Child Swap and Rope Drop

[Simba06]

I have combed through a few threads to try and figure out the logistics of all of this, and am still left with some questions

We are visiting WDW in Feb with a 6yo and 1yo. We have been often with the 6yo, but not since covid, and obviously not with the 1yo. We are staying onsite and plan on utilizing early entry most of our park days to knock out the big rides. We will have 2 days in each park (except AK) so we can strategize certain rides each day.

When it comes to child swap, is it true that you can only hold one ride at a time? Is there a time limit on when you have to reride? Trying to plan a loose itinerary for the day and answers to these can change my plans significantly!

 

[OhDannyBoy]

Perfect timing of this thread as I'm wondering the same things.

I have a huge 16 person group with a few toddlers and want to figure out a good plan for this.

Sorry, not much help....

 

[Wildcard]

Yes, I can verify that you can only hold one. Or at least that is what the cast members said, we weren't willing to test it.

Case in point, we had overlapping Rise and Slinky Dog LLs. Due to how long Rise takes, we were concerned we couldn't ride twice before SD expired. So we got rider swap for Rise, rode once, and when we got to SD, I just rode solo instead of bringing our older son on twice. He was bummed but what can you do? The good news is that the Rise CM said we would still have time to ride the "swapped" RIse, so I guess the timing of the second ride of a swap isn't too strict? Sorry but I didn't ask for exactly how long we had.

 

[Simba06]

Yes, I can verify that you can only hold one. Or at least that is what the cast members said, we weren't willing to test it.

Case in point, we had overlapping Rise and Slinky Dog LLs. Due to how long Rise takes, we were concerned we couldn't ride twice before SD expired. So we got rider swap for Rise, rode once, and when we got to SD, I just rode solo instead of bringing our older son on twice. He was bummed but what can you do? The good news is that the Rise CM said we would still have time to ride the "swapped" RIse, so I guess the timing of the second ride of a swap isn't too strict? Sorry but I didn't ask for exactly how long we had.

Could you see your swap entitlement in your MDE?

 

[Simba06]

I wonder if you could alternate whose band you put the swapped ride on, like the first ride on dads, the next on moms. Then use those both before moving on. Because sometimes it isnt really convenient to ride the same ride back to back, especially if the ride is a long one. I have only done rider swap when they gave you a paper fp that were good for like a week. That was nice!

 

[OhDannyBoy]

Yes, I can verify that you can only hold one. Or at least that is what the cast members said, we weren't willing to test it.

Case in point, we had overlapping Rise and Slinky Dog LLs. Due to how long Rise takes, we were concerned we couldn't ride twice before SD expired. So we got rider swap for Rise, rode once, and when we got to SD, I just rode solo instead of bringing our older son on twice. He was bummed but what can you do? The good news is that the Rise CM said we would still have time to ride the "swapped" RIse, so I guess the timing of the second ride of a swap isn't too strict? Sorry but I didn't ask for exactly how long we had.

About how long did it take you to ride the second go?

An hour? Less?

Sorry, this info is hard to find. LOL

 

[dougpederson]

They did say to us we could only hold one but multiple times we had more than one (just by not using previous ones). I think the cast member has to go in and cancel out old ones but I am not sure.

 

[Wildcard]

Could you see your swap entitlement in your MDE?

Honestly, we didn't check. It was blissfully a phone-free time as we were rushing back and forth between both rides with a double stroller.

About how long did it take you to ride the second go?

An hour? Less?

Sorry, this info is hard to find. LOL

The second ride took about a half hour. It's hard to say exactly how long it will take as that is entirely dependent upon how many others are returning for lightning lane reservations themselves, if there was downtime earlier in the day, etc. When we went it was near park close, so the lines were fairly short. Both of us immediately went into the pre-show area without waiting.

 

[HappyFairydust]

Due to how long Rise takes, we were concerned we couldn't ride twice before SD expired.

Can a person who rode the attraction in group 1 ride again with the group2?
I‘m travelling with my husband and two kids (infant and 5years old) and want to use rider swap but neither me nor husband want to ride alone i’m not trying to „cheat the system“, i‘ve rode attractions alone in the past but it‘s really not the same fun as having at least one family member next to you…

 

[Simba06]

Can a person who rode the attraction in group 1 ride again with the group2?
I‘m travelling with my husband and two kids (infant and 5years old) and want to use rider swap but neither me nor husband want to ride alone i’m not trying to „cheat the system“, i‘ve rode attractions alone in the past but it‘s really not the same fun as having at least one family member next to you…

I believe one person can reride, but no more than that. We are in almost the exact situation as you with ages and plan to have our 6yo reride with the waiting parent.

 

[HappyFairydust]

I believe one person can reride, but no more than that.

Thank you for your reply! One person(my 5y/o daughter) is definitely enough for our situation! Do you know if I need to tell the CMs in advance that I want to take my daughter with me the second time while setting up the rider swap?

 

[Simba06]

Thank you for your reply! One person(my 5y/o daughter) is definitely enough for our situation! Do you know if I need to tell the CMs in advance that I want to take my daughter with me the second time while setting up the rider swap?

I dont believe so! You just have to show the nonrider to get the rider switch initially

 

[Wildcard]

Thank you for your reply! One person(my 5y/o daughter) is definitely enough for our situation! Do you know if I need to tell the CMs in advance that I want to take my daughter with me the second time while setting up the rider swap?

In my experience, the entire riding and non-riding party needs to be present at the LL entry area for the swap and prior to the first ride.. They will manually scan and put the rider swap re-rides on the two bands/tickets of the two re-riding (i.e. the parent that stayed behind, and one additional person that rides twice).

 

[HappyFairydust]

@Wildcard

thank you for this detailed information.
I spoke over the chat with a cast member about the child swap and it seems like the person did not know what it is and gave me a „no child swap is offeres“ answer so I really appreciate this information!