Any recent accounts of using kid swap?

[AngiTN]

You'll are so much help! Thank you so, so much. I was in the dark on this before. And that you OP for starting this thread. Very timely

 

[ArielSRL]

I, too, have read several reports that FoP and 7DMT require all members of the party to have a FP. I have even read where the CM told the party that this was a change coming down the pike for all RS rides eventually. A lot of folks seemed to be happy about the change as they called RS cheating the system. I so disagree with that statement.

In any case, my kids are mostly tall enough for most rides (youngest is 39.5" without shoes, so I am hoping by June he's good to go) and we are only doing one park day so I didn't plan to use RS this trip but the reports are very interesting....

This isn't cheating the system as the toddler would never be able to use his FP's if the waiting adult always had to have their FP's booked with the group riding the rides with height requirements.

Agreed but you cannot convince some people of this.

 

[jo-jo]

I hope to hear a few more recent reports.

As I said we have most rides set up with everyone having FP for the ride, but a few we set up just for DIL and 2 yr DGS

 

[AngiTN]

I, too, have read several reports that FoP and 7DMT require all members of the party to have a FP. I have even read where the CM told the party that this was a change coming down the pike for all RS rides eventually. A lot of folks seemed to be happy about the change as they called RS cheating the system. I so disagree with that statement.

In any case, my kids are mostly tall enough for most rides (youngest is 39.5" without shoes, so I am hoping by June he's good to go) and we are only doing one park day so I didn't plan to use RS this trip but the reports are very interesting....


Agreed but you cannot convince some people of this.

Strange. So even the too short child has to have one?

 

[AngiTN]

I hope to hear a few more recent reports.

As I said we have most rides set up with everyone having FP for the ride, but a few we set up just for DIL and 2 yr DGS

My friend is going next week so I'll sure report back on how it goes for her family.

 

[rxbeth]

We were just there march 10-17. For fop, only myself and daughter had a fp and husband and too short son did not. They gave us the rider swap with no issues

For mine train we did all have a fp because my son is tall enough (newly 3 years old) and I wasn't sure if he would want to go on it. After barnstormer he chickened out. They still made us all go through the queue and do a physical rider swap which sucked because my son didn't like the sound (already had his headphones on) or the dark queue. Both days they made us do that.

 

[Crystal824]

“Technically,” the point of rider switch is so that both adults don’t have to wait through the standby line.

Yes, but Disney could achieve that goal by having everyone go through the line and then each adult ride separately while one waits with the kid. They do this at various other parks, including Universal. Disney does it differently so that the child doesn't have to wait in line for each adult to ride. They can do something else rather than just wait. At least that was the way it was explained to me when I was a CM. That was many years ago in the days of paper fastpass. I will continue booking them that way for the sake of my kids. If I don't get to ride because ww didn't book FPs for everyone, I don't get to ride. I would rather have happy kids.

 

[Crystal824]

Strange. So even the too short child has to have one?

I'm not booking my kid who is too short on an attraction because everyone else wants to do it. She is entitled to use her FP too. Meanwhile, I can't put her on another attraction alone. I don't consider it cheating the system if I alone am able to use a RS and also my FP. We have 4 FP because we have 4 people. In my earlier example, we used two for 7DMT and 2 for Winnie the Pooh. We get a RS. DH and older DD ride 7DMT while little DD and I ride Winne the Pooh. Sometime later, I ride 7DMT with my older DD with the RS while DH takes little DD on the carousel. We still have only used our allotted FP. Making everyone book the same to use a RS is a waste of a FP for the little one. In some cases, the little one may not have a FP. In my example, she does because she is 3. Actually my 3 year old is tall enough to ride 7DMT now. That is just the first example that came to mind. IT would work the same way with SM and Buzz Lightyear, etc.

 

[Crystal824]

We were there in February and used rider switch a lot, we were never asked if the non riding adult had a fast pass booked, but mostly they did want to see the child before giving out the lanyard. FOP and 7DMT were same day, others were end of the month, but since we got back I have read reports of more rides being same day.

That is the way it has generally worked. Back in the day, the RS were only good for same day. I really liked the option to use them later in the trip.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Yes, but Disney could achieve that goal by having everyone go through the line and then each adult ride separately while one waits with the kid. They do this at various other parks, including Universal. Disney does it differently so that the child doesn't have to wait in line for each adult to ride. They could do something else rather than just wait. At least that was the way it was explained to me when I was a CM. That was many years ago and things change. I will continue booking them that way for the sake of my kids. If I don't get to ride because ww didn't book FPs for everyone, I don't get to ride. I would rather have happy kids.

They could, and I actually don’t disagree with your use of RS.

