At Pure Magic Vacations we aim to give you the most stress-free vacation possible. This includes giving you all the need to know details about the planning of your visit to Walt Disney World as well as tips and tricks and important information you will need to know while you are there! One tidbit of information we would love to share is about the use of virtual queues for select popular attractions within the theme parks.

Virtual queues have been implemented at the Walt Disney World theme parks over the last few years when a new attraction has opened up. Before the use of virtual queues, it was not uncommon to see wait times of up to six hours for new must see attractions. However, the introduction of the virtual queue now allows for guests to enjoy other offerings in the park while you wait for your turn to ride! How the virtual queue system works is by allowing guests who plan to visit the park that day use the My Disney Experience app to join the virtual queue and receive a boarding group. Boarding groups are called beginning at park open until park closing so when it is time to ride you will receive a notification on your phone to return to that attraction!

There are currently two attractions at Walt Disney World that use a virtual queue: TRON Lightcycle/Run at Magic Kingdom and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT. These rides are very popular which is why the virtual queue is in effect but is also why it is important to know how to join the virtual queue as it does fill up quickly each day.

How to Join a Virtual Queue
To join a virtual queue, open your My Disney Experience app and head to the Virtual Queue section on the home screen. You can confirm your party one hour before the virtual queue opens which will allow you to be ready right as the clock strikes 7am to join! The screen will have a "Refresh" button at the bottom or pull the screen to refresh to launch the joining process right at 6:59:59. For both Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and TRON Lightcycle/Run, you can try to join the virtual queue at 7am from anywhere. If you do not get a Boarding Group at 7am, you can try again at 1pm from inside the park for a second chance. We find that there are typically fewer people trying to get into that 1pm slot making the odds higher for you!

Pure Magic Vacations Tip: Set an alarm for both 6:55am and 12:55pm if you are looking to join a virtual queue so you do not lose track of time and forget to join! You can have more than one person in your party try for a boarding group or you can have someone in your party showcasing the world clock on their phone so you know to refresh your page right at 6:59:59am or 12:59:59pm!

Some important things to note about the virtual queues would be:

• You can only join each ride's virtual queue once per day.

• A valid theme park ticket is required in order to have access to the virtual queue

• You cannot hold a Boarding Group for multiple attractions at the same time

• Although Walt Disney World does allow for park hopping throughout the day, you will only be able to join one virtual queue at a time, therefore you must choose between the two rides which one fits best into your day!

• On select nights there may be Extended Evening Hours offered to those guests staying at a Walt Disney World Deluxe resort. On those evenings guests may attempt to join the virtual queue at 6 p.m. from anywhere but of course valid admission to the select park is required

• Boarding Groups do not guarantee you will be able to ride. Unfortunately there are many different things that may occur throughout the day that makes it not possible for Disney to get through all boarding groups such as ride closures due to weather or technical difficulties

• If utilizing a Disability Access Service (DAS Pass) all members of the party must join a Boarding Group first and once the group has been called back you may speak to a cast member at the attraction who will provide information on how to utilize your pass

Once you have successfully joined a virtual queue you will receive your boarding group number as well as an estimated wait time. This wait time is just that, an estimate, meaning it may take longer or shorter than anticipated! Once your boarding group has been called to return to the attraction you'll have one hour to return. When you arrive at the attraction you will need your park ticket, MagicBand or MagicMobile Pass to enter. You will scan it at the entrance and the Mickey touchpoint will go green if you have returned back at the correct time!

Individual Lightning Lane
As these virtual queues can fill up quite quickly (often within seconds!) you can also choose to purchase an Individual Lightning Lane for these attractions. Unlike the virtual queue which is completely free of charge, the Individual Lightning Lanes are a separate cost. These can be purchased beginning at 7am for Walt Disney World resort guests and at the time of park opening for those day guests staying offsite. To purchase you will open the My Disney Experience app and head to the Tip Board and choose the park you will be visiting. Once there, scroll until you find either TRON Lightcycle/Run or Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind where you will then see the option to purchase your Individual Lightning Lane and the cost of it that day. These prices are date based and therefore change daily. In addition to this option having a fee associated with it, another difference between the Individual Lightning Lane and the Virtual Queue is that when you purchase the Individual Lightning Lane you will have the option to choose what time you’d like to ride as opposed to waiting for your boarding group to be called throughout the day. When you return at your allocated time, you will also use the separate Lightning Lane entrance to allow you to bypass the current line of those waiting to ride after being called back for the virtual queue. Even by using the virtual queue you could still possibly be waiting 45 minutes to an hour however, the Lightning Lane entrance will have you skip this portion using the separate entrance.

Please note that you can only join the virtual queue for each attraction once per day and you may only purchase an Individual Lightning Lane for each attraction once per day therefore, the maximum you can ride each of these offerings would be twice (if you were to utilize both systems!)

We have heard way too many horror stories about families who were not aware of the virtual queue system and therefore never got to enjoy an attraction they highly anticipated experiencing! We hope that this article has answered questions you may have about the Walt Disney World Virtual Queue systems. If you have any additional questions please reach out to your Pure Magic Vacations travel agent so they can ensure you are well prepared for your visit!

Our Pure Magic Vacations agents are ready to help make your next vacation magical and memorable. The magic is calling you, so reach out to an agent today  for a no-obligation quote.

Planning magical vacations for families since 2011, Pure Magic Vacations is an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner Travel Agency - EarMarked Platinum Producer.