Does anyone know when they stop admitting VQ guests for GOTG EEH?

[starkid]

For some reason, I thought EEH were more than just two hours, and I made a huge deal to stay at a deluxe resort on Monday so that we would have them before realizing that it is, in fact, just two more hours.

We are finally taking my niece to WDW for the first time after Covid postponed our initial first trip with her years ago. We are getting her a pass and do plan to return later in the year but I would be lying if I said there weren't certain things I wanted her to experience on this first trip. One of them is fantasmic but the showing is at 9:30...with EEH obviously ending at 11.

Is there any hope of doing fantasmic and making it in time to ride JUST guardians? Do they stop admitting people at 11 PM, or do they have to be through the line at 11? I feel confident we could make it to the line by 10:45 PM but obviously only just. This is assuming of course we got a boarding group but I'm pretty confident we will be able to get one. Also, if it makes any difference, we have DAS, so I believe would be using the lightning lane? (I've never done EEH so I"m not sure).

My niece absolutely loves guardians (the movie/characters) so I was hoping to let her experience the ride as much as possible that day by getting a 7 am or 1 pm VQ, ILL, and then the 6 PM VQ. But it's also the only night (this trip) she'd be able to see the show. So in an ideal world we could manage both but I'm wondering if we should just give up on EEH now. It just stinks because I'm not sure when we'll ever stay at a deluxe again, so it feels like a waste of the perk

Also, if anyone has tips on how we should get there most efficiently/quickly.. walking? skyliner? uber? maybe even minnie van : $

 

[scrappinginontario]

With Disney attractions you need to enter the queue at least 1 min before park closure so you would have until 10:59 to join the queue.

I will say, it will likely be tight unless you are willing to walk from Fantasmic to Guardians. You will likely be able to make it using Disney transportation but there is no guarantee and everything would need to run perfectly.

Fantasmic has a run time of 30 mins which means you'll be in the theatre until at least 10PM. After that you need to make your way out of the theatre which is extremely crowded so movement is slow. You will exit DHS then join the long queue for the Skyliner along with many others who are leaving, unless you choose to walk. You will need to take 2 Skyliner rides which take approx 5-6 mins to get to CBR, line up again, approx 15-20 mins to get to Epcot then you will need to go through security and park entrance then walk to guardians which is approx a 10 min walk.

You could also try to take a Friendship Boat to Epcot but again the lines for those will be extremely long so you may need to wait for additional boat(s) before leaving DHS.

So, is it doable? Yes but, there are a number of factors that could mean you do not arrive at GotG in time to join the queue by 10:59.

 

[Mle8308]

With Disney attractions you need to enter the queue at least 1 min before park closure so you would have until 10:59 to join the queue.

I will say, it will likely be tight unless you are willing to walk from Fantasmic to Guardians. You will likely be able to make it using Disney transportation but there is no guarantee and everything would need to run perfectly.

Fantasmic has a run time of 30 mins which means you'll be in the theatre until at least 10PM. After that you need to make your way out of the theatre which is extremely crowded so movement is slow. You will exit DHS then join the long queue for the Skyliner along with many others who are leaving, unless you choose to walk. You will need to take 2 Skyliner rides which take approx 5-6 mins to get to CBR, line up again, approx 15-20 mins to get to Epcot then you will need to go through security and park entrance then walk to guardians which is approx a 10 min walk.

You could also try to take a Friendship Boat to Epcot but again the lines for those will be extremely long so you may need to wait for additional boat(s) before leaving DHS.

So, is it doable? Yes but, there are a number of factors that could mean you do not arrive at GotG in time to join the queue by 10:59.

All of this! Plus, unfortunately, there is no guarantee you would get a VQ, they go quickly at 6pm.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

For some reason, I thought EEH were more than just two hours, and I made a huge deal to stay at a deluxe resort on Monday so that we would have them before realizing that it is, in fact, just two more hours.

We are finally taking my niece to WDW for the first time after Covid postponed our initial first trip with her years ago. We are getting her a pass and do plan to return later in the year but I would be lying if I said there weren't certain things I wanted her to experience on this first trip. One of them is fantasmic but the showing is at 9:30...with EEH obviously ending at 11.

Is there any hope of doing fantasmic and making it in time to ride JUST guardians? Do they stop admitting people at 11 PM, or do they have to be through the line at 11? I feel confident we could make it to the line by 10:45 PM but obviously only just. This is assuming of course we got a boarding group but I'm pretty confident we will be able to get one. Also, if it makes any difference, we have DAS, so I believe would be using the lightning lane? (I've never done EEH so I"m not sure).

My niece absolutely loves guardians (the movie/characters) so I was hoping to let her experience the ride as much as possible that day by getting a 7 am or 1 pm VQ, ILL, and then the 6 PM VQ. But it's also the only night (this trip) she'd be able to see the show. So in an ideal world we could manage both but I'm wondering if we should just give up on EEH now. It just stinks because I'm not sure when we'll ever stay at a deluxe again, so it feels like a waste of the perk

Also, if anyone has tips on how we should get there most efficiently/quickly.. walking? skyliner? uber? maybe even minnie van : $

Over the years we have managed a few crazy things like this. Other times, something held us up and it didn't work out.
One time, we were in the preshow room of TT when our 1 hour Fastpass for Toy Story Mania started. We made it through TT, and all the way to TSM, but just barely.

