Last night at midnight was the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2. News is covering people waiting in line for 12 hours yesterday to get their hands on one.
This made me think back to the things we have waited in line for over the years. When my daughter was younger, I remember my husband waiting outside Target for the latest video game system (honestly can’t remember which one). There was also a Black Friday he got to Caldor (yes, remember them) before they opened to buy my daughter a play kitchen set for Christmas at an unbelievable discounted price.
I cant’ imagine physically waiting in line for anything (especially with the ease of pre-ordering stuff online).
The two questions are - what have you physically waited in line for and is there anything you would wait in line for now?
Not a product, but something you cc’ers could understand. We moved to a new city and someone told me I had to get in line early to register my daughter for the “best preschool” in town. I was out there by myself for a long time.
In a neighboring town, people line up to register their kids for ballroom dancing lessons sponsored by the Women’s Club. It’s like a town tradition to line up at the post office before it opens rather than taking a chance and mailing your registration in. They covered dance steps and etiquette. I’m not sure how many weeks it runs, but the kids dress up and take it very seriously. You would think they wouldn’t want to do it, but they love it. It was the hottest ticket in town and filled up quickly, but I don’t know if it’s come back after Covid. If so, I’m not sure if they’ve come up with an online alternative for registration.
This strikes a chord with me. Like all new mothers, I wanted to ensure that my daughter got into the preschool I wanted for her. Turns out on the sign up day I was having scheduled surgery. I begged the preschool director to let me register her early (and had a neighbor who had put three kids through that program vouch for me). Nope, wouldn’t do it. Instead, my husband had to drop me off for my surgery, go back and wait in line to get her registered, and then return to the hospital to meet me once I was out of surgery.
Our town has a summer camp that is terrific. When we first moved here, I went at 6 in the morning the day registration opened (it had to be done in person, and payment in full made). A bunch of us would bring coffee and bagels and have fun.
And yes, I also waited overnight for concert tickets. There was a folks festival at my college that was two nights of fabulous performers. As an RA, I got preferential ticket buying meaning I could buy a LOT of tickets. Friends took turns waiting overnight with me, and brought food and coffee. It was actually fun. I had cash for all the tickets I was buying which included the students on my floor in the dorm as well as my friends…and guests. I think I bought 100 tickets! I was third in line and we had terrific seats for both nights!
Just remember this one. I used to wait on line outside town hall each December to make sure I got one of the limited number of parking passes for the local commuter rail station.
In my younger days, I waited in line for concert tickets.
In 2013, I waited in line to get a ticket to see Obama speak when he visited our area. It was a super sunny day and I waited an hour and ended up with a terrible sunburn. I did get a ticket, but I swore off lines after that.
Last year, I wanted one of those limited release mini totes from trader joe’s. I found out about the release day and arrived at TJs about 15 minutes before they opened. I told myself that if there was a line, I was not waiting around. I got out of my car and walked up to the entrance - at the time I was the only person standing there. Within 5 minutes, about a dozen and a half people had formed a line behind me. So, technically, I guess I stood in line for one (and of course, the line fed into my scarcity mindset and I then bought two, LOL).
Nothing is worth it for me now. It’s their parents’ duty now. Thankfully, the Y kid learned not only to swim but also to teach swim lessons, so a least that part is covered.
Concert tickets back in the day. Now the wait is on the phone and/or refreshing online.
One year missed the pool registration and got up super early to sit in a huge line with my beach chair to get into the pool.
Art classes (specific class - sill doing this!)
Probably for pre-school, but hard to remember the process.
When my kids were little, we waited in a long line at our university bookstore to have Jan Brett sign her latest picture book. It wasn’t unpleasant, but I haven’t chosen to do something like that again.
Never have I ever waited in a long line (for hours) for something. I’m guessing an hour in an amusement park line doesn’t count.
If my H ever waited for something, it was before I met him in college. Anytime a hard to find toy was needed, H could do it without waiting. He’s an avid toy collector, and knew all the ins and outs of every place in town. He could always get his hands on what we needed without much trouble. It’s his superpower.
One story we like to tell amongst ourselves. The parents of one of the kid’s friends collects Scotch. They used to wait in line for hours. Once their kid became 21, he would wait in line for them. He sat in front of the ABC store all night in a chair during his Xmas break. It was in the teens! If you knew how good natured and laid back this kid is, you just have to laugh. I think my kid sat with him for a little while, but not long!
My family does not have the temperament to wait in such lines, myself included! There is nothing I need that badly. Or rather, I hope I will never ever need something that badly.
I know a couple who met waiting online for reduced price tickets to Hamilton (this was when you couldn’t get tickets for months, but there was a “last minute” option if you were willing to stand on line at the box office) and then married.
So it’s not just “nothing I need that badly”. It’s often about like minds/shared interest/passions! I didn’t marry (or even have coffee with) any of the people I chatted with while waiting in the endless line for Shakespeare in the Park. But I had a lot more in common with many of them than I had with some rando guy I talked to at a bar when my friends and I did a “night out”.
An acquaintance slept on the sidewalk to get her kids into a magnet school. Kids weren’t being served by the local public school; couldn’t afford a private school. I could totally see doing that.
I don’t remember standing in line for concert tickets, but I do remember standing in line to ENTER concerts when they had general admission concerts back in the late 70s. The worst was when I’d driven to a Fleetwood Mac concert and stood in line for hours. Got inside, got pretty good seats. THEN they announced the concert was canceled and would be rescheduled - UGH!
My teenage friends and I stood in line for the first original Star Wars movie. We got to the front of the line for the last few scattered seats but wanted to sit together so let others go ahead of us and we waited for the next showing (which I think was after that showing - not a multiple screen theater.) We’d thought we would have to wait a while so had brought cards and snacks so we sat on the sidewalk and played cards, snacked and laughed. One of my best teenage memories.
It’s their parents’ duty now. Thankfully, the Y kid learned not only to swim but also to teach swim lessons, so a least that part is covered.