Disney dropped some big news yesterday - the virtual queue system (VQ) that had been in use on both Tiana's Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Epcot are coming to an end on February 25. This post will talk about what that means for each of these rides and parks specifically, as well as whether this is a good thing for guests and the future of VQ in general.
If you're not already aware (though if you're reading this, you probably are), a VQ is a system that Disney (and other theme parks) use in place of a standby line, usually on new/incredibly popular attractions or attractions that have reliability issues. When a VQ is in place, there is no standby line at all - this means that a guest can't wait for hours to ride one of these attractions, even if they were so inclined.
An attraction with a VQ usually has a paid option in addition to the free VQ itself, and these two rides were no exception. Guardians is available via Lightning Lane Single Pass (LLSP) at Epcot and Tiana's is a part of the Lightning Lane Multi-Pass (LLMP) for Magic Kingdom. Nothing changes as far as those go, so those are still options for both of these. The biggest difference now is that there will also be a regular old standby option.
These were the last two current attractions at Disney World to use a VQ, meaning that for the first time since late 2019 (give or take a week between VQ's in 2021), there are NO attractions at any of the parks that use a VQ. This really is a pretty momentous thing, given how Disney has leaned on the VQ over these past few years and I wonder what that means for the future (more on this below).
I wanted to talk about how we got here with each attraction, and whether this is an objectively "good" decision in either case. First is Guardians, which holds the record for having the longest time using a VQ in Disney history - the ride opened in May 2022, and has had a VQ ever since. That's almost three years! A VQ here made a lot of sense when the ride debuted, as it was a highly anticipated attraction with great word of mouth. A VQ to get through the period with the most demand was a good idea.
Nearly three years later, though, this one seemed overdue for a change. This isn't to say that the demand isn't still high - this will certainly become the highest wait time in Epcot once the VQ is dropped, and will likely rival Tron, Rise of the Resistance and Avatar Flight of Passage for highest wait time period. But unless the VQ was going to become permanent, there was really no need to keep it going for Guardians. The band aid had to come off eventually. There have been reports, especially during the slow periods, that the queue was largely empty for Guardians, particularly later in the day. If other comparable rides (Tron comes to mind) can drop their VQ, there was no reason for Guardians to keep one.
When it comes to Tiana's Bayou Adventure, it's a different story. By Disney's own words, Tiana's was not meant to have a VQ for very long - the phrase "initial opening days" was used in the press release announcing the Tiana's VQ. But this ride opened in June 2024, and here we are almost eight months later. Unless we're playing very loosely with the idea of opening days, this was not the plan.
So what went wrong? Mostly the reliability of the ride itself. Tiana's has been plagued by operating difficulties, going down for hours at a time or only partially functioning. By having a VQ instead of a standby line, Disney hoped to avoid guest frustration at missing out when the ride was closed for long portions of the day (whether they succeeded or not is debatable). The logic was that Tiana's would drop the VQ once it became more consistently reliable.
Interestingly, most recent reports I've seen have indicated that this has NOT been fixed. However, Tiana's recently started closing a few hours before the rest of the park during weekdays, and the speculation was that this gave Imagineering extra time to work on the ride in the hopes of finding a fix. I can't say for sure, but if the VQ is dropping now, Disney must feel pretty confident about the reliability issues; otherwise, there was no reason for them to make this change. Hopefully that is what happened here, as a fully functioning Tiana's would be a big help to a park that's undergoing some pretty big changes.
Speaking of which, Tiana's having a standby line puts it back in play for a solid option at rope drop. I recently bemoaned the fate of Frontierland with Big Thunder Mountain Railroad down for the foreseeable future, but Tiana's actually becomes a worthwhile option to start your day now. Tiana's is by far the most popular LLMP option at Magic Kingdom, and if you don't or can't get it, you can now rope drop it and move down to Jungle Cruise or across to the other side of the park right afterwards. The "double rope drop" might be back.
The bigger rope drop change will happen in Epcot, however, with Guardians finally moving to standby. It will certainly be the biggest rope drop draw in the park, but due to Epcot's two entrances, it actually changes the balance of power here. I'll explain - up until now, there have really been three good rope drop options in the last few years. One was Test Track, which is now undergoing a refurbishment itself. Another is Frozen Ever After and the third is Remy's Ratatouille Adventure.
Ever since Remy opened, it has been a popular rope drop choice, but only for a certain group of people - those coming in through the International Gateway rather than the front entrance. This is because France is right near the IG, and was easily accessible to those guests (who were usually Skyliner resort guests or those staying withing walking distance at the nearby Boardwalk, Beach Club or Yacht Club). These guests were at an advantage, particularly since Test Track went down. It was fairly easy to rope drop Remy, then bounce over to Frozen while it still had a short wait. Guests coming in the front entrance had to scramble to Frozen (back in World Showcase - no short walk) or choose a secondary option like Soarin'. Remy was a non-starter.
But Guardians changes the math. That attraction is way closer to the front of the park, meaning those guests now have the advantage when it comes to knocking out the most popular ride in the park. When we last visited, we stayed at Boardwalk and rope dropped Remy while holding a VQ for Guardians. No more. Remy is still a fine rope drop option, but Guardians will have to be planned around for those guests. Without making this the focus of this post, the usual suspects apply - visit at the end of the night or purchase a LLSP.
Now that the VQ is gone from the Disney parks, let's talk about that decision in a general sense. Are VQ's good for the average guest? I think the answer is no. Disney World is incredibly difficult to navigate for first time or low knowledge guests - just showing up and hoping to ride everything is not really a great plan. The VQ was another layer of difficulty and confusion for these guests, and making it easier (though not shorter) to ride these attractions is a good idea.
That doesn't mean I think it's a good idea for me personally; blogs like this are designed to help others plan their trips, and I've always maintained that the more knowledge you have, the better your trip will be. That remains true, but the VQ was basically a "free" LL as long as you were fast and/or lucky enough to get one. A few years ago, I wrote a post about how you should embrace the VQ. It was definitely helpful for regular and knowledgeable guests. On our last trip, we got a VQ for Guardians and Tron three times each (Tiana's wasn't open at the time) - I doubt we would have been able to ride as many times if we had to wait in a standby line or buy a LL each time.
But given what I said above, the "average" guest should do better here. So what does this mean for the future of the VQ at Disney World? Have we seen the last of it? I think the answer is no. Disney has shown a willingness to use the VQ for new, popular attractions and I think that continues. There was even a (very brief) VQ for The Journey of Water Featuring Moana at Epcot and that is a simple walkthrough attraction.
The real questions will be in terms of length and volume. I suspect Disney will use a VQ for a brief period of time for each major new attraction it unveils, but I have a hard time seeing it last for years as it had with Guardians. Also depending on timing, I'm not sure they want to have more than one VQ going at a time. This creates additional confusion among guests, and makes it harder to get a boarding group for two (or more) attractions at one park, considering the VQ goes live at the same time for all attractions.
This might be a moot point for some time, as there isn't really a major project opening in the next couple of years. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me that Big Thunder would use a VQ upon reopening, for example. Maybe Test Track, as that will be an entire overhaul. But the real test will be when these big new lands start opening up - what happens at Tropical Americas in Animal Kingdom, for example? Will both the Encanto ride and Indiana Jones open with a VQ? Just one of them? Neither? We can speculate now, but that will be the tell when it comes to Disney's appetite to keep this system alive.
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