How does child swap work?

[Lizziejane]

I'm a little confused - the last time we needed child swap (1997!), we all waited our turn, and when we got to the front of the line, the first parent/child would ride; get off the ride and take the younger child, then the second parent would ride. Now I'm reading posts about a child swap ticket? and using the FP line? Can some explain exactly how it works, and what rides it's applicable for? we are travelling with our 2-year old DGD on our next trip so swapping suddenly becomes applicable once again!

 

[cuchu2005]

Something like that. You approach to the CM at the fast pass return entrance with the whole party (including non riders and swappers), and ask for a rider switch pass. Then the first rider or rider goes through std by or FP line, in case you have FPs. At this point it is important to clarify that in FPs will be required for the first riders. The waiting parent takes the ticket with the non riding child.

When the first party comes out, the swap takes place, and the second parent gets to ride through the fast pass line, with up to 2 additional riders with the same ticket. The second rider doesn't need a FP, even if the first ones to ride used one for each rider.

Hope I was clear enough. Have fun!

Mx

 

[the5wills]

Thanks for clearing that up! I had the same question!

 

[puffkin]

Some tips:

1. You MUST take the non-riding child with you to the ride entrance to obtain the swap pass.

2. The pass is good all day. We would collect them in the morning when the lines were short and then use the swap passes later in the day when lines were long. That way we could do more baby-friendly things mixed in. DS7 also got more enjoyment since the rides weren't back to back.

3. Depending on how many adults are in your party you can really maximize your FP's the swap pass is good for up to 3 people so the people going the second time don't need a fast pass. We were able to get DS7 on a lot more rides that way.

4. Child swap is NOT a quick process. The FP lines can be lengthy so just be prepared for that. Some rides can be quick (like BTMRR) and others take FOREVER (Soarin).

5. Typically, if the child is tall enough to ride (or there is no height restriction) they won't give you a swap pass. I saw that happen last week at TOT AND Space Mountain. My 8 month old was napping and we couldn't get one at TSM either, I didn't think so but it was worth a try.

 

[doconeill]

Stock answer:

Just to avoid any confusion, there are TWO different things that some people refer to as "child swap", "baby swap", etc.

First, there is a formal system in place at most all Fastpass attractions that have a height requirement, called Rider Switch. Follow the link for complete details (and exceptions), but this is what most people will respond with for answers.

Second, at all other attractions, or at the Rider Switch attractions where a child simply chooses not to ride, there MAY be a way to accommodate the situation. However it is different at each attraction because of the different ways loading and unloading are handled which are often in different locations. Ask the greeting CM for what the possibilities are.

 

[Yubbie]

I thought it was more like, "Hey, my kid is acting up and your kid seems very well behaved... Ya wanna swap?"

 

[WDWNext]

I have to admit I did not know that everyone in the party does not need to have Fastpass for the Child swap to work.
So if we have 2 rides where we can do a Child swap, we could get not only FP's for both at the same time, but a child swap FP that can be used anytime during the day.... awesome.
So, the child swap FP does not interfere with the future FP's right ?

For Example Party of 2 adults, 1 kid and 1 toddler...
Adult A gets FP for Ride 1 and Adult B gets FP for Ride 2 at say 9:00 am with return times for around 10 am.
Adult A rides ride 1 with Kid, then Adult B rides ride 2 with Kid.
Adult A and Adult B are now in possession of Child swap FP for ride 2 and ride 1 respectively, that they can use anytime that day.
But the entire party is now free to get a new set of FP's too right ?
If yes, then this is awesome !! Can we throw in the Kids FP also in the mix ?

If you have a FastPass, does it mean you get to ride the attraction within a few minutes after you get in the FP line ? Even if the standby is say 45 minutes ?

 

[rms123]

Your scenario only works if the toddler also has a ticket because the kid will need fastpasses for both rides.

 

[DJBass]

Your scenario only works if the toddler also has a ticket because the kid will need fastpasses for both rides.

We did this without a ticket for my 2 yr old our whole visit 4 years ago. Why would a toddler need a ticket? They r free.

 

[ChloesDaddy]

We did this without a ticket for my 2 yr old our whole visit 4 years ago. Why would a toddler need a ticket? They r free.

I think they mean that to get simultaneous FPs for two people to each ride two rides you need four tickets, not that the toddler has to have a ticket/FP to use the child swap. I've also heard of instances where the CM at the FP line entrance asks for FPs for the entire party (all eligible riders involved) to give the child swap pass, so the split FP strategy may be hit or miss.

 

[disndatworld]

They really should call it adult swap.

 

[sassie_kat]

We came to love this feature on our last trip. My youngest is not tall enough for almost all the height restricted rides (Goofy is the only one she was tall enough for). My middle son is also not quite tall enough for a few of them. We were a party of 3 adults and 4 children, all with tickets as all are above 3 years of age. Sometimes we would all get FPs for the ride even though of the 7 of us only 5 or 6 were able to ride. We tried really hard maximize the use of FPs + rider switch to allow the kids (and sometimes the adults) to have more than one ride on the big ticket rides.

By our last day in MK, my youngest had had more than enough of being told she was too short to ride and started singing the blues - literally! She leaned against a tree and sang (you have to imagine this in a blues-y tone coming out of the mouth of a TINY 3 year old) "baby swap, Mommy gets to ride . . . baby swap, Mommy leaves me behind" . . . (this next part is in a head banging/rock kind of fashion) "BARN STORMER!!!!, I get to ride no baby swap for that!!!" She apparently put on quite a show and gathered a sympathetic audience. We've been home for over 2 weeks now and sometimes she'll still bust out with "baby swap, Mommy gets to ride!"

