Rider Switch

[mbrittb00]

The rider swap pass can be obtained with incredible ease. If you are going with one or two other adults and no kids - you can essentially skirt the fast pass system if you're willing to bend the truth a little bit. All you have to do is walk up to the fastpass+ entrance, ask for a rider swap pass (if they ask where the child is say he's with another adult in the group) and then walk right in. The pass is good for up to 3 people, and it usually doesn't expire for the entire week.

Here is the best part: you can ask for another rider swap pass right before or right after you ride the attraction. There is no way for the cast members loading you onto the attraction to tell which line you came in and if you had a FP, switch pass, no strings attached, or any other line skipping pass. This means in theory, you can have an unlimited FP for any attraction. Just be careful you don't overkill the ride and make them all suspicious as to why you've ridden Seven Dwarfs Mine Train 5 times in 20 minutes when the wait is 2 hours long.

I realize that this may make some people feel like they are cheating the system - and you are; but on incredibly busy times its a great option to have to skip pretty much every line that exists.

A few notes
- not all attractions have a rider swap
- you may be rejected on rare occasion - but usually they just give it to you without asking any questions, especially if you're an adult.
- if you are rejected, wait 10-15 minutes and the FP line operator will rotate to another position, and another CM will be rotated into his place. I've never been turned down twice.

Happy line hopping!

Well I would honestly never consider doing any of that. I was more curious what the proposed inaccuracies were on the OFFICIAL WDW website. And what makes us believe that it is indeed inaccurate.

 

[DisMax]

Well I would honestly never consider doing any of that. I was more curious what the proposed inaccuracies were on the OFFICIAL WDW website. And what makes us believe that it is indeed inaccurate.

If you want to do it the "official way" then wait in line and get it right before you board the ride. In many cases the CM's who are boarding you don't even have them - you have to get it from the FP line attendant. If you have a kid with you they'll ask you no questions and simply give you the pass. Very easy - but definitely a flawed system in terms of how easy they are to get. There is no system to check whether or not you actually stood in line. Its a very unofficial process.

 

[tjmw2727]

The post quoted below has NOT been my experience as recently as last week! Every CM asked to see the child who did not qualify to ride prior to issuing us a RS Pass. This includes Soarin when my niece was outside sleeping in the stroller and strollers aren't allowed in the land.

In past years my sil wasn't able to use Rider Swap when my nephew was just a hair over 40 but afraid to ride TOT. Instead they offered us to walk through and switch at the exit but he was too afraid of the line.

Not to mention the honesty factor ...........

As far as logistics the RS pass was good for up to 3 riders total for that attraction anytime that day (a few had later expiration days). Worked fine via the FP+ line and the standby line.

The rider swap pass can be obtained with incredible ease. If you are going with one or two other adults and no kids - you can essentially skirt the fast pass system if you're willing to bend the truth a little bit. All you have to do is walk up to the fastpass+ entrance, ask for a rider swap pass (if they ask where the child is say he's with another adult in the group) and then walk right in. The pass is good for up to 3 people, and it usually doesn't expire for the entire week.

Here is the best part: you can ask for another rider swap pass right before or right after you ride the attraction. There is no way for the cast members loading you onto the attraction to tell which line you came in and if you had a FP, switch pass, no strings attached, or any other line skipping pass. This means in theory, you can have an unlimited FP for any attraction. Just be careful you don't overkill the ride and make them all suspicious as to why you've ridden Seven Dwarfs Mine Train 5 times in 20 minutes when the wait is 2 hours long.

I realize that this may make some people feel like they are cheating the system - and you are; but on incredibly busy times its a great option to have to skip pretty much every line that exists.

A few notes
- not all attractions have a rider swap
- you may be rejected on rare occasion - but usually they just give it to you without asking any questions, especially if you're an adult.
- if you are rejected, wait 10-15 minutes and the FP line operator will rotate to another position, and another CM will be rotated into his place. I've never been turned down twice.

