Whether you’re traveling to Disneyland alone or with a group, you need to know about Single Rider lines. This option to get a shorter wait often flies under the radar, giving guests who are in the know the chance to get the most out of their time in the park by knowing which rides offer Single Rider and how to take advantage of those lines. Read on to learn all about Single Rider lines at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure!
Single Rider Rules and Basics
Single Rider lines are available at select rides to enable guests who are willing to ride alone to fill empty seats on the ride, thus ensuring the ride operates closer to maximum capacity. Not every ride has a Single Rider line—we’ll talk about which rides at Disneyland have Single Rider lines a bit below.
If your group uses a Single Rider line, everyone in your group must be prepared to ride alone. This means that everyone using the Single Rider line must be at least 7 years old (the minimum age for riding alone on any Disneyland rides). Mom can’t ride with Timmy because he decides he’s scared—that’s what the regular standby line is for. (Timmy also needs to meet the height requirement for the ride, but that’s hopefully obvious.)
Despite how some people may feel, you don’t have to be a solo traveler to use the Single Rider line. You have to ride alone, but that doesn’t mean you have to be in the park alone. If you and your family or friends want to use the Single Rider line—go for it! As long as you all are prepared to ride alone. The queue is there to keep the ride running near maximum capacity, not to appease loners.
Which Rides Have Single Rider at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure?
Probably the most important thing to know about single rider lines at Disneyland is that they don’t all have signs that say “Single Rider,” and thus they fly a bit under the radar. You can find a list in the Disneyland app, but it’s a bit cumbersome to get to. In the map, navigate to Guest Services -> Show List (top right) -> Single Rider -> Find on Map.
You can find an official list of rides on the Disneyland website here. Unofficially, here are two lists…
The Single Rider Lines at Disneyland are:
Matterhorn
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
(Hyper)Space Mountain
The Single Rider Lines at Disney California Adventure are:
Goofy’s Sky School
Grizzly River Run
Incredicoaster
Radiator Springs Racers
Soarin’
WEB Slingers
And at the end of this post, we talk about a super-secret bonus option at Disney California Adventure (fine—it’s the Buddy Pass at Monsters Inc., but I can’t list it here because it’s not technically a Single Rider line).
As with all things, your experience may vary. Single Rider lines are not always open or available. You might see rides that don’t have them today have them tomorrow. For example, Indiana Jones Adventure used to have one that was only sometimes available, but it hasn’t had one at all since 2020, I believe.
In all cases, check with a Cast Member before getting in the Single Rider line. Sometimes they give you a paper card indicating you’re a single rider. Sometimes the line is closed. The best way to do this is to first go to the standby entrance, and ask a Cast Member there the proper single rider procedures. Some of the signage even reminds you of this:
How fast are single rider lines?
My rule of thumb has historically been that Single Rider lines take about 1/3 the time of standby lines. I find at Disneyland that might be an “average”, but it’s more like “2/3 the standby wait if it’s a busy day or slow line or popular line, no wait otherwise.”
That said, while I’m not a daily visitor to Disneyland, in my experience (which includes several days of visiting each year), the single rider lines are always worth considering.
This doesn’t mean they’re a panacea. If you visit on a busy evening with lots of teenagers, you’re likely to find the single rider line at Radiator Springs Racers next to useless. I’ve noted the single rider lines I find particularly valuable, and the theme is the same—the more hidden the single rider line is, the less likely it is to be used.
Basics of Single Rider Strategy
Single Rider lines are just one bit of your Disneyland strategy. You want to know how to use them in conjunction with your rope drop, Early Entry (if applicable), and Lightning Lane strategies. I’ll give a quick look at how to think about these issues here, but the details will vary so much person-by-person and trip-by-trip.
Of the nine rides offering Single Rider lines at Disneyland resort, eight have Lightning Lanes that are part of Genie+, and the ninth is an individual Lightning Lane (Radiator Springs Racers). And I’d say that five-ish are “very popular” rides that you need to invest some energy in planning your day around.
If you’re willing to use them, Single Rider lines simplify your planning a bit. This will vary by ride and crowd levels, but if you’re open to using a Single Rider line, you don’t need to prioritize a ride as highly in your planning for the day.
