Disneyland Brings Back COVID-Era Restriction for All Guests, Effective in One Week

Disneyland Resort is bringing back a COVID-era restriction in just one week. Guests must use the Virtual Queue system to see Disneyland Park’s newest show, “Walt Disney – A Magical Life.”

Walt Disney Imagineering first announced plans for “Walt Disney – A Magical Life” at D23 Expo 2024. The Main Street Opera House show will feature the first-ever audio-animatronic of Walt Disney, and the lobby will be full of artifacts from the Walt Disney Archives. After its initial run, the attraction will alternate performances with “Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln.”

Disneyland Resort later revealed that the show would open on Disneyland Park’s 70th birthday, July 17. Many of the Disneyland70 celebrations began in May, but the Southern California Disney park reserved this historic attraction for its actual anniversary. But just one week before the “Walt Disney – A Magical Life” is set to open, Disney made a major announcement about guest access to the attraction.

On Thursday, Disneyland Resort announced that “Walt Disney – A Magical Life” will utilize a Virtual Queue system when it opens on July 17. Guests will have two opportunities to join the Virtual Queue via the Disneyland Resort app, once at 7:00 a.m. with a Disneyland Park reservation and valid ticket, and once at noon as long as they’re inside Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park with a valid Park Hopper ticket.

Theme park journalist Scott Gustin shared Disneyland Resort’s official statement on X (formerly known as Twitter):

NEW: A virtual queue will be in place for Walt Disney – A Magical Life when it opens July 17 at Disneyland Park. There will be 2 daily opportunities to join the VQ:

NEW: A virtual queue will be in place for Walt Disney – A Magical Life when it opens July 17 at Disneyland Park. There will be 2 daily opportunities to join the VQ: pic.twitter.com/lCTSRgEqq5

— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) July 10, 2025

After joining the Virtual Queue, guests are assigned a boarding group and an estimated wait time. The Disneyland Resort app sends a notification when each boarding group is called, and guests usually have an hour to return to the attraction.

Each guest can only join the Virtual Queue once daily, and getting a timeslot doesn’t guarantee access to “Walt Disney – A Magical Life.” Technical difficulties or other extenuating circumstances could mean that later boarding groups aren’t called before Disneyland Park closes.

Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort first introduced the Virtual Queue system when Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance opened in 2019 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and in 2020 at Disneyland Park. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Disney parks used a Virtual Queue system for several new and popular attractions, including Haunted Mansion Holiday, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, TRON Lightcycle / Run, and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.

In February, Disney’s Virtual Queue system disappeared completely after Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom Park and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT shifted to standby lines. However, the hiatus was short-lived, as it will soon return to EPCOT for the Annual Passholder previews of Test Track 3.0 and Disneyland Park for “Walt Disney – A Magical Life.”

It’s unclear when the Virtual Queue will be removed from “Walt Disney – A Magical Life.” Disney California Adventure Park currently also offers a Virtual Queue for the “World of Color Happiness!” nighttime spectacular, it isn’t mandatory for guests hoping to view the show.

Have you used the Virtual Queue system at Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World Resort? Share your experience with Inside the Magic in the comments!