Rider Switch/Digital load to MB

[Sparkie]

Anybody have recent experience with Rider Switch since they began loading to MagicBands? I have one child who wont ride big rides. She is 7 and tall enough for some but not for others but mostly she is just too afraid. Currently I have FP for her along with the rest of us for her scary rides even though I know she wont get on. I would like to modify hers and another adult to a ride that she will ride. But that adult would like to ride the "scary" ride too.

So can I make FP for me and 7yo for lets say Pooh, Dad and 9yo for 7DMT. We approach 7DMT and have them load Rider Switch to my band for 7DMT. Dad and 9yo ride 7DMT, me and 7yo ride Pooh. Then with the Switch pass on my band- me and 9yo ride 7DMT.

 

[Robo]

Point of order for clarity, as you are asking something that is very specific.
I need to say that nothing is ever "loaded onto" a MagicBand.
In fact, nothing CAN be, as a MB does not have the capacity to receive and store anything.

The process that you are describing may, in fact, be that Rider Switch info is temporarily loaded into your MDX account and
your MB then accesses that info.

I know that this detail does not directly impact what you are asking, but
in order to keep things clear, I wanted to emphasize this point.

 

[Robo]

To the main question...

More important to the subject is whether a child that is tall enough to ride a particular attraction will be issued a Rider Swap at all,
will be up to the CM(s) staffing the entrance to that attraction at the time you arrive there.
It is far from assured that a child about which it is said is "too scared to ride" or "doesn't want to ride" will automatically
be given the Rider Swap privilege.
(It's easy to see why that privilege could easily be abused by some guests, and so
the CMs often must use discretion when offering the pass -electronic or otherwise.- )

If the RS "pass" IS issued by the CM, any 3 members of your party (you can decide) can use that RS pass.

Child must be present at ride entrance to obtain a RS pass/voucher.
Other riders (who will be USING the RS pass/voucher) likely must be present at same time as the child
at the ride entrance to get RS pass/voucher(s.)

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

Our RS experience was all over the place last week. I have a 2 yo who is too short for rides and any time I asked for RS, they asked to see him (luckily I brought him with me so this was an easy request to fulfill- I may have had to step away from in front of his stroller, or have one of my older kids move over to make the little guy visible, but they all asked to see him). I wouldn't count on RS if you have a child tall enough to ride (YMMV- I'm sure some CM's would gladly issue it, but there are some who would not).

At each ride, the second rider (person waiting with the non-riding child) and the 2 people riding with the second rider had to also be present. RS was added to my account and to the other 2 accounts and we were told what time we had until to use it (sometimes as little as 15 minutes- so we would not have had time to ride another attraction). This was uniform each time we asked.

Space Mountain, 7DMT, Soarin', Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Everest- all 6 riders had FP. RS was added to my account (as the second rider) and my 2 older kids so they could ride a second time. This was done with varying degrees of explaining, waiting, and annoyance (and this was where everyone DID have a FP). The handhelds they use to add the RS to the account frequently die and need rebooting or just plain do not work. At each attraction, I had to wait behind any other party needing RS or other assistance such as DAS (or just those who claimed to not understand that 1 person having FP was not sufficient for all 10 people in their party).

FoP- 3 of our party had FP and 3 did not. We had no issue getting RS for me, and adding the other 2 non FP holders as my additional 2 riders. In fact this was the smoothest transaction we had the entire week and I was fully prepared for battle. Had not done FP for all 6 because my 2 older kids were certain they did not want to ride and then changed their minds and I figured it was worth asking and I'm glad I did.

Slinky Dog- Disaster. Only 3 of us had FP (again because the older 2 kids thought they would not want to ride, then saw it and did want to ride). I approached the CM fully prepared to hear we were out of luck but she said it was fine- and then it wasn't. After DH rode with my parents, I walked 5 feet from the CM who just "added" the RS and said it wasn't a problem over to tap in to use RS and it all came to a grinding halt. The Mickey lit up blue, the CM got an attitude and stated she thought we all had FP (I had told her upfront we did not). Me and 2 older kids were almost not able to ride (I would have understood that, because in fairness we did not have FP regardless of the RS issue) until another CM came by, saw my frustration, and let us through.

 

[MomOTwins]

If your daughter is tall enough to ride, you can be refused a rider switch. I have seen lots of reports on these boards that say with kids who are tall enough but too scared, it is basically a toss up whether the CM will let you use rider switch, so you can't count on it being available. Only you can decide if that means you want to split up your party and gamble on RS, or just have the younger one sit out.

My DH and I on our last trip basically took turns of who went on the thrill ride with the big kids, and who went with the kiddie rides with the little one. E.g., on our MK day, DH got FPs for Space Mountain with my older kids while I got a FP for Winnie the Pooh with our littlest, but then on Epcot day, DH got FP for Test Track with the older kids while I went on Frozen with the little one. Our littlest is still small enough for rider swap, but we didn't want to eat up the time now that you have to use the rider swap back-to-back with the first ride and can't wait and use it later in the day.