Rider Switch changing (Started June 16th)

[linzbear]

Right. So right now at DL, we all walk up to the entrance.

We tell friendly CM that we need a RS, they measure sweet 2yo and agree (they don’t always measure, but often).

They ask which 3 will be returning?

We tell them which adult is staying back, and both kids.

They scan that adult’s ticket (AP in this case) and the AP’s of the kids riding with the returning adult.

Then the whole party rides the ride, while adult #2 waits with 2yo.

When they are done, whoever got scanned goes back to ride the ride while adult #1 and anyone not scanned on the RS waits with 2yo.

Sometimes the kids wants to ride with me, sometimes they don’t and I get a blissful 10 minutes of alone time with 100,000 of my closest friends.

The CM’s almost always ask which kids will ride with adult #2. They offer that. I don’t feel that is cheating the system or anything. We both want to experience rides with our kids, get ride photos, etc. We have never once been told that the kids could not go back with adult #2, I have never ever been told or read that policy. And I do not know anyone who makes their kids sit out while they ride the second time alone. If that is the policy, CM’s don’t seem to know and they encourage taking the kids on with the second adult. And if that is the policy, I’d ride a lot less rides honestly. I’m not interested in riding a bunch of stuff alone, I want to ride with my kids. If that becomes policy, DH and I would take turns riding with the big kids, and the other adult would usually just skip.

I have no idea if this is what WDW will do. This is just what DL does

Ok, thanks, that sounds reasonable, I do wish the return time was longer though. At least for Soarin' and FoP which take 30-45 minutes on the regular going through the FP line. Those 2 are our most likely to skip the second ride and come back later because of the time sink.

 

[DizneyMommy]

Ok, thanks, that sounds reasonable, I do wish the return time was longer though. At least for Soarin' and FoP which take 30-45 minutes on the regular going through the FP line. Those 2 are our most likely to skip the second ride and come back later because of the time sink.

I am guessing that the time given accounts for the wait. We have used it dozens of times since it went digital at DL and I actually just learned about the hour window. We apparently had only an hour this whole time but did not notice! So it is doable, and I think they must push it out to account for the wait time.

Soarin’ at WDW sounds stupid slow though. 10-15 minutes tops at DL

 

[linzbear]

I am guessing that the time given accounts for the wait. We have used it dozens of times since it went digital at DL and I actually just learned about the hour window. We apparently had only an hour this whole time but did not notice! So it is doable, and I think they must push it out to account for the wait time.

Soarin’ at WDW sounds stupid slow though. 10-15 minutes tops at DL

It's 9 minutes for the ride - 4 to load/unload, 5 for the actual ride. Then another 9 with Putty, and 9 on the concourse. That's all after the FP line merges. The same goes for FoP, except that there's an additional preshow. They take FOREVER. We didn't even use our swap for FoP this time, DH just didn't ride. It was too frustrating to please the littler ones.

 

[WillowRain]

It's 9 minutes for the ride - 4 to load/unload, 5 for the actual ride. Then another 9 with Putty, and 9 on the concourse. That's all after the FP line merges. The same goes for FoP, except that there's an additional preshow. They take FOREVER. We didn't even use our swap for FoP this time, DH just didn't ride. It was too frustrating to please the littler ones.

I will most likely ride first and then go get in SB for Navi with the 2 year old after, because I know the girls don't care if they ride that again lol. With Pandora I am just so happy to hang out because it's so dang beautiful! Gonna eat at the Satulli this time too! Can't wait to spend more time there.

 

[OSUZorba]

For those who wish Disney would have 'eased' into this thing, IMO that ship has sailed. The new digitized RS goes into effect 6/19. New TSL opens 6/30 w/ expanded park hours and daily EMH.
To me, TSL opening has triggered the RS digitization, 1 RS at a time & limited return window.
Disney expects huge crowds for the new TSL. The demographic which TSL will attract undoubtedly has a huge % of RS families.
There are 3 rides in the new land, TSM which has no height restriction & the new alien saucers 32" height restriction & slinky dog dash 38" height restriction. I'm guessing all 3 rides will be tier 1 and you'll be able to get one FP for one of the 3 rides on any given day, as for the other 2, you'll need to come back another day or do standby.

