Just found out about Rider Swap change to digital returns

[EdnaMarieMode]

I would not waste a FP by getting one for my kids that could not ride, that would be silly- in our case, the 2YO does not get a FP anyway, so it would not matter. She was saying that it is a waste to try and get her child a FP for Winnie the Pooh because she can't get one for herself and ride with them. So, yes- in that case...someone will not ride. For those that go to Disney every year, or every few years that may not be a big deal...but for the rest of us, we would like to share the experience of rides with older and younger kids.

I get that it is "closing a loophole" but I also have to book a campsite a year in advance because people book them as a throwaway room so they can get a 60day FP while staying offsite. When Disney fixes that, I'll be less inclined to pout a bit about it being a juggle to ride with all my kids in a logical fashion
It really isn't that big of a deal... but I do want to ride all the rides, I am spending way too much money to miss out on some things that I like, so I'll just use the lines app to pick ride times that have a shorter standby wait and get a normal RS so no one feels that I am trying to beat the system. It is silly that a vacation needs so much planning.

Yes, she can get one for herself and ride with her child. It would mean not getting an FP for a different attraction (which she would then have the option to ride standby or skip). We normally only go every few years as well. There is no way to do it all, and you can't ride all of the rides. Even with the old RS setup, we were not able to do that. We planned our day to go on as much as possible in the morning or evening when wait times are typically shorter and use FP for rides that always seem to have a long wait. No need for using RS in conjunction with FP.

We are all spending the same $$ (or close to it), so I don't buy that argument either. No one's dollars are worth more than anyone else's. If I'm bringing 3 kids who are old enough to ride every single thing, I actually spend MORE $$ than someone bringing 2 older kids and a 2 yo- because the 2 yo didn't need a park ticket. Traveling with my tween and teen and tow doubles my meal expenses, traveling with just my 2 yo does not.

 

[Tink_83]

with Rider swap does party 2 wait in the fast pass line or is it a separate rider swap line they wait in? If so then what is the point of rider swap if you are using fast pass for that attraction? You could just stagger your own fast passes more efficiently.

 

[mom2rtk]

with Rider swap does party 2 wait in the fast pass line or is it a separate rider swap line they wait in? If so then what is the point of rider swap if you are using fast pass for that attraction? You could just stagger your own fast passes more efficiently.

The point is that the second party gets to ride with members of the family as well (since the swap is good for 3).

 

[MainMom]

So what would you do if your child is no longer height restricted, but hates coasters and everyone else in your party likes them, but you don’t feel comfortable leaving them by themselves while you ride?

 

[mom2rtk]

So what would you do if your child is no longer height restricted, but hates coasters and everyone else in your party likes them, but you don’t feel comfortable leaving them by themselves while you ride?

It's going to vary a lot depending on the CM at the ride. One option would be to have them go through the line with you and wait at the exit instead of riding (much shorter wait than waiting outside the ride).

 

[Tink_83]

The point is that the second party gets to ride with members of the family as well (since the swap is good for 3).

Yes but it sounds like your party is still stuck in line twice instead of the normal way most parks handle rider swap (I.e. everyone stands in line and then at the end one parent holds the child the other goes on the ride with the other kid(s) and then swaps right after the ride). This way if your stuck in the fast pass line twice your at least doubling your time for every ride. Honestly I’d rather Disney did it the way most other parks handle it - the way it’s done now I can’t imagine bothering to go on the ride after the child that can ride has then I’d be off to the next attraction... which is basically what I’ll do on my next visit now that I know rider swap is basically useless.

 

[mom2rtk]

Yes but it sounds like your party is still stuck in line twice instead of the normal way most parks handle rider swap (I.e. everyone stands in line and then at the end one parent holds the child the other goes on the ride with the other kid(s) and then swaps right after the ride). This way if your stuck in the fast pass line twice your at least doubling your time for every ride. Honestly I’d rather Disney did it the way most other parks handle it - the way it’s done now I can’t imagine bothering to go on the ride after the child that can ride has then I’d be off to the next attraction... which is basically what I’ll do on my next visit now that I know rider swap is basically useless.

Yeah, I see that. But thankfully most FP return lines aren't that bad. But they're doing it that way because they don't allow too short riders into their lines. Likely because people have taken advantage and snuck those kids onto rides with them.

