The Ultimate Guide to Single Rider Lines at Walt Disney World

Q: The Ultimate Guide to Single Rider Lines at Walt Disney World - WDW Prep

Single Rider Lines are only available at a few attractions at Disney World but if you know when and how to use

Single Rider Lines are one of the best-kept secrets at Walt Disney World. If you are looking to cut your waits down on some of the most popular attractions (without having to pay for Genie+), the Single Rider Lines at Disney World are a great option.

We love using this little hack and even recommend them as an option in our touring plans. If you’re thinking about giving one (or more) a try, here’s where you’ll find the attractions with Single Rider lines and tips on how they work.

In this article

Does Disney World have Single Rider Lines?

Yes! Disney World has Single Rider Lines in 3 of the 4 parks: Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom.

If you are a Disneyland fan, you’ll know that you’ll find a lot more Single Rider lines over at those parks. But, while Walt Disney World does have a lot fewer attractions offering a Single Rider Line, they are still a great option.

Which attractions at Walt Disney World have Single Rider Lines?

There are a total of 4 attractions at Disney World that currently have Single Rider Lines:

Test Track – Epcot
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster – Hollywood Studios
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run – Hollywood Studios
Expedition Everest – Animal Kingdom

We say “currently” because there were a couple of other newer attractions (like Rise of the Resistance and Flight of Passage) that were also built with Single Rider Lines. However, they were never implemented and the signage indicating they were even there has been removed.

What are Single Rider Lines?

I once heard somebody say they couldn’t enter the line as a group because the sign said “Single Rider”. They interpreted that to mean that you can’t enter the line with anybody you knew.

But that isn’t what “single rider” means.

Single Rider Lines at Disney World are located on attractions where they frequently will need a “single rider” to fill a car, row, or ride vehicle.

In the regular lines (both Standby and Lightning Lanes) Disney does a fantastic job of not splitting up parties when they board a ride, but that means that they often have times when a group has an odd number which results in an empty seat.

So, to fill those empty seats they utilize that separate line which is filled with people that don’t mind riding as a “single” person (and not with their party or group).

How do you use a Single Rider Line at Walt Disney World?

First, you have to be at least 7 years old to use the Single Rider Line. But, keep in mind that not all 7-year-olds may be ready to ride an attraction by themselves.

If you have a child who is old enough but seems hesitant, Single Rider may not be for you.

Enter the Single Rider Line (as a group)

The 4 attractions that have Single Rider Lines will have separate entrances for the Single Riders. There will be signage out front near the Standby and Lightning Lane entrances. The one exception is at Expedition Everest, the Single Rider line there can be a little difficult to find if you aren’t familiar with it. It is located to the left of the gift shop entrance. If you don’t see it right away, there are Cast Members nearby who can help you.

You can enter the line as a group, but you WILL be split up when it comes time to board the attraction.

Sometimes you might luck out and be on separate rows, but other times you may find yourself on totally different ride cycles, and it could be a few minutes before everybody meets back up again.

Go through the queue (as a group)

As you go through the queue, if you entered the line as a group, you’ll still be together.

Single Rider Lines (much like the Lightning Lanes) often bypass some of the fun interactive aspects of some of the queues.

For example, Single Riders at Test Track skip the part of the queue where you design a car to test. If those things are important to you, you may want to skip Single Rider.

Board the attraction (this is where you are split up)

This is the part of the process where you’ll be split up.

When the Single Rider Line gets to the point where people are boarding the ride, they basically just stand and wait until they hear a Cast Member say “Single Rider needed in line XXX”.

Then, the next person in line jumps into the spot identified by the Cast Member.

And, when you get to the front of the line you’ll need to be paying attention because there usually isn’t much time between when they call for a single rider and when the ride starts to board. They keep things moving at a rapid pace!

Single Rider Line FAQs

Are Single Rider lines shorter?

Yes! Your wait in a Single Rider line will be a lot less than if you were waiting in the Standby Line. Look for it to be closer to the wait you’d have when using Genie+.

How old do you have to be to use a Single Rider Line?

You need to be at least 7 years old AND comfortable with riding an attraction without your group in order to use a Single Rider Line

SO – if you are over the age of 7 and are totally okay sitting next to strangers (which I love, especially if they are first-time riders!) Single Rider lines are a fantastic option to help you get more attractions done with minimal waits.

When should you use a Single Rider Line?

We think Single Rider lines can make sense in a lot of instances, and we recommend you consider using them whenever possible.

Here are a few reasons we like them:

Test Track Single Rider Line is a great option because of how quickly the line builds here, and how often the attraction goes down.
Expedition Everest Single Rider Line is fantastic if you want to get multiple rides on this popular roller coaster OR if you wish to save a Genie+ reservation for something else.
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Single Rider is still faster than Standby, but it seems to run the least efficiently. This isn’t always the case, but it sometimes can be.
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run Single Rider will get you on the attraction, but keep in mind that you’ll likely be left with whatever role is available when you board the attraction and your likelihood of getting the coveted pilot position will be small. But if your only goal is to ride it, Single Rider here is a good option.

Can I use a Single Rider Line with Genie+?

Basically, if you have paid for Genie+ at Walt Disney World, using the Single Rider Lines (when available) will help you maximize your purchase because using the available Single Rider Lines frees you up to make Genie+ reservations at other popular attractions in the park.

And, if you opt not to use Genie+, it is an easy way to minimize your waits without having to pay anything extra.

Shannon has a fantastic video that explains things even better, AND as a bonus she’s got some graphics that I think you’d find handy.

Note: This video was created before the latest Single Rider option (Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run) opened up.

One final note:

We’ve seen the newer attractions like TRON Lightcycle / Run and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind use a different system where instead of having a Single Rider Line, as you approach the boarding area, they split parties into 2 lines by “evens” and “odds” which then allows them to easily to fill all spots without needing that extra line.