Rider Swap Too Short VS Too Scared?

[DisneyMama811]

Hi all,
just looking for clarification on how Rider Swap works for riders who might meet height requirements but don't want to ride, for example our travel party is myself, DH, DD8 & DD6 first 3 want to ride Terror Tower, DD6 is above the 40" height requirement but there's no way on God's green earth I'm gonna be able to convince her to ride (and I'm not gonna try to, we wanna make happy memories not traumatic ones hahaha) will the waiting parent and DD6 line up with the riders or wait somewhere else? once DD8 & Parent 1 have ridden, will they let DD8 go again with Parent 2 or does Parent 2 ride alone? if so where does everyone else wait?

what happens if we suddenly need rider swap after we've entered the line? DD6 says she's going to bravely try Splash Mountain as this will be her one and only chance (we are visiting the week it closes) what if she chickens out in line? can we employ rider swap when we get to the loading area?

I'm just trying to help everyone be prepared for what to expect

 

[scrappinginontario]

I would recommend using the search feature on the MDE App and look for ‘Rider Switch.’ The process is explained well there.

 

[lanejudy]

It can vary by attraction, and even by date/time of day. That said...I would be prepared for the whole party to enter the queue together with a swap at/near boarding. Some attractions may issue a digital Rider Swap but I would not count on that with a tall enough non-rider.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Hi all,
just looking for clarification on how Rider Swap works for riders who might meet height requirements but don't want to ride, for example our travel party is myself, DH, DD8 & DD6 first 3 want to ride Terror Tower, DD6 is above the 40" height requirement but there's no way on God's green earth I'm gonna be able to convince her to ride (and I'm not gonna try to, we wanna make happy memories not traumatic ones hahaha) will the waiting parent and DD6 line up with the riders or wait somewhere else? once DD8 & Parent 1 have ridden, will they let DD8 go again with Parent 2 or does Parent 2 ride alone? if so where does everyone else wait?

what happens if we suddenly need rider swap after we've entered the line? DD6 says she's going to bravely try Splash Mountain as this will be her one and only chance (we are visiting the week it closes) what if she chickens out in line? can we employ rider swap when we get to the loading area?

I'm just trying to help everyone be prepared for what to expect

remember that the chicken exit for TOT means a ride down with a CM in character which could very well be scary even if not riding and you have to do the preshow if they do not give Rider Swap like too short. another idea if using Genie+ make ressie for all including 6 year old and have older sibling use that band to ride again with second parent

 

[Anna131517]

So when we did ToT my then-8-year old (our oldest!) was too scared to ride. They gave us the option to either do the traditional rider swap at the exit / entrance or to all go through the line as a family and then because he was over 7 he could go down to the exit with a CM and wait for us. He decided to wait in line with us then wait by the exit. So my guess is if your child is too young to go to the exit themselves that you will have to do the rider swap at the exit/entrance of the ride. Would either parent be willing to skip it and do something else? That’s what we do for some other rides that my youngest (5 yr old) is too short to ride.

 

[ericaseiler]

This is a great question. My oldest is trying to be a little bit more open to doing some more rides she was scared of on previous trips. She is tall enough to ride everything but may end up getting too scared when it's time to get on the ride.

 

[juxtapose]

We’ve never had them turn down rider swap for us. My son is tall, he was 40” before 3, and also will not do most 40”+ rides. We’ve gotten rider swaps with him at ages 2, 4, and 6 all when he was taller than 40”. I know it can vary by cast member but it doesn’t hurt to try.

 

[SueM in MN]

We’ve never had them turn down rider swap for us. My son is tall, he was 40” before 3, and also will not do most 40”+ rides. We’ve gotten rider swaps with him at ages 2, 4, and 6 all when he was taller than 40”. I know it can vary by cast member but it doesn’t hurt to try.

Rider Switch is not limited to children who are too short to ride - it can be for an guest who won’t be riding, no matter the age or height.
Not all attractions offer Rider Switch - it’s usually those with height requirement, so people assume it’s for too young/too short kids.
Link to Disney Website Rider Switch page, which includes a list of attractions that offer it.

 

[DisneyMama811]

OP HERE popping back in to share how the experience actually went as we just left Disney today

We utilized Rider Swap on several rides where DD6 was tall enough but too timid to ride as she doesn't like anything intense, off the top of my head, Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Everest, SDMT, Slinky Dog, Terror Tower. At each ride there didn't seem to be a consistent process as to whether we were supposed to tell the CM at the entrance vs right before loading that we were doing a swap and the CMs while friendly gave the impression that they weren't really familiar with what they were actually supposed to do. but for the most part we told them at the entrance and if DD6 was tall enough to ride she proceeded through the queue with us (I asked and they said legally if she's too short to ride she's not allowed in the line up but that never happened, a couple of rides they did measure her to check) then the waiting parent stayed in a designated area with her til DD8 and the other parent finished riding. On every ride they let DD8 ride a second time with whatever parent had waited (of course your experience may vary) DD6 also had a stroller as a wheelchair tag and they let us bring that through every line with the exception of Thunder Mountain purely because of the way they load and unload, we had a LL for that so when DH and DD8 were done riding they came and found us at ride exit then DD8 and I went through the lightning lane again (this is what we were instructed to do) it was a pretty simple process overall and I'm glad it worked out for us