Walt Disney World has had several new attractions open over the last few years: Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, TRON Lightcycle/Run. And what do these attractions have in common? They use (or have used in the past) a Virtual Queue system in place of a regular standby line.
Currently, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT and the newly-opened TRON Lightcycle/Run at Magic Kingdom operate with the Virtual Queue system. Rather than wait in an actual line, you can join the virtual queue for these attractions using the MyDisneyExperience mobile app. Joining a virtual queue can be done by following these steps:
Beginning at 7am on the day of their park reservation, Guests (both those staying onsite or offsite) with a valid ticket and a Disney Park Pass Reservation for EPCOT or Magic Kingdom will be able to try for entry into the Virtual Queue via the MyDisneyExperience app. Open the app and click on the menu (the 3 stacked lines ☰) on the bottom right of the screen. From there, choose “Virtual Queues”, then click on “Join Virtual Queue”.
You’ll then choose TRON Lightcycle/Run OR Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and confirm your travel party (you can do this up to an hour before the Virtual Queue opens). About a minute before the Virtual Queue opens, you’ll want to repeatedly refresh your screen, by pressing the “Refresh” button on the screen or by pulling down on the screen with your finger to trigger the “pull to refresh” action on your phone. You’ll want to quickly refresh your screen in order for the “Join Virtual Queue” button to appear precisely at 7am. As soon as that button appears, press it as soon as possible!
If you are successful in joining the Virtual Queue, you will be assigned a Boarding Group. The MyDisneyExperience app will show you which Boarding Group number you’ve been given, as well as the estimated time it will take for your Boarding Group to be called. You can check the progress of your Boarding Group on the MyDisneyExperience app, but you will receive a push notification once your Boarding Group is called. You then have one hour in which to return to the attraction to ride!
At 1pm, there will be another opportunity to join the Virtual Queue for anyone who wasn’t able to join a boarding group earlier in the day.
In addition, Guests staying at a Disney World Deluxe Resort, Disney World Deluxe Villa Resort or other select hotels will have an additional opportunity to request to join the virtual queue at 6pm on select dates during Extended Evening Theme Park Hours! Guests with this benefit can request to join from anywhere, but will need valid admission and a theme park reservation for the same park on the same day to experience extended evening hours — or, guests may experience extended evening hours if they have a ticket or annual pass with the Park Hopper option and first enter the park where they made their reservation.
Virtual Queue FAQs:
Does it cost money to join the Virtual Queue? No, joining a virtual queue does not come with any additional cost.
Is joining a Virtual Queue the only way to ride TRON Lightcycle/Run or Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind? No, both of these attractions are available for Individual Lightning Lane purchase.
Can I join the Virtual Queue more than once? No, you’re only allowed to join an attraction’s virtual queue once, at either the 7am drop OR the 1pm drop. **The exception is for Guests who are eligible for Extended Evening Theme Park Hours! Those Guests can try for the 6pm virtual queue drop, even if they’ve already joined at 7am or 1pm.**
Can I join the Virtual Queue and purchase an Individual Lightning Lane for the same attraction on the same day? Yes, you absolutely can do this!
Do I need a Disney Parks Pass to join the Virtual Queue? For the first Virtual Queue opening at 7am, yes. You must have a valid Disney Park Pass reservation in order to join the queue. For the 1pm Virtual Queue opening, you only need to be in the park in order to join. Currently, Park Hopping starts at 2pm. So if you don’t have a Disney Parks Pass for either EPCOT or Magic Kingdom and want to hop there, you can see if there are any Boarding Groups available once you’ve entered the park after 2pm. For the 6pm Extended Evening Hours Virtual Queue opening, if you don’t have a Disney Parks Pass for EPCOT or Magic Kingdom, you’ll need to be able to park hop to that park (remember, you do have to first enter the park that you do have a reservation for before you’re able to hop to another park that day.)
Your A Time to Treasure Travel agent can answer any other questions you may have about using the Virtual Queue at Disney World!