Doing split FPs on the TSL rides would require someone in the group being under 32" and wouldn't work at all for Toy Story Mania since it won't have a rider switch. I am sure TSL is why this change is happening now, but it really only changes things for people with an infant, at least as far as splitting FPs.

But if TSL is why they are changing RS, it further shows the oddness of them building a kiddie land, where both new rides have height requirements.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

You guys are making this crazier than it needs to be! It's a simple process. Cranky kid? Have dad go buy them a churro or ride Dumbo. Elderly dementia adults that cannot be left alone? This should be a non issue if your party has a FP!!! One adult goes then the other. I will be travelling with my 93 year old Grandmother, similar situation and would never leave her alone, but my mom is there too. If she wanted to ride a coaster, we would just all get a FP and take turns staying with Grandma. At this point we still have the toddler, but if she's still around when he's tall enough for all rides, we would just divide up the party on anything my mom wants to go on. Plus, has RS ever worked for the elderly? Why not get a DAS then?

I’ve said this in previous posts, but it really seems like a lot of posters think families only have ONE child who is too short to ride. We have THREE (four children total; and we’re not unique).

It’s easy to have two parents get all the kids to a shaded area, or someplace tucked away, or to an enclosed play space, etc, then have the riding parent and tall enough child go ride. (It’s been our experience thus far that on non-headliners, most CMs don’t need to see the whole party, at least not up close.)

It’s *not* easy to haul all six of us to a ride entrance (especially if it’s in the Land where you can’t take strollers), then expect the non-riding parent to get 3 kids to another area alone (to grab a snack or go on a ride the 3 smallest can go on). Now on top of not being able to easily distract the 3 too-small kids while the first party rides, if the one-hour time limit does come into play, the kids will have to immediately wait for the second parent to ride. Waiting 20, 30+ minutes is one thing for small kids, doubling that is quite another.

With the old system, we could have the first parent ride while the second waited somewhere more convenient, and then make a game time decision whether to have the second parent ride immediately or wait until the kids were in better moods/napping/etc.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

you are right, they could eliminate it - but one reason many families vacation at WDW is because Disney makes it relatively easy to vacation there as a family. Not saying all families would stop going or anything, but removing something that improves how a family vacations there isn't necessarily the best for their bottom line

I also found it about 10x more challenging to navigate Disneyland as Walt Disney World so while that model might work great for you it doesn't for everyone

Yep. We spend an inordinate amount of time and money at wdw. I’d be willing to bet that in the last year, we’ve spent minimum 10x what the average family spends on a wdw vacation. And all bc it’s easy for DH and I to take our four kids there and still have fun without *having* to have help.

We also found DL to be more difficult (we’ve come to appreciate not having to physically go to ride entrances to retrieve paper FP; plus the walkways at DL are narrower (less room for strollers), everything feels jammed together, they lack the interactive queues that WDW has,...). Which is why DH and I are leaving the kids with grandma for our DL trip next year. The inconvenience means Disney misses out on our kids’ ticket fees, food (DH and I don’t snack nearly as much without them around), souvenir spending (DH and I don’t buy souvenirs ourselves),... one family staying home may not be much to Disney in the grand scheme of things, but losing a lot of families and their vacation money bc WDW/DL has become less convenient would be.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Yep. We spend an inordinate amount of time and money at wdw. I’d be willing to bet that in the last year, we’ve spent minimum 10x what the average family spends on a wdw vacation. And all bc it’s easy for DH and I to take our four kids there and still have fun without *having* to have help.

We also found DL to be more difficult (we’ve come to appreciate not having to physically go to ride entrances to retrieve paper FP; plus the walkways at DL are narrower (less room for strollers), everything feels jammed together, they lack the interactive queues that WDW has,...). Which is why DH and I are leaving the kids with grandma for our DL trip next year. The inconvenience means Disney misses out on our kids’ ticket fees, food (DH and I don’t snack nearly as much without them around), souvenir spending (DH and I don’t buy souvenirs ourselves),... one family staying home may not be much to Disney in the grand scheme of things, but losing a lot of families and their vacation money bc WDW/DL has become less convenient would be.

