up Lines on the phone and play guess the Lines.  Usually if someone gets an exact hit there is a huge cheer throughout the van.

If you want to be the king of the car game you have to remember the following;

·     Compensate for time zones:  If it’s 9 p.m. in the Midwest, it’s only 7 p.m. at Disneyland. 

·     Think outside the wait time signs: Lines uses both reported times and complicated mathematical equations that create the time projection you find in the application.  So if you want an exact match do not always predict a time with a 0 or 5 at the end like you would only see on a wait sign in front of the attraction.  A Lines time could end in any numeral.

·     Be aware of the crowds:  Disney crowds vary by time of year.  There is a big difference between June and October.  So cheat and consult the Touring Plans Crowd Calendar before your family can!

·     Practice, practice, practice.  Find a friend, who hopefully has no interest in Disney, who you can torture by informing him or her of wait times at completely random locations.  Me I have a buddy who gets the Matterhorn report on our train ride home.  Sure his eyes glaze over, but I have an advantage on family in the car. 

Lines is definitely a useful, and addictive tool, when in the Disney parks.  But those of us living Between Disney can have fun with it to.  I just warn you, I wouldn’t challenge me until you have practiced because I am king of my van!