Happy line hopping!

 

[cakebaker]

The post quoted below has NOT been my experience as recently as last week! Every CM asked to see the child who did not qualify to ride prior to issuing us a RS Pass. This includes Soarin when my niece was outside sleeping in the stroller and strollers aren't allowed in the land.

In past years my sil wasn't able to use Rider Swap when my nephew was just a hair over 40 but afraid to ride TOT. Instead they offered us to walk through and switch at the exit but he was too afraid of the line.

Not to mention the honesty factor ...........

As far as logistics the RS pass was good for up to 3 riders total for that attraction anytime that day (a few had later expiration days). Worked fine via the FP+ line and the standby line.

Mine either as of 3 weeks ago. We always have to produce the child- It's so consistent that we don't even bother anymore not to bring him with us. Kind of a pain because someone could be doing something else to entertain him, but it's the price you pay so that others can't take advantage.

 

[mistysue]

I don't know where DisMax's information comes from, but it has HUGE errors. Not only will they only give the pass if they see the child, but if you enter the FP+ line when obtaining the switch pass you will need to have a FP+ or they send you standby. They also give the pass to the waiting parent at least 9 out of 10 times so people can't just loop with the swap pass.

The whole idea is so that your family doesn't have to completely double the waits- it does not give you unlimited instant fastpasses if you didn't have one to begin with. It works with FP so that if your family schedules a fp+ together you don't have to worry about the FP line taken too long and missing the next person's window. If DH and I both had to use FP in our window we would miss the window constantly.

Last week we did rider swaps multiple times at all 4 parks and always had to show the baby and have a FP to use the FP line. (unless we were returning with the pass)

 

[Ava]

Last week we did rider swaps multiple times at all 4 parks and always had to show the baby and have a FP to use the FP line. (unless we were returning with the pass)

Did the waiting parent have to scan a FP+ as well before the CM gave the RS pass, or just the parent riding first? There have been conflicting reports on this and I'd really like to know for sure what the policy is.

 

[cakebaker]

Did the waiting parent have to scan a FP+ as well before the CM gave the RS pass, or just the parent riding first? There have been conflicting reports on this and I'd really like to know for sure what the policy is.

No, they don't. We were there 3 weeks ago, rode many rides using the pass and the waiting riders do not have to have a fp+.

When you think about it, it doesn't make sense that the waiting party would need a fp+- even if you did standby for the first rider, the waiting rider(s) would not have to go thru the regular line. Add to that, the Disney website says fp+ is not needed.

Not sure how that story got started that everyone needs a fp+, maybe there were confused CM's at the beginning, but it seems consistent now that they aren't requiring it.

 

[tjmw2727]

Mine either as of 3 weeks ago. We always have to produce the child- It's so consistent that we don't even bother anymore not to bring him with us. Kind of a pain because someone could be doing something else to entertain him, but it's the price you pay so that others can't take advantage.

Oh I Agree, I didn't mean that as a complaint. Yes it is a bit of a pain to carry the sleeping baby down through the pavilion but I wouldn't want the program to disappear for those who need it and use is as intended!

 

[tjmw2727]

Did the waiting parent have to scan a FP+ as well before the CM gave the RS pass, or just the parent riding first? There have been conflicting reports on this and I'd really like to know for sure what the policy is.

For us it was all the members of the party riding first not just the parent, but the parent waiting with the non riding child was not asked if they had a FP+.

 

[Ava]

Thanks for the clarification on what you encountered with FP+. There were numerous reports that CMs at 7DMT especially were requiring all members of a party, including the waiting parent, to scan a FP+ before they'd issue a Rider Swap pass. If this is no longer the case, or seems to be isolated to that one ride, I may split up our FP+ ressies. Now to decide if I want to go through the trouble of redoing all my reservations...

