I do not think virtual queues will be the thing. Think about it. Everyone was herded together all trying to get rise of the resistance. That can’t happen with social distancing. Fast passes will be the only sensible thing.
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They would be operated differently. Get one at a time, no need to be in the park to get the first. Open them at 7am each morning, people book their first whilst still in the resort. .
The difference between VQs (or boarding groups) and FPs is that the6 can adjust the return times of VQs according to how well the social distancing is working in the line and on the ride.
If 20 people have an FP for,10am, and another 20 at 10:15am, they will all arrive together and could end up with a backlog as more and more people join.
With a VQ, they can call the next group when the previous one are just about through the line.
If the ride stops because of needing to allow a full run of all vehicles every cycle, then the lines grow with FPs . With VQs they just don’t call anyone for 15 minutes.
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I think they will have to operate them very differently to the BGs for RotR. How I have no idea!!
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Bear in mind that the parks will be operating at half capacity and probably only for resort guests. So, with four parks, it will spread out the crowd. I am wondering if fast past is even necessary with half capacity???
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Capacity is what it’s like at NY though, about 100,000 people. Even at 25% capacity it will be busy.
There is no way to ensure social distancing in the parks IMO. Maybe in lines for rides. And in lines at QS places. But round the parks, outside? Or when there’s a summer downpour and everyone rushes inside?
What about stores? Think of everyone touching stuff on the shelves. Do they pack it all up, have a display item and you then have to explain what you want and they fetch a wrapped plush or t-shirt? No trying on, no refunds if you get the wrong size. I know it’s the same for all stores, but even so.
More and more I like the “guided tour” idea until Phase 3. One route round the park, book your starting time. Not perfect, allowing for photos and rider swaps but better than everyone milling about.
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Maybe there will be some kind of combination of FP and Virtual Queues. Maybe some rides will work just fine with FP and maybe some will be best with VQ. I’m guessing Mobile Order will be extended to more or possibly all restaurants. But hey, we’re all just guessing. I can’t wait until we finally get some actual announcements from Disney. Hopefully soon!
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6 ft Or masks. That is social distancing. If possible, both…but a lot of the rules right now are you wear a mask if you cannot maintain a 6 ft distance. Wearing a mask with at least 6 ft is recommended.
As such, we can socially distance and the parks I think fairly easily with reduced capacity.
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That makes sense. I just knew it couldn’t be the same.
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Agreed. And remember, no one is forced to go to a theme park. If you do not feel safe, don’t go
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That’s my thought. I think they will have one entrance, used for both FP and VQ. The difference is the VQ will one at a time and give a very small return window. The wait once you enter the queue after your VQ time is called is the same as the wait for the FP holder. The FP holder merely gets to avoid the virtual wait.
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I think whether FPs are needed will depend on how much capacity they provide for an attraction. If they only load every other seat on 7dmt and get rid of single rider lines for say Test Track, then at 50% capacity you are looking at wait times remaining about the same.
I personally won’t go to a theme park with a mask. I don’t think they will do any good when people are sweating in the heat and therefore making them wet and taking them on and off to eat.
It looks like they may be looking at shooting for the 6 feet of distance just going by the queues being set up in Asia.
I’m not really sure how they plan to do ROTR. Maybe only allow resort guests and APs to be able to obtain them outside the park?
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But the line needs to be kept 6ft apart between groups, according to the mandated requirements. Which is a problem because the line then extends way beyond the actual ride. Not to mention the switchbacks in queues need to be eliminated (or reduced to being separated by 6ft which is well nigh impossible in the space available).
I totally fail to see how FPs and BGs for the same ride will help. They are both designed to cut waits, the only difference is one is responsive to the current situation, the other isn’t.
If they have issued 100 FPs per hour, and people arrive in a continuous stream, you have 100 people waiting at all times, hopefully all walking through spaced at 6 ft apart. Any stoppage to,allow,for the wiping down or running a complete empty load, increases the number of people in line.
With BGs you can call people at a rate that matches the operating speed of the ride, including stoppages. Thus the actual line of people never exceeds the capacity of the space.
Why have two systems for the same ride?
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Maybe, at least for phase 1, there will only be VQs but they will be bookable only by resort guests at 60 days (like FPs) and APs at 30 days.
I don’t think I said there would be 2 systems for the same ride. ROTR never had FPs before all this, only BGs.
I was saying it looks like in Asia they are creating queues that have groups standing 6 feet apart from other groups, at least according to the pictures I’ve seen and the articles I’ve read. And those queues extend beyond the attraction. So that maybe what happens in DW. Standby and FP lines with markers for staying 6 feet apart. Who knows.
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Sorry, I think it was @ryan1. But I may have misunderstood what he was meaning.
I can see VQs used for some rides and FPs for others. Dumbo, for example, could issue enough FPs to allow each elephant to be filled, ride and then sprayed. And then another batch of FPs 20 minutes later.
But rides like 7dmt that are continuous might use VQs to allow for variations in operating procedures.
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This has made me wonder if they’ll change anything about the BGs for RoTR. I mean, getting to the studios early and huddling closely together in a massive crowd doesn’t help them to accomplish social distancing measures for safety. You’d almost think they’ll have to change it somehow.
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Now, I am just guessing. But let me clarify how I think it could work.
Disney has to mark off 6 ft spacing in queues. They have to hold enough people to accommodate a certain known number of people. If FPPs are available, they would be instant access to the line, but would fill up part of the line. If the line is too full, they won’t call more people in the VQ. If the line gets short enough, they call the next number of folks to fill the queue. The VQ window for arrival would be fairly small (maybe 10 minutes) to act like a real queue. Those people waiting can’t ride anything else while in a VQ line, so they should be near the ride. When called, they get in the FP line for the shortened, spaced out line.
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And if people are waiting by the ride, there won’t be social distancing.
They don’t have to wait by the ride…just be near enough. The problem rides will be those with slow moving short lines like Aladdin’s Magic Carpets. Not sure how they handle those. But rides like HM and SM are comparatively easy.