Child Swap

[flyinshirer]

How does this work exactly? I know that one parent stays behind and then they can ride. But can the child that the parent does ride with, get to go with the second parent again?

 

[DLR29]

Ok, so say you have 4 people: A, B, C, D. A and B are adults, C is an older child, and D is the child not tall enough.

A or B asks for a Child Swap pass. Then A and C will wait in line. When loading, give the CM the pass and A will ride with C on the first ride, then B will ride with C on the second. C gets two rides and both A and B get one, each waiting with D while the other rides with C. Or you can keep the pass and use it later in the day. Works either way.

If that made any sense.

 

[bumbershoot]

In our experience, the parent with the little one doesn't go into line with the others, but other than that, the description is accurate!

And in our experience, since we only have one kiddo at this time, but travel with my grown brother and his wife, one of them gets to go on again if they wish, when the parent initially left behind gets to ride.


It's all much more simple when you're actually doing it, vs thinking about it ahead of time.

 

[imjen]

We love child swap! Just go as a family to the CM at the FP entrance (or main entrance if no fast passes) and ask for a child or baby swap pass. They will usually want to see who's staying behind, especially the younger child. Then they give you the ticket and 2 people in your group can use it anytime that day by showing the CM and going in the fast pass line ( or the exit at BTMRR).

 

[flyinshirer]

Thanks! I was hoping that we didn't have to all wait in line. Bummer for the little one if she had to wait in line and then not be able to get on the ride!

 

[bouncy54]

We love child swap! Just go as a family to the CM at the FP entrance (or main entrance if no fast passes) and ask for a child or baby swap pass. They will usually want to see who's staying behind, especially the younger child. Then they give you the ticket and 2 people in your group can use it anytime that day by showing the CM and going in the fast pass line ( or the exit at BTMRR).

I didn't know that! So the younger doesn't have to go through the line with the other parent?

We're traveling with a 5yo who won't be able to ride Indy & some of the rides in DCA. I was envisioning him making quite a scene as he watched Mommy or Daddy getting on the ride and he couldn't.

 

[bumbershoot]

I know for Indy, in our experience, they won't let the little one get past the height stick. With Indy you go off and do something else (Tarzan's Treehouse, perhaps?) or wait over near the "phone" after the first riders go into the queue (and get the switch pass). There are always a ton of people sitting along those rocks, waiting with their little ones.

I could see needing to wait in line if the line is crazy-long and well before the height stick area, but I think a better idea would be to have the non-riding kid and second-riding adult(s) wait at the phone and join the first rider when they get closer to the measuring area where the CM is.

You know, we go in the off season, and have never encountered really crazy lines. So the CM has always been easily walked up to, with no real wait ahead of time. And that might be coloring our experience.

DH verifies that for our trips where we used rider switch, DS only had to be pointed at, he (and I) didn't have to be in the line.

 

[DLVixen]

in August we used the child swap for Indy + we had FP's and DH made a big mistake of letting Ds(5) go through the back way and waiting there, CM's let him wait right at loading area and much to my guilt he began screaming as mommy & brother left him behind with daddy , usually when I'm the one waiting with him I take him on Jungle cruise, then having dh take him on tarzan while I ride with DS(12). That strategy seems to work best for us.

 

[bumbershoot]

I never even thought about queuing up before the first riders were done! Even though it didn't work out for your 5 year old, that's a semi-brilliant idea.

Oh wait...the kid-swap way, when we took it, takes you through something like HALF the line (when we took it it met up even before the video-watching room), and the CMs allowed the 5 year old into that line at that point? Interesting! Somehow I don't htink that woud have been allowed with me with DS in the sling.

Or maybe the line met up at a different spot for your trip.

Either way, fairly brilliant to queue up, b/c when it was my turn it still took something like half an hour for the line, b/c I was in MOST of the line anyway!

 

[DLVixen]

I think it would have worked wonderfully if it was an infant because as soon as ds(12) & I got off ride he got practicially right back on with dh and I took ds(5) to the exit asap.