Child ride swap with a kid who could technically ride

[allysetraskos]

My son is technically tall enough to do the aerosmith rock n rollercoaster but I don't want to put him through that, however his dad & I want to ride can we still do the rider swap or is only for children under that height?

 

[flatlandcycle]

My son is technically tall enough to do the aerosmith rock n rollercoaster but I don't want to put him through that, however his dad & I want to ride can we still do the rider swap or is only for children under that height?

"...child or children who do not ride—either because they do not meet the height requirement or simply do not wish to ride."

from:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/rider-switch/

 

[flatlandcycle]

You may want to print the official rules page because cast members may not know the rules.

 

[wintotty]

Def take the print out version, because last time I was there (Feb 2014) I was told we can't do ride swap because my child meet the height requirement.
I didn't know the official rule, so we passed on the ride.

 

[tjmw2727]

Despite what the web pages says we have never been able to use child swap/rider switch with a child who meets the height requirements. This includes a barely 40" child who was to afraid to even walk the queue of TOT never mind ride.

He can walk the queue with you and use the "chicken exit" and wait at the exit/gift shop. Otherwise just take turns using FP+ or the single rider line while the other parent does something with your son.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

In practice, it depends on the CM. We had no problems getting a pass with a child a couple inches over the height limit on Splash, but the fact that she was clinging to me and begging not to ride might have made the CM more sympathetic.

You could give it a try, but also RnRc has single rider if you don't have fastpasses and don't have other kids who do want to ride.

 

[flatlandcycle]

Force the employees to follow Disney rules.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

You can always ask the first CM at the queue what your options are. We were once turned down for a swap pass at ToT because our youngest was tall enough. It's really up to the discretion of the CM. I doubt that taking a print-out from the website would get you anywhere. For RNRC, I'd just take turns in the single-rider line.

 

[JaimeK]

Rider swap isn't going to really do you much good. You'd both be going on the ride by yourself while one parent stays with the kid right? Best bet is probably the single rider line.

Rider swap is more useful when you have multiple kids and some that can't ride. Parent A rides with Child C while Parent B waits with Child D. Then rider swap gives you the pass to return for Parent B to ride with Child C.

 

[cakebaker]

Despite what the web pages says we have never been able to use child swap/rider switch with a child who meets the height requirements. This includes a barely 40" child who was to afraid to even walk the queue of TOT never mind ride.

He can walk the queue with you and use the "chicken exit" and wait at the exit/gift shop. Otherwise just take turns using FP+ or the single rider line while the other parent does something with your son.

You should be able to. Disney should and will follow the rules they have posted on their website. We used it to skip a ride we did not want my grandson to ride, yet he qualified in height. No problem.

My grandson will hit the 40" mark before he turns 3. There are a long list of rides that height wise, he's qualified for, but in our estimation, is not old enough to handle them. We expect they will follow their rules as they have in the past.

Single rider line might work, but we're entitled to use the swap pass and we do. It's much more convenient and faster.

I suspect rider swap and the fact that it doesn't require a fp+ for up to 3 people- which often results in people getting to re-ride is a source of irritation. But it doesn't change the fact that the rules are clearly written out and they don't often say "yeah, it says that, but we don't follow our own rules".

 

[bumbershoot]

You should be able to. Disney should and will follow the rules they have posted on their website. We used it to skip a ride we did not want my grandson to ride, yet he qualified in height. No problem. My grandson will hit the 40" mark before he turns 3. There are a long list of rides that height wise, he's qualified for, but in our estimation, is not old enough to handle them. We expect they will follow their rules as they have in the past.

They should but that doesn't mean they will. That wording has been up at least a year and you are the first person I have read that for them to comply. It's not the way the CMs are trained.

Before, the wording was different. Then as the site changed and it showed up in two different ways, then the very-likely-correct way was eliminated from the site and this question has come up here a million times.

I think everyone should show all sorts of CMs the official wording, but I think all it will accomplish is to get the old wording back. Because that's how the CMs are trained.

 

[cakebaker]

Here ya' go OP- just copy this chat I just had and take it with you. I don't think you'll need it, but I would almost guarantee this gets you a rider swap pass. I chatted just to be sure for my own use.

Thank you for contacting Disney. Please hold while we route you to a Walt
Disney World Cast Member who will help you with your question.

Welcome to Disney, you are now chatting with 'Kevin', how may I help you today?

Kevin: Hello! How may I assist you?

Audrey: I have a question regarding rider swap.

Kevin: Sure!

Audrey: My grandson is 3 yrs old, yet is 40" tall and technically he meets the ride height requirements for several rides that we don't feel he should ride, such as Tower of Terror. Will we still be able to obtain a rider swap pass for him?

Kevin: You would, Audrey. At any of the attractions that have a height requirement you can get the pass to rider switch regardless of his age.

Audrey: Thank you so much! Makes our trip much easier!

Kevin: It definitely helps! It was my pleasure!

Kevin: Anything else I may assist you with today?

Audrey: No, that was all I needed. Thanks, have a great day!

This is what it says on the website and this is the current information they're giving out- I doubt it's a mistake and doesn't matter if it is.


And for further clarification:

Thank you for contacting Disney. Please hold while we route you to a Walt Disney World Cast Member who will help you with your question.

Welcome to Disney, you are now chatting with 'Kevin', how may I help you today?

