Guests Instantly Walk On Rides After Disney Debuts New Single Rider Passes, Man Hilariously Spotted Alone On Big Thunder

It seems like after the elimination of FastPasses, Disney is looking to implement new “Single Rider” lines — and this one individual was seen riding Big Thunder Mountain all on their own.

Related: Spider-Man Costumes Banned From Disney Park’s Halloween Season

It’s well known by now that Disney appears to have long gotten rid of their once-iconic FastPass system, with the Disney Parks in the US such as the Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Resort turning to paid options like Genie+ and Lightning Lane to skip the wait, while Parks like Disneyland Paris and the Tokyo Disney Resort resorting to the paid Disney Premier Access systems to shorten wait times for Guests, as well as “paid FastPass” features included in Disney Hotel packages.

It seems like The Walt Disney Company and Oriental Land Company are experimenting with something new, however, with brand-new Single Rider passes that have been distributed to Guests today.

Over at the Tokyo Disney Resort where the experimentation appears to be happening, the paid Disney Premier Access is only available for specific rides and E-Ticket attractions like the newly opened Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast over in the Beauty and the Beast themed area in Tokyo Disneyland, and Soaring: Fantastic Flight in Tokyo DisneySea — both costing 2,000 Japanese yen each (around $14 at the time of writing). This Premier Access system definitely leaves out some extremely popular thrill rides like Tokyo Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain and Tokyo DisneySea’s rendition of the Indiana Jones Adventure ride over at California’s Disneyland Park, Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull — which the new Single Rider Pass experiment seems to be trying to fix.

Related: Disney’s Paid “FastPass” System Added to More Rides

Twitter user @N128BGre shared the following snapshot of the new experimental passes for Big Thunder Mountain and Indiana Jones Adventure, as well as a blogpost with more information on the newly implemented system:

【ディズニー】ビッグサンダーマウンテン＆インディジョーンズアドベンチャーでシングルライダーのテスト運用レポ「速攻で乗れた」#TDR_now 9月21日 https://t.co/oQmIAn2ecq

— N128歌 (@N128BGre) September 21, 2022

According to Guests trying out the new Single Rider system — that is utilizing the old FastPass queue — these rides are now basically walk-ons.

@greeeeeeeen_man shared a screenshot of the timer on their phone, claiming that it only took them 3:49 minutes to arrive at the ride platform of Indiana Jones Adventure:

(translated) Indy

Single Rider verification

this long to the platform

インディー
シングルライダー検証

乗り場まで

インディー
シングルライダー検証

乗り場まで pic.twitter.com/Amjw4hyARy

— リトグリマン (@greeeeeeeen_man) September 21, 2022

Big Thunder Mountain Single Riders seemed to corroborate a similarly good experience, with @hmywshSfkKl4KTJ sharing:

I used the Big Thunder Single Rider line. It was about 14:30 before the end of the Dreaming Up! Parade, and the usual waiting time was 35 minutes. In the case of a Single Rider, it took less than 5 minutes to get to the platform using the old FastPass line. I was handed a Single Rider tag when I lined up. #tdr_now

ビックサンダーシングルライダー利用してきました。
ドリーミングアップ終了時に向かって14時30分前くらいで通常待ち時間35分でシングルライダーの場合旧ファストパスライン使って使用で乗り場まで5分掛からないでくらいでした。
並ぶ時にシングルライダーの札を渡されました。

#tdr_now

ビックサンダーシングルライダー利用してきました。
ドリーミングアップ終了時に向かって14時30分前くらいで通常待ち時間35分でシングルライダーの場合旧ファストパスライン使って使用で乗り場まで5分掛からないでくらいでした。
並ぶ時にシングルライダーの札を渡されました。#tdr_now pic.twitter.com/CgSe3jNLfP

— masaki (@hmywshSfkKl4KTJ) September 21, 2022

Earlier, Disney Park fans and Guests also spotted this individual riding Big Thunder Mountain on their own — seemingly redefining “Single Rider”!

@rituka182769 posted the following hilarious pictures with a single rider waving at Guests while riding the Big Thunder Mountain coaster all alone:

(translated) LAUGHING😂😂😂

笑ってる😂😂😂
#TDR_now

笑ってる😂😂😂#TDR_now pic.twitter.com/MyfhP4dA8q

— 9/10-11池袋a! の立華(りつか)みなパピ部💕 (@rituka182769) September 20, 2022

There was some buzz online as Disney Park fans wondered who this crazy-lucky person was, since there was already chatter about the newly reintroduced Single Rider Pass.

@rituka182769 gave some insight into who this lucky rider was:

(translated) @1217tatuya_: Is this a Cast Member? I have never ridden Big Thunder by myself.

これはキャストさんですか？自分も流石に1人でビッグサンダー乗ったことは無いです。

(in reply) @rituka182769: This is the Cast riding to check at the start of operations immediately after rope drop 🥰

こちらは開演直後の運転開始のチェックでキャストさんが乗られてるものになります🥰

こちらは開演直後の運転開始のチェックでキャストさんが乗られてるものになります🥰

— 9/10-11池袋a! の立華(りつか)みなパピ部💕 (@rituka182769) September 21, 2022

The image of the lone Cast Member riding Big Thunder Mountain in silence while waving to Guests is certainly a funny one, though!

The new Single Rider Pass is definitely creating a fair amount of buzz, with Guests getting the chance to cut wait times drastically as the Tokyo Disney Resort implements (or re-implements) something of a “free” system using the old FastPass queue that’s been sitting there essentially collecting dust for months.

These massively shortened wait times are definitely something to keep an eye out for if you’re visiting the Tokyo Disney Resort soon. Additionally, if this proves successful in heavily populated Disney Parks like Tokyo Disney, it might mean tweaks and changes to rides over in the Disney Parks stateside.

What do you think of the Single Rider Pass system? Share your thoughts in the comments below!