BABYSWAP complaint and question?

[twoboysmom]

We just recently returned from a week at Disney in late Jan. With a 2, 5 and 9 year old we use the baby swap on pretty much every ride it is available. (I do not go on Mission Space or Tower of Terror.) My older kids love to use the baby swap pass because usually it means they get to ride twice since the baby swap ticket allows for a total of three riders. We always used fastpass as well when offered so normally they tied in well together with the exception of Soar'in and sometimes Test Track. The first time we rode Soar'in(Fri afternoon I think), it took my husband and two boys one hour to get through the fast pass line, ride and exit. It then took me 40 minutes for my eldest son (5 year old wouldn't wait again) and myself to get through the fastpass line and ride. The ride had not been down that day-that was just the wait. The standby line was 60 minutes I think pretty much the whole week.

Also note that on one ride, Expedition Everest I think, they did not give us baby swap passes since they felt the each parent would take one child on with them while the other two waited. So no double rides for the kids that time. Also, our experience was that everyone, both parents and small child/baby must present themselves to the CM at the fastpass entrance to get the baby swap ticket as visual evidence of needing the pass.

 

[robinb]

We are going in 2 weeks and I would really like to try EE with a baby swap.

If there will only be one person riding at a time you may want to skip the whole FP thing and do the single rider line instead. Sometimes it can be faster.

 

[AimKo]

If there will only be one person riding at a time you may want to skip the whole FP thing and do the single rider line instead. Sometimes it can be faster.

What's a single rider line? Is it marked that way? Would all of us wait in it together? Sorry to be so dense!

Aimee

 

[seashoreCM]

What's a single rider line? Is it marked that way? Would all of us wait in it together? Sorry to be so dense!

Where offered, single rider lines are marked. The single rider line next to you lets you know that if your bench or vehicle is not fulll, a stranger may be seated next to you. You can all wait in the single rider line if you want to (the wait is usually shorter) and the CM's at the loading area will do their darndest to split you up.

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

 

[beattyfamily]

What's a single rider line? Is it marked that way? Would all of us wait in it together? Sorry to be so dense!

Aimee

If you have a baby, then you'd have to go separately anyway, so the single rider line might be an option if you would be riding alone anyway. The single rider line is always shorter than the other lines.

But if you have another adult or older child to ride with, then you probably wouldn't want to go in the single rider line as they will separate you.

 

[grumpymakesmehappy]

Just curious, why did they change the Babay Swap process at all? I remember the old way and it seemed to work just fine.

 

[robinb]

Just curious, why did they change the Babay Swap process at all? I remember the old way and it seemed to work just fine.

It is less staff intensive for the CM at the head of the line to see the "baby" and issue a Baby Swap Fast Pass and then treat the swapping parent and kids the same as any other fast passer. The "old way" every CM with a measuring stick would have to measure the "baby" and then both the loading CMs and the unloading CMs had to keep an eye on the Baby Swapping parent and kids. The new way means that only one person has to worry about the swapping parent and not 3-5 people.

 

[Maggi May]

One ride where the old swap system is still in place is Star Tours at MGM. All 3 of us walked through the ride queue I went on the ride first while my DH and son waited in the boarding area. After the ride was over, my DH handed our son off to me in the middle of the ride seating area and we exited the ride and waited outside for my DH to take his turn. Very easy, my son got to enjoy the ride queue (loves Star Wars stuff already) and the CM made it fun by hamming up our "boarding instructions" with the young Padawan.

 

[Schmeck]

WDW takes a big step into liabilityland when they allow guests under the height requirement into the queue. You can even get obnoxious parents trying to pressure the CM to let the little one ride, as the precious tike has been waiting in that loooong line...

What I don't understand is why to OP's family just sat around waiting while one parent rode. Go into a gift shop, go on another attraction, look for characters, etc. Find some CM street performers. The only time I sat on a bench waiting for was when my youngest was asleep in her stroller.

 

[conniehar90]

We used Baby swap a few times over Xmas/New Year's. I do remember the old method, but understand that the new way is much more efficient for the CM's. I remember a CM personally taking us up the chicken elevator on TOT - definitely not cost effective.

On this last trip, I mentioned to DH that the FP line does not seem so fast anymore. It seemed like it used to be a 5-10 minute wait, but like the OP we were experiencing 30 minutes on most rides. DH thought maybe they issued more FP's during peak seasons - our last two trips were in May and June and it wasn't as crowded as this Xmas. Since the OP just returned and it is not peak season, maybe they are just issuing more overall.

 

[grumpymakesmehappy]

Thanks for the answer Robinb. It makes sense!

 

[2poohbears]

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.

FYI---When I rode Splash Mountain with one son this week, my dh took the other (who was just a tad too short) to ride Pirates in Adventureland. You could do that with Thunder Mtn RR, too, I'm sure. It worked out well for us. Also, we brought our cell phones with us so we were able to call each other whenever we separated for anything and arrange to meet up someplace...this was really convenient.

 

[lillygator]

We've always used the Baby Swap and never had issues...never seen a FP line at 40 minutes either thank goodness....that would definitely be one we wouldn't wait in!


