BABYSWAP complaint and question?

[Bluefamily]

We just returned from a wonderful 10 day trip and had a great time . This was our third trip with kids (1,4,5) so we have used baby swap quite a bit and I remember in past trips that we all stood in line together and at the attraction one person rode and then we switched. This year, they gave us a fastpass instead which was okay on some days on some rides, but other times it was very difficult. At Soarin for example the fast pass line and ride took about 40 minutes, so my wife sat out with our baby and 5 year while I rode it with our other son. She then had to get back in line and wait another 30-40 minutes while I sat with all 3 kids. We then repeated the same process on Test Track which took another 1 1/2 hours, we gave up after that at Epcot but experienced the same thing at Animal Kingdom. The other parks were slow enough that it wasn't a big deal. (We also had 10 days to be very picky about where and when we went, a 4 or 5 day trip would have forced us to go at certain times and would have been very frustrating!).

On a couple of occasions i asked the CM about both of us going through the line together and they would not allow it and insisted it had never been done that way. I think it's crazy to make the kids wait 90 minutes while we stand in line twice to ride the same ride one time. Does anyone else remember swapping at the ride itself? (Which makes a lot more sense to me.)

On a side note, this was our third trip in three years, all at about the same time (1/25-2/5) and the crowds seemed huge this year compared to years past.

 

[cmassey]

we have had similar experiences with the "baby swap." this new version is not much of a service at all. i remember when the previous method was employed, and it served families much better.

 

[I'mNoPrince]

We just returned from a wonderful 10 day trip and had a great time . This was our third trip with kids (1,4,5) so we have used baby swap quite a bit and I remember in past trips that we all stood in line together and at the attraction one person rode and then we switched. This year, they gave us a fastpass instead which was okay on some days on some rides, but other times it was very difficult. At Soarin for example the fast pass line and ride took about 40 minutes, so my wife sat out with our baby and 5 year while I rode it with our other son. She then had to get back in line and wait another 30-40 minutes while I sat with all 3 kids. We then repeated the same process on Test Track which took another 1 1/2 hours, we gave up after that at Epcot but experienced the same thing at Animal Kingdom. The other parks were slow enough that it wasn't a big deal. (We also had 10 days to be very picky about where and when we went, a 4 or 5 day trip would have forced us to go at certain times and would have been very frustrating!).

On a couple of occasions i asked the CM about both of us going through the line together and they would not allow it and insisted it had never been done that way. I think it's crazy to make the kids wait 90 minutes while we stand in line twice to ride the same ride one time. Does anyone else remember swapping at the ride itself? (Which makes a lot more sense to me.)

On a side note, this was our third trip in three years, all at about the same time (1/25-2/5) and the crowds seemed huge this year compared to years past.

All I can say is WOW. I never waited that long in FastPass lines and I go during peak times (around July4th,week before X-mas). But I do know they have been doing the PS that way for a while at least a few years ,so the CMs may have never done it any other way that are working the rides now.

I think there is no longer a slow time they are having some type pf party (MNSSHP,MVMCP,and P&PP ) to ensure it stays crowded all the time.

 

[lovethattink]

I too can remember the days of waiting in line together and swaping at the attraction. Those days have been gone for at least 2 years or more.

I think the best way to utilize the baby swap pass, is to go and do something else while you wait for the other riders. Usually at Soarin', I'll take my 2 year old on the Living with the Land boat ride or to Journey into Imagination. Then when we swap, my dh will take him to the Living Seas where we all will meet up at a designated spot.

The other thing which makes it difficult with the little ones, is the fact that strollers are not permitted in many of the buildings due to fire hazzard codes. So if the child can't walk, you are stuck carrying all your loot plus the child. We usually leave as much as possible in the stroller outside and carry in the bare minimum.

There are several attractions where the fast pass line can be a fairly long wait at times. Test track, Space MT, EE, Splash MT, Mission Space and Big Thunder MT come to mind as attractions where I did something else with my son to pass the time away. Waiting on a bench can just be too boring for the little ones when it involves alot of time.

 

[maxiesmom]

I Agree,the new method is not much help at all. Would they rather you took a screaming child on the ride?

We did a swap on Soarin, and while the left behind adult went on, the rest of us did the Living with the Land ride. It worked out perfectly! We were all done with our rides at the same time.

But I don't know if any other family enjoys riding the Land as much as we do. I was on it 4 times this last trip.

 

[Andy B]

When we went when our DD was small we would all go in the normal line then one would ride with our older DS then when they had exited we passed our DD to the one who had ridded and the waiting parennt would then ride normally wit our DS again. This seemed fair as both had waited in the queue to begin with.

