The Olympic experience has been amazing and fantastic except for one little thing. The lines. I totally understand that waiting in a queue is part and parcel of The Games, especially if it is something free and fabulous. But understanding does not equal liking. People may not admit it, perhaps it something that you don’t talk about. But people are totally fibbing if they tell you they don’t mind standing in a line. We do it, but we don’t like it.
I really really wanted to try the Ziplining at Robson Square. Like a lot. I had heard that the line up had been hovering at around 6 hours…and knew that for me – that was just crazy talk. Others may be okay with that, but for me – lining up 6 hours for a 30 second experience is not an effective use of my time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MArof6Y7yA&feature=related
My game plan was to be there around an hour before they opened. I figured that I would still have to wait for up to two hours, but I figured I could keep myself occupied. So there I am at 8.00am, with my Chai Latte, Rolling Stone Magazine and I-Pod… ready to wait. Others had chairs, books, newspapers, friends. The line looked reasonable. Fewer than 100 people max. After a few minutes of chatting with those around me we were informed that the line was about 4-5 hours. Four hours?
At least 4 hours in the cold? When I am fighting an actual cold? Sorry, but not gonna happen. I wasn’t the only one who decided that this amount of time was too much. A few others decided that they couldn’t wait for half a day. I couldn’t figure out why it would take that long for the people in front of me to have their turn. So I started walking towards them, then realized that the line went around the corner… then around another corner. Sigh.
The group at the very front of the line had not been to bed yet. Once the bars closed, they went straight to the line up. Hopefully they sobered up by the time they opened the zipline. They said that if I was there by 5.00am, I would be one of the first 10 in the line. Which is still a 4 hour wait.
More power to the people who are waiting in a line up for 4 hours to have a 20 second experience! Although the video above is making me reconsider my decision to bail this morning. My suggestion is that if you are gonna wait – go with a group of friends. That way, you can take it in turns to physically wait in the line while the rest of you explore all the other amazing things going on at Robson Square. Mascots sightings, Live Acts, Ice Skating, crowds breaking into Oh Canada at any moment.
Who would have thought that Robson Square would turn out to be the party place of the 2010 Games!!
