Rider Switch changing (Started June 16th)

[ArwenMarie]

So if this is true, is the biggest problem the one-hour limit?

That sounds easy enough to adjust if that is truly unworkable

 

[jlwhitney]

I had a NRJ Riser Swap we didn’t use because the line was too long for FP return last summer. Let me tell you, temptation....

Ended up being a cool bookmark (though it would be cooler if it was FOP).

How did you even get a Rider Swap for NRJ...all ages can ride since no height requirments.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

So if this is true, is the biggest problem the one-hour limit?

That sounds easy enough to adjust if that is truly unworkable

I honestly missed the post that described this as "unworkable" - it's definitely workable ... just a change we will have to adapt to. Having more flexibility was nice as you could take the younger child and do something else rather than just wait there and kill time and come back later is all. Won't "ruin our trip" or anything

 

[ArwenMarie]

I honestly missed the post that described this as "unworkable" - it's definitely workable ... just a change we will have to adapt to. Having more flexibility was nice as you could take the younger child and do something else rather than just wait there and kill time and come back later is all. Won't "ruin our trip" or anything

There have been lots of posts saying it would be very hard to do both rides in an hour back-to-back (not sure on this thread or the other thread)

 

[Moliphino]

This ^


My entire life, nearly 30 years of which have been visiting Disney off and on, I left my kids home with grandma and grandpa. I never regretted it and my vacations were so much more enjoyable because I didn't take a tired, cranky, whiney kid. My rule was that I took no one under 7 years old. Never had to push a stroller or any of that nonsense while in the parks. It didn't matter because they wouldn't remember it anyway. I took my boys when they were 10+ and we had a great time, every time.

And then I got a grandchild. And everything changed for me.

Grandma (pa?) didn't want to be left at home with the kids while everyone else went on vacation?

 

[Fantasia79]

How did you even get a Rider Swap for NRJ...all ages can ride since no height requirments.

We were in a place where crawling out of boats to play with water was a passion.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

There have been lots of posts saying it would be very hard to do both rides in an hour back-to-back (not sure on this thread or the other thread)

Well, I posted some of them as at times it can be hard to fit two cycles in within a one hour FP window, especially if you aren't at the beginning of the FP window .... that doesn't mean it is "unworkable" just means have to adjust and maybe there will be a new way for the CMs to handle

 

[nkosiek]

Pardon Me, but I have to ask, how much does a two-year-old really enjoy Disney? Wouldn't they and the rest of the family be much better off if they just stayed with grandma and came on the next trip? They get tired, they get cranky, slow everyone else down to what's the point?

You're kidding me, right? Talk to my kid about the "ball ball" or his castle. He played peek-a-boo with Stitch. The water slides at the pools (even if they are only 2 feet long. The train in MK with the whistle, oh my.

Kids get tired and cranky, so do adults. This can be managed more often than not.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

There have been lots of posts saying it would be very hard to do both rides in an hour back-to-back (not sure on this thread or the other thread)

I think it’s dependant on the ride and what they mean by an hour (as in, when does the clock start). They would definitely have to build in the standby line time, because even though so much of this discussion focuses on FP we can’t forget about the people who are spending at least an hour in line, often more.

An hour from the time the pass is given just wouldn’t work in some cases, whereas with others it should be doable, particularly if you do a FP in the attractions without preshows and long post merge waits. I feel like it would be so much easier to do away with the time limit, make them expire end of day, and make the restriction the number of RS passes you can hold.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I honestly missed the post that described this as "unworkable" - it's definitely workable ... just a change we will have to adapt to. Having more flexibility was nice as you could take the younger child and do something else rather than just wait there and kill time and come back later is all. Won't "ruin our trip" or anything

This poster didn't say "unworkable," but did indicate that they would cancel their trip if this does actually go into effect.

Then let the waiting parent go up the exit, like other parks do. The fast pass lane for many rides takes 45+ minutes, so even with a swap it could take 2 hours or more for both parents to ride a ride back to back. Sometimes you can't wait for 2+ hours to ride one ride with a little kid.

If this is true, there is a good chance I'll cancel my currently planned trips and stay away until my daughter is tall enough to ride everything. But by then I might just go to different parks since I won't have to worry about kid friendliness.

Edit: I realize I am being a little over dramatic here, because I could make do. But we go to WDW because it is easy for all three of us to enjoy our time. If that is made harder, there are many other places we could spend our time.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

This poster didn't say "unworkable," but did indicate that they would cancel their trip if this does actually go into effect.

Ok, thanks for sharing - I honestly missed that post/part of that post at least. I do appreciate what is in the "Edit" of that post though that this does make it a bit harder as that added flexibility would be nicer and allow for more productive use of time. But even that person, in the edit, said they realized they were being over dramatic and could make do - which I think we all feel we could

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I think it’s dependant on the ride and what they mean by an hour (as in, when does the clock start). They would definitely have to build in the standby line time, because even though so much of this discussion focuses on FP we can’t forget about the people who are spending at least an hour in line, often more.

An hour from the time the pass is given just wouldn’t work in some cases, whereas with others it should be doable, particularly if you do a FP in the attractions without preshows and long post merge waits. I feel like it would be so much easier to do away with the time limit, make them expire end of day, and make the restriction the number of RS passes you can hold.

