Our friends bailed on our trip.. now what?

[jliucci]

My best friend and I (and our husbands) planned to take our kids on their first Disney World vacation together this November. Both of our kids would be 2 & 2.5 at the time so we figured they would have fun together. We just found out this weekend that they are bailing on us. They want to do Vegas instead (lame lol ) I am a huge Disney fan so we are obviously still going.. but I have never been with a little one before. My question is.. if we don't find another couple or anyone to go with what do you parents do about rides? Can someone explain the child swap? Or do you just not go on any rides your child is to small for? The last time I went to Disney I was pregnant so I missed a lot of the rides then too, and I was really looking forward to the new rides in Animal Kingdom. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[disneydreamer1980]

you can do child swap but with only 2 adults you'd be riding alone. You wait in line together with the child, one adult rides while the other waits with the child in a specified area, then the one who didn't ride gets on the next ride, with up to 2 other people, while the first adult waits. You can do this or just skip those rides if you don't want to ride alone.

 

[KrazeeK120]

you can do child swap but with only 2 adults you'd be riding alone. You wait in line together with the child, one adult rides while the other waits with the child in a specified area, then the one who didn't ride gets on the next ride, with up to 2 other people, while the first adult waits. You can do this or just skip those rides if you don't want to ride alone.

This is incorrect. A child who is too short will not be allowed to enter the line at all. You all approach the the CM at the entrance together and let him/her know that you wish to swap. The first parent rides and the second parent is given a pass to come back and ride via the FP line. You can do whatever you’d like while the other parent is riding...ship, grab a snack, ride a ride, etc.

My son was 18 months on our most recent trip. My DH and I have different “favorite” rides, so we each got a couple of individual FPs for rides we like, and we scheduled them during our son’s naptime. It worked great. We ended up skipping a few things we would have liked to have ridden, but there just wasn’t time to do it all! I figure we will be hitting all of the headliners again later on when DS is older!

 

[bumbershoot]

Riding alone isn’t bad. Meet people in the line, have a ride experience, then you two get to chat later about your separate experiences and how fun they were. Gives you something to talk about since you’re not having the exact same experience.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I haven't child swapped in a few years since I go with my parents who watch my youngest while we ride, but a few years ago we entered the line with the kid and they took us to a special area to wait with the child. Didn't know they changed it.

 

[Animal]

You could also focus on rides you can bring your two year old on. I was surprised by the number of rides I could bring a three month old on!

 

[AFwifelife]

We just ride the rides alone with child swap or using FPs. I don't go through the trouble of getting different FPs for each of us if I'm able to get them.

 

[wdw&sonny]

Your thread title says,
Our friends bailed on our trip.. now what?

1. Get new friends
2. Go to WDW and have a great time.

 

[quesang]

At that age it’s a different experience. If you can hold off to enjoy the bigger rides on another trip there is still so much to do with kids that age as a family. At those ages my kids really enjoyed the characters, parades, dance parties and little playground places they have all over. Just enjoy seeing the sights, I think you can still all do Na’vi and see Pandora.

 

[Summer2018]

That stinks. My extended family bailed on us. They’re the ones losing out though. They have young children and need lots of help. We’re all adults.
My vacation without them will be awesome!
I’m sorry about your friends choosing Las Vegas over Disney. I don’t get it.
You got a lot of great advice. Have fun!

 

[JessicaW1234]

There are so many rides you can enjoy with your kids. Enjoy your time with them (and be glad you are not there with people who really didn't want to be there)

We brought our DD & DS for their 1st time at 2 1/2 & I have such wonderful memories of our time including their meet & greet with Pooh & Tigger & riding Dumbo elephants

 

[KrazeeK120]

I’m sorry about your friends choosing Las Vegas over Disney. I don’t get it.

I agree with this! I’ve been to Vegas...it’s not somewhere I’d take a 2 year old. It just doesn’t scream “family vacation destination” to me. To each their own, I guess.

 

[patrickpiteo]

I agree with this! I’ve been to Vegas...it’s not somewhere I’d take a 2 year old. It just doesn’t scream “family vacation destination” to me. To each their own, I guess.

