I’ve never really been much of a fast-food type, and I’ve definitely avoided the drive-thru most of my life. Waiting in line for something I’ve never tried ranks low on my to-do list.

When the opportunity presented itself at the opening of White Castle in Clermont today for some genuine “research,” I figured I’d branch out. After all, who doesn’t love a good slider to the backdrop of a DJ, confetti cannons and balloons at 9 a.m. on a Tuesday?

For the sake of investigative reporting, I checked my gas and AC, started my stopwatch for precise timing and pulled to the back of the line, where the nice valet crew from Tim Webber Events waved their lighted signal batons like we were on a tarmac.

Then I moved about 2 feet. Then I waited again. I repeated this pattern for about 55 minutes until my bladder reminded me I had moved about 50 feet. To their credit, the team stayed smiling and friendly, and the DJ kept me entertained with every song I danced to in the summer of 1985. I forgot Wang Chung was even a thing.

By the time I got to Julia, the AI-generated voice at the speaker, it had been 1 hour, 1 minute to go around the building. I had no plan, which was a rookie move on my part, and settled on the basic four-pack of sliders combo.

“Number 1 combo, cheese sliders,” I said with deliberate clarity, as the sign suggested.

“Breakfast slider?” she asked.

Then I shouted, as if that would help.

“Number 1 combo?”

“Please try again.”

Whatever I said prompted a very lovely person named Alicia to come to my rescue, since I was stuck between the video menu and the squawk box.

We figured it out and I rolled forward as the clock hit 1 hour, 14 minutes. $9.83 and 1:20 later I was done and ready to taste my 800 calories worth of sliders and crinkle fries. (I saved one for my mom.)

I get what all the fuss is now. It was super tasty, and even with first-day jitters, the team handled the rush with grace, professionalism and good humor. Next time I’ll swing by off-peak and grab a 20-pack for the entire office.