Baby Swap ???'s

[LolaNY]

Can someone pls explain how exactly baby swap works?

We're a family of 4 - me, hubby, 6yr old son and 2yr old daughter.

What we're wondering about is . . .

Do all rides offer baby swap?

Do we just need to tell the first CM we see there that we want to do baby swap & they will instruct us?

Would my son get to ride twice then? Once with dad (while mom stays with 2yr old), then again with mom (while dad stays with 2yrd old).

THX! We're heading to Disney next week!!

 

[VacationDad]

I'd also like to know if it is only for babies? What if you have a young child who might be too scared to go on a ride but everyone else wants to ride it? Will they let you do the swap in these cases? Thanks.

 

[MelessaG]

If memory serves, rides with height limits have child swap. How it's done at each ride has changed from visit to visit, so I would ask the CM at the ride entrance. Your son will get to ride twice if he wants. They let the second person to ride take a "buddy" back with them. It's not just for babies, but for any kid that doesn't meet the height requirement. I'm not sure if it would work for a child that does meet requirements, but may not want to ride, but it doesn't hurt to ask. (We almost always travel with Grandma, she has a bad back and is happy to take the grandkids to less intense rides or the gift shop so she can spoil them behind my back while DH and I enjoy bigger rides together.)

My favorite waiting area is the little play area at Splash Mountain. So cute!

 

[MicheleC]

Hi! We've used the baby swap lots of times. It's really a great feature. Usually you just tell the CM who is near the queue of the ride and they give you a baby swap ticket which is similar to a fast pass and sometimes is actually a fast pass. When the first group comes off the ride, they give the pass to the other person and up to 3 people can go back on with them. My daughter loves it because she gets to ride Tower of Terror, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, etc... twice in a row! I know they wouldn't let us use this feature on Haunted Mansion because there is no height requirement so everyone can ride. Even though my little one was only 2 and afraid they wouldn't let us do baby swap. Hope this info helps. Have a great trip!

 

[beth_cam]

Rides with height restrictions allow parents to take turns riding while the other parent stays with the too short child. How exactly this is handled varies from ride to ride. Some rides/cm's will give you a rider swap pass even if the child is big enough but doesnt want to ride. I was given a swap pass when I mentioned my children but others have reported cm's refusing to give them a swap pass (specifically at soarin) because the child wasn't present. I believe at soarin and space mountain both the other parent has to wait outside the cue lines (at exit wherever) and then enter the fast pass line after the first parent returns. On star tours, my husband and I took turns with my dd on the ride while the other parent stood right there (with no pass) waiting and got right on the next ride. I didnt use my rider swap pass at RNR but was told I was to return to the fast pass line. If you get a swap pass it works kind of like a fast pass except that it allows you plus like 3 more guests to return, and doesnt need to be immediately used.

There has been discussion lately about Haunted mansion allowing rider swap since it is scarey. But since it doesnt have a height restriction and therefore doesnt exclude any riders they dont feel it is necessary. As well - I dont even know if they do fast passes which would create a second entry but I dont think the lay out of the ride would allow easily for the second parent to bypass any of the line. So no not all rides allow it...if they dont exclude the child they dont necessarily allow it. It has been reported that on some rides even when the child is big enough if riders are big enough they will let you use the rider swap if he doesnt want to ride.

I know that doesnt give you a clear cut answer so you will have to ask at the individual rides. Find someone to ask before entering the ride just incase the way that ride or cm's way of handling rider swap at that time is different than expected.

 

[bicker]

Many recent reports indicate that they have needed to get more strict about the distribution of these passes, often requiring that the child who doesn't meet the height restriction be presented to the CM issuing the pass directly. (We tried to point her out with her father 20 feet away, and that wasn't satisfactory; we had to bring her right up to the CM, who gave the pass, explicitly, to the parent staying with the child.)