Rider Switch changing (Started June 16th)

[Krandor]

You all have to go to the entrance, get scanned, and then the waiting adult can take the too-short child wherever they want

Then I apologize. Something I read earlier indicated the current system didn't require the kids to be at the entrance.

 

[Krandor]

Already now you are suppose to bring everyone to the front of the line to show the CM who the too short child is and who would be swapping, etc. to get the paper rider switch

However, not all CMs enforce this and often as long as they can see the rest of the party and see the too short child, that is good enough (sometimes they don't even ask for this). But even now you should need to all be there to get the rider switch, and THEN you can take the too short child and do something else while the first part of the party rides the "big" ride

The difference now is all the Magic Bands would have to be at the front of the ride to get the electronic rider switch. I suppose it could still work like in the past where some of the party goes up and carries with them all the magic bands while the other part stays back (it can often be pretty congested at the front of the queue especially if you have a young one sleeping in a stroller or something

I was misunderstanding the new system then. Front of the Queue? Normally on most rides there is a FP MB scanner right at the entrance and then another near the merge point. Are you saying they have to scan not at the entrance scanner but at the second one?

 

[DizneyMommy]

- overall having to deal with Rider Switch overall makes the day less efficient - this isn't some amazing deal people with members in the party too short for some rides get ... I am very much looking forward to not having to deal with this

THIS!!!! We were done with RS because we have a big gap in age between child 2 and 3. Going back to RS is not something I was excited about. We tour muuuuch slower. We get 1 ride done for your 2. So while you might go on ride #1 and then move on to ride #2, we are still back at ride 1, and may never get a chance to ride #2. We ride less rides than you at the end of the day. My kids like riding again because they are with me, but they would much prefer moving on and getting to ride more diffferent rides.

 

[DizneyMommy]

I was misunderstanding the new system then. Front of the Queue? Normally on most rides there is a FP MB scanner right at the entrance and then another near the merge point. Are you saying they have to scan not at the entrance scanner but at the second one?

Everyone has to scan at #1.

A CM there will scan the band of the waiting adult and the guest they wish to bring back, and add a RS to their account.

The first party goes on to the ride

The waiting part waits.

When the first party gets off theride, they wait with the too-small child

Waiting adult and guest go on ride, scannning in with their RS

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I was misunderstanding the new system then. Front of the Queue? Normally on most rides there is a FP MB scanner right at the entrance and then another near the merge point. Are you saying they have to scan not at the entrance scanner but at the second one?

Front of the queue is probably incorrect on my end - normally it is at the point the queue goes inside - so guess I should say "entrance to the show building" or something like that

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

- If they enforce the everyone has to have a FP for the ride, then the FP for the members too short to ride get wasted as they would need a FP for the ride they are too short to ride (thus can't use it) and you can't give them a FP for a different ride that they could go on b/c they are too young to ride by themselves on those rides

This argument is always lost on me. If you don't want to "waste" a FP, then book FP for rides that everyone in your party can ride. Every park has FPs available that are not height restricted, there is no reason to waste a FP.

 

[DizneyMommy]

Then I apologize. Something I read earlier indicated the current system didn't require the kids to be at the entrance.

Some people have reported getting away with just asking for it. That’s llazy/inattentive on the CM’s part and shouldn’t happen. At DL we have never once not been asked to see the child.

 

[Krandor]

Front of the queue is probably incorrect on my end - normally it is at the point the queue goes inside - so guess I should say "entrance to the show building" or something like that

That makes more sense and was what I was thinking. Doing it at the second scanner would then be more like the universal system which we know this isn't.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

This argument is always lost on me. If you don't want to "waste" a FP, then book FP for rides that everyone in your party can ride. Every park has FPs available that are not height restricted, there is no reason to waste a FP.

except most of the rides that you get the most value from FP have a height restriction. So yes, we could only FP rides that everyone could go on, but then many in our group would miss out on many of the E-ticket attractions. I think if Disney is going to have rides with height restrictions, and ustilize a FP system that promotes getting FP for those rides, then this is what is going to happen. If no rides had height restrictions it wouldn't be an issue.

 

[DizneyMommy]

This argument is always lost on me. If you don't want to "waste" a FP, then book FP for rides that everyone in your party can ride. Every park has FPs available that are not height restricted, there is no reason to waste a FP.

I think his point was simply that their party already has an unused FP for the too-short child, so the child going a second time isn’t actually taking up an extra FP. They are simply replacing the one the too-small child had.

Disney forces us to do that in order to ride any height restricted rides and still get through our first 3. If you don’t get a TT FP+ for the 3 year old, then the 3 year old can’t get the 4th FP with the rest of the party.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Some people have reported getting away with just asking for it. That’s llazy/inattentive on the CM’s part and shouldn’t happen. At DL we have never once not been asked to see the child.

could be laziness/inattentiveness - but sometimes the crowds are just nuts and there aren't really enough CMs to handle everything at once. I do think they should at least ask "where is the rest of your party?" and then you can point out where they are ... I do get logistically not always mandating that the entire party come to the front if there are strollers and stuff involved.

