Starting tomorrow, Walt Disney World will no longer have virtual queues for any of its attractions or experiences. Both Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will end their Virtual Queue requirements, opening up their respective traditional standby queues starting February 25th. This marks not only a significant milestone for each attraction but for Walt Disney World as a whole.
Attraction Virtual Queues Ending at Walt Disney World, but Not Forever
Officially, here’s what Walt Disney World says about the Virtual Queue changes coming tomorrow:
Beginning Feb. 25, guests can experience Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT through a standby queue or as a Lightning Lane experience. We hope guests will enjoy the added choice and flexibility the standby queue offers.
While no longer available after Feb. 25, virtual queues continue to be helpful with the launch of popular attractions and the debut of new experiences and offerings, so we may use them again from time to time for select experiences in the future.
Walt Disney World has made it very clear that Virtual Queues could pop up in the future, and we expect that they will. From limited-time shopping events to the debut of major attractions, Virtual Queues are still important to manage demand and even expectations.
That said, we hope that they become a bit more scarce in the future. While Walt Disney World’s biggest fans can leverage Virtual Queues to be a big advantage during their day, Virtual Queues simply aren’t a great experience for the average guest.
My dislike for the Virtual Queue system can be traced back to a February 2020 article titled “Don’t Visit Disney’s Hollywood Studios Right Now“. In short, I had seen one too many guests experience the extreme disappointment of missing out on a Virtual Queue for Rise of the Resistance to suggest a visit for a lottery system to ride Walt Disney World’s best attraction.
Since then, Walt Disney World has made some smart adjustments to the Virtual Queue system, including moving to a 7am distribution window to prevent in-park disappointments. Disney also removed a pain point by allowing guests to pre-select their party members. Disney has improved the process of getting a Virtual Queue, but the fact that you still needed one at all was not a great guest experience.
Yes, Cosmic Rewind wait times will reach cosmic levels, but it will self-moderate over time. A traditional standby queue gives guests options, which was taken away from them with the Virtual Queue system.
Over at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, the scenario is a little bit different. The attraction reliability has been better in recent weeks compared to the closing months of 2024, but it is by no means perfect. We expect that guests will experience some disappointment in joining a standby queue and the ride breaking down.
Of course, if you’re looking to skip the line at either attraction, Lightning Lane options will continue to be available. At Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, guests can purchase the Lightning Lane Multi Pass product to try for a return window to skip the line. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will remain a Lightning Lane Single Pass offering, which means that guests can purchase a single skip-the-line entitlement at the ride.
For more on the Lightning Lane products offered at Walt Disney World, check out our article below comparing Multi Pass, Single Pass, and Premier Pass.
For even more reading, check out our article below that details some of the early preparation EPCOT park operations have done to prepare for anticipated high crowds when the traditional standby queue debuts for Cosmic Rewind tomorrow, February 25th.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
