So to get a Remy VQ spot, will I need to "waste" a park reservation on Epcot?!

[JakeAZ]

My assumption is yes.

I say "waste" because, as of now, Epcot has a very noticeable later opening time (10am or 11am). Maybe that will change once Remy launches, but as of now, October 1st is still 10am.

My Epcot plan has always been to start in another park and hop over to Epcot once or twice for dinner and some rides.

The park reservation system, IMO, isn't needed anymore, but Disney will keep it around indefinitely as it is 100% one sided to them in terms of benefits.

But now 2 parks will have 1 ride that requires you have a park reservation to have any chance of riding. I don't mind it too much at HS, as you can make a day out of it, but Epcot is a mess right now.

 

[kanerf]

If you can get in the queue at 0700, that is fine, but if not I suppose you could cancel Epcot and try for another park.

 

[JakeAZ]

If you can get in the queue at 0700, that is fine, but if not I suppose you could cancel Epcot and try for another park.

Our week is the week of Thanksgiving, so my guess is it will be hard to change that park reservation day of. Maybe though.

 

[ChanaC]

Unfortunately I think you are right, and I also agree that it’s a “waste” of a reservation. If Animal Kingdom opens at 8 I could probably do half the park, if not more, by the time Epcot opens at 11.

the other option is to buy a Lightning Lane for it. It’s not confirmed but it does look like Remy will be one of the extra pay-per-play attractions.

 

[JakeAZ]

the other option is to buy a Lightning Lane for it

Ugh I'm sure Disney knows this. People can pay for the "privilege" of not having to start their day at Epcot.

There's no way I'm changing any reservations to start the day at Epcot, so we'll either not ride it or perhaps bite the bullet and buy our way on, if it's "reasonable".

The DW motto: offering guests more paid solutions to problems we create.

 

[luv2cheer92]

Unfortunately I think you are right, and I also agree that it’s a “waste” of a reservation. If Animal Kingdom opens at 8 I could probably do half the park, if not more, by the time Epcot opens at 11.

the other option is to buy a Lightning Lane for it. It’s not confirmed but it does look like Remy will be one of the extra pay-per-play attractions.

Remy was one of the three confirmed IAS rides, RotR and SDMT being the other two.

 

[brightlined]

Controversial prediction:

I don't think Remy's going to be popular enough for the VQ to fill up like ROTR's does. Maybe initially - and maybe on really busy days - but not once the first wave of interest wears off. I'm not sure how quickly it will happen (might be next year), but - assuming it's the same process as ROTR - I fully expect that the 1pm BG drop will last until after 2pm on a lot of days (and thus be available to the first pile of park-hoppers entering Epcot).

PS: I will fully embrace my wrongness on this topic.

 

[JakeAZ]

Controversial prediction:

I don't think Remy's going to be popular enough for the VQ to fill up like ROTR's does. Maybe initially - and maybe on really busy days - but not once the first wave of interest wears off. I'm not sure how quickly it will happen (might be next year), but - assuming it's the same process as ROTR - I fully expect that the 1pm BG drop will last until after 2pm on a lot of days (and thus be available to the first pile of park-hoppers entering Epcot).

PS: I will fully embrace my wrongness on this topic.

I agree it won't be as popular as ROTR, but I believe a big component to that will be people unwilling to make an Epcot starting reservation. For those, like me, who prefer to hop over around dinner time, I don't see spots being left by then.

It's also a letdown it won't be running on Extra Deluxe hours. Why not?! Are they anticipating the same type of downtime issues at ROTR?

 

[brightlined]

I agree it won't be as popular as ROTR, but I believe a big component to that will be people unwilling to make an Epcot starting reservation. For those, like me, who prefer to hop over around dinner time, I don't see spots being left by then.

Agreed. My touring plan would probably be to get to Epcot at 2pm, get a BG, then head to DHS (assuming it'd be a late-day BG). (I feel like that'd be a day I'd be starting at DHS.)

It's also a letdown it won't be running on Extra Deluxe hours. Why not?! Are they anticipating the same type of downtime issues at ROTR?

It's possible. When ROTR opened at DLR, they closed it an hour or more before park closure to make sure they had time for that. To be fair, DL was opening at 9am, so Epcot opening at 10am or 11am would seem to make that less necessary.

I think it might also be the issue - at least initially - of how to handle EH guests after the VQ (assuming it runs the whole day). If they go standby and a three-hour line shows up after HarmonioUS (especially since so many resort guests close Epcot), that could be an issue. If I had to guess, I think eventually they'll add it to EH - just not until they get a clear picture of what the end of the night looks like. (I have a feeling most of the park would head there if it were standby after 10pm.)

 

[JakeAZ]

Agreed. My touring plan would probably be to get to Epcot at 2pm, get a BG, then head to DHS (assuming it'd be a late-day BG). (I feel like that'd be a day I'd be starting at DHS.)

I know you can use the skyliner to go back and forth, but that sounds exhausting to get on one ride! haha

I think it might also be the issue - at least initially - of how to handle EH guests after the VQ (assuming it runs the whole day). If they go standby and a three-hour line shows up after HarmonioUS (especially since so many resort guests close Epcot), that could be an issue. If I had to guess, I think eventually they'll add it to EH - just not until they get a clear picture of what the end of the night looks like. (I have a feeling most of the park would head there if it were standby after 10pm.)

These are good points, but if they made it standby once Extra Hours started, then guests could decide if they wanted to, potentially, spend all their time in one line. They could shut the queue down when a two-hour wait was reached. As a bonus, the other rides would have even smaller lines.

