Best plan for RSR with an infant?

[DSNY4ever]

What's the best plant for getting on RSR when you have a little one in the group? We will be a group of 6 adults and an infant (who won't be able to ride anything in Carsland). We will not have EE.

Do we try the wide right technique I have been reading about? We would have to do the child swap so I am wondering if that is still worth it or if the second group would be in too long of a line, and do you guys think a large group and a stroller would be able to get through the crowds to even make that work? I know we'd have to arrive at the entrance as a group to get the swap pass and I am picturing my parents getting lost in the crowd!

Do we go for the fast pass line instead? Or do single rider? Can you get a child swap pass with single rider? I am thinking probably not. If not, would it be too long of a wait for both groups to do single rider? I know my family will not want to do single rider, but if that is the easiest option, then they will.

I am also feeling a little guilty about wasting a whole morning trying to get on this ride while my DS is bored to death in his stroller

 

[lisachrystine]

What we did is send all the group except me and DD3 (who is about a half inch too short!) to standby and I went to FP. When I went back to get the baby swap pass they did tell me that we were supposed to all be together, but they gave it to me anyway. If you can do the wide right and stay together, I would send everyone to the ride, get your baby swap pass and then you and the baby go get a FP for everyone else to ride again later (make sure you get everyone's tickets!). The baby swap pass will allow you and one other person to go through the FP line. It took me about 20 minutes when I went through. While you and the little one are waiting, you can take him to other things -- we did Little Mermaid, the carousel, and watched Red Car Newsboys, The Green Army Men and some of Phinneas and Ferb. I also got our WOC FPs and Soarin' FPs.

 

[Davids-Coco]

I would suggest single rider line. Someone can stay and the others can go single. And then switch. Even the fastpass had a longer wait than single rider. We got on within 2 minutes the first time and 10 the second. I think that time may be a wait issue for a little one.

You could always baby swap as well, but they will put you through the fast pass and we didn't really have luck with baby swap this past week... even though we mentioned doing baby swap, they wouldn't let him past the entry point so I don't really know what was up with that.

 

[lisachrystine]

Just clarifying how baby swap works... your whole party goes to the entry of the ride. They verify that you have a child too small to ride (they actually height checked my DD) and then hand you a pass. You and the baby go do whatever you want to do while the rest of the party waits in line and rides. Any time later in the day, you and one other person take the baby swap pass to the FP line. Your little one does not have to wait in line - and like the pp mentioned, will not even be allowed past the entry point if they are too small to ride. Single rider is great, but I know my family all wanted to stay together for the first ride -- and honestly, my FP line (20 minutes) went faster than the single rider line (45 minutes), so it just depends on when you hit it.

 

[Dizneydaz]

FYI, I've done single rider everytime I've ridden RS and have waited at least 20 min. And that was during the week. Sometimes as much as 45.

 

[DSNY4ever]

Hmm, okay I guess we have to decide if everyone can brave the crowd and make it as a group to try the wide right. I guess if that doesn't work we'll switch to single rider later. I feel like this is rocket science!

 

[Davids-Coco]

Hmm, okay I guess we have to decide if everyone can brave the crowd and make it as a group to try the wide right. I guess if that doesn't work we'll switch to single rider later. I feel like this is rocket science!

Not rocket science, just go with whatever works best at the moment.

I do understand baby swap but the guy at the front was not allowing baby swap at all for some reason and kept telling us different things... first it was that we couldn't pass, then that there wasn't a baby swap, then that we had to go through the line and switch up at the top. It was an obvious mess. lol.

 

[DSNY4ever]

Not rocket science, just go with whatever works best at the moment.

I do understand baby swap but the guy at the front was not allowing baby swap at all for some reason and kept telling us different things... first it was that we couldn't pass, then that there wasn't a baby swap, then that we had to go through the line and switch up at the top. It was an obvious mess. lol.

Yeah, I guess we can eye the crowds and see what we think will work when we are there. I think I feel more pressure because I am the planner for our group. When it is just DH and I we can go with the flow easier. And I hear ya on the baby swap, last time we went it seemed slightly different at every ride.

 

[ValpoCory]

Can you get a baby swap Fast Pass at night, hours after regular Fast Passes are gone?

 

[disneydreamerbelle]

On a tangent is the baby swap for this ride for two people to come back or three? I know on some rides they allow different numbers. I have two sons who will want to ride with me when we switch and I don't know how I would choose.

 

[ImNoPrince]

I just posted this on another thread so will paste most of that text here if you don't mind.

On our recent trip, our little DD3 was too short for a few of the rides we wanted to do but still needed a park ticket as she just turned 3. Technically, you may be required to take the shorty child/baby to the CM, but I didn't know this. We parked her in her stroller with one of the adults in the stroller parking while the rest of the party queued. No problems getting the baby swap card without her present.

To use baby swap card, you enter in the fp line.

We were shocked at how two people could ride using the baby swap card. RSR was our first time using it. Had I known how the swap works, I would have used our fps differently. We had 5 tickets (our fam of 4 and family friend) so I got 5 fps. Family friend stayed with the little one while DH, DS, and I queued in the return line, got baby swap card, and rode. Three fps were used. Then, I stayed with DD while DH, DS, and family friend rode with baby swap card. The card allowed two of them in without using the fp so only 1 fp used that trip. At that point we had used 4 of our 5 fps. DH didn't want to go by himself or let DS go by himself so he gave the remaining fp away to another guest.

Knowing what I know now about the swap card, I would have done this with our 5 fps:

1. DH, DS, and I ride getting swap card from CM first. 3 fp used.
2. Friend and DS ride using the swap card. 0 fp used.
3. DH and DS ride getting swap card from CM first. 2 fp used.
4. I would ride with one of the group using the swap card. 0 fp used.

All 5 fp used and many more rides this way! Next time!!

When trying to decide how to approach RSR with little kids, I went with Hydroguy's and a couple of others approach:

• 
  Send a runner (me in our case) ahead to stand in RSR fp line with all of the tickets.

• The rest of the group (DH, kids, stroller, and family friend) didn't have to rush to the line so they wandered around Buena Vista before the rope drop, then I sent them to Luigis. Apparently the line gets long quickly so it's good to do this ride early. By the time I got the fps, they were just getting on Luigis so I got to watch.

• The recommendation is to go to TSMM next as that line also builds quickly.

• Ride Mater when you go back to use RSR fps.

Hydroguy recommends this as you cannot be guaranteed to make it to the front of the standby line even if you rush there at rope drop. Plus, often the ride doesn't start running or loading right when the park opens so you can waste extra time standing in line if your whole group waits instead of getting fps.

I'm very happy we went with this strategy. I'm especially happy because RSR didn't open for about the first 90 mins the day we went. (I heard from some CMs that this is common.) The standby line was 120 mins when it finally opened. Then the ride went down an hour later and was closed for at least another 2 hours. By the time our fp return time came, the ride was open and we had about a 10 min wait.

Waiting in the fp line before opening was entertaining for me, and my group had lots to do and see. Once the fp machines opened, it only took 25 mins to get to the machines.

Wow, that was a book. Sorry! HTH though!

 

[DSNY4ever]

Thanks Imnoprince- that helps!!