Haha, that was my reaction to Disneyland as well - I want to try it again without kids to see if it is easier to navigate/more enjoyable

 

[DizneyMommy]

Yep. We spend an inordinate amount of time and money at wdw. I’d be willing to bet that in the last year, we’ve spent minimum 10x what the average family spends on a wdw vacation. And all bc it’s easy for DH and I to take our four kids there and still have fun without *having* to have help.

We also found DL to be more difficult (we’ve come to appreciate not having to physically go to ride entrances to retrieve paper FP; plus the walkways at DL are narrower (less room for strollers), everything feels jammed together, they lack the interactive queues that WDW has,...). Which is why DH and I are leaving the kids with grandma for our DL trip next year. The inconvenience means Disney misses out on our kids’ ticket fees, food (DH and I don’t snack nearly as much without them around), souvenir spending (DH and I don’t buy souvenirs ourselves),... one family staying home may not be much to Disney in the grand scheme of things, but losing a lot of families and their vacation money bc WDW/DL has become less convenient would be.

DL has not "become" less convenient, it is what it has always been. I have been going to DL for 35ish years, have had an AP for the last 20+ I do not see anything inside the park having gotten less convenient at all other than the number of visitors increasing. The park and the walkways were built in the 50's, a lot of the ride areas were also designed then when much much fewer people visited the park. Not much they can do about that unless they start tearing out rides to widen roads. Disneyland is also in the middle of a city, not on acres and acres of land with room to spread out as much as they want. We've been navigating DL for the last 13 years, often with 2 kids in a stroller and I have never once felt it was so difficult I should have left them at home. I have gone alone with 2 kids in a double stroller or even an infant in a carrier countless times. We don't have interactive queues because we have amazing weather and so many of our ride lines are outdoors. You do not have to walk to the FP booths to get a FP, you can use MaxPass - that actually made things a lot MORE convenient recently. I don't see anything they have done to make things less convenient at DL. I can't speak to WDW, not sure what is going on there.

I actually like how it is less spread out than WDW, it feels easier to tackle with kids, especially when you go alone. Everything is more convenient and accessible at DL, to us.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

You do not have to walk to the FP booths to get a FP, you can use MaxPass

Which costs money if you're not an AP. May be smallish but certaintly would add up for a family of 6 which is what the PP is (4 children and 2 adults) depending on their ages of course as it's per ticket cost.

I don't see anything they have done to make things less convenient at DL.

Other posters are speaking from their experience, their traveling party's habits, etc. What works for them may not work for you and vice versa.

Conversely you may come to WDW and do things completely differently than they would especially if they go to WDW every year or more than once a year.

 

[DizneyMommy]

Which costs money if you're not an AP. May be smallish but certaintly would add up for a family of 6 which is what the PP is (4 children and 2 adults) depending on their ages of course as it's per ticket cost.

Other posters are speaking from their experience, their traveling party's habits, etc. What works for them may not work for you and vice versa.

Conversely you may come to WDW and do things completely differently than they would especially if they go to WDW every year or more than once a year.

It costs money if you are an AP too ;-) We have to pay like everyone else. Only the very top tier pass gets it free

I’m just saying the things that are being called inconvenient are not new. They haven’t changed recently, the poster was saying that it is getting more inconvenient. It’s always been the way it is.

 

[OSUZorba]

DL has not "become" less convenient, it is what it has always been. I have been going to DL for 35ish years, have had an AP for the last 20+ I do not see anything inside the park having gotten less convenient at all other than the number of visitors increasing. The park and the walkways were built in the 50's, a lot of the ride areas were also designed then when much much fewer people visited the park. Not much they can do about that unless they start tearing out rides to widen roads. Disneyland is also in the middle of a city, not on acres and acres of land with room to spread out as much as they want. We've been navigating DL for the last 13 years, often with 2 kids in a stroller and I have never once felt it was so difficult I should have left them at home. I have gone alone with 2 kids in a double stroller or even an infant in a carrier countless times. We don't have interactive queues because we have amazing weather and so many of our ride lines are outdoors. You do not have to walk to the FP booths to get a FP, you can use MaxPass - that actually made things a lot MORE convenient recently. I don't see anything they have done to make things less convenient at DL. I can't speak to WDW, not sure what is going on there.

