How best to use FP+ In Hollywood Studios and Epcot with little ones?

[2019TripIdeas]

Hi- Apologies if this is easier to figure out than I'm thinking, but thought I'd ask anyway. We did Disneyland this past spring with Maxpass and little ones and it made things SO easy and I've been told this will be a little trickier with FP+ so looking for some help as I start prioritizing the things we want to Fastpass.
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Background: We're going the last week of January. Our kids are 5, 3, and 2 (43.5" , 39" and 34"). I'm thinking the oldest is probably good to go ahead and book as if she'll be 44" by the trip, the middle one more questionable if I should gamble on hitting 40". They've been to Disneyland and are thrill seekers, the oldest especially. She LOVED Space Mountain and BTMRR at Disneyland so much so I'm really hoping she can ride the equivalents at WDW even though the height requirements are higher. They all loved Pirates, Haunted Mansion, etc so I don't think anything should be too scary that they hit the requirements for.

I think I've got a good grasp on how to pick which fastpasses to go for at Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, but where I'm getting confused is Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

Hollywood Studios: Right now, I'm thinking Slinky Dog Dash FP (as 4 of us could ride) and plan to wait lines/rode drop to go for Alien Saucers and TSMM. I guess if that falls through I'd revert to one of the other Toy Story rides as my Group A. Where I'm confused though, is the Group B. I had jotted down Little Mermaid and Star Tours for lack of better options- any other thoughts with my kids ages? Is there a show that the FastPass seating is super advantageous for?

Epcot: Same question. What makes sense in Group B with kids? I will try to get Frozen as our "Group A" but then I'm not even sure what's fastpass worthy in Group B. Would you ever really need a fastpass to Nemo or Journey into Imagination? TestTrack is on a planned closure while we're there.

And if I'm understanding this correctly, all 4 of the ticketed ones of us would need to have the FP+ in order to rider switch? Or only the people tall enough to actually ride? For example, if we're going to try to get a fastpass for a 44" ride and only the 5 year old, myself and my husband can ride, do I still need to have the FP+ on for the 3 year old so that I can show why we need to rider swap it?

 

[hiroMYhero]

Moved you to the Families Board where Rider Swap is discussed.

Here’s an article that has up-to-date info:
https://wdwprepschool.com/how-to-child-swap-rider-switch-at-disney-world/

 

[sponica]

For our tier 2s in Epcot we used living with the land (you usually don't need it, but it was convenient to where we were) and character spot (this is now tier 1, I believe). Spaceship earth can sometimes get a long line, so sometimes it's worthwhile as a tier 2.

DHS, i think we did Star Tours and the muppet show (not really necessary, but it gets rid of a tier 2)

 

[CNYMickeyFan]

How does that translate to No, it does not work as much as any other room request?
The building was closed for goodness sake. How could you get your request? If you'd put it in any other way it wouldn't have worked either.
A floor above the room may well fit within the parameters of what you requested. If it faced the same direction and was roughly the same walk from the lobby, transportation, etc.

For our tier 2s in Epcot we used living with the land (you usually don't need it, but it was convenient to where we were) and character spot (this is now tier 1, I believe). Spaceship earth can sometimes get a long line, so sometimes it's worthwhile as a tier 2.

DHS, i think we did Star Tours and the muppet show (not really necessary, but it gets rid of a tier 2)

Totally agree, it's about the ease of breezing through the lines, especially with the little ones. Turtle Talk, Spaceship Earth, Nemo, and Living with the Land are all good options.