Single Rider is one of those things that sounds more complicated than it really is.
If you are happy to ride separately from the rest of your group, it can be one of the easiest ways to cut down queue time at Disneyland Paris. We use it regularly, particularly when travelling with another adult or teenagers, but there are definitely times when we would rather stay together.
The biggest thing is understanding what Single Rider actually means before you join.
Before you join the queue
You can still queue together before being split at the loading area, but after that you really can be separated. You may ride in different rows, different vehicles or even different ride cycles. Single Rider wait times can also be wildly inaccurate in either direction, so we always treat the displayed time as a guide rather than a promise.
What Single Rider actually means
Single Rider is a separate queue used to fill empty seats on an attraction. If a ride vehicle has space for one extra person, Cast Members can take someone from the Single Rider queue rather than leaving that seat empty. It helps Disney fill ride vehicles efficiently and, when it works well, can move you through much faster than the normal queue.
You can still join the queue together. We often do. You can chat and stay together right up until you reach the loading area, but from that point onwards you should assume you will be split up.
That does not simply mean sitting in different rows. You might be put into different ride vehicles or even leave the station several ride cycles apart. If you join Single Rider as a group, everyone needs to be genuinely comfortable with that.
Who we think it works best for
For us, Single Rider works brilliantly with another adult or with teenagers. Everyone understands what is happening, nobody minds being separated for a few minutes and you can simply meet again at the attraction exit afterwards.
It is also really useful when one person wants to ride something that everyone else is happy to skip. Instead of the whole group standing around waiting, the person riding can often get through much more quickly and everyone can carry on with their day.
With little children, we take a very different view. Because there is no guarantee that you will even ride at the same time, we personally would not use Single Rider with younger children. The potential queue saving is not worth the stress of being properly separated from them inside an attraction.
When Single Rider is actually worth using
We do not automatically choose Single Rider just because it is available. We look at what the normal queue is doing and whether the potential saving is actually worth splitting up for.
If the standard queue is 45 minutes and Single Rider is showing 10, we will usually take the chance. If it is 25 minutes versus 20, we would normally stay together. A five-minute saving is not enough for us to change the way we experience the ride.
We find it particularly useful for repeat rides. If we have already done an attraction together once and fancy another go later in the day, Single Rider can be perfect. You have already had the shared experience, so splitting up for the second ride does not really take anything away from it.
The wait times can be all over the place
This is probably the most important thing we have learned about Single Rider: the displayed wait can be wildly inaccurate in both directions.
We have joined queues that looked fairly long and flown through them. We have also joined apparently short Single Rider queues that barely moved. That is because Single Rider only really moves when the loading team needs individual people to fill spare seats.
If ride vehicles keep leaving with one empty seat, the queue can move brilliantly. If the normal queue happens to be filling the vehicles efficiently, Single Rider can slow right down. That is why we look at the displayed time, but we also look at the physical queue and use a bit of common sense before committing.
Some attractions are much better for it than others
Single Rider is definitely not equally useful everywhere.
For us, Avengers Assemble: Flight Force is one of the best examples. We have had some really good results there when the normal queue is busy, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril is another one we regularly check.
Ratatouille can be excellent too, particularly for a repeat ride, while Hyperspace Mountain can either be brilliant or painfully slow depending on how the queue is moving at that moment.
There are other attractions where we really wish Single Rider existed because it would suit them perfectly, but it simply is not offered. That is why we see it as another tool to use when the opportunity appears rather than something we build the whole day around.
The rides we check first
These are the Single Rider attractions we are most likely to check when the normal queue starts building.
The Coffee & Magic Verdict
Single Rider can be brilliant at Disneyland Paris, but it is not a magic shortcut and we would never automatically choose it over the normal queue.
For us, it works best with adults and teenagers, particularly when the standard queue is long or we are going back for another ride. We compare the two waits, look at how busy the Single Rider queue actually appears and decide whether the saving feels worthwhile.
With little children, we stay together. With everyone else, if the saving looks substantial and nobody minds being split up, Single Rider can be one of the easiest ways to squeeze a bit more out of the day.
