Am I the only one who's not a fan of VQ only?

[saraheliz]

Me personally? I don't mind the VQ, we've been able to nab every one we've tried for and only once did we wait maybe 30-40 minutes for GotG.
But it's definitely not a "fair" system in terms of people being aware it's their only option for a ride without paying extra on top of their park ticket for an ILL. I know, I know, people should research and plan ahead and be able to try to get the VQ but I also don't think it's too outrageous that someone should walk into a theme park they've paid a lot of money to get into and expect to have the *option* to ride every ride there for the price of a ticket. And there are people who will buy a ticket to WDW that just don't have the capacity to understand the full breadth of how to get a VQ. If that's their only day at that park, then they're out of luck if they can't spend the extra money. That feels kind of rotten to me. My daughter went to WDW with her band in 2022 and there were no VQ then but they were handed their tickets walking into MK their first day. My daughter's group had the advantage of having her to get them through the parks and know strategy without G+ etc but when my younger daughter goes in 2026? Most of those kids won't have any idea and it's going to suck when they can't ride rides because of a VQ (and parents having no idea they need to research a band trip their kid is going on). And unless they lied when they made their MDE account, they had no way to buy anything either because of their age (my daughter's friend did lie so I bought them all an ILL to ride FoP so they didn't spend 3 hours in line but most people don't have that level of knowledge for WDW and trip they aren't going on).

 

[HopperFan]

I don’t believe anyone mentioned a desire to wait in lines for hours.

I'll be the first to admit I'm not paying super close attention to the new upcoming changes, except it's clear the new lightning lane stuff is just paid fastpass. What I'm starting to see tho is bothering me a lot, how can a ride have a VQ only option? What about people who don't have the technology to try for this? It just seems so unbalanced, that there isn't a standby option at all.... I guess Guardians has been like this for quite a while, but it seems so unfair in general. I don't mind trying for a VQ, but why not provide a standby option if that failed and I didn't mind waiting in a line?

OP wants a standby line added to some of the most popular rides at WDW which would equate to hours of standing in line for it. Other posters agreed they'd like a standby option .... yet it would create long bogged down lines. * While few people wouldn't mind overall it isn't good for Disney or most Guests. What OP didn't add that there is an option is paying for LL. I often pay for LL to enjoy a ride I really like ... GoG. Tron ... DS#2 has paid for us to do it but I wouldn't.

* It works for FoP because there isn't enough to do in that park anyway for most so line keeps them occupied. That is sad.

What we’re missing is the option to wait in the shortest lines of the day, often for mulitple rides with very little wait.

I don't even understand what this means. Why can't you enter the short lines and ride with little wait? We do it.

 

[dez1978]

What about people who don't have the technology to try for this?

If they don't have the tech for a VQ they also can't do the genie or ILL. And honestly, I don't think it applies to many disney going families where at least one of the party doesn't have a smart phone. Before G+ it was FP+ and you needed a smart phone for that too. So needing the tech isn't a new thing.

 

[focusondisney]

I don't even understand what this means. Why can't you enter the short lines and ride with little wait? We do it.

They’re saying they can’t do it because the ride has a VQ only. Rides with VQ don’t let you do that unless you have a boarding pass. So the rides that currently have only VQ would have short, 20 minute lines just before closing if they had no VQ. So they could get in line for GOTG just before closing & ride with almost no wait. Coz the 3 - 4 hour wait from all day would magically disappear at 8:45 pm.

 

[HopperFan]

They’re saying they can’t do it because the ride has a VQ only. Rides with VQ don’t let you do that unless you have a boarding pass. So the rides that currently have only VQ would have short, 20 minute lines just before closing if they had no VQ. So they could get in line for GOTG just before closing & ride with almost no wait. Coz the 3 - 4 hour wait from all day would magically disappear at 8:45 pm.

Oh ... but I think that is wishful thinking. If there were standby for those rides - they will be crushed at opening, maybe worse than Rise, standby would be full all day and then at the end of day everyone would have the plan to rush there and try to get on. Tron especially folks want to ride at night.

