I also stood in a long line with my kids at a bookstore to get the latest “Harry Potter” book. That’s a nice memory.
In general, I hate lines and research like crazy before trips to see how I can avoid them. No, you can’t show up at Auschwitz without buying a ticket in advance and not stand in a VERY long line! It astounds me that people don’t plan ahead.
When we went to Disney World years ago, we would get to parks right at opening and then send DS (the fast runner) to get Fast Passes at one attraction while we headed for another one. It worked pretty well. My kids were annoyed about getting up early until they saw the long lines later in the day.