I’m just saying that the “technical” reason is to avoid 2 waits in the standby line. RS existed before FP. I suspect that they keep too-short kids out of the line to avoid one of them inadvertently ending up on the ride.

 

[Eccle]

That is the way it has generally worked. Back in the day, the RS were only good for same day. I really liked the option to use them later in the trip.

Yes me too, it was helpful to have the flexibility to use it later to avoid too much hanging around for our toddler all on the same day, as a lot of the height restricted rides also take a long time to get through even with FP

 

[Delirium]

I tried to trade my rambunctious 5 year old for a well-behaved 9 year old last time we went to Disney. But, the other parents would have none of it.

 

[AngiTN]

I tried to trade my rambunctious 5 year old for a well-behaved 9 year old last time we went to Disney. But, the other parents would have none of it.

Some people are just too darn picky.

But you may have wanted to trade back. That 9 to is mighty close to puberty

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

Man this is so funny to me. We have a party of 3. I always thought RS was meant for all 3 of us to enter, dad rides while mom waits with baby, then vice Versa, so the whole family doesn’t have to go through the line twice. I never thought of it like the toddler having to endure a lot of waiting, because most (not all) of said rides are like 60 seconds anyway.

We did this format standby.

We did this format with FP (booked a FP for all 3 of us).

I had no idea about the sharing of a FP between 2 adults through RS, and now those days are far behind us.

We only did a couple of attractions that she couldn’t ride, because the focus of our trips was on rides she could do, characters, and shows. That’s what we were there for, and loving every second of it.

We always were able to have a great trip, and DD never felt like she missed out on one of her FP entitlements. Her mind was completely blown.

Honestly I think sometimes ignorance is bliss

 

[jk and ek]

I'll report back after our trip next week. i've booked our FPs to make the most out of rider swap (traveling with 2 adults, one 5yo and one 9mo for 2 days then another adult joins on day 3) and split our group's FPs creatively on a couple occasions. I was pregnant our last trip and before that my 5yo was too little for several rides so this will be the first time in awhile that my husband and i will get to ride some rides together (once my MIL joins us)!

 

[jo-jo]

Thanks to all willing to report back.

 

[AngiTN]

Man this is so funny to me. We have a party of 3. I always thought RS was meant for all 3 of us to enter, dad rides while mom waits with baby, then vice Versa, so the whole family doesn’t have to go through the line twice. I never thought of it like the toddler having to endure a lot of waiting, because most (not all) of said rides are like 60 seconds anyway.

We did this format standby.

We did this format with FP (booked a FP for all 3 of us).

I had no idea about the sharing of a FP between 2 adults through RS, and now those days are far behind us.

We only did a couple of attractions that she couldn’t ride, because the focus of our trips was on rides she could do, characters, and shows. That’s what we were there for, and loving every second of it.

We always were able to have a great trip, and DD never felt like she missed out on one of her FP entitlements. Her mind was completely blown.

Honestly I think sometimes ignorance is bliss

A too short child can't enter the line at all.

 

[Speri337]

I don't even understand how this would work honestly. We have used RS regularly for the past few years and we've actually been told several times not to even bring the whole family up to the line because they don't want them blocking the entrance. I mean they literally did not want to see them. I have a family of 4, so not a lot of people, but I totally understood why it was a problem.
Seems like if this is true, it would make things pretty chaotic. And by this, I don't mean the switch to single day. But why would they have families clogging up the FP entrance?

 

[AngiTN]

I don't even understand how this would work honestly. We have used RS regularly for the past few years and we've actually been told several times not to even bring the whole family up to the line because they don't want them blocking the entrance. I mean they literally did not want to see them. I have a family of 4, so not a lot of people, but I totally understood why it was a problem.
Seems like if this is true, it would make things pretty chaotic. And by this, I don't mean the switch to single day. But why would they have families clogging up the FP entrance?

I can see where it could be quite confusing too. Extra people coming up, some scanning, some going in, some walking away, just extra for CM to monitor and keep up with unnecessarily.

 

[Speri337]

I can see where it could be quite confusing too. Extra people coming up, some scanning, some going in, some walking away, just extra for CM to monitor and keep up with unnecessarily.

Right. And I mean I've learned that there are quite a few RS situations where you can't even bring the whole family to get that RS. Like for example Soarin. You can't bring a stroller into the building. So if you have 1 adult with 2 babies they can't even go up to the line.
How would people even know which lines they are supposed to bring their families to and which ones not. Let's say someone does Soarin 1st and then goes to FOP or 7DMM thinking the family doesn't have to be present and sends them off to do something else and then they are out of luck. It just seems like a bad situation with lots of potential for confusion and upset.