Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway is Disneyland Resort’s latest ride and, like the last few that have come before it, will open with a virtual queue. The attraction will also be available for purchase via individual Lightning Lane. With no standby line available at this time, guests will need to be prepared! In this post, we’ll cover how to enter the virtual queue and the best strategy to do so.

The virtual queue system was introduced to both Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts a few years ago when Rise of the Resistance debuted. Since that time the system has changed and become slightly more guest friendly, although there are some nits to pick.

When at its best virtual queueing will allow guests to (virtually) save a spot in line for the attraction while going about their day in the theme park. This will also save the new ride and area from being absolutely overrun with people. Does it always work out that way? No. Having it all done on, in this case, the Disneyland App means that some people will miss out on the experience. In turn, people will then get angry and take it out on some poor Cast Member who had nothing to do with decision. Be kind to Cast Members, everybody!

The way to not have to deal with any of this is by purchasing a Lightning Lane for Runaway Railway. You will need to do this early in the day, as the slots will fill up because of the ride being new. A Lightning Lane is basically a paid FastPass, where guests will pay a certain fee for access to the ride and skipping a portion of the line. Personally, I don’t think this is worth the cost but it does add some convenience.

As for accessing the virtual queue, the process is fairly easy.

Guests with a valid ticket and theme park reservation for the same day will have 2 opportunities to join the virtual queue via the Disneyland app, subject to availability: To access the virtual queue in the morning, guests must have a valid ticket and theme park reservation for Disneyland Park. Guests can confirm their designated party starting at 6:00 AM and then check for an available boarding group starting at 7:00 AM. To access the virtual queue later in the day, guests must have entered Disneyland Park with a one-park ticket or Park Hopper ticket, or Disney California Adventure Park with a Park Hopper ticket. Guests can confirm their designated party starting at noon and then check for an available boarding group starting at 1:00 PM.

If you’re going to be at the park all day, I’d recommend trying for the 7 AM slot. Then you have a backup option! The second group at 1 PM should be readily available on less busy days, at least a month or two down the road. For now, I’d expect both groups to run out of availability quickly. Make sure to note that you don’t need to be (or really can’t be) in the park to try for the first group at 7 but have to be to try for the second group at 1.

Before you try to enroll at either time make sure you have the Disneyland app downloaded and all of the tickets in your group linked. Once you do that, login to the app a couple of minutes before the designated times, make sure everyone is paired in there and then as soon as the clock hits 7 or 1, hit the ‘join group’ button. Make sure your phone is running at optimum speed and you have a good connection. Fast thumbs, everyone, fast thumbs.

Once you’ve joined your group, go about the Disneyland day as normal. Once your group number is called you will have an hour to get to the attraction and check in. This should give you time to finish whatever line or attraction you’re at!

I’m not sure how long the virtual queue will last at Runaway Railway. My guess would be that it runs through the summer crowds before moving to standby in the fall. I’d like to see a standby as soon as possible, even though the virtual queue system is easy to navigate with experience.

As for the actual ride, we’ll have a review out in the next few days! We’ve been on Runaway Railway in Disney World and the actual ride is more or less the same. Adding this quality attraction to Disneyland’s boisterous lineup is a boon for the park! Stay tuned for coverage on that as well as all of the Disneyland 100 events going on this weekend.

Do you have any other questions about the Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway virtual queue system? Let us know in the comments below! Planning a trip to a Disney Resort? Check out our planning guides to help you along the way. If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. All of those links are on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!