The Seriously Controversial Ride Trend That’s Dividing Disney Fans Right Now

It’s time to talk about the elephant in the room: virtual queues.

Yes, let’s talk about the virtual queue…that thing we get up EARLY for so we’re fiendishly trying to score a boarding group number at 7 AM for a popular ride before we’ve even had our coffee every morning of our Disney World trip. However, virtual queues will soon be going away in Disney World (for the time being), and let’s just say, that has created some controversy among Disney fans.

That’s right, the virtual queues for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Magic Kingdom and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in EPCOT are going away on February 25th. That means that no rides in Disney World will be using the virtual queue system. This turn of events has divided fans, so let’s talk a little bit about it.

What life is like in Disney World with Virtual Queues

With virtual queues, you are guaranteed a spot in line for a ride, as long as you can grab a boarding group for that spot. You don’t have to plan your day around standing in a long standby line and you don’t have to worry about whether a Lightning Lane Single Pass is available for the ride.

Virtual queues can also help plan your day because you know you’ll have a boarding group called at some point, which will give you an hour to get in line for the ride. You don’t have to try to figure out how long you might have to wait in a standby line, which could upend other plans you have for your day.

When a virtual queue is in place for a ride, though, there is no standby line. If you don’t manage to get a boarding group, your only other option is to pay for a Lightning Lane Single Pass (if it’s available). If you don’t want to pay to ride and don’t have a virtual queue, you’re just out of luck.

Life in Disney World without Virtual Queues

When there aren’t any virtual queues being offered, you don’t have that guaranteed FREE way to ride the ride, although you can get in the standby line, but you’ll probably want to get in line as early in the day as possible.

On the other side of the coin, though, if you DO get in the standby line before it’s cut off at the end of the day, you are guaranteed a chance to ride the attraction. Just note, though, that things like ride closures could affect those chances, but that’s pretty much the case with any Disney World ride.

With that being said, though, those standby lines could be much longer than a typical virtual queue line. The virtual queue lines are somewhat managed to keep the line from getting TOO long, but a standby line can pretty much be as long as it needs to be before Disney decides to cut it off at the end of the day. You could be waiting a long time in the standby line.

The good news is that with Virtual Queue, you need to keep your day open because you really have no idea when your boarding group may be called. Ride closures could further complicate things. That means that you’ll have to be flexible with your plans during the day. For example, if you’re in the middle of a table service meal when your virtual queue group is called, you could miss out on your chance to ride.

Note that you can still get a guaranteed ride on the attraction if you purchase Lightning Lane Single Pass — and you’ll know exactly when you’ll be able to ride the attraction. However, you don’t have to pay — standby is always an option, too. It’s your choice.

Perhaps the BEST part of not having virtual queues to worry about in Disney World is that you no longer have to be up at 7 AM on a vacation day trying to refresh the My Disney Experience app over and over to grab that boarding group as quickly as possible. It’s time to finally sleep in…okay, we probably will never sleep in on a Disney day, but you will have that option.

Disney not currently offering virtual queues, though, does mean that a lot of people are going to want to get in that ride’s standby line. We can imagine rope drop at EPCOT is going to be pretty chaotic as everyone makes their way to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind to get in line as early as possible. Pro tip: don’t do that. Either wait until later to jump in the standby line or buy Lightning Lane Single Pass.

Now, virtual queues aren’t gone forever. We’re sure they’ll return when Disney World opens new attractions (and many are currently in the works). We also think it’s a good bet that the newly reimagined Test Track will use virtual queue when it reopens this year to manage lines for the ride, which will probably be in high demand.

It’s going to be interesting to see how the loss of virtual queues at two rides, though, will affect the parks. Check back with AllEars again soon for more.

What do you think? Do you prefer virtual queues in Disney World? Let us know in the comments!

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