Requesting seats/area of a ride?

[happypaws]

I think most CMs are pretty tolerant of this. Other guests on the other hand are a different story. Last time when getting on to Kali with my SO, there were two groups of three who has split down the middle, leaving two separated seats. I had politely asked if one group could move around so I could sit next to my SO and if looks I got could kill! Before I could ask the CM to go on the next raft, the ride was out the gate. Next time I will just get out and wait for another raft, rather than inconvenience another guest.

 

[LilyWDW]

Thanks for the tip on Soarin' every one! I will make note of asking for B1 on our next trip for sure for my best friend and I.

 

[YawningDodo]

I think most CMs are pretty tolerant of this. Other guests on the other hand are a different story. Last time when getting on to Kali with my SO, there were two groups of three who has split down the middle, leaving two separated seats. I had politely asked if one group could move around so I could sit next to my SO and if looks I got could kill! Before I could ask the CM to go on the next raft, the ride was out the gate. Next time I will just get out and wait for another raft, rather than inconvenience another guest.

Reminds me of going to a water park with my brother. One of the attractions was a giant slide with big, structured rafts that sat something like six people. Group of two ahead of us was getting on and we asked if we could share their raft (figured we might as well move the line along, plus you go faster with more weight) and wow, you'd think we'd asked to rifle through their dresser drawers. Once or twice I've had people act offended that they don't get a row to themselves when I've been put next to someone from the singles line, too. Thankfully those reactions are few and far between; most guests thankfully don't seem to care what other people do as long as you're not breaking any rules.

 

[Lesley Wake]

I've always been able to get whatever row I request.

For EE, they actually have a separate queue set aside for the front row. Once we had to wait a decent amount of time, another time we got on the next car.

For Flight of Passage, we did it 4x. The first 2 times we were in the center row, but different sides of the screen. The next 2 times we requested the bottom row, then the top row, and were directed immediately into those lines. (FYI-if you do get to ride multiple times, I would absolutely recommend asking for different seating areas each time; it gives a totally new experience each time!)

 

[Lothlórien]

I frequently see mention of requesting a seat or location on a ride. I'm usually afraid to do this because I hate to inconvenience the cast member. Is it generally acceptable or is it frowned upon?

Most folks didn't make requests when I worked in Space Mountain, unless they really didn't understand that it was a single seat ride and continued to say "they didn't want to be split up."

I'm thinking of BTMRR and 7DMT (the back) or the sweet spot in Soarin (which I still don't remember off the top of my head). Would this extend my wait and/or inconvenience others? I'd like to avoid both things.

Doing this is fine. The CM may ask you to wait if need be. If the CM seems "cross" about it, most likely that is not the case. They need to place people and load as quickly as possible, therefore they respond quickly and move on to the next.

 

[NH-to-FL]

DW and I did a quick Epcot visit yesterday and were smoothly granted our request to sit in Soarin' row B1. We weren't the only people to make the request as there were a few in front of us. This put us right in the center of row B1! Perfect!

 

[Cinderella94]

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.

Did this work? I was prepared to get wet but surprised at how wet I actually got on Pirates in July - we were in the front row, though.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Did this work? I was prepared to get wet but surprised at how wet I actually got on Pirates in July - we were in the front row, though.

No one in our boat ended up getting wet, but I had read that the last row rarely got as wet as the front.

 

[Djm_in_buffalo]

In this vein …and in a thread last active 6 years ago… how about for toddlers / wee ones? Going with a 40” tall kiddo in a month. Don’t plan on doing the heavy hitters, but some of the slower rides, I’d think if we weren’t in front, she wouldn’t be able to see half of it?

 

[BlovesC]

DH and I request odd rows (as in, not the backseat) every time we ride Cosmic Rewind and RnR, we're always polite and patient and it's never been a problem. Even on CR we've never had to wait more than a minute or two, usually they redirect us to an odd number immediately!

 

[scrappinginontario]

You can request. May just need to wait longer but know that some rides they could possibly see less due to front cars. (E.g Slinky Dog, Goofy’s Roller Coaster.)

Personally I wouldn’t concern it as the view really will not be too much different.

 

[musicguy856]

For BTMRR go to the left hand side if it’s open. The right hand side is where they load wheelchairs from the exit so row requests are more difficult there.

 

[Robber Baron]

We always politely ask for B1 on Soarin'

Sometimes I'll ask for front row on EE or RRC, the front rows on roller coasters seem to be a little less bumpy and don't make my brain bounce around the sides of my brain pan.

And, no cast members have ever rolled their eyes or looked at us funny, or seemed put out by it.

 

[SL6827]

Always be most polite when asking and it can get you good results!

 

[BrianL]

For BTMRR go to the left hand side if it’s open. The right hand side is where they load wheelchairs from the exit so row requests are more difficult there.

I never realized that - interesting.

 

[TikiRob]

We've requested on a bunch of rides... Soarin', Cosmic Rewind, Slinky, Tower of Terror, Big Thunder, Seven Dwarfs... Just be polite and ask and realize it isn't guaranteed. Only once was the Cast Member rude about us requesting the back on Slinky. He stuck us to the side and repeated to seat other parties in the back.

 

[musicguy856]

I never realized that - interesting.

One time I requested the back row on the right side and there was a wheelchair party filling the last couple of rows so they ended up placing me just a few rows from the back. I think if I had gone to the left side I could have gotten the very back.

 

[redc]

We always ask for front row of RRC and EE

 

[SL6827]

I need the left side of SM now. The right side is just too rough for me now.

 

[JLTraveling]

As a former CM with friends who still work there, I can assure everyone that seating requests are no big deal at all! It's all sort of a game of Tetris anyway...depending on the ride you might need weight distribution, or to direct larger riders to specific seats, or to try and place parties to reduce the number of empty seats (especially if there's no single rider line). So a guest request is just one more piece of the mental puzzle we're doing for every boarding group anyway. And if we have to have you wait till the next ride cycle, in a way that's made our job easier, because it gives us an anchor point to start that boarding group (the other big anchor point is wheelchairs/transfers, because they can only go in certain spots).

Definitely be prepared to wait a cycle or two, but CMs will generally let you know if there's already a line for the seat you requested and about how long the wait will be. And there are occasional instances where the request might not be possible (for example, if you're on an ECV, B1 of Soarin' is impossible, because ECVs can't make the tight turn...at least, that was the case when my dad was using an ECV a few years ago). And of course, anyone can have a bad day, including CMs, so you might run into someone grumpy. But honestly, for 99.99% of situations and 99.99% of CMs, we want you to sit where you want to sit, and it's no big deal at all for us, so request away!

ETA: Just don't do what some guests do and decide to wander into the row you'd like rather than the one we assigned. That's a first-class ticket to a grumpy CM, as well as grumpy guests whose seats you've now taken. Always request before you're assigned a row.