Hey Howdy Hey Carlee and welcome to planDisney!
The
Virtual Queue feature that Disney uses can be so useful for the new and super popular attractions. I have been able to use this on a few attractions and love that when your boarding group is called, your wait time is so much more manageable rather than waiting in stand-by lines. The one issue that seems to come up is along the lines of your question with regards to party members. Let's go over a few things and hopefully clear this up.
One thing that Disney has been able to do that helps out a ton, was a change that was made with virtual queue usage on
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Well before the time to request a boarding group, you can confirm your party members in advance. This helps to make sure that the right members in your party get the boarding groups they were planning for together. After your party is together, at 7:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. EST you can request a boarding group for this attraction. Once the boarding groups are all taken, you can cancel members of your boarding group, however, you cannot add someone to your party after the groups are all taken.
Before the day of your trip to EPCOT, I would try to make sure that everyone is connected to your "My Family and Friends" list on your
My Disney Experience account. If you needed to add someone, that process is super easy. Simply log on to your My Disney Experience account, go to the "My Family and Friends" section and at the bottom you will see a link to "Add a Guest". Select that link and follow the prompts.
The other thing that you can do on the day of your park visit to ensure everyone is can ride the attraction together is by purchasing
Individual Lightning Lanes. You can do this through your My Disney Experience app on the day of your park visit. The benefit of this option, is that you can select which time you want to purchase as your return window. This will ensure that everyone can ride at the same time, as long as the times are available of course!
Good luck with the continued planning of your upcoming trip and if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to reach out and let us know, we would be happy to help!
Have a Magical Day,
Nick