How to Ride Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure at DCA
Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure in Marvel’s Avengers Campus is the newest attraction at Disney California Adventure. This ride guide offers info & tips for minimizing your wait, and everything you need to know to beat the crowds at one of Disneyland Resort’s longest lines. (Updated March 24, 2022.)
We update this Spider-Man ride guide regularly based on the latest changes at DCA. Late last year, Disneyland Resort announced that it would only open the virtual queue for Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure “as needed” and would use a standby queue when crowds were lower.
While Disneyland left the door open for bringing back the virtual queue back at a later date when crowds increased, that didn’t happen during the busy holiday season or peak of spring break. As such, we assume the Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure virtual queue is now gone for good. With that in mind, we’re here to break it all down and explain your best and worst options for doing the new Spider-Man ride at DCA…
Instead of the virtual queue, Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure now uses a traditional standby line and is one of Disney California Adventure’s two Individual Lightning Lane (ILL) attractions, with the other being Radiator Springs Racers in Cars Land.
On average, Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure has the second-longest wait time at Disney California Adventure, just behind Radiator Springs Racers. On a normal day during Spring 2022, you could expect to wait 74 minutes for the Spider-Man ride, versus 82 minutes for the Cars Land headliner. (Even though it’s now a decade old, Radiator Springs Racers is so much better than Web Slingers.)
When it comes to the easiest way to beat the crowd at Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure, that’s simply paying for front of line access via the Individual Lightning Lane. Daily prices for Web Slingers are all over the place–we’ve seen as low as $7 per person and as high as $18.
With that said, if you’re only going to purchase Individual Lightning Lanes or Genie+ at Disney California Adventure, we’d recommend the latter. For advice on that, consult our Guide to Genie+ and Lightning Lanes at Disneyland & DCA.
There are currently no extra hours at Disney California Adventure for on-site guests or anyone else, so everyone else has an equal shot at Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure once the park opens.
As with pretty much any attraction, the interactive Marvel attraction has its shortest lines of the day right at rope drop. You’ll need to do it first in order to benefit from those low waits–within ~30 minutes of park opening, its wait times spike.
From there until late afternoon, wait times are fairly constant–if not slightly increasing. There’s no lunch lull or other sweet spot to target Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure. You either want to do it first thing or wait until much later in the day.
Speaking of which, Web Slingers wait times tend to fall in the last 2 hours of the day, with the biggest drop off in the last hour. That dynamic will probably change further once World of Color returns, and draws even more DCA guests away from Avengers Campus.
One thing of which you should be aware is downtime with Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure. Like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, this ride goes down a decent amount. Breakdowns earlier in the day can create a backlog of Individual Lightning Lane guests, and Disney prioritizes those–this means standby wait times will be higher and the line will move slow later when the ride has a “bad” day.
This can also present an opportunity if you get lucky, and are able to jump in line right when Web Slingers returns from downtime. It’s worth watching the Disneyland app and being in the area when Web Slinger returns from being ‘temporarily closed.’ Even if the posted wait time when it returns from downtime is high, it’s often a near walk-on. (We’ve waited ~5 minutes when the posted wait time following a breakdown was 60 minutes.)
To that point, we’ve noticed serious wait time inflation for Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure. Because of its reliability woes and balancing the Individual Lightning Lane with the standby line, posted wait times are often inaccurate…and by a wide margin.
There’s no guarantee that this will be the case for you, and it’s hard to assess the actual v. posted wait time simply by eyeballing the overflow queue (since downtime and the backlog of Individual Lightning Lane purchases also impacts the standby wait time and line length). However, if the return line isn’t long for the Lightning Lane and the standby queue also isn’t spilling out the entrance, it’s unlikely Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure has longer than a 60 minute wait.
Finally, Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure has a Single Rider line–also just like Radiator Springs Racers. Meaning you can bypass both lines without purchasing an Individual Lightning Lane…you just won’t be seated with the rest of your party.
It’s still early and Web Slingers just started offering Single Rider, but our expectation is that it’ll be pretty efficient, but not quite as efficient as Radiator Springs Racers. That attraction seats 3 guests per row, which is an odd number that lends itself to open seats. Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure seats 4 guests per row, which is a more common party size or combination (2 couples).
That wraps up our revised strategy guide for riding Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure as of Spring 2022. We’ll keep you updated with what you need to know for doing the Avengers Campus addition as things change.
