Single Rider wait times

[MacMama0930]

My dad and I are heading down to DLR on Sunday (whoo hoo!). We were just there last month and I think I have the fast pass system mastered. This time, though, Our days are more limited and we won't be arriving on Sunday until 2, so some FP may have ran out by then. We will have Sunday afternoon/night and full day Monday and half day Tuesday. We are staying onsite, so will utilize MM, plus we'll receive two FPs each for the AP hotel package - ANYWAYS, my point is - my dad has one of the worst cases of ADD you've ever seen. He has no patience for waiting in lines, so while I tour plan, I'm trying to strategize as much as possible to eliminate "wait time". Since it's just us, no kids, I figured we could try SRL, which I've never done before. How effective is this line? Could we be spread so far a part that we're waiting 15 minutes or more after one of us rides for the other? Does that make sense? Anyways, any feedback is greatly appreciated!

 

[ashley0139]

My best friend and I use single rider all the time. It depends on the ride how long the wait will be and how far apart you will be. I've never experienced being 15 minutes apart. Maybe 5 at the most, but we usually get onto the same or very close to each other rides. Often, we will get put in the same car on Radiator Springs, just behind each other instead of next to each other.

 

[Imdboss]

DH and I just had two days without kids at DL and we used single rider for RSR. We only used it one time, during the day, otherwise we used FP for all the rides. That being said we waited maybe 5 minutes, DH was in the car behind me. When we used our FP at night we did notice the single rider line was much longer than when we went.

 

[VandVsmama]

I used single rider line a couple of times this past Friday. Went on Matterhorn SR at about 5-5:15 pm. There was a 1-2 ride vehicle gap between when the single rider in front of me got a seat and when I got a seat. Same thing on Indiana Jones.

 

[lalasmama]

I'm a frequent solo traveler, so I'm fairly versed in the SRL. And, now that our youngest DD is old/mature enough, we do SRL on family trips as well. Here's my general experience/breakdown of waiting....

DL:
Indiana Jones: Generally the wait is 10-15 minutes; though it is constantly moving, which makes it a bit easier in my opinion. SRs will likely end up in the same vehicle, or one right after another, so the wait for the other SR isn't bad (1-2 minutes).
Splash Mountain: This doesn't move as fast as some of the others, but the line is typically short because it's a bit convoluted to find. Make sure you don't get in the handicap line (which is what many people assume is also SRL). If you use SRL early in the morning, you can get a few rides on Splash one right after another. Unlikely you will end up in the same log, but, as with other SRLs, you should be within a vehicle or two.
Matterhorn: Two SRLs here: one Fantasyland, one Tomorrowland. Typically they are somewhere around 5-10 minutes depending on the side. It's the farthest line towards the tracks. If you can see people up in that line, it will be about a 10 minute wait in my experience. You'll usually only wait for your other SR for 1-2 ride vehicles.

DCA:
Goofy: This almost always has a short line. SRL isn't always going on it, and I don't feel like it really gets me on the ride very much quicker.
Screamin': For this one, I've never waited more than 10 minutes. However, it's a popular one, so you may wait a few minutes to be allowed to go through the line. They will pause you at the loading platform, then send a group of around 5 people up and over the tracks (via elevator), and then down to the loading area, where they will dispatch you. But again, it generally moves pretty quick. Most likely you will have to maybe wait 1-2 trains for your other SR, but often they will be in the same train.
Grizzly: This is a fantastic secret. Holy cow, on a warm day, I'm so glad more people don't use the SRLs! On this one, we often end up on the same raft. Unfortunate part is that as a SR, you will almost always get an outer seat, which increases the potential soaking.
Radiator Springs Racers: This is always the longest SRL for a few reasons. First and foremost, it is well-labeled, so it's really obvious where to go. Other ones aren't so clear. Second, it's still a "new" ride. Yes, there's rides that are newer, but, until Star Wars Land opens, RSR is still the newest e-ticket ride. Third, the line appears kind of deceptive. You can't see that there's 20-30-40 people in front of you in SR. All that being said, there's a few ways to work around this. The earlier you get in SRL, the better. As with Splash, if you do SRL early with this, you can manage 2-3 times in a half hour or so. But after that, it can be a long wait. I tend to follow Fresh Baked Disney on Youtube. Their rule is "if you can see the end of the SRL at the bridge, it's a 45 minute wait." And, somehow, I always am behind the group of 2-3 teenage girls that go through the SRL to request sitting together when they get up to the front. Then the CM "punishes" them by making them wait... which makes all of us behind them wait too.

 

[Christina-B-Na]

Unfortunate part is that as a SR, you will almost always get an outer seat, which increases the potential soaking.

Forgive me, this may be a dumb question....but what is an "outer seat" on grizzly? Isn't it a round raft? I've only ridden it once many years ago....are there seats that you are less likely to wet??

 

[lalasmama]

Forgive me, this may be a dumb question....but what is an "outer seat" on grizzly? Isn't it a round raft? I've only ridden it once many years ago....are there seats that you are less likely to wet??

Outer seats would be the 4 next to the openings (two openings, a seat on each side of each opening) tend to be the wettest. To avoid (sometimes, hahaha) getting the wettest, everyone has a different opinion! I try to be on the lighter side of the raft, but sometimes that just means I end up the wettest. To remain the driest, wear a poncho (and ignore the giggles of those around you), and get a bag for your feet (I'm serious). Otherwise, consider going in quick-dry clothing (cotton shorts, maybe a sweatshirt or warm-up coat that you can take off when you are done, so your regular shirt doesn't get soaked).

