EPCOT’s newest ride will open with no standby line option. As expected, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will open with a virtual queue in place of the traditional standby line. Additionally, the new Marvel-themed roller coaster will offer Individual Lightning Lane as a way to skip the line for a fee.

What is a Virtual Queue?

With a traditional standby queue, you get into the physical line at any time and wait your turn to get on the ride. With a virtual queue, you must get a “boarding group” via the My Disney Experience app. This is your virtual place in line. As soon as the ride opens, Disney begins calling boarding groups in order. If you are in Boarding Group 1, you’ll be the among the first riders called. If you are in Boarding Group 100, you will be called later in the day.

Essentially, a virtual queue is like the number ticket system you see at a deli or the DMV. You use the app to get your number, and then you wait for your number to be called. Except the big difference is that you can do your waiting inside a theme park rather than a waiting room.

Disney World has run a virtual queue with Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. It’s a way for Disney to manage crowds on a new ride with high demand. While Rise of the Resistance had a virtual queue for almost two years, Remy only had a virtual queue for 3 months.

How will the Virtual Queue work at Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind?

Disney hasn’t yet announced the details of the Guardians of the Galaxy virtual queue, but it most likely will have a similar system to Remy and Rise. Here’s the protocol that Disney ran for Remy:

In order to join the line, guests will first have to join the virtual queue. Epcot guests will have two chances to join the virtual queue per day, at 7 am and at 1 pm. Once your party joins the queue, you will be alerted when it is your time to go on the ride. A cast member will scan your ticket/Magic Band to let you into the line.

You can join the 7 am virtual queue distribution from anywhere You do need a park reservation that day for Epcot in order to join the queue at 7 am.

For the 1 pm virtual queue distribution, you will need to have entered the park before joining the virtual queue.

Virtual queue slots can run out fast, so you should make sure you have your phone at the ready exactly when the queue opens, which was 7 am or 1 pm previously. Once Disney World announces the details, we will post an update with tips on how to secure a boarding group for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.

What is an Individual Lightning Lane?

Individual Lightning Lane is an a la carte option to pay to skip the line. Resort guests will be able to purchase Individual Lightning Lane reservations for Guardians of the Galaxy starting at 7 am each day. All other guests will be able to purchase Individual Lightning Lane at park opening.

You can read more about Individual Lightning Lane in our article Genie+ and Lightning Lane, Explained.

Is Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Included in Genie+?

No. The Guardians roller coaster will only be available via the virtual queue or Individual Lightning Lane at opening. This can change in the future, as Disney has altered the Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane lineup before. However, as this will most likely be EPCOT’s newest ride for the foreseeable future, I would expect that Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will stay as an Individual Lightning Lane ride until more major rides open at EPCOT or the system changes.

You can read more about all things Disney Genie in our Guide 2 Disney Genie.

Will Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind ever have a standby queue?

The answer is most likely yes. Both Rise of the Resistance and Remy eventually added a traditional standby queue. How long Guardians will have a virtual queue depends on guest demand, ride reliability, and ride capacity. If the roller coaster is able to run reliably and accommodate enough guests each day that a standby queue wouldn’t be exceedingly long, then Disney will change it to a traditional standby queue.

However, it’s impossible to guess exactly how long the virtual queue will last at Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. There’s a theory that Disney World’s virtual queue system is only built to support one ride at a time, so it’s possible that the virtual queue will go away right before the Tron roller coaster opens at Magic Kingdom, which is supposed to happen sometime before the 50th anniversary celebration ends in 2023.

We want to hear from you!

Have any questions about how the virtual queue or Individual Lightning Lane works at Disney World? Let me know in the comments below!