Rider Swap with a kid that is tall enough, but is scared-

[riddlemethis]

Hi everyone!

Question:
My husband and 6y/o and 8y/o are heading for our first Disney trip in the spring.

The 6 y/o will not ride anything that comes off the ground. Period. Not even the carousel. Me, my husband and 8y/o will ride anything and love it.

Can we get Rider Swap passes for rides that the 6y/o is tall enough to ride, but is too scared to ride?

Would the 8y/o get to ride twice?

Are rider swaps only for rides we have Fast Pass for?

Thanks.

 

[hodad]

I think the answer is maybe. I got one at Big Thunder Mountain RR for my 6yo in December, but it's about as guaranteed as getting connected resort rooms.

 

[anticipating]

Technically no, that is not what a rider switch is for. Some attractions will require you to show the child that is too short in order to receive the pass. But that's not saying that it couldn't happen, just don't count on it.

 

[Dis703]

You may or may not be able to get a rider swap pass. It may depend not only on the ride but the CM you deal with. It seems to go both ways from reports.

 

[lizard1]

In my experience at TOT, they will let you swap, but it isn't in the same way as a child that is too short for a ride and cannot enter the queue. They had us go all of the way through the queue with the child and then when it was time to board sent one parent and the child not riding down the chicken exit. After the other parent and children rode, and went down the exit, the first parent was able to come back up and ride (with the other children). I know Disney's policies say that a rider swap can be used for children who aren't tall enough or who don't want to ride, but it doesn't specify that their accommodations have to be the same for both circumstances.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Hi everyone!

Question:
My husband and 6y/o and 8y/o are heading for our first Disney trip in the spring.

The 6 y/o will not ride anything that comes off the ground. Period. Not even the carousel. Me, my husband and 8y/o will ride anything and love it.

Can we get Rider Swap passes for rides that the 6y/o is tall enough to ride, but is too scared to ride?

Would the 8y/o get to ride twice?

Are rider swaps only for rides we have Fast Pass for?

Thanks.

Both children are tall enough, so we got four fastpasses. We did this several times last month. One of us would wait with the non-riding kid (9yo) and the other one would ride with the riding child (11yo). afterward, the other adult would ride with the riding child one more time. This required us to all get fastpasses, even for the non-riding child.

You cannot get a fastpass for a ride where the child is not tall enough.

 

[Accident]

The 6 y/o will not ride anything that comes off the ground. Period. Not even the carousel.

A lot of the coasters don't actually come off the ground. Disney builds the landscape close enough that it just looks like fancy train tracks. You'll be able to see the tracks for most of the rides that might be an issue with being in the air. don't take him on peter pan as that's a flying boat hanging from the ceiling. the monorail might be interesting for him also.

Check out youtube videos about rides to get an idea of what each one is like.

 

[Princess Minnie321]

A CM offered me a rider swap for star tours when my daughter who was just measured to be tall enough said she did not want to go on the ride.

 

[smiths02]

Both children are tall enough, so we got four fastpasses. We did this several times last month. One of us would wait with the non-riding kid (9yo) and the other one would ride with the riding child (11yo). afterward, the other adult would ride with the riding child one more time. This required us to all get fastpasses, even for the non-riding child.

You cannot get a fastpass for a ride where the child is not tall enough.

Hi everyone!

Question:
My husband and 6y/o and 8y/o are heading for our first Disney trip in the spring.

The 6 y/o will not ride anything that comes off the ground. Period. Not even the carousel. Me, my husband and 8y/o will ride anything and love it.

Can we get Rider Swap passes for rides that the 6y/o is tall enough to ride, but is too scared to ride?

Would the 8y/o get to ride twice?

Are rider swaps only for rides we have Fast Pass for?

Thanks.

Rider swaps are not only for rides you have a FP+ for, you can get a rider swap if you are going through the regular line or the FP+ line.

I would not plan on being able to get a Rider Swap for a 6 y/o that is too scared, you may or may not.

