You’ve probably seen it before. You have been waiting in line for a long time, and then finally you see why it took so long; there were lots of empty seats on the ride.
To maximize the capacity of the rides, many theme parks offer Single Rider queues. This is how they work!
How does a Single Rider queue work?
A Single Rider queue is an additional queue at an attraction. This is different than the shorter queues you can pay for at some amusement parks, like Disney Premier Access in Disneyland Paris.
The Single Rider queue is often quite a bit shorter than the regular queue, which means that you won’t stay in line that long.
An extra queue that is shorter than the normal one, there must be a catch. And that’s right!
Because if you are in the Single Rider queue, you fill up empty spaces on the ride. This means that you won’t know when you will be called to get on the ride, and you can’t choose the person sitting next to you.
Advantage of a Single Riders queue
A much shorter wait is the biggest advantage of this queue. Usually, you will cut your wait time at least in half, when you don’t mind riding by yourself.
We use the Single Riders queues as often as we can. It really helps you to accomplish more things during your day at an amusement park. And it is sometimes the only way to get on a popular ride without waiting a lot of time.
The biggest drawback!
With a Single Rider queue, you will have to wait until an odd group enters the ride. You act as a complement to that group. As a result, it is never certain when there will be a spot for you on the attraction.
Also, you can’t decide where to sit. Would you rather be at the front of the rollercoaster? Then you have to keep your fingers crossed that there happens to be an odd company that will sit there.
I also regularly see families with children in the Single Rider queue, not knowing that you will be separated at the end. Chances are you are not in the same vehicle as your child, partner, or the other members of your group. And certainly not side by side!
If you do want to do this, then unfortunately you will have to join the regular queue or get a ticket that allows you to legally skip ahead.
Who should go into the single riders queue?
The Single Rider row is suitable for anyone who doesn’t mind being separated from the group. Who doesn’t mind being in the vehicle with a complete stranger, and who knows that sometimes there can be several vehicles between you and the rest of the group.
If you have small children, then it will be very difficult to ride as a single rider. You will be separated, and to be fair, you don’t want to leave your little ones in the care of complete strangers. If you are traveling with more adults, you should definitely use the single-rider line when the kids don’t want to ride. That way you won’t be away that long.