Rider Swap Question

[JakeAZ]

I know this has been discussed in other forums, but I'm looking for a current view of what's happening in the parks.

We have 2 adults and 2 kids in our family. One of our kids will be tall enough to ride everything. The other will not be tall enough for things over 42 inches.

So for a ride where the smaller kid can't ride (say Space Mountain), my assumption is this:

We could book 2 FP for Space Mountain (one adult and taller kid)
We could book 2 FP for anther ride (smaller child and other adult)

We could then all go up to SM and request rider swap. Adult one and taller child would be able to ride SM and then adult 2 and taller child would be able to come back and do SM via rider swap. During this time, smaller child and other adult would be able to go on a their FP ride

I have seen posts where it is suggested everyone has to have a FP for the ride you are requesting rider swap for. That doesn't make any sense to me. Why would I waste a FP on my smaller child for a ride he can't ride? And then by not having an alternative FP for him, he'd be stuck hanging out or using a standby line while everyone else spends time riding SM.

I thought the point of rider swap was so both adults can ride the ride, but not at the expense of the smaller child.

I've also seen posts where it "depends on the CM" at the attraction. That's insane. Fast Passes are scheduled way in advance. There should not be an added layer of luck to be able to use them properly.

Any help is appreciated.

Hopefully my example made sense.

Thanks

 

[Brett Wyman]

I know this has been discussed in other forums, but I'm looking for a current view of what's happening in the parks.

We have 2 adults and 2 kids in our family. One of our kids will be tall enough to ride everything. The other will not be tall enough for things over 42 inches.

So for a ride where the smaller kid can't ride (say Space Mountain), my assumption is this:

We could book 2 FP for Space Mountain (one adult and taller kid)
We could book 2 FP for anther ride (smaller child and other adult)

We could then all go up to SM and request rider swap. Adult one and taller child would be able to ride SM and then adult 2 and taller child would be able to come back and do SM via rider swap. During this time, smaller child and other adult would be able to go on a their FP ride

I have seen posts where it is suggested everyone has to have a FP for the ride you are requesting rider swap for. That doesn't make any sense to me. Why would I waste a FP on my smaller child for a ride he can't ride? And then by not having an alternative FP for him, he'd be stuck hanging out or using a standby line while everyone else spends time riding SM.

I thought the point of rider swap was so both adults can ride the ride, but not at the expense of the smaller child.

I've also seen posts where it "depends on the CM" at the attraction. That's insane. Fast Passes are scheduled way in advance. There should not be an added layer of luck to be able to use them properly.

Any help is appreciated.

Hopefully my example made sense.

Thanks

Everyone who wants to rider swap needs a FP to the ride you will be swapping on. Meaning with a mom/dad/older kid the older kid can ride twice, once with each parent while the other parent watches the younger child, but all three need a FP to start that process. The older child will be scanned to ride twice if you ask (we just did this last week).

But they arent going to give a free FP to an adult who doesn't already have one for that ride. I suppose that does punish the smaller child but your option is to have an adult skip the bigger ride and ride a FP ride with the smaller child while the other adult is riding the bigger ride with the big kid. For instance the first adult you rode 7DMT will take out youngest on Winnie the Pooh with no FP while the second adult rides again(first time for that adult) with our older child.

That method is a good way to get two 7DMT/FOP/SDD/whatever rides in for a kid that wants it.

 

[JakeAZ]

Thanks for the reply.

So my older kid can ride a big ride twice via FP and my smaller kid can ride something his size via the standby line...

However, if we waited in the standby line for SM, they would give the other adult a FP for SM to come back via rider swap. Seems like a program designed to be "simple" has now become confusing.

 

[DavidNYC]

What is said in the first reply has NOT been my experience. We have many times done exactly what OP sets out which also makes the most logical sense in terms of how it works.

When you get to the queue they will ask who is waiting and a digital rider swap will be placed on those bands of those waiting (up to 3 people total and you can only have one rider swap at any given time). The one question someone else can answer is whether the child riding twice also gets the rider swap added to the band that already has the FP (I assume the system takes the FP first and the rider swap second).

 

[Princess2R]

I just came back and did this.
Just to be safe, I booked fast passes for SDD/FOP/ 7DMT for both adult parties but at different times.
For example: I did my FOP at noon and the other at 1:00, my daughter is too little to ride so I just made arrangements like this to be sure!

Go to CM, ask for RS
They asked me " will party 1 be using fast pass or standby?" They calculate the return time for party 2 based on this.
They scan party 2's magic bands with a return time.

