Requesting seats/area of a ride?

[KrazeeK120]

I have only ever asked for Soarin. I typically have to wait for the next “flight,”but I’ve never been given a hard time. I think they probably get the B1 request frequently.

 

[CMNJ]

I’ve seen the eye roll a bit when requesting B for soarin-but in all fairness I have seen more and more people asking to the point where B is full before they finish loading A

 

[SpaceMtnGirl]

We do it on Soarin’ (B1) and 7DMT (the back). They always have put us in a secondary line for the back at 7DMT. No issues.

 

[JacknSally]

We almost always request the back on rides where it's applicable, except for Tower, where we usually request the front row. I usually do the asking, and always make it a point to say "Is it possible to wait for...", "Can we wait for...", "Would it be ok if we wait for..." so they know we don't EXPECT it or DEMAND it. If they were to tell us no for whatever reason, we would be completely fine with that.

The first and only time we got any attitude about it was on our most recent trip when we asked at EE. Apparently the three groups in front of us asked to wait for the back, too, so by the time we did it, the CM was irritated and didn't bother to hide it. We didn't have any way of knowing, though, until he pointed us to the side and told us to wait behind all the other groups waiting. To make it worse, the 4 groups after us all had the same request. He was pretty over it by that point, and the other CM's were getting irritated, too, because it was preventing them from sending off the car. We tried to tell him nevermind, we didn't HAVE to ride in the back, but he just ignored us once we'd already stepped aside. It was the first time I felt guilty for making a request.

 

[autismmom1]

We always ask for the front on the roller coasters for our first ride...it's less intense and helps us get back into the groove of riding after a year's hiatus. We also asked for the front row on ToT this time because the last time we rode (which was several years ago and our first time on the attraction) the people in front of us put their hands up and blocked our faces in the ride photo. We know we're not going to put our hands up, so we won't ruin anyone's pic...and no one will be in front of us to worry about either!

 

[Happiest.Haunt_999]

I usually kindly ask the CM for back or middle on BTMRR and SDMT and never have a problem. For BTMRR they usually put us right in at a certain gate, and then for SDMT they ask me to step to the side with them. Just be aware that if you will be riding solo, esp on SDMT you will be riding with a stranger as I did last trip.

Have fun OP!!

ETA: We've never had a issue with requesting to sit in a certain place on POTC either.

 

[Ress76]

We will do it occasionally, but not consistently, and only if it's convenient to ask-like when we were the second group held at Soarin' before you're assigned a section, so we asked and they obliged. I think we asked at BTMRR during the Halloween Party when it was a walk-on as well. I would never hold up a line to ask.

 

[jcvalenti]

I think I've asked to sit front row, center unit on Soarin' almost every single time I've ever ridden it since it first opened. Never had a problem at all - and we usually travel with a group of between 8 to 22. We always make sure whoever is at the front of the line has an exact count to provide the CM, and we all know that they usually will ask you to move up and step aside to let them finish loading the current vehicles. It's never been a problem at all, and I've never had a CM even bat an eyelash at the request. If it ever seemed like a problem, or they indicated it would difficult to comply, it would be no problem at all - but they've always been happy to comply. If you haven't sat there, do it - it's far superior than seeing people's legs in your field of view (which is a problem when you're tall with me).

My youngest also loves sitting in the front row of Expedition Everest (so you can see out all over Disney when you get to peak with the broken track). That's never been a problem either.

 

[KenHutch]

I always ask for the front of Everest and only once did I encounter anything but help. A woman behind us said it was their turn. We just waited for the next one even thou we were in front of her.

 

[ArielSRL]

I'm ashamed to admit I occasionally do this. Primarily on 7DMT, BTMRR, Barnstormer. CMs mostly just smile and have you stand off to the side, no issues.

I asked to be on the front row on FEA this last trip because I was tired of our ride photos on that ride being so terrible (my young kids were always buried behind adults in front of us and not visible). I could tell the CM was annoyed with my request that time.

I do try to be selective when I do as to not be totally obnoxious.

You can't even see me in our ride photo on FEA. All the boys (DH and small children) can be seen though! I'm not sure that we will repeat it again very often unless one of the boys asks, so I guess I won't need to remember to ask for something different.

