Soarin questions

[Jenny]

My DH & I want to attempt one baby swap for one adult ride during our brief trip this coming november. We have chosen Soarin - we went on it in DL in 2001 once & enjoyed it.

is there a single rider line? is there a baby swap option - how does it work? I assume it has fast pass - do you think that this would be needed in the early afternoon (we're going on a thurs. 11/3 - it's an EMH p.m. day if that makes a difference). I'm thinking that we should get a fast pass, use the single rider line & swap the kids outside unless there's an indoor area for baby swap - if there is one, would that be w/ or w/out strollers?

thanks for any input as i'm trying to plan the best that i can for our 2 day sprint through 4 theme parks! a little crazy but i'm only doing the kid highlights along w/ the F & W festival as our priorities. MK a.m./Epcot p.m. on day 1 & AK a.m./MGM p.m. & maybe even Epcot for dinner on day 2.

 

[2Xited4Disney]

I didn't see a single rider line, nor a baby swap, but there is a large open area before the terminal where carriages where. We got there around 10 and there was already a 1 hour wait but it is deffinately worth it .

 

[40-Something Kid]

You should by all means get Fastpasses, if at all possible.

I don't recall seeing a Single Rider line, but not 100 percent sure. Since there are no "cars" or vehicles, Single Rider would not serve as great a purpose as, say, Test Track.

The line is sooooooooooooo long because the attraction is sooooooooooooo awesome. Different than anything else in the World.

There is a babyswap area at the front of the attraction. We have used it for my sister's baby daughter.

 

[safetymom]

There is a single rider line at Soarin. Most times they are not using it. They pull singles out of the regular line usually.

 

[iwannbindisnee]

When I was there in June, I was told by the CM that they were not using the Single rider line & were going to get rid of it--So I would definitely get fast passes & ask about the baby swap when you get there! Have fun! Deb

 

[safetymom]

I doubt they will get rid of the single rider lines since CA has one. Once the high crowds die down I am sure they will be using it.

 

[KayakDaddy]

When we were there two weeks ago we did the baby swap on Soarin. We got there right at park opening and were probably among the first 100 people on the ride. The cue area was long, but we pretty much just walked right through it. There were two lines, the main one, and the one they were using as the fastpass line.

We stayed together all the way through the line until you get to this area where they split you up between the two sides (flight decks I think they call them). There is a little desk there from which the cast member pulled the baby swap card. My wife and DD1.5 exited back to the main section of the land there and DS5 went ahead and enjoyed Soarin (which was awesome).

DW & DD were waiting for us right at the exit. I took my daughter up to play and color at the little art center they have upstairs for kids. Meanwhile, DW & DS entered the fastpass line using the baby swap card and pretty much went straight to the front of the line since it was before the earliest fastpass return times.

On our way out, we picked up some fastpasses and returned later in the day to ride it again.

 

[byoung]

Soarin is great

 

[DaddyBeast]

You should get 2 FastPasses for Soarin' as soon as you can, then come back at the appointed time and send your partner to the FastPass entrance. Have him or her ask the CM there for the Rider Switch Pass. These are good for up to 3 people and usually have an expiration date of 2 or 3 days in the future.

Now, while your significant other is riding, check the FastPass return times and see if you can get 2 more FastPasses (assuming you will want to come back and ride it again). If not, then just wait for them to come out of the Exit (right next to the FP machines).

Then, send the second person back to the FastPass entrance and (just in case the first person forgot) get another Rider Switch Pass. You might actually get to ride twice in a short period of time, and you really need to ride twice because some seats are better than others (I like rows B1 and B2).

If you have older kids in addition to the baby, they may get to ride several times in a row since the Rider Switch Pass is good for 3 people.

 

[nuttylawprofessor]

We got our switch pass from the fastpass checker at the ride entrance. He required me to go get my DH and little one to show him that we really needed the switch pass. He was a real dweebe about it.

As a single rider, I was pulled out of the fastpass line to fill in a gap. Still, with a fastpass and a single rider bump, I waited almost 30 min. to ride. I thought the attraction was completely overrated.

No strollers were allowed inside the pavillion on the day we were there.

 

[Jenny]

Thank you so much to everyone has posted. It helps to have some information from people who have tried baby swap there. We went to Disney in jan. 05 but didn't have to use baby swap b/c my mom was with us to watch the 2 DDs. We have 2 small ones, neither can ride this time around, so I like to plan ahead.

We went to USF in May 05 & relied on the advice "ask the employees when you get there" & it was a disaster at Spiderman. One employee told us the wrong spot to wait & me & the 2 DDs almost got trampled b/c I couldn't move the kids in the 2 strollers, milk spilled, snacks fell, one guy was yelling at us, etc (we were next to the lines in the boarding area in an exit hallway instead of in their baby swap room/area that I didn't know about it at the time).

Anyway, we'll give Soarin a try. I'll see if we can walk through the line w/ the 2 w/out them being too fussy....it may be easier to have one parent outside w/ the kids waiting in their strollers. I'm trying to avoid another disaster.

Thanks again.

 

[mmccoy]

We just returned from WDW. Tried to ride Soarin' Sunday. Strolled up after the Segway tour, around 10:45. The stand-by wait was around 80 minutes, according to the CM. The Fastpass return time was already 3:30 - 4:30. Be aware, because of the popularity of Soarin', the queue at "the land boat ride" is also longer than it would otherwise be.

 

[LMarge]

Having been there last week and having to baby/kid swap almost every ride - let me just say it sounds a lot easier in the book than it was in reality! NO ONE let you in as a family - they all had to see that you really had a baby - they all made us wait outside with the baby (not even inside the attraction) while the others rode ( the one exception was Star Tours at MGM - they let us ride, myself and 2 kiddos, when it was over I got off took the baby and my dh got right on, and they all rode again back to back rides!) and each time we had a Fast Pass for the bigger attractions-we (the second riding adult) had to take the 2 other kiddos and get back in the Fast Pass line and go through the wait again - sometimes this was short and sometimes it was VERY long! Disney could stand to tweak this a bit in my opinion. I suppose it does beat waiting in the stand by line!!!LOL