[Ghoulish Delight]

We should start to think of the logistics of accomplishing this. The carousel will NOT be a walk-on. And remember, above all, we should strive not to piss off too many other people (not counting the small segment of people in this world who are comitted to getting pissed off no matter what).

There seem to be 2 options on how to handle this, each with their own pitfalls.

Option 1: All 70 of us get in line, and when the first member gets to the front, they smile and cackle in delight as one (or more) of several expressions cross the CMs face (fear, panic, envy, distaste, joy). The pitfall? Let's say that after the carrousel loads, there are 25 people in front of us. That leaves the next one about 1/3 full. On most occasions, not a problem. If you have a large group that wants to ride together, but the normal loading rhythm leaves you staggered, you just move aside, let the CM fill the vehicle, and wait for the next one. But it's a sight more comlicated to move 70 people aside and let 55 get past. For instance, what if one family too many shuffles their way past. Are you going to be the one to tell the 5 year old that just got to the front of the line that he's got to go back now?

Option 2: We send a small group (3, 4, or 5) of emissaries to have a pow-wow with the CM before queuing up. Then, most likely, the emissaries would get into the actual queue, while the rest of us stand to the side (perhaps wrapping around the carrousel's perimeter to be out of the way as much as possible). When the emissaries get to the front of the queue, the CM lets the right number of people pass, empties the holding area, and we file in our 70 bodies for the next ride. The pitfall? The people behind us, most likely blissfully unaware of the pre-queuing huddle with the CM, will probably not be too keen to go from being next in line to having 70 people get in front of them. Of course, logically, it's just one spin of the carousel, hardly a fantastic hardship on anyone. However, we all know crowds don't respond logically, especially on busy days when visual length of a queue is an important determining factor in people's decissions. Undoubtedly, someone, if not several people, will feel swindled at being lead to believe the queue was 70 people shorter than it actually was.

Not to say it will be impossible to do it cordially and without incident, but the logistics of getting a CM to accomodate a VERY extraordinary cicumstance on an already extraordinary day will not be trivial. Among other things, we have to be prepared for the fact that success or failure may hinge on the mood of the CM.