 

[EpcotPhoenician]

Our EPCOT days consisted of sleeping in late and enjoying a nice breakfast reservation. Just something worth thinking of to fill the time.

I agree that an earlier opening time would be great.

 

[Jennasis]

Controversial prediction:

I don't think Remy's going to be popular enough for the VQ to fill up like ROTR's does. Maybe initially - and maybe on really busy days - but not once the first wave of interest wears off. I'm not sure how quickly it will happen (might be next year), but - assuming it's the same process as ROTR - I fully expect that the 1pm BG drop will last until after 2pm on a lot of days (and thus be available to the first pile of park-hoppers entering Epcot).

PS: I will fully embrace my wrongness on this topic.

With so precious little to do in the park, I'm thinking it's going to be ridiculously popular.

 

[10CJ]

Controversial prediction:

I don't think Remy's going to be popular enough for the VQ to fill up like ROTR's does. Maybe initially - and maybe on really busy days - but not once the first wave of interest wears off. I'm not sure how quickly it will happen (might be next year), but - assuming it's the same process as ROTR - I fully expect that the 1pm BG drop will last until after 2pm on a lot of days (and thus be available to the first pile of park-hoppers entering Epcot).

PS: I will fully embrace my wrongness on this topic.

On that note, there have been a few days where ROTR still had boarding groups past 2 pm. I assume at that point anyone in the park could book one if they did not have one already? I do not think Remy is going to be as popular as Rise. However it does sound like the ride queue is not very big, so maybe that is why they are doing the virtual queue.

 

[JakeAZ]

On that note, there have been a few days where ROTR still had boarding groups past 2 pm

Everything right now is just the calm before the storm. Come October 1st, it will go back to the 2 second lottery.

 

[afan]

I think it might also be the issue - at least initially - of how to handle EH guests after the VQ (assuming it runs the whole day). If they go standby and a three-hour line shows up after HarmonioUS (especially since so many resort guests close Epcot), that could be an issue. If I had to guess, I think eventually they'll add it to EH - just not until they get a clear picture of what the end of the night looks like. (I have a feeling most of the park would head there if it were standby after 10pm.)

I would agree with this vs it needing down time. This ride is a copy of what's been at DLP for years, it doesn't/shouldn't have the issues ROTR has.

They do open it for their early hours that's just for resort guests. We were able to ride it 2 or 3 times without waiting on the morning we did early hours there in 2018. I think if/when it gets to the point they don't feel the need to use the VQ there shouldn't be reason they can't keep it open. Doesn't mean they'll start offering it though.

 

[brightlined]

I know you can use the skyliner to go back and forth, but that sounds exhausting to get on one ride! haha

The funny thing is - it was an immediate thought for me, only because one of my favorite things to do on a DHS day is to wander over to the Yacht Club at 1pm and grab a delicious $10 Cuban sandwich at their Mobile Order spot, head to my favorite (secret) spot to recharge my phone and nosh, then wander over to Epcot at 2pm. So I've already got it mentally scheduled.

These are good points, but if they made it standby once Extra Hours started, then guests could decide if they wanted to, potentially, spend all their time in one line. They could shut the queue down when a two-hour wait was reached. As a bonus, the other rides would have even smaller lines.

To Disney's credit - they generally live by "if we're open, the line is open", which I give them full credit for. (I've had situations where I've driven to Six Flags to ride something late in the day, only to find out when I get there that the ride closed early, and it's always a little upsetting.) The easier fix would be to announce that they're closing the line at 11pm - but I think it's more likely that they'll just wait until the initial interest dies down a bit, and add it to EH then.

 

[gharter]

I don't think Remy's going to be popular enough for the VQ to fill up like ROTR's does.

It may not be RoTR popular, but I think it will as popular or more so (because its new) than Frozen. And those lines are still long.
The one benefit that Remy should have is less downtime than RoTR as the bugs should have been worked out in Paris (while they are still working out bugs in RoTR).

 

[brightlined]

I don't think Remy's going to be popular enough for the VQ to fill up like ROTR's does. Maybe initially - and maybe on really busy days - but not once the first wave of interest wears off.

What I mean by this - I do think it'll be popular - I think people at Epcot will want to ride it - but I just don't know if there will be enough people in Epcot trying to get a BG for it to fill up the way that ROTR's does. In the beginning, sure - maybe through the holidays. But after the initial newness wears off - echoing JakeAZ's point - I don't think people will make an Epcot reservation just to ride it (especially with Epcot's late start time). It won't be the kind of thing where people are booking two or three days at DHS to make sure they get on ROTR at least once.

I think, eventually, it'll be more like how the VQ was really intended to be used - you'll get to Epcot and join the queue, and it'll be like a four-hour wait. (The VQ will be full in the mid-to-late afternoon once the parkhoppers arrive, but not at 1pm.)

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I'm struggling with this dilemma as well. I had no intention of booking a park pass for Epcot - like you, we hop there in the evenings. I'm holding out hope that I can buy the LL pass for Remy without having an Epcot reservation.

 

[cindyfan]

IMHO..... it's all part of Disney's plan to control crowds! I don't see this attraction as needing a Virtual Q. But.... they need to spread people out.
And it looks like they have already extended park hours to 10am - 10pm for most days in Oct and Nov
With the exception of Oct 2 because of the debut, I think most people look at Epcot as their "hop to" park.
I would think after about 6 months it will simply become a Genie+ attraction and have the VG removed. This will also give them time to finish up Guardians and other parts of Epcot so as to keep people making park passes for Epcot.

They really need to start hopping times at noon or 1pm!!!