It was very smooth using this when you have a little one who can not ride and i think you will be pleasantly surprised.

I think some people say that it depends on the CM is maybe due to popularity of certain attractions / not wanting to encourage "cheating" of fast passes , etc.

 

[Brett Wyman]

What is said in the first reply has NOT been my experience. We have many times done exactly what OP sets out which also makes the most logical sense in terms of how it works.

When you get to the queue they will ask who is waiting and a digital rider swap will be placed on those bands of those waiting (up to 3 people total and you can only have one rider swap at any given time). The one question someone else can answer is whether the child riding twice also gets the rider swap added to the band that already has the FP (I assume the system takes the FP first and the rider swap second).

https://wdwprepschool.com/how-to-child-swap-rider-switch-at-disney-world/
According to this you are correct. I'll have to try next time we are there. It's never been an issue for us as our youngest is under 3 and doesn't get FPs at all.

 

[DavidNYC]

https://wdwprepschool.com/how-to-child-swap-rider-switch-at-disney-world/
According to this you are correct. I'll have to try next time we are there. It's never been an issue for us as our youngest is under 3 and doesn't get FPs at all.

It's a great way to do it. It makes a big difference for the child who cannot ride the bigger ride (it makes it so that they're only waiting for one party and you can tell the child they get to ride a special ride by themselves without the taller sibling). Although I always recommend to people that this works best if you can do it for rides that are in relatively close proximity to each other. When they had paper passes that were good all day (or even sometimes future days), we used to save them all up until the kids took a nap and then do them all at once! Luckily - we've finally outgrown needing them at all!

 

[JakeAZ]

So I'm currently chatting with someone from DW. The amount of bad info / advice they are giving me on this insane. This is why people get anxiety when it comes to all this planning.

I have been told you can't use FP with rider swap...obviously false

I have been advised to just go on the little kid rides that everyone can ride...***?

I'm not trying to game the system. We are going over Spring Break, so lines will be long. I just don't want my smaller kid to get stuck in standby lines while his older brother gets to go on the big rides multiple times with less of a wait. If the only solution is to split up the rides (1 adult / one kid for big ride and 1 / 1 for small ride) well that sucks for the parents as they will only be able to ride half the big rides...

I also don't want to have CM discretion be involved at any point. I have to plan dining 180 days out. Fast passes 60 days out...I don't feel like having to make an argument every time we try to do rider swap.

They have now offered to call the guest services at the parks, so I'll update whatever comes back there, but my concern is the chat rep won't convey the actual situation properly.

 

[mickey520]

I also don't want to have CM discretion be involved at any point. I have to plan dining 180 days out. Fast passes 60 days out...I don't feel like having to make an argument every time we try to do rider swap.

I'm in the same boat. We were there three years ago, when they still had the paper fastpasses. And yes, we were able to "game the system" by having one fastpass for Space Mountain and one for 7DMT at the same time, and use rider swap to have both adults and big brother ride multiple rides in a pretty small amount of time. I totally understand them wanting to eliminate that, but it should be a very clear policy, not one that is up to the CM. Either everyone needs to have a FP or only Group 1.

 

[JakeAZ]

Ok here's what guest relations said at the park:


Person on chat:

Okay, so I spoke with Guest Relations at Magic Kingdom® Park. She said you are absolutely right in your initial post.

My original post was:

My understanding of rider swap is for a ride like space mountain or flight of passage, I would book a fast pass for one adult and the taller child only and then approach the queue and tell the CM we would like to do rider swap. This way the other adult and smaller child can go enjoy another attraction they have fast passes for and later on my wife can return with our taller son to ride the original rider swap ride.


Chat person:

She said that someone has to wait in line regardless if it was with a Disney's FastPass®+ or in the Standby Queue. She said make sure that if you do split up different experiences, to make sure that the younger children go to the Cast Member where they will give you the Rider Switch because they have to see the kids.

I have copied this chat and will have it with me.


I also just got off the phone with someone at DW and they were SUPER HELPFUL and completely understood what I was saying.

She confirmed multiple times my understanding is correct. However, she did point out if the non riding child is tall enough to ride the ride, you all have to have FP or you all have to wait standby and then can do rider swap at loading if one of the kids didn't want to ride.

I'm feeling better about this, but still feel like not all CMs are on the same page.

 

[misstangled]

SDMT are 100% enforcing the all riders, even those riding in group 2, need a FP and they will then exchange the FP for rider switch.

