Help me wrap my brain around rider switch.

[VGCgroupie]

I have never visited the parks and needed to utilize rider switch. Ive read threads here, blogs and the DL site but I still cant wrap my head around if it will work how we need it to.

- We have 5 riders and 1 infant.
- Myself, husband and son will ride everything.
- My daughter and her husband are wanting to ride everything but would like to be able to ride together while I watch the baby.

Can me, DH and son ride then we take the baby and my daughter and her husband ride if they did not originally ride?

Seems that my husband and son could not ride a 2nd time due to new restrictions on party size, correct?

Lastly, how does this work with Genie+? Could we purchase Genie+ for the 3 of us but not my daughter and her husband?

Thank you so so much!

 

[disneychrista]

With rider switch group 1 goes through the regular line and asked for a switch pass. After group 1 finishes group 2 (up to 2 people) can then go through the exit/LL and ride without having to wait in the regular line. You son would not be able to ride along with your daughter & husband.

I have no clue how rider switch works with Genie + .

 

[kristensideaoffun]

I have never visited the parks and needed to utilize rider switch. Ive read threads here, blogs and the DL site but I still cant wrap my head around if it will work how we need it to.

- We have 5 riders and 1 infant.
- Myself, husband and son will ride everything.
- My daughter and her husband are wanting to ride everything but would like to be able to ride together while I watch the baby.

Can me, DH and son ride then we take the baby and my daughter and her husband ride if they did not originally ride?

Seems that my husband and son could not ride a 2nd time due to new restrictions on party size, correct?

Lastly, how does this work with Genie+? Could we purchase Genie+ for the 3 of us but not my daughter and her husband?

Thank you so so much!

Your whole party will go to a CM either at the beginning of the standby line or Lightening Lane and will ask for a rider switch pass. You, your husband, and son will ride the ride. Then your daughter and her husband will return to the ride and go through the Lightening Lane. You used to be allowed to have 3 people in the returning party, now it’s only two.

As far as Genie+ goes, your entire party will need it. If your entire party does not have Genie+, the cast member will put a return time on the rider swap that matches the standby wait time.

 

[twodogs]

Your whole party will go to a CM either at the beginning of the standby line or Lightening Lane and will ask for a rider switch pass. You, your husband, and son will ride the ride. Then your daughter and her husband will return to the ride and go through the Lightening Lane. You used to be allowed to have 3 people in the returning party, now it’s only two.

As far as Genie+ goes, your entire party will need it. If your entire party does not have Genie+, the cast member will put a return time on the rider swap that matches the standby wait time.

Would this mean that the party would wait in the LL twice, in an example where they all had G+ for the ride? That is, the initial party would wait in the LL, then ride; after this, the second party would go to the back of the LL line and wait through that line before they ride with the Rider Swap? Or does the second party go through the LL entrance with the Swap pass, but they can bypass the others in the LL? If it is that the parties wait in the LL twice to use the Swap, that can sometimes take a while, if the LL is backed up (I am picturing LLs that can really get long, after a ride has been down for a while and comes back up). I guess there is not another way since the ride exit and entrance are almost always separated, and the baby needs to be handed off between parties/rides.

We never had young enough kids or kids that didn’t want to ride everything to ever try Rider Swap!

 

[pineapplepalms]

Since you have enough adults you don’t really need to spend time setting up Rider Switch. The first group goes, then the second group goes, and if you all have Genie+ both groups already go through the LL. In our case, we always setup Rider Switch since we have 1-2 kids too little to ride some rides, while our oldest wants to ride everything, and we are typically the only 2 adults. So DH and I take turns staying with the younger ones and our oldest gets to ride twice.

 

[robinb]

Easy. Everyone sees the CM at the LL and gets a Rider Pass. 1-2 people wait with the infant and everyone else goes. When they are done, the other 2 people ride. Many people will only have one adult wait so a child can ride twice.

 

[starlite_]

If they have to go thru the LL anyways, what's the point if they already have G+? Why not just split into 2 groups and scan normally when it's your turn to ride? I don't get the reasoning to get this extra thing.

 

[robinb]

If they have to go thru the LL anyways, what's the point if they already have G+? Why not just split into 2 groups and scan normally when it's your turn to ride? I don't get the reasoning to get this extra thing.

Apparently you don’t need a G+ LL. You get a return time based on the standby wait. If it’s anything like when get a return time at Space Mountain with a scooter, you can come back anytime but you can only have one at a time.

The waiting person can come back later and ride.

If everyone has LL and they don’t use RS, you have to time things perfectly since LL expire.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

Would this mean that the party would wait in the LL twice, in an example where they all had G+ for the ride? That is, the initial party would wait in the LL, then ride; after this, the second party would go to the back of the LL line and wait through that line before they ride with the Rider Swap? Or does the second party go through the LL entrance with the Swap pass, but they can bypass the others in the LL? If it is that the parties wait in the LL twice to use the Swap, that can sometimes take a while, if the LL is backed up (I am picturing LLs that can really get long, after a ride has been down for a while and comes back up). I guess there is not another way since the ride exit and entrance are almost always separated, and the baby needs to be handed off between parties/rides.

We never had young enough kids or kids that didn’t want to ride everything to ever try Rider Swap!

Yes, you have to go through the LL. The Rider Switch doesn’t expire so you can always come back later if the line is backed up. But you can’t get another Rider Switch if you have an active one you haven’t used yet.

Since you have enough adults you don’t really need to spend time setting up Rider Switch. The first group goes, then the second group goes, and if you all have Genie+ both groups already go through the LL. In our case, we always setup Rider Switch since we have 1-2 kids too little to ride some rides, while our oldest wants to ride everything, and we are typically the only 2 adults. So DH and I take turns staying with the younger ones and our oldest gets to ride twice.

