Rider Switch Question

[Mosey03]

We will have 6 adults and 2 kids (ages 5 & 1) in our party when we are at Disneyland. There will obviously be a lot of rides that the 1-year-old can't go on and a few that the 5-year-old can't or won't want to go on. How does a Rider Switch Pass work with such a large party? How many people will be allowed to go on the ride the second time? Is the wait the second time usually pretty quick? Are these passes still available if we had Fastpasses? And we just tell the first ride attendant we see, is that correct? Thanks!!!

 

[MichaelaF]

We will have 6 adults and 2 kids (ages 5 & 1) in our party when we are at Disneyland. There will obviously be a lot of rides that the 1-year-old can't go on and a few that the 5-year-old can't or won't want to go on. How does a Rider Switch Pass work with such a large party? How many people will be allowed to go on the ride the second time? Is the wait the second time usually pretty quick? Are these passes still available if we had Fastpasses? And we just tell the first ride attendant we see, is that correct? Thanks!!!

Touring Plans has the best Rider Swap explanation page I've seen. In short, the rider swap ticket is good for three people. So if you have a group of four, two people can go twice, while two other people are swapping. You can try and ask if your bigger group can go together (all the can do is say no), but I wouldn't expect them to allow the whole other 5 people to go again. The nice thing about that size group is that you can split up and half the adults can go on a kid-friendly ride while the other go on a more adult ride, and get a swap pass, and then trade off. A few of the adults will get to go again if they want, so you can just figure out whose turn it is to "get to go again".

http://touringplans.com/disneyland/attractions/rider-swap

The rider swap ticket basically gets you let back in the FP line, so there will still be a wait. The TP page above explains it better than I could, but since it functions like a FP, there are some nifty tricks you can use to work things to your benefit in conjunction with FP, if you time it right.

Usually when we go, it's just my husband and myself and our (now) 1-year-old, so we do rider swap pretty regularly. I'll say that often, if it's just the two of us, the single rider line works fine or better than messing with the tickets. So sometimes, you may find it worth it for two adults to do single rider, and then do baby swap with the other 4.

 

[Mosey03]

Thank you for the explanation and the link! Anyone out there who has experience with this with a larger group? I'm still having trouble comprehending how many of us we should send on the ride the first time and how many will be allowed to ride the second time.

Also, we will have at least two days at each park. Do you think it's going to be worth it to us to utilize this option, or would it make more sense to just plan to hit these attractions on both days (so whoever missed it the first day could go on it on the second day)?

 

[CassieF]

I believe the main group goes through first, then up to 3 (maybe four?) people can go the second time. We usually just have two adults to one kid, but I do know that it is not more than 4 with the pass.

 

[Andreas Mom]

We are here now and I'm about 95% sure the rider swap pass is good for three people.

 

[figment_jii]

I'm confused about part of what Touring Plan says. I understand in basic what "Rider Switch"/"Baby Swap" is and how it generally works (I've not used it, so the actual steps are a little less clear). However, what Touring Plans has written seems to run contrary to what I've read about small children and rides with height requirements.

Adults and children wait in line together. When you approach the queue, tell the first ride attendant you see that you want to switch off. The worker will allow everyone, including young children, to enter the attraction. When you reach the loading area, one adult rides while the other stays with the kids.

I thought that if the child was not tall enough to ride the ride, they won't even allow them into the queue area let alone the loading area.

 

[jetskigrl]

I'm confused about part of what Touring Plan says. I understand in basic what "Rider Switch"/"Baby Swap" is and how it generally works (I've not used it, so the actual steps are a little less clear). However, what Touring Plans has written seems to run contrary to what I've read about small children and rides with height requirements.



I thought that if the child was not tall enough to ride the ride, they won't even allow them into the queue area let alone the loading area.

I don't believe this is correct either (unless they have changed how it works). We haven't needed to use it in a while but my understanding is that the entire group goes to the start of the queue. You ask the CM there for a child swap pass and the child and at least one member of the party waits outside of the line. The rest of the party goes through the standby line or uses the FP line (if they have valid FPs).

Once the first group is off the ride, up to three people can take the child swap pass back to the start of the queue and they will then be allowed into the FP line.

 

[MichaelaF]

I'm confused about part of what Touring Plan says. I understand in basic what "Rider Switch"/"Baby Swap" is and how it generally works (I've not used it, so the actual steps are a little less clear). However, what Touring Plans has written seems to run contrary to what I've read about small children and rides with height requirements.



I thought that if the child was not tall enough to ride the ride, they won't even allow them into the queue area let alone the loading area.

Good catch - I think they are just wrong on that. Having done both WDW and DLR in the past year with our son, I can't think of any rides in which we went through the line together. We always got a rider swap card from the CM at the FRONT of the line, and one person would go in the line, while the other went off and did other things. Then we'd switch and hand over the card when the other person got back.

 

[SMD]

What Touring Plans means us that if the line extends beyond the queue area, or where the first height check point, you'll need to wait until you reach the first CM.

The rider swap limit has only recently been increased from 2 people to 3. It is not intended for your whole group minus one person watching a child to ride twice. If you are using FPs, you can always use the non-riders FPs to get more people a second ride along with the ones allowed by the rider switch, but if it's only one adult waiting with one child, that's still not going to cover 7 people.