As far as current info goes, that’s it. What follows is ‘legacy’ info about the now-defunct virtual queue, preserved for posterity–and just in case Disneyland brings it back…
Disneyland has changed its approach to using the virtual queue for Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure: “We plan to open the virtual queue for Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure as needed each day. When the virtual queue is open, guests can request to join after entering Disney California Adventure.”
“The standby line access for Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure may be available at park open and again after boarding groups have been called for the day. Check attraction listings to learn if current attraction access is via virtual queue or standby line.” At least for now, that renders a lot of the specifics in this guide to the virtual queue for Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure irrelevant.
To experience Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure, guests are required to join the virtual queue, only accessible via the Disneyland mobile app. Distribution times for virtual queue enrollment are daily at 7:00 am and 12:00 pm (noon) Pacific. In order to give as many guests as possible the opportunity to sling webs alongside Spider-Man, each guest can enter the virtual queue no more than once per day.
Starting the Day at Disney California Adventure
Guests with a valid ticket and theme park reservation who start their day at Disney California Adventure can access the virtual queue system via the Disneyland app and check for an available boarding group starting at 7:00 am on the day of their park reservation. Since the park isn’t open then, this can obviously be done from home, a hotel room, or literally anywhere else.
Guests who were unable to join a boarding at that time may check for an available boarding group again at 12:00 pm. Disneyland.com currently includes the verbiage that this can be done from anywhere, but that might be an error–if this works the same way as Rise of the Resistance, you’ll need to have entered DCA or Disneyland first. We’ll update this accordingly once we’ve confirmed one way or the other.
Starting the Day at Disney California Adventure or Disneyland (with a Park Hopper Ticket)
To access the virtual queue beginning at 12:00 pm, guests must have a valid ticket and park reservation, and have entered Disney California Adventure or Disneyland with a Park Hopper ticket by that time. Guests beginning their day at Disneyland may then enter Disney California Adventure with their Park Hopper ticket after 1:00 pm for their boarding group.
Regardless of when you join the virtual queue, you’ll receive a push notification via the Disneyland app when your boarding group is called to return. You’ll have up to an hour from the time of the alert to go to the entrance of Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure.
The only way to experience Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure is with valid admission into Disney California Adventure Park and via the virtual queue. No standby lines are available. Access to a boarding group is subject to availability and not guaranteed. Distribution times are subject to change or cancellation.
Joining the virtual queue does not guarantee the ability to experience Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure. Guests may only enter a virtual queue once per day for each attraction, and may not hold a boarding group for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure at the same time.
In terms of strategy, our advice here is similar to what’s contained in our Guide to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disneyland. Keep in mind that Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure hasn’t opened yet, so we’ll supplement this once it does.
However, there are a few things we know are important to successfully scoring boarding passes in any virtual queue. This advice will almost certainly translate to Web Slingers and any other virtual queue that Disneyland adds in the future…
First, it’s important to optimize to ensure your timing is accurate and your phone and internet connection are as fast as possible. This might sound like overkill, but milliseconds matter. We’d recommend doing a quick speed test a few minutes before it’s time to join the virtual queue.
Anything at or above 50 Mbps should be sufficient, but the higher the better. If necessary, move around to get away from other people or increase your speed to that threshold. Additionally, test on both WiFi and cellular to see which is faster and use that.
Second, make sure your phone is fully updated and force close all apps, including the Disneyland app shortly before it’s time to join the virtual queue. This will speed up your phone so there’s no lag on your end.
Finally, double-check the time on your phone or watch against time.gov, which is what Disneyland uses for opening the virtual queue. Attempt to join the virtual queue for Web Slingers the second the clock on time.gov hits 7 am or noon. These three simple steps can often be the difference between success and failure!
In terms of commentary, the big question among readers is likely going to be whether this virtual queue system is the future of attractions at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. We doubt it.
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance debuted with a virtual queue during normal operations because it was (and still is) highly unreliable, inefficient, and prone to hour-plus breakdowns. It’s possible that Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure has a virtual queue because, like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, it’s unreliable and breaks down a lot.
What’s more likely is that Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure is opening during a time of physical distancing. This means a few things: attractions are leaving seats unfilled, lines are longer because there’s more spacing in them, and queues are “stacked” outdoors, causing more congestion in their respective lands.