 

[TangledHairDon'tCare]

Yes but it sounds like your party is still stuck in line twice instead of the normal way most parks handle rider swap (I.e. everyone stands in line and then at the end one parent holds the child the other goes on the ride with the other kid(s) and then swaps right after the ride). This way if your stuck in the fast pass line twice your at least doubling your time for every ride. Honestly I’d rather Disney did it the way most other parks handle it - the way it’s done now I can’t imagine bothering to go on the ride after the child that can ride has then I’d be off to the next attraction... which is basically what I’ll do on my next visit now that I know rider swap is basically useless.

I'd rather use that time to take my too short child to ride or see something nearby.

 

[wed100105]

I feel your pain. We’re in the same boat.

 

[Disneyliscious]

This will be our first time using child swap in 30 years of doing to DW (grandkids). Really do appreciate the information here. Coming into this thread it was my understanding that it would work like this:

Group 1 rides SM (Group 2 waits).
Ticket is given to return at a designated time for group 2 to ride (which could be an hour later, at which time we may be on the other side of the park and have to traipse back).

But it appears that its actually like this:

Group 1 rides SM (Group 2 waits).
Ticket is given to group 2 and must be used WITHIN the designated time (which varies from 15 minutes to an hour or so), meaning that Group 2 can use the ticket as soon as Group 1 is back and then the entire party can move on to the next attraction.

I really hope I'm right. I'm not looking to cheat FP's or even care about that. I just dont want to have to zig zag all over the park.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

This will be our first time using child swap in 30 years of doing to DW (grandkids). Really do appreciate the information here. Coming into this thread it was my understanding that it would work like this:

Group 1 rides SM (Group 2 waits).
Ticket is given to return at a designated time for group 2 to ride (which could be an hour later, at which time we may be on the other side of the park and have to traipse back).

But it appears that its actually like this:

Group 1 rides SM (Group 2 waits).
Ticket is given to group 2 and must be used WITHIN the designated time (which varies from 15 minutes to an hour or so), meaning that Group 2 can use the ticket as soon as Group 1 is back and then the entire party can move on to the next attraction.

I really hope I'm right. I'm not looking to cheat FP's or even care about that. I just dont want to have to zig zag all over the park.

Scenario 2 was our experience. Group one rides, group two is given a time by which they must ride second, and that time varies by attraction (as well as FP use or how long the standby line is if party 1 is riding standby). The parties ride back-to-back (our experience was this made for a great time to use the restroom/ have a drink or snack or let the kids use a nearby play area if there was one). Then, move on to the next attraction.

 

[Bmh4796]

We did this as well sometimes. For instance, I took older son on BTMRR and DH took older son on Space Mountain (so DH didn't do BTMRR that trip and I didn't do Space that trip). For us, even under the old rules, taking time to do child swap and get back to a ride was kind of a pain.

One trip, we also did where DH took the little ones to the arcade and I took older DS to Star Wars Fireworks and EMH at DHS. Then another day, I took the little ones to a character breakfast and DH did an activity with the older one.

I never thought of that! That changes everything! I was having a REALLY hard time getting fastpasses for all 6 of us at one time.

You could use the 4 year olds FP to stagger FP and then not have to worry about rider swap. Depending on how big the family is.
Once our little ones were old enough for tickets but not tall enough for rides, that was sometimes easier for us than messing with Rider Swap.
Example: Soarin' Mom and older child have FP at 9:30-10:30
Dad and too short child have FP at 10:30-11

Mom and older child ride Soarin' Dad rides Living with the Land with younger child. Then older child and younger child swap Magic Bands and Dad and older child ride again.

can we do this? That might help. Getting fastpasses for 6 people at one time is kind of limiting as well. It’s kind of like trying to get a giant table at a restaurant.

 

[Bmh4796]

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[Bmh4796]

1. Disney is not geared to children, it has something for everyone.
2. RS is still a thing and works fine. Its for swapping so everyone able to ride can ride. It was never intended for you to go do something else, double up on FP, or be a reward/compensation.

They are not free Go to another park that offers RS sometime, you will often find that you are expected to wait right in the
load/unload area after taking the smaller child all the way through the line.[/QUOTE]

I’m totally cool with going through the line then waiting with our 3year and one other older kid who has a prebooked Fastpass for that ride while the rest of our fam rides and then unloads. Then me (who was just given a rideswap “free” Fastpass) and the older child (who had a PREBOOKED Fastpass) and waited me and the baby then go on the ride together while husband and older kids who just got off wait with the baby. This worked out great. And no one is riding twice in this scenario. We did this many times on previous trips.