 

[JakeAZ]

Great. So both people with DW I talked to today gave me bad info.

Different rides shouldn’t have different policies.

Making everyone in group 2 have a fast pass totally penalizes the younger child or the other adult. You either have to:
1. give up going on the big ride as the adult, so you can do a smaller ride via fast pass with the other child.
2. use a standby line with the smaller child on a different ride because you can’t have the same fast pass with them.
3. Make the smaller child wait while everyone in the family goes on the big ride and the older sibling rides twice

Basically, people abused the system with loopholes and now Disney made it family unfriendly.

So far, our Universal day in the middle of our trip with Express Passes sounds like it will be just the break we need from the Disney FP madness.

 

[lanejudy]

I also don't want to have CM discretion be involved at any point.

The CM at the ride at the time you are there has authority - bringing a screenshot/printout of a chat or email or phone call will not override that CM. The major headliners often require party2 to also have FP if party1 does. Sometimes this isn’t enforced, particularly on the lesser rides. Your choice if you want to chance it without FP for all. FOP and 7DMT in particular can be sticklers.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[Feberin]

Unless you're going at a really busy time you'll probably be able to find fun stuff for your younger child that doesn't require a fast pass. When we went last time my kids enjoyed the people mover while I rode Space Mountain. And then I got them a snack and took them on a bathroom break while he rode it. It's not like you're talking hours of time.

 

[JakeAZ]

It's frustrating that DisneyWorld guest services is giving bad info.

This is not some start up company. People spend lots of money and time on these trips. A firm answer, across the board, isn't too much to ask.

It shouldn't be luck of the CM.

 

[lynzi2004]

We were just there last week and overall our experience was fine. Many times when we went through the FP I had a FP for everyone bc the non-rider was a year old and didn't care. A few times when booking 4th FP, I would split us up depending on availability, etc. Those times that I didn't have FP we had no issue getting me one for the big rides while I took the little guy on Buzz, PeopleMover, etc. Now do understand I did not try this for SDD, FOP, or 7DMT. It was important for me to get to do those as they are some of our favorites. But not having FP for me was fine on Splash, Space, and Kali River.

The biggest thing I will caution you on is the LENGTH of time it takes to go through some rides twice. I actually turned down second rides on Space, Splash, ToT, and RnRC simply bc just the first group going WITH FP they were gone for nearly 30 min and as a whole our group was ready to move on and do something else. Or if it was early in the morning, other lines were quickly getting long and it wasn't worth it to sit there and wait again and face long lines elsewhere. I realize people were abusing the system before, I know its been debated/argued for and against on the boards, and I know that I should be thankful that Disney offers anything at all to those of us with too short kids, but I MUCH preferred the paper option so we could loop back around later in the day during nap time or whatever.

OP I hope you have a fabulous trip, try not to worry about it too much. In the grand scheme of things, your kiddos will probably have to take a bathroom break or decide they would rather meet a character during the times that your worked so hard to get the right FP! Trust me, I know this from experience last week! lol But overall, ALL the CMs we encountered were more than happy to work with us!

 

[JakeAZ]

Thanks Lynzi. You are probably right about things changing, but we haven't been to DW in 10 years and probably won't go back for another 10. I just want to make sure my wife and I aren't shut out of the bigger "must do" rides. But I also don't want our riding them to be at the expense of our 4 year old.

 

[cantsayNolaf]

SDMT are 100% enforcing the all riders, even those riding in group 2, need a FP and they will then exchange the FP for rider switch.

How are you gonna come in here and say 100% and not give any reasoning or examples??????

 

[misstangled]

Because I’ve spent the last three weeks in the parks and I’ve been told this personally and heard it being told many, many times to other families wanting RS. Believe me or not, that’s up to you.

 

[cantsayNolaf]

Because I’ve spent the last three weeks in the parks and I’ve been told this personally and heard it being told many, many times to other families wanting RS. Believe me or not, that’s up to you.

Thank you. That is very helpful information. Can you give a list of rides where you experienced this? Was is just Seven Dwarfs and other big rides, or all across the board? Since you were just recently there, you are in a unique position to provide some clarity as this is obviously a pretty important topic of discussion here.

Also, looking at your post in the other thread. You stated "SDMT is literally the only ride we’ve been told that group 2 riders must have a FP. " Can you clarify?

I know it may seem that people are trying to argue with but you literally hold the keys to castle with this information. Soooo many people with young kids are planning around the FP+ and RS and the amount of confusion is astounding.