Baby swap..

[JillyBean1899]

Maybe things have changed since I worked at Universal, but part of what was drummed into us during training was we were empowered to do whatever was necessary (within reason, of course ... if a kid spills their drink we could get them a new one, but getting their entire 10 person family new leather jackets would be unnecessary) to make sure families enjoyed their time. Providing a child swap for a family with a kid that is tall enough to ride, but to scared to do so, certainly falls in this category. Granted, you will always run into at least one person during your stay that doesn't like their job and doesn't give a flying fig, but that is the exception, not the rule. Child swap is one of the freebie things that we could do to generate goodwill ... it cost the company absolutely nothing, but the parents were thrilled with it, which meant they were much more likely to return to the park. I helped a lost child one day, the kid turned out to be a fairly high functioning autism spectrum child (he'd been taught that if he ever got lost at the park to sit somewhere and start crying, and an adult/staff would help him), and since the family had lost 45 minutes trying to get reunited, I backdoored them on Spiderman, his favorite ride. That family ended up stopping at Guest Services as they left the park to leave a comment about me, *AND* they decided to purchase annual passes because of the experience.

If I was at the park and was told I couldn't do a child swap because my kid was too tall, you'd better believe I would *NOT* be returning. I know that my admission ticket wouldn't make or break the company, but the negative impression it spread across the internet just might cause them to re-think it.

 

[matt1979]

I'm not arguing with anyone here as to what the CM's are actually doing with regards the rider swap. Next week will be my first trip to DW in almost 16 years and I'm a newbie here so I obviously don't have a clue as to what actually goes on. But what I find crazy is that everyone is constantly talking about how top notch DW's customer service is and how CM's often bend over backwards to make things right with visitors for errors on the part of DW...and sometimes when DW is not at fault at all. But then you're gonna tell me this rider swap is the one policy that CM's strictly enforce based on what they were told and they cannot waiver on. Despite the fact that there is an obvious discrepancy on DW's website that some people may have specifically made plans based on? Just seems kind of ridiculous to me. Just based on what I've been told about Disney's awesome customer service it seems like if you were to politely point out that it is clearly stated otherwise on DW's official website and that's what you had planned on that the CM's would be willing to let it slide.

 

[doconeill]

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

You are confusing a Rider Switch Pass, which is used at some attractions and is a form of child swap, for a general "child swap". See the link in my signature for the details.

 

[famy27]

Maybe things have changed since I worked at Universal, but part of what was drummed into us during training was we were empowered to do whatever was necessary (within reason, of course ... if a kid spills their drink we could get them a new one, but getting their entire 10 person family new leather jackets would be unnecessary) to make sure families enjoyed their time. Providing a child swap for a family with a kid that is tall enough to ride, but to scared to do so, certainly falls in this category. Granted, you will always run into at least one person during your stay that doesn't like their job and doesn't give a flying fig, but that is the exception, not the rule. Child swap is one of the freebie things that we could do to generate goodwill ... it cost the company absolutely nothing, but the parents were thrilled with it, which meant they were much more likely to return to the park. I helped a lost child one day, the kid turned out to be a fairly high functioning autism spectrum child (he'd been taught that if he ever got lost at the park to sit somewhere and start crying, and an adult/staff would help him), and since the family had lost 45 minutes trying to get reunited, I backdoored them on Spiderman, his favorite ride. That family ended up stopping at Guest Services as they left the park to leave a comment about me, *AND* they decided to purchase annual passes because of the experience.

If I was at the park and was told I couldn't do a child swap because my kid was too tall, you'd better believe I would *NOT* be returning. I know that my admission ticket wouldn't make or break the company, but the negative impression it spread across the internet just might cause them to re-think it.

And you will find some CMs that will allow scared kids to get a Rider Swap pass. But I think the concern may be abuse. DH, DD, and I might walk up say DD is scared. DH gets RS pass, scans MB and gets in line. DD and I wait a minute or two and scan our MBs and get in line, too. All three of us ride, then we come back out and ride again with our RS pass. If the child is too short, you obviously wouldn't be able to do this.

I have seen CMs allow RS passes for scared kids. I also had a very nice one on our last trip who didn't make us show our baby. She happened to be napping in my arms, and there was no practical way for me to take her to the BTMRR entrance, so DH just explained that our baby was napping with me, and the CM gave him the pass. We knew the CM didn't have to do this, but we really appreciated that he was willing to give us the pass.

 

[doconeill]

The web site has, for YEARS, been incorrect in various aspects of child swap and rider switch. Sadly, it has gotten worse, as it doesn't even really come close to how the operations are actually done. It doesn't even mention Rider Switch passes itself and the fact that a child who is too small for a height- restricted attraction that has a Fastpass line won't even be admitted in to the line.

As I have said in several threads recently (or several times in the same thread... ), the only GUARANTEED way to get a Rider Switch pass (which, if you believe the web site, doesn't really exist) is to have a child who doesn't meet the height requirement. If the child IS tall enough, they may have other ways (such as the listed procedure on the web site). Or they may give you a Rider Switch Pass if they have them. It is at least partly up to the CM.

Rider Switch passes can be easily abused if they didn't have some technical restriction on use.

At any rate...child swap/rider switch procedures/policies have not changed at all with Fastpass+.