How to Get a Boarding Group for TRON and Cosmic Rewind in the Same Day

Do you want to ride both TRON Lightcycle/Run and Cosmic Rewind in the same day without buying an Individual Lightning Lane? Then you’re in the right place! Last updated January 9, 2024.

There are a few things you need to know if you want to score Boarding Groups for two different rides in one day. We’ll talk about the general situation here; things you need to know no matter which rides you’re looking at. But we’ll use TRON and Cosmic Rewind as our walkthrough example because let’s face it – that’s what everyone wants to try right now!

First we’re going to take a super-fast spin through the workflow to join a Virtual Queue. We have more detailed walkthroughs elsewhere; this one is just a step-by-step of the joining process in case it’s been a while. If you’re good to go, click here to skip ahead. Tap into any gallery or image in this article to see it at a larger size.

How to Join a Disney World Virtual Queue

Remember, this is the super-skimpy overview. Start in the My Disney Experience app, and click the hamburger button on the bottom right. Select the Virtual Queues tile. On the next screen, select “Join Virtual Queue” – you may need to select the queue you want first.

Tap confirm your party, and make any needed changes. The button at the bottom of the screen should say Refresh if the Virtual Queue is not open yet. It will not activate to join the queue on its own; a few seconds prior to the opening time begin repeatedly clicking to refresh. As soon as the button says “Join Virtual Queue”, tap it.

If you’re successful, you’ll be rewarded with a screen like the one below that shows your boarding group number and estimated wait.

What’s On the Playing Field?

The rest of this article assumes that you’re already familiar with the basics of Virtual Queues and the lingo (Boarding Groups, drops) used to describe them. If not, see Answering All Your Questions About Virtual Queues before continuing.

Since January 9, 2024, it’s no longer necessary to wait until 2 pm to hop to the second park. That means that as long as you’ve entered the park where you’re riding second by the time of the 1 pm drop, you’ll have the same chance as everyone else who is eligible for that drop. However, Disney had briefly removed the restriction on being in two groups at once, and now they’ve brought it back. So you’ll need to be finished with your first ride in order to be eligible at the 1pm drop for the second.

To do Boarding Groups for TRON and Cosmic Rewind on the same day you’ll probably need low to medium crowd levels. You’ll definitely need fast fingers and a bit of luck.

1. You need to be successful getting a Boarding Group for the first attraction
2. You need to be finished riding the first attraction before you try to get a Boarding Group for the second attraction
3. You need to be successful getting a Boarding Group for the second attraction

Since there’s no longer a need for one queue to stay open for any particular period of time as there was when park hopping was restricted, it doesn’t really matter which order you ride the two attractions in. But riding TRON first will probably give you a better shot at both if you’re not done riding in time for the 1 pm drop, because the Guardians queue tends to remain open longer at 1 pm.

If you’re eligible for Extended Evening Theme Park Hours (EETPH), this gets a lot easier. You can try to get the 2nd attraction in the 6 p.m. drop.

Getting a Boarding Group for Tron and Cosmic Rewind on the Same Day

To keep things simple-ish, the steps below assume you’re not eligible for Extended Evening Hours, or that it isn’t offered on the day of your visit. TRON is chosen here as the first ride, but you can swap if you want to ride Guardians first.

1. Start by making a Park Reservation for Magic Kingdom if your ticket requires it. You’ll also need a Park Hopper ticket or an Annual Pass.

2. At 7 a.m. on the appointed day, try to enter the Virtual Queue for TRON.

3. Ride TRON when your Boarding Group is called

4. Enter EPCOT by 1 pm

5. At 1 pm, try to get a Boarding Group for Guardians of the Galaxy.

Note that you could enter EPCOT before 1 pm – perhaps even before your TRON Boarding Group is called! – and then go back to the Magic Kingdom. As long as you’ve tapped into EPCOT by 1 pm you can try to join the Queue, you don’t need to be in the park at that time to do it.

If you don’t get a Boarding Group for TRON at Step 2, all is not lost yet. You can try again at 1 p.m. – remember that you need to have entered Magic Kingdom to join here, but you don’t still need to be there. But if you truly want to ride both and you don’t get a spot at 7 a.m., you might want to consider an ILL for TRON. If you wait until 1 p.m. and then don’t get a spot, they could be gone at that point.

Wrapping Up

You’ll need some luck, but it can be possible to get Boarding Groups for both TRON and Cosmic Rewind in the same day. You’re most likely to be successful on days with low and medium crowds. This is because you’ll need to be done riding the first attraction early enough to be eligible in the 1 pm drop for the second one.

If you’re eligible for Extended Theme Park Evening Hours, you’ll have more flexibility and options in trying to get both Boarding Groups. If not, and things don’t go as planned, you can still try to ride both coasters by using Individual Lightning Lane.

Will you try to get Boarding Groups for both attractions in one day? Does it seem like it’s too chancy? If you tried it, how did it go? Let us know in the comments!

Originally published March 18, 2023