a question on rider swap

[Andsco]

I will be going to Disney with my wife and our 2 year old We do have a couple of fast passes for rides we will need to do rider swap. Everything I've read says that when we get to the beginning of the line we tell the cast member we want to do rider swap, they give us a rider swap pass, and one of us would go in line, ride the ride and the other parent goes off with our son and hangs out. Later that parent goes into the fast pass line?

Can all three of us just go into the line together? At the loading dock for the ride can we just tell them we want to wait on the side then we can hand off our son after the first person rides, do both parents back-to-back? Maybe I'm just confused.

 

[Eccle]

My understanding is that if it is a ride with a height restriction, no one under that height can go into the line, so that's why they give the pass for the other parent to go back later

 

[subtchr]

I will be going to Disney with my wife and our 2 year old We do have a couple of fast passes for rides we will need to do rider swap. Everything I've read says that when we get to the beginning of the line we tell the cast member we want to do rider swap, they give us a rider swap pass, and one of us would go in line, ride the ride and the other parent goes off with our son and hangs out. Later that parent goes into the fast pass line?

Can all three of us just go into the line together? At the loading dock for the ride can we just tell them we want to wait on the side then we can hand off our son after the first person rides, do both parents back-to-back? Maybe I'm just confused.

No, you can't do this, as Eccle mentioned. No one who does not meet the height requirement for a ride will be permitted to enter the queue. This is so that they don't have people trying to sneak their too-short kids on a ride. (Not you, of course, but you can see why!)

 

[Andsco]

that make senses. Thanks for the clarification!

 

[Minniedap]

You don't use riderswap unless you have other children each parent wants to ride with.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

If you already have FP+ for those attractions why would you bother with rider swap???
Just have one parent hop in the FP+ line , ride and then switch.
A child that is not tall enough to ride is not going to be allowed into the line/loading area.

 

[Andsco]

If you already have FP+ for those attractions why would you bother with rider swap???
Just have one parent hop in the FP+ line , ride and then switch.

That's a good point.

 

[DebbieB]

You don't use riderswap unless you have other children each parent wants to ride with.

I don't think that's a rule.

If you already have FP+ for those attractions why would you bother with rider swap???
Just have one parent hop in the FP+ line , ride and then switch.
A child that is not tall enough to ride is not going to be allowed into the line/loading area.

You can double your fastpasses. Each parent picks 3 different rides that uses rider swap.

 

[Andsco]

I've heard of this strategy but we only have 2 fast passes (each) for FOP and SDMT and for both I've heard of accounts where a lame cast member won't honor rider swap if both riders don't have a fast pass. My wife and I are very excited to ride both those rides and didn't want to risk that happening to us

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

You can double your fastpasses. Each parent picks 3 different rides that uses rider swap.

True but that would have been more helpful prior to the selection of FP+.
Also IMHO that's "cheating the system" in a way and just more hassle than I'd be willing to do.

 

[MamaBelle4]

You don't use riderswap unless you have other children each parent wants to ride with.

Nope. Rider swap is designed so people with small children do not have to wait in the queue 2x for the same ride if both adults want to ride even though one has to stay with their little one.

 

[sponica]

If you already have FP+ for those attractions why would you bother with rider swap???
Just have one parent hop in the FP+ line , ride and then switch.
A child that is not tall enough to ride is not going to be allowed into the line/loading area.

Honestly, I didn't even think to just adjust the waiting person's FP time 10 or 15 minutes...or to go on the ride after the riding parent got off..

 

[AEA1127]

I've heard of this strategy but we only have 2 fast passes (each) for FOP and SDMT and for both I've heard of accounts where a lame cast member won't honor rider swap if both riders don't have a fast pass. My wife and I are very excited to ride both those rides and didn't want to risk that happening to us

Just used rider swap for both of those rides in December. No issues with both people needing a FP, so unless that's changed in the last few weeks you should be fine.

 

[KrazeeK120]

You don't use riderswap unless you have other children each parent wants to ride with.

Uhhh....no. This particular person doesn’t necessarily need RS because both of them have FP+. But in a situation where neither of them have a FP, they can absolutely use RS so that both of them don’t have to wait through the standby line individually.

 

[bumbershoot]

You don't use riderswap unless you have other children each parent wants to ride with.

Nope.

Allowing other people in with the second rider is a bonus they added.

At its heart and taking it to the most basic family (or group), RS is a way to allow both parents (or guardians for the day) to ride a height restricted ride when the child they are with doesn’t hit the requirement, without both adulrsnhaving to wait in the full line.

So when we were at Disneyland when ds was little, without RS both Dh and I would have waited in the full line while the other hung out with ds. Using RS just one has to wait in the full line, and you get close to the experience of all waiting together, but without the small child waiting in the line.

 

[ScrampShopper]

It doesn't matter if both parents have FP+ for the rides, they should still request a rider switch. If you can't get to the ride until near the end of your FP+ window, the second parent may not be able to ride. We have also had a problem when a ride had technical issues and the FP+ line took a long time, and went past the FP+ time for me to be able to use my FP+ for it after hubby finally came off the ride. Luckily, we requested the rider switch so i could still ride.

 

[subtchr]

I've heard of this strategy but we only have 2 fast passes (each) for FOP and SDMT and for both I've heard of accounts where a lame cast member won't honor rider swap if both riders don't have a fast pass. My wife and I are very excited to ride both those rides and didn't want to risk that happening to us

We used rider swap extensively during our trip Jan 1-7, and never were asked to show that the non-riding group had a FP when the riding group did (which was almost all of the time). Including those two rides.