Can we Child Swap pass with our Autistic 6 year old?

[Cuddlemama]

I keep hearing that you can only use the Child Swap pass or line if your child is under the required height for an attraction. Is this still true if you have a child with autism and are using a GAC for best accomodation?

My 4 and 8 year olds love to ride anything. Unfortunately, my 6 year old son is autistic and has strong aversion to speed and heights, the dark, loud noise...you know, pretty much everything but the inside of his stroller or his current obsessions.

Can I keep him in his stroller (which we intend to use as a wheelchair this trip, since he's becoming more prone to running and more difficult to catch since he's faster than me) and let the girls ride with another adult, then swap out to ride with the girls?

Thanks in advance for your answers.

~Leigh

 

[mechurchlady]

I do not for certain on the child swapping pass know but I think they allow it even on older kids or even adults. You would have the group get in line and use fastpass or standby to ride then the people who did not ride would then use the child swapping pass. It is usually the adult who did not ride and one person can go with them unless in some cases the CM says three but the rule is the person and one person, See the CM greeter at the ride for more information as rides may have different methods or reentry.

As for the stroller you would go to Guest Services inside or outside a park and ask for a "Stroller as a wheelchair tag" and GAC. The tag would let CMs know that you have a reason for taking the stroller into a line. It can be used at rides, shows, and disabled seating areas for parades and fireworks but not for restaurants, transportation or outside the park. You would then be able to take the stroller anywhere that a wheelchair is allowed. even in places that do not allow strollers.

 

[BeckyScott]

I can tell you what happened with us. We had the GAC and got in line for Star Tours. At which point DS decided to have a total screaming melt-down right there in the middle of the whole loading area, he did not want to go. (he had been on plenty of other stuff that was much wilder, but for some reason he didn't want anything to do with Star Tours) There was a CM standing there not sure what to do either. And so I just blurted out "can we child-swap him?" and the CM (probably just relieved someone had made a reasonable suggestion) let us do it no problem. I don't remember if that CM even saw our GAC.

However. I am not sure if I'm reading your question correctly. Any ride that DS didn't want to go on, that we knew in advance, we got FastPasses, we did not use the GAC to put us in the right line and then child-swap. If that makes sense. The only reason it happened on Star Tours was because we had no reason to believe he was going to freak out until we got up to the loading area and then I kinda panicked not knowing what to do.

If you are using FastPasses and you are just asking if he's too old to child-swap, then the answer is they'll let you child-swap him. If you're wanting to use his GAC to get your other kids on the rides faster and he's not going to ride, then no.

 

[Schmeck]

I believe you'd be able to do that.

I can tell you what happened with us. We had the GAC and got in line for Star Tours. At which point DS decided to have a total screaming melt-down right there in the middle of the whole loading area, he did not want to go. (he had been on plenty of other stuff that was much wilder, but for some reason he didn't want anything to do with Star Tours) There was a CM standing there not sure what to do either. And so I just blurted out "can we child-swap him?" and the CM (probably just relieved someone had made a reasonable suggestion) let us do it no problem.

Who'd you swap him for? Just kidding of course - and I hope you don't take offense! And if you do, mods, please feel free to remove my entire post, ASAP!

If the OPs son is tall enough to ride the attraction, then the entire family may enter the queue and do a swap at the boarding area, if so directed by the CM. If the child is too short to ride, then the swap must be done while he waits outside the attraction with an adult, exception being Star Tours. It's going to vary at every attraction, depending on the line times, the CM at the entrance, the CM at the boarding area, whether you have fastpasses or not, whether the attraction has fastpass available, the attraction has a chicken exit, etc.

Your best bet would be to ask the CM at the attraction what you should do.

 

[BeckyScott]

Oooh, you're funny.

Actually, sitting behind us on that ride, there was a group of slightly tipsy Canadian girls, you know, 20-somethings, mostly blond. I think DH might have been willing to swap him out for one of them....

 

[mechurchlady]

I will swap you my car, mom, computer and Calvin, lol. Meltdowns are flowing at my house as mom, the car, computer, and I all had meltdowns, lol.

I will give you mom in a swap for two of your kids any day.

