Disneyland to Try Plan to Cut Waits for Rides

Just in time for the influx of millions of tourists, Disneyland is preparing to experiment with a way to avoid long lines at its most popular rides this summer.

In an innovation tested successfully at Walt Disney Co.’s Florida parks, visitors will be offered a choice of when they want to ride some of the Anaheim theme park’s most sought-after attractions. They can wait in the regular line whenever they wish, or visit a kiosk to obtain a boarding pass that sets a time for them to return later in the day, allowing them to bypass long lines.

By cutting time spent in line, the program, known as “virtual queueing,” reduces visitors’ frustration and boosts per-capita spending by giving visitors more time to buy food and souvenirs. The park drew more than 14 million visitors last year.

“They want to get it up and running by the Fourth of July,” a Disney ride expert said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and Indiana Jones Adventure rides are among those on the list, the source said.

In Florida tests, the passes set an hourlong window during which riders could return later in the day. But the source said a slightly different system is under discussion at Disneyland.

“It’ll be along the lines of, ‘Show up any time after 3,’ ” he said. “I think that could prevent problems if a ride breaks down for part of the day.”

Former Disneyland employee Kevin Yee encountered virtually no wait when he tried the system at Space Mountain in Florida. But he said it seemed likely that riders who save time at the most popular rides would simply wind up creating longer lines at secondary attractions.

One potential snag in Anaheim is cramped space, the ex-park worker said. At Magic Kingdom in Florida, patterned after Disneyland but larger, it was easy to set up the virtual queue at the exit to the attraction, but that may not be possible at Disneyland, he said.

“And if you set up two separate lines at the entrance, it could cause irritations,” he said. “What do you do if people [in the long line] get mad and start jumping into the other line?”

A Disneyland spokesman could not be reached for comment on the prospects for the new program.

The park is also preparing to relaunch Columbia, the replica sailing ship that has been closed since a fatal accident Christmas Eve. It could be operating again by month’s end.