At WDW I'd say it has been like 50/50 where they ask to at least see the rest of the party and a few times the first group has had to come get the rest of our party - or at least bring them closer to where the CM can fully see they are with the first party, etc.

 

[Krandor]

This argument is always lost on me. If you don't want to "waste" a FP, then book FP for rides that everyone in your party can ride. Every park has FPs available that are not height restricted, there is no reason to waste a FP.

Any trip planning is about making comprimises. If I go with a bunch of friends it may be that one person hates ToT or doesn't want to get wet on Splash Mountain so we plan FPs for things everybody wants to do and if SB permits those that want to can still try to hit ToT while they wait. Or you say, we'll get FP for ToT which we know you don't like but then we'll also get small world FPs because we know you love it (I know those are different parks but just an example). That is the nature of trip planning.

 

[DizneyMommy]

could be laziness/inattentiveness - but sometimes the crowds are just nuts and there aren't really enough CMs to handle everything at once. I do think they should at least ask "where is the rest of your party?" and then you can point out where they are ... I do get logistically not always mandating that the entire party come to the front if there are strollers and stuff involved.

At WDW I'd say it has been like 50/50 where they ask to at least see the rest of the party and a few times the first group has had to come get the rest of our party - or at least bring them closer to where the CM can fully see they are with the first party, etc.

I hope they are prepared with staffing for the extra influx of people coming to the entrance to get scanned for their RS!

 

[DizneyMommy]

Any trip planning is about making comprimises. If I go with a bunch of friends it may be that one person hates ToT or doesn't want to get wet on Splash Mountain so we plan FPs for things everybody wants to do and if SB permits those that want to can still try to hit ToT while they wait. Or you say, we'll get FP for ToT which we know you don't like but then we'll also get small world FPs because we know you love it (I know those are different parks but just an example). That is the nature of trip planning.

That’s all great and good with adults, but you can’t send a 6 year old on ToT alone ;-) Not really the same as a family.

We do get a variety of FP’s when we tour. The kids take turns, big ride, small ride, etc. But we can’t send the kids off to ride what they want alone, and we would not that anyways as it is a family vacation

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I hope they are prepared with staffing for the extra influx of people coming to the entrance to get scanned for their RS!

yup, and also planning for when the technology inevitably fails on the scanning / setting up the RS on the magic bands!

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I think his point was simply that their party already has an unused FP for the too-short child, so the child going a second time isn’t actually taking up an extra FP. They are simply replacing the one the too-small child had.

Disney forces us to do that in order to ride any height restricted rides and still get through our first 3. If you don’t get a TT FP+ for the 3 year old, then the 3 year old can’t get the 4th FP with the rest of the party.

Yes, I understand that. But if everyone in the group doesn't have a FP it allows the group to double up on Tier 1 FPs, which is what most people take issue with. So there is a trade off...either get a FP for everyone in the group to ride a non-height restricted ride OR get a FP for the height restricted ride and "waste" a FP on the too-short child. It can't (shouldn't) work both ways. As a family with kids who are tall enough to ride everything, we make trade offs all the time (FP for Soarin or TT....FOP or NRJ).

 

[DizneyMommy]

yup, and also planning for when the technology inevitably fails on the scanning / setting up the RS on the magic bands!

Ugh. Not super excited that this may be starting in the middle of our trip!

Why does WDW have so much trouble with technology? We never have these problems at DL!

 

[DizneyMommy]

Yes, I understand that. But if everyone in the group doesn't have a FP it allows the group to double up on Tier 1 FPs, which is what most people take issue with. So there is a trade off...either get a FP for everyone in the group to ride a non-height restricted ride OR get a FP for the height restricted ride and "waste" a FP on the too-short child. It can't (shouldn't) work both ways. As a family with kids who are tall enough to ride everything, we make trade offs all the time (FP for Soarin or TT....FOP or NRJ).

The two Tier 1 thing is a tooootally different issue. That is people gaming the system. I do not believe that many people do that, we certainly don’t, and it will stop when the digital RS comes out.

We always get FP for everyone and then convert to RS when needed

 

[Krandor]

That’s all great and good with adults, but you can’t send a 6 year old on ToT alone ;-) Not really the same as a family.

We do get a variety of FP’s when we tour. The kids take turns, big ride, small ride, etc. But we can’t send the kids off to ride what they want alone, and we would not that anyways as it is a family vacation

I wasn't saying send the 6 year old alone. I was comparing somebody too short to ride to somebody who just plan didn't want to do a ride. Neither one can ride the ride for different reasons so you have to plan for that

 

[DizneyMommy]

I wasn't saying send the 6 year old alone. I was comparing somebody too short to ride to somebody who just plan didn't want to do a ride. Neither one can ride the ride for different reasons so you have to plan for that

The difference being in a group of friends, an adult can sit out alone. Not the same situation at all