Does this Ride Swap Strategy Make Sense and will it Work?

R0CK632

Earning My Ears
Joined
May 5, 2006
Messages
15
Hey Guys Im just trying to figure out how to maximize our upcoming trip to disney world and can make fast pass plus selections 12am tonight. My Family Includes Myself / Wife / 5 year old / Infant. The other Family we are attending with is Husband / Wife / 6 year old / 4 Year old. Does this strategy make sense? and will this work. This Website says you can get a Ride Swap simply if you don't want to Ride the ride reguardless of height.

Ride 1 - Seven Dwarfs - Myself FP (1st), Wife (Would Use Ride Swap) and Daughter -FP (1st) So then my wife can Go on With my Daughter.

Ride 2 - Splash Mountain - Myself -RS , Wife FP(1). Daughter - FP (2nd)

Ride 3 - Space Mountain - Myself FP (2nd) - Wife RS - Daughter -FP (3rd)

Ride 4 - Big Thunder - Myself - RS - Wife FP (2nd) - Daughter - RS - My Wife would ride by herself and with the Ride Swap - Myself and Daughter would ride again Later.

Ride 5 - Buzz Lightyear - Myself FP (3rd) - Wife RS - Daughter -RS - I would Ride by myself and Wife and daughter would use Ride Swap Later.

Ride 6 - Stiches Great Escape - Myself RS - Wife FP (3rd) - Daughter RS - My wife would Ride alone and Myself and Daughter Ride Later.

Hope this was easy to understand?

Does this Make sense? And Will this work? So instead of securing 3 fast passes only, we can now have in essence 6? The Family of 4 is Simple 2 get FP and Other 2 Use Ride Swap? Thanks. I would hate to get there and have an issue then not have fast passes for everyone. Thanks.
 
Rider Swap is only available at rides that have a height restriction, so your scenarios will work for all the rides except Buzz Lightyear. For the other family, if the 4-year-old is tall enough to ride the CM may not issue a Rider Swap. The website says you can use it for someone who just doesn't want to ride, but in practice it's usually only given if a child in the group is too short to ride.
 
But the website specifically states a ride swap will be issued if the child just chooses to not go on the ride for whatever reason. Am I wrong in this?
 
I don't see them giving your wife a rider swap pass to ride with your daughter who has a FP. The rider swap is done essentially so say both adults could ride a ride if a child is unable to since one would have to wait with the child. Not to spread out fast passes over more than 3 rides and basically give an extra FP out so a family could in theory have a FP for 6 rides.

I see your theory but what you're trying to do is kind of cheating the system and unfair to others. It's basically saying like a child has a FP, the adult doesn't, so both should be allowed to go through FP anyways. So I really don't see it working out
 

But the website specifically states a ride swap will be issued if the child just chooses to not go on the ride for whatever reason. Am I wrong in this?
The website is full of incorrect information. This is just one example.

They are not supposed to issue a rider switch pass for a child who is tall enough. If the child does decide that they don't want to ride at the point that they are ready to board, something can usually be worked out so that both parents can take turns riding, but you won't get a pass for it. Your plan will not work.
 
But the website specifically states a ride swap will be issued if the child just chooses to not go on the ride for whatever reason. Am I wrong in this?

But it says "if a child does not go on the ride"...so the child waits and adult rides. But you're talking about the child riding, so I don't see how it would warrant a rider swap if there's essentially no "swap"
 
Iam going to basically say Me and My wife want to go on the ride but she's staying with the two kids (whom don't want to go on the ride) and then later we will return and the other parent will then take the child on the ride? Yes its "cheating the system" but the ride swap is for adults just as much as children No?
 
Iam going to basically say Me and My wife want to go on the ride but she's staying with the two kids (whom don't want to go on the ride) and then later we will return and the other parent will then take the child on the ride? Yes its "cheating the system" but the ride swap is for adults just as much as children No?
They will not give you a rider switch pass.
 
Why its so each parent can enjoy the ride while the other watches the kid or kids? Why wouldn't they give one? So Your saying if my daughter wasn't tall enough for lets say Splash mountain? I can't get a ride swap so i can go on it and then my wife? That is the whole purpose of the ride swap.
 
Your infant will get you a rider swap. You do not need to worry about your daughter, in fact, she can ride twice if tall enough. I am not going to address the second family, as I don't know the height of the 4 year old. Book FP for you, your wife, and daughter. Show up at FP queue WITH the infant and ask for a RS (at height restricted rides). You go on with your 5 year old, your wife waits with baby. Then, you return to FP queue, again with the infant. Your wife will be riding alone. Ask for a RS. You have now used all your FP, but have 2 RS tickets. Each admits 3 riders. This is how you maximize. You may find, though, that with the baby, maximizing rides just isn't going to happen. We may maximize one or two rides this way, but often, we end up skipping the adult riding alone, wasting a FP, and just riding once with FP, once with RS.
 
