Baby swap..

[huggiebear23]

Do they still do it? I'm not sure if my dd8 will want to go on roller coasters. How do I make it work with the fastpasses?

 

[JillyBean1899]

Do they still do it? I'm not sure if my dd8 will want to go on roller coasters. How do I make it work with the fastpasses?

Yes, they do, just tell the employee as you enter the FP line that you're doing a child swap, and they'll tell you what to do. Some rides may have the waiting people wait outside and then come back to the FP entrance, others have a waiting area near the loading/unloading platform.

 

[AnjieNet]

Do they still do it? I'm not sure if my dd8 will want to go on roller coasters. How do I make it work with the fastpasses?

Child swap is only for those children that are not tall enough to ride a ride not those that don't want to ride. Most likely your 8 year old is tall enough to ride everything at WDW so it wouldn't be an option unless a cast member is feeling generous. Basically you would ask the cast memeber at the attaction for a child swap ticket. The rider would then use their FP+ to ride the ride. Give the ticket to you and you could ride with the ticket. You'd still have your FP+ on your band so you could ride again as well. Your DD will probably have a FP+ for the attraction too so she and the first rider or you could swap bands and ride again if wanted. Works the same as if you'd had the paper FP. Or you could schedule your FP+ for another ride that DD won't ride and you'd get another swap card...

 

[Luv4Disney]

Child swap is only for those children that are not tall enough to ride a ride not those that don't want to ride. QUOTE]

Yup, this is what we've witnessed. Plus, with DD, we've always had to bring her to the CM to prove she wasn't eligible before they'd give us the pass.

 

[eliz603]

^^Yep. We've always managed having a wee one with us. The CM has wanted to see the babe 99% of the time. Usually, it was fine if I pointed over to the rest of the family 20 feet away, but sometimes we all had to appear. It is specifically for those traveling with small children.

 

[WantToGoNow]

Unless she's very short you probably won't get a child swap for her.

Have her walk through the line with you and wait at the exit if she's not riding. That is what we've done with ds12 since he was little. There's always a cm close to the exit so they aren't completely alone. I waited off of RnRC while my dd9 rode and there were several children waiting at the exit.

 

[JillyBean1899]

Wow, I've never had anyone question me about a child swap before. My oldest niece doesn't like any ride that has even a hint of "funny tummy", so we would always child swap with her, even on rides she was tall enough for. Eventually we got to the point where on some rides she would wait by herself in the child swap area (Volcano and Flight of Fear at King's Dominion were good for this, because they had enclosed areas where the non-riding part of the group waited, and she could be trusted to not open the gate for the 3-5 minutes we were on the ride), so both of the adults could ride at once, but nobody *EVER* questioned us about if she was too short or not.

 

[WantToGoNow]

Wow, I've never had anyone question me about a child swap before. My oldest niece doesn't like any ride that has even a hint of "funny tummy", so we would always child swap with her, even on rides she was tall enough for. Eventually we got to the point where on some rides she would wait by herself in the child swap area (Volcano and Flight of Fear at King's Dominion were good for this, because they had enclosed areas where the non-riding part of the group waited, and she could be trusted to not open the gate for the 3-5 minutes we were on the ride), so both of the adults could ride at once, but nobody *EVER* questioned us about if she was too short or not.

But that is not how Disney's child swap works. Almost all CMs will not give a child swap pass unless there is a child too short to ride.

 

[JEWLSVERN]

Actually Disneys website specifically states "too short or doesn't want to ride"

 

[smellyia]

Actually Disneys website specifically states "too short or doesn't want to ride"

Yup. I read constantly that it's only for too short riders, but website says this specifically. I'd bring a copy of the policy with me or pull it up on my phone just in case.

 

[WantToGoNow]

That may be what the site says but in reality it is not how it works. I took my kids from the time they were infants and used many a child swap. My ds is 12 but does not ride any thrill rides. I have tried to use child swap after he was tall enough to ride - many many times. It does not happen.

 

[matt1979]

That may be what the site says but in reality it is not how it works. I took my kids from the time they were infants and used many a child swap. My ds is 12 but does not ride any thrill rides. I have tried to use child swap after he was tall enough to ride - many many times. It does not happen.

Seems to me though if they give her a problem...and she can show them the actual policy on Disney's webpage that says differently...the she has a legitimate argument/complaint.

 

[bumbershoot]

It says it that way on one page. It's a relatively new page. On other pages it is described differently, and more in line with the way it has always worked. The in-park CMs are goof to follow their training before some random page a random IT person made "live" erroneously.

