Rider Swap and MaxPass

[DnA2010]

Hi there,

Just wondering if there are any updates regarding Rider Swap and MaxPass? Just wondering if we should be building into our budget- our party is my family (DH, DD13 and DD1.5) and my sister's family (her, her DH, their DS1.5) and our mom-

Thanks as always

 

[tnzzz]

I think it’s been fairly consistent since last fall. We went in September then again in December and the only difference was that they were better about return times in December with rider swap. Our rider swap return time was usually 20 or so minutes after the first party used their fast pass (with maxpass).
If you want to budget it looks like based on your party you could get maxpass for your family (minus 1.5yo) and the other three adults could stay with the littles then use the rider swap to have their turn. They wouldn’t need Maxpass in that case. The only time you would need to collect paper fastpass is for rides the littles can do, HM, Buzz, and TS.

 

[DnA2010]

I think it’s been fairly consistent since last fall. We went in September then again in December and the only difference was that they were better about return times in December with rider swap. Our rider swap return time was usually 20 or so minutes after the first party used their fast pass (with maxpass).
If you want to budget it looks like based on your party you could get maxpass for your family (minus 1.5yo) and the other three adults could stay with the littles then use the rider swap to have their turn. They wouldn’t need Maxpass in that case. The only time you would need to collect paper fastpass is for rides the littles can do, HM, Buzz, and TS.

So we would get return times with Max Pass, and then get rider swap when we went to redeem correct?

 

[tnzzz]

So we would get return times with Max Pass, and then get rider swap when we went to redeem correct?

Yes, you would get your return times initially with maxpass, then when you get to the first entrance where they scan your tickets you would request rider swap and they would scan the tickets of the other members of your party and give them a new return time (usually 20-30 minutes after those are scanned).
You should be able to use Rider Swap for up to 3 guests each time.
If you haven’t done so already, read up on the service here:
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/rider-switch/

 

[DSNY4ever]

We haven't been since Max Pass began, did they change rider switch for people not using Max Pass too? I read the rider switch link above and we never had to have our tickets scanned before and we never had to wait in the designated area before- we would wander off, go potty, push the stroller through the gift shop etc. Have they really changed this and become more strict on everything?

 

[tnzzz]

We haven't been since Max Pass began, did they change rider switch for people not using Max Pass too? I read the rider switch link above and we never had to have our tickets scanned before and we never had to wait in the designated area before- we would wander off, go potty, push the stroller through the gift shop etc. Have they really changed this and become more strict on everything?

It’s the same with or without maxpass now. But you have to use your park tickets to scan in when entering a ride too. There are no longer fast pass tickets to scan. It all goes on your park ticket or AP. There is no area you are required to wait in, only off to the side initially to show you have a child who cannot ride. Then you are free to leave.

 

[Ava]

How do they handle it if you have a child who is tall enough to ride, but is too scared to ride? Is it worth asking for a Rider Swap in that case, or do CMs tend to say no if the child is tall enough?

I ask because my younger DD will be 5 on our trip this summer so will be tall enough for probably everything except Indiana Jones & the new Incredibles coaster. But she does not like roller coasters at all, or anything with big/fast drops. (7 Dwarfs Mine Train at WDW really freaked her out last summer.) So she will not ride BTMRR, Space, Splash, Matterhorn, Goofy's Sky School, or Mission Breakout. I still plan to get MaxPass for all of us, but am wondering if we may be able to get Rider Swap for the aforementioned rides even though she's tall enough or if we'll just have to get 4 FPs for them and "swap" that way with my older DD using younger DD's FP to ride with the 2nd adult.

 

[lcp9]

There was a lot of controversy when it first started regarding having to sit around and wait for your RS time to open up, but back in November at least, CMs were pretty good about just letting you on when party #1 was done. They don't care which tickets the switches go on - you just need to present 3 tickets for them to scan them on to (so remember who gets the switches - it's almost easiest to have the same 3 tickets take the switches every time.) We had a party of 7, with an infant, and we bought the tickets through LMT so there was no good way to tell which ticket was whose on the DL app and with that many people and some riding and some not it can get kind of dicey because then all of a sudden you'll have multiple experience passes for some people and not others and you have no idea which ride it was for because you also had rider switch on there and yada yada. Anyway - with most families it probably isn't a big deal, but my husband and I went with our 3 kids, my parents and my brother, and since you have a similar type of party just be aware from the beginning that you have to stay on top of what passes are what in the DL app (if you buy through DL, I believe you can label them so that eliminates that problem.)