 

[MichaelaF]

If the line extends beyond the queue area, or where the first height check point, you'll need to wait until you reach the first CM.

If you have kids who might get upset that they are waiting in a line for a ride they can't go on.... this could be a problem. I would say there are probably work arounds for this. When we did it, we regularly would have one person go to the CM (or wait in the line til the CM) and the other person would just be nearby (not in line). If the CM wanted to see the other person, we'd just indicate and wave. But most of the time, the CM didn't seem to ask or care.

 

[figment_jii]

If the line extends beyond the queue area, or where the first height check point, you'll need to wait until you reach the first CM.

Based on Touring Plans list of rides where Rider Swap is available, I guess this is only really an issue with Matterhorn on a regular basis. The Matterhorn height check point is at the little building, which is practically at the loading area. The other rides, for the most part, seem to have the majority of the queue after the first height check point (except perhaps on the busiest days) so for those at least, this might not be as much of an issue.

What Touring Plans means us that if the line extends beyond the queue area, or where the first height check point, you'll need to wait until you reach the first CM.

Just saw that you edited your response. I get that you have to wait until you come across the first CM, but the language on the Touring Plan page very specifically says "the worker will allow everyone, including young children, to enter the attraction." This is the part that I'm unsure about. It seems like others are also thinking that when using the Rider Switch, it doesn't mean you have (or will be allowed) to take the small child through the queue and have them wait on the loading platform for the parent to come back. Based on reports from other rides, it sounds like if the child is too short at the first height check point, they aren't allowed to continue in the line. So I'm thinking that Touring Plans might be referring to an older system or incorrect.

 

[MichaelaF]

You also don't HAVE to have children under the height requirement to do the rider swap. You can also do it if you have taller children who just might not want to go on that ride. So there's no need to HAVE to get to where they measure...unless that is the designated place for the CM to have the swap cards (which is maybe what you're saying anyway).

IIRC, at least on the right side on the Matterhorn, you can pretty easily go up and ask the CM at the single rider line what the situation is there. We just did single rider there so we didn't need to bother with swap.

 

[SMD]

If the line on Space was so long it extended past the standby/FP split you would really force your way up there to get the rider swap? At that point you're waiting a few minutes in line to get the swap. I think for most rides the swap passes are given out at the first FP check, which is probably why it's usually not an issue, but Matterhorn doesn't have FP.

I have seen kids who waited in line turned away from Star Tour and Splash at the point when the line enters the building. They obviously did wait in the line up to that point, though swapping may not have been the original plan.

 

[CassieF]

You 100% do NOT take the child through the entire line and into the attraction. Knotts Berry Farm does do that, but disneyland does not. Most of the time you can just ask when you see the first cast member, but recently at BTMRR they said you actually ask once inside the line, near where you board. Indy previously you had to show the child not riding at the entrance.

 

[MichaelaF]

If the line on Space was so long it extended past the standby/FP split you would really force your way up there to get the rider swap? At that point you're waiting a few minutes in line to get the swap. I think for most rides the swap passes are given out at the first FP check, which is probably why it's usually not an issue, but Matterhorn doesn't have FP.

I have seen kids who waited in line turned away from Star Tour and Splash at the point when the line enters the building. They obviously did wait in the line up to that point, though swapping may not have been the original plan.

It wouldn't bother ME to wait in that line, but I also don't have kids who may throw a fit that they are waiting in a line for a ride they can't go on (as other posters on the boards have said happens to them). What I'm saying is in that (rare, I think) case, I would just have one person wait in line, and the other person hang around in eyesight. Then, when that person gets to the CM, they can explain the situation. If the CM needs to see the other person (which, in my experience they rarely ask to do), then they can indicate to the other adult outside of the line. Specifically, we didn't do Space last time at DLR so I don't have a rider swap experience with that one.

Then again, I think in most cases, where the outside CM stands is also where the "hard" line starts, aka, the rails, instead of rope extensions. If there is regular space for me to walk up to the CM (which is what I was saying is easy to do at Matterhorn), then I'd do that. I know we did that at Indiana Jones as well. (But I'm not an AP holder or anything, so I'm sure there could be rides where this can't be done. )

 

[mummabear]

You also don't HAVE to have children under the height requirement to do the rider swap. You can also do it if you have taller children who just might not want to go on that ride. So there's no need to HAVE to get to where they measure...unless that is the designated place for the CM to have the swap cards (which is maybe what you're saying anyway)./

Not completely correct: At HM there is no rider swap so if you child is too scared to ride you cannot rider swap it.

 

[Mosey03]

Bumping this back up in case anyone might see this who has experience using it with a larger group, as I'd still love to hear more about how it works then. Our first day in the parks is this Sunday!

 

[lexecutive]

Used rider swap this week several times and can confirm it is good for 3 people to jump into a fast pass line. Usually we go up to the first CM and he hands us a lanyard that we would exchange with the CM in the front when you board. Used it for soarin' over california, Indiana jones, radiator spring racer twice and splash mountain. My wife can walk around with our 3 year old and we would swap. FYI the rider swap ticket is good until the end of the same day so no need to go back on the ride before your fast pass time is up.