Five Things to Know About Single Rider Lines at Disney World

A Single Rider Line can be a time-saver when you’re at Walt Disney World, but as with most things in life (and at Disney World), there are pros and cons to consider. To help you decide whether using a Single Rider Line works in your favor, here are five things to know.

1. Single Rider lines are for going solo.

A Single Rider Line is a separate line designated for guests who are willing to go on a ride by themselves. Anybody can choose to use one, and they’re free, just like the regular line. Disney uses Single Rider lines to fill in empty spaces in ride vehicles. This ensures attractions are operating at full capacity. In practical terms, it means that you’re seated with somebody from the other line(s) to fill up the attraction’s seats.

Single Rider Lines have separate entrances. In most instances, there’s a sign near the standby and Lightning Lane queues to help you find them. And if you’re not sure where they are, ask a Cast Member. The entrance for Expedition Everest’s Single Rider line can be a bit tricky to locate; it’s left of the gift shop entrance.

If you’re visiting the parks alone, you may expect to be seated with others anyway. But if you’re all in a group and don’t care if you’re seated together, you can still choose to all get in the Single Rider Line. Just know that when you get to the front, you won’t get to ride together most of the time. And getting to the front of a Single Rider Line and then asking if you and your friend can ride together is not cool, man. Just don’t do it.

2. Four attractions at Disney World have permanent Single Rider lines

Currently, three attractions offer Single Rider Lines. And it’s worth mentioning that none of them are in the Magic Kingdom! This select group is comprised of

• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run (Hollywood Studios)
• Test Track (EPCOT)
• Expedition Everest (AK)
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (Hollywood Studios)

The Single Rider line for a particular ride may not always be open. For example, at the beginning of the day or toward closing time, they may be closed. Plus, on days when park attendance is lower, Disney World may not open them at all.

During high crowd times, Disney has made Single Rider lines available temporarily at popular attractions such as Soarin’. How do you know if one of these temporary lines is in use? Well, other than someone excitedly posting it on social media, you’ll know it when you arrive at the attraction and see a Cast Member holding a sign.

Don’t be fooled!

Several of the attractions that have Single Rider lines at Disneyland have versions at Disney World that do not have a Single Rider line. Space Mountain might be the most famous of these. Don’t let “I think I heard it … ” confuse you into arguments with others in your party about what does and doesn’t have a Single Rider line at Disney world. Just bookmark this article and look it up.

3. Single Rider lines are not the same experience.

In theory, you’ll have a shorter wait in the Single Rider line (see more on that below). But, that shorter wait comes with some tradeoffs. If you use a Single Rider Line, you’ll generally miss out on some elements of the experience. Because you head straight for the ride, you’ll miss any interactive features in the ride’s queue, and you may miss pre-shows as well.

This may not matter to you because you’ve been through the queue before and know what it’s all about. But if you’re a first-time solo visitor, you may want to wait in the regular standby line (even if it’s longer) so that you don’t miss anything. Here’s what you’ll skip in the Single Rider line at each attraction:

• Test Track: The Single Rider line skips the history of the automobile industry and misses the part where you design your own car.
• Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run: You’ll miss out on the overhead views of the Millennium Falcon. Then you bypass Hondo’s repair bay and head straight into the game room. You also reduce your chances of being the pilot to nearly 0%.
• Expedition Everest: You bypass the Yeti Museum experience and other queue features.
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster: Nothing! the experience is similar to the regular line and you do get to see the pre-show.

4. The Single Rider Line might not be great for kids.

If you’re with kids, the Single Rider line might not be an option. Guests must be at least seven years old in order to ride alone.  Since you can’t guarantee being seated with anyone else in your group when you use the Single Rider line, if you’re with a child ages six or under you’ll need to use the standby or Lightning Lane queue.

Even if your child is old enough, it might not be right for your group. While some seven-year-olds are ready to ride alone, not all are comfortable sitting next to a stranger, much less getting off the ride while Mom and Dad may still be in line waiting to board. Parents and guardians need to use their best judgment here. If you do choose the Single Rider line with younger kids, make sure everyone knows where you’ll be meeting up afterward.

5. Single Rider lines don’t always save time.

Both Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and Expedition Everest vehicles seat two people per row. This means that to board you’ll have to wait for an odd-numbered group from the other lines. In theory this should mean that the Single Rider lines for these two attractions have about equal efficiency for time savings. But Everest’s Single Rider line can be very effective as a time-saver, whereas there have been complaints that the Single Rider line at Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster actually takes longer than the Standby Line.

For Test Track and Smugglers Run, there are six seats per car. This may give better odds of a single rider (or two) getting called from the line. Both of these lines are known to be pretty effective time-savers. You may also have better odds of getting to ride “sort of together” with other members of your party, for instance, one in the front seat and one in the back of the same car on Test Track.

Generally speaking, using the Single Rider Line can save you a bit more time than the regular Standby Line. This is because a lot of people want to experience rides together, as a group or family. For sure, a Single Rider Line is no faster than using a Lightning Lane entrance. The difference here is that you pay for the Lightning Lane while the Single Rider line is free.

The Bottom Line.

Single Rider Lines aren’t for everyone. But they have a couple of upsides that you may want to consider. The obvious win is that they may save you a bit of time, so you can enjoy more of what the parks have to offer. And if you purchase Genie+, you can save your reservations for other attractions while using a Single Rider line to enjoy some of the E-ticket attractions.

Have you used a Single Rider Line? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.