Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is reimagined ride replacing Splash Mountain in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, and is difficult due to no standby line. This attraction guide answers questions about the virtual queue & boarding groups, Lightning Lane, and much more.
Disney restricts access to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure by using a free virtual queue (VQ) and ‘pay-to-play’ access via the Lightning Lane (LL), both of which are in lieu of a traditional standby line. This means that instead of being able to show up and wait in a queue for 60-120 minutes (or whatever the posted wait) at a time of your choosing, you need to roll the dice on the VQ or LL.
If you succeed, you’re able to ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. If you don’t…you aren’t. There is no third option. These systems are nothing new, as TRON Lightcycle Run and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind currently operate in exactly the same way. Before that, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure had similar systems.
Nevertheless, all of this has been confusing even for longtime Walt Disney World fans. Our goal here is to help you avoid similar frustrations. If you show up to Magic Kingdom, thinking you’ll be able to ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, you’re in for colossal disappointment.
To the contrary, you’re almost guaranteed you won’t be riding if you simply show up at the official opening time. Hence this ride guide and FAQ, so you can plan accordingly, beat the crowds, and have a magnificent day at Magic Kingdom!
When will the virtual queue end at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure?
This may seem like an odd spot to start, but before we dig in, we want to start by noting that it’s a waste of your time to read this post unless you’re visiting Walt Disney World in Summer 2024. For one thing, the virtual queue dynamic is always evolving. Walt Disney World tinkers with policies, demand rises & falls, and so forth.
In the case of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Walt Disney World specifically stated this: “While a standby queue will not be available during the attraction’s initial opening days, we expect to open a standby queue soon after the attraction’s opening.”
However, as discussed in You Might Have Problems Riding Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World made that statement prior to previews and the attraction experiencing significant daily downtime. Suffice to say, our expectation is that the virtual queue will not go away until the ride’s reliability has improved. That could happen by mid-July or late September–it all depends upon the scale and scope of the problems, and potential solutions.
If you want all of the latest updates on the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure virtual queue–or notification when the ride’s standby line is announced–subscribe to our free Walt Disney World email newsletter. We also share other news and on-the-ground reports from the parks, when discounts are released, and much more.
What is the virtual queue for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure?
The virtual queue is one of two main ways to access the physical lines for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
Rather than a standby queue, you join this virtual line via the My Disney Experience (MDX) app and are notified when it’s your turn to return to the physical queue (which, in the future, will be the standby line). The process requires a few clicks in-app, but it’s pretty intuitive.
Note that your entire wait is not virtual. You can expect to encounter a wait upon being called back to the physical line. The virtual queue is simply Walt Disney World’s method for pulsing demand to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which is largely necessary even though Splash Mountain didn’t have one, due to a combination of it being a new ride and it being unreliable.
What are boarding groups for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure?
If the virtual queue were like a lottery (it isn’t exactly), the boarding group would be like the ticket. The method versus the means.
Stated differently, boarding groups are the means of organizing guests into groups when it’s their turn to ride. Rather than a specific return window of 2-3 pm as is the case with Lightning Lanes, you might be in boarding group 65. Your return time is not specified in advance, but rather, as an estimate.
When can we enter the virtual queue?
You can join the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure virtual queue at 7 am or 1 pm via the My Disney Experience app.
Anyone who has valid admission for Magic Kingdom that day can attempt to join the 7 am VQ. The 1 pm virtual queue can be joined only by guests who have already entered Magic Kingdom that day.
What is the process like for joining the virtual queue?
The steps are identical to past virtual queues and similar to the FastPass+ or Genie+ selection processes, if you’ve done either of those.
Here’s a quick run-through:
Start on the home screen of the My Disney Experience app and just scroll down a bit until you see the “Virtual Queue” banner. Click “join virtual queue” on that.
Alternatively, you can click the hamburger button (bottom right corner), which will take you to a screen with tiles–virtual queue is also on a list below that.
Then “Join Virtual Queue.”
From there, it should default to Magic Kingdom. If EPCOT is selected (at the top) for whatever reason, click Magic Kingdom. You’ll see two options–Tiana’s Bayou Adventure or TRON Lightcycle Run. Presumably, you’ll want to do both during your day at MK–but you can only join one at 7 a.m.
You’ll have the option of confirming your party starting at 6 am, or an hour before the virtual queue opens.
Click the blue button to confirm your party, ensuring that everyone visiting with you is selected for the virtual queue. So long as tickets are properly linked and everyone valid admission for Magic Kingdom (and park reservations, if necessary), this process should be smooth sailing and self-explanatory.
