Tiana’s Bayou Journey is the reimagined journey changing Splash Mountain in Frontierland. Walt Disney World has already introduced that the new attraction will use a digital queue throughout its preliminary opening days and can provide Genie+ line-skipping service. Whereas we view this information as largely constructive, Magic Kingdom nonetheless must make extra operational, Lightning Lane, further hours, and VQ modifications.
It is because Magic Kingdom would be the park with probably the most journey entry ‘quirks’ come June 28, 2024. As issues at the moment stand, it’ll be the one park with two digital queues. The one park with two Particular person Lightning Lane sights. The one park that doesn’t open all of its headliners for Early Entry. And so forth.
Magic Kingdom is ready to “get away with” these operational quirks as a result of it has the deepest journey roster. It’s the one park at Walt Disney World that approaches Disneyland by way of journey density, so even with some visitor unfriendly insurance policies and protocol, Magic Kingdom nonetheless isn’t practically as irritating as, say, Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Nonetheless, it might be good if the most well-liked theme park at Walt Disney World made a couple of extra modifications within the identify of the visitor expertise. Right here’s what we keep in mind…
Brief-Lived Digital Queue for Tiana’s Bayou Journey – When Tiana’s Bayou Journey opens on June 28, it should use a digital queue. Visitors can request to affix the digital queue through the My Disney Expertise app at one in every of two occasions: 7 a.m. or 1 p.m. Whereas a standby queue is not going to be obtainable throughout the attraction’s preliminary opening days, Walt Disney World expects to open a standby line quickly after the attraction’s opening.
This strongly suggests Tiana’s Bayou Journey gained’t have a digital queue for practically so long as another journey at Walt Disney World. Actually nothing like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, which is occurring two years of a VQ at this level. However the attraction’s “preliminary opening days” continues to be imprecise and open to interpretation.
Our guess is that that is extra just like the digital queue for Moana’s Journey of Water. (Do not forget that? You won’t as a result of it was so short-lived!) The apparent distinction between the 2 is that Tiana’s Bayou Journey is an precise journey–a reimagining of some of the widespread sights in all of Walt Disney World–whereas Moana’s Journey of Water is a walk-through. Not fairly the identical by way of demand.
Maybe a extra apt comparability is Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disneyland, which dropped its digital queue lower than a month after opening. In order that narrows down the vary from a couple of days to a few month for the Tiana’s Bayou Journey digital queue. Our guess is that the digital queue for Tiana’s Bayou Journey is retired by July 8, 2024 on the newest.
That is perhaps overly optimistic, however I actually don’t suppose so. Walt Disney World’s verbiage of “preliminary opening days” suggests it’s not lasting till August. That’s the beginning of the low season, so certainly it’ll be lengthy passed by then, proper? RIGHT?!?
Whereas we’re completely on board with a couple of days to per week or so of a digital queue to keep away from ~300 minute posted wait occasions, something greater than that borders on inflicting extra issues than it fixes. Right here’s hoping the TBA VQ could be very short-lived!
Dynamic Digital Queue for TBA – One of many classes discovered from the digital queue for Moana’s Journey of Water is that water-based sights aren’t as widespread as soon as the solar goes down. Actually, this wasn’t a brand new lesson. Splash Mountain and Kali River Rapids have existed at Walt Disney World for many years, and this dynamic has performed on the market for ages.
When it first opens, there will likely be no scarcity of demand for Tiana’s Bayou Journey in any respect hours of the day. It may very well be 11 p.m., and friends will nonetheless be returning to the digital queue. It helps that Magic Kingdom has so much to do and late June will likely be fairly scorching, even within the night.
However that gained’t final lengthy. I’d give it a few weeks, at most. Even in the summertime months, Splash Mountain had a lot shorter wait occasions at evening–as soon as there was no solar for a free “dry cycle.” If Tiana’s Bayou Journey does, for no matter motive, hold the digital queue after July 8, then Disney will want to make use of the digital queue dynamically, based mostly on demand. Now this is a lesson discovered from Moana’s Journey of Water, which used the digital queue throughout the daytime rush however provided open-access at evening.
Tiana’s Bayou Journey might want to do the identical factor if the digital queue lasts greater than per week. In any other case, there will likely be loads of offended friends who get shut out of the digital queue as a result of they didn’t have quick sufficient fingers to attain a spot throughout the millisecond it was open…solely to see the journey dispatching empty logs on the finish of the evening!
Open TBA for Prolonged Hours – Whereas Walt Disney World has introduced that Tiana’s Bayou Journey will use a digital queue throughout its preliminary opening days, they’ve been silent as to its standing throughout Prolonged Night Hours. This isn’t essentially trigger for concern, as different sights haven’t had VQ particulars revealed for Prolonged Night Hours till nearer to opening. So there’s nonetheless time for Tiana’s Bayou Journey.
Value noting is that the primary Prolonged Night Hours at Magic Kingdom after Tiana’s Bayou Journey opens isn’t scheduled till July 3, 2024. Our guess is that Walt Disney World will hold the digital queue in place throughout regular working hours by way of the Independence Day vacation weekend, dropping the VQ by July 8 (give or take).
That may imply that there’s at the very least that one Prolonged Night Hours when Tiana’s Bayou Journey may very well be utilizing a digital queue throughout daytime operations. In such eventualities, there would usually be a 6 p.m. digital queue entry time for Prolonged Night Hours. That’s at the moment how entry to TRON Lightcycle Run works throughout ExEH.
