Walt Disney World has ended all digital queues, and that is the primary month with none for the primary time in years. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Tiana’s Bayou Journey switching to standby has been controversial, with followers break up over whether or not boarding teams or bodily traces are higher. This covers the newest, together with additional commentary about why are critics of digital queues and what some followers get unsuitable about them.
Previous to this variation, the final time Walt Disney World dropped a digital queue for a experience wasn’t that way back. It was again on September 9, 2024 when TRON Lightcycle Run switched to standby. Regardless of TRON nonetheless not collaborating in Early Entry, it’s going fairly properly with no digital queue.
Previous to that, it had been a very long time since Walt Disney World dropped a digital queue–a couple of months after the opening of Remy’s Ratatouille Journey. That change got here just a few months after Disney’s Hollywood Studios “paused” the digital queue for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. That pause turned out to be everlasting.
Technically, there was about 1-week of no digital queues in any respect in Walt Disney World between the time in late September 2021 when Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance dropped its digital queue and when Remy’s Ratatouille Journey opened one week later. On condition that was one of many lowest crowd stretches at Walt Disney World within the final 5+ years, we’re guessing not lots of you skilled it.
For the final significant stretch when Walt Disney World was with no digital queue, you’d have to return even additional–all the way in which to the halcyon days of December 2019, earlier than the closure and phased reopening, previous to the opening of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Again when free FastPass, night Additional Magic Hours, and many others. had been all nonetheless alive and properly.
That makes March 2025 the primary month since November 2019 with none digital queues. Standby traces are lastly accessible and digital queues are longer be provided at Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in EPCOT and Tiana’s Bayou Journey in Magic Kingdom. For the primary time in an extended, very long time, there’s a standby line at each Walt Disney World attraction.
I’ve been doing in depth standby testing at Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind throughout Early Entry (4 days and counting!), in addition to rope drop, the mid-morning lull, late afternoon, evenings, and Prolonged Night Hours throughout spring break season. It’s been largely clean crusing to date, though there have been a couple of issues which have caught me without warning (in hindsight, they most likely shouldn’t have) and methods standby for Cosmic Rewind deviates from TRON. However that’s one other matter for one more submit…or a number of.
For now, right here’s the newest from Walt Disney World, posted to their digital queues web page…
Verify for Updates
There aren’t any digital queues accessible at the moment.
Digital queues proceed to be useful with the launch of fashionable points of interest and the debut of recent experiences and choices. Sooner or later, we might use them once more once in a while for choose experiences.
Verify Digital Queue within the My Disney Expertise app simply earlier than your go to to be taught whether or not a digital or standby queue shall be required or accessible for any points of interest or experiences while you’re right here.
Some Walt Disney World followers will learn the above and construe the language to suggest that Walt Disney World is probably solely “pausing” the digital queues at Cosmic Rewind and Tiana’s Bayou Journey. To make certain, this does go away the door open for his or her return. The identical sort of language was used when Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance switched to standby–a transfer that proved to be everlasting.
It’s all the time attainable that this time could possibly be totally different. That Tiana’s Bayou Journey may regress, with extra reliability and downtime woes. That Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind proves so fashionable that it overwhelms the comically-short bodily queue and overflow arrange exterior. That visitor satisfaction scores take a nosedive.
We extremely doubt all of this. Walt Disney World has been doing visitor satisfaction surveys about digital queues for years; they already know the outcomes, which is exactly why they’re making this variation. Projected demand for Cosmic Rewind ought to likewise be a identified amount, and Tiana’s Bayou Journey had higher be beginning to work reliably after the elevated after hours upkeep.
It’s nonetheless unsurprising that Walt Disney World would hedge a bit with its language. Nonetheless, in all probability, that is referring to different experiences like merchandise releases and different assorted one-off occasions. Issues like runDisney, uncommon merchandise releases, and that type of factor. If Walt Disney World ever involves its senses and releases a Massive Al popcorn bucket, they’ll most likely want a digital queue to handle the unprecedented demand for that.
Much less speculative is the launch of recent points of interest, as Walt Disney World particularly states that “digital queues proceed to be useful” with this, and that they “might use them once more once in a while for choose experiences sooner or later.” That is fully unsurprising, and we absolutely anticipate to see digital queues reintroduced on a number of events between now and 2030. There are a couple of components that might set off digital queues:
- New high-demand attraction launches
- Points of interest posing crowd-flow issues
- Rides with quick standby traces
- Advanced points of interest liable to breakdowns or prolonged downtime
Most of these ought to be fairly self-explanatory (or have examples given above), however the crowd-flow drawback is finest exemplified by Remy’s Ratatouille Journey and TRON Lightcycle Run. Each of these points of interest had been shoehorned into beforehand backstage areas, and have pinch-points resulting in them. Had both or each opened with standby traces, that might’ve created considerations about congestion.
