How to Beat Boredom While Waiting in Line for a Roller Coaster

At any amusement park, the biggest roller coasters are usually the ones that draw the biggest crowds. The lines of people for these coasters can be so long that it often takes people a few hours of snaking around metal corrals for them to go on a thrill ride for only a few minutes. So having a plan in place to beat boredom is a must for anyone looking to enjoy a day at the amusement park.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Organize a trip to the amusement park when many of your friends or family are available to go with you so there are plenty of people to help stave off the boredom while slowly making your way to the front of the line to go on a coaster.

2. Plan to do something different while waiting in every line so you’ll remember something unique about killing time for each ride.

3. Start a rock, paper scissors tournament. The winner gets to choose the next ride that the group goes on.

4. Ask everyone to tell their favorite joke and rate each one on a scale of one to 10—one being that the joke was too confusing to be funny and 10 being that no one will need an abdominal workout for at least a day or two because they laughed so hard that it was tough to breath.

5. Learn a magic trick before going to the park using small objects that your friends would most likely have with them, like pocket change. Have your friends try to guess how you did the trick.

6. Teach your friends how to do simple dance moves to popular songs.

7. Play the "or" game in which you ask your friends what they prefer: chocolate or vanilla? Cats or dogs? School or work? Ask everyone to make up different questions—the more creative the better. You’ll be surprised at how much you learn about your pals.

8. Invite everyone to buy their favorite food to share with the group before jumping in a long line. One caveat with this one is to make sure the food will have time to digest before hopping on a major coaster.

9. Invent stories about other people waiting in line and give your friends a detailed narrative account about what their lives might be like.

Tips & Warnings

• Whatever you decide to do to keep boredom at bay, make sure it doesn’t interfere with other people waiting in line.
• Never cut in line to avoid the wait because most parks have a policy that if you’re caught line-jumping, you can be thrown out of the park without a refund.