I actually like how it is less spread out than WDW, it feels easier to tackle with kids, especially when you go alone. Everything is more convenient and accessible at DL, to us.

I haven't been to DL yet (had to cancel my trip this year because of work ). But I could see things being closer to together being really nice for RS. Epcot and AK are so spread out that it makes it a challenge to really go do something else with the shorty, especially if you slap a time restriction on it. I'm just glad DD is now big enough to really play in the playground at MS, so there is something for her to do on that side of the park. Last time she wasn't really big enough and for some reason I don't think I was supposed to play with her in it.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It costs money if you are an AP too ;-) We have to pay like everyone else. Only the very top tier pass gets it free

Well how am I supposed to know what tier you personally are.

The way you worded your comment is "you can use MaxPass"...yes that's a choice but it costs money which wasn't mentioned in your comment. Call me crazy if you want to but if something costs money at one place but doesn't cost money (presently) at another I can understand how one would say it's less convenient. There was an level playing field when both in that sense when both parks had you go to the ride to get the FP and as FP+ has evolved and shifted it's more convenient to the PP the way FP+ is now.

I’m just saying the things that are being called inconvenient are not new. They haven’t changed recently, the poster was saying that it is getting more inconvenient. It’s always been the way it is.

You're just coming in with your experience as a DLR local who goes to the DLR parks enough.

If there are differences between the two parks I can see how someone visiting one place and then visiting another could see how it became less convenient for them and they are drawing on their experiences for that (WDW having digital FP for several years now, multiple queues at WDW have been updated to be made more interactive, etc). You're just looking at it from a different perspective from them.

I think you were reading into their comment that everything was becoming less convenient whereas I read it to mean because of their traveling party's characteristics DLR was harder to navigate and enjoy with all their traveling party together in comparison to WDW. And the less convenient aspect was going to the ride to get the FP like it was with Legacy FP at WDW and that the queues are less convenient at DLR because they don't have quite as much interactiveness to it.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I will most likely ride first and then go get in SB for Navi with the 2 year old after, because I know the girls don't care if they ride that again lol. With Pandora I am just so happy to hang out because it's so dang beautiful! Gonna eat at the Satulli this time too! Can't wait to spend more time there.

We rode one night three times. The first time was Fastpass, then we went back late like around 9:30 PM and walked on twice a row. No wait at all. Park was closing at 10:00 PM, yet there was a second Rivers of Light show at 10:30.

We had a two year old and a baby with us who took late naps after swimming the earlier part of the day. We got seats for RoL close to the water and near the entrance of EE. We had an awesome day and night.

And Satuli Canteen is excellent. Our group had a wide variety of bases, meats and sauces. I myself had rice, steak and chimichurri sauce—yum!

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

DL has not "become" less convenient, it is what it has always been. I have been going to DL for 35ish years, have had an AP for the last 20+ I do not see anything inside the park having gotten less convenient at all other than the number of visitors increasing. The park and the walkways were built in the 50's, a lot of the ride areas were also designed then when much much fewer people visited the park. Not much they can do about that unless they start tearing out rides to widen roads. Disneyland is also in the middle of a city, not on acres and acres of land with room to spread out as much as they want. We've been navigating DL for the last 13 years, often with 2 kids in a stroller and I have never once felt it was so difficult I should have left them at home. I have gone alone with 2 kids in a double stroller or even an infant in a carrier countless times. We don't have interactive queues because we have amazing weather and so many of our ride lines are outdoors. You do not have to walk to the FP booths to get a FP, you can use MaxPass - that actually made things a lot MORE convenient recently. I don't see anything they have done to make things less convenient at DL. I can't speak to WDW, not sure what is going on there.