Once you confirm your party, you’ll see the above screen until 7 am.
Use the “fast finger” strategy below to get the timing right, and then either hit the refresh button or pull down to refresh at 7 am on the dot. You’ll then see the “Join Queue” button. Tap that and you’re done!
This shows your estimate waiting time, which will be several hours into the future (and not necessarily accurate) at 7 am since Magic Kingdom isn’t even open yet.
Once the park is open, this same screen will show you which boarding groups have been called. Depending upon the circumstances, it may also show an estimated wait time–but even then, return times can fluctuate based on downtime and other factors.
Once it’s your turn to join the physical queue, you’ll receive a notification (if you’ve allowed the My Disney Experience app to send notifications). You can also see your virtual queue status towards the top of your My Disney Experience home screen, as well as on the virtual queue page itself.
With that said, there’s no substitute for seeing for yourself. While it won’t let you complete the process, you can go through the first several steps of joining the virtual queue from home. Be on the MDX app some morning right at 7 am and go through the motions. It’s good practice for the real thing!
Next, we’ll cover some techniques to improve your speed and increase your chances of success at the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure virtual queue!
Virtual Queue Speed Strategy
Disney WiFi versus Cellular Data?
It really depends on your carrier and where you’re located in the park/resort/etc.
We’d recommend doing a quick speed test with both a few minutes before it’s time to join the virtual queue. Anything at or above 50 Mbps should be sufficient, but the higher the better. If necessary, move around to get away from other people or increase your speed to that threshold.
Are there any ways to improve speed?
Obviously, there’s only so much that’s within your control when it comes to your internet speed at Walt Disney World. Two big things are getting away from congested areas and out from under things. Lower-level Walt Disney World hotel rooms have issues, as do outlying buildings. As a result, you might want to go outside, to the lobby, the balcony, an exterior walkway, etc. for the 7 am entry time.
When it comes to the 1 pm virtual queue, avoid congested areas of the parks. If at all possible, attempt to join while not standing in line for anything else, as some queues have ‘dead zones’ without WiFi or cellular service. In Magic Kingdom, most of the park is pretty good–the only area that comes to mind as being problematic is Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid.
How should we prepare for joining the virtual queue?
This might sound like overkill, but milliseconds matter.
Make sure your phone is fully updated and force close all apps, including My Disney Experience shortly before it’s time to join the virtual queue. Double-check the time on your phone or watch against time.gov, which is what Disney uses for opening the virtual queue.
What’s the best strategic approach for joining a boarding group? Should one person try for everyone, should we each try individually, or what?
Do not try individually–you won’t be in the same boarding groups, meaning you won’t ride together.
We recommend everyone try for everyone in your party. Launch the MDX app about 10 seconds before the official virtual queue entry time and hit the “Join Boarding Group” button. If that doesn’t work, force-refreshing by pulling down “hard.”
Everyone in your party who has valid admission for Magic Kingdom (and park reservations, if necessary) should already be pre-selected. The person in your party with the fastest fingers will score the boarding group, while everyone else will receive a “Not So Fast/Already in Boarding Group” message. Just be sure that anyone in your party who tries for boarding passes attempts to add everyone.
Again, it’s good to do a practice run or two at home so you’re comfortable with the process in the My Disney Experience app so you don’t get flustered and mess up. We’ve heard horror stories of readers clicking through too quickly and forgetting to add one of their family members. Don’t freak out if that happens–go to the Guest Experience Team Cast Members stationed at the blue umbrellas.
Once notified that “your group has been called!” how long do we have to return?
You’re expected to return within 1 hour of being called.
Do we need to be in the park for the 1 pm virtual queue opening?
No. However, everyone in your party does need to enter Magic Kingdom at some point before 1 pm in order to “unlock” access to the virtual queue at 1 pm. Meaning you could arrive for park opening, take the monorail back to your hotel for lunch and a pool break, and try again at 1 pm.
It is not geofenced or based upon proximity—this functionality unlocks in the My Disney Experience app for each guest after they have physically tapped into the park’s tap/turnstiles. You can leave after tapping in and still join during the afternoon entry time from your hotel room or wherever.
You could literally be inside Magic Kingdom or in Manitoba. The virtual queue system only validates whether you’ve tapped into Magic Kingdom, not your current location. It can actually be advantageous to leave Magic Kingdom midday, as that’s when crowds and wait times are worst. If you’re like us, you also may prefer to do lunch at a Magic Kingdom area resort rather at Walt Disney World’s worst food park.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Lightning Lane Strategy
Is there any other way to ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure?