Also I am curious why OP didn't take advantage of the land area while the long wait for Soarin? We were there this past weekend...DH and DD went on Soarin (20 min standby), and my other DD and I did the Kidcot stop, saw the Circle of Life movie and went on the Living with the Land ride...when we got off DH and DD had been finished about 10 min!

 

[Bluefamily]

As the original poster, some of you asked why we didn't go do something while we waited. In most cases it was because our baby was sleeping in the stroller and there is only so much to do. We went and got ice cream etc. etc. but the fact still remains that it took the ENTIRE morning to do Soarin and Test Track. By the time we ate lunch, it was close to 2:00.

 

[lillygator]

No strollers allowed in Soarin (The Land) which sort of forces our family (or me and one DD) into "doing" something other than waiting.
Although if the baby was asleep, then I think a nice quiet time on a bench with a snack would be heavenly!

 

[tjmw2727]

We have had great experience with baby swap as recently as December 06. I prefer the rider swap pass vs the old switch at the exit way. My kids are older now but we often visit with family inluding neices and nephews who are under the 40, 44 ands 48 inch mark.

My advice is to approach the line with the entire party together. So if you have a FP then use FP line or if you don't head to the standby line. Tell the CM you want to do a rider switch (babyswap) and they will give you a swap pass for the second parent and up to two others (three total) to ride that attraction any time that day. Then the first parent rides with any others that meet the height restriction while the parent to ride second takes the others to do something else. Then the second parent can ride any time that day with two others if they choose via the FP line.

I love the switch pass because the child too short to ride dosen't have to wait the line and wait for the first party when they can't even ride. Instead you can go an see a show, get a snack or ice cream or ride a favorite ride.

We never actually wait for the first party to ride, instead we separate and do something fun. We have found something great to do at all the height restricted rides. For expample Splash and Btmr have the playground close by or you can ride the railroad. MS has an awesome toddler climbing area in the exit and its AC'd. At Space Mtn we ride the TTA, Buzz or head to Poohs playful spot. At RnRc or TOT we either get an ice cream or watch a showing of Beauty & the Beast. At soaring there are two kidcot spots, living with the land and cookie making. Sometimes, because Soarin does take so long we leave the Land pavilion and do a ride on the Figment Ride, not a far walk and never a line, also has a great play area in the exit.

As far as a sleeping baby - I found a sling or snugli invaluable, unfortunately it won't help the OP but may help others reading. You can't take strollers into the lines or pavilions so wearing a baby or toddler can save the trip IMHO.

IIRC the only rides that still do the rider swap at the end are Star Tours and Primeval Whirl, for these we just use Fast Pass instead. At Star Tours we take the little ones to Honey I shrunk the kids playground and at Primeval, well there is triceratops spin and the boneyard playground.

I have to say that like the OP I find that Soarin along with RnRC take a long time to ride even with a FP. That is why we never wait but just go ahead and enjoy the parks with the kids instead. If the kids are sleeping then I take a walk over to WS and watch a show of Off Kilter, Mo Roccon, Miyuki or the Acrobats in China, there is always something to do.

OK - long post, sorry. If anyone needs more ideas as to what we do nearby attractions or in certain parks while using baby swap I would be glad to help. We have had alot of practice over the last 10 or so years )

TJ

 

[dcgrumpy]

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?

We usually do this. We only get one FP, and then before the first ride enters the line we get a Baby Swap pass. You can then use the other person's pass to get another FP for another ride.

 

[Schmeck]

Even not having to deal with babyswap, it can take a full morning to get through Soarin' and Test Track. Those are the two most congested attractions at EPCOT. The way the queue 'coagulates' in the preshow rooms at Test Track, then goes into single file line makes it a very tedious process.

Soarin' is just still so popular, and most mornings they don't have both sides open right at the start, do they? They do a fair job mixing in the FPs and standbys, but I don't think there is ever a quick walkon, as it is not a continuously loading attraction.

I don't think we even do both rides in a single day, as they eat up so much time. We usually save Test Track for a night when we've already seen Illuminations.

 

[robinb]

We usually do this. We only get one FP, and then before the first ride enters the line we get a Baby Swap pass. You can then use the other person's pass to get another FP for another ride.

Shhhh! That's a secret!

Let me tell you ... I was very bummed when my DD was 40" tall, but not 40" brave. We had to give up our extra Fast Passes and stand in line together . Now, at 7-years old, she is fearless and loves even Rock and Roll Rollercoaster. She loves the loops!

 

[annieb727]

Does anyone know - for the rides that require one to transfer from an ECV to a manual wheelchair for the queue lines - if they will let the entire party thru for the baby swap?

I ask this because when we go - it will be me (in the ECV), dh, ds5, and ds3. So some of the swaps will be just me or dh going alone, but most will probably be our fearless ds5 - if I'm supposed to transfer to a manual wheelchair (to go thru the queue - like for Space Mountain it says "Guests must transfer from motorized scooter or ECV to an available wheelchair, then from the wheelchair to the attraction/ride vehicle.") - will they let dh and ds3 come along, or will they have someone to push me thru the queue - I certainly wouldn't be able to do it myself??

~annie~