 

[Alesia]

The disney website is full of errors. The policy is for CMs to follow their training, not what the website says.

 

[JillyBean1899]

The disney website is full of errors. The policy is for CMs to follow their training, not what the website says.

That's like saying "oh, the website shows tickets are $50 but can only be purchased at the park, but when I go to the park they make me pay $90, but that's OK because that's how they were trained, and the website is full of errors."

Direct quote from the Disney "Rider Switch Service" page:

If Guests in your party don’t want to board an attraction, you don’t have to miss out. One adult can wait with the non-rider while the rest of the party experiences the attraction. The waiting adult can then board the attraction without having to wait in the regular line again when another adult in the party returns to supervise the child or children who do not ride—either because they do not meet the height requirement or simply do not wish to ride.

You're going to tell me that Disney won't follow their own policies that they have advertised on their website? As I said, I've *NEVER* had anyone question me at *ANY* park or ride about using child swap. Disney, Sea World, Universal, Busch Gardens (FL and VA), Carowinds, King's Dominion ... heck, even the small amusement park in Panama City where I worked let people child swap on rides with long lines, even though there was no written "policy" on it, because it made sense and was the right thing to do for the guests.

Obviously, I could see if someone was trying to abuse it ("oh, grandma doesn't want to ride, so we have to take turns waiting with her" wouldn't really fly in most cases), but just because my kid is 41" and is scared of a ride with a height requirement of 40", we have to wait twice through a 2 hour long line? Um, no.

 

[ucfknight]

The disney website is full of errors. The policy is for CMs to follow their training, not what the website says.

A CM's training should not take precedence over a publicly communicated policy of the company.

 

[Alesia]

That's like saying "oh, the website shows tickets are $50 but can only be purchased at the park, but when I go to the park they make me pay $90, but that's OK because that's how they were trained, and the website is full of errors."

Direct quote from the Disney "Rider Switch Service" page:



You're going to tell me that Disney won't follow their own policies that they have advertised on their website? As I said, I've *NEVER* had anyone question me at *ANY* park or ride about using child swap. Disney, Sea World, Universal, Busch Gardens (FL and VA), Carowinds, King's Dominion ... heck, even the small amusement park in Panama City where I worked let people child swap on rides with long lines, even though there was no written "policy" on it, because it made sense and was the right thing to do for the guests.

Obviously, I could see if someone was trying to abuse it ("oh, grandma doesn't want to ride, so we have to take turns waiting with her" wouldn't really fly in most cases), but just because my kid is 41" and is scared of a ride with a height requirement of 40", we have to wait twice through a 2 hour long line? Um, no.

There's a disclaimer on the website, stating that policies stated on the website are subject to change without notice. That covers them in the event of a discrepancy between what is written and the actual policy.

I wish that Disney was more careful about what is on their website, unfortunately, that's not the case.

As far as using child swap for a kid that meets the height requirement goes, give it a shot - you might get lucky. But they very well might say no. I think arguing with someone who is just doing their job is not very nice.

 

[Alesia]

A CM's training should not take precedence over a publicly communicated policy of the company.

So if the website erroneously says that the height requirement for RNR is 4" instead of 48", the CMs should let infants ride?

 

[ucfknight]

So if the website erroneously says that the height requirement for RNR is 4" instead of 48", the CMs should let infants ride?

An obvious data entry mistake (such as your example) is vastly different than a thought out, approved (by somebody) policy that is publicly available. Unless, of course, you think the following is a typo:

"If Guests in your party don’t want to board an attraction, you don’t have to miss out. One adult can wait with the non-rider while the rest of the party experiences the attraction. The waiting adult can then board the attraction without having to wait in the regular line again when another adult in the party returns to supervise the child or children who do not ride—either because they do not meet the height requirement or simply do not wish to ride."

 

[Alesia]

An obvious data entry mistake (such as your example) is vastly different than a thought out, approved (by somebody) policy that is publicly available. Unless, of course, you think the following is a typo:

"If Guests in your party don’t want to board an attraction, you don’t have to miss out. One adult can wait with the non-rider while the rest of the party experiences the attraction. The waiting adult can then board the attraction without having to wait in the regular line again when another adult in the party returns to supervise the child or children who do not ride—either because they do not meet the height requirement or simply do not wish to ride."

I agree that the fact that policy stated on the website does not match up with actual policy in the parks is ridiculous. I cannot figure out why a corporation with as much money as Disney can't have some consistency. But they don't. You should hear some of the things phone CMs tell people.

Telling people that they should follow what should be the case, rather than what actually is the case is not helpful.