doesn't mean we have "angst" about it.
If there is one thing that this thread proves is that there is angst over this issue. Maybe not by you. But it is out there.
if every family has one placeholder for the 4 others, it will significantly affect the wait time.
Actually, this is the great fallacy that most people don't understand. Mathematically, if
everybody used a placeholder, the line wouldn't change a bit. Imagine the following scenario. There are 100 "groups" in line Every group in line is a family of four. They all get line and wait. No one cuts. This is utopian. Go ahead and assign a wait time to this. It doesn't really matter what it is. Let's say 30 minutes. Now let's change it up. Every group utilizes a placeholder and each group has three other people who are free to eat, shop, go to the restroom. Whatever. As soon as their placeholder is 10 people from the front of the line, the rest of his/her group starts to reassemble and joins the line right by the boarding area and boards the ride. Guess what? Your wait would be
exactly the same. When everyone uses a placeholder, you achieve the same utopian state. This is essentially what they have done with Dumbo. So your assumption that everyone using a placeholder would significantly affect the wait time is provable wrong.
so what you're really saying is it's only ok if "some" people do it.
Actually, if you re-read my posts, you will see that at no time did ever say that it was ok. I said the opposite. My point is that the frequency isn't significant enough to cause me to fret about it.
and if you haven't seen 10-20 people cut in line, you haven't been there during the tour group season or cheer time.
I have been to WDW in every month of the year in approximately 40 of the 45 years that it has been open. I have never, ever seen 10-20 people try to cut a line. I'd say 4 is my personal best.