The original story also said you would be limited in that you wouldn't be able to get another one until you used the first one ... I think that is fair and is limiting enough/prevents "hoarding" them vs needing a time limit on the first one you get

 

[Missyrose]

Those of you in love with US’s RS... you have clearly not had to wait 3 hours for Harry Potter with a 2 year old and NOT allowed to take the stroller in the line! Their policy resulted in me basically riding nothing the entire last trip. The lines were all 90+ minutes, most more like 2 hours, and strollers not allowed in line.

Single-rider combined with RS is a life-saver at Universal.

Pardon Me, but I have to ask, how much does a two-year-old really enjoy Disney? Wouldn't they and the rest of the family be much better off if they just stayed with grandma and came on the next trip? They get tired, they get cranky, slow everyone else down to what's the point?

Just took my 7-month-old for the first time and the joy on her face during every new experience is proof of how much she enjoys Disney. We've got two more trips planned in the next seven months.

Well, I posted some of them as at times it can be hard to fit two cycles in within a one hour FP window, especially if you aren't at the beginning of the FP window .... that doesn't mean it is "unworkable" just means have to adjust and maybe there will be a new way for the CMs to handle

I don't believe you would have to use both FPs within the one-hour FP window. They would, in theory, scan the FP when assigning the rider swap and then give you the return window for the RS. That becomes your FP window, not the original one.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I don't believe you would have to use both FPs within the one-hour FP window. They would, in theory, scan the FP when assigning the rider swap and then give you the return window for the RS. That becomes your FP window, not the original one.

That's true - I think this actually started when someone asked why you need rider swap at all when using FP since you have that hour window so both groups could fit within the FP window, and then it got all sort of merged together within the 1 hour discussion. I would think 99% of the time if they do give you an hour from when the first person goes you wouldn't have any issues (we have had a few cases where it was like 45mins+ for the first person to fully cycle and get back for the "swap" group to go though)

 

[ArwenMarie]

I think it’s dependant on the ride and what they mean by an hour (as in, when does the clock start). They would definitely have to build in the standby line time, because even though so much of this discussion focuses on FP we can’t forget about the people who are spending at least an hour in line, often more.

An hour from the time the pass is given just wouldn’t work in some cases, whereas with others it should be doable, particularly if you do a FP in the attractions without preshows and long post merge waits. I feel like it would be so much easier to do away with the time limit, make them expire end of day, and make the restriction the number of RS passes you can hold.

I agree. I don’t see the point in the hour-deadline if people can only hold one at a time anyway.

 

[QueenHeather]

The original story also said you would be limited in that you wouldn't be able to get another one until you used the first one ... I think that is fair and is limiting enough/prevents "hoarding" them vs needing a time limit on the first one you get

I've seen a lot people talking/complaining about families "hoarding" or having a stack of swaps. What I don't understand is why is this an issue? I can certainly see how this is an issue for Disney in that they can't control the lines as well, but why is it an issue for someone else? I think people just see the passes and automatically think, "That's not fair that they get that many." But my family many times would go ride headliners once in the morning with short lines, then go back later for the other parent to ride. So we would sometimes have 5 - 10 passes at a time. That in no way gives my family an advantage over another family. The passes were used for the parent who hadn't ridden yet. That's what the rider swap is. Not as extra passes.

If my family can only hold one pass at a time and only have a short time window to use it, we are put at a distinct disadvantage during those golden morning hours. Instead of being able to ride Splash Mountain with low wait and then going to Big Thunder with low wait (as families with no small children can do), we instead have to ride Splash twice in a row, which means Big Thunder lines will go up by the time we get there. Going to Disney with kids is already difficult enough, and now it will be even more difficult.

Of course this is not a huge issue, and we will adjust. I just find it disappointing that Disney is changing their system for the worse (in my opinion of course).

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I've seen a lot people talking/complaining about families "hoarding" or having a stack of swaps. What I don't understand is why is this an issue?

Because people were taking those stacks and selling them on ebay.

 

[QueenHeather]

Because people were taking those stacks and selling them on ebay.

Now that I certainly understand. So making them digital solves that. But why only one at a time?

 

[MamaBelle4]

I don't understand how eBay allows them to be sold since they clearly state that they are not to be sold and are non transferable.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I've seen a lot people talking/complaining about families "hoarding" or having a stack of swaps. What I don't understand is why is this an issue? I can certainly see how this is an issue for Disney in that they can't control the lines as well, but why is it an issue for someone else? I think people just see the passes and automatically think, "That's not fair that they get that many." But my family many times would go ride headliners once in the morning with short lines, then go back later for the other parent to ride. So we would sometimes have 5 - 10 passes at a time. That in no way gives my family an advantage over another family. The passes were used for the parent who hadn't ridden yet. That's what the rider swap is. Not as extra passes.

If my family can only hold one pass at a time and only have a short time window to use it, we are put at a distinct disadvantage during those golden morning hours. Instead of being able to ride Splash Mountain with low wait and then going to Big Thunder with low wait (as families with no small children can do), we instead have to ride Splash twice in a row, which means Big Thunder lines will go up by the time we get there. Going to Disney with kids is already difficult enough, and now it will be even more difficult.

Of course this is not a huge issue, and we will adjust. I just find it disappointing that Disney is changing their system for the worse (in my opinion of course).

Because people were taking those stacks and selling them on ebay.

Obviously the eBay aspect but also Disney allocates a certain amount of FP per hour and if people are using all the rider swaps later in the day, that could mess up how they are spread out. Honestly I don't think it is a big dea lbut some people found issue with it (or at least concern that it could mess up FP lines later in the day)