Beforehand, I discussed that Walt Disney World most likely wouldn’t have a necessity for one more digital queue till 2027 when Tropical Americas opens. Effectively, that was unsuitable. I by some means managed to miss the one ‘massive’ attraction reopening this yr.
Within the a lot nearer time period, there’s Take a look at Monitor 3.0. This can be a experience reimagining, so that you’d assume it most likely wouldn’t require a digital queue. Nonetheless, Take a look at Monitor is notoriously unreliable and this sounds prefer it’ll contain main present scene modifications. The latter may exacerbate the previous, particularly if the timing or pacing of the attraction modifications in any respect.
On high of that, Take a look at Monitor–already a well-liked EPCOT attraction–ought to see renewed curiosity for not less than the primary ~6 months. All of this could possibly be a recipe for a digital queue–it’s a considerably comparable set-up to what we’ve seen with Tiana’s Bayou Journey.
Frankly, the probability of a digital queue getting used for Take a look at Monitor 3.0 appears greater than both particular person attraction in Tropical Americas.
Indiana Jones Journey appears to be like prefer it’ll have a large overflow queue, and the Encanto Madrigal Casito darkish experience seems to be an omnimover. I’d nonetheless guess that a type of two will use a digital queue (that’s the protected cash), however I believe the chances of both one getting a digital queue are individually decrease than Take a look at Monitor 3.0.
After that, it’s onerous to say which different new or reimagined rides will get digital queues. The Monsters, Inc. Door Coaster looks as if a protected guess, as does the off-road experience in Automobiles Land. I most likely would guess in opposition to one getting used for Rock ‘n’ Curler Coaster Starring the Muppets, however that’s fully speculative shot-in-the-dark.
Lastly, I wish to revisit the controversy surrounding digital queues with some commentary additional clarifying our place.
In response to the announcement that Walt Disney World was ending digital queues for Cosmic Rewind and Tiana’s Bayou Journey, we obtained lots of reader backlash. In all probability 75% of you might be in opposition to the change.
I might implore these of you who’re in opposition to this determination to contemplate this: not everyone seems to be you.
That’s an apparent and self-evident level, however I nonetheless really feel prefer it’s one value making.
Many longtime Walt Disney World followers take as a right simply how advanced of a vacation spot it’s, with its Byzantine insurance policies and quirks. We’ve all accrued a lot data over time that to many people, including one little factor appears easy and easy. As a thought experiment, attempt to assume a veil of ignorance about all of Walt Disney World’s myriad guidelines–Lightning Lanes, ADRs, Early Entry, rope drop, Eating Plans, and many others.
That’s what it’s wish to be a first-timer. Every little thing is brand-new to you, and it’s completely overwhelming. (This is the reason we are saying should you can plan a visit to Walt Disney World, you possibly can journey wherever in the true world. Nowhere else–nowhere–is that this advanced and sophisticated.) It’s not only one factor, it’s the totality of all the pieces.
Most of you most likely don’t even have to think about this. You possibly can assume again to when Lightning Lane Multi-Go or Genie+ had been model new, and the way overwhelming these modifications had been. The story was largely the identical in each circumstances, complaints about paying for FastPass–but additionally many in regards to the modifications themselves and the uncertainty they launched.
These of you who’ve been visiting Walt Disney World for not less than ~5 years can assume again even additional to late 2019 or early 2020.
The digital queue and boarding cross system for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance was essentially the most urgent drawback at Walt Disney World within the months previous to the closure. (Ah, less complicated occasions!) We had a curler coaster relationship with the system, visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios earlier than dawn not less than as soon as per week from early December by way of early March. The rationale we did this, fairly merely, was because of reader demand. There was lots of worry, uncertainty and doubt in regards to the new system.
We received’t rehash all of that right here since most of you most likely are aware of it, as a substitute fast-forwarding to the weeks instantly earlier than the closure. At that time, frustration was setting in for us and most Walt Disney World company, main us to proclaim “this isn’t working” (400+ reader feedback). We adopted that up with Hollywood Studios: Walt Disney World’s Greatest Rides & Most Irritating Park.
