Can you use Rider Switch off a FP?

[mercuryvenus]

For example:

My husband has a FP for a ride. I do not. We are with our 3 year old, who can’t ride the ride in question.

Can we request a rider switch, wait in the FP line together, and then have him ride it, immediately followed by me?

Or do you have to wait in the standby line to take advantage of rider switch?

 

[kmb584]

For example:

My husband has a FP for a ride. I do not. We are with our 3 year old, who can’t ride the ride in question.

Can we request a rider switch, wait in the FP line together, and then have him ride it, immediately followed by me?

Or do you have to wait in the standby line to take advantage of rider switch?

In theory, yes. Your family will approach the FP+ queue and request a rider switch pass. Your husband rides with his FP+ and you then ride with the switch pass. There is conflicting information all over, as some guests have experienced CM expressing that everyone in the party needs to have an FP+, which does negate the need for the switch pass. I think mileage will vary.

You and your 3-year-old will not be allowed to enter the FP+ line with your husband. He'll ride first while you wait elsewhere and then you'll go when he comes back.

 

[Kasper11]

you can get the switch but not wait in line together.

you do not have to use the standby line to use rider switch.

Our experience with rider switch from the fall: All persons go to the ride. Depending on the ride, the rider switch may have a dedicated spot (like slinky Dog) or you may get it at the fastpass taps. Person one taps in and says "we need a rider switch please." They see the kid and other person and scan the other persons magic band (all rides we used rider switch for in the fall used the scans) to add a rider switch pass to that person. Kid and non-rider wait around until rider gets off ride and finds them in a shop spending money. Hand off kid. Other person goes through fastpass like normal.

One thing for us was we have two kids so the older one would have a fastpass with one parent but also get to ride again with the other parent. bonus for them!

We have used rider switch extensively the last few years and I hear/read the stories of all needing fastpass but we have never had that problem. We always just schedule for the one parent and do rider switch for the other.

 

[mercuryvenus]

Thanks, everyone! This has been very helpful.

 

[NYCMOMMA]

Here is my experience with rider switch today at AK for fop. My bro and his gf used fp for the ride, me and husband got rider switch to watch our kids. CM asked us if we had fp we said no. They assigned us the standby return time 3 hrs later so we were unable to use rider switch passes after they got off the ride. Useless as it was already late in the day

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

Here is my experience with rider switch today at AK for fop. My bro and his gf used fp for the ride, me and husband and got rider switch to watch our kids. CM asked us if we had fp we said no. They assigned us the standby return time 3 hrs later so we were unable to use rider switch passes after they got off the ride. Useless as it was already late in the day

Weird. Did they know you were with your brother and his gf and that they were using FP? The only things I can think of are that they didn't realize group 1 (bro and gf) were using FP or thought you or your DH were going to wait in standby then use rider swap for the other adult (so taking bro and gf out of the scenario). If group 1 waits in standby, then the rider swap will be based off of the standby time as group 2 wouldn't be able to ride until they're back anyway. If group 1 is using FP, then the wait time is supposed to be based on the FP wait. This is the first account I've heard though of the rider swap wait being based off standby times when group 1 uses FP, so I'm hoping it was just some sort of error/confusion on the CM's part.

 

[NYCMOMMA]

Weird. Did they know you were with your brother and his gf and that they were using FP? The only things I can think of are that they didn't realize group 1 (bro and gf) were using FP or thought you or your DH were going to wait in standby then use rider swap for the other adult (so taking bro and gf out of the scenario). If group 1 waits in standby, then the rider swap will be based off of the standby time as group 2 wouldn't be able to ride until they're back anyway. If group 1 is using FP, then the wait time is supposed to be based on the FP wait. This is the first account I've heard though of the rider swap wait being based off standby times when group 1 uses FP, so I'm hoping it was just some sort of error/confusion on the CM's part

Nope that wasnt the case. We approached the cm together with group 1 and asked for rider switch and told cm they had fastpasses so they will ride first while group 2 waited with kids (who were present when we requested rider switch).

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

Nope that wasnt the case. We approached the cm together with group 1 and asked for rider switch and told cm they had fastpasses so they will ride first while group 2 waited with kids (who were present when we requested rider switch).

Wow! Hopefully that doesn't mean there's a new policy afoot.

 

[alwayssmile]

We were just there this past week. Several times they double checked that everyone in our group had a fast pass before completing rider swap. A few times they didn’t set up rider swap for adult 2 telling that adult they could use their FP and didn’t need the swap pass - just our older kids who were riding twice got the rider swap set up. We were told if everyone didn’t have a FP group 1 would wait standby. We did have one CM accidentally set up rider switch based on standby time, but it was easily corrected.

 

[NYCMOMMA]

Here's my positive Epcot rider switch experience today. First we rd test track and requested rider switch. We were given passes less than standby time which worked out better. We also requested it at mission space orange where we all had fp but group 2 most likely would not have been able to tap in on time. The one and only device to add the passes was not working so cm just said to come back. When we came back it was a different cm. I explained the situation and was allowed to enter fp line (standby was 60mins). Rider swap is nice but takes up too much time. Poor kids were bored for entire morning until FEA fp window.

 

[SteveMouse]

CMs are validating that all people wanting to ride have FP.

 

[NYCMOMMA]

Happy to report rider switch worked for our group at HS for sdd and mfsr. CMs asked if group 1 is going fp+ line or standby (we had anytime for sdd for only group 1 and everyone had anytime fp+ for mfsr from the march glitch). Since we got the swap for mfsr we saved the anytime fp for as2 (which ds4 asked to ride again). DS4 loved tsmm and as2! It was a great last park day before goin home!

 

[stephk1981]

We returned last Sunday. For every rider swap we did the cm did make sure both my husband and I had fastpasses. They still let our son ride all of the rides twice ( he had a fastpass, but he rode first with DH while I waited with DD then I rode with DS while he waited with DD. I can tell you it was hit and miss on the November and July trip we had in 2019. Half the CMS would just scan one of our fps the others would make usboth have fps. However this trip, every ride we partook of rider switch all riders had to have fastpasses for the ride.

 

[Lilsia]

Here's my positive Epcot rider switch experience today. First we rd test track and requested rider switch. We were given passes less than standby time which worked out better. We also requested it at mission space orange where we all had fp but group 2 most likely would not have been able to tap in on time. The one and only device to add the passes was not working so cm just said to come back. When we came back it was a different cm. I explained the situation and was allowed to enter fp line (standby was 60mins). Rider swap is nice but takes up too much time. Poor kids were bored for entire morning until FEA fp window.

They have tried to make it more convenient while keeping it "fair". The original way is best IMO. Everyone goes through the line and the child and non rider wait it out until the first group is done and switch on the spot. The other problem they created is that many of the new rides let out in a different location then they loaded. I think the most equitable thing is for them to keep it at if you are using the FP line, then everyone in the group that is riding has the FP.