Kevin: Hello! How may I assist you?

Audrey: I just asked you actually, a question regarding rider swap and needed a bit more clarification.

Kevin: Sure

Audrey: My grandson is 3 and over 40 inches. You said we could still get a rider swap pass regardless of age. Does it matter that he qualifes to ride according to his height?

Kevin: That is correct; some kids are taller than others but it isn't always about the height that requires to use the rider switch. Sometimes, it can be due to the child not being comfortable riding the attraction, etc.

Audrey: Great, thanks. I think I'm clear on it now. You've been very helpful.

Kevin: My pleasure, Audrey!

I used 3 as his age and 40" as his height, because he will be 3 and at least 40" by our next trip. We plan on heavily making use of it on our next trip when my grandson does qualify for those rides we do not want him riding.

 

[bumbershoot]

The CMs at the parks know how the parks work. The CMs answering questions by email and phone might not even be in Florida and there's no guarantee they've been to the parks ever. They don't know how things run. They know what's on the site.

You're NOT going to convince a CM whose job is there at the ride that they should be overridden by a random phone/email/chat CM. If the CM was trained one way you're not going to get what you want. you might be compensated or apologized to in different ways, but if they were trained that it's by height, they won't budge for this.

Trying to set realistic expectations for the OP.

 

[cakebaker]

The CMs at the parks know how the parks work. The CMs answering questions by email and phone might not even be in Florida and there's no guarantee they've been to the parks ever. They don't know how things run. They know what's on the site.

You're NOT going to convince a CM whose job is there at the ride that they should be overridden by a random phone/email/chat CM. If the CM was trained one way you're not going to get what you want. you might be compensated or apologized to in different ways, but if they were trained that it's by height, they won't budge for this.

Trying to set realistic expectations for the OP.

But I have gotten what I wanted with no issue, and I'm confident I will continue to do so.

The cm's at the entrance are not the ones who make the rules. I'm not going to try and convince a CM. I will pleasantly tell them they're wrong, ask if they'd like to get me a supervisor, and then I'll get my rider swap.

But so far, that hasn't been necessary. I don't expect it will be.

Realistic expectations are expecting that WDW will follow the rules they set.

The OP is free to do what they want, but the rules are clearly printed on their website. The chat confirms it and I'm not expected to have insider knowledge as to the training of CM's.

I'm really surprised you're so willing to let WDW not follow their own rules.

I don't care to debate this any longer. There's definite proof as to what their requirements are. If you don't have a need nor want to use the swap, don't. I do and I will and there's no arguing what their policy is. The OP is free to do whatever they want, but they should know they have the rules on their side.

 

[allysetraskos]

Thanks for all your feedback... I didn't even know single rider lines existed.
Out of curiosity what makes a single rider line different then child swap? Wouldn't they be essentially the same thing?

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

Thanks for all your feedback... I didn't even know single rider lines existed.
Out of curiosity what makes a single rider line different then child swap? Wouldn't they be essentially the same thing?

(The last time I did a single rider line was a couple years ago, and I've only ever done it on Expedition Everest, so things may have changed and/or be different for other rides.) At least for EE, the single rider line was physically shorter than the regular standby line (it didn't weave through the whole queue); and it was only open sometimes. They would take single riders whenever they needed to fill a seat on the ride. For instance, EE has double side-by-side seats, so if a group with an odd number of riders got on, they'd let someone from the single rider line on. That also means that if they don't need to fill an empty seat, you could wait in the single rider line a while, even if the line isn't very long. But in practice, I've only ever waited maybe 10 minutes in the SR line, even when the SB line is very long.

 

[cakebaker]

Thanks for all your feedback... I didn't even know single rider lines existed.
Out of curiosity what makes a single rider line different then child swap? Wouldn't they be essentially the same thing?

If it's just 2 people needing to swap then it's not a great deal different- it's the difference between how long it takes you to get thru the single rider line and the fp+ line.

If there's more than 2, then it's much quicker because 3 people can ride using one rider pass, none of them needing a fp+. You can also get re-rides in quicker- 2 people ride, then the other 1 or 2 that held back plus 1 of the first riders can join as well. It also allows people to ride together rather than everyone riding separately. And it's all done with 2 waits through the line.

 

[surferdave]

Does single rider exist everywhere that swap does? I thought that only a pretty small number of rides have single rider.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Does single rider exist everywhere that swap does? I thought that only a pretty small number of rides have single rider.

Only Test Track, Everest and RNRC have single rider lines.

 

[lizard1]

You can still do the child swap with a child that is just too scared (but tall enough), they just handle it differently. When I was there this summer, everyone wanted to ride TOT except for my 4 year old, who said she was too scared. We went up and asked, but the CM wanted to measure....I really had forgotten that she was over 40"! What they did was make her wait through the line with us and then when we got to the boarding area, we told them we needed to do a rider swap because she wouldn't be riding. Therefore, they still are "following their rules" by allowing a rider swap for children that are too scared, but aren't clogging up the FP line with all of the extra people entering through. They still told me I was allowed to bring 2 back through to ride with me, so I didn't have to ride alone either.

As for single rider lines, they are only available at a handful of rides, and then they aren't necessarily guaranteed to be available at all times (I've seen the EE one closed when the SB line is short). I know they have single rider at EE, Test Track and RNR but can't think of any other rides at the moment that have a single rider line.