Help me understand “Rider Switch”

Fido Chuckwagon

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 29, 2018
I appreciate all the help in advance, and apologize if this is a dumb question, but I am having trouble understanding some of the finer points of “Rider Switch.” On our next Disney Trip in October my party will consist of myself, my wife, our 4 year old, and our 6 month old infant daughter. We anticipate our 4 year old being tall enough to ride on a number of the more “adult” rides that the 6 month old will want not be able to. Please let me know if I am understanding how this will work correctly:

Let’s say, myself, my wife, and my 4 year old want to ride 7DMT, but obviously my 6 m.o. cannot. I get a fast pass for myself and my daughter only. I present at the fast pass line with all four of us and ask for a rider switch for my wife. I go on 7DMT with my 4 year old while my wife goes somewhere else, lets say the carousel, with our 6 month old. I get off 7DMT and now my wife is able to use the rider switch to also take the 4 year old on again, while I go off somewhere else with the 6 month old (probably the carousel again). Is this correct? That appears to be what I’ve read online.

Assuming the above is correct, can the adult in party 2 have a separate fast past during that same time period for a different ride to take the 6 month old on? So, let’s say from 10-11 I get a fast pass for myself and my 4 year old for 7DMT, my wife gets a fast pass for, oh i don’t know, let’s say Voyage of the little mermaid. At 10:00 we all present at 7DMT and I ask for a rider switch for my wife again. I ride 7DMT with my 4 year old while my wife uses her fast pass at VoTLM with the 6 month old. I then get off and my wife uses the rider switch to once again ride 7DMT with the 4 year old while I take the 6 month old to the carousel. Will that work?

Thanks In Advance!
 
I am going trip and am in similar situation. We have 3 adults, a child who is over 40'' tall, and a baby 1yr old.

From what I read and somewhat understood, the Rider switch is sorta like a bonus Fastpass if used properly.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

an example I was told was best used in Epcot and Hollywood Studios where the Tier 1 is there.

Example. (3 adults, 1 child and 1 infant).
9am FPP for Slinky Dog pass
- adult 1, and child 1 (FPP bookings)
- than child 1 from above + adult 2 and adult 3 can go on rider switch later.

9.30am FPP for Alien Swirling Saucer
- adult 2 and adult 3 (FPP bookings).
- Than either adult from above + Child 1 and adult 1 can use Rider switch.

I hope this is how it works because we setup our AK, Epcot and Hollywood studios based on this method.
 
At some of the more popular attractions they are having everyone have a FP. FOP is the one that stands out the most from what I've read here and other sites online.
 
I am going trip and am in similar situation. We have 3 adults, a child who is over 40'' tall, and a baby 1yr old.

From what I read and somewhat understood, the Rider switch is sorta like a bonus Fastpass if used properly.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

an example I was told was best used in Epcot and Hollywood Studios where the Tier 1 is there.

Example. (3 adults, 1 child and 1 infant).
9am FPP for Slinky Dog pass
- adult 1, and child 1 (FPP bookings)
- than child 1 from above + adult 2 and adult 3 can go on rider switch later.

9.30am FPP for Alien Swirling Saucer
- adult 2 and adult 3 (FPP bookings).
- Than either adult from above + Child 1 and adult 1 can use Rider switch.

I hope this is how it works because we setup our AK, Epcot and Hollywood studios based on this method.
Can you let me know when you get back if this is in fact the way it worked? Your understanding is mine as well but it’s very difficult to actually find confirmation of this online and it makes planning the fast passes out difficult. Thanks!
 
At some of the more popular attractions they are having everyone have a FP. FOP is the one that stands out the most from what I've read here and other sites online.
Meaning if the people in party 2 don’t have a fast pass they can’t come onboard with the person from party one who is rider switching and bringing them along? What would the actual benefit of rider switch be then if everyone needs a fast pass anyway? Couldn’t the ones with the fast passes always just wait with the toddler/infant and go on the ride anyway after the other people get back?
 
I am going trip and am in similar situation. We have 3 adults, a child who is over 40'' tall, and a baby 1yr old.

From what I read and somewhat understood, the Rider switch is sorta like a bonus Fastpass if used properly.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

an example I was told was best used in Epcot and Hollywood Studios where the Tier 1 is there.

Example. (3 adults, 1 child and 1 infant).
9am FPP for Slinky Dog pass
- adult 1, and child 1 (FPP bookings)
- than child 1 from above + adult 2 and adult 3 can go on rider switch later.

9.30am FPP for Alien Swirling Saucer
- adult 2 and adult 3 (FPP bookings).
- Than either adult from above + Child 1 and adult 1 can use Rider switch.

I hope this is how it works because we setup our AK, Epcot and Hollywood studios based on this method.

Just bear in mind that the rider swap does have a one hour time limit. It's generally based off of the posted wait time for whatever line Group 1 goes in, minus 10 mins. So if Group 1 enters the fastpass line at 9:00 with a posted wait of 15 mins, the rider swap will be valid from 9:05-10:05. If you arrive fairly early on in the FP window for SDD, then you'll be fine with getting both groups through and going in to Swirling Saucers before that FP ends. You can't really save the rider swap for later.