No matter how lengthy the digital queue lasts for Tiana’s Bayou Journey throughout the day, we hope that the journey is each open throughout Prolonged Night Hours and makes use of a standby line throughout the bonus time. Given the lessened reputation of water rides at evening, we predict this appears affordable. Even when the standby line finally ends up being lengthy, so what? Let individuals wait in lengthy traces in the event that they so need.
Downgrade Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare to Genie+ – This curler coaster is now a few decade previous, however stays highly regarded and its Particular person Lightning Lanes promote out with regularity. I don’t see circumstances altering between now and Past Massive Thunder to materially impression its reputation.
It’s additionally extra of a identified amount; much less refurbishment-intensive and climate dependent. That means Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare might proceed to promote out ILLs indefinitely on a extra constant foundation than Tiana’s Bayou Journey over the course of the following decade, not simply the following few years. Which might be why Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare is retaining its ILL standing and Tiana’s Bayou Journey is becoming a member of Genie.
Though ILLs would proceed to promote for Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare for years to return, the identical may very well be mentioned for the newer Slinky Canine Sprint at DHS, and but, that’s a Genie+ attraction. It’s additionally simply not a superb look to cost for a decade-old journey at a time when Walt Disney World is continually accused of being grasping. All issues thought-about, the secure and guest-friendly transfer is downgrading Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare.
Truthfully, Walt Disney World would possibly nonetheless come out forward transferring Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare to Genie. They may cost much more for the bundle and extra friends would purchase it because of the much more stacked journey roster. However from my perspective, this largely comes all the way down to pay-per-ride standing being extra palatable if it’s reserved for under the most recent and biggest journey in every park that’s in very excessive demand, however low provide. TRON Lightcycle Run suits the invoice, Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare doesn’t.
Drop TRON Lightcycle Run’s Digital Queue – The digital queue for TRON Lightcycle Run has worn out its usefulness and the attraction would now be higher served by a standby line. Not solely would this enhance effectivity (there are occasions when it dispatches empty seats very first thing within the morning or late at evening), nevertheless it’s the visitor pleasant factor to do.
And I say that as somebody who personally advantages tremendously from digital queues, so this attitude is towards my very own self-interest! I like digital queues as a result of I’m good at them. If you happen to’re studying this, you in all probability are, too. Digital queues are nice for individuals like us as a result of they perform equally to how free FastPass used to work–though the return traces have gotten worse this yr. At minimal, they’re extra environment friendly than ready in a standby line and/or are cheaper than shopping for an Particular person Lightning Lane.
I’m doing TRON Lightcycle Run and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind virtually each single time I go to Magic Kingdom or EPCOT–even on days which can be “only for enjoyable” with no technique or analysis agenda. The one different headliner attraction I journey as a lot as these two is Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare (can’t resist on the finish of the evening when it’s a walk-on). That almost all undoubtedly wouldn’t be true if the rides have been posting 90+ minute standby wait occasions–and each would however for the digital queue.
I do know I’m not alone on this. Loads of different Annual Passholders and locals who would in any other case balk at excessive standby wait occasions are doing Cosmic Rewind and TRON Lightcycle Run each single go to. The factor is that journey capability is a zero-sum recreation. If the digital queue is filling up with a bunch of APs and locals who would skip a 90-minute standby wait, these spots are coming on the expense of another person.
The “losers” are disproportionately first-timers and technology-averse friends. These individuals are typically oblivious to digital queues or unable to affix for no matter motive, however lots of them are prepared to attend in a protracted standby line. The ‘balking level’ is greater for them–they’ve by no means accomplished the journey and its advertising and marketing would possibly’ve been one of many causes they booked the Walt Disney World journey within the first place!
These are the very demographics that, for my part at the same time as a biased and self-interested Annual Passholder, Walt Disney World must be favoring. It’s in all probability higher for the sake of visitor satisfaction and creating new followers to make issues simpler for these individuals, and eradicating one layer of friction. At this level, there’s little compelling motive for TRON Lightcycle Run to nonetheless have a digital queue. Shift to standby, let it put up 90+ minute wait occasions, and folks will prioritize accordingly. And once more, that’s not the one profit–it might additionally improve effectivity within the evenings and mornings. Talking of which…
Open TRON Lightcycle Run Early – We’ve been saying for years now that Magic Kingdom is the worst park for Early Entry. The mixture of the 9 a.m. opening plus a restricted journey roster plus Walt Disney World’s hottest park is a recipe for crowds and surprisingly lengthy traces. I’ll have a full report quickly, however suffice to say, my most up-to-date Early Entry take a look at runs didn’t go so effectively.
There are a couple of doable fixes for this, however probably the most real looking one is working TRON Lightcycle Run throughout Early Entry. If it didn’t have a digital queue, it virtually definitely would function throughout Early Entry because it’s in Tomorrowland. Though it might induce some added demand, I’d hazard a guess that the additional capability could be a internet constructive, relieving strain on Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare and Area Mountain. That further half-hour additionally means extra friends might journey over the course of the day. It’s a win-win transfer.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What operational, Lightning Lane, further hours, VQ (and so on.) modifications would you prefer to see made in Magic Kingdom? Are you excited for the opening of Tiana’s Bayou Journey at Magic Kingdom? Glad that it’ll have a restricted time digital queue for the preliminary opening interval, or would you like a multi-hour standby line? What about TBA getting Genie+ standing versus an Particular person Lightning Lane? Do you agree or disagree with our recommendation? Any questions we can assist you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even whenever you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
