Rider Switch Questions

[ClaraOswald]

We are a family of 3. Our son likely won't do a lot of the bigger rides - Space Mountain, Rise, Indiana Jones, Screamin', etc. We used ride switch in the past but I don't really remember how it works. And I'm not sure how it's different now with attractions having LL. We haven't decided if we will pay for Genie+ or not since we will be using DAS for attractions that are son does ride.

I went to the Disneyland website to read what they say about Rider Switch and it says that "party 2" has to wait in a designated area. We didn't have to do that before. Is it still that way? Where exactly are designated areas because my son might not be willing to sit/stand there for as long as it takes myself or my husband to go through standby (long waits are the reason our son needs DAS.) If we are literally told we have to just stand by the exit and wait, that could be a problem.

If we DID pay for Genie+ or individual lightning lanes....would we both just take turns using that instead of ride switch? What if the return time window runs out before person 2 can use it?

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

There is no designated area. I really don’t know why the website says that but it has for a long time. The second party can wait wherever (or go do something else). When the first party is done riding, the second party rides (there is a time limit and I usually ask what it is just in case).

If you do get Genie+ I would use rider switch with it if you are entering the LL closer to the end of your return time so you’re not stressing. If you enter the line at the beginning of the window you might not need to.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I’d get one Genie plus. You’ll all line up for the LL and after they see him they’ll issue a rider switch. Then one of you can take him to do something else.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I’d get one Genie plus. You’ll all line up for the LL and after they see him they’ll issue a rider switch. Then one of you can take him to do something else.

Does the 2nd person wait in the LL line too or do they go somewhere else to get on the ride?

 

[smartlabelprint]

Does the 2nd person wait in the LL line too or do they go somewhere else to get on the ride?

Yes because rider switch people go through the LL. Even if the family didn’t have any Genie+.

 

[SpringBreak]

I’d get one Genie plus. You’ll all line up for the LL and after they see him they’ll issue a rider switch. Then one of you can take him to do something else.

Hi there-- I'm wondering if anyone has tested this and what the result was...where only half the party gets Genie+ and the other half doesn't. Will the waiting half (without Genie +) be issued a rider switch?

In this scenario... Dad and older child buy Genie+. Mom and 3 year-old don't buy it.
If this family goes to LL, will Mom be issued a rider switch?

Does this work? If it doesn't work... does Mom just need to have purchased Genie+? Or does she need a LL for that particular attraction?

Thanks.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Hi there-- I'm wondering if anyone has tested this and what the result was...where only half the party gets Genie+ and the other half doesn't. Will the waiting half (without Genie +) be issued a rider switch?

In this scenario... Dad and older child buy Genie+. Mom and 3 year-old don't buy it.
If this family goes to LL, will Mom be issued a rider switch?

Does this work? If it doesn't work... does Mom just need to have purchased Genie+? Or does she need a LL for that particular attraction?

Thanks.

I haven’t tested it. But mom should get a return time for rider switch. If they had non Genie+ they’d wait in the regular line and mom would be given a return time for the LL.

 

[Federalist45]

Hi there-- I'm wondering if anyone has tested this and what the result was...where only half the party gets Genie+ and the other half doesn't. Will the waiting half (without Genie +) be issued a rider switch?

In this scenario... Dad and older child buy Genie+. Mom and 3 year-old don't buy it.
If this family goes to LL, will Mom be issued a rider switch?

Does this work? If it doesn't work... does Mom just need to have purchased Genie+? Or does she need a LL for that particular attraction?

Thanks.

My guess would be that this would vary from CM to CM. They could easily require that you scan a genie+ LL for the waiting person before issuing a rider swap based upon use of LL instead of stand by.

Obviously, the point of using the Rider Swap in this scenario is so that waiting mom need not ride by herself.

Even if this was Disney’s policy, I suspect many CMs would only scan the LL for the party boarding first. Total speculation, that this would happen more often than not.

 

[Supermavs]

I’m trying to work this out as well. We are going to be a family of 8-11 people during our trip and unfortunately the two 8 year olds are small and also a bit of chicken when it comes to rides. Trying to see if genie+ is a waste, if they still do child swap and how that works. Lots of moving parts in my family to figure out.

 

[lpereira]

To use rider swap all people participating must be ig8ble to enter the line the same way for the first ride even if not everyone is. So if you use genie you both must have genie+ for the ride to utilize the rider swap with genie+. Or you may both use standby. So CMs violate policy? Every single day.