 

[Hannathy]

The older kids could have went back on the ride with the other adult, that may have helped a bit. When they did it the other way it was a problem to with kids old enough to want to ride but not quite big enough. It was very disapointing to get all the way to the ride and not get on.

 

[AJKMOM]

I Agree,the new method is not much help at all. Would they rather you took a screaming child on the ride?

We did a swap on Soarin, and while the left behind adult went on, the rest of us did the Living with the Land ride. It worked out perfectly! We were all done with our rides at the same time.

But I don't know if any other family enjoys riding the Land as much as we do. I was on it 4 times this last trip.:goodvibes

Yikes! I have ridden this attraction once in the past 10 years, I'm glad my baby swap years are over!

 

[shafke]

When we did child swap 2 years ago we waited outside while the other went through to line to ride. I find that the later the day gets the longer the fastpass line gets. Also, the child swap does not have to be used right away. It can be used later in the day or later in the week. When we have used it some child swap passes had an expiration date that was for the end of the week and some did not have any dates on them.

 

[beattyfamily]

Wow! I've never waited that long for the Fastpass line!

We love the Fastpass babyswap pass. It has worked great for us.

What we do is get Fastpass for the first parent and the babyswap pass for the other parent. If the Fastpass line is more than 20 minutes, the second parent will save their babyswap Fastpass for later in the day or the next day because most babyswap Fastpasses are good for at least one day, sometimes up to 3 days!

I feel bad for those of you who have to wait in long Fastpass lines. That stinks. I've personally never seen it though, thankfully.

 

[DomFromPhilly]

I'll be using Baby swap for the first time this August. I didn't realize this was the way they did it, always assuming you switched at the ride. Now that I know that is not how it works, I have a couple of questions.

For most of the rides, we were planning on using Fastpass anyway. If this is this case, then there really isn't a Baby swap. In other words, if we both get FPs, we wouldnt all wait in line together, right? I would go through the FP line, while DW waits w/ DS. Then we switch outside the attraction. If we all waited in the FP line, we would get to the front of the line, and DW would just get another FP? Is that right? Or is the Baby swap pass different than a regular FP?

Also, the discussion on this thread has generated another question. It would be really convenient to have a list of other attractions that can serve as time killers while one parent is riding a bigger ride. Ideally, the time killer would be something that can be accomplished from queue to completion in the same amount of time as the bigger ride.

For example:

Soarin = Living with the Land

Any other suggestions?

Also, let me know if I am getting this whole Baby swap/FP situation confused.

 

[seashoreCM]

1. Why is the fastpass line so long? Did the ride have a recent outage or were the fastpass "ticket takers" using the wrong formula?

This is not the first time I have heard this complaint about the baby swap process. I do think it needs attention. My suggestion for today (2/6/07) is to make a suggestion in writing including the ride and time of day, then go to Guest Relations, then present the suggestion orally before a CM there, then make a specific request for a round of fastpasses for the family to make up for the second wait. The real purpose of the latter is to make the suggestion stand out as opposed to a written suggestion simply dropped in a box.

No imagineering experience needed. If your suggestion turns out to be impractical or was already made by the previous person in line at G.R., skip to the last step.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[beattyfamily]

I'll be using Baby swap for the first time this August. I didn't realize this was the way they did it, always assuming you switched at the ride. Now that I know that is not how it works, I have a couple of questions.

For most of the rides, we were planning on using Fastpass anyway. If this is this case, then there really isn't a Baby swap. In other words, if we both get FPs, we wouldnt all wait in line together, right? I would go through the FP line, while DW waits w/ DS. Then we switch outside the attraction. If we all waited in the FP line, we would get to the front of the line, and DW would just get another FP? Is that right? Or is the Baby swap pass different than a regular FP?

Also, the discussion on this thread has generated another question. It would be really convenient to have a list of other attractions that can serve as time killers while one parent is riding a bigger ride. Ideally, the time killer would be something that can be accomplished from queue to completion in the same amount of time as the bigger ride.

For example:

Soarin = Living with the Land

Any other suggestions?

Also, let me know if I am getting this whole Baby swap/FP situation confused.

The Baby Swap Fastpass looks different and is given to you at the ride entrance by the CM at the line entrance. He will see your child and then give it to you. So it is a little different. It is good for up to 3 people and usually is good all day, or sometimes up to 3 days.

You are right. Its pretty much the same as doing Fastpasses.