 

[Cuddlemama]

I will swap you my car, mom, computer and Calvin, lol. Meltdowns are flowing at my house as mom, the car, computer, and I all had meltdowns, lol.

I will give you mom in a swap for two of your kids any day.

You'd quickly want to swap back tonight. He's awake for the 36th straight hour. The boy is on a sleep strike because he has a loose front tooth and an incoming 6 year molar. The combination is driving him crazy...which is driving me crazy. Even the benedryl didn't close his eyes.

And, yeah, I was asking if we could do just a regular child-swap with a child taller than minimum height. If DH takes the girls through say, BTMRR, while we sit outside and watch can we switch so that I can ride with the girls while DH sits and watches?

 

[Schmeck]

You'd quickly want to swap back tonight. He's awake for the 36th straight hour. The boy is on a sleep strike because he has a loose front tooth and an incoming 6 year molar. The combination is driving him crazy...which is driving me crazy. Even the benedryl didn't close his eyes.

And, yeah, I was asking if we could do just a regular child-swap with a child taller than minimum height. If DH takes the girls through say, BTMRR, while we sit outside and watch can we switch so that I can ride with the girls while DH sits and watches?

My DD once had atopic dermatitis (from a bad poison ivy incident), and the only thing that kept her from scratching herself raw was a loose tooth. For us it was a blessing, but I can see how it could also be an extreme distraction! Can you pull the front tooth out? How about using some Orajel (sp?) to numb the molar area?


For the childswap - if your son will be able to handle the queue, I'd go in all together and see what the boarding area CM will do for you. If you want to use FP, you'll need to have a FP for everyone though, your son included. If you don't want to wait in the queue, ask the CM at the beginning of the FP line for child swap. It really does depend on the CM at each attraction though.

BeckyScott, glad that I didn't offend!

 

[carj]

You'd quickly want to swap back tonight. He's awake for the 36th straight hour. The boy is on a sleep strike because he has a loose front tooth and an incoming 6 year molar. The combination is driving him crazy...which is driving me crazy. Even the benedryl didn't close his eyes.

And, yeah, I was asking if we could do just a regular child-swap with a child taller than minimum height. If DH takes the girls through say, BTMRR, while we sit outside and watch can we switch so that I can ride with the girls while DH sits and watches?

I think that I would have your GAC because we were refused child swap twice last summer.

Our four year old was tall enough to ride but she didn't want to ride BTMRR and Splash. The CM pulled out his measuring stick and said "no, if she is big enough to ride, then we can't do child swap." I am not sure if we were just unlucky and got 2 different CMs on different rides who said that but it was rotten.

So...I ended up not getting to ride. Not the end of the world but it would have been nice to be able to do child swap.

 

[collegedude]

see below..got screwed up on posting logistics

 

[collegedude]

I can tell you what happened with us. We had the GAC and got in line for Star Tours. At which point DS decided to have a total screaming melt-down right there in the middle of the whole loading area, he did not want to go. (he had been on plenty of other stuff that was much wilder, but for some reason he didn't want anything to do with Star Tours) There was a CM standing there not sure what to do either. And so I just blurted out "can we child-swap him?" and the CM (probably just relieved someone had made a reasonable suggestion) let us do it no problem. I don't remember if that CM even saw our GAC.

However. I am not sure if I'm reading your question correctly. Any ride that DS didn't want to go on, that we knew in advance, we got FastPasses, we did not use the GAC to put us in the right line and then child-swap. If that makes sense. The only reason it happened on Star Tours was because we had no reason to believe he was going to freak out until we got up to the loading area and then I kinda panicked not knowing what to do.

If you are using FastPasses and you are just asking if he's too old to child-swap, then the answer is they'll let you child-swap him. If you're wanting to use his GAC to get your other kids on the rides faster and he's not going to ride, then no.

maybe the loading area was a bit overstimulating for him? Disney does an impressive job entertaning its guests during what would otherwise be boring wait times..I know the queue to Star Tours very well..one of my all time fave rides.. and it can get a bit intense.. probably in my experience one of the noisier loading quees. I'm on the spectrum..and ive been to WDW six times..this will be my 7th coming up.