Tiana’s Bayou Journey is the reimagined journey changing Splash Mountain in Frontierland. Walt Disney International has already introduced that the new enchantment will use a digital queue right through its preliminary opening days and can be offering Genie+ line-skipping provider. Whilst we view this information as most commonly sure, Magic Kingdom nonetheless must make extra operational, Lightning Lane, further hours, and VQ adjustments.
It’s because Magic Kingdom would be the park with probably the most journey entry ‘quirks’ come June 28, 2024. As issues these days stand, it’ll be the one park with two digital queues. The one park with two Particular person Lightning Lane points of interest. The one park that doesn’t open all of its headliners for Early Access. And so forth.
Magic Kingdom is in a position to “break out with” those operational quirks as it has the private journey roster. It’s the one park at Walt Disney International that approaches Disneyland when it comes to journey density, so even with some visitor unfriendly insurance policies and protocol, Magic Kingdom nonetheless isn’t just about as irritating as, say, Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Nonetheless, it might be great if the most well liked theme park at Walt Disney International made a couple of extra adjustments within the title of the visitor enjoy. Right here’s what we remember…
Brief-Lived Digital Queue for Tiana’s Bayou Journey – When Tiana’s Bayou Journey opens on June 28, it’ll use a digital queue. Visitors can request to sign up for the digital queue by the use of the My Disney Revel in app at one in every of two instances: 7 a.m. or 1 p.m. Whilst a standby queue may not be to be had right through the enchantment’s preliminary opening days, Walt Disney International expects to open a standby line quickly after the enchantment’s opening.
This strongly suggests Tiana’s Bayou Journey received’t have a digital queue for just about so long as some other journey at Walt Disney International. Unquestionably not anything like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, which is occurring two years of a VQ at this level. However the enchantment’s “preliminary opening days” remains to be obscure and open to interpretation.
Our wager is that that is extra just like the digital queue for Moana’s Adventure of Water. (Needless to say? You may no longer as it was once so short-lived!) The most obvious distinction between the 2 is that Tiana’s Bayou Journey is a real journey–a reimagining of probably the most well-liked points of interest in all of Walt Disney International–while Moana’s Adventure of Water is a walk-through. No longer relatively the similar when it comes to call for.
Possibly 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 variability from a couple of days to a couple of month for the Tiana’s Bayou Journey digital queue. Our wager is that the digital queue for Tiana’s Bayou Journey is retired through July 8, 2024 at the newest.
That could be overly positive, however I actually don’t assume so. Walt Disney International’s verbiage of “preliminary opening days” suggests it’s no longer lasting till August. That’s the beginning of the low season, so for sure it’ll be lengthy long gone through then, proper? RIGHT?!?
Whilst we’re primarily on board with a couple of days to every week or so of a digital queue to steer clear of ~300 minute posted wait instances, anything else greater than that borders on inflicting extra issues than it fixes. Right here’s hoping the TBA VQ may be very short-lived!
Dynamic Digital Queue for TBA – Some of the courses discovered from the digital queue for Moana’s Adventure of Water is that water-based points of interest don’t seem to be as well-liked as soon as the solar is going down. In point of fact, this wasn’t a brand new lesson. Splash Mountain and Kali River Rapids have existed at Walt Disney International for many years, and this dynamic has performed available in the market for ages.
When it first opens, there can be no scarcity of call for for Tiana’s Bayou Journey in any respect hours of the day. It may well be 11 p.m., and visitors will nonetheless be returning to the digital queue. It is helping that Magic Kingdom has so much to do and overdue June can be lovely scorching, even within the night time.
However that received’t ultimate lengthy. I’d give it a few weeks, at maximum. Even in the summertime months, Splash Mountain had a lot shorter wait instances at night time–as soon as there was once no solar for a unfastened “dry cycle.” If Tiana’s Bayou Journey does, for no matter reason why, stay the digital queue after July 8, then Disney will want to make use of the digital queue dynamically, in response to call for. Now this is a lesson discovered from Moana’s Adventure of Water, which used the digital queue right through the sunlight hours rush however presented open-access at night time.
Tiana’s Bayou Journey will wish to do the similar factor if the digital queue lasts greater than every week. Differently, there can be a large number of offended visitors who get close out of the digital queue as a result of they didn’t have rapid sufficient hands to attain a place right through the millisecond it was once open…best to look the journey dispatching empty logs on the finish of the night time!
Open TBA for Prolonged Hours – Whilst Walt Disney International has introduced that Tiana’s Bayou Journey will use a digital queue right through its preliminary opening days, they’ve been silent as to its standing right through Prolonged Night Hours. This isn’t essentially purpose for fear, as different points of interest haven’t had VQ main points published for Prolonged Night Hours till nearer to opening. So there’s nonetheless time for Tiana’s Bayou Journey.
Price 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 International will stay the digital queue in position right through commonplace running hours in the course of the Independence Day vacation weekend, shedding the VQ through July 8 (give or take).
That might imply that there’s a minimum of that one Prolonged Night Hours when Tiana’s Bayou Journey may well be the use of a digital queue right through sunlight hours operations. In such situations, there would in most cases be a 6 p.m. digital queue access time for Prolonged Night Hours. That’s these days how entry to TRON Lightcycle Run works right through ExEH.
Irrespective of how lengthy the digital queue lasts for Tiana’s Bayou Journey right through the day, we are hoping that the journey is each open right through Prolonged Night Hours and makes use of a standby line right through the bonus time. Given the lessened approval for water rides at night time, we expect this turns out cheap. Even though the standby line finally ends up being lengthy, so what? Let other folks wait in lengthy traces in the event that they so need.
