SDMT: CM measured child before giving rider switch

[JennaDeeDooDah]

While looking for the policy on fp+ and rider swap, I came across this link.

http://disneyparksmomspanel.disney.go.com/questions.aspx?pgm=2&pid=120&cid=129&qid=259497


I'm wondering if those in the "unfair/abuse" camp have entered info for a BOG fast pass. Technically that is supposed to be only for those who have been invited, but the system allows you to get a fp without the invitation. Maybe that loophole needs to be closed too in order to reduce wait times. Or did you ever hold a paper fast pass for a "disconnected" ride and additional ride at the same time. Isn't that abuse of the system?

I can only speak for myself here, but since everyone seems to have the ability to get a FP for BOG, as you stated, and because anyone could pull a disconnected FP, I don't see a problem with it. Everyone does not have the ability to pull double tier 1 and tier 2 fast passes now, though.

 

[mummabear]

You are obviously anti Universal. Universal offers an ACd waiting room for you. Just a tad bigger than 6x6. You can wait in the heat like at Disney, if you so choose.

You don't like Universal because they let you do the same as Disney, Plus give you the option to wait in air conditioning. Yeah, that makes sense. The only thing Uni doesn't do is let you abuse baby swaps for more rides.

Actually I am a huge US fan. DH and I are huge coaster junkies.
However my experience with US/IOA rider swap is that they will not allow strollers in the waiting area-a huge issue when you have two young kids. Frankly a large amount of the time one of them was asleep.
Secondly they are small rooms, only the mummy has a tv and in our case it was playing a superhero cartoon suitable for maybe 7 and up certainly not 2-5 year olds. No toys and calling an open room air conditioned is a stretch (heat doesn't bother me though)
I did however pay $130 per child to get in (as well as paying for the 2 adults) and it is poor value to spend that time twiddling our thumbs in a boring room.
It makes more sense to allow us all to approach the ride, speak to a staff member and get a swap, DH enter the line while I take the kids to the George or Suess area and then swap. This is exactly what I emailed US after our trip.
You seem very concerned with making sure that no one else is able to ride more rides than you with no care for what disadvantage it would put others in.

 

[mummabear]

Doesn't FP+ eliminate the need for rider swap entirely?

I am so confused.

No more than FP did. And it would not solve the problem of the 2nd parent having to ride alone and missing out on the experience of riding with their children.

So let's pull the old "Walt wanted families to ride together"

 

[mummabear]

They don't have to travel with their child.

Seriously, though, the thing is it isn't always going to be "fair" (and again, I really do hate that word but just can't think of a better one for what I'm trying to convey) but I just don't like the rule and think that it does more to make things unfair than fair. And, again, I'm not necessarily faulting people for doing this and taking advantage of the opportunity, I just think that the rule is a poor one and needs to be strongly looked at by the powers that be..

That is my point, there is no such thing as fair...it just seems to me that the "this is unfair camp" don't care as long as it is unfair in their advantage...

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

Except that they don't allow the strollers in. Furthermore, yes there is a boring room that the 2nd parent and child to wait in, how fun to sit in a 6x6 cell for 90 minutes who wouldn't want to do that!

Huh? You don't wait in the room for 90 minutes, you wait as long as the ride takes (which is generally about 2-5 minutes). You wait in the queue all together, so the kids get to see the neat things along the way (like Hogwarts castle, or the MIB aliens, or the Mummy ruins...) and then swap immediately.

 

[doctornick]

I think all of you are missing the point- and I know this because I TOTALLY missed the point for the LONGEST time...so here goes- and please read carefully

Mom and Dad take their 3 kids....kid #1 is 2yo and too short to ride. Kid #2 is tall enough and kid #3 is tall enough....

Their family is entitled to 3 booked FPs per person who are ticketed....so that would mean 2 adults and 2 kids, for a TOTAL of 12 booked FPs. (4 people x3) 2yo doesn't need them.

SOOO...mom books Soarin with kid #2 for their FP. Mom picks up 2 rider swap passes so DAD and kid #3 can ride right after.....

dad books Test track with kid #3 for their FP. Dad picks up 2 rider swap passes so dad can take kid #2 right after.....

IN the above scenario- perfectly legal..... the entire family has ridden 2 RIDES but only used ONE FP entitlement.

Do you get it now? If they do this ALL day long- then the family effectively doubles their FPs. HOW is this FAIR?

The point of baby swap was to help parents be able to not wait in line twice....in the above scenario- NOBODY in the ENTIRE group is waiting EVER.

