Parent Swapping

[MagicOurWay]

I had an idea I wanted to try out on you all. I call it Parent-Swapping (as opposed to baby-swapping). It would be for those with 2+ adults and children under 3 and would probably be best used for a bonus day at MK. Basically, since the kids don't need fast passes the Parents could alternate riding with the kids with minimal waits using 2 fast passes at a time. For example, 1 parent could get a fast pass for Peter Pan, while another got a fast pass for Pooh at the same time and then they could take the child(ren) on both back-to-back. Or, 1 for Buzz and 1 for Jungle Cruise. For the more adventurous you can also mix in 1 for HM and one fore POC. And of course you could double up on their favorites (and both parents could go, albeit independantly).

Have any of you done this? How did it work out?


(Sorry, by the way, if this is an age-old trick, but it was new to me )

 

[risy]

I did not completely understand your theory . . . .but I think these points are relevant.

1. Your family will spend their time "divided" or very bored waiting for those on FP ride.
Just because you have fast passes, does not mean things will go "fast." When my family uses FP on a relatively slow day, it takes 25 minutes to get through Splash Mountain. A little less for BTM. I know , because I sit waiting with my 3 year old.
The Jungle Cruise with a FP still has a substantial wait. Philharmagic could be 10-30 minutes.

2. Children under 3 do not get/need a FP because they do not have a ticket.

3. Did you mean 2 adults and only children under 3?? If so there are only 3 FP rides that are really geared to the kids: Pooh, Philharmagic (scares my 3 yo), and PeterPan.

4. Your family will again be divided as one person becomes the "runner" for gathering all of those FP from different areas in the park.

We are a family of 5 and try to stay together at WDW because that is part of the fun of a family vacation. So this type of plan does not work for us. Its success depends on your vacation ideals.

 

[SCOTTOHIOCPA]

Here's a similar idea that I have done:

DW gets in line for Dumbo with DD. I wait for about 100 people get in line, then get in line. I take pictures of them riding, then DW hands her to me when it's my turn to ride so she can go a second time with me. The unofficial guide used to call this the "chuck bubba" trick.

 

[estherhead]

OK, my dh and I and our 2 small kids travel with my sister and her dh and their 3 small children. We use every trick we know to fly through the parks. When we first get there one parent rushes to Splash mountain and gets FP for everyone that qualifies while everyone else rushes to Dumbo and gets in line. The parent gets back in plenty of time (they aren't really that far away from each other) and get in line. The kids get to ride Dumbo twice in a row. Then we do the rest of Fantasyland as early in the am in off season there are no lines for anything. By that time it is Splash mountain. Since both families qualify for baby swap we get 2 baby swap tickets. One couple gets on with their FP and the kids that qualify, come out and the kids get to ride again with the other couple.

Meanwhile the little tykes having been playing the playground under Splash Mountain. At this point the 2 adults go get FP for Thunder Railroad. We then do whatever else we want until it is time to do those FP's. By noon we easily have Fantasyland and Frontierlan done. We then eat lunch and meet characters (do rides) in Toon town. At 2 we leave and have a nap and go to Epcot for the evening. When we come back for another half day the next morning we do the same thing with Buzz, Space Mountain, and Adventureland.

My eldest nephew especially enjoyed it at Epcot when he got to ride Test Track 4 times in a row (only kid old enough) while the other kids played in the fountain outside and the adults got to relax and have a snack. It's a great idea if you have more than one family with all kinds of aged kids. It makes it nice because everyone is happy, no lines, and we spend vacation together.

Hope that made sense.

Esther