 

[SMD]

I've ridden Matterhorn and exited the ride when the person behind me is still waiting to ride. I've heard of it happening on Screamin too. I've never seen 2 single riders in the same vehicle on Indy. I've seen them send cars off with empty seats and point to the written card that says you will be separated. And I've waited way more than 15 minutes on Indy, or been told SR isn't even being offered until the line goes down. I've had that happen on Matterhorn too.

 

[lcp9]

Before our kids were 40", my husband and I switched off and a lot of times used SR because it went faster than fastpass. We were just there last week though, and with fastpass got through the RSR line in 5 minutes, SR was backed up quite a bit and was much, much longer. I would do FP where you can, and single rider where you can't.

 

[Aussie Princess]

I used single rider line a couple of times this past Friday. Went on Matterhorn SR at about 5-5:15 pm. There was a 1-2 ride vehicle gap between when the single rider in front of me got a seat and when I got a seat. Same thing on Indiana Jones.

We did single rider with the 3 of us in August for Matterhorn and all ended up together in the same set of 6

 

[gottalovepluto]

DCA EMH we did RSR SRL last week & walked on. And then we turned around & did it again! On 2 EMH days we did that. I've also walked onto Matterhorn SRL during EMH. EMH in DL on Sat got us on Matterhorn & all dark rides besides Peter Pan, it's a great way to hit up Fantasyland without bumper to bumper stroller traffic. (We arrived a few minutes after EMH started.)

Also love GRR SRL, just like an above poster! I usually turn around & ride that one again too. Once a group of teens got in ahead of me (about 20?) but even then don't be deterred because they move through SRs fast.

 

[figment_jii]

The only one where I've seen a fairly long wait between SRs is Matterhorn. Sometimes it can be very fast, but there have been times when I've seen people get on and off the ride between Single Riders. The worst I had to wait was 10 minutes from when the person before me was loaded to when I got on a car. It all depends on how the groups are configured in the regular line.

 

[WonkaKid]

I've never seen 2 single riders in the same vehicle on Indy.

I see it regularly. In fact, when my brother visited about a month ago, we rode in the same vehicle. I've seen a number of other single riders do the same. Is it guaranteed? No. But it's not unknown.

 

[bumbershoot]

Could we be spread so far a part that we're waiting 15 minutes or more after one of us rides for the other?

You go through the whole SR line together. You are split for seating. So if, like mentioned, they are doing something weird with the Matterhorn line, you can have a wait in between being seated. But generally there's a constant flow of SRs being seated.

Unfortunate part is that as a SR, you will almost always get an outer seat, which increases the potential soaking.

Anyone riding it has a strong chance of getting an "outer" seat. SRs don't necessarily board last, and groups don't board automatically that makes the SRs get the "outside". And sometimes there are 2+ groups in a raft, plus the SR. It all just depends. ANYONE should be prepared to get one of those seats. Worse is when you are just above one of the drains, though.

The only one where I've seen a fairly long wait between SRs is Matterhorn. Sometimes it can be very fast, but there have been times when I've seen people get on and off the ride between Single Riders.

Agreed.

 

[iloveseals]

I remember Matterhorn SR used to be super quick. I rarely waited more than 5-10 minutes in line. Because the vehicles seat 3, SR's could be added to almost every group of 2 or 4. But in the past year this has totally changed and SRL seems to take much longer. Instead of putting a SR in with a group of two, the CM will separate the next group of two, one in the front car and one in back. So you basically have to hope for a group of 5.

Not really sure what prompted this change, (too many groups of people using SR to get through the line quicker?) but it's definitely a bummer!

 

[Aussie Princess]

I see it regularly. In fact, when my brother visited about a month ago, we rode in the same vehicle. I've seen a number of other single riders do the same. Is it guaranteed? No. But it's not unknown.

My husband and I had FP for Indy and my MIL did single rider ended up
In the same car in the same row as well

 

[SMD]

Another thing that can happen on Matterhorn is if they don't cap the SR line when it reaches the end of the covered area, and continue it with a line off to the side, you could end up on different sides of the track. So then once you're waiting in the final chute you'll be separated for however long that takes, which could be 20 minutes, or probably more.

 

[PHXscuba]

You will still wait, even with single rider, especially on RSR. It just knocks the wait down quite a bit. I found that the standby line for Matterhorn moves much quicker than it looks (even when it wraps halfway around the mountain, it feeds both sides). They stopped using the SRL for Soarin' when they debuted the new film this summer.

And you can't always count on the SR lines being used. Sometimes they don't when it's slow. Also, when it gets really busy or the FP line gets backed up, the CMs are trying to get the line down and don't have time to process single riders -- it happened to us on Indiana Jones when lien backed up into the walkway.

So I guess I'd say they are useful if you want to ride right away or can't get a FP, but don't count on them as a definite part of your touring plan.

PHXscuba

 

[MacMama0930]

Does anyone know about the AP hotel package fast passes? We'll each be getting two during our stay, and one of the CMs said that it's a generic non-ride-specific fast pass that can be used at ANY attraction, even ones that don't typically have fast passes. But how does that work? I was thinking one of them would be perfect for ToT last check out since I really want to experience but they don't issue fast passes for it. Any experience??

 

[PHXscuba]

Does anyone know about the AP hotel package fast passes? We'll each be getting two during our stay, and one of the CMs said that it's a generic non-ride-specific fast pass that can be used at ANY attraction, even ones that don't typically have fast passes. But how does that work? I was thinking one of them would be perfect for ToT last check out since I really want to experience but they don't issue fast passes for it. Any experience??

Are they still doing the Tower of Terror "late checkout?, i.e. totally in the dark after sunset? I thought that was just during Halloween? Maybe someone who has been in the past 10 days can confirm if they are.

PHXscuba