I don't disagree with the point you are saying, but.... For each ride, the family has to go through two cycles. They have to wait in the FP+ line and ride twice. While those are certainly not too long, it's obviously longer than a group all going together in the FP+ line and riding.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

That is my point, there is no such thing as fair...it just seems to me that the "this is unfair camp" don't care as long as it is unfair in their advantage...

To me, fair is everyone having an equal opportunity. I have the opportunity to pull 1 tier one fast pass, 2 tier two fast passes, and possibly a 4th floating fast pass, if they are still available. My husband has that same opportunity. Suzie Q staying at Caribbean Beach as that same opportunity. Jack and Sally at Art of Animation have that same opportunity. We might not all take advantage of that opportunity, but it is there. Now we are hearing about how Mike and Carol and their kids, Greg and Marcia actually have the opportunity to use more fast passes. I'm not necessarily looking for equal results, but I don't think asking for equal opportunity is unreasonable..

 

[mummabear]

Huh? You don't wait in the room for 90 minutes, you wait as long as the ride takes (which is generally about 2-5 minutes). You wait in the queue all together, so the kids get to see the neat things along the way (like Hogwarts castle, or the MIB aliens, or the Mummy ruins...) and then swap immediately.

We were last there May/June last year. Every ride across the 2 days we were there we went straight to the room while D/h rode then when he exited he came to the room and I went back to the loading area, waited to be called over and then rode.

 

[mummabear]

To me, fair is everyone having an equal opportunity. I have the opportunity to pull 1 tier one fast pass, 2 tier two fast passes, and possibly a 4th floating fast pass, if they are still available. My husband has that same opportunity. Suzie Q staying at Caribbean Beach as that same opportunity. Jack and Sally at Art of Animation have that same opportunity. We might not all take advantage of that opportunity, but it is there. Now we are hearing about how Mike and Carol and their kids, Greg and Marcia actually have the opportunity to use more fast passes. I'm not necessarily looking for equal results, but I don't think asking for equal opportunity is unreasonable..

Except it is the difference in opportunity that equalises the results.
I agree tiering should be removed, it is Disney's way of "hiding" that they don't have enough Eticket rides outside of MK.

 

[trainingupmy4princes]

I think all of you are missing the point- and I know this because I TOTALLY missed the point for the LONGEST time...so here goes- and please read carefully

Mom and Dad take their 3 kids....kid #1 is 2yo and too short to ride. Kid #2 is tall enough and kid #3 is tall enough....

Their family is entitled to 3 booked FPs per person who are ticketed....so that would mean 2 adults and 2 kids, for a TOTAL of 12 booked FPs. (4 people x3) 2yo doesn't need them.

SOOO...mom books Soarin with kid #2 for their FP. Mom picks up 2 rider swap passes so DAD and kid #3 can ride right after.....

dad books Test track with kid #3 for their FP. Dad picks up 2 rider swap passes so dad can take kid #2 right after.....

IN the above scenario- perfectly legal..... the entire family has ridden 2 RIDES but only used ONE FP entitlement.

Do you get it now? If they do this ALL day long- then the family effectively doubles their FPs. HOW is this FAIR?

The point of baby swap was to help parents be able to not wait in line twice....in the above scenario- NOBODY in the ENTIRE group is waiting EVER.

But that is only one scenario. In my case, DH and 4 boys book SM while I book Cinderella M & G (boys have seen enough princesses over the years they won't miss it) I get a RS and ride with whatever boy has behaved the best (rather than constant reminders on my end they keep themselves in line hoping to be picked)
We all get PP (kids all love the classics) and POTC.
I guess yes you could say that my one kid and I got an extra FP ride but the alternative would be unfair as well. Either my DD doesn't get a FP for her ticket because she can't enter a line by herself or I don't get to ride the bigger rides for my ticket.
I think my scenario is more likely than the super FP+ user family with a toddler in tow. Which means if they change policies it would be unfair to families like mine with kids several age brackets. So no matter what there will be some unfairness or some abuse, I'd rather risk some abuse (I think the numbers low enough) then make it harder for the families with multiple age brackets.

 

[mummabear]

But that is only one scenario. In my case, DH and 4 boys book SM while I book Cinderella M & G (boys have seen enough princesses over the years they won't miss it) I get a RS and ride with whatever boy has behaved the best (rather than constant reminders on my end they keep themselves in line hoping to be picked)
We all get PP (kids all love the classics) and POTC.
I guess yes you could say that my one kid and I got an extra FP ride but the alternative would be unfair as well. Either my DD doesn't get a FP for her ticket because she can't enter a line by herself or I don't get to ride the bigger rides for my ticket.
I think my scenario is more likely than the super FP+ user family with a toddler in tow. Which means if they change policies it would be unfair to families like mine with kids several age brackets. So no matter what there will be some unfairness or some abuse, I'd rather risk some abuse (I think the numbers low enough) then make it harder for the families with multiple age brackets.

