Det är bättre att ta en kölapp direkt, annars står vi där för länge.

Here det is an impersonal subject. It does not refer to a specific thing. Swedish often uses det är ... in general statements, just like English uses it is ...:

• Det är bra att vila. = It is good to rest.
• Det är svårt att förstå. = It is hard to understand.

So Det är bättre att ta en kölapp direkt means It is better to take a queue ticket right away. The det is just part of the normal sentence structure.

Because after Det är bättre ..., Swedish usually uses an infinitive phrase to say what action is better:

• Det är bättre att vänta. = It is better to wait.
• Det är bättre att ringa först. = It is better to call first.

So:

• att ta = to take

This works very much like English it is better to take ...

Kölapp is a very common Swedish word for the little numbered ticket you take when waiting your turn in a shop, pharmacy, government office, deli counter, etc.

It is made up of:

• kö = queue, line
• lapp = slip of paper, note, ticket

So literally it is something like queue slip, but the natural English meaning is queue ticket or number ticket.

Because kölapp is a common gender noun in Swedish, so it takes en:

• en kölapp
• kölappen = the queue ticket

You just have to learn the gender of each noun, although many nouns ending in -lapp are en-words.

In this sentence, direkt means right away, immediately, or straight away.

So:

• ta en kölapp direkt = take a queue ticket immediately

It can sometimes correspond to English directly, but in everyday Swedish it often simply means at once.

Annars means otherwise.

It introduces the consequence if you do not do what was just suggested:

• Ta en kölapp direkt, annars står vi där för länge.
• Take a queue ticket right away, otherwise we’ll be stuck there too long.

It is a very common connector in Swedish:

• Skynda dig, annars missar vi tåget. = Hurry up, otherwise we’ll miss the train.

Because Swedish is a V2 language in main clauses. That means the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

In the clause:

• annars står vi där för länge

the first position is taken by annars, so the verb står must come next, before the subject vi.

Compare:

• Vi står där för länge.
• Annars står vi där för länge.

This kind of inversion is very common in Swedish after words like:

• nu
• sedan
• därför
• kanske
• annars

Literally, yes: stå means stand.

But in this sentence, stå där is more idiomatic. It suggests being there waiting around, often in a queue or in a situation where you are stuck and not getting anywhere quickly.

So annars står vi där för länge is not just about physically standing upright. It means something like:

• otherwise we’ll be standing there too long
• otherwise we’ll be stuck there too long
• otherwise we’ll end up waiting there too long

Där literally means there. In this sentence it points to the place where the waiting will happen.

But together with står vi där, it can sound slightly idiomatic, almost like:

• we’ll just be there waiting
• we’ll be stuck there

So där helps create the image of being at that place for too long.

No. Here för länge means too long, not just for a long time.

Important difference:

• länge = for a long time
• för länge = too long

Examples:

• Vi väntade länge. = We waited a long time.
• Vi väntade för länge. = We waited too long.

So in your sentence:

• står vi där för länge = we’ll be there too long / we’ll be standing there too long

Because Swedish often uses the present tense to talk about the future when the context already makes it clear.

Here annars and the whole situation show that this is a future consequence:

• annars står vi där för länge = otherwise we’ll be standing there too long

This is very normal in Swedish. Compare:

• Jag ringer dig i morgon. = I’ll call you tomorrow.
• Vi ses senare. = We’ll see each other later.

So står is present in form, but future in meaning.

Yes:

• Det = impersonal it
• är = is
• bättre = better
• att ta = to take
• en kölapp = a queue ticket / number ticket
• direkt = right away / immediately
• annars = otherwise
• står = stand / are standing
• vi = we
• där = there
• för länge = too long

So the structure is:

• Det är bättre att ... = It is better to ...
• annars + verb + subject = otherwise + inverted main clause

Yes, there are several natural alternatives, depending on tone.

For example:

• Det är bäst att ta en kölapp direkt.
  = It’s best to take a queue ticket right away.

This sounds a bit stronger than bättre.

Or:

• Vi borde ta en kölapp direkt, annars får vi vänta för länge.
  = We should take a queue ticket right away, otherwise we’ll have to wait too long.

That version focuses more directly on the waiting.

But your original sentence is perfectly natural and idiomatic.