The Frustrating Ride PROBLEM You'll Run Into at Disney World Now

Every year, new attractions and changes hit Disney World, and every year, we help keep you updated on them so you know how to make the most of your vacation.

Pandora: World of Avatar

Back in January, Disney World finally removed park pass reservations for date-based tickets, a way to track how many guests were in each park (and subsequently sell them out if they became too crowded). This change was implemented when the parks reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic closures, and stuck around for longer than many guests liked. Also introduced was the limit on when guests could park hop to another park, which has since been lifted as well. However, there’s another issue that has arisen now that these park pass reservations are gone and park hopping all day has returned.

Certain rides in Disney World can have their line skipped if you purchase an Individual Lightning Lane (ILL), which is different from the regular Genie+ tier that costs between $15-$39 per person, per day. Those rides are:

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (Magic Kingdom)
TRON Lightcycle / Run (Magic Kingdom)
Rise of the Resistance (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (EPCOT)
Flight of Passage (Animal Kingdom)

TRON Lightcycle / Run

Then, Disney World also has two rides that can be ridden with an Individual Lightning Lane OR with a free virtual queue that drops at 7AM and 1PM. Those rides are:

TRON Lightcycle / Run (Magic Kingdom)
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (EPCOT)

Cosmic Rewind

So how are virtual queue spots or ILLs affected by the lack of park pass reservations and park hopping restrictions? Well, when these were in place previously, people could not purchase an ILL or a get into the virtual queue for a ride unless they had a park pass reservation to that park.

TRON Lightcycle / Run virtual queue and Lightning Lane signs

Since park hopping began at 2PM, and the second virtual queue dropped at 1PM, it was very unlikely guests park hopping could get into that virtual queue (unless it wasn’t full and was therefore still open, which doesn’t happen too often). Guests wanting to ride that attraction often chose to purchase an ILL instead to ensure they could ride after they park hopped (since you can select which time you’d like your ILL for).

TRON Virtual Queue

However, now since there is no restriction on park hopping and you don’t need to tell Disney where you’re going to be, ANYONE who has a Disney World ticket any day can join either virtual queue AND book an ILL for any of the attractions listed above. That opens it up to a TON of other people who weren’t included before.

Cosmic Rewind Individual Lightning Lane

While that’s great, allowing more people access to the opportunities, it also means that getting these virtual queue spots and Individual Lightning Lanes just got a whole lot harder, since you could now be battling it out with more people than before.

My Disney Experience app

So what does that mean for you? Well, you’re going to have to be on your A-game right at 7AM to grab those ILLs and/or virtual queues. It’s a little stressful, yes, but don’t worry, we’re pros and are here to help.