Pteranodon Flyers question

[escriven75]

Does anyone know if you can "adult swap" on the Pteranodon Flyers if you have more adults than kids in your party? Or do you need to have the second set of adults wait through the queue again with the kids? This is the first time that the adults in our group have outnumbered the kids (4 adults, 2 kids) but 3 of the adults have never been to Universal before so of course I want them all to be able to ride!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Don't know, but I have a feeling that it's not going to be allowed to swap like that.

Of course, since I find it to be The Scariest Ride EVER, and even if we had another kid I would never ride again (I can't even watch it), I don't know. (and this is coming from someone who started silently crying after riding Hulk and RRR with my son and he said he wanted to go on Dragon Challenge, and I just couldn't not cry at the thought because it's all so scary....Pteranodon is scarier than all of those to me. The rocking, the swaying...the concrete underneath, far far underneath...)

 

[escriven75]

I totally agree!! That is THE ONLY one that scares me...and they call it a kids ride. When it picks up speed and hits those corners I pretty much assume I'm going to die! But the other 3 adults in the group are newbies...they don't know any better YET! We'll have to just send them in groups with the 2 kids. I'll be the meet up point. I'll get a beer and play on the dinosaur footprints while they all ride!!

 

[kelleybean]

I'm almost positive you'll have to wait again. Don't know if you want to waste the best touring time of the day on it but at or near opening there is hardly a line at all.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I've never heard of an "adult swap", but my DS did consider hanging around that ride and offering to accompany groups with too many adults for five bucks a pop.

 

[LiveYourLife]

I've never heard of an "adult swap", but my DS did consider hanging around that ride and offering to accompany groups with too many adults for five bucks a pop.

Lol! I say this to my Husband all the time! I wonder if some parent will let me rent their child so I can go on PF!

 

[Imagineer5]

There is no adult swap - the CM at the entrance checks that 1 adult and 1 child that meets the height requirements are the only ones to enter.

I couldn't wait until my DD hit the min height requirement as this is a ride I always wanted to go on - thankfully she LOVES it!!

 

[lvdis]

Why do you suppose they don't allow adults only on it?

 

[RMulieri]

Why do you suppose they don't allow adults only on it?

because it is a VERY slow slow loading ride with low capacity. Even with the restriction ,lines are long all day ( no express pass).We saw waits of 60+ mins in late Jan ..Without the height restriction, lines would be wrapped around IOA all day

 

[hpriamson]

because it is a VERY slow slow loading ride with low capacity. Even with the restriction ,lines are long all day ( no express pass).We saw waits of 60+ mins in late Jan ..Without the height restriction, lines would be wrapped around IOA all day

Plus, it's one of the few rides that will actually take kids who are only 36" tall. Lots of rides you have to be 48", some are 40". So that plus the low capacity (I think I read it's only 180 riders per hour in the Unofficial Guide), means they want to reserve it for smaller kids.

 

[WDW Fan Since 1973]

Does anyone know if you can "adult swap" on the Pteranodon Flyers if you have more adults than kids in your party? Or do you need to have the second set of adults wait through the queue again with the kids? This is the first time that the adults in our group have outnumbered the kids (4 adults, 2 kids) but 3 of the adults have never been to Universal before so of course I want them all to be able to ride!!

I guess the consensus is that there is no "adult swap" on this ride. However, we did it once--probably around 2009. My Wife and I, along with our Grandson, waited in line. When we reached the loading station they went on the ride, while I waited nearby. When they returned, my Wife asked the Cast Member if I could take her place. She agreed and I jumped on, while my Grandson got to do a second circuit. We only tried it that once. Since then, we haven't been able to ride it--rehab, rain, too long a wait. Unfortunately, our Grandson is now too tall to be eligible to ride it.

 

[johde]

This is the one roller coaster at Universal I haven't been able to ride because of no little kid. I've heard rumors of that back before WWOHP they used to allow unaccompanied adults on the ride first thing in the morning if the lines were short. But, I've not heard any recent ability to ride.

 

[kelleybean]

We often go near first thing in the morning and I have never seen them let anyone on without a child. DH and I often talk about how that must be one of the worst jobs in the park ... having to tell people over and over (and over) that they can't ride and them arguing about it.

 

[RMulieri]

The last 3 times we went we have gone over early in the morning.They still were only letting adults ride if they had a child that met the requirement..I don't envy the TMS I saw them getting yelled at over and over when we went in Jan.Full grown adults throwing tantrums about not being able to ride,.

 

[escriven75]

Thanks everyone for weighing in. We're headed there right when school gets out. Maybe I will give it a try and see if they will let one adult pull an 'adult swap'. I'll post the results here!
And yes, I totally agree about the poor souls that are posted in front of the ride measuring and letting people on. My kids have seen adults throwing their tantrums at the ride entrance and mentioned how 'they don't even whine that much"! We've themed parked quite a bit and it is interesting that you often see more adults 'misbehaving' and having tantrums than kids. I do understand that we adults have spent a lot of money to be there and want everything to be just perfect. But the kids are SO happy just to be there, they don't need a flawless vacation! I try my very hardest each and everything to think more like a kid when I'm there and it really makes it more enjoyable. And it really does make a world of difference if you just treat the cast members with a little kindness and patience. They deal with the worst of the worst and still manage to smile through it most times.

 

[kingken]

tried getting on with my son but they said 16 year olds does'nt count

 

[CyndiLooWho]

Shoot. My kids were short enough last time, but too scared to be up high. Now the 14 yo is 5'8". No ride for me.

 

[KatieCharlotte]

We often go near first thing in the morning and I have never seen them let anyone on without a child. DH and I often talk about how that must be one of the worst jobs in the park ... having to tell people over and over (and over) that they can't ride and them arguing about it.

Yes, we spent a lot of time playing in the area and we overheard several tense conversations involving kids over the height limit. I understood the frustration because I have an older child who prefers the milder rides. They were also not allowing adult/sibling-swapping without waiting again in the long afternoon lines. I would hate that job.

We rode it first thing in the morning and were told that everyone over the height limit, including DS, had to ride with an appropriate height child, when no one else was waiting in line. DS was extremely thankful for his sister, who was tall enough to ride without an adult and short enough to get him on the ride (between 48 and 56 inches).

 

[tschaan]

So, if I'm the only adult with 2 kids, we can't ride? M sone is about 56" and my nephew is 48". Can my son ride alone?