The problem now is IF Disney is no longer giving one parent a free rideswap Fastpass then that parent has to pre book all their rides with the rest of the older members of the family and then won’t have any fastpasses left to book baby rides with the toddler. But our toddler still has 3 unused fastpasses, yet he can’t ride alone. Of course my husband and I would then have to take turns giving up fun rides so one of us would have a Fastpass to accompany our 2 year old on the baby rides. But I think that’s crummy. Think of all the great rides we’d have to miss. This isn’t the parish fair.


I was pregnant the last time we went to Disney and I would like to ride this time. So then i guess my husband should be expected to use all his Fastpasses on baby rides? Then he misses out having a great time on space mountain with the older boys etc. do you see what i mean? It’s just kind of crummy if they stop giving one parent a Fastpass for riderswap. I can see where they’d do away with giving away 3 Fastpasses. I could see where they would want to clamp down on people riding twice. However, if there’s 3 older family members and one baby, then 2 fastpasses would need to be given so the waiting parent doesn’t have to ride alone. In that situation one person would indeed ride twice. But Cest’ la Vie!


When you are flying 7 people to and from Orlando and booked 2 hotel rooms etc etc etc you want to be able to ride the rides just like everyone else. You don’t want to use all your fastpasses on baby rides. I don’t think a “free” fastpass for the waiting parent is asking too much of Disney.


And again, I assure you, I am not the type of person who complains if my mom babysits so and so’s kid more than mine. (One of my sister-in-laws just can’t get over this) But Everyone is different and everyone has different needs, so I’m cool if the 3rd sister-in-law gets tons of babysitting. She needs it more. No big deal. Me and my other sister-in-law can afford our own sitters and i don’t want to burden my mom just to make things “even”.


But i do want to ride all the roller coasters in Disney! but at the same time, my 3 year old can’t ride the baby rides alone. So in this situation I’m like the sister-in-law who needs more help from my mom. Families with toddlers just need an extra fastpass at Riderswap. Families without babies and Disney itself should be cool with that - just like I’m cool with the other sister-in-law getting lots of babysitting because she needs it more than i do.


I hope this makes sense. Sorry so long.

 

[Bmh4796]

Just wanted to add that if they change it, they change it and I’ll accept that. But I didn’t hear about this until AFTER I booked all our fastpasses. It was very time consuming coordinating everything for a family of 7.

I booked our rides based on our previous experiences where they would give us 3 fastpasses at the swap. That’s how it always was. I remember the first time i was shocked by the 3 passed and told the CM “wow! Really? Three? How very magical Disney of you!!!” Then this happened every time we did the rideswap. Sometimes we’d even say no it’s ok we can’t swap after because we have dinner reservations, and they’d still give them to us and tell us to just hand them to someone, so we would give them to our siblings and their kids.

If Disney is going to do away with rideswap fastpasses, then they need to make a HUGE announcement, so no one books their trip based on the old system.

 

[Lilsia]

But our toddler still has 3 unused fastpasses, yet he can’t ride alone

Who cares if the toddler's FPs go unused. You are still going on the exact same number of rides that you would have regardless. If you choose to not "waste" your FPs on rides that the toddler can go on, then it is as if he he is not there. You used your FPs on rides that the child could not go on by choice. As you said, he can't go by himself on anything. I think everyone needs to get over this mental hump that they are some how missing out on things because they have a small child and that you are owed something because of it. And even if you do not get to go on a few things, then oh well. The rides could have just as easily been down for rehab, or the weather turned and you could not ride it, etc. And people with small kids already get a break in ticket pricing, and let's not forget that those under 3 are free anyway.

 

[Bmh4796]

Who cares if the toddler's FPs go unused. You are still going on the exact same number of rides that you would have regardless. If you choose to not "waste" your FPs on rides that the toddler can go on, then it is as if he he is not there. You used your FPs on rides that the child could not go on by choice. As you said, he can't go by himself on anything. I think everyone needs to get over this mental hump that they are some how missing out on things because they have a small child and that you are owed something because of it. And even if you do not get to go on a few things, then oh well. The rides could have just as easily been down for rehab, or the weather turned and you could not ride it, etc. And people with small kids already get a break in ticket pricing, and let's not forget that those under 3 are free anyway.

I would like for him to be able to ride the baby rides though. And he turned less than 2 months b4 the start of our trip so i am paying for him

Like i said, my husband and i will take turns using our fast passes on the baby rides if the new rule is in place.

