Can someone explain fast pass and child swap to me?

[Ctsplaysinrain]

Hi- We are planning a trip in a few weeks... I have 2 sons- my 9 yr old as Asperger's/ ADHD/ Anxiety.... My 8 yr old has ADHHHHHHHHHHHHD.. How do the fast passes work or child swap? I've been reading these forums for a few days and I'm starting to get totally anxious myself since it seems like you need to "plan" everything... As most of you know, you can't plan everything with these kids. I need to let them take the lead... I have heard that you can only use chidswap if a kid is too small.. Could I use it for my Aspie even though he is obvioulsy over 40 inches????? He doesnt like most bigger rides or ones that make certain noises whereas my 8 yr old is FEARLESS and gets so bummed when we can't ride much cause his brother doesnt like... I have used childswap at places like Busch gardens for these purposes but I he ar that disney was strict on not lettin you use for big kids.... Also, what exactly are the fastpasses? how do they work? What is this I have read about only 1 at a time etc??? Any advice. Thanks
Debbie

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Fastpasses -- These are for certain attractions. There are machines outsidde the attraction. You put your park admission ticket into the machine and it come back out along with a ticket that gives a one hour long "return time". You come back during that period and can get on the attraction with usually less than a ten minute wait. Eacxh person needs a FP, not one per group. Generally you cannot have more than one valid fastpass at a time.

Child Swap -- Generally not age-restricted. You go though the regular queue. When you reach the boarding area at least one adult stays with the child not riding. When the ride is over the riding adult(s) will stay with the child while the previous non-rider(s) can go on the ride. Note, this will allow the fearless one to ride twice; once with each parent.

If one of the children has a real problem with waiting in line (meltdown if not NOW) you can get a stamp on the GAC which allows use of the FP line without having an FP, but should only be used if all else fails.

 

[Nanajo1]

Fastpasses -- These are for certain attractions. There are machines outsidde the attraction. You put your park admission ticket into the machine and it come back out along with a ticket that gives a one hour long "return time". You come back during that period and can get on the attraction with usually less than a ten minute wait. Eacxh person needs a FP, not one per group. Generally you cannot have more than one valid fastpass at a time.

At the bottom of the Fast Pass is the time you can get your next Fast Pass. The length of time between Passes varied between 1 hour to 3 hours. I don't know how that was figured. So we did at times have two Fast Passes.

 

[Schmeck]

Will the GAC really let you just use the FP line if your child cannot wait, or do they give you the option of waiting in a quiet spot and/or give you a ticket with a time to come back? I've heard that some have gone to WDW expecting to get immediate access, and haven't been able to - the child was expecting it, and it really set him off because of the misinformation.

 

[SueM in MN]

Will the GAC really let you just use the FP line if your child cannot wait, or do they give you the option of waiting in a quiet spot and/or give you a ticket with a time to come back? I've heard that some have gone to WDW expecting to get immediate access, and haven't been able to - the child was expecting it, and it really set him off because of the misinformation.

Here's a link to the DIS Site Fastpass Information Page. Which explains how Fastpass works.

If you look in the disABILITIES FAQs thread I have kind of an explanation of the being told to come back later situation. It has happened to us several times when the area where they "hold" people with special needs has been temporarily full. What happened was that they gave us a written slip with a return time on it. When we returned back at that time, we were allowed to enter the Fastpass line.
For a child who is going to be upset if things are not just the way he/she is expecting, getting Fastpasses offers the most consistency because you get a Fastpass, you know just when to come back and when you come back, you will get in line and get on in a short time.

I have heard that you can only use chidswap if a kid is too small.. Could I use it for my Aspie even though he is obvioulsy over 40 inches????? He doesnt like most bigger rides or ones that make certain noises whereas my 8 yr old is FEARLESS and gets so bummed when we can't ride much cause his brother doesnt like... I have used childswap at places like Busch gardens for these purposes but I he ar that disney was strict on not lettin you use for big kids....

The age for a child to ride alone is 7 (I know he's not riding, but if would also mean he could be in the park alone). I have read about older kids using the Kid Swap and I actually used it myself on Primeval Whirl when I waited in line and then decided not to ride when the rest of my family went on. What you might want to do is ask ahead of time where he would wait and what it is like. The one for Primeval Whirl was sort of a metal mesh cage and I was shut into it (locked in actually). Some people might have a problem with that (but, as I think of it, my nephew with Asperger's would probably like something like that since I was well protected in it).