 

[doconeill]

There have been rare instances in the past where CMs will require a FP for the stay behind guest, and swap it for the Rider Switch.

I've been told that there is no actual policy on handling the combination of FP and Rider Switch, so it's use can be rather hit or miss.

Once FP+ is fully implemented, ALL of this could change, too...

 

[cmh314]

Are there any rides that require the 2nd rider to stay close by and ride immediately after the first group, or do they all let you come back later to use the rider switch ticket? If we decide to use rider switch, I'd probably want to bring my youngest up to the CM to get the ticket, then take her to go do something fun while we wait for DH and DS to ride and then go back later with DS so I can ride instead of making DD wait around for them. Wondering if there are any attractions where we couldn't go off and do something for her, but would have to stay put and wait to switch off immediately.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

There have been rare instances in the past where CMs will require a FP for the stay behind guest, and swap it for the Rider Switch.

I've been told that there is no actual policy on handling the combination of FP and Rider Switch, so it's use can be rather hit or miss.

Once FP+ is fully implemented, ALL of this could change, too...

We have used baby swap for the last 4 trips and have not been required to have a FP to swap on any ride.

It might happen but it must be extremely rare to the point of maybe even being a one off type of thing.

We also maximize ride time by using FP and baby swap.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[doconeill]

Are there any rides that require the 2nd rider to stay close by and ride immediately after the first group, or do they all let you come back later to use the rider switch ticket? If we decide to use rider switch, I'd probably want to bring my youngest up to the CM to get the ticket, then take her to go do something fun while we wait for DH and DS to ride and then go back later with DS so I can ride instead of making DD wait around for them. Wondering if there are any attractions where we couldn't go off and do something for her, but would have to stay put and wait to switch off immediately.

The Rider Switch generally applies only to Fastpass attractions with height requirements, and usually it is not optional. There are some exceptions both ways:

- Star Tours has in the past done the switching at the simulators. I heard they started using Rider Switch again, but I don't know if it is consistent.

- Space Mountain has started offering guests to stay in the Alpha Lounge instead of using a Rider Switch. I also don't know if this is consistent.

- Mission: SPACE inexplicably once required us to wait in the exit area for my wife and DD#1 to come out, and THEN gave us a Rider Switch pass. But we had to wait by the doors the whole time. Don't know if that's happened again.

- I've heard of RS passes rarely given out at Barnstormer and TSM.

 

[cmh314]

The Rider Switch generally applies only to Fastpass attractions with height requirements, and usually it is not optional. There are some exceptions both ways:

- Star Tours has in the past done the switching at the simulators. I heard they started using Rider Switch again, but I don't know if it is consistent.

- Space Mountain has started offering guests to stay in the Alpha Lounge instead of using a Rider Switch. I also don't know if this is consistent.

- Mission: SPACE inexplicably once required us to wait in the exit area for my wife and DD#1 to come out, and THEN gave us a Rider Switch pass. But we had to wait by the doors the whole time. Don't know if that's happened again.

- I've heard of RS passes rarely given out at Barnstormer and TSM.

Thanks for the quick info!

When I said "if we decide to use rider switch" I meant that DD is just barely at 40 inches (depending on how they measure her), so I'm hoping she'll ride Soarin, Splash etc. with us. But if they say she's too short to ride I'll want to use rider switch so I can go on too. If she goes on those with us we may/or may not use rider switch for the others. I'm a bit of a ride chicken, so I'm not sure if I'll get myself to go on the rides with a higher hight requirement. May just have DH and DS ride those and skip them myself. It will depend on how brave I'm feeling that day, lol.

 

[doconeill]

We have used baby swap for the last 4 trips and have not been required to have a FP to swap on any ride.

It might happen but it must be extremely rare to the point of maybe even being a one off type of thing.

We also maximize ride time by using FP and baby swap.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I did say rare. And I'm only talking about mixing FP and RS, not in using RS and Standby as is typical.

It definitely was not one-off situations, but it was still rare. I have not heard any reports in the past few years, but around 2006-2007 was when I remember such reports being a bit more common.

Often bears repeating: Just because it didn't happen to you, doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Overall, each of our experiences alone are statistically insignificant to the whole. But it is from the gathering of data in which patterns emerge. (That should be a mantra in a stastistics or chaos theory class... )

 

[sassie_kat]

I think I saw a question of yours go unanswered so I wanted to make sure it got addressed - if you get a rider switch pass, you go up the FP entrance and don't wait as long as the standby time listed. Now, if you don't have any FPs the first set of riders WILL wait in the standby line.

One other thing, if you THINK you will want to try the rides get the rider switch. Have your husband and older child do the ride and then tuck the rider switch pass into your pocket (or wherever you keep your FPs and park ticket). Do something else and come back to that ride later. If, in the end, you decide not to ride, your husband and son could ride again at that point.

On our last night, we had FPs and Rider Switch passes for BTMRR. My husband wasn't feeling well so he sat out with my daughter. We used 5 of our 7 FPs for ride 1. We then had 2 FPs and the RS pass left (5 riders total). My BIL didn't want to ride again b/c he was starting to feel the effects of all the rides we'd done that day. My niece and I used the 2 remaining FPs. After getting off that time, my husband STILL wasn't feeling up to riding and by BIL was even worse off. I took the rider switch pass and my 2 boys and we rode one last time. The CM at the FP entrance chuckled when I came up for the third time in a row and said something along the lines of "Guess Momma's getting all the fun for the night!"