Downgrade Seven Dwarfs Mine Educate to Genie+ – This curler coaster is now a couple of decade outdated, however stays highly regarded and its Particular person Lightning Lanes promote out with regularity. I don’t see cases converting between now and Past Large Thunder to materially have an effect on its reputation.
It’s additionally extra of a identified amount; much less refurbishment-intensive and climate dependent. Which means Seven Dwarfs Mine Educate may just proceed to promote out ILLs indefinitely on a extra constant foundation than Tiana’s Bayou Journey over the process the following decade, no longer simply the following few years. Which is most probably why Seven Dwarfs Mine Educate is preserving its ILL standing and Tiana’s Bayou Journey is becoming a member of Genie.
Even supposing ILLs would proceed to promote for Seven Dwarfs Mine Educate for future years, the similar may well be stated for the more moderen Slinky Canine Sprint at DHS, and but, that’s a Genie+ enchantment. It’s additionally simply no longer a excellent glance to fee for a decade-old journey at a time when Walt Disney International is continuously accused of being grasping. All issues regarded as, the secure and guest-friendly transfer is downgrading Seven Dwarfs Mine Educate.
Truthfully, Walt Disney International would possibly nonetheless pop out forward shifting Seven Dwarfs Mine Educate to Genie. They may fee much more for the package deal and extra visitors would purchase it due to the much more stacked journey roster. However from my standpoint, this most commonly comes right down to pay-per-ride standing being extra palatable if it’s reserved for best the newest and largest journey in every park this is in very prime call for, however low provide. TRON Lightcycle Run suits the invoice, Seven Dwarfs Mine Educate does no longer.
Drop TRON Lightcycle Run’s Digital Queue – The digital queue for TRON Lightcycle Run has wiped out its usefulness and the enchantment would now be higher served through a standby line. No longer best would this enhance potency (there are occasions when it dispatches empty seats very first thing within the morning or overdue at night time), however it’s the visitor pleasant factor to do.
And I say that as any person who individually advantages drastically from digital queues, so this standpoint is in opposition to my very own self-interest! I love digital queues as a result of I’m excellent at them. In case you’re studying this, you almost certainly are, too. Digital queues are nice for other folks like us as a result of they serve as in a similar fashion to how unfastened FastPass used to paintings–despite the fact that the go back traces have got worse this yr. At minimal, they’re extra environment friendly than ready in a standby line and/or are inexpensive than purchasing an Particular person Lightning Lane.
I’m doing TRON Lightcycle Run and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind nearly each unmarried time I talk over with Magic Kingdom or EPCOT–even on days which can be “only for a laugh” and not using a technique or analysis schedule. The one different headliner enchantment I journey up to the ones two is Seven Dwarfs Mine Educate (can’t face up to on the finish of the night time when it’s a walk-on). That almost all indubitably would no longer be true if the rides had been posting 90+ minute standby wait instances–and each would however for the digital queue.
I do know I’m no longer on my own on this. Numerous different Annual Passholders and locals who would another way cringe at prime standby wait instances are doing Cosmic Rewind and TRON Lightcycle Run each unmarried talk over with. The object is that journey capability is a zero-sum sport. If the digital queue is filling up with a host of APs and locals who would skip a 90-minute standby wait, the ones spots are coming on the expense of any person else.
The “losers” are disproportionately first-timers and technology-averse visitors. Those persons are continuously oblivious to digital queues or not able to sign up for for no matter reason why, however lots of them are prepared to attend in a protracted standby line. The ‘balking level’ is upper for them–they’ve by no means executed the journey and its advertising would possibly’ve been one of the crucial causes they booked the Walt Disney International travel within the first position!
Those are the very demographics that, for my part at the same time as a biased and self-interested Annual Passholder, Walt Disney International must be favoring. It’s most probably higher for the sake of visitor pleasure and growing new enthusiasts to make issues more straightforward for those other folks, and casting off one layer of friction. At this level, there’s little compelling reason why for TRON Lightcycle Run to nonetheless have a digital queue. Shift to standby, let it put up 90+ minute wait instances, and other folks will prioritize accordingly. And once more, that’s no longer the one get advantages–it might additionally build up potency within the evenings and mornings. Talking of which…
Open TRON Lightcycle Run Early – We’ve been pronouncing for years now that Magic Kingdom is the worst park for Early Access. The combo of the 9 a.m. opening plus a restricted journey roster plus Walt Disney International’s hottest park is a recipe for crowds and strangely lengthy traces. I’ll have a complete document quickly, however suffice to mention, my most up-to-date Early Access take a look at runs didn’t cross so neatly.
There are a couple of imaginable fixes for this, however probably the most lifelike one is operating TRON Lightcycle Run right through Early Access. If it didn’t have a digital queue, it nearly undoubtedly would function right through Early Access because it’s in Tomorrowland. Even supposing it might induce some added call for, I’d danger a wager that the additional capability could be a web sure, relieving drive on Seven Dwarfs Mine Educate and House Mountain. That further half-hour additionally approach extra visitors may just journey over the process the day. It’s a win-win transfer.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What operational, Lightning Lane, further hours, VQ (and many others.) adjustments do you want to look made in Magic Kingdom? Are you excited for the outlet of Tiana’s Bayou Journey at Magic Kingdom? Happy that it’ll have a restricted time digital queue for the preliminary opening length, or would you like a multi-hour standby line? What about TBA getting Genie+ standing versus an Particular person Lightning Lane? Do you settle or disagree with our recommendation? Any questions we will mean you can solution? Listening to your comments–even while you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please proportion your ideas under within the feedback!