 

[cakebaker]

Thanks for the clarification on what you encountered with FP+. There were numerous reports that CMs at 7DMT especially were requiring all members of a party, including the waiting parent, to scan a FP+ before they'd issue a Rider Swap pass. If this is no longer the case, or seems to be isolated to that one ride, I may split up our FP+ ressies. Now to decide if I want to go through the trouble of redoing all my reservations...

Admittedly we did not ride 7DMT but I can tell you if they require everyone to have a fp there on our next trip, I'll head straight to guest services. It's not how it's supposed to be.

Oh I Agree, I didn't mean that as a complaint. Yes it is a bit of a pain to carry the sleeping baby down through the pavilion but I wouldn't want the program to disappear for those who need it and use is as intended!

We had that issue at Soarin' too- wasn't happy at all having to wake him up. Enough that we skipped riding it.

 

[DisMax]

All I'm saying is that when I was there about a month ago, they were handing them out like candy. It has been that way at Disneyland forever too. No CM ever required to see any child, nor did they ever ask any questions about where the child was. Might have changed in the last few weeks - hopefully they did because this has always been a huge loophole in their parks.

 

[Angel Ariel]

All I'm saying is that when I was there about a month ago, they were handing them out like candy. It has been that way at Disneyland forever too. No CM ever required to see any child, nor did they ever ask any questions about where the child was. Might have changed in the last few weeks - hopefully they did because this has always been a huge loophole in their parks.

Requiring the child to be present is not new. We were always required to present the too-short child - on both of our 2013 trips (March and October).

 

[tjmw2727]

All I'm saying is that when I was there about a month ago, they were handing them out like candy. It has been that way at Disneyland forever too. No CM ever required to see any child, nor did they ever ask any questions about where the child was. Might have changed in the last few weeks - hopefully they did because this has always been a huge loophole in their parks.

And again not my experience in December 2013, April 2014, August 2014 and 2-3 trips a year going back to when fast pass was implemented.

So your suggesting lying to a CM to gain an advantage by abusing a program designed to help families who would otherwise wait 2x the time for the same experience? I bet your CM friends could get in some big trouble if they are doing this with you.

 

[wn01aa]

Did the waiting parent have to scan a FP+ as well before the CM gave the RS pass, or just the parent riding first? There have been conflicting reports on this and I'd really like to know for sure what the policy is.

Was there last week for a week. Never had a CM check if both of us had a FP. At Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studies, the CM would give us a rider swap ticket once they saw the child and the ticket was given at the ride entrance. However, at Magic Kingdom they now give the first party a lanyard at the ride entrance that has the ride name and word rider switch. The first party gives the lanyard to the CM at the ride boarding and then you are given the actual ticket. Once it was funny and at Splash the first Cm got the lanyards tangled and just ended up saying "he's two for you" since she couldn't untangle the two. When I have them at the boarding area, they have me 2 rider switch tickets. Only used one though, the other I have as a souvenir.

 

[Travelgrrl]

The rider swap pass can be obtained with incredible ease. If you are going with one or two other adults and no kids - you can essentially skirt the fast pass system if you're willing to bend the truth a little bit. All you have to do is walk up to the fastpass+ entrance, ask for a rider swap pass (if they ask where the child is say he's with another adult in the group) and then walk right in. The pass is good for up to 3 people, and it usually doesn't expire for the entire week.

Here is the best part: you can ask for another rider swap pass right before or right after you ride the attraction. There is no way for the cast members loading you onto the attraction to tell which line you came in and if you had a FP, switch pass, no strings attached, or any other line skipping pass. This means in theory, you can have an unlimited FP for any attraction. Just be careful you don't overkill the ride and make them all suspicious as to why you've ridden Seven Dwarfs Mine Train 5 times in 20 minutes when the wait is 2 hours long.

I realize that this may make some people feel like they are cheating the system - and you are; but on incredibly busy times its a great option to have to skip pretty much every line that exists.

A few notes
- not all attractions have a rider swap
- you may be rejected on rare occasion - but usually they just give it to you without asking any questions, especially if you're an adult.
- if you are rejected, wait 10-15 minutes and the FP line operator will rotate to another position, and another CM will be rotated into his place. I've never been turned down twice.

