Are you a Righty or Lefty?

[Sara_H]

At MK we always go left for some reason...always have and probably always will (depending on FPs of course).

 

[BrianL]

I have a tendency to go clockwise, but I can adjust that based on scheduling needs.

 

[richmo]

I guess I'm mixed.

Of course, if I have a specific plan it would dictate, but:

At MK, I head off to the left towards Adventureland
At Epcot WS, I probably usually head right towards Canada (but on multiple days, I'll reverse it)
At AK, I always take the left side walking towards Tree of Life (don't know why), and usually start off in Africa
AT HS, could be anything...

 

[Dallas_Lady]

We plan our MK day by going left first. I like to end in Tomorrowland, I think it looks cool at night.

 

[AllieBoo]

I tend to go left, but I am left-handed so that's probably why.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

My DH jokes my tendency is to go right no matter where I am even if I should know I need to go left! There was one time we stayed st AKL that I went the wrong way out of the elevator almost every single day. It got to be comical. And you would think I’d eventually catch on!

My husband calls that "directionally challenged". I get turned around in my local mall I have been going to my entire life, although in my defense I do not go there often.

 

[gharter]

It depends on what we want to do.
In line for an attraction when there is a split, we always go left as most people tend to go right.
Mk usually right as headed to SM.
EPCOT it depends if we are headed to Soarin' or TT
HS right to TSL or RnRC
AK - left to Pandora, unles we have FPs, then right to EE.

 

[DavidNYC]

I’d always heard tendency in that people naturally go in the direction they read. Left to right. But you see the opposite in people whose language is the reverse.

Of course - that’s assuming neutral stimulus as opposed to, for example, going on the direction of something I know I want to do or something visually appealing drawing me there - the “weenie”.

 

[gharter]

I don't recall where, but I had read at most parks, when people come to a split, they tend to go to the right ( maybe because most read right to left or are right handed?) and the shorter line is often to the left.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I don't recall where, but I had read at most parks, when people come to a split, they tend to go to the right ( maybe because most read right to left or are right handed?) and the shorter line is often to the left.

My pet theory is that people go the direction they drive. So people from the US works be more likely to go right and those from the UK left. I have no data or research backing that up but it seems more likely to me then just because of their handedness.

 

[ellbell]

My pet theory is that people go the direction they drive. So people from the US works be more likely to go right and those from the UK left. I have no data or research backing that up but it seems more likely to me then just because of their handedness.

I'm from Canada and go left. Also a lefty.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

We head in the direction of our favourite rope drop attractions.

MK - right to Space
EP - right to Soarin & LWTL
DHS - right to RNRC
AK - back of the park to EE, but to get there we go to the right past Nemo. FOP is not a rope drop attraction for us, strictly FP. No way will I ever put myself in that insanity first thing in the morning when I’m only one coffee in.

If these attractions were to the left, that’s the direction we’d go.

 

[picatinny]

I follow my buddy Doc Hudson's suggestion..."You have to turn Right to go Left"

 

[tinkerhon]

Huh! Maybe it varies by type of environment? I recall hearing that the overall tendency was rightwards.

I think some parks' designs go stronger one way than another. At Universal Islands of Adventure I think the common tendency is to go left, but at IoA the first thrill rides are on the left, so that makes sense to me.

Read the same - head towards the left if there are lines both ways because the majority of people are right handed and the tendency is to head to the right - making the line to the left less crowded - supposedly

 

[amycakes]

I'm a righty that always goes left!

 

[a742246]

We tend to go where there is less people. So whichever side that is, that is the way we go.

 

[YawningDodo]

I don't recall where, but I had read at most parks, when people come to a split, they tend to go to the right ( maybe because most read right to left or are right handed?) and the shorter line is often to the left.

I recall that was true in the Pirates of the Caribbean line at Disneyland Paris last fall. In the last part the ramp down splits in two and goes to two different parts of the loading area, and half the time the right side would be full and you could stroll halfway down the left or further before you reached the line again. I think that kind of thing tends to compound if CMs don't monitor it and encourage people to use both sides; if people can't see any other people going to the left they assume it's not usable even if there's no barrier.

 

[wdw&sonny]

Another vote for I go the way of my plan. I arrive knowing what attractions, restaurant, event we are headed to and we go that way. We don't stay in one land, we go attraction to attraction, even if that means we criss-cross a bunch.

 

[ELLH]

According to this https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/predictable-walking-patterns-counter-clockwise.htm most people intuitively turn left at a theme park.

I usually go left as well.

Huh! Maybe it varies by type of environment? I recall hearing that the overall tendency was rightwards.

I think some parks' designs go stronger one way than another. At Universal Islands of Adventure I think the common tendency is to go left, but at IoA the first thrill rides are on the left, so that makes sense to me.

This article's conclusion doesn't jive. Examples:

... but experts say you'll avoid the longest lines because most people tend to instinctively veer to the left upon entering (the theme park).

To test the idea that a person's right- or left-handedness influences their directional preferences, researchers studied the use of dominant hands. What they found, according to the results published by the Association for Psychological Science, is that lefties prefer the left side and righties like the right.

According to this theory, people in the U.S. drive on the right side of the road, so they are more likely to turn right when taking a walk around the block, for instance, tracing a clockwise route.

So, basically, folks in/from the U.S. tend to go counterclockwise, except at a theme park? And now I'm wondering...

... but experts say...

... who are these experts and what is their data? The article basically says "here's all the reasons why you go to the one way or the other but experts say people in theme parks go to the left so take their word for it".


I think the real answer is: "It depends on the park/environment". I've seen waaaaay more people say that in MK they mentally want to go right. I think that has to do with the fact that you're essentially at a fork; there is no major sign/attraction immediately to either side that would draw you to it so you're left at a 50/50. And in this case, I think the answer falls to the bit above about being left or right-handed; knowing that the majority of people are right-handed backs this up. But I'm not an expert. So, take that analysis for what it's worth.

 

[Piglet1982]

Like go left even though I’m right handed.