Why its so each parent can enjoy the ride while the other watches the kid or kids? Why wouldn't they give one? So Your saying if my daughter wasn't tall enough for lets say Splash mountain? I can't get a ride swap so i can go on it and then my wife? That is the whole purpose of the ride swap.
They will only give you a rider switch pass if you have a child that is too short. If your daughter is too short to ride, then yes, you can get a pass. But you cannot get a pass if she is tall enough and you are just trying to game the system.


ETA: For some reason I didn't see that you have an infant.
 
I think the main benefit of the rider swap is that the child who is too short doesn't have to sit there forever waiting for the two adults to go through the regular line. It also allows a tall enough child the benefit of getting to ride twice and allows that so that neither adult has to ride alone, which I think is awesome. If you have a child who is not tall enough then yes you should be given a pass. I don't think that it is going to work as "extra fastpasses" so much as just not having to stand in line forever and ever for the same ride.
 
Based on all the information I have read about Rider Swap, what you are proposing will indeed work. We are in a similar situation with 2 kids and an infant. The purpose of rider swap is to give both adults a chance to ride and I have read they will give another swap ticket so the adult doesn't have to ride alone thus giving the child another chance to ride. Not cheating the system at all but using it as it was intended so both adults can ride. There are lost of sites that give info about this and maximizing FP use with rider swap. Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in because I thought I understood it the same way as you.
 
I think everyone is missing that their is an infant in this situation. The infant does not meet any height requirements so the older daughter will be able to ride twice with the rider switch pass. this is not cheating the system!
 
Iam also going on based what is on the Disneyworld.com Website Here is the quote. "The waiting adult can then board the attraction without having to wait in the regular line again when another adult in the party returns to supervise the child or children who do not ride—either because they do not meet the height requirement or simply do not wish to ride."

So I can just say they don't want to ride the ride and get a ride swap. I can easily show them this from their website if they have an issue.

It seems height is not the only requirement in getting a ride swap pass. I don't understand why people don't agree.
 
Iam also going on based what is on the Disneyworld.com Website Here is the quote. "The waiting adult can then board the attraction without having to wait in the regular line again when another adult in the party returns to supervise the child or children who do not ride—either because they do not meet the height requirement or simply do not wish to ride."

So I can just say they don't want to ride the ride and get a ride swap. I can easily show them this from their website if they have an issue.

It seems height is not the only requirement in getting a ride swap pass. I don't understand why people don't agree.
Because the website is incorrect. It's incorrect about quite a few things.

CMs are expected to follow their training, not the website. They are trained to only give a rider switch pass if there is a child to small to ride. If a child is in line and decides that they don't want to ride, the CM at the loading area can usually work something out, but you will not be issued a rider switch pass.

Since you have an infant, you will be able to get a rider switch pass for rides that have a height requirement. The other family will not be able to get one unless they have a child that is too short to ride.
 
As PP said, not wanting to ride generally will not get you a ride swap. It might in the case of say a child that is "just barely" tall enough and is to afraid to ride, but it is not a guarantee. But if I read correctly you have an infant so you should be eligible for ride swap b/c someone has to stay with him/her.

Not all rides offer ride swap. I do not think Buzz has a ride swap b/c there is no height restriction. The others should work.
 
Your infant will get you a rider swap. You do not need to worry about your daughter, in fact, she can ride twice if tall enough. I am not going to address the second family, as I don't know the height of the 4 year old. Book FP for you, your wife, and daughter. Show up at FP queue WITH the infant and ask for a RS (at height restricted rides). You go on with your 5 year old, your wife waits with baby. Then, you return to FP queue, again with the infant. Your wife will be riding alone. Ask for a RS. You have now used all your FP, but have 2 RS tickets. Each admits 3 riders. This is how you maximize. You may find, though, that with the baby, maximizing rides just isn't going to happen. We may maximize one or two rides this way, but often, we end up skipping the adult riding alone, wasting a FP, and just riding once with FP, once with RS.


I'm not sure I'm following the fairness of this method. With one FP+ each (for the mom, the dad, and the 5-year-old) the dad rides twice, the mom rides twice, and the 5-year-old rides THREE times. I can see getting one RS. But 2 seems a bit excessive and taking advantage of what rider swap is meant to do. Rider Swap is meant to eliminate a situation in which one parent has to ride alone. But, in the example you give above, one parent rides alone for the express purpose of getting a second RS. Doesn't seem quite right. Unless I'm misunderstanding...
 
But the website specifically states a ride swap will be issued if the child just chooses to not go on the ride for whatever reason. Am I wrong in this?

They are correct that RS are only issued on rides with a height restriction, we have had issues with HM and this as often children are afraid but there is no RS.
The "in practice" of kids being too afraid to ride the rides that do do RS even when they are tall enough is easily resolved, either bring up the info on your phone or print it out and keep it with you, the CM can't deny it when their policy is in front of them.
 


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