I’m most annoyed that i already spent several days planning our trip (shows, rides, fastp

Who cares if the toddler's FPs go unused. You are still going on the exact same number of rides that you would have regardless. If you choose to not "waste" your FPs on rides that the toddler can go on, then it is as if he he is not there. You used your FPs on rides that the child could not go on by choice. As you said, he can't go by himself on anything. I think everyone needs to get over this mental hump that they are some how missing out on things because they have a small child and that you are owed something because of it. And even if you do not get to go on a few things, then oh well. The rides could have just as easily been down for rehab, or the weather turned and you could not ride it, etc. And people with small kids already get a break in ticket pricing, and let's not forget that those under 3 are free anyway.

I want him to be able to ride! He turned 3 less than 2 months before the first day of our trip, so he is payed for.

Here’s the thing. I have already spent a week booking our trip(shows, fastapasses, dinner etc). It’s less than 3 weeks away and it’s not going to be easy to change everything around at this point. That is what I’m most annoyed about. This new policy was not made known to me before I made our plans. So I’m leaving them as is and hoping they understand. If they don’t then we will adjust the plans. It’ll be a huge cluster mess though.

 

[Bmh4796]

I would like for him to be able to ride the baby rides though. And he turned less than 2 months b4 the start of our trip so i am paying for him

Like i said, my husband and i will take turns using our fast passes on the baby rides if the new rule is in place.

I’m most annoyed that i already spent several days planning our trip (shows, rides, fastp


I want him to be able to ride! He turned 3 less than 2 months before the first day of our trip, so he is payed for.

Here’s the thing. I have already spent a week booking our trip(shows, fastapasses, dinner etc). It’s less than 3 weeks away and it’s not going to be easy to change everything around at this point. That is what I’m most annoyed about. This new policy was not made known to me before I made our plans. So I’m leaving them as is and hoping they understand. If they don’t then we will adjust the plans. It’ll be a huge cluster mess though.

I can get over that mental hump once it’s a policy that is clearly set in stone. But until then, I don’t see why I shouldn’t argue why the way it’s always been is (maybe was) a good way. And I even brought up some modifications- don’t give 3 fastpsses, limit it to one or 2. That would make a big difference but would still be family friendly.

 

[Tink_83]

Who cares if the toddler's FPs go unused. You are still going on the exact same number of rides that you would have regardless. If you choose to not "waste" your FPs on rides that the toddler can go on, then it is as if he he is not there. You used your FPs on rides that the child could not go on by choice. As you said, he can't go by himself on anything. I think everyone needs to get over this mental hump that they are some how missing out on things because they have a small child and that you are owed something because of it. And even if you do not get to go on a few things, then oh well. The rides could have just as easily been down for rehab, or the weather turned and you could not ride it, etc. And people with small kids already get a break in ticket pricing, and let's not forget that those under 3 are free anyway.

I’m sorry for the amount of money you pay for a 3 year old those fast passes need to be used. That said there are other strategies (like booking another ride for someone else with their fast passes, etc) but it’s not like a child’s ticket is half the cost of an adult. Which also speaks towards Disney being designed for kids. If it wasn’t most parents wouldn’t spend that kind of money for a 3 year old to go to a theme park.

And before someone says other parks are like this - the ones with roller coasters, at least those in VA, are not at all like that. At my local Busch gardens and Kings dominion I can get my 3-5 year old a pre-k pass which gets them unlimited admission to the park for the year for free. At Kings dominion I can get the 2019 pre-K pass in October of 2018 - which worked out great for us because DD turned 6 in November. Anyway, my point is that at those parks to try to get families with young kids they literally give them free passes (for the kids) whereas at Disney they are essentially the same cost as an adult.

And for reference the 4 day park ticket deal for an adult is 340 and for a kid is 320. Essentially the same cost.

 

[Lilsia]

I can get over that mental hump once it’s a policy that is clearly set in stone. But until then, I don’t see why I shouldn’t argue why the way it’s always been is (maybe was) a good way. And I even brought up some modifications- don’t give 3 fastpsses, limit it to one or 2. That would make a big difference but would still be family friendly.

The way it has always been is the whole family goes through the line and then when you get to the ride, the adult with the baby waits at the exit and switches then. That is how it has been from 1971 until sometime after fast passes where introduced in 1999. And even then it was several year because that is how it was when my kids were little and they were born in 2001, 2002. That was so much simpler and equal.