Virtual Queues a Thing of the Past?

Virtual Queues (VQ) have been around at Walt Disney World since before the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic as a way to help guests experience new rides without having to wait in line for hours on end. This allowed guests to explore the parks while waiting for their call back time for the ride. Each ride has had a VQ for a different amount of time, and likely depended on the popularity of the ride before they were discontinued, and moved to a regular stand-by (SB) line.

The first ride to utilize the VQ system at Walt Disney World was Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Hollywood Studios which was in place from the end of 2019 to just about halfway through 2021. Just about two weeks after the VQ switched to a SB line, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure opened up at EPCOT and was in place until the beginning of 2022. Now, when the VQ switched to SB line at Remy’s there was a bit of a pause on the utilization of VQs until Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind opened at EPCOT, which at this time still utilizes a VQ, almost 3 years later. From the opening of Cosmic Rewind, until today, there have been 2 other rides that have utilized a VQ system - Tron Lightcycle Spin, and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. Today, the only two rides that utilize a VQ system are are Guardian’s of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, but that may be changing soon.

This morning, Disney announced that starting next week, guests will be able to enjoy both Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind without a VQ, and that both of these rides will be transitioning to a SB line. While there are plenty of projects on the horizon for Walt Disney World, none of these projects are slated to open for quite some time. This begs the question, are VQs a thing of the past for the near future? Obviously, only time can tell. But one thing is for sure, I’m definitely not going to miss those early morning wake up calls in order to get said VQ.