These posts and others within the aftermath of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance opening had been vastly fashionable, as a result of Walt Disney World’s method was unpopular. A number of posts about Rise of the Resistance garnered numerous feedback and, spoiler, that was not from followers who had been pleased with digital queues.
Whereas Walt Disney World’s method to digital queues fortunately advanced later in 2020-2021, the most important change didn’t come from Disney. It was you. Most of you obtained firsthand expertise with digital queues, grew to become educated, and began leveraging them to your benefit. They grew to become extra of a identified amount and fewer controversial consequently. For you.
Simply do not forget that not everyone seems to be you, and there are millions of first-timers each single day feeling that very same worry, uncertainty and doubt that longtime followers felt in late 2019 and early 2020.
Within the spirit of this sentiment that not everyone seems to be you and first-timers nonetheless have FUD about digital queues, I’d advocate making use of the identical considering to Lightning Lane Single Go.
Some followers are claiming that Walt Disney World is eradicating digital queues out of “greed.” Their concept is that top posted wait occasions will push folks to buy Lightning Lanes. That folks will balk at a 2-hour await Cosmic Rewind and as a substitute purchase a Lightning Lane Single Go to skip that line. What I believe they actually imply by that is that they shall be extra inclined to purchase Lightning Lanes, because the wait time will probably exceed their balking level.
This line of reasoning is sensible, nevertheless it overlooks a few important factors. First, that Lightning Lane Single Go is Promoting Out Sooner than ever now that it’s bookable pre-arrival, and Cosmic Rewind is the most well-liked LLSP. It’s often gone a number of days upfront, so impulse buys primarily based on wait occasions aren’t a factor within the first place.
Second, Walt Disney World has full management over capability allocation. That means that in the event that they needed to promote extra Lightning Lanes…they might merely promote extra Lightning Lanes. We now have no manner of figuring out what number of spots within the digital queue they had been distributing. The most effective proof that they don’t seem to be merely maximizing potential gross sales is the straightforward undeniable fact that Cosmic Rewind Lightning Lanes all the time offered out upfront beneath the VQ, that means there was unhappy demand. They had been already leaving cash on the desk beneath the digital queue!
Lastly, some followers who’re extra inclined to buy a Lightning Lane for Cosmic Rewind now that it doesn’t have a digital queue are failing to contemplate the counterfactual: first-timers and rare company are much less probably to purchase LLSP now that there’s a standby line. Earlier than, they risked being shut out fully in the event that they didn’t purchase a Lightning Lane Single Go upfront (since they’re offered out day of) and missed out in becoming a member of the digital queue (since there’s no standby line).
It’s protected to say that the stakes are greater for first-timers and rare company than locals or Annual Passholders. It’s additionally protected to say that the previous demographics are freer spending and extra inclined to buy Lightning Lanes within the first place. As we focus on very often, the FOMO/FUD issue is a robust motivator for Walt Disney World company, and Cosmic Rewind having no security internet earlier than was undoubtedly a robust driver of gross sales. The standby line is such a security internet.
Finally, our view is that digital queues are unfriendly to first-time and rare company because of their studying curve and may solely be used when completely vital. There are some occasions when, on steadiness, they’re a internet optimistic for the visitor expertise. The primary a number of months of Tiana’s Bayou Journey, when the attraction was unreliable and downtime was extreme, are one such instance. Opening days and weeks when wait occasions would possibly in any other case be 3+ hours are one other.
In any other case, digital queues ought to be dropped every time sensible. And once more, I say all of this as somebody who selfishly likes digital queues as a result of they offer me (and different educated, frequent company) a bonus over the typical guests. However I additionally acknowledge that what’s good for me just isn’t all the time good for the park-going public. Digital queues current an excessive amount of FUD/FOMO, introducing friction and stress to the visitor expertise.
There’s additionally the fact that experience capability is a zero-sum recreation. Digital queues introduce friction that favors high-knowledge company like Annual Passholders and locals who would skip a triple-digit standby wait, and they’re successful on the expense of another person. The losers on this situation are probably disproportionately first-timers and different low-knowledge or technology-averse company.
If Walt Disney World goes to tip the scales in anybody’s favor, it ought to be those that shouldn’t have common entry to the parks. On the finish of the day, standby traces degree the enjoying discipline–anybody is free to affix them, as many occasions as they so need, as long as the expertise is “value” the wait to them. The identical can’t be mentioned about digital queues.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you consider Walt Disney World switching to standby at Tiana’s Bayou Journey and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind? Want digital queues had been nonetheless round–or extra considerable? Any expectations about VQs on new or reimagined rides going ahead? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we may help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even while you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!