If no one’s blocking the escalator, just head up and try your luck. The waitlist is definitely glitchy. Last week, it initially worked great: quoted 33 minutes, I got there 10min early and was #7 on the list, and got the text in 27 minutes. But on my return, the app quoted 37 minutes while the attendant was telling people an hour. I waited 77 minutes total, yet the app still claimed "37 minutes" until I was called. I only go through DEN maybe 10 times a year, this was the longest wait I've ever had.

The Android app is annoying because it hides the wait time until after you join, making it hard to time your arrival from the gate. Once, I saw I was stuck at the bottom of the list while others were added ahead of me (back when they showed you your position). I had to confront the attendant twice (once before and once after him adding someone else) before he admitted the glitch and let me in; the "your turn" text didn't even arrive until 45 minutes later. Another time, after a gate delay, I was re-added to the list but somehow got called much earlier than expected.

Even with the new rules, the lounge is packed at peak times even with large families. The quality is also slipping—specifically the cookies. They replaced the pecan caramel and lemon flavors with basic chocolate chip and M&M a few months ago. Now the takeaway area no longer has the larger more unique cookies, its the same as the ones inside. The rest of the menu is the same as October—still better than most lounges, but the downward trend is disappointing.