Additionally, the footprint of Avengers Campus isn’t very large and there’s minimal queue space for Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure, meaning that there’s not much space for a physical queue in the new Marvel land. The ride’s popularity will need to die down a bit before it can use a standby line.
If you’re worried about virtual queues and being up at 7 am to score difficult boarding groups being “the future” of attractions, look no further than Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. This is the newest attraction at Walt Disney World, and it does not use them. That’s because it’s a high capacity, reliable attraction.
In the long term, this virtual queue for Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure probably will not be necessary. Heck, this may not even be a problem in the near-term. Once Disneyland totally eliminates physical distancing, it’s entirely possible Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure won’t need a virtual queue and will retire it shortly thereafter.
That’s the optimistic perspective, and probably the (more or less) accurate one. The pessimistic perspective is that Disneyland won’t be quick enough to evolve its system on the fly, and the virtual queue will remain in place all summer and prevent guests from riding multiple times per day even when such restrictions are unnecessary. As a side note, it now becomes even more difficult to justify buying the WEB Tech toy-to-life accessories!
Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of other places!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Are you looking forward to Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure? What are your thoughts on the virtual queue? Worried that this is going to be common for future attractions, or agree that it’s likely a temporary thing resulting from physical distancing? Are you planning a visit to Disneyland Resort for the opening of Avengers Campus, or will you wait until later? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
We gave in and bought LL a few weeks ago just to experience it. When we showed up the ride had been down for awhile and the LL was backed up to Avengers campus entrance with a 30+ minute wait. We tried again the next day and the same thing happened. We had better luck hovering around the entrance during a breakdown and walking straight on when it opened.
FYI system for Web Slingers has switched to choice of either standby or individual Lightning Lane purchase.
I love your ROTR tips and tricks, Tom! I’ve used them and have been lucky enough to score ROTR boarding groups 6, 8, 66, and 31.
I’ve passed on your tips to others and will try my luck with Webslinger when we go to DCA mid June.
Thanks for the hard work and research, Tom & Sarah! Love your blog!
Tom i burst out loud reading your tips on how to get a boarding group at 7am, it read like a briefing getting ready to run some kind of tactical disneyland special operation mission hahaha. i coulda swore somewhere in there you were gonna say “make sure everyone in your party has synched their watches and come up with a safety word”
I know of some people that live in Florida with annual passes. They try and get into Rise at 7am. If they are successful they make the 4 hour drive to the park. -it makes me wonder how many people are doing this and if Disney can/should make exceptions for on site guests.
Richard Scott – I understand why you liked the virtual queues at Universal Orlando but the difference is that you can get them so you don’t have to miss a ride. What we didn’t like about ROR was it is VERY hard to get a virtual pass os if let’s say it is you #1 priority and you would have been WILLING to wait 3 hours (like DH and I did for FOP) you cannot.
I am OK with fastpasses and/or virtual queues but not when they 100% eliminate the freedom to say I am willing to wait as long as it takes because this ride is my #1 priority.
Freedom of choice!
When I was at Universal Orlando over Thanksgiving weekend, I utilized their virtual lines and really liked how they managed it. They released slots through out the day and it was not a one time lottery. We were able to get a ride on Hagrid’s in the morning and then one latter in the evening.
We bought tix and got rsvns then added a ticket for my son who cannot get a rsvn. Is there a chance he will get in?
Disneyland keeps adding availability to the reservation calendar, so keep checking!
Wasn’t Ride of the Resistance designed with a virtual queue in mind? (Without getting into spoilers, it just seems like there is little space for a traditional line inside, and definitely not outside.) If that is is the case, it’s almost certain we’ll know when it soft opens what the long term plans are here based on whether there’s space for a line or not.
It was designed for FastPass+, which is a virtual queue, so yes. It was not designed with the present system in mind.
There are a lot of factors that go into physical queue length, from ride system efficiency to available space. It’s not something I’d read too much into.
I was reading about a potential dynamic virtual queue system. I hope if something like that is developed that it is guest-friendly and solves many of the issues of the current virtual boarding passes and Fastpass.
A dynamic virtual queue system actually has a ton of potential and could improve the guest experience.
It’s unfortunate that the one most Disney fans are first exposed to is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, as that will sour a lot of minds on it even though the real problem is the underlying attraction.
So, with a Park Hopper ticket, would it be possible to get into the virtual queues for both Rise of the Resistance AND Spider-Man on the same day, or do they force you to pick one?