Happy line hopping!

If you're wondering why Disney is battening the hatches on Rider Swap, you can blame not only those who are in effect double dipping by using RS and FP to ride twice the rides (for some members of their party), but people like this that are outright gaming the system.

Getting a Rider swap when you're a party of all adults isn't a 'loophole', nor is it 'bending he truth', it's outright lying and cheating.

I have no problem with the former (families with small kids riding to their hearts content) being in front of me in line, I have a big problem with those who lie and cheat their way to the front. And then brag about it.

 

[Ava]

Was there last week for a week. Never had a CM check if both of us had a FP. At Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studies, the CM would give us a rider swap ticket once they saw the child and the ticket was given at the ride entrance. However, at Magic Kingdom they now give the first party a lanyard at the ride entrance that has the ride name and word rider switch. The first party gives the lanyard to the CM at the ride boarding and then you are given the actual ticket. Once it was funny and at Splash the first Cm got the lanyards tangled and just ended up saying "he's two for you" since she couldn't untangle the two. When I have them at the boarding area, they have me 2 rider switch tickets. Only used one though, the other I have as a souvenir.

That's interesting, about the lanyards. I wonder if they are tracking something with those, like how they sometimes hand out those red cards to guests in line to track wait times.

I have no intention of abusing any system, I just want to understand the rules. If I'm allowed to book a FP for 2 of us for Space Mountain and a FP for the same time for 1 adult to take the baby on Buzz, then the 2nd adult can use the RS pass to ride Space Mtn, I'd like to do that so the baby doesn't have to spend as much time just waiting for the rest of us to ride rides that she can't ride.

 

[mom2rtk]

I can't tell you how frustrated I am that the day we have Ohana reservations is the first day the new policy regarding photos no longer being included goes into effect. That was the policy when we made the reservations and now they are changing it. Here's an idea: if we have to make plans 180 days out, how about you make announcements about changes 180 days out, as well? Only seems right.

Those photos were never included with the meal anywhere other than CRT and Akershus. If you got photos at 'Ohana or Tusker House, you paid for them (it was $30 or $35). The only exception was if you had Photopass Plus or Memory Maker.

But I totally agree that it's awful how they want people to plan 180 days out then keep throwing changes at people last minute. It stinks.

 

[DopeyDame]

I'm guessing DisMax is just trolling.

We've used baby swap a lot (pre-FP+), and every single time we've had to have the kid with us. In our experience, there's no way they just would randomly give out baby swap pass by saying "oh, the kid's with grandma".
About 25% of the time, they actually watch and make sure the first group of adults get in line (Fp or standby) right away, although they seem to be less strict with that.

 

[Anonomom]

Was there last week for a week. Never had a CM check if both of us had a FP. At Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studies, the CM would give us a rider swap ticket once they saw the child and the ticket was given at the ride entrance. However, at Magic Kingdom they now give the first party a lanyard at the ride entrance that has the ride name and word rider switch. The first party gives the lanyard to the CM at the ride boarding and then you are given the actual ticket. Once it was funny and at Splash the first Cm got the lanyards tangled and just ended up saying "he's two for you" since she couldn't untangle the two. When I have them at the boarding area, they have me 2 rider switch tickets. Only used one though, the other I have as a souvenir.

We used rider swap a few times between 8/15 and 8/21, and never encountered the lanyards. Maybe it's just on certain rides? We used it for Star Tours, Soarin and the Mine Train. Walked up (all of us together, just in case) and asked for a rider swap. In each case, they asked which parent was going first, had them swipe their band and gave the pass to the other parent. The second parent was never asked if they had a fastpass.

(that said, I'm a worrier. I always had FPs for both adults, just in case something went wonky. Honestly, the crowds were low enough last week that we didn't even need our FPs much of the time, so I wasn't worried about "wasting" them).