Tall 2yo, Entrance and Rider Swap Questions

[chloelovesdisney]

So my 2yo has been off the charts for length/height since birth, he is as tall as any of his 3yo friends or taller. Should I bring a copy of his birth certificate just to be safe when going to the parks? To complicate matters he responds with anything from 1-6 when asked his age.

Second question is that although he may be tall enough for some rides, he is still 2yo and some rides are not appropriate for him (he is also easily scared, I'm not forcing him to ride anything). Will they allow us to rider swap given his age or is it based 100% on height and being technically able to ride.

Thank you.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

I believe that if you tell them his age, they have to believe you. It would be insulting to have to provide proof of age for a two-year old. I personally wouldn't worry about it.

As far as I know, they will give you a rider switch for a child who is too scared to ride regardless of height.

 

[DisneyWisher]

My daughter brought my granddaughters. She was 4 weeks shy of turning 3, she was 41.5" tall. We were never asked her age. We did take her on Splash, Big Thunder and Soarin' she loved them. The rule is if child is tall enough no rider swap. If you wanted to try I'd suggest keeping the child in the stroller and maybe they won't measure him.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Mmm, I will have him in the stroller then when we request the rider swap ticket and give that a try. I would not take him on any of those rides now. He's fine on Peter Pan, Nemo, that sort of ride but would NOT be happy on BTMRR, etc..

 

[TISHLOVESDISNEY]

My DS2 is predicted to be 40 inches by our trip as well. If he is, I am not taking him on Splash or Tot for sure. I asked a very nice CM (who called me back when I had FP+ questions,) if I would have issues with him being tall enough, she reassured me we would have no trouble getting rider swap. FWIW.
I plan on printing the "rules" off the website just incase.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/rider-switch/

 

[ksrogers]

Great information!! Thanks for posting link to rules!!

 

[mummabear]

We have always bought a copy of DD's (we have taken all 3 twice before they were 3) passport. I would not be offended providing proof, I am sure it is something that some people are willing to lie about to save $, since i'm not I have nothing to hide.

 

[kastoney]

I have a tall child as well and on our last visit she was just about to turn 3. I was asked about her age at the MK turnstile once, told them she was 2, and that was it. So there is definitely no need to bring a birth certificate. I will mention though I would not give him a magic band. Disneys insistence for inclusion did get us lots of FP+ questions when she didn't,t actually have one. They expected her too because of the MB that served no function. By day 3 it stayed in the hotel room.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

My DS2 is predicted to be 40 inches by our trip as well. If he is, I am not taking him on Splash or Tot for sure. I asked a very nice CM (who called me back when I had FP+ questions,) if I would have issues with him being tall enough, she reassured me we would have no trouble getting rider swap. FWIW.
I plan on printing the "rules" off the website just incase.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/rider-switch/

Ah, this is good to have, thank you.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I have a tall child as well and on our last visit she was just about to turn 3. I was asked about her age at the MK turnstile once, told them she was 2, and that was it. So there is definitely no need to bring a birth certificate. I will mention though I would not give him a magic band. Disneys insistence for inclusion did get us lots of FP+ questions when she didn't,t actually have one. They expected her too because of the MB that served no function. By day 3 it stayed in the hotel room.

I didn't realize they send MBs for kids under three, I'm pretty sure my ds won't agree to wear it anyway.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

We have always bought a copy of DD's (we have taken all 3 twice before they were 3) passport. I would not be offended providing proof, I am sure it is something that some people are willing to lie about to save $, since i'm not I have nothing to hide.

I'm not offended by being asked, I just wanted to know if I have to make sure to have his birth certificate on me each day. It's not something I normally walk around with.

 

[Feberin]

I was asked if my tall one-year-old was still two years old. I laughed and responded that she wasn't even two yet. When we got rider swap they never once tried to measure the kids. I would assume as long as he's in the stroller nobody would question it. I felt like all they did was make sure there were actually children with us not look at them closely.

 

[robinb]

My DS2 is predicted to be 40 inches by our trip as well. If he is, I am not taking him on Splash or Tot for sure. I asked a very nice CM (who called me back when I had FP+ questions,) if I would have issues with him being tall enough, she reassured me we would have no trouble getting rider swap. FWIW. I plan on printing the "rules" off the website just incase. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/rider-switch/

be aware that the child in question may still need to go through the queue. I'm not sure if the rules have changed but when my DD was tall enough but too scared (maybe 6-8 years ago) she was required to go through the TOT queue anyway and we switched at the elevators.

 

[JEmaryland]

My 2 year old son is the same way, off the charts, and during our trip last week we were never once questioned.