Unless your last name is Griswold

 

[Rich M]

If you have a nephew or niece that you can bring with you they could go on double the rides when using the child swap. Also remember when getting FP+ to only book for one person so you can actual get 6 different FP+ unless its for a ride that you will take the little ones on.

 

[Grammy4Lizzy]

I live in Las Vegas, 2 year old visitors are not going to have a real good time. There are casinos that do not allow strollers, it is HOT in July (different than WDW hot). There is not a lot of kid friendly things to do as a visitor. They will need to work a lot harder to find kid friendly in LV than at WDW.

 

[RADOPT]

you did not ask but you can also get a sitter. I got a sitter for my special needs child on our vacation. I had our sitter spend a couple of hours with us the first time to make sure we all felt comfortable (my daughter has communication issues so I am very cautious). It was nice to have some adult time and know that my daughter was not only safe but having fun. The rest of the time we just took turns going on the rides.

 

[ajwolfe]

It's been years since we went with a child that small, but we just rode what we were able to ride with him and moved on. There really wasn't a ton you can't do and it didn't bother us at all. Now with FP+ set up the way it works I would think booking FP+ for the rides you want to do with out the little on during nap time would be an excellent way to work it.

 

[Tomh]

My best friend and I (and our husbands) planned to take our kids on their first Disney World vacation together this November. Both of our kids would be 2 & 2.5 at the time so we figured they would have fun together. We just found out this weekend that they are bailing on us. They want to do Vegas instead (lame lol ) I am a huge Disney fan so we are obviously still going.. but I have never been with a little one before. My question is.. if we don't find another couple or anyone to go with what do you parents do about rides? Can someone explain the child swap? Or do you just not go on any rides your child is to small for? The last time I went to Disney I was pregnant so I missed a lot of the rides then too, and I was really looking forward to the new rides in Animal Kingdom. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

My son was 4 the first time we went, 5 the second trip around. First trip, we had my mother, and my cousin with us, so there was someone to watch him at all times. During our second, and subsequent trips, it was just DW, the kids, and I. During those trips, we simply limited ourselves to the rides that he was big enough for. There is SO much to see and do at Disney, that we never really felt like we were missing out on anything.

 

[TravelingTotMom]

We've been taking our one son since he was 7 1/2 months old (he's now almost 4) with no issues.

Your son really will be able to ride most of the rides, and we never feel like we are missing out.

For the height restriction rides, using rider swap is easy and effective. If using FP+, only the person riding first will need a FP+. For example, you get a FP+ for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and your husband gets a FP+ for Space Mountain. You will both get to ride both of those rides, taking turns while the other stays with your child. We've never felt weird riding alone because the height restriction rides aren't exactly ones where you can sit and have a conversation.

We like to schedule our height restriction FP+ times around when our son should be napping (he naps in his stroller) or during a meal if we are doing counter service. He takes longer to eat, so DH and I are able to usually both ride. Example of how this works: DH has a FP+ to Avatar Flight of Passage. We all go to the ride entrance (they need to see the child too short), and DH tells them we need to do a rider swap. He is given a rider swap lanyard, and when he gets to the second FP+ checkpoint, it is exchanged for a rider swap paper pass (similar to the older paper FP). My son and I will go to Satu'li Canteen and order lunch for the three of us. After riding, DH meets us there and has his lunch with our son while I go and ride with the paper pass.

A couple of things to keep in mind: You do not need to use the paper rider swap pass immediately. They usually expire at the end of the month (it will say), so you can ride later in the day or later in your trip.

Single Rider Lines: Expedition Everest, Test Track and Rock n' Roller Coaster all have single rider lines. In our experience, these lines are most effective for Expedition Everest, okay for Test Track and hit or miss with RnR. If you do Test Track, the parent waiting can enter through the exit and go through the gift shop to the car display area. My son loves sitting in the cars while we take turns riding, and it's also a nice break with the a/c.

 

[KrazeeK120]

If you do Test Track, the parent waiting can enter through the exit and go through the gift shop to the car display area. My son loves sitting in the cars while we take turns riding, and it's also a nice break with the a/c.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that in my post. The car display area was a hit with my son! It’s a great diversion for little boys!