As theme parks adjust to operating in a COVID-19 world, the idea of “virtual queues” is often thrown around, and it seems Shanghai Disneyland has introduced a trial of a new virtual queue system at their park. According to Twitter user @gourmetdyy, Guests wishing to ride The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh must now obtain a “Disney Standby Pass” to experience the attraction.
The system went online today. Here’s how the official Shanghai Disney Resort website describes the new queue system:
A Disney Standby Pass is an online reservation tool launched by Shanghai Disney Resort to help guests better plan their queuing schedule for a more relaxed park experience. For attractions where the Disney Standby Pass is applicable, the corresponding attractions are only open to guests who hold either a Disney Standby Pass or Disney Premier Access for the corresponding time period. You can pick up a Disney Standby Pass — available on the Shanghai Disney Resort Official App for no extra charge and subject to availability, so you can wait in line for the attraction within your selected time frame.
Disney Standby Passes will be released in the App on an hourly basis, based on that day’s official park operating hours. Each Disney Standby Pass corresponds to a 60-minute interval for the guest to arrive at the Disney Standby Pass entrance. The quota for each day is limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. The final release of Disney Standby Passes is approximately two hours before the park’s announced closing time.
Currently, Disney Standby Pass is only available as a trial at The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. But if it’s successful, we may see this spread not only across the rest of Shanghai Disneyland, but the rest of the Disney Parks around the world once they reopen.
The system works similar to MaxPass at Disneyland, or the Digital FastPass service at Tokyo Disney Resort. By scanning the QR code on your park ticket, you can use the official Shanghai Disney Resort app to obtain a Disney Standby Pass. Then return at your designated time and you will be allowed in to the queue.
Hopefully we see successful results from this test. Virtual queues seem to be a neccessity in the times of COVID-19. We’ll keep you posted, so stay tuned to WDWNT for the latest news!
So, is this different from a Fast Pass in that it allows a return time to the regular queue? Not a shortened queue, like the Fast Pass usually is? WDW stated they will be “suspending” FP in order to utilize that queue space, but I honestly don’t see why you can’t have both: your three preselected FP of the day plus selecting a Standby Pass one at a time.