Yes.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure also offers Lightning Lane access via Genie+ (through July 23, 2024) and Lightning Lane Multi Pass (starting July 24, 2024). You can read about the former in our FAQ for Genie+ and Lightning Lanes at Walt Disney World and the latter in Lightning Lane Multi-Pass at Disney World FAQ.
What’s the difference between the virtual queue and the Lightning Lane?
Aside from the virtual queue being free and the Lightning Lane access costing money, the latter is faster. Lightning Lanes are Walt Disney World’s line-skipping option, colloquially known as “paid FastPass.”
With the virtual queue, part of your wait is virtual, but you’re still going to stand in the physical line and spend some amount of time waiting. By contrast, guests in the Lightning Lane will move faster than you, and wait less time. (Unless the ride breaks down, in which case you both might be stuck.)
Which option is better?
The paid one, minus the whole “costing money” part.
In addition to the line moving faster, the other big upside with the Lightning Lane is that there’s more certainty–and that’s a big deal with an unreliable ride that suffers a lot of downtime, like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. While no one is “guaranteed” to be able to ride, Lightning Lane guests have the closest thing to that. By contrast, if the ride has a bad day and doesn’t get to later boarding groups, the virtual queue guests are just out of luck.
Do you recommend buying Genie+ or Lightning Lane Multi Pass?
For Magic Kingdom, absolutely. It’s the one–and only–park at Walt Disney World where the paid FastPass systems are an absolute no-brainer and unequivocally the best way to beat crowds. (As discussed in Best Time-Saving Strategies for Walt Disney World, that isn’t always the case with the other parks.)
Although the opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure certainly adds to the value of the line-skipping service, it’s not the only reason why. You should be able to score at least a half-dozen worthwhile Lightning Lanes in Magic Kingdom–more than any other park at Walt Disney World. It’s a good use of money, especially if you have limited vacation time and don’t want to spend that standing in lines.
How high of priority is Tiana’s Bayou Adventure when it comes to Lightning Lane rankings?
For Summer 2024, it’s an easy #1 pick–ahead of Peter Pan’s Flight and Jungle Cruise–in Magic Kingdom. You will want to book as close to 7 am as possible, or get lucky with a ride reservation refill later in the day.
Even Splash Mountain ranked in the top 3 during the summer months, but Tiana’s Bayou Adventure being brand new and having daily downtime moves it up considerably. For at least the next couple months, it’s probably the #1 Lightning Lane Multi Pass, ahead of even Slinky Dog Dash.
Is it possible to score a spot in the virtual queue and purchase a Lightning Lane for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure?
Yes. There’s nothing that prevents it aside from how quickly both book up–meaning that there’s no policy preventing you from double-dipping that way. However, it can be a challenge juggling both right at 7:00:00 am–unless you have one person in your party “assigned” to each.
Is there any difference for on-site versus off-site guests?
Not for the virtual queue. Everyone is treated equally, without regard to their accommodations.
On-site guests will have an advantage in buying Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
Is Tiana’s Bayou Adventure open for Early Entry at Magic Kingdom?
No. We don’t expect that to change, either. Only Tomorrowland and Fantasyland are available during Early Entry, which is not a new development. Frontierland opens at regular rope drop.
What about Extended Evening Hours?
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is not currently on the list of attractions that will operate during Extended Evening Hours. We expect that to change in the coming weeks or months–perhaps once the virtual queue is dropped or the ride becomes more reliable.
Will Tiana’s Bayou Adventure operate during Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party?
It’s too early to say. Although it was/is on the list of attractions for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) and/or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP), that’s simply a matter of expectations at this point and should not be treated as the gospel.
Whether Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is open during MNSSHP and/or MVMCP depends on downtime. If it’s still plagued by reliability woes, we’d expect it to not operate. Disney just won’t want to mess with it. If the problems are getting better, it’s a maybe. If they’re gone, it’ll operate.
For the same reasons, whether it’ll use a virtual queue or standby line during those events is also presently unknown.
Can we join the virtual queues for both Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and TRON Lightcycle Run?
Yes, but you cannot hold spots in both virtual queues at the same time.
As a practical matter, this means that not only do you need to be successful with one ride at 7 am, but also that you need to be so successful that you get a reasonably low boarding group number and have an earlier return time–so you’re called back and tap into the first virtual queue before 1 pm.
