Credit: DisneyDisney is bringing back a virtual queue system for certain experiences over the holidays.
The festive period is a busy time to visit any Disney park. At Walt Disney World Resort, for example, crowds tend to peak around Thanksgiving and Christmas Day itself ā when Magic Kingdom in particular has previously hit capacity ā while the week between Christmas and New Year’s is also infamously busy.
Unsurprisingly, that can mean long (and we meanĀ long) lines for each park’s most popular attractions. The experiences drawing the longest lines are often those that operate only during the holidays, which is why one resort has decided to bring back virtual queues.
Virtual Queues Return to Disney Christmas Celebration
Guests hoping to meet two key festive characters at Disney this year will need to join a virtual queue.
To be specific, anyone hoping to come face-to-face with Santa Claus and Jack Skellington at Disneyland Park will need to join the queue via the Disneyland Paris Mobile App or with the aid of a cast member at the entrance to each meet-and-greet.
š Two character meet & greets during Disney Enchanted Christmas will require guests to join a virtual queue:
š Jack Skellington in Frontierland
š Santa Claus at his new meet & greet location inside Disneyland Clothiers on Main Street, U.S.A.
The virtual queue usually opensā¦ pic.twitter.com/STgJ8vasqn
— Pixie Dust DLP āØ (@PixiedustDLP) November 6, 2026
Jack Skellington meets guests in Frontierland. Meanwhile, Santa Claus is available at a new location for 2026, Disneyland Clothiers on Main Street, U.S.A., which guests have praised as a warmer environment than his previous spot at Hyperion.
Both characters required a virtual queue in 2025, meaning this feature isn’t new but rather a returning complication for anyone planning a festive Parisian excursion in 2026.
First look at the new Santa Meet and Greet at Clothiers. Curious how this will work. It feels a lot warmer than the arcade at Hyperion #DLP
First look at the new Santa Meet and Greet at Clothiers. Curious how this will work. It feels a lot warmer than the arcade at Hyperion #DLP pic.twitter.com/xnQzgnewsY
— Arvid – Travel to the Magic (@travelttmagic) November 7, 2026
They’re not the only characters requiring a virtual queue. Disneyland Paris also requires guests to use the service to meet Mickey Mouse and Nick Wilde, as well as to access the meet-and-greets within Princess Pavilion, Rencontre Royale in World of Frozen (which is celebrating its first Christmas at Disney Adventure World), and the Super Hero Training Center in Avengers Campus.
Of course, virtual queues don’t exactly have a stellar reputation at Disney’s theme parks. Guests have frequently complained about the stress of securing a boarding group, with slots often disappearing within minutes of becoming available. Technical glitches and the uncertainty of actually getting to experience an attraction have only added to the frustration.
At Disneyland Paris, slots to meet in-demand characters (like Jack Skellington and Santa Claus) often go within mere seconds, which means a lot of frustrated guests on a daily basis.
Disney has previously used virtual queues for major attractions such as Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, TRON Lightcycle / Run, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. While the system eliminates the need to physically stand in line for hours, it also forces guests to plan their day around unpredictable return times.
The system has also been utilized for the likes of Star Wars Day (AKA May the 4th) at Disney World, when guests have had to reserve a slot to purchase limited-time merchandise at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
How do you feel about Disney’s virtual queues?
