Shanghai Disneyland reopened in mid-May after months of closure, the first of the Disney parks to reopen. Since then the world has been watching to see what comes next- are social distancing guidelines working, how can what we learn from that park be applied to the other park around the world, etc.
Now Shanghai Disney is testing a new virtual queue, called the Disney Standby Pass. As explained in the app:
“A Disney Standby Pass is an online reservation tool launched by Shanghai Disney Resort to help guests better plan their queuing schedule for a more relaxed park experience. For attractions where the Disney Standby Pass is applicable, the corresponding attractions are only open to guests who hold either a Disney Standby Pass or Disney Premier Access for the corresponding time period. You can pick up a Disney Standby Pass — available on the Shanghai Disney Resort Official App for no extra charge and subject to availability, so you can wait in line for the attraction within your selected time frame.”
The attraction requiring a standby pass (currently only The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in Fantasyland) will only be open to those with a valid Standby Pass or who have Disney Premier Access. So once you have grabbed your Standby Pass, you can go wait in line for the ride during that one hour time period assigned to you. Standby Passes will be available for free with paid park tickets, while Disney Premier Access is a paid service and can be purchased while Standby Passes or Fastpasses are also held. This elimates a standby line- aka, the regular line you wait in when you can’t score a fastpass, to help promote social distancing.
Like boarding passes for Rise of the Resistance at Disney World, your whole party must be inside the park to score a Standby pass via the app. Standby Passes will be released every hour, with distribution concluding two hours before the park closes.
Here’s How It Works:
- Step 1 – Download the Shanghai Disney Resort Official App before you arrive at the park and create your own account with your mobile phone number or email address.
- Step 2 – After entering the park, open the Shanghai Disney Resort Official App, sign in and select “Get Standby Pass”, and scan the QR code on your park ticket.
- Step 3 – Create a party in the App by linking your group member’s park tickets so you can enjoy the attractions together using the same Disney Standby Pass return time. Ensure all members of your party have entered the park.
- Step 4 – Select the attraction you want to get a Disney Standby Pass for.
- Step 5 – Confirm the selection for your Disney Standby Pass.
- Step 6 – To redeem, go to the Disney Standby Pass return entrance at the attraction at the designated return time, and then show your QR code, found in “My Plan” on the App or the QR code on your park ticket.
As Walt Disney World reopens in July and other parks have no scheduled opening dates, there is a lot of question as to whether something similar to the Standby Pass will make it’s way to the other parks, especially as the need for social distancing continues. There has been no official word and the Standby Pass is just in it’s infancy as far as testing goes, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see something similar implemented in other parks across the world. After all, we already have something similar as far as Rise of the Resistance, which was mentioned earlier. No boarding pass, no ride. Much is up in the air in this unprecedented situation, so all we can do is watch and wait. Rest assured, as soon as we know something more concrete at Couponing to Disney, we’ll pass it on to you!
What would you think about a system like this?