What Queues are worth Queuing for?

[Megatron88]

Bit of a strange question but next May my partner and I are going back to Orlando for the third time. We are staying in RPR (our second time there, first trip we stayed at HRH). As we always get Express passes when we stay we always use the Express Pass line. My question is, are there any queues that are worth going through the regular queue for? Our first stay back in 2016 we did the full queue for FJ and Gringotts because they didn't have EP then and they were great, just wondering if there were any others that are that good. I've heard that Kong queue is good but we never got any of that for Express pass as we essentially went straight to the loading vehicle.

 

[Disxuni]

The only thing that interested me in the Kong queue would be the Witch, which you can technically see even if you don't use the regular queue, but if you want a up close look, or take a photo, perhaps do the regular queue for Kong if it's really something you want to check out.

As for other queues being worth a check out for, while some are decent, I do not think anything screams absolute "must see" for all. However, it depends on what kind of fan you are of the film, so it differs from person to person.

For one example, Men in Black isn't scream mind blowing incredible, but one can argue it's as immersive as FJ in a way, in that it first poses as part of the World's Fair, you go into an elevator, and find out it's a facade and you're going to be training to part of the Men in Black. You see a few things along the way that are part of the headquarters and see weaponry, as well as "Worms" too. Depending on how slow it is and how many TMs they have, you can also do a tour.

However, once again, if Men in Black isn't your thing at all, or you are a fan, but not a huge fan of it, it's probably not a big deal. The Mummy can be argued as great too with it's queue due to it's set pieces and props, but once again, might be a relatively cool queue to some, but some might not appreciate it as much as others.

 

[Megatron88]

The only thing that interested me in the Kong queue would be the Witch, which you can technically see even if you don't use the regular queue, but if you want a up close look, or take a photo, perhaps do the regular queue for Kong if it's really something you want to check out.

As for other queues being worth a check out for, while some are decent, I do not think anything screams absolute "must see" for all. However, it depends on what kind of fan you are of the film, so it differs from person to person.

For one example, Men in Black isn't scream mind blowing incredible, but one can argue it's as immersive as FJ in a way, in that it first poses as part of the World's Fair, you go into an elevator, and find out it's a facade and you're going to be training to part of the Men in Black. You see a few things along the way that are part of the headquarters and see weaponry, as well as "Worms" too. Depending on how slow it is and how many TMs they have, you can also do a tour.

Thanks! The reason I asked the question is I've been watching a lot of theme park history videos on rides etc and there was one about The Mummy ride and I had no idea of the story for that and who the guy at the start of the ride is that shouts "Get out of here!" until I watched the video and it got me thinking, what else am I missing out on.

Yes I was thinking of asking about the MiB tour when we are there. We're over in Orlando for 14 days so we should be able to find a quiet time in the park when they might be able to do the tour.

 

[macraven]

Spider-Man
MiB
Mummy
ET
Dr Doom

I hit once each trip then just use the ride ep lines rest of the time

 

[Disxuni]

Thanks! The reason I asked the question is I've been watching a lot of theme park history videos on rides etc and there was one about The Mummy ride and I had no idea of the story for that and who the guy at the start of the ride is that shouts "Get out of here!" until I watched the video and it got me thinking, what else am I missing out on.

Yes I was thinking of asking about the MiB tour when we are there. We're over in Orlando for 14 days so we should be able to find a quiet time in the park when they might be able to do the tour.

Yeah, while you're waiting there is also a video playing of behind the scenes of filming the Mummy. It is a "mock" interview while Brandon is being interviewed he keeps asking for a cup of coffee on and off during the video in between the behind the scenes footage and other clips of people being interviewed.

It is something that almost most guests do not understand I would imagine nowadays, as the queue is typically not backed up like it used to be when it first opened and is never at a stand still.

The video only plays in the studio / prop area which is at the very beginning of the queue and most people do not wait in anymore, or at least not for long as the queue on average is never that long, after that where most people wait, is where the constructed sets and pieces are and the video is not shown in this portion of the queue.

If I had to estimate I would say it is only shown in for a duration of a 1/4 of the ride queue.

 

[only hope]

Fyi, Gringotts express is parallel to standby the entire time in the building. The only difference is express doesn’t see any of the extended queue.

Nearly every ride has more to see in standby, so whichever things you’re a big fan of will be worth it if the line isn’t too long. Some express pass lines skip everything, like trolley in the sky (though that ones not as immersive as others, if you’re a huge Seuss fan it’s neat). Spiderman express actually has a fair bit to look at, but it’s different from standby.

That being said, the two with the biggest difference are FJ (no Herbology, statues, entry to Dumbledores office), and MiB (skip preshow, interesting things on walls, break room, weapon display, funny safety video).

 

[maverik85]

Last time I went Kong had recently opened so not sure about the newer stuff, but HP has the best queues by far, none of the others really meet it. But some add tot he story a bit. Spider-Man and Transformers do and are cool but not necessary, so would do if its a really short line otherwise skip it.
Kong had a fun line, almost like going through a haunted house a bit with a couple cool animatronics, but not worth an extremely long wait either. If you have an express pass probably wouldn't go over 30 minutes or so for it.
Mummy's is also good as well. Some cool Egyptian props and some interactive stuff that is fun. Don't think you really need it to understand the ride, the story is told through videos at the start of the queue but it usually doesn't build up until into the props area. So if you just want it for the story dont' think it'll help i'd just look it up online.

 

[Megatron88]

Thanks all! I appreciate the responses! Think will keep an eye on the wait times and if they're short, I'll drag my partner through the regular line for things like Spiderman and MiB and a few others. As it'll be our third time back and we're there for a while, we won't feel too bothered if we have to wait a little just to get something extra and new for us.

 

[hhoope01]

We actually like the "waiting area" for the Jimmy Fallon ride better than the ride itself. In fact, the last time we were in US, we didn't even go on the ride. We played some of the games and watched the Barbershop Quartet go through their routine and then left. It seems they have a special set of doors specifically for folks that only want to see the "show" and not get on the Fallon ride.