Rider swap question

[HPS3]

I am wondering if the rider swap can only be used if you have a child that doesn't meet height requirements or if there are other exceptions. This is why- we have an 8 year old who will ride almost anything, and a 4 year old who is tall enough to ride most things, but is scared. (And this is fine, we won't force them on something they are truly afraid of.) So that leaves one parent to ride with 8 year old and one to wait with 4 year old. Then in theory without rider swap that parent would either have to just skip riding or go stand back in line either alone or with 8 year old all over again. We had one experience last year where we were fortunate enough to have cast members give us a rider swap when our 4 year old fell asleep in line. They let me stand and hold her while my husband and 8 year old rode, then once
they unloaded, my husband took sleepy head and I rode with our 8 year old. I didn't know if this was purely out of pity since we had stood in line so long (it was Mine Train without a fast pass so you could imagine), or if this was actually a policy. Any experiences or information is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[cakebaker]

I go by the official website on this. Others do not. But here's what it says:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/rider-switch/

If Guests in your party don’t want to board an attraction, you don’t have to miss out. One adult can wait with the non-rider while the rest of the party experiences the attraction. The waiting adult can then board the attraction without having to wait in the regular line again when another adult in the party returns to supervise the child or children who do not ride—either because they do not meet the height requirement or simply do not wish to ride.

We have done it before and did not have a problem. Others may have, but we didn't even realize it could be a problem at the time. We just did it expecting it would happen and it did.

 

[mom2rtk]

I imagine like so many things it will come down to how the ride operator wants to handle it. I bet with a 4 year old they'll let you do it.

Good luck!

 

[cakebaker]

Agreed. It's probably important to know that ours was 2 1/2 at the time, is now 3.

 

[7KLucky]

I go by the official website on this. Others do not. But here's what it says:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/rider-switch/



We have done it before and did not have a problem. Others may have, but we didn't even realize it could be a problem at the time. We just did it expecting it would happen and it did.

It does say "Guest" with no requirement. I'm sure 99% of it is in the way you approach it. I've never seen anyone turned down.....

 

[HPS3]

Thanks guys! This alleviates some anxiety I've been having wondering about this! We have to make the most of our time, as you all know.

 

[Dis703]

Like pp said officially it's not just for height but I've read conflicting reports from people.

We were checking in to get a FP at a ride recently (can't remember which one but possibly RRC) and the family in front of us was asking about this exactly. They told her that because she's tall enough they would go through the line and get the rider swap before boarding instead of at the line entrance.