 

[ArwenMarie]

No more than FP did. And it would not solve the problem of the 2nd parent having to ride alone and missing out on the experience of riding with their children.

So let's pull the old "Walt wanted families to ride together"

FP+ at least lets you pick your times instead of being at the whim of what is in the FP machine. That was my point with that, which could be very helpful with a family.

I guess I don't think that riding every single ride with each parent is necessary. And as everyone keeps saying, RS is not available on all of the rides, so it's not like you will be apart all day.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Except it is the difference in opportunity that equalises the results.
I agree tiering should be removed, it is Disney's way of "hiding" that they don't have enough Eticket rides outside of MK.

I disagree. I believe that every individual has exactly the same opportunity. It is how they choose to tour that changes the results. Some choose to go at a commando speed individually. They will get more done. Others choose to tour with a large family. They will get less done. Some choose to accommodate their children rather than their own personal preference. Some choose to do whatever they want regardless of the children. We can argue who is doing it right all we want, but the fact is, they all have the same opportunity when they purchase a ticket. They all have the ability to get 3 fast passes per day with the possibility of a fourth after the initial 3 are used. By allowing certain guests to actually have the ability to use 6, 12, or possibly even 16 fast passes, they don't have an equal opportunity.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

But that is only one scenario. In my case, DH and 4 boys book SM while I book Cinderella M & G (boys have seen enough princesses over the years they won't miss it) I get a RS and ride with whatever boy has behaved the best (rather than constant reminders on my end they keep themselves in line hoping to be picked)
We all get PP (kids all love the classics) and POTC.
I guess yes you could say that my one kid and I got an extra FP ride but the alternative would be unfair as well. Either my DD doesn't get a FP for her ticket because she can't enter a line by herself or I don't get to ride the bigger rides for my ticket.
I think my scenario is more likely than the super FP+ user family with a toddler in tow. Which means if they change policies it would be unfair to families like mine with kids several age brackets. So no matter what there will be some unfairness or some abuse, I'd rather risk some abuse (I think the numbers low enough) then make it harder for the families with multiple age brackets.

But that's a choice you made. You decided to use your fast pass to go with your daughter to meet the princesses (which, by the way, I think was a very kind decision so she could have some fun) rather than to ride SM with your boys. Your husband decided to use HIS fast pass for SM with the boys rather than to go meet princess with your daughter and you (again, a kind decision so your boys could do the ride that they wanted). That doesn't change the fact that you still got to take advantage of more fast passes than other individual guests in the parks. We have children. We make decisions. We make sacrifices. Our lives change. Disney has made it so that it is a little easier on us in the parks, I just don't agree with the specific way they have chosen to do this.

 

[rastuso]

But that is only one scenario. In my case, DH and 4 boys book SM while I book Cinderella M & G (boys have seen enough princesses over the years they won't miss it) I get a RS and ride with whatever boy has behaved the best (rather than constant reminders on my end they keep themselves in line hoping to be picked)
We all get PP (kids all love the classics) and POTC.
I guess yes you could say that my one kid and I got an extra FP ride but the alternative would be unfair as well. Either my DD doesn't get a FP for her ticket because she can't enter a line by herself or I don't get to ride the bigger rides for my ticket.
I think my scenario is more likely than the super FP+ user family with a toddler in tow. Which means if they change policies it would be unfair to families like mine with kids several age brackets. So no matter what there will be some unfairness or some abuse, I'd rather risk some abuse (I think the numbers low enough) then make it harder for the families with multiple age brackets.

You could take TWO kids, and all ride with only 2 FP+ used.

Nothing is unfair to your family with different ages. You are expecting special rules that only apply to you. The "Fair" thing is what Universal does. You all wait together, and your party splits up once, so someone is always with the baby. Handling out passes for use WHENEVER by 3 people isn't fair.

-Jason

 

[DisneyWisher]

You could take TWO kids, and all ride with only 2 FP+ used. Nothing is unfair to your family with different ages. You are expecting special rules that only apply to you. The "Fair" thing is what Universal does. You all wait together, and your party splits up once, so someone is always with the baby. Handling out passes for use WHENEVER by 3 people isn't fair. -Jason

The difference is Universal created these rooms when building the rides. Disney didn't. How would you expect this to work at Splash Mountain. Even when using the "chicken exit" you have to climb stairs to a walkway that goes over the logs. They aren't going to want a parent taking this with a small child, parent trips and Disney is liable. They obviously feel it's better to have the waiting parent to stay outside the ride with child. Universal's way does get everyone to ride quicker. As soon as first parent disembarks other parent is on the ride quickly...Disney's way Disembark, go find other parent, take the 3 riding to FP line and wait in line for your turn.
I went with my DD, DSIL, and my 1 yr old granddaughter. Sometimes by the time DD and DSIL got off the ride I just wanted to move to the next ride. Believe me waiting is never fun!