In regards to whether or not Group 2 needs a FP, that question has been heavily debated on here. A couple people have insisted they needed FP for a couple of rides (SDMT or FOP) for Group 2 when using rider swap, though it seems most of these stories were generally coming from people who had FP for the whole party anyway, so they weren't actually denied a rider swap. Many others have stated that they did not have FP for Group 2 on any ride and did not have any issue. You can look through past threads on this issue using the search function and read many people's personal experiences. I do not personally recall seeing any recent stories of someone actually being denied a rider swap due to not having a FP for Group 2, though it may have been reported and I missed it.
 
Meaning if the people in party 2 don’t have a fast pass they can’t come onboard with the person from party one who is rider switching and bringing them along? What would the actual benefit of rider switch be then if everyone needs a fast pass anyway? Couldn’t the ones with the fast passes always just wait with the toddler/infant and go on the ride anyway after the other people get back?

It's to cut down on the abuse (what you call the benefit) at the most popular attractions. Everyone in the party would have a FP, and then the lucky person who is riding twice gets the rider switch perk. Rider Switch wasn't meant to allow people to have half a group get tier one on one attraction and the other half get it on another tier one - it was meant so a person didn't have to ride alone, or wait in the standby queue twice as long just because they had a baby with them.
 


It's to cut down on the abuse (what you call the benefit) at the most popular attractions. Everyone in the party would have a FP, and then the lucky person who is riding twice gets the rider switch perk. Rider Switch wasn't meant to allow people to have half a group get tier one on one attraction and the other half get it on another tier one - it was meant so a person didn't have to ride alone, or wait in the standby queue twice as long just because they had a baby with them.
Ok, thanks. So then I should fastpass everyone for 7DMT in my example to utilize rider switch?
\
 
Ok, thanks. So then I should fastpass everyone for 7DMT in my example to utilize rider switch?
\

I think FOP is the only one that requires it now? You'd be better off checking through the forums here to see what people have experienced lately.
 
There's a multi page thread on Rider Swap about a page back titled: "Digital Rider Swap/ Rider Switch/ Child Swap: In Effect as of June 16th." I've followed that thread from the beginning, and I also just now re-read and wrote down every personal experience concerning Group 2 and whether or not they needed FP.

On 6/20, someone posted that they did not need FP for Group 2 on FOP.

On 6/21, one person reported Group 2 being asked to scan for FP at FOP only. They did have FP, so it's unknown what would have happened if they didn't.

On 7/1, someone posted that they were asked if they had FP AFTER receiving rider swap entitlements at Soarin, BTM, Splash, SDMT, and TT. They already did have FP, so again, it's unknown what would have happened if they didn't, especially since they had already been given the rider swap.

On 7/10, 2 separate people posted that they did not need FP for Group 2.

On 7/18, another person said they did not need FP for a group 2 on FOP.

On 7/21, someone posted not receiving a digital rider swap when they had a child that was too tall at SDMT, but they were told they could swap at boarding.

On 8/3, someone else was denied a rider swap at Splash and BTM with a tall enough child.

* Just pointing out that these last 2 are not FP issues, but have to do with the child being tall enough to go in the line.

On 8/5, someone reported overhearing other families on 6/23 being denied rider swap when they didn't have FP.

On 8/8, someone posted that they were asked if Group 2 had FP at SDMT (they did), then the CM removed the FP and replaced it with the rider swap. It is unknown what would have happened if they didn't have FP.

On 8/17, one person said they did not need FP for Group 2 at any ride, including FOP. They also mentioned overhearing others in line being denied RS, but that it was because they were trying to get it for more than 3 people or claiming that Group 1 had already gone through the line and forgotten to ask for RS. It was noted that sometimes when people overhear someone being denied RS, the person overhearing might not catch all the details and it could be for a reason completely unrelated to Group 2 not having FP.

On 8/19, someone posted that they did not need FP for Group 2 at FOP either time they rode it.

On 8/23, another person posted that Group 2 did not need FP at FOP, SDD, or any other ride.

On 9/23, someone else posted that Group 2 did not need FP.

On 9/24, 2 different people said they also did not need FP for Group 2.


So, to summarize, 10 people posted that Group 2 did not need FP during their trips. 2 people were denied because they had a child tall enough to enter the queue, though one was offered a swap at boarding. 3 people were asked to scan their FP, but since they did have them, it's unknown if they would have been denied RS if they did not have FP. 1 person overheard others being denied RS supposedly for not having FP, while another person overheard people being denied for other reasons unrelated to FP and commented basically that you can't go off of what you overhear happening to someone else.

I have not seen or read of anyone personally saying they themselves were denied a RS when Group 2 didn't have FP. No one on that thread has said they were denied (except when the child was tall enough, but that is a different issue entirely). That being said, it is very possible that some people have been denied RS, but those stories have not been reported first-hand recently on this board that I have seen.
 

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