Walt Disney World has confirmed that the Single Rider line at Expedition Everest is officially going away. September 20th will be the last day the option is offered, with Single Rider disappearing entirely starting September 21st. Disney says the change follows successful testing of a new loading process that lowered average wait times, matching what we suspected back in July when Single Rider signage first accidentally disappeared from the attraction. Here’s the latest.
Disney World Confirms Single Rider Is Ending at Expedition Everest
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- Single Rider ends at Expedition Everest on September 21st, with signage and app/web listings removed
- Disney credits a new loading process that lowered average standby wait times
- Single Rider remains in place at other attractions where it still helps fill empty ride vehicle seats
Expedition Everest Single Rider’s Last Day Is September 20th
Earlier today, Disney announced that Single Rider will no longer be available at Expedition Everest starting September 21st. Disney will remove the Single Rider signage at the attraction’s entrance that same day. The company will also pull Expedition Everest from the Single Rider listing on its website and in the My Disney Experience app.
The change is directly attributed to a new loading process at Expedition Everest. The new loading process has already been tested, and it lowered average wait times for the standby line. As standby efficiency increased, the Single Rider line no longer provided the guest experience that riders have come to expect.
Single Rider at Other Attractions
This change is specific to Expedition Everest. It isn’t a broader retreat from Single Rider as a concept. Single Rider lines still remain a useful tool at select attractions. Cast Members use them to fill the seats that standby and Lightning Lane guests don’t fill on their own. That’s the same function Single Rider was originally built to serve at Expedition Everest, before this summer’s updated loading process changed that.
We reported earlier this Summer that Expedition Everest had rolled out an odds and evens boarding system in its standby queue. The system sorts guests into two groups before they reach the loading platform. That gave Cast Members a built-in supply of paired riders to fill empty seats. The operational need for a Single Rider backfill line nearly disappeared as a result.
We also noted at the time that Single Rider signage had already been removed once after it was damaged, and that the line was opening for only a few minutes each hour when it ran at all.
Story So Far
- Summer: Single Rider signage was removed at Expedition Everest as Disney introduced odds and evens boarding in the standby queue, a shift we called Single Riders Left Out in the Cold at Expedition Everest.
- July 27: The Single Rider sign reappeared midday at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, though the underlying odds and evens loading process remained unchanged, as we covered in UPDATE: Expedition Everest Single Rider Sign Reinstalled Midday at Animal Kingdom.
- September 18: Disney confirmed Single Rider will end at Expedition Everest on September 21st, citing the success of the new loading process.
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