We did something similar to PP. Get a FP+ for everyone in your party, Dad and 8 year old could even be a little earlier than Dad and 6 year old. Dad and 8 year old ride with their FP+, while mom waits with 6 year old. Then 8 year old switches magic band with 6 year old and mom uses her FP+, so mom and 8 year old can ride.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

...
We did something similar to PP. Get a FP+ for everyone in your party, Dad and 8 year old could even be a little earlier than Dad and 6 year old. Dad and 8 year old ride with their FP+, while mom waits with 6 year old. Then 8 year old switches magic band with 6 year old and mom uses her FP+, so mom and 8 year old can ride.

That's definitely another way to do it. However, you may have a longer wait time doing it that way. That would require two full waits through the FP line - some of which could get very long. I guess it depends on the time you have and how long you're willing to take up time with this process.

Plus, I'm not sure about the legality (if any) of using others' bands within the parks.

 

[wilkeliza]

That's definitely another way to do it. However, you may have a longer wait time doing it that way. That would require two full waits through the FP line - some of which could get very long. I guess it depends on the time you have and how long you're willing to take up time with this process.

Plus, I'm not sure about the legality (if any) of using others' bands within the parks.

With riderswap it is always 2 full waits except for the few cases people have been boarded from the exit (the ToT story). There is nothing wrong with using someone else's MB for FP allotments if that person is giving you their band.

 

[wilkeliza]

OP official policy is you can get a swap since the child needs an adult to watch them if they chose not to ride however the practice is not as such for some unknown reason. You can either keep the portion of the website up and be willing to politely ask again and show where if are denied or speak with management. This is one of the many cases where the official policy doesn't match the practice for some unknown reason. Riderswap is also suppose to be used for those who are adults but may still need another adult to watch and care for them or people waiting behind with service animals but for whatever reason most CMs are trained that rider swap is for too short children only.

I do think more and more people who are denied the swap should actually bring it up to GR either through email or in person so Disney realizes the practice and website do not align so one or the other can be updated.

 

[smiths02]

That's definitely another way to do it. However, you may have a longer wait time doing it that way. That would require two full waits through the FP line - some of which could get very long. I guess it depends on the time you have and how long you're willing to take up time with this process.

Plus, I'm not sure about the legality (if any) of using others' bands within the parks.

Rider Swap you usually have to go through FP+ line again anyhow. As wilkeliza said

I'm not sure if it is considered against official policy. We did it on our last trip with our 3 year olds who were too short to ride some rides (helped us bypass Tiering at Epcot, got to ride Soarin' and Test Track). I figured that my family paid for 5 entrances which entitled my family to 15 FP+ reservations, and I decided how to use them. No CM questioned it at all (even though it was obvious that my DH wasn't a 3 year old girl named Charlotte), and Disney was not out any money (I didn't switch bands for park admission or anything like that). I didn't take old magic bands and try to get extra FP+ like some people do either. I just decided who in my family would use the 15 FP+ reservations that we "paid" for as part of our admission.

 

[GreenDress]

You cannot get a fastpass for a ride where the child is not tall enough.

i don't understand how this would work. Do you have to give the height of the child and link it to their band?

 

[wilkeliza]

i don't understand how this would work. Do you have to give the height of the child and link it to their band?

You don't. That poster has no clue what they were talking about.

 

[GreenDress]

You don't. That poster has no clue what they were talking about.

Haha thanks for that. Looks like swapping out bands won't be an issue then.

 

[wilkeliza]

Haha thanks for that. Looks like swapping out bands won't be an issue then.

I've swaped bands before when someone doesn't want to ride. Heck I'm not wasting a Test Track FP haha.

 

[glk2009]

I am probably going to have the chance to test this out as YDD may or may not want to go on rides she is tall enough for now. I have a screenshot of the official policy and will keep my fingers crossed that we encounter understanding CMs.

And before she was tall enough, there was a lot of band swapping within my family. It was never an issue.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

You don't. That poster has no clue what they were talking about.

Excuse me? Not sure why you were being so rude.

I am saying that you have to meet height requirements in order to be allowed on a ride. If your child is not tall enough, how would they get a fast pass? Of course using the option to book the pass through the system will work, but they will not be allowed in the line for child swap.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

i don't understand how this would work. Do you have to give the height of the child and link it to their band?

They wouldn't be allowed to enter the fast pass line. Even in the case of child swap.