My girls are all over the baby swap height requirements now but my 7 year old doesn't like ToT or Splash. They will not issue a baby swap for her since she meets the height requirement so we just all get Fastpasses for my family of 4 and then first, DH rides with older DD and then I ride with older DD. Works perfectly.

 

[amarberry]

The Soarin FP line takes a dreadfully long amount of time. Soarin is my favorite ride and it is such a pain for even one of us to go on this ride while the other waits with DD. Most of the time, we try to ride this when DD is asleep, but if you are trying to do a childswap instead of a FP this doesn't work since you can't bring the sleeping kid in the stroller into the Land to show that you have a little kid.

 

[Andy B]

We just returned from a wonderful 10 day trip and had a great time . This was our third trip with kids (1,4,5) so we have used baby swap quite a bit and I remember in past trips that we all stood in line together and at the attraction one person rode and then we switched. This year, they gave us a fastpass instead which was okay on some days on some rides, but other times it was very difficult. QUOTE]

At what stage did you get the original pass, did you queue in the standard line then get the fastpass or was it given by a CM at the entrance and the first rider used the fastpass? if so did both riders use a fastpass and when did is second rider get theirs.

 

[Karibeth19]

We were able to swap at TOT back in November, even though our DD is 9 and technically able to ride. (TOT is the ONLY one she is still afraid to ride.) We waited in line together, and when we got to the boarding area, DH and DD took the chicken elevator down and waited on a bench right by where the ride elevators exit. Once I got off, DH took the chicken elevator back up and was able to board from there without waiting in line again.

I was glad they let us do that, because on our last trip we did wait in line separately, and it took all morning for us to ride it twice each!

 

[AimKo]

We are going in 2 weeks and I would really like to try EE with a baby swap. So if I understand, I would go to the CM at the front of the regular line, indicate that DH and I want to do a babyswap....and the CM will give me a babyswap/fastpass...and from there I go directly into the fastpass line, ride...find dh...he goes into the fastpass line.

Do I have this right?

Does this use up our ability to get a standard fastpass?

TIA!!!!!!

Aimee

 

[beattyfamily]

We are going in 2 weeks and I would really like to try EE with a baby swap. So if I understand, I would go to the CM at the front of the regular line, indicate that DH and I want to do a babyswap....and the CM will give me a babyswap/fastpass...and from there I go directly into the fastpass line, ride...find dh...he goes into the fastpass line.

Do I have this right?

Does this use up our ability to get a standard fastpass?

TIA!!!!!!

Aimee

You have it almost right. First you need to decide whether the other parent will do standby or Fastpass to ride. If you are going to do Fastpass then go get it. Then go to the CM at the entrance and tell them you want to swap and they will give you the special baby swap Fastpass (good for up to 3 people for up to 3 days).

One parent can ride with that special baby swap Fastpass and the other parent can either ride with a regular Fastpass or standby line; that is up to you.

 

[beattyfamily]

We were able to swap at TOT back in November, even though our DD is 9 and technically able to ride. (TOT is the ONLY one she is still afraid to ride.) We waited in line together, and when we got to the boarding area, DH and DD took the chicken elevator down and waited on a bench right by where the ride elevators exit. Once I got off, DH took the chicken elevator back up and was able to board from there without waiting in line again.

I was glad they let us do that, because on our last trip we did wait in line separately, and it took all morning for us to ride it twice each!

Yes, if your child is tall enough to ride but doesn't want to you can either swap with your own Fastpasses (like I explained before) OR all can enter the line and swap at the ride itself but not all rides will let you swap at the ride itself so it might be good to ask the CM at the entrance.

That is what they told me at ToT and Splash but my 7 year old didn't even want to wait in the line due to be afraid. Luckily she's gotten over it since then!

 

[lovethattink]

The Baby Swap Fastpass looks different and is given to you at the ride entrance by the CM at the line entrance. He will see your child and then give it to you. So it is a little different. It is good for up to 3 people and usually is good all day, or sometimes up to 3 days.

Not necessarily the entrance, but usually it is the entrance.

Last time dh and ds did Mission Space, I was sent to the Exit of the ride, inside the building, to get the swap pass. The CM was great, he gave me the swap pass AND a head of the line pass for my small one, for when he's big enough to ride!

It's best to ask the CM at the entrance of the ride how the baby swap works for that particular ride. Often it changes. Been to EE a dozen times or so, and 3 times was told different things. Once I had to wait in the standby line that wrapped around the Fast pass area. When we got to the CM she gave us the pass there. Another time, I was sent to the fast pass entrance to get the swap pass. And one time I was told to go inside the store and got it by the picture area.