Well, I’ll admit it—I didn’t think Disney would handle the transition from virtual queue to standby all that well, but credit where it’s due, they seem to have managed it… for now.
As of yesterday, both Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind officially ditched the virtual queue in favour of a traditional standby line. And while many (myself included) expected absolute chaos, things actually ran surprisingly smoothly.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind – A Manageable Wait?
Over at EPCOT, Cosmic Rewind was running a standby queue all day, with wait times hovering around an hour for most of yesterday. Given how wildly popular this ride has been since opening, that’s pretty impressive.
However, not everything was perfect. To accommodate the switch to standby, Disney had to use a rather lacklustre extended queue, featuring those dreaded blue umbrellas that provide just about as much shade as a soggy napkin. That’s all well and good on a mild February day, but come summer, standing under those in the brutal Florida heat is going to be about as fun as listening to the pre-show over at Flight of Passage.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure – A Rocky Start, but Not a Disaster
Meanwhile, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom had a bit of a rougher transition. In classic Disney fashion, the attraction didn’t open on time, leading to some frustrated guests. But once it got going, wait times weren’t nearly as bad as some had feared.
At one point, the line dropped as low as 20 minutes, which, for a brand-new ride, is pretty unheard of. Of course, there’s the caveat that this was a random Tuesday in February, when crowds are typically lighter. The real test will come this weekend, when more guests flood the parks.
Final Thoughts – So Far, So Good (But Let’s See What Happens)
Right now, it looks like Disney has handled the switch to standby fairly well, but it’s early days. A moderate weekday in February isn’t exactly the biggest stress test, and we’ll see how both rides hold up when the parks hit peak crowd levels.
Guardians might keep manageable wait times, but that extended queue situation is far from ideal—those blue umbrellas aren’t going to cut it in the Florida sun.
Tiana’s had a few hiccups at rope drop, but overall, the queues weren’t bad. The question is whether that holds up when more guests descend on Magic Kingdom this weekend.
For now, though? Consider me pleasantly surprised. Let’s just check back in once Spring Break hits and see if I still feel the same way…
Would you rather deal with a standby queue or bring back the virtual queue system? Let us know what you think!
Ryan
Ryan has been attending theme parks since as long as he can remember and his first proper memory comes from when he was just three years old sitting in Main Street USA drinking a Nesquik milkshake from a carton while the piano was being played outside Casey’s Corner.
