Are you a Righty or Lefty?

[DISNEY1975]

Im not sure why, but when I enter a theme park (or even Main entrance to a Mall), my body and brain go into auto pilot and I always find myself heading left! In MK, I go towards Adventureland first. At world showcase, I head toward Mexico first etc.... Maybe I just dont like walking counter clockwise??

I was wondering if everyone does the same, should I strategically make an effort to go right first? Maybe its just me and its really 50/50. Tell me if youre a righty or lefty at theme parks (BTW, Im a righty with everything else I do!)

 

[Alesia]

Neither. I go whichever direction is going to work best for my plans that day.

 

[YawningDodo]

Fun fact, you're in the minority! It's a commonly known issue in building/theme park design that most people's tendency is to go to the right and make a counterclockwise loop. One design book I read in college described it as being "like salmon fighting their way upstream" when a grocery store tried a different design that would have forced people to go to the left, and people would wind their way through all the barriers in their way to go to the right instead!

So hey, the good news is that you're at a natural advantage for beating the crowds. I've heard that Disney has been doing a lot of research into how to divert more people into going left, though, so I imagine recent changes to parks have been designed on some level to encourage more even distribution.

Edit: To answer your question more personally: since I found that out, I deliberately go left unless I have specific plans that would send me to the right or center.

 

[ellbell]

According to this https://science.howstuffworks.com/l...ctable-walking-patterns-counter-clockwise.htm most people intuitively turn left at a theme park.

I usually go left as well.

 

[rpb718]

Another lefty here - but it also depends on the park and what FPs we have and where. I also find that overall when I'm at MK I spend the least amount of time at Tomorrowland. I also tend to go left at HS to hit Star Tours early on but I haven't been down since TSL opened so will probably go straight for a while. At EPCOT I go left but only because we usually stay at the EP resorts. At AK I used to go straight but now end up going left due to Pandora.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Fun fact, you're in the minority!

That is wild! I didnt even know it was a thing. And me being in the minority..totally new for me! I thought it was my own crazy mental issue. And yes, in grocery stores I start on the left ( though the entrance/exit is closer to the left side of the store). The bread is in the last aisle on the right, so I would assume you would want that last and not buried under all your other groceries. What I dont understand is the cases of water in the middle aisle. That needs to be redesigned!

 

[YawningDodo]

According to this https://science.howstuffworks.com/l...ctable-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.

 

[jaceraden]

Ha! I love the contradictions in this thread. Makes me happy to know I don't have a die hard direction because apparently it doesn't matter!

 

[LSUmiss]

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!

 

[epcotty]

I think the only time we turned left is when we had the old style tickets and they were phazing out the machines for those, otherwise it's been right

 

[LovePug]

Left, unless I specifically have something planned that would require me to change my usual direction.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Supposedly touring plans tried our both ways and didn't see a solid advantage one way or the other.

I go wherever the land is where I have my first FP.

I'm mixed hand in real life.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

As for the parks, I go wherever my plans for the day take me, but when entering food or store lines when there are two side by side I always choose the left line, because I read that most people will choose the right. I’ve even seen lines several people long on the right side and the left side empty because no one seems to realize you can go over there.

 

[MomOTwins]

I can't even fathom just wandering one direction or another. I have every ride planned out and go in the direction my touring plan takes me

 

[Lothlórien]

Disney Parks - I head to the back of all parks first.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Disney Parks - I head to the back of all parks first.

OK, so when you get to the castle stage, which way to you turn? When you get to WS Lagoon, do you head towards Mexico or Canada? Where are you going here? Right or left?

 

[Tink_83]

Left, almost always I’m going to choose the left. I also seem to instinctively plan my FP so I can start on the left. Hmm I’ll have to consider this as I plan my next trip.

 

[hereforthechurros]

When I was younger, before FPs were a thing, we would always head right into Tomorrowland at DL. Just always happened that way. These days it’s whichever way we need to go, but if we are just set to wander, we head left.

 

[FairWahine]

All of the festival passports list the food kiosks starting with the Mexico side and going clockwise. So, as far as Epcot is concerned, it seems that left is the “right” way.

 

[FastPasser.]

Having had to walk all around the WS on hundreds of nights for years, I would have to say that more people go right, but not by much. Also, the boat on the left side was eliminated.