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I was always impressed by their "two line" system where there's a visible short line outside of the ride and then once you've spent 30-40 min in that line, you turn the corner and are shown the real line which is another 40-60 min wait. For really popular rides, there's sometimes 3 line tiers.

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I was just at Disney and noticed this too. Their rides are also designed to quickly load and unload people, so their lines are always moving relatively quickly. The lines also don't always follow a simple switchback path, so it's easy to lose track of where you are in the line. This all makes waiting a little less discouraging.

Universal Florida does this really "well" with their Hagrids ride. There's an outside part, then you wander around in a room, and only then discover the real line -- the three days you'll spend wandering around in tunnels with no sight lines to help you figure out how far along you are.

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