I actually like how it is less spread out than WDW, it feels easier to tackle with kids, especially when you go alone. Everything is more convenient and accessible at DL, to us.

Well, I was specifically responding to another poster’s comment. My first paragraph was agreeing with their response to someone saying they could just eliminate RS altogether, but that wouldn’t be wise to alienate families.

My second paragraph was addressing the same poster’s comments re: DL and how not everyone finds DL to be more convenient to navigate than WDW.

I thought breaking the response up into separate paragraphs would make it easy to understand but I guess not. My fault for saying that losing one family to WDW/DL becoming less convenient wouldn’t mean much to Disney but losing many families would be - the “would” was meant to indicate a hypothetical situation (as in the *possible* new RS restrictions, including a one-hour time limit, which has been widely discussed in this thread).

You’re right, DL hasn’t become more inconvenient. It’s always been inconvenient (I’ve been going to DL for 36 years, and my mom has been going since opening day). And I HATE California weather - it’s not nearly warm enough most of the year, there’s too much pollution,... and I hate how DL is surrounded by non-Disney businesses. But those are opinions. Yours are different from mine, likely due to differences in experience, family structure, etc. - which is why it makes no sense for posters to try to convince others (who they don’t personally know) that changes in RS policies are neutral (shouldn’t be a big deal) or positive.

When someone says a proposed change likely won’t work for their family, why not take them for their word? Too many posters are making assumptions (that traveling parties only have one too-small-for-rides child is a big one) based on their own experiences without considering that others have different experiences. And when MANY people say that one particular potential aspect of a policy would make things difficult (the one-hour time limit), that indicates that maybe that policy change isn’t a good one.

 

[Krandor]

I guess this confuses me because party 1 and party 2 at WDW have the same people - the kids ride twice. So far as I know, that's the entire reason for the rider swap language of "up to 3 people"

I’m confused then. I though the point of rider swap wasn’t to let the kid ride twice but to let both parents ride a ride the kid can’t ride so there is still a parent to stay with the kid.

If rs is letting kids ride twice then I say get rid of it.

 

[DizneyMommy]

I’m confused then. I though the point of rider swap wasn’t to let the kid ride twice but to let both parents ride a ride the kid can’t ride so there is still a parent to stay with the kid.

If rs is letting kids ride twice then I say get rid of it.

Yes. The point is to let both parents ride while trading off so a too-short child has supervision. The RS pass allows up to 3 people to ride on the return pass, so if the family also has siblings that are tall enough the parents can both ride with their tall enough children. They don’t make you ride alone.

So Family has Mom, Dad, A (42” tall) and B (20” tall)

Mom and A go on ride, Dad gets a RS and waits with B.
Then Dad and A ride with RS, while Mom waits with B.

It has always worked this way, ever since I can remember needing to use a RS. CM will even ask which kids are riding with the return parent, it is not against the rules or even frowned upon. If you are a parent, it is really nice of Disney because it means both parents get to experience the rides with their kids.

If you are not a parent and that experience of riding with your kids is not important to you, then it is a little harsh to say they should get rid of it.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I’m confused then. I though the point of rider swap wasn’t to let the kid ride twice but to let both parents ride a ride the kid can’t ride so there is still a parent to stay with the kid.

If rs is letting kids ride twice then I say get rid of it.

Exactly this. RS is for parents, not kids.

 

[DizneyMommy]

It’s not about letting the kid ride twice. It’s about letting the parent experience it with their kids.

How many of you saying Not fair, get rid of it actually have kids of varying heights that can and can’t ride, and take them to the parks? As a parent, the opportunity to get to experience the ride with my kids and not just have to ride alone is very much appreciated. If it’s not something that benefits you, just don’t worry about it. I don’t care much about riding a bunch of rides alone, I care about experiencing them with my family.

 

[DizneyMommy]

“If the person in Party 2 waited alone with the child, he or she may bring one other Guest back to ride the attraction with him or her.”

They have always allowed 2 other guests at the park, but it clearly states that the adult who waited alone may bring a guest back with them. So we are doing absolutely nothing wrong by bringing the tall-enough child on the return ride.


https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/rider-switch/