 

[ang13]

The difference is Universal created these rooms when building the rides. Disney didn't. How would you expect this to work at Splash Mountain. Even when using the "chicken exit" you have to climb stairs to a walkway that goes over the logs. They aren't going to want a parent taking this with a small child, parent trips and Disney is liable. They obviously feel it's better to have the waiting parent to stay outside the ride with child. Universal's way does get everyone to ride quicker. As soon as first parent disembarks other parent is on the ride quickly...Disney's way Disembark, go find other parent, take the 3 riding to FP line and wait in line for your turn.
I went with my DD, DSIL, and my 1 yr old granddaughter. Sometimes by the time DD and DSIL got off the ride I just wanted to move to the next ride. Believe me waiting is never fun!

It's funny you bring up Splash Mountain. Our last visit, our son who was 4 at the time was already tall enough to ride nearly everything, but petrified of almost every ride (including Small World, but then again I know a few adults who are too). The CM at the front of splash mountain told us we could switch out internally since there wasn't a line. I had to promise my ds the whole walk he wasn't going on, then when he had to pass over the log he had a complete meltdown, kicking and screaming thinking he was going on. DH had never been on it so he went and I decided against switching after he got off since I felt so guilty making ds stand around something he was clearly petrified of.

I'm getting nervous about our trip in August as ds has now hit 48ins, but he still refuses to go on anything fast and honestly I think he's too small overall for a ride like space mountain. We were planning to use rider swap maybe once a day. There's only two adults in our group, so it's not like anyone would be riding twice.

 

[surferdave]

I can't help but picture the following exchange:

Steve the Guest: "We'd like to do rider swap, our son is nervous about riding this attraction."

Bob the CM: "But he looks tall enough to ride, step under this stick. Sorry kid, you're just barely tall enough so you'll have to ride with them, no rider swap for you."

twenty minutes later:

Steve the Guest: "He ended up trying it and enjoyed the ride, so we got back in line to ride it again!"

Bob the CM: "Wait a minute, he's close to I have to measure him again. Take your shoes off kid, I think you may be too short. Sorry, now I can fit a piece of paper under your head, you can't ride"

 

[Monykalyn]

We just came back and the CM's are very rude about rider swap. We all had FP+ but on RnR our 8 yo DS freaked out and DH ended up having to take him out. well we had already gotten in line and used our fast passes! they wouldn't give a rider swap so DH wouldn't have to wait in standby. (DS had already ridden ToT so who knew he would freak about RnR? and he loved Splash mountain, Space mountain and SDMT). Even when I pointed out WDW official policy on their website about guests not wanting to experience the ride. We didn't get to US this trip, but unless things have drastically changed in the last few years, US has it all over WDW on riderswap-much much better at US. And the paper FP (given out of ride breaks down after you are already in line) are good for one person only, vs the rider swap good for 3 people-simply give out the paper FP only for rider swap and the "abuse" problem solved!
Frankly the CM's this trip were a lot grumpier than I ever remember them being-at least 50% had "attitude" (I have a 16 DD so I know attitude when I see it lol) with maybe 10% being really great.

 

[MikeP22]

We just came back and the CM's are very rude about rider swap. We all had FP+ but on RnR our 8 yo DS freaked out and DH ended up having to take him out. well we had already gotten in line and used our fast passes! they wouldn't give a rider swap so DH wouldn't have to wait in standby. (DS had already ridden ToT so who knew he would freak about RnR? and he loved Splash mountain, Space mountain and SDMT). Even when I pointed out WDW official policy on their website about guests not wanting to experience the ride. We didn't get to US this trip, but unless things have drastically changed in the last few years, US has it all over WDW on riderswap-much much better at US. And the paper FP (given out of ride breaks down after you are already in line) are good for one person only, vs the rider swap good for 3 people-simply give out the paper FP only for rider swap and the "abuse" problem solved!
Frankly the CM's this trip were a lot grumpier than I ever remember them being-at least 50% had "attitude" (I have a 16 DD so I know attitude when I see it lol) with maybe 10% being really great.

So what was their response when you pointed out the posted policy?