Top 10 Best Ride Queues at Disney World

The attractions in Walt Disney World are unique in that each has its own in-depth theme and details that support it. Guests who enjoy their time in the four theme parks can travel to other worlds and universes by merely entering into an attraction and becoming immersed in the theme. While the attractions are incredible experiences in themselves, the queues are equally important because they are the first glimpse guests experience that hints at the adventure to come. Attraction queues set the tone and location for the attraction, and guests can lose themselves in soaking in many details while moving closer and closer to the loading area. No Walt Disney World attraction is complete without its queue, and here are the ten best ones for guests to enjoy!

10 – Peter Pan’s Flight

The Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland is home to an attraction that captures the hearts of guests of all ages. Peter Pan’s Flight brings guests on a beautiful flight over the night skies of London and the magical locations in Neverland. Before boarding pirate ships in the attraction’s loading area, guests move through a queue, which brings them directly into the Darling’s home. Guests who enjoy the standby queue for Peter Pan’s Flight can move through the house and enjoy personal details like portraits, toys, and the children’s nursery. One of the most magical portions of the queue is when guests are sprinkled with pixie dust, allowing them to take to the skies and fly with Peter once on board.

9 – Jungle Cruise

Guests who are looking for an exotic adventure down the rivers of the world should head over to the Magic Kingdom’s Adventureland for the world-famous Jungle Cruise. The attraction brings guests on an adventure through lush jungles, temple ruins, and the backside of water for an enjoyable and laughable experience, thanks to the skippers’ corny jokes. Before boarding the boats and setting sail, guests visiting the Jungle Cruise move through a queue full of beautiful and hysterical details. A radio broadcast continuously plays, making announcements about missing boats and other goings-on while guests move past artifacts, interesting signs, and a spider that might just surprise them. With so much detail, the queue of the Jungle Cruise perfectly sets the tone for the attraction that awaits.

8 – Pirates of the Caribbean 

Another classic attraction in the Magic Kingdom invites guests to take to the high seas to set sail with pirates. Pirates of the Caribbean can be found in Adventureland and brings guests on a thrilling journey through a burning seaside village that is being ransacked by the pirates. Before you get to spot Captain Jack Sparrow from the film series, you’ll be transported to the world of the pirates by entering a 17th-century Spanish fortress’ courtyard. You’ll twist and turn and see cannons, cannonballs, and two pirates who are at a stalemate in their chess game. All of this sets the tone for your fantastic pirate cruise.

7 – Toy Story Mania

At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, there is an attraction allowing guests to shrink to the size of toys and hang out with the Toy Story gang. Toy Story Mania has guests compete in a series of 3D midway games hosted by the Toy Story characters, where the high score definitely equals bragging rights. The attraction’s queue captures every guest’s imagination as it is full of larger-than-life toys like Chutes and Ladders, Checkers, crayons, playing cards, and Mr. Potato Head. With so many nostalgic toys at such a large scale, guests love enjoying the queue of Toy Story Mania each time.

6 – Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance places you in a climactic battle with the First Order. The queue sets the stage for your recruitment with the Resistance. You’ll find the Resistance’s temporary encampment in the forested area along the outskirts of Black Spire Outpost on Batuu. The gateway to the encampment is marked by a large turret. From there, a pathway leads deeper into the forest toward towering cliffs and the crumbling remains of an ancient civilization. While some of the queue is outside, most of it is inside, which will be welcome in the hot summer months. You’ll weave through low stone walls, timeworn pillars, and tight corridors as you progress farther into the base, hearing military communications chatter along the way. The first section of the queue is quite long, with many chambers. Be sure to look at all of the items along the way while you’re waiting!

5 – The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Disney’s Hollywood Studios is home to one of the most ominous attractions in Walt Disney World. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is housed in the abandoned Hollywood Tower Hotel, which looms at the end of Sunset Boulevard. The attraction brings guests into an episode of The Twilight Zone, where they are the stars as they relive a fateful night that occurred many years ago. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror queue is one of the most detailed in all four theme parks and immediately immerses guests in the story. After passing through the attraction gates, guests wind their way through a foggy garden where screams and jazz music echo in the background. Once inside the Hollywood Tower Hotel lobby, guests immediately can sense that something strange has happened as there are personal items and luggage simply left behind covered in years’ worth of dust. With props from the television series and an incredible amount of detail everywhere one looks, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror queue is one of the best in Walt Disney World.

