Child Swap

[Princess Sleepy]

For the child swap at something like FJ, will we all be able to go through the queue together, then my DH and I take turns with DD7? DD5 will not be tall enough to ride, but will want to see the castle? I know at WDW you can't queue unless you can ride.

Also, are there kid-friendly areas near Ripsaw Falls and Dueling Dragons where the kids can play while DH and I take turns on the big rides? We only have one day there, so I don't want the girls just sitting on benches waiting for us to go through queues, but I do want to ride some of the bigger things too.

 

[eeyoremylove]

I am curious about the same thing. My daughter is 5 and loves Harry Potter and really wants to see the castle. So I am really hoping that the child swap thing can be done after the walk through.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

For FJ- STAY to the left and avoid the bag check. You and your family will all go through the queue together. At the sorting hat/loading area you just tell the Cm that you are child swiping. There is a room to the left of the loading dock with benches and a loop of Chamber of Secrets playing. You wait and then once your party returns you just switch and are loaded on. Don't waste time with bag checking if you are child swiping.

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

Dueleing Dragons has a similar set up the queue is great!

 

[mesaboy2]

For FJ- STAY to the left and avoid the bag check. You and your family will all go through the queue together. At the sorting hat/loading area you just tell the Cm that you are child swiping. There is a room to the left of the loading dock with benches and a loop of Chamber of Secrets playing. You wait and then once your party returns you just switch and are loaded on. Don't waste time with bag checking if you are child swiping.

All good advice.... And please don't swipe any children.

Dueleing Dragons has a similar set up the queue is great!

I have not seen a dedicated waiting area for Dragon Challenge, so I can't say one way or the other if this is correct. As far as the queue, those who have done this ride both before and after WWoHP have all said the current queue is not as impressive as it was before. There are a few minor HP elements, but it is mostly like walking through a long cave....


The closest play areas to Ripsaw Falls are either Me Ship the Olive or Camp Jurassic. I would guess either is a 4-5 minute walk, in different directions, from RF.

There aren't really any close play areas to WWoHP and Dragon Challenge. However, the wait there isn't usually too bad, so they could perhaps be entertained by the Frog Choir or Beauxbaton/Durmstrang demonstration near the base of Flight of the Hippogriff. One occurs usually at the top of each hour, the other at the bottom of each hour.

 

[Princess Sleepy]

Thank you! Will my older daughter be able to ride twice, like at WDW?

 

[mesaboy2]

Thank you! Will my older daughter be able to ride twice, like at WDW?

I believe so, but I only have one DD so can't give you a definite on that one.

 

[Metro West]

I believe so, but I only have one DD so can't give you a definite on that one.

I believe so too.

 

[momto2js]

Just to be clear, at US your entire party has to be in the line to use kids swap so if you go to the play area while one parent rides then the other parent also must stand in line. Most attractions I believe had a single rider line so that can help but for our family we prefer the way disney does it to US because we can leave sleeping kids in the stroller and only one parent has to wait.

 

[Princess Sleepy]

Can the whole family wait in the (presumably shorter) single rider line and then swap out if both DDs are going to skip the ride (like Dragons)?

 

[mesaboy2]

Can the whole family wait in the (presumably shorter) single rider line and then swap out if both DDs are going to skip the ride (like Dragons)?

Can't say I've thought of that strategy before, but my guess is probably not. The TMs probably wouldn't let children shorter than the minimum height requirement into single-rider. What is the advantage to this, anyway?

How about one of you go through SR while the other takes the kids through the castle tour queue? Then the other adult does SR while the first rider takes the kids through CT again or does something else in WWoHP. This way the adults can do FJ and everyone does the castle tour in a fairly quick amount of time.

 

[Princess Sleepy]

I think we'll use the SR line for Dueling Dragons and have the other parent take them to the shops (Zonkos, Honeydukes, etc.). They will probably want to spend more time in those than we will. How long is the line for Ollivanders if you don't go first thing in the morning?

 

[mesaboy2]

I think we'll use the SR line for Dueling Dragons and have the other parent take them to the shops (Zonkos, Honeydukes, etc.). They will probably want to spend more time in those than we will. How long is the line for Ollivanders if you don't go first thing in the morning?

There is no SR for the Dragons, sorry. Sixty minutes is usually the minimum wait for Ollivander's during peak seasons. Not worth that long a wait IMO.

 

[yaytezIOA]

I think we'll use the SR line for Dueling Dragons and have the other parent take them to the shops (Zonkos, Honeydukes, etc.). They will probably want to spend more time in those than we will. How long is the line for Ollivanders if you don't go first thing in the morning?

Depending on when you go, there is little to no wait for Dragons. The wait is almost always in the coaster area. If you take the little one, have one of you go ahead and ride, then meet the other in the child swap area. The little one would most likely be fascinated by the dragon projections in the coaster area anyway.
Ollivanders you must do first thing in the morning if you want to avoid 60+ minutes. For that reason we've only done it during soft openings.

 

[S'sMom]

For the child swap at something like FJ, will we all be able to go through the queue together, then my DH and I take turns with DD7? DD5 will not be tall enough to ride, but will want to see the castle? I know at WDW you can't queue unless you can ride.

Also, are there kid-friendly areas near Ripsaw Falls and Dueling Dragons where the kids can play while DH and I take turns on the big rides? We only have one day there, so I don't want the girls just sitting on benches waiting for us to go through queues, but I do want to ride some of the bigger things too.

I am also wondering as well. My ds is 2, and we will be doing the swap on the rides. The most important one for us the Spider Man ride. He can not ride because he is not tall enough, however, he loves Spider Man!!! Is there a waiting area that we can wait in that will embody the Spider Man experience? Of course dh, myself and dd(8) will be riding indeed .

 

[Princess Sleepy]

Depending on when you go, there is little to no wait for Dragons. The wait is almost always in the coaster area. If you take the little one, have one of you go ahead and ride, then meet the other in the child swap area. The little one would most likely be fascinated by the dragon projections in the coaster area anyway.
Ollivanders you must do first thing in the morning if you want to avoid 60+ minutes. For that reason we've only done it during soft openings.

Is the Ollivander's thing cool, or are you wall-to-wall people trying to see over other people's heads?