Alternatively, you can join the virtual queue for one and buy Lightning Lane access to the other. You could also potentially gain free virtual queue access to both and purchase Lightning Lane access to both if you’re really efficient…and want to experience both twice, for whatever reason.
Which ride should we do first?
Whichever is higher priority for you. From a strategic perspective, it’s six of one–half dozen the other. So long as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has reliability woes, downtime could occur whenever. And that could end up throwing a monkey wrench into even the best laid plans, and boarding groups obtained with the fastest fingers.
Once Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is more reliable, we’d recommend going for it first. While both rides are better at night, TRON Lightcycle Run is much better at night. (If both rides are equally important, this is also our advice–Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at 7 am and TRON at 1 pm.)
What time does Tiana’s Bayou Adventure run out of boarding passes?
There is no set time, but expect the first virtual queue to fill up before 7:01 am each day for most of the summer. That’s what has happened with all attractions that have come before and used virtual queues.
As for the 1 pm virtual queue, that really depends upon demand and downtime. There have been low to moderate crowd days when TRON Lightcycle Run has still had availability after 2 pm, or even after 4 pm. On busier days, it’s gone within minutes of 1 pm. In the near term, we’re expecting both Tiana’s Bayou Adventure virtual queues to fill up fast–within seconds or minutes, not hours.
Can we leave the park once joining the queue?
Yes. You could go back to your resort and take a nap, eat lunch, etc.
How do we know when we can return?
If your phone has push notifications for My Disney Experience enabled, you’ll receive an alert that your boarding group has been called.
Failing that, the “My Status” screen on the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure virtual queue screen displays the same information. That should also give you an idea of how soon you’ll be called.
What happens if we have an Advance Dining Reservation that conflicts with our return time?
Ideally, you should see a Cast Member at the Guest Experience Team stands (look for the blue umbrella) located throughout the park. They can assist with scheduling conflicts.
Failing that, see a Cast Member at the attraction entrance–they are typically pretty flexible.
Does Tiana’s Bayou Adventure accommodate Disability Access Service (DAS) card?
Yes, but this is still truly first come, first served.
That means everyone must join the virtual queue first, which means arriving and going through that just like everyone else. To take advantage of DAS, go to the Lightning Lane return line once your boarding group is called.
What about Rider Switch?
Yep, same process as above.
Which days of the week are best for visiting Magic Kingdom?
Statistically speaking, Wednesdays and Thursdays are currently your best bets for the lowest crowds at Magic Kingdom. That’ll likely change during Party Season, though.
For more comprehensive advice and explanations, see our Best & Worst Days to Do Each Park at Walt Disney World. That offers definitive advice for picking dates, and not just for Magic Kingdom, but for all 4 parks.
When will the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure virtual queue get easier?
The good news is that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure isn’t a brand new attraction and it shouldn’t have the same fanfare as Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind or TRON Lightcycle Run.
Our expectation is that the ‘reimagined ride’ smell will wear off pretty quickly. By mid-August, our hope that demand has cooled down or Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has gotten more reliable. Ideally, both. In which case, the virtual queue will stay open for hours instead of seconds/minutes. Or better yet, it won’t be necessary at all and the standby line will open.
Should we just wait to do Tiana’s Bayou Adventure until our 2025 Walt Disney World trip?
Although the virtual queue creates winners and losers, if you’ve already read the ~3,000 words above, you’re much more likely to be one of the winners. You are far better positioned than 95% of other guests–many of whom arrive without knowing what a virtual queue even is or when it’s offered–and are more likely to succeed in scoring a boarding group. With a virtual queue, your wait time will be significantly shorter than if you just wait until next year or whenever the virtual queue is replaced with a standby line.
Our official position on virtual queues is that they’re bad and should be eliminated. The whole process is confusing (hence this post) and incredibly guest unfriendly as a result. Visiting Walt Disney World is already too complicated, and this just adds another layer of stress and unpredictability, with more you need to know. With that said, we selfishly kind of like virtual queues because we’re good at them and they give us an advantage–and shorter wait times than standby lines. It’s a similar story for you now that you’ve read all of this. You’ve already learned what to do and how to do it–now put that knowledge to use in experiencing Tiana’s Bayou Adventure!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Do you have any questions this FAQ failed to answer? If you’ve done Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, do you think there’s anything else first-timers should know? Is Tiana’s Bayou Adventure worth jumping through all these hoops or enduring daily downtime? Do you agree or disagree with any of our advice or answers? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