 

[disneymum58]

We were there this past week. Not once did any CM check to make sure the LL pass was being used by the person it was assigned to.
Indiana Jones - Our 5 year old was too short.We were sent to the area where the old fast pass machines used to be (between Jungle Cruise and IJ) and there was a CM issuing Rider Switch. She scanned the person's pass who was staying behind and the passes of people who would re-ride. They reentered through the lightening lane.
Guardians - The 5 year old was too short but her mom did not want to ride and neither did the tall enough 10 year old. We were told to wait in line and that there was a waiting area inside the ride and the person waiting could ride immediately after the first group was finished. We changed our minds about using rider switch here so I don't know what they would do if they had realized the 5 year old was too short to go through the line. So if your child is tall enough, you all go together in the line for this ride.

 

[Federalist45]

I’m trying to work this out as well. We are going to be a family of 8-11 people during our trip and unfortunately the two 8 year olds are small and also a bit of chicken when it comes to rides. Trying to see if genie+ is a waste, if they still do child swap and how that works. Lots of moving parts in my family to figure out.

Genie+ will work as intended if you buy it for everyone in your party, including allowing the group to split in two to have some people ride while others manage non-riders. After one group rides, the other members that stayed back can then use their LL to ride.

This assumes that the return time allows them to simply wait behind. If not, rider swap may be necessary to preserve their LLs.

If you use rider swap, then one member of your group (that only intends to ride once) can scan in as a waiting party for a rider swap. After the first group goes, the waiting person can go and should be able to bring 2 others with them whether or not those 2 others have a LL for the ride. Thus, this could allow 2 members of your group to ride more than once, waiting in the LL line both times.

As long as whomever rides has genie+, I wouldn’t consider this an exploit.

Still, I’d suggest getting Genie+ for the 8 year olds the first day. First, it makes it more likely they will decide to be brave and recognize that, outside of motion sickness, the rides all offer excitement and usually happiness.

Second, if your group gets any MMEP’s from Genie+, it will be much simpler to use these on non-LL rides for your entire group if everyone got the MMEP.

If you are convinced that the 8 year olds will never get up the gumption for some rides, then just weigh up the value of potential MMEP rides and the rides that they will use LL for to make your decision. Also, you may find a use for any genie+ LLs that the two of them skip.

 

[Kerr84]

Hi there-- I'm wondering if anyone has tested this and what the result was...where only half the party gets Genie+ and the other half doesn't. Will the waiting half (without Genie +) be issued a rider switch?

In this scenario... Dad and older child buy Genie+. Mom and 3 year-old don't buy it.
If this family goes to LL, will Mom be issued a rider switch?

Does this work? If it doesn't work... does Mom just need to have purchased Genie+? Or does she need a LL for that particular attraction?

Thanks.

It doesn’t work at Disney World. There were a few times where I needed a rider swap for a ride that we had lightening lane for because the second rider would miss our hour window and I had to explain/show on my app that I really did have a LL before they would give me the rider swap.

 

[Kerr84]

It doesn’t work at Disney World. There were a few times where I needed a rider swap for a ride that we had lightening lane for because the second rider would miss our hour window and I had to explain/show on my app that I really did have a LL before they would give me the rider swap.

Just adding that more than 1 CM said “you don’t need a rider swap if you all have lightning lane.” I would not count on this working. I read in an old DW forum that a couple wanted to do this with him getting a LL to tower and her getting a LL to Slinky and then doing rider swap at the rides and it didn’t work for them either.

 

[danceintherain]

Rider Switch has always been very inconsistently applied. I do wonder that since they've reduced the number of companions who get to ride if it's less likely that they'll enforce the "everyone must have lightening lane/FP" policy to start with lightening lane.
When I took my kids to WDW last, I basically just assumed we all needed it, and planned accordingly. I don't remember them checking at all. I do think we had a couple FP+ that weren't "used" because the second group utilized rider switch.

For our next WDW trip, I intend to utilize Genie+ AND DAS AND Rider Switch. The people who qualify for Rider Switch and DAS are also the most likely to have a lower tolerance to spending time in the parks anyway, so DAS will only be applicable for the rides they want to ride. Genie+ isn't always available in a timely manner. Rider Switch only works when there are two adults touring with a small child, which may not always happen. It's only really necessary in addition to Genie+ and/or DAS, when you're using it for it's stated purpose "so nobody has to ride alone." For example, so my oldest can ride something with both me and his father, if there is no other adult around to sit with the younger kids while we go.

 

[disneymum58]

To use rider swap all people participating must be ig8ble to enter the line the same way for the first ride even if not everyone is. So if you use genie you both must have genie+ for the ride to utilize the rider swap with genie+. Or you may both use standby. So CMs violate policy? Every single day.

We were issued new lightening lane codes to scan for the person staying behind and the 2 people who would re-ride. They didn't check that the people entering the ride and those riding again all had lightening lane passes originally. So yes, the CM's violated policy.