 

[focusondisney]

Oh ... but I think that is wishful thinking. If there were standby for those rides - they will be crushed at opening, maybe worse than Rise, standby would be full all day and then at the end of day everyone would have the plan to rush there and try to get on. Tron especially folks want to ride at night.

Exactly!

 

[peteykirch]

VQs are a complete failure when you get called back and you still have to wait 30+ minutes.

The entire point of the VQ is you do your waiting outside the queue line and are able to do other things, and then once called you get directly onto the ride with minimal wait.

 

[cmbr]

VQs are a complete failure when you get called back and you still have to wait 30+ minutes.

The entire point of the VQ is you do your waiting outside the queue line and are able to do other things, and then once called you get directly onto the ride with minimal wait.

Disney would have to be calling way fewer boarding groups at a time for shorter periods if they wanted to cut out waiting in line for a VQ ride near entirely, and I can't say I think that would be feasible. Because you never know exactly when your boarding group will be called, they have to allow those groups time to actually get to the ride; and to cut the standing wait but still provide enough time for people to return for their boarding group, they'd have to put WAY fewer people through the ride in total. I get that it's annoying, but the way I think of Disney's VQs is more waiting in a virtual line to get into a physical line that will be 30ish minutes rather than 2 or 3 hours.

 

[HopperFan]

VQs are a complete failure when you get called back and you still have to wait 30+ minutes.

The entire point of the VQ is you do your waiting outside the queue line and are able to do other things, and then once called you get directly onto the ride with minimal wait.

Totally disagree!

With a VQ you can still ride any ride Standby, ride with Genie+, ride with ILL, dine, shop, watch a show, sleep, swim .... Your VQ is not waiting in a line outside of a line, it is more of a floating reservation to get in line ~ a short line.

The beauty is that a VERY POPULAR ride that would have hours long waits is now only 15 (GoG) to 30 minutes (TRON) wait when you enter the line.

Disney would have to be calling way fewer boarding groups at a time for shorter periods if they wanted to cut out waiting in line for a VQ ride near entirely, and I can't say I think that would be feasible. Because you never know exactly when your boarding group will be called, they have to allow those groups time to actually get to the ride; and to cut the standing wait but still provide enough time for people to return for their boarding group, they'd have to put WAY fewer people through the ride in total. I get that it's annoying, but the way I think of Disney's VQs is more waiting in a virtual line to get into a physical line that will be 30ish minutes rather than 2 or 3 hours.

THIS^

 

[scrappinginontario]

VQs are a complete failure when you get called back and you still have to wait 30+ minutes.

The entire point of the VQ is you do your waiting outside the queue line and are able to do other things, and then once called you get directly onto the ride with minimal wait.

The point of a VQ is to wait the majority of your time other places then have a shorter wait once you arrive.

If you want the shortest wait then Disney offers ILL$ (Guardians, Tron) for this.

Guardians uses VQ to assist guests to wait less in the standby line but, there will be a standby line unless you pay for ILL$.

 

[saraheliz]

If they don't have the tech for a VQ they also can't do the genie or ILL. And honestly, I don't think it applies to many disney going families where at least one of the party doesn't have a smart phone. Before G+ it was FP+ and you needed a smart phone for that too. So needing the tech isn't a new thing.

But it *does* apply to any kids on a school trip who are too young to buy Genie + even if they set up their own account, and who perhaps don't get their tickets until they're physically there.

 

[DisneyFive]

You are not alone OP. There a lot of folks that loathe the VQ system.

It's worked well for us, but I can say that I DO NOT like waking up at 7am on vacation to do it. When G+ was around it wasn't so bad because you forced to be up anyway, but now that MPLL is rolling out getting up at 7am for VQ is the new evil.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Oh ... but I think that is wishful thinking. If there were standby for those rides - they will be crushed at opening, maybe worse than Rise, standby would be full all day and then at the end of day everyone would have the plan to rush there and try to get on. Tron especially folks want to ride at night.

I don't believe that this is entirely accurate. I do believe that these attractions would be crushed at opening, which is specifically why we don't arrive early. It just seems to crowded and stressful for us.