A bit it depends how briskly you are able to walk, and if you are able to keep that brisk pace all the way there.

Odds are good you'll get one of the daytime VQ, but even there....We once planned to be in Epcot before 1pm, but got held up. So with WDW, you never know.

I don't know how DAS impacts your odds, but the 6pm VQ often goes VERY quickly. Sometimes we have been lucky, but not always. Once, just as I was about to click on it, a CM started talking to me, and just looking up for one second cost us getting the VQ.

I didn't want to be THAT person glued to my phone, but argh!

In theory, uber timing might be faster if timing was perfect, but walking is probably most reliable. Google maps can give you an estimate, but much depends on walking pace. As the end of Fantasmic, you will probably have to wait a while for a vehicle. The drive between parks is only about 10 min, so much depends how quickly you can get in a car.

IF it were me, I'd spend the two hours in Epcot. In your situation, I'd ask niece what she wants to do. If weather is nice, you can do a lot of attractions in those two hours.

 

[starkid]

With Disney attractions you need to enter the queue at least 1 min before park closure so you would have until 10:59 to join the queue.

I will say, it will likely be tight unless you are willing to walk from Fantasmic to Guardians. You will likely be able to make it using Disney transportation but there is no guarantee and everything would need to run perfectly.

Fantasmic has a run time of 30 mins which means you'll be in the theatre until at least 10PM. After that you need to make your way out of the theatre which is extremely crowded so movement is slow. You will exit DHS then join the long queue for the Skyliner along with many others who are leaving, unless you choose to walk. You will need to take 2 Skyliner rides which take approx 5-6 mins to get to CBR, line up again, approx 15-20 mins to get to Epcot then you will need to go through security and park entrance then walk to guardians which is approx a 10 min walk.

You could also try to take a Friendship Boat to Epcot but again the lines for those will be extremely long so you may need to wait for additional boat(s) before leaving DHS.

So, is it doable? Yes but, there are a number of factors that could mean you do not arrive at GotG in time to join the queue by 10:59.

This is the exact answer I needed, thank you! I know that a lot of it is *in the air*, but I just needed to know if it was possible at all. I wasn't sure if they cut the guardians line earlier since it's a VQ. After more thought though, I do think it adds a lot of unnecessary stress, and I'm not even sure my niece would be able to enjoy the show after after such a long day anyway, so it might be better to wait until next time and take advantage of our EEH instead. Thank you for your reply!

 

[starkid]

Over the years we have managed a few crazy things like this. Other times, something held us up and it didn't work out.
One time, we were in the preshow room of TT when our 1 hour Fastpass for Toy Story Mania started. We made it through TT, and all the way to TSM, but just barely.

A bit it depends how briskly you are able to walk, and if you are able to keep that brisk pace all the way there.

Odds are good you'll get one of the daytime VQ, but even there....We once planned to be in Epcot before 1pm, but got held up. So with WDW, you never know.

I don't know how DAS impacts your odds, but the 6pm VQ often goes VERY quickly. Sometimes we have been lucky, but not always. Once, just as I was about to click on it, a CM started talking to me, and just looking up for one second cost us getting the VQ.

I didn't want to be THAT person glued to my phone, but argh!

In theory, uber timing might be faster if timing was perfect, but walking is probably most reliable. Google maps can give you an estimate, but much depends on walking pace. As the end of Fantasmic, you will probably have to wait a while for a vehicle. The drive between parks is only about 10 min, so much depends how quickly you can get in a car.

IF it were me, I'd spend the two hours in Epcot. In your situation, I'd ask niece what she wants to do. If weather is nice, you can do a lot of attractions in those two hours.

The craziest thing I can think of is once at California Adventure, we had been trying to meet Loki all day but the line kept getting cut off before we could make it. Then finally right before close we saw him right next to web shooters which was also happed to be our last ride/LL of the day. But simultaneously as we were walking over to him, web shooters went down and gave us a redeemable ride. It was literally 4 minutes to closing but we somehow had our m&g with Loki and BOOKED it to guardians with like seconds to spare. The people at the end were literally clapping for us LOL. They recognized us because we had a service dog with us but also because we had been on it seven times that day. If only that were possible with CW..

The more I thought about it though, I think we will just sit out Fantasmic. I feel like it's just too much rushing in one day and I think trying to do it all will make it less enjoyable. If we don't get the 6 PM virtual queue then maybe we'll change our minds because I feel like there's not that much else we care about there (that's open for EEH, anyway). I've had pretty good luck with the 7 AM one thus far, and our trip is a projected low crowds day, so fingers crossed!

To answer your question about DAS though, it doesn't improve odds for VQ at all. You have to already have a spot in the VQ to use it. Once you get to the ride, having DAS just allows you to use the lightning lane line

 

[starkid]

All of this! Plus, unfortunately, there is no guarantee you would get a VQ, they go quickly at 6pm.

True, I'm definitely keeping that in mind! I've had pretty good luck with the 7 AM one in much busier times though so keeping my fingers crossed!! Regardless we have already. budgeted for ILL as well so we will at least for sure get to go once that day.