4 – Haunted Mansion

Liberty Square in the Magic Kingdom is home to one of the most beloved attractions in all of Walt Disney World, which invites guests to feel both spooked and entertained. The Haunted Mansion brings guests into a massive manor house, which is home to nine hundred and ninety-nine happy haunts who lurk in the many rooms waiting to scare guests. While guests encounter plenty of eerie happenings and spooks on the attraction, the queue of the Haunted Mansion introduces some of the characters found inside and sets the creepy tone. With the mansion looming at the top of the hill and the echoes of a dog howling, guests enter into an interactive graveyard that winds its way through the Haunted Mansion’s queue. Guests can figure out who killed who in a twisted family of six, help a deceased poet with her writer’s block, play instruments from regions beyond, and pay their respects to Master Gracey, owner of the home. Before entering the mansion’s foyer, guests can check out a tombstone for Madame Leota, who occasionally opens her eyes to check out what is happening in the physical world!

3 – Expedition Everest

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is home to an attraction that takes guests deep into the forbidden mountain, where the Yeti is the fabled and robust protector. Expedition Everest’s queue is full of amazing details that make guests feel as though they really are moving through the offices of a base camp expedition company. The highlight of the queue is a Yeti Museum, which is full of props, photos, ancient artifacts, and artwork depicting the legend of the Yeti through the centuries. Guests can learn about the creature and build suspense for the journey by finding out that a previous expedition mysteriously disappeared after their camp was ravaged. With so many beautiful details to absorb, guests will love waiting in line on Expedition Everest!

2 – Flight of Passage

Avatar Flight of Passage, in Pandora – The World of Avatar, launches each guest on an exhilarating, wind-in-your-face experience on a winged mountain banshee over the awe-inspiring world of Pandora. Guests will actually feel the banshee breathe beneath them as they soar through the forest and past floating mountains. This simulation-type ride is thrilling, realistic, and very intense. But the excitement begins even before your flight. The journey begins in the queue as guests begin an uphill trek around a massive root structure over a land bridge above waterfalls to an authentic totem garden. Meandering passageways lead to a cave-like structure where the great–winged banshees, or Ikran as the Na’vis call them, are celebrated in paintings and majestic totems. Next, guests enter an old, once-abandoned RDA facility with a laboratory partially restored. Here, there are scientific experiments in progress with references to habitat restoration, the ecosystem, water purification, and the connection of all living things. The next stop is the genetic matching room, where explorers are scanned, and genetic material is sampled to connect them to personal avatars in preparation for a flight experience. The queue experience is one you won’t mind waiting in!

1 – Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind takes guests on a fun and thrilling adventure at EPCOT. The queue takes the top spot because of The Wonders of Xandar pavilion. The queue has three main sections, each building on the earlier. By the time you get to the ride portion of the attraction, you are fully immersed in the story and ready to save the galaxy. Here’s a rundown of each section:

• The Galaxarium is a sweeping planetarium-style space showcasing planets, stars, and other intergalactic wonders that connect Terra and Xandar – reinforcing the notion that we’re all born of the same space dust. The Xandarian supercomputer, Worldmind, provides narration in the Galaxarium and gives context to the stunning visuals.
• In the Xandar Gallery, guests learn more about the Xandarian people, culture, and history – including the heroes of Xandar – through specially crafted displays, including models of starships and a Xandarian city. The gallery also features excerpts from “Good Morning Xandar,” where a host interviews the Guardians of the Galaxy about their heroic deeds.

• The pavilion tour concludes in the Phase Chamber, where guests instantly teleport from EPCOT to a Nova Corps Starcharter cruiser orbiting Earth. Here they learn about the Cosmic Generator, a piece of Xandarian technology that creates jump points – artificial tunnels in space allowing for rapid travel across vast distances.

As you might have guests, things don’t go as planned when Eson, a Celestial, comes to threaten humanity. The Guardians of the Galaxy are called, and it’s up to them and the guests to save the galaxy! Walt Disney Imagineers did a fantastic job creating a queue experience that perfectly sets up the story.

Editor’s Note: DisneyLists.com author Cindy E. Nykamp also contributed to this article.