Evenings are a different matter though. Disney has processes in place to discourage late night riders and they work very well. Historically, even the most popular rides have had very manageable waits close to closing time and I don't see why these would be any different. Many guests simply see the intentionally inflated wait times, give up and head somewhere else.

Personal examples are Seven Dwarfs Mine Train with a 20 minute wait during opening week. Flight of Passage with a 15 minute wait less than 2 months after it opened. Rise of the Resistance with a 20 minute wait shortly after it went from VQ to standby. Toy Story Mania with a 15 minute wait during the summer it opened. These situations would allow for multiple rerides within the last hour of operation, which of course isn't possible with VQ. We've been doing this for a long time and this strategy hasn't failed us yet.

And as I've mentioned before, it's the fear that it won't work is what makes a late night plan so successful.

 

[HopperFan]

Personal examples are Seven Dwarfs Mine Train with a 20 minute wait during opening week. Flight of Passage with a 15 minute wait less than 2 months after it opened. Rise of the Resistance with a 20 minute wait shortly after it went from VQ to standby. Toy Story Mania with a 15 minute wait during the summer it opened. These situations would allow for multiple rerides within the last hour of operation, which of course isn't possible with VQ. We've been doing this for a long time and this strategy hasn't failed us yet.

And as I've mentioned before, it's the fear that it won't work is what makes a late night plan so successful.

Disagree.

Your examples at this point are older rides with no thrill aspect. Tron and Guardians are about as thrilling as Disney gets and they are going to be very popular for the long haul. They are going to be popular with lots of dynamics of guests, and factor in locals and Cast Members who only pop in for a few hours just to ride these.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Disagree.

Your examples at this point are older rides with no thrill aspect. Tron and Guardians are about as thrilling as Disney gets and they are going to be very popular for the long haul. They are going to be popular with lots of dynamics of guests, and factor in locals and Cast Members who only pop in for a few hours just to ride these.

But they were the most popular rides at the time, with multiple hour waits throughout the day. My examples were from when they were the hottest things in town. In the summer of 2008, Members on this board who had just waited 3 hours to ride Toy Story once couldn't believe that others could ride it 4 times in under an hour just by waiting until later in the day.

I stand by the fact the Disney knows how to discourage late riders, and those evening waits would be nowhere near what they appear to be.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

They’re saying they can’t do it because the ride has a VQ only. Rides with VQ don’t let you do that unless you have a boarding pass. So the rides that currently have only VQ would have short, 20 minute lines just before closing if they had no VQ. So they could get in line for GOTG just before closing & ride with almost no wait. Coz the 3 - 4 hour wait from all day would magically disappear at 8:45 pm.

Those long waits actually do disappear late into the evening. You just have to understand the crowd patterns, the line stacking techniques, the posting of intentionally inflated wait times, etc. I guess it is kind of like magic, but as long as it works we'll keep doing it.

 

[DisneyFive]

I do agree that the thrilling rides, in general, hold the most repeatability and tend to hold their demand and status as tier 1 the longest. There are exceptions to everything but the ones we keep going back to over and over at the ones that give you that excitement.

BTMRR, Space, Expedition Everest, FOP, Guardians, TOT, RnRC, ROTR, etc...

I also agree that if you want to have the shortest standby (if they offer it) either get the park super early and beeline it over there or do it right before park close. Having said that we got screwed one time for ROTR. We were there a full 12 minutes prior to park close and they wouldn't let us in standby despite the ride being up and running. That was a one-off occurrence though

 

[kylenne]

The point of a VQ is to wait the majority of your time other places then have a shorter wait once you arrive.

If you want the shortest wait then Disney offers ILL$ (Guardians, Tron) for this.

Guardians uses VQ to assist guests to wait less in the standby line but, there will be a standby line unless you pay for ILL$.

I find that the physical VQ wait is subject to a kind of snowball effect. The higher your group, the more people are cycling in before you, and the longer the physical line is going to be. If you're able to pull off the speed strategies to get called in one of the first groups, they're basically walk ons. Granted, I realize that's not possible for everyone to do--I have 35 years of gamer reflexes and even then there's an element of luck with your connection and the app behaving. But it is possible to guarantee walking into preshows, because I have it down to a science.

