Tiana’s Bayou Adventure doesn’t have a standby line. If you’re going to Disney World and you want to ride, you’ll need either a Virtual Queue Boarding Group or Lightning Lane Multi Pass. Below, we’ll walk you through the process no matter which option you choose.

The Virtual Queue will be available beginning at 7 am and 1 pm every day. Disney has not announced whether Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will use a Virtual Queue during hard ticket events, and it is not currently available during Extended Evening Theme Park Hours. Since there’s less demand for water rides during evening hours, it may be that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will use a regular standby line during the Magic Kingdom parties. We’ll have to wait and see!

Have you never used the Virtual Queue? Keep reading and we’ll tell you how! If you’ve never heard the term “Lightning Lane reservation”, you may want to start with How to Use Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Disney World and then read this article.

Click on any of the links below to skip directly to that section, and know that you can click on any image to enlarge it.

• Getting a Lightning Lane Multi Pass for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
• Getting a Boarding Group for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
• Frequently Asked Questions

What You Need to Get Started:

Whether you’re looking for a Lightning Lane reservation or a Boarding Group, you’ll need the following before you can begin.

• The My Disney Experience App
• Updated Family & Friends List on the MDE App—everyone you want to book for will need to be on it.

You and everyone who wants to ride with you will also need:

• Valid Park Admission
• Park reservation, if necessary

If your ticket does not require a reservation, then you’re good to go without one. If your admission media requires a park reservation, then you’ll need a Park Pass for Magic Kingdom on that day if you’d like to join the 7 am queue. If you’ll be shooting for the 1 pm queue, then you may also have a Park Pass for a different park, and a Park Hopper ticket or Annual Pass.

How to Get a Lightning Lane Reservation for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

The good news is that making a Lightning Lane Multi Pass for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is just like booking any other Multi Pass. The bad news is that right now Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is the hottest Multi Pass selection in town, and if you don’t plan ahead and book as soon as your window opens, this might not be an option for you. Make sure that when you make your advance Multi Pass selections you choose Tiana’s Bayou Adventure as your Tier 1 option. If you do not, you are unlikely to be able to get a Multi Pass when you are in the parks.

For more about reservation windows and a step-by-step walkthrough of how to make advance selections, see How to Use Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Disney World: Step by Step. If you just want to wing it, head to one of the purchase entry points shown below and follow the prompts. Make sure to select the Magic Kingdom Multi Pass, so that you can make pre-booked selections in the Magic Kingdom.

How to Get A Boarding Group for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

If you’ve used the Virtual Queue for other rides, you’ll see that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is very similar. If you haven’t, here’s what you need to know. Some of Disney’s newest attractions use a Virtual Queue. The Queue opens a couple of times a day and you can try to join. If you’re successful, you’ll be placed in a numbered Boarding Group. Disney calls back these groups throughout the day, and when your group is called then it’s your turn to ride. That’s the quick overview that should get you through the instructions below. For a more detailed take, see Answering All Your Questions About Virtual Queues.

Boarding Group Rules

Rule #1: To ride during regular park hours, Boarding Groups are only available to book TWICE per day.

• The first chance for booking is at 7:00 am, and you can book from anywhere.
• The second chance is at 1:00 pm, but you must be inside of Magic Kingdom to be eligible.

For the 7 am queue, you just need admission that is valid on that day. And if your ticket type needs a park reservation, you need to have a reservation for Magic Kingdom Park.

For the 1 pm queue, Disney says that you need to be inside the park.. But in practice we’ve found that you only have to have tapped in earlier in the day. If you left to get lunch or take a break and haven’t returned yet, you’re still good to go.

Rule #2: You can only ride using a Boarding Group once per day during regular park hours. If you got a group at 7 am, and rode, you can’t get another at 1 pm (If your Boarding Group from the 7 am drop expired before you returned to ride, you can try again to get a Boarding Group at 1 pm).

Getting a Group

You can begin as early as one hour in advance of the drop that you’re trying to join. This is your chance to fix any Friends & Family issues and make sure everyone you want to ride with is appearing in your party. If you’re confident that you’ll be able to select everyone that you want to ride with, then 4-5 minutes in advance is plenty and an hour is massive overkill. A different attraction was used for the screenshots below, since Tiana’s Bayou Adventure isn’t open yet.

From the My Disney Experience app, click the hamburger on the bottom right, then scroll down and select Virtual Queues. On the next screen, select “Join Virtual Queue”. If you aren’t automatically directed to the queue for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, select it from the available options by tapping “Confirm Your Party”.

You may need to tap a different park at the top to find the Queue you’re looking for. We tapped EPCOT to continue booking our example Boarding Group.

