Does waiting on the phone count? If so, six hours to get someone at the IRS, so they could fix the mistake in 2 minutes.

I’ve been waiting in line to die for the last 43yrs, I’m not in rush, so it’s okay.

Back in the before times, I sat in line for 36 hours for front row seats for a David Bowie concert in 1987.

It turned into a street party for the 100 or so people in the line.

Line to vote in 2020 Presidential election.

Probably not the longest, but the most ridiculous. We have a big free African music festival in our city and there are loads of different food stalls with great food. There was a Kenyan one that my best friend really wanted to go to as she lived in Kenya when she was a kid, and the queue was big which usually means good food. However once we were in the queue we realised the queue was moving really slowly… No matter, it must be worth it when we get there surely… After 45 mins I really wanted to go somewhere else but the sunk cost fallacy and the thought of getting in another queue made me stay… After over an hour we finally get to the front and realise that the reason it’s so slow is because they have the most illogical ordering system that doesn’t make sense, and even the staff seem totally confused. An hour and a half later we finally get our food and it’s ok. Just ok. In a big field full of amazing food we managed to pick the most mediocre one, and stupidly queued along with loads of other stupid queueing people for no good reason except being in a queue.

Waiting for my checks from trickle-down economics to roll in.

I thought waiting a line with 30 to 40 people ahead was a nightmare, until I saw the Brits queuing for a mile to see the deceased queen. That day I realized no one can beat the Brits at queuing.

Something like 13.8 billion years from the Big Bang till I was born. Still not sure it was worth the damn wait.

Waited just over a year in the Steam Deck line.

7 hours at the DMV only to get rejected even after checking documents when I arrived because I needed another one.

Never went back to that hellhole office and found another one that took 15 minutes.

I once waited 3.5 hours for free pancakes at IHOP. I had a shit week and just wanted some free pancakes, but they accidentally crossed my name out before even seating me, so I saw multiple groups arrive after, eat, and leave before my dumbass thought “maybe I should say something.”

Also, my phone was dead for the last 2 hours of that.

Waited 3 hours for a Harry Potter ride at Universal Studios.

Family used to go to Disney World in Orlando every winter when I was a kid, and we ended up visiting Universal too one of the years. At the time, the Harry Potter section was still new so everyone wanted to check it out. We got in line for the main ride which runs through a giant Hogwarts castle. Every time we thought we had finally made it, the line snaked into a new room and we would all groan. We probably shuffled through rooms for like 2 hours until the line went outside and you could finally see the sheer volume of people ahead of us. Eventually we did make it and I was very excited to finally see what the ride was-!

Turns out the entire thing was just 15 minutes of rocking around on a seat while watching a projected video of some dudes on broomsticks.

I remember the first thing we all joked about afterwards was how much of a let-down the final ride was after all that build-up. Funny enough, today I still only really remember the wait in line and almost nothing about the ride.

This also ended up being the last of our Orlando trips. My mom found out she had cancer around that time and would pass a few years later. Now writing this out, I wonder how she felt back then, spending one of her last remaining moments in this world waiting in line for a silly theme park ride.

For me at least, the entire thing is still a fond memory with family.

4ish hours to get into the Catacombs in Paris. Not long by some of the other times mentioned here, but I got sunburnt pretty bad despite being in the shade a lot. Totally worth it though, it was really cool and my dad really wanted to see it

Retirement. Queued up for 32 years and still unable to get to it.

I am no longer interested in amusement parks unless I have some kind of fast pass (or it’s a slow enough day to not need one). If the line takes 2-3 hours, you only get to ride 3-4 rides in an 8 hour period, and even then only if you don’t eat (or eat in line and don’t have to wait in line for the food).

These days, the longest line I’m willing to wait in is like 15 minutes.