LL’s expire. The purpose of getting the Rider Switch if you have Genie+ is to make sure the waiting party does not lose their LL before the people riding the ride return. The purpose of getting Rider Switch without Genie+ is so that both parties don’t have to wait in the standby line. With Rider Switch, the first party will wait in the standby line and then the second party will go through the Lightening Lane. It really doesn’t take any more time to get a Rider Switch than it does to scan into the Lightening Lane, but waiting in the standby line twice takes a lot of time.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

If they have to go thru the LL anyways, what's the point if they already have G+? Why not just split into 2 groups and scan normally when it's your turn to ride? I don't get the reasoning to get this extra thing.

Because if you get to the ride 10 minutes before your LL expires, whoever is waiting with the child will lose their LL while waiting for the first party to return and will then have to wait in the standby line.

 

[pineapplepalms]

It really doesn’t take any more time to get a Rider Switch than it does to scan into the Lightening Lane, but waiting in the standby line twice takes a lot of time.

It depends. We do Rider Switch very often and sometimes we have to wait in a line to get the Rider Switch added. We typically travel during school breaks so the parks are busy. They don’t necessarily need to setup Rider Switch for their situation, unless they really are always showing up at a ride right before the LL expires. If they’re there at the beginning of the window, they should just be able to use their LLs in 2 groups. It’s just another option to consider rather than always getting Rider Switch if it’s not necessary.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I thought rider switch was just for parties that only had 2 adults. I don't understand why it's needed if there are more than enough people to watch the baby. Or am I missing something here? (I probably am.)

 

[Lisa24jks]

I thought rider switch was just for parties that only had 2 adults. I don't understand why it's needed if there are more than enough people to watch the baby. Or am I missing something here? (I probably am.)

Because the person watching the baby might still want to ride the ride? It's been AGES since I've been part of a group with rider switch, but if all of the adult riders in your group want to ride, then at least one has to stay behind to watch the little one and then they can use rider switch to ride while the rest of the group stays with the kid.

The last time we used it, we had 4 adults and 2 children. One of the kids was tall enough to ride the rides, but the other wasn't. So, 3 of us adults would do the ride, then the other adult and the older child would go on the ride while the first 3 would watch the smaller kid.

 

[ClaraOswald]

But then why wouldn't 2 adults and 1 child ride together. Then the other 2 adults ride together when they are done?

Or in the case of the OP....
Husband/wife/child ride.
Parents of infant ride while the above group watch the infant.

I'll add that any time I've gone with groups with several adults but then an infant or child who can't ride things. And we'd just split the group and take turns.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

I thought rider switch was just for parties that only had 2 adults. I don't understand why it's needed if there are more than enough people to watch the baby. Or am I missing something here? (I probably am.)

Whether there are two people or 10 people in a party, the need is still the same - at least one person has to stay behind with the child that is too small to ride. Rider Switch allows the person staying behind to return to the ride with a companion so they don’t have to ride the ride by themselves.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Whether there are two people or 10 people in a party, the need is still the same - at least one person has to stay behind with the child that is too small to ride. Rider Switch allows the person staying behind to return to the ride with a companion so they don’t have to ride the ride by themselves.

Yeah...I'm still not getting it. Why wouldn't you just split into 2 groups and take turns?? My brain must not be working right now because I still don't see the point of rider switch in these scenarios.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

But then why wouldn't 2 adults and 1 child ride together. Then the other 2 adults ride together when they are done?

Or in the case of the OP....
Husband/wife/child ride.
Parents of infant ride while the above group watch the infant.

Here are the issues Rider Switch is solving:
1) For parties of 3 people, the waiting party does not have to return to the ride and ride alone.
2) For parties with Genie+, the waiting party does not have to worry about missing their LL window if the first party does not return before the window closes.
3) For parties without Genie+, only the first party will need to wait in the standby line while the second party will enter through the LL. Otherwise, the entire group of people will be essentially waiting double the amount of time to ride a ride standby.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Got it. It's so only half of the group has to wait in the queue. I get it now. Thanks.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

It depends. We do Rider Switch very often and sometimes we have to wait in a line to get the Rider Switch added. We typically travel during school breaks so the parks are busy. They don’t necessarily need to setup Rider Switch for their situation, unless they really are always showing up at a ride right before the LL expires. If they’re there at the beginning of the window, they should just be able to use their LLs in 2 groups. It’s just another option to consider rather than always getting Rider Switch if it’s not necessary.

I’m not sure how you are getting Rider Switch added, but we just enter through the Lightening Lane and as we scan our passes, we tell the CM standing right there that we need a Rider Switch pass. We never waited more than a few seconds for one, even when we were there during Thanksgiving break last year. Sure, if you are entering at the beginning of the LL window it’s not necessary to get one, but I wouldn’t risk it if entering 15 minutes or more past the start time. Things happen - the ride can temporarily go down but not for long enough to trigger an MEP for the people still holding their LLs. A kid could have to go to the bathroom. And there are some rides where you can have a pretty good idea of how long you are going to wait in the LL, some some you don’t (Splash, MF, and Soarin’ are good examples of this). I personally wouldn’t risk losing an LL to save a minute or two by not getting a Rider Switch pass, but everyone has their own level of risk aversion.

 

[disneychrista]

Yeah...I'm still not getting it. Why wouldn't you just split into 2 groups and take turns?? My brain must not be working right now because I still don't see the point of rider switch in these scenarios.

It is so they don't have to wait in the long line. The second group get to "skip" the line.