For example, Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: BREAKOUT does not have a single rider line, but WEB Slingers does. These are two relatively popular rides (Mission: BREAKOUT is more popular) located near each other. If you need to pick one to go to as part of rope drop at Disney California Adventure, as part of Early Entry, or with a Genie+ pick, it makes sense to pick Mission: BREAKOUT and use the Single Rider line for WEB Slingers later in the day, if necessary.
Sticking with WEB Slingers, we usually recommend visiting it early in the morning, before heading to Pixar Pier / Paradise Gardens Park. But if you’re open to the Single Rider line later in the day, you might instead prioritize getting to Pixar Pier / Paradise Gardens Park (including Toy Story Midway Mania! and Incredicoaster) before waits start to grow there.
Matterhorn and Space Mountain are both popular Lightning Lane options that play into Disneyland rope drop strategy. But with both offering Single Rider lines, you might find them more trouble than they’re worth early in the day.
These are just a few examples of how to think about Single Rider lines fitting into your day. You might also use them to ride something multiple times in a day. Or a parent might use a Single Rider line to see if a ride would be appropriate for a younger ride. There are lots of possibilities.
Single Rider Lines at Disneyland Park
Now we’ll talk about the specific Single Rider lines at each park, starting with Disneyland. Some of these call for a lot of detail, but some just call for a simple reminder of where the Single Rider entrance is.
Matterhorn Single Rider Line
The Matterhorn Single Rider line is near the ride exit, opposite the Alice In Wonderland ride. There’s a permanent sign that points the way. As always, check with a Cast Member at the ride entrance before using the Single Rider line.
(This photo taken during a refurbishment—the sign in the middle indicates the ride is closed.)
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run Single Rider Line
Okay, the Smugglers Run single rider line is actually an exception to our general rule about popularity. The Single Rider line for Smugglers Run is well-marked at the entrance to the ride (if it isn’t illuminated, it’s still worth it to ask if it’s available):
Despite this prominent, it very rarely gets used. The reason for this is that single riders almost always wind up as engineers on the ride, and engineer is considered the most boring role. I don’t mind it, and I find it gives me a chance to basically sit back and enjoy the ride, but if you want a chance to be a pilot and fly the ship, you’ll need to use Genie+ or wait in the standby line.
Using the Single Rider line at Smugglers Run means you’ll miss the introduction by Hondo Ohnaka, which isn’t a huge loss in my mind. You’ll still get the same time in the ship, including (if there’s enough time) the chance to sit at the Dejarik table.
My final note about this line is that when you use it you’ll have a choice. Enter the Single Rider line and you’ll eventually come to two sets of stairs. One is straight ahead (or to the right), the other is a U-turn (to the left). You can always check both lines, but you’ll usually find the left (U-turn) stairs have a shorter line.
Space Mountain Single Rider Line
The Space Mountain single rider line is a hike to get to. Since the standby entrance is also a bit of a hike, I think you’re fine just going directly to the Single Rider line if you’re interested in it—there are usually Cast Members stationed there.
To get to the Space Mountain Single Rider Line at Disneyland, you need to go to the ride exit. Facing the ride from Tomorrowland, the entrance is on the left and the exit is on the right.
Go up the exit and you’ll come to a stand with Cast Members managing alternative access to the queue.
Tell them you’re a single rider and then follow the signage to the ride. I’ll add that you might need to get a Cast Member’s attention when you get to the end of the queue, I stood there for a bit before a Cast Member turned and spotted me (“Oh!”).
Single Rider Lines at Disney California Adventure
Now let’s talk about the Single Rider lines at Disney California Adventure, the other park at Disneyland Resort. As with above, some of these warrant more commentary than others.
Goofy’s Sky School Single Rider Line
The Single Rider line for Goofy’s Sky School is well-marked to the left of the Lightning Lane entrance:
Personally I simply don’t like this ride so I only ever use the Single Rider line (or any line) if it’s more or less a walk-on.