After tapping the button, Friends & Family should appear in your party automatically if they have admission and a park reservation (if they need one). Ineligible Friends & Family will appear below. If you need to, use the “Edit” option to adjust your party.

One minute before time, or so, begin repeatedly tapping the Refresh button and tap it as soon as it changes to “Join Virtual Queue”. You must refresh for the button to change; it will not change on its own. Some people prefer to use a separate clock for more precise timing and only press Refresh one time; I find that the refresh is pretty quick and I do better without my brain engaged. A little practice, if you have the opportunity, can tell you which method works effectively for you.

With luck, you will be rewarded with a screen that looks like the final one above. When your group is called, you’ll have an hour to return and ride. Some Virtual Queues enforce the expiration on their callback times and some do not; we’ll have to wait and see what is going to happen with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

There are different opinions about whether it’s better to use the park WiFi or cell service, but one super-important tip is that you can have multiple people trying for a group at the same time. If you’re touring with 4 people, having all four try for a boarding group increases the probability that someone will get one so that everyone can ride. Make sure that each person who is trying for a group has all the members of your party selected.

Don’t forget!! Assuming you do get a boarding group, check the status periodically throughout the day to make sure you don’t miss your group. If you have an unavoidable conflict such as a dining reservation, bring your dining receipt with you to the ride.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you get a Boarding Group and a Lightning Lane Multi Pass for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure on the same day?

Yes, you can get a Boarding Group and a Lightning Lane reservation for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure on the same day.

Can you get a Boarding Group for multiple Virtual Queue rides on the same day?

Possibly. The challenge is that you cannot be in more than one Boarding Group at a time, so you’ll need to complete your ride on the first one before the 1 pm drop for the second one. Disney may change the rule about being in more than one queue for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, but if so they haven’t announced it yet.

Can you practice getting a Boarding Group before your trip?

Yes, as long as your admission is valid on the day you’re trying to get a group for. If you have date-based admission that might mean your window to try in is pretty short; other ticket types will usually require you to make a park reservation in order to try. But as long as you do not actually enter the park, it won’t use up your admission.

As a matter of courtesy, leave the queue if you do get a spot.  If you’ll need park reservations during your visit, you’ll want to do this far enough in advance that you aren’t using your reservations for practice when you need to make them for the day you will actually be there.

Do I need to get a Boarding Group for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure if I’m using DAS?

If someone in your party is eligible to use the Disability Access System (DAS), you will still have to join the Virtual Queue and get a Boarding Group using the regular procedure.  For some Virtual Queues, the return time has been treated like a DAS start time and you could return any time. For Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, we expect that you will need to return within the 1-hour window when your Boarding Group is called. However, you’ll enter through the Lightning Lane to ensure that your wait is minimized.

I got a Boarding Group, but I need to add or remove someone.

See the Guest Services team at the blue umbrellas and explain your situation.  They will usually be able to help out.

Does everyone need to be in the park at 1 pm to be eligible for the Virtual Queue?

According to Disney, you need to be in the park at 1 pm to be eligible and yes, everyone who wants to ride needs to be there. However, our test team has found in other Virtual Queues that you only need to have entered the park before you try to join. If you were in Magic Kingdom earlier and left for lunch, you shouldn’t need to get back by 1 pm

How long will Tiana’s Bayou Adventure use a Virtual Queue?

We’re not psychic, and we can’t give a definitive answer. Rise of the Resistance used a Virtual Queue for over two years, but it was … an interesting two years. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure used a Virtual Queue for only a little over two months, and Web Slingers at Disneyland used its Virtual Queue for a little over five months. We guessed that Cosmic Rewind’s Virtual Queue would last for 4-6 weeks, and we were way wrong on that one – it’s still in place. TRON Lightcycle/Run has also been using a Virtual Queue for over a year. Disney has indicated that they don’t think the Virtual Queue be used for long at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. But we’ll have to wait and see.

Can you use Rider Switch with Tiana’s Bayou Adventure?

Yes, you can. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure minimum height will be 40″, and all Disney World rides that have a height restriction offer Rider Switch. You’ll be able to use it no matter whether you’re riding with the Virtual Queue or Lightning Lane. For more details, see Rider Switch at Disney World: Guide and FAQ.

Is it easier to get a Boarding Group or a Lightning Lane for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure?

Boarding Groups are free and Lightning Lane Multi Pass costs money.  We expect that means that Boarding Groups will always be harder to get than Lightning Lane reservations. However, right now, so soon after opening, there may not be much practical difference.

Are you excited to ride Tiana’s Bayou Adventure?  Which team are you on, Virtual Queue or Multi Pass? What’s your bet on how long the Virtual Queue will be in place?  Let us know in the comments!