 

[disneymum58]

Just adding that more than 1 CM said “you don’t need a rider swap if you all have lightning lane.” I would not count on this working. I read in an old DW forum that a couple wanted to do this with him getting a LL to tower and her getting a LL to Slinky and then doing rider swap at the rides and it didn’t work for them either.

The advantage of doing rider swap is that when the person who stayed behind the first time rides, they can take 2 people with them who can use the lightening lane for a 2nd time to re-ride.

 

[Kerr84]

The advantage of doing rider swap is that when the person who stayed behind the first time rides, they can take 2 people with them who can use the lightening lane for a 2nd time to re-ride.

Right, I’ve used it many times for this. I’m just posting my experience that at Disney World in March, the CMs did not want to issue a rider swap if you already had a LL. This is my only trip since paid LL started and they were way more strict than past trips. When I needed one for Splash because the LL would end before the second group could ride, I had to explain it to them before they would issue me one and then they only let 1 person reride with me even though we were a group of 7. Same thing happened at Soarin’. They only allowed 2 of us to ride the second time and didn’t let the kids do 2 rides like usual. It seems that Disney World (not sure about Disneyland) is trying to prevent people from only purchasing LL for part of their party.

Editing to add that I am sure some CMs allow it and aren’t as strict, but the two CMs I encountered were. I just wouldn’t plan my trip thinking it will work and then you won’t be disappointed. It will be a bonus if it does.

 

[kristensideaoffun]

Right, I’ve used it many times for this. I’m just posting my experience that at Disney World in March, the CMs did not want to issue a rider swap if you already had a LL. This is my only trip since paid LL started and they were way more strict than past trips. When I needed one for Splash because the LL would end before the second group could ride, I had to explain it to them before they would issue me one and then they only let 1 person reride with me even though we were a group of 7. Same thing happened at Soarin’. They only allowed 2 of us to ride the second time and didn’t let the kids do 2 rides like usual. It seems that Disney World (not sure about Disneyland) is trying to prevent people from only purchasing LL for part of their party.

Editing to add that I am sure some CMs allow it and aren’t as strict, but the two CMs I encountered were. I just wouldn’t plan my trip thinking it will work and then you won’t be disappointed. It will be a bonus if it does.

It works differently at DLR (this is the DLR forum). I’ve gone 3 times in the last month and used RiderSwitch and Genie+ all three times. They allowed two guests to ride with the person staying behind. I never encountered a CM that stated otherwise, except for the first day when it was just the 3 of us plus the baby. One CM only allowed one person to return with the “Switcher” because he saw we only scanned 3 LLs. They also had us scan our LLs and then scanned our tickets and gave us a RiderSwitch pass in case our LL window expired before we were able to switch.

The advantage to using R

We were issued new lightening lane codes to scan for the person staying behind and the 2 people who would re-ride. They didn't check that the people entering the ride and those riding again all had lightening lane passes originally. So yes, the CM's violated policy.

I only had this happen to me about 25% of the time. All the other times they watched us scan our LL’s and then issued the RiderSwitch. We even had a couple of CM’s that counted how many scans we did and then told us we could only return with 1 guest. We were a party of 3 plus a baby, so the CM saw we only had 3 LLs and so he only scanned 2 tickets for the RiderSwitch.

I wouldn’t go to DLR and count on not having to buy LLs for everyone if you’re utilizing Rider Switch.

 

[Kerr84]

It works differently at DLR (this is the DLR forum). I’ve gone 3 times in the last month and used RiderSwitch and Genie+ all three times. They allowed two guests to ride with the person staying behind. I never encountered a CM that stated otherwise, except for the first day when it was just the 3 of us plus the baby. One CM only allowed one person to return with the “Switcher” because he saw we only scanned 3 LLs. They also had us scan our LLs and then scanned our tickets and gave us a RiderSwitch pass in case our LL window expired before we were able to switch.


I only had this happen to me about 25% of the time. All the other times they watched us scan our LL’s and then issued the RiderSwitch. We even had a couple of CM’s that counted how many scans we did and then told us we could only return with 1 guest. We were a party of 3 plus a baby, so the CM saw we only had 3 LLs and so he only scanned 2 tickets for the RiderSwitch.

I wouldn’t go to DLR and count on not having to buy LLs for everyone if you’re utilizing Rider Switch.

Thanks! I knew this was a Disneyland forum. That’s why I specified Disney World and said “not sure about Disneyland”. I’m planning for my trip in June, but the only trip I’ve done since LL is WDW and it was just an example of how it has changed since LL. I think experiences have changed at both DL and WDW. I think you and I are in agreement though that they would all need a LL at most rides and could not get away with only buying LL for part of their party.