Grizzly River Run Single Rider Line
The Grizzly River Run Single Rider entrance is up the exit to the ride. Facing the ride, you’ll find signage for the single rider line to the right of the entrance:
As always, check with a Cast Member at the ride entrance before using the single rider line.
Incredicoaster Single Rider Line
The Incredicoaster Single Rider line can be quite the journey. Personally, between relatively low standby waits, easy Genie+ availability, and a lengthy Single Rider process, I’ve never found this line to be worth it.
The single rider line starts along Pixar Pier, not near the ride entrance.
From the Incredicoaster entrance, the Single Rider line is a few steps in the opposite direction of Jessie’s Critter Carousel. It’s opposite the spot where the ride on Incredicoaster itself begins (“5 4 3 2 1 GO!”). There’s typically a sign:
You’ll queue here for an unknown amount of time before being given the Single Rider card and sent through the gate into the queue. You’ll wait there some time before being put on an elevator up and then an elevator back down to the final holding area right by the loading zone.
Once you’re in this holding zone, it’s basically the trading floor of an old school stock exchange, where you wave your ticket high in the air and negotiate your way to the front of the pack as Cast Members loading the ride call for single riders (you can, of course, do this patiently, but know not everyone will) and elevators continue to drop people off.
My last time using this line it was a 30 minute standby wait and I still spent 22 minutes in the single rider queue.
Radiator Springs Racers Single Rider Line
The Radiator Springs Racers Single Rider line is probably the most popular in all of Disneyland. The Single Rider line is prominently marked on the left side of the ride entrance.
You’ll often find waits getting to 2/3 of the standby wait, even with a long standby wait. Like Incredicoaster, it’s a thrill ride popular with teenagers and young adults more likely to be willing to ride solo.
The Lightning Lane is also an individual option for separate purchase—not a part of Genie+—so the single rider line is often the best way to reduce your wait without spending even more money at Disneyland.
All of that said, this Single Rider line can be quite good. I last waited 6 minutes when the standby wait was 65 minutes. However, another day of that same trip, the standby wait was 90 minutes and Cast Members announced the Single Rider wait was 45 minutes. So…
Soarin’ Single Rider Line
The Soarin’ Single Rider line is not prominently marked. You need to approach the Cast Member at the entrance (no good pic, but they’re straight ahead in the below pic) and ask for a Single Rider pass. You’ll be sent up a different queue than other guests.
Like all things Soarin’, there’s still some waiting involved. Whether it’s rope drop, or Lightning Lane, or Single Rider, I’ve just never had a fast experience getting on Soarin’. Similar to Incredicoaster, the relatively low standby waits and low Genie+ popularity make this one of my least favorite options as a single rider.
At my most recent use, I waited 15 minutes compared to a 30 minute standby wait.
WEB Slingers Single Rider Line
The WEB Slingers Single Rider entrance is well-marked between the standby and Lightning Lane entrances, though sometimes an umbrella blocks it:
Notably, this Single Rider line doesn’t skip the introductory scene to the ride in the queue (with Peter Parker and the spiders), you’re just held in a separate section of the room.
At my most recent use, I waited 15 minutes compared to a 35 minute standby wait.
Bonus: Buddy Pass at Monster’s Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue
If there’s one true “secret” in Disney parks touring, it’s the Buddy Pass. The Buddy Pass does not appear on any official Disney websites except in a few PlanDisney answers. It’s not in the app, and there’s no signage for it. So what is Buddy Pass?
The Buddy Pass line is like the Single Rider line except instead of being just for single riders, it’s for singles or pairs. This means you will not have to ride alone to use the Buddy Pass, you just need to be willing to ride alone or with only one other person. A group of 3, for example, would break into 2+1, while a couple can just ride together.
Historically, I know of only two rides that ever used Buddy Pass—Monster’s Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue and Toy Story Midway Mania!—both at Disney California Adventure. Nowadays, I’m given to understand Monster’s Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue is the only ride with Buddy Pass at Disneyland Resort. But again, without signage or official documentation, you can only find out by asking.
To use a Buddy Pass, approach the ride exit and ask a Cast Member for a Buddy Pass. If it’s available, they’ll give you a pass and send you up the exit.