I totally understand the arguments that VQs are frustrating for the average low info guest though, and I generally agree with them. But I really don't see how insane standby waits for the most popular attractions is ultimately any better an experience for those folks. And tbh the "it's dumb that you still have to wait in a physical line" argument is similar to the "why get up so early just to wait in a line to get in for Early Entry so that you don't have to wait in lines for rides" one we hear often from people. They don't realize the waiting is done strategically (eg. not wasting valuable park time, freeing yourself to do other things) and that's what ultimately saves you time.

Those long waits actually do disappear late into the evening. You just have to understand the crowd patterns, the line stacking techniques, the posting of intentionally inflated wait times, etc. I guess it is kind of like magic, but as long as it works we'll keep doing it.

Not always, and I'm someone who understands all that and goes more often than you do. If a ride has experienced an extended period of downtime that tends to inflate the line at the end of the night, because people who couldn't ride it earlier flood the standby queue. I have found Slinky Dog for instance a 40 minute actual wait at park close because of that. FoP is the only ride I would say is a safe bet for the "end of the night" strategy because of how consistently reliable it is. Mine Train too ime, if only because it's a family coaster and the target Fantasyland demographic usually can't hang that late. Rise is the absolute worst one to try it on given its reliability issues, I would not chalk any success with it as super smart planning so much as dumb luck working in your favor. And that's not something I feel comfortable telling infrequent guests to rely on, if I'm real.

It's a moot point though imo because Tron would almost certainly flout all of this conventional strategizing wisdom because of the unique factor of being a thrill ride that pretty much everyone agrees is a better experience at night. I know whenever I buy ILL for Tron I always select evening times to guarantee at least 1 ride at night. It's the same reason they strictly enforce the return window there for BGs, unlike Guardians. The meta would absolutely be jump in line at the end of the night. I think the line would still be much shorter than during the day, but it's imo a bit delusional to think you would be waiting less than 20 to ride that in standby at park close.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Not always, and I'm someone who understands all that and goes more often than you do. If a ride has experienced an extended period of downtime that tends to inflate the line at the end of the night, because people who couldn't ride it earlier flood the standby queue. I have found Slinky Dog for instance a 40 minute actual wait at park close because of that. FoP is the only ride I would say is a safe bet for the "end of the night" strategy because of how consistently reliable it is. Mine Train too ime, if only because it's a family coaster and the target Fantasyland demographic usually can't hang that late. Rise is the absolute worst one to try it on given its reliability issues, I would not chalk any success with it as super smart planning so much as dumb luck working in your favor. And that's not something I feel comfortable telling infrequent guests to rely on, if I'm real.

It's a moot point though imo because Tron would almost certainly flout all of this conventional strategizing wisdom because of the unique factor of being a thrill ride that pretty much everyone agrees is a better experience at night. I know whenever I buy ILL for Tron I always select evening times to guarantee at least 1 ride at night. It's the same reason they strictly enforce the return window there for BGs, unlike Guardians. The meta would absolutely be jump in line at the end of the night. I think the line would still be much shorter than during the day, but it's imo a bit delusional to think you would be waiting less than 20 to ride that in standby at park close.

Bless your heart. You lost me at "dumb luck".

 

[hsmamato2]

But it's definitely not a "fair" system in terms of people being aware it's their only option for a ride without paying extra on top of their park ticket for an ILL. I know, I know, people should research and plan ahead and be able to try to get the VQ but I also don't think it's too outrageous that someone should walk into a theme park they've paid a lot of money to get into and expect to have the *option* to ride every ride there for the price of a ticket. And there are people who will buy a ticket to WDW that just don't have the capacity to understand the full breadth of how to get a VQ. If that's their only day at that park, then they're out of luck if they can't spend the extra money. That feels kind of rotten to me.

I think this is what I'm thinking..... Paying a fee to get in,I feel like it should be an option to ride any ride in the park. Not everyone will understand the VQ only thing before they go (it's kind of nuts) and if you could potentially go on any ride (even if it meant a long wait in SB) it would level the playing field. Me personally I'd still use the (hated) technology to ensure a ride time, but I think of the unfairness of being completely shut out of something.