 

[Fishteacher]

Unfortunately, they would not give us a rider swap ticket for our daughter who was tall enough to ride ToT. She had just turned four and was afraid to go. This was very frustrating to us. We figured that my husband and older daughter would ride Tower of Tower using the standby line and I (mom) would be able to rider swap it. This was not the case and I would never expect my youngest to have to wait patiently through TWO long (over an hour) stand by lines. I never got to ride ToT this trip:-(

I hope you have better luck!

 

[siskaren]

Rider swap is intended for children who are too short to ride the rides, not for children who are tall enough but don't want to ride.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

Unfortunately, they would not give us a rider swap ticket for our daughter who was tall enough to ride ToT. She had just turned four and was afraid to go. This was very frustrating to us. We figured that my husband and older daughter would ride Tower of Tower using the standby line and I (mom) would be able to rider swap it. This was not the case and I would never expect my youngest to have to wait patiently through TWO long (over an hour) stand by lines. I never got to ride ToT this trip:-(

I hope you have better luck!

I would have asked for a supervisor or taken my issue up at guest services. This is in direct violation of Disney's stated policy regarding child swap! (see below)

Rider swap is intended for children who are too short to ride the rides, not for children who are tall enough but don't want to ride.

This is simply untrue! I would have serious issues with a CM who didn't allow child-swap for a child (even ones who are tall enough, but scared to ride)

Directly from Disney's website:

"What Is Rider Switch and How Does It Work?

If Guests in your party don’t want to board an attraction, you don’t have to miss out. One adult can wait with the non-rider while the rest of the party experiences the attraction. The waiting adult can then board the attraction without having to wait in the regular line again when another adult in the party returns to supervise the child or children who do not ride—either because they do not meet the height requirement or simply do not wish to ride."

 

[robinb]

I would have asked for a supervisor or taken my issue up at guest services. This is in direct violation of Disney's stated policy regarding child swap! (see below)

This is simply untrue! I would have serious issues with a CM who didn't allow child-swap for a child (even ones who are tall enough, but scared to ride)

Directly from Disney's website:

"What Is Rider Switch and How Does It Work?

If Guests in your party don’t want to board an attraction, you don’t have to miss out. One adult can wait with the non-rider while the rest of the party experiences the attraction. The waiting adult can then board the attraction without having to wait in the regular line again when another adult in the party returns to supervise the child or children who do not ride—either because they do not meet the height requirement or simply do not wish to ride."

That wording has been in place for quite a while. In the past, there was a real-world distinction between kids who were too small and those who were too chicken. Kids who were too small received a rider switch pass and they were NOT allowed in line. The switching adult staying with the child could bring up to 2 others on the ride with them when it was their turn. Kids that were tall enough to ride, but too chicken were sometimes given a rider switch pass and sometimes the switch was done at the front of the ride since they were eligible to enter the queue. The switch itself was still done, but the benefit of the rider switch pass was only guaranteed when the child is too small to ride.

For a tall 2-year old it seems like a no brainer that the OP would get a rider swap pass but what about the 9-year old who won't do TOT? Should they also get a rider swap pass that allows 2 members of the family to ride again? Disney didn't think so and the rules that you quoted don't seem to change that. The child can still wait with an adult and that adult can still ride when the first adult is done, but they do it at the front of the ride (for instance, the "chicken elevators" at TOT) and not through the FP+ line with 2 others of their family.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

That wording has been in place for quite a while. In the past, there was a real-world distinction between kids who were too small and those who were too chicken. Kids who were too small received a rider switch pass and they were NOT allowed in line. The switching adult staying with the child could bring up to 2 others on the ride with them when it was their turn. Kids that were tall enough to ride, but too chicken were sometimes given a rider switch pass and sometimes the switch was done at the front of the ride since they were eligible to enter the queue. The switch itself was still done, but the benefit of the rider switch pass was only guaranteed when the child is too small to ride.

For a tall 2-year old it seems like a no brainer that the OP would get a rider swap pass but what about the 9-year old who won't do TOT? Should they also get a rider swap pass that allows 2 members of the family to ride again? Disney didn't think so and the rules that you quoted don't seem to change that. The child can still wait with an adult and that adult can still ride when the first adult is done, but they do it at the front of the ride (for instance, the "chicken elevators" at TOT) and not through the FP+ line with 2 others of their family.

I agree about the nine year old... but the other poster said they wouldn't allow a swap pass for a FOUR year old... that one I have an issue with!

 

[TISHLOVESDISNEY]

I'll just have DS2 wear flip flops on days we don't want him to be 40 inches, and work on him bending knees and slouching.
On rides I think he'll be okay, tennis shoes and stand tall!

I can see with older kids, why it could be a concern, how do they know you aren't grabbing a RS, leaving and coming back with the same child who wasn't going to ride, and ride? Free FP...