 

[ArielSRL]

And I like to ask for 'not the front row' because every time I sit there I get wet from water coming over the side on the last drop. Just rolled with it in November when I got placed there and sure enough

I'm going back to my request! Plus, I did always feel bad being in front of little kids. I do agree that the CMs are not as amenable to requests on FEA as they are on other rides.

I always ask for back row on Splash so I don't get (as) wet!

 

[acwsmom]

CM's tend to laugh at us at Soarin. DH and DS always ask to sit on the bottom row and DD and I always ask to sit on the top row. But they've never been bothered by our requests. DH and DS usually get to go ahead and get on while DD and I have to stand off to the side and wait. We always assure them we don't mind being split up and we don't mind waiting, so it never seems to be a big deal.

 

[1lilspark]

When I’m single I always ask for back of big thunder and front of splash when I’m riding with others it’s around a 60/40 split of requesting that vs sitting where assigned

 

[BeachPrincess]

If they didn't want me to ask to fly B1 each time on Soarin' they shouldn't have made the Eiffel Tower look like it has osteoporosis from everywhere else.

Totally agree! We always request the middle and have never had an issue. We are asked to step aside and wait but it's never a long wait and so worth it.

 

[SirDuff]

I failed to mention. I’ll also be a single rider for this trip. I’m going to ask - I only have a small number of requests.

I think that it is only an issue if you are using the single rider line (which is only on Expedition Everest, Rock'n Roller Coaster and Test Track). The point of those lines is to fill available space, so I wouldn't ask for a specific seat. Other than that, I see no harm is asking (and generally do for Soarin').

 

[DisneyHardin]

During our trip last month I requested the back row on Pirates and Frozen to try and cut down on any chance of getting wet and I requested the front row on Living with the Land for more leg room. Each time our request was granted with no problem.

 

[TravelingTotMom]

With my preschooler, we will usually request the front row on it's a small world, Living with the Land and the Gran Fiesta Tour - but only if it is still available when it's our turn to load. Then he can see everything without sitting on a lap.

Most of the time on these rides it seems they load front to back, so it's almost always not an issue. Only one time were we denied on it's a small world, and the Cast Member was a bit rude about it, but we chalked it up to him probably just having a bad day. The rest of the Cast Members don't blink at the request, but again, we only do it if the front is available, so it's not really inconvenient or anything since we were already going to take up another empty row.

 

[YawningDodo]

It has never been an issue for us on Soarin', or anything else for that matter. I'm very tall, with long legs. I used to try to remember the locations for the seats with the most legroom for things like Pirates and IASW, but I've learned to just mention my need to the CM and they have always been more than accommodating to seat me in the best seat for my comfort.

Yeah, most of the time if I request a specific seat anymore it's because I know my legs don't fit comfortably in other seats. The big one in Disneyland last month was the Matterhorn -- I could fit in the back seats, but my knees pressed hard enough against the seat in front of me to get bruised. When I'm with a group it's often easier to just swap our positions around in that kind of situation (I was usually riding with at least one other person, so odds were good one of our seats would be the front of a sled without having to request it), but when I'm solo I end up making more requests. I hadn't really thought about just asking the CM for a row with more legroom instead of requesting a specific spot, but you're right, they should know where to put you.

We almost always request the back on rides where it's applicable, except for Tower, where we usually request the front row. I usually do the asking, and always make it a point to say "Is it possible to wait for...", "Can we wait for...", "Would it be ok if we wait for..." so they know we don't EXPECT it or DEMAND it. If they were to tell us no for whatever reason, we would be completely fine with that.

Ditto this as well. I think the big takeaway from this thread is to be polite, express that you understand you will probably need to wait an extra ride and/or have your group split, and be ready to accept a "no" if the CM can't accommodate you. Generally, too, I avoid making special requests on rides that are very new and very popular (unless I simply can't ride in a certain seat without being hurt) as the CM's already have a lot to contend with.

 

[Pdollar88]

I think that it is only an issue if you are using the single rider line (which is only on Expedition Everest, Rock'n Roller Coaster and Test Track). The point of those lines is to fill available space, so I wouldn't ask for a specific seat. Other than that, I see no harm is asking (and generally do for Soarin').

I actually went ahead and got a FP for all of the attractions that I would want to request a specific seat/area for. So I'll have merged and be along with everyone else by the time of seating. I'm excited!

 

[22Tink]

The only ride I do this on is Soarin'. I always request the centre section. They really need to do something to improve the distortion. The Eiffel Tower isn't curved!