I think I ease up to the cashier and kind of start my own line by saying "is there where I get gift cards?". Then, let the cashier decide how to work me in.
That's always been the case. Guess there were too many dummies like spider around waiting in line for no reason, so now they gotta make signage about it!
I'm sure the the intent of the "Skip the Line" signs are to keep people from standing in line if they're only purchasing pints, but if the line were long enough, I'd be tempted to nit it up and grab a pint, skip the line, and then also order a cone from the cashier. Letter of the law!