That’s unclear.
You cannot be in both virtual queues *at the same time* but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t join one at 7 am, get a low number, ride, and then join the other at noon. Disney has not yet clarified that.
Any thoughts on when fastpasses might make a comeback? I’ve always loved having three rides at the ready in case all my other plans fell apart or waits were insane….
We’re from out-of-state, so when we visit Disneyland it’s an expensive vacation. We’d love to go to DL soon as our kids are huge Star Wars fans — but we’re not going to spend THOUSANDS of dollars to fly all the way to DLR just to partake in a lottery so that MAYBE our kids can ride ROTR. Why aren’t pre-assigned Boarding Groups a perk for GCH guests? I wish Disney would pay more attention to their out-of-state visitors.
It would be great if Disneyland did that for on-site guests, just like they did for entry to Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge during its opening summer. With only 3 hotels, this wouldn’t be nearly as burdensome and difficult as it would be at Walt Disney World.
I’ve always thought the reason RoTR had a virtual queue was because of the multiple different preshow areas before the actual ride and how the long the wait times would be if you had to wait for everybody to go through them?
It has nothing to do with the pre-shows, aside from the practical reality that the pre-shows are also not totally reliable.
When firing on all cylinders and operating efficiently, those pre-shows can smoothly cycle through a ton of guests without waiting in between–since there are multiple rooms for each. The problem arises when one (or multiple) component goes down.
Filing an angrily worded letter with Disneyland City Hall because I bought a Nintendo Power Glove at the gift shop at the exit of Web Slingers to use on my next ride only to find out the bad news. Plus I can’t even use it on my Nintendo. What kind of baloney is this?
From what I understand, you should still be able to use the glove with your Virtual Boy. Maybe this is just what you need to finally beat Waterworld, Darren!
It is difficult to score an Indiana Jones virtual boarding pass. I was there on 5/19. The queue was already closed at 10am and did not open up again until 8pm with a 9pm park closure. Was already in line for another attraction and could not do it. Also they are limiting it to 1 ride per day.
Interesting, thanks for sharing that experience. The complaints I’ve seen have mostly been about not being able to get a second boarding pass despite low demand for the attraction. I haven’t been following closely since it doesn’t impact us yet, but I wonder if they’re still trying to work out the hiccups with that.
I like the boarding passes on Rise of the Resistance, as it feels like it’s a part of the ride–like I’m having secret communications with the Resistance base to schedule my departure time. However, with as popular as it is, I definitely agree with Melody that there should be some way to ease the access for it by prioritizing on-site families. One, this seems like an easy perk to add for paying guests, and two…those who visit Disney less frequently are at a disadvantage with knowing the timing and the tips and tricks. Even I, who am from far out of State, started to get the hang of scoring my passes pretty quickly and then felt kind of bad seeing how many people did not. Wish I could make some magic by handing off my pass to someone else.
I’m interested to see how this pans out though, especially with it dividing people down between a Rise of Resistance pass and a Web Slingers pass. Maybe both will be slightly less competitive for a little while, at least. It sounds like this is something you’ll be testing out for yourself later this summer?
I would think that the boarding pass system is incredibly rough on the average consumer. I thought ROTR boarding passes were supposed to be temporary while they worked out the kinks in the system. But now it feels like they’ve had boarding passes in place for ages, and it still isn’t any better. Folks who travel all the way out for a Disney vacation literally have no way of guaranteeing a ROTR boarding pass, even if they schedule every single day at Disneyland or Hollywood Studios. Why can’t they give, for instance, all resort guests at least one opportunity to ride it during their vacation? My real question — will boarding passes be in place forever for ROTR? (You mentioned that it likely won’t be permanent for Web Slingers).
Totally agree that this system is tough on the average consumer. Web Slingers should be more forgiving, and not book up with seconds or even minutes, though. Arguably, FastPass+ in general is tougher on the average consumer, though. Most people aren’t doing hours of research on sites like this.
There actually was a pretty big reliability improvement for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance within the last few months (at least at DHS–not sure about DLR), it just got masked by the reduced capacity and everything else going on right now.
From everything I’ve heard about its woes, Rise of the Resistance will take years to get firing on all cylinders. It’s incredibly disappointing that Disney didn’t take full advantage of the multi-month (or year-plus) closure.