Rider Swap with Autistic Teenager

[lynzi2004]

My friends will be heading to Disney for a day this weekend. Their 15 year old son has autism and can’t be left unattended. He will not be interested in riding any of the bigger rides. They will also have their 9 year old daughter along…will rider swap be allowed in this instance. Parent one ride with DD, while parent two waits with DS and then switch?? They would be eligible for DAS but since he won’t ride, that isn’t an option, right?!

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

My friends will be heading to Disney for a day this weekend. Their 15 year old son has autism and can’t be left unattended. He will not be interested in riding any of the bigger rides. They will also have their 9 year old daughter along…will rider swap be allowed in this instance. Parent one ride with DD, while parent two waits with DS and then switch?? They would be eligible for DAS but since he won’t ride, that isn’t an option, right?!

Probably but I’ve heard of this being inconsistently applied by cast members with some requiring that you have someone who is actually not tall enough for hte ride and others not caring.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

My friends will be heading to Disney for a day this weekend. Their 15 year old son has autism and can’t be left unattended. He will not be interested in riding any of the bigger rides. They will also have their 9 year old daughter along…will rider swap be allowed in this instance. Parent one ride with DD, while parent two waits with DS and then switch?? They would be eligible for DAS but since he won’t ride, that isn’t an option, right?!

I hope someone with direct DAS experience can answer, but my impression is that DAS is for whatever reasonable accommodation is needed. Not just line stuff. I feel like wanting it for Rider Swap on someone older/taller than usual is perfectly within DAS purview.

 

[lanejudy]

You can ask for Rider Swap, but more often than not it is denied for a person tall enough to enter the queue. Can the teen do the queue? If so, you can do a swap at boarding. If he won't do the queue, I suggest Genie+.

They can still request a DAS. It may help with the attractions the son will do. The DAS-holder must ride, so if they know he won't it's not a good idea to use DAS, they could end up waiting and then be denied the opportunity to ride. More information about DAS is available on the disABILITIES Forum.

 

[lynzi2004]

Thank you all! I will pass this info along and will take a look at disabilities board to see if there’s any other circumstances like this!

 

[HopperFan]

I've been refused and my DS obviously needs supervision. The suggestion is that we all go through the queue together and do the swap at the end. I couldn't do that because it would be more upsetting to my son that he didn't get to ride so I would do something else with him while the others did the big ride they wanted to go on. But it can't hurt to ask.

 

[DLgal]

Unfortunately, I think you are simply going to have to take turns riding and alternate who waits with your son. We have 2 autistic teens and just basically have had to skip rides that one or the other won't do, or split up. There are no accommodations for this scenario.

 

[Pyxie]

My son is 13 and we do rider swap with him all the time. He is scared of anything halfway thrilling. We never run into any issues.

 

[Jenis]

According to its website, you should be allowed to do this. Unfortunately, many CMs believe rider switch is only to be used for kids who are not tall enough but that’s only half of what it says online

 

[elvispursley]

I'd show the if there happens to be a CM who refuses to allow you to Ride Switch with your son the above from Disney's website

 

[DLgal]

I'd show the if there happens to be a CM who refuses to allow you to Ride Switch with your son the above from Disney's website

The thing is, they get hung up on "child." They won't consider a teen a child in most cases.

 

[Jenis]

The thing is, they get hung up on "child." They won't consider a teen a child in most cases.

But that’s the thing, the first line says “if guests in your party can’t or don’t want to…”

The reference to “child” is used only once and as an example of how it can be used.

 

[DLgal]

But that’s the thing, the first line says “if guests in your party can’t or don’t want to…”

The reference to “child” is used only once and as an example of how it can be used.

I know, but a lot of the CMs just apply it to young children.

 

[elvispursley]

I ordered mine a few months back. I can see them in my MDE. I'm staying at POP. Will they be in my room or must I pick them up at front desk? Are they linked already then or must i still do that myself? (i see them as 'active' in my MDE).
Also, i ordered 4. I can see 3 of them depicted in the MDE app but the 4th one does not have a picture next to it anymore of the exact one I ordered (just the number of the mb). It was a silver parkle one for my daughter. Will I still receive this one or does it mean it is sold out (even if i bought it a while ago) and I will receive some sort of replacement?

I know, but a lot of the CMs just apply it to young children.

Except it clearly states "or other guest" after child and even talks about "other guest" needing adult supervision. I don't typically like to go to guest services, but I absolutely would for this situation.

 

[tlm345]

We have had hit or miss CMs with our daughter. Two great rides: slinky dog dash…everyone can be in line and they have a HUGE area by the exit where they also park scooters and wheelchairs. They have the nonriders slide over there and then swap and enter the exit. It was flawless and at no point did we feel awkward doing it. The second being Flight of Passage. Go through the ride and pre show. All non riders walk through the ride boarding room and sit on a bench outside the “theatre” my daughter felt comfortable enough to sit there and play on her phone while we rode. There was a cast member there as well. He was nice and even offered to let our daughter ride if she changed her mind after we rode, but she wasn’t interested.
We had an opposite experience at big thunder. CM approved our rider swap after looking flabbergasted at our request. We rode, and swapped, but as a parent I felt awkward like we did something wrong or made him bend some kind of rule. It really put me off so much I was afraid to ask other places. (This occurred before we discovered Slinky and FoP)

 

[HopperFan]

As a person who has been refused rider switch for my DS ...

I know what the website says BUT rider switch can absolutely be implemented at the end of the line which is often what is offered to families with all tall enough guests. The reasoning for the outside the line switch is because they can't allow children that are too short to go through the queue to swap at the end (I remember when they actually did allow us to do this on SM).

And as we always say no matter what a phone CM or anyone else says the only decision that matters is from the on the ground CM at the attraction. Sometimes due to circumstances we may not be aware of rules can change or be implemented different from time to time.