Rider Swap/Rider Switch/Child Swap: Digital System begins in late June

[ENJDisneyFan]

We may not all agree on what the policy "should" be, but I hope whatever they decide to do they a) publish the rules correctly on their website and b) enforce the policies consistently. The vague online wording (especially with regard to using FP in conjunction with RS) and inconsistent enforcement has created this situation of misinterpretation and exploitation of (real or perceived) loopholes. I know it's a stretch, but it would also be really nice if they announced the details IN ADVANCE so people could plan accordingly, but I'm pretty sure that won't happen

 

[DizneyMommy]

I'm looking forward to reading the reports when people get down there and this takes effect.

Glad I don't have to be in the "guinea pig" group. Hopefully the kinks and questions will be worked out before my trip in August. Thanks in advance to all of you who happen to be going when this is rolling out and have to deal with the unknown and possibly some confusion. Just remember to have a little patience and give extra grace to the CMs around this time.

That would be me! I’m anticipating a rash of really irritated people throwing fits and holding up lines because their loophole got closed. I feel for the CM’s

 

[ninafeliz]

We may not all agree on what the policy "should" be, but I hope whatever they decide to do they a) publish the rules correctly on their website and b) enforce the policies consistently. The vague online wording (especially with regard to using FP in conjunction with RS) and inconsistent enforcement has created this situation of misinterpretation and exploitation of (real or perceived) loopholes. I know it's a stretch, but it would also be really nice if they announced the details IN ADVANCE so people could plan accordingly, but I'm pretty sure that won't happen

Give CORRECT details AHEAD of time? Surely you jest !

 

[ninafeliz]

I'm looking forward to reading the reports when people get down there and this takes effect.

Glad I don't have to be in the "guinea pig" group. Hopefully the kinks and questions will be worked out before my trip in August. Thanks in advance to all of you who happen to be going when this is rolling out and have to deal with the unknown and possibly some confusion. Just remember to have a little patience and give extra grace to the CMs around this time.

If this starts on June 19th that will be us for most of our planned MK days . But on the bright side, I looked at our plans and we really only have 2 definite rides during the times we'll have our 15 month olds that we will need to use RS on (Splash and Space), and given their timing in our day we would have to use the RS back to back so even if this does start on time it shouldn't be an issue for us (I hope). We do have a decent amt of unscheduled time, though, and will be at the CR, so it would be conceivable that we would run over to the MK to do some rides at other times. We'll see.

 

[WillowRain]

It would make sense in the current system. Because right now they give lanyards that can be exchanged for passes at whatever point Disney chooses.

I think it’s been specifically said that everybody in the party needs to scan their bands in order to receive the swap though, so you’re going to have to wait for your entire party to arrive at the exit before this happens? Like I said, it all feels like overly complicating something when they could easily just make it so everybody can only hold 1 at a time, with most people likely using them pretty close to back to back.

What they did at Disneyland was scan in the FP, and then I opened my tickets on the app, and they just added RS on the first 3 tickets, stating it did not matter which tickets were scanned. However, if they scanned my ticket and not my husbands, his would turn blue when he tried to scan in. He did not use the app but used the paper tickets. They still let him ride though because the girls turned green. With MDE and Magic Bands however, I have a feeling you will have to specify who will be riding, as is probably the case with AP's at Disneyland, since names are on them. Our tickets were just numbers and I finally checked the numbers and mine was the 4th ticket. This closes the loophole as poster above said, perhaps using them later when you have a sitter for the kids and then a parent being able to go again. I mean, I guess a parent could still use their kids magic band to scan in and ride again, but it has to be within the hour. Specifically if I ride, and my 2 girls ride, then the RS will HAVE to go on Dad's and girls bands, so it does close all loopholes to abuse the RS. Also, I really do not think that your non-riding child needs a FP to obtain the RS. That would not make any sense. So if parent 1 wants to ride Space with 2 kids and parent 2 wants to get a FP for something else, parent 1 can still get a RS but only in standby, and then again needs to be used in the hour window. I'm sure it will all make sense.

As far as all meeting at the exit, if you are immediately riding then this should be a non-issue. I would get a snack, window shop, sit and chill, let my son run around, and just generally hang out in the area of the ride, and my husband would text me when they got off the ride car and I would meet him at the exit.

 

[Becca1007]

This is my experience with Rider Swap at DISNEYLAND for comparison. Traveling with myself, DH and tiny toddler. We had to both present ourselves to the cast member at the podium and we were given a swap pass on our device. The swap pass was just like a FP on the app. My DH used his fastpass and then the switch was loaded onto my app (I did not have a FP for the ride) The swap pass was set for a time in the future approximately however long it took for someone to clear the FP line on the attraction at the time and was good for 1 hour from that start time. So for GOTG and Soarin it was later than it was for Splash Mountain. So say he rode at 9am, my swap pass was good from 9:30-10:30... give or take. The cast members also had some leeway with the timing as one day we had lunch reservations that we had to get to and they were able to push it back to a later time. My assumption would that they will implement this in a similar fashion for WDW.

 

[mster425]

Not useless at all when you are using it in standby lines, which is how it was originally designed. That's why I suggested earlier that families should FP attractions that everyone can enjoy and save the RS for standby lines.

I would lay down my life for my kids, but they'd be pulling my Mine Train FP's from my cold dead hands before I'd trade them for those terrible carpets they love. Trust me, a toddler getting an extra turn on Tomorrowland Speedway with me is not taking anything away from a childless adult's disney experience.

Side note- Disney is totally turning us against each other right now because of a problem they created. Standby lines are crazy long even for the least popular attractions bc of what they've done with the FP system. When you only had one paper fastpass at a time, you just went to Space M with your party, showed them a little kid, and got rider swap passes, and then adult 1 got in line however your little heart desired, FP or not. the littles could go standby on another attraction with little to no wait, but often those don't exist anymore. Now with tiers and times and paid FP we're all posting hundreds of replies and getting up in arms (myself included, I'm legit annoyed at the policy and it will have 0 effect on my life) because someone's child might get an extra ride on It's Small World. So crazy.

Bottom line is, riding standby on anything doesn't make a lot of sense to me anymore and I definitely would not tour that way, especially with little kids. No one on these boards is riding SB on the major rides.

 

[DizneyMommy]

This is my experience with Rider Swap at DISNEYLAND for comparison. Traveling with myself, DH and tiny toddler. We had to both present ourselves to the cast member at the podium and we were given a swap pass on our device. The swap pass was just like a FP on the app. My DH used his fastpass and then the switch was loaded onto my app (I did not have a FP for the ride) The swap pass was set for a time in the future approximately however long it took for someone to clear the FP line on the attraction at the time and was good for 1 hour from that start time. So for GOTG and Soarin it was later than it was for Splash Mountain. So say he rode at 9am, my swap pass was good from 9:30-10:30... give or take. The cast members also had some leeway with the timing as one day we had lunch reservations that we had to get to and they were able to push it back to a later time. My assumption would that they will implement this in a similar fashion for WDW.

Yes, we have always had to have everyone go to the line with the baby, and then choose who would be the second rider. The RS gets attached to those riders like a FP.

 

[anomamatt]

- With FP ... RS really isn't needed

"Needed" is vague (no one needs a FP+ at all), but there is a scenario where RS is "needed" with FP+. So that no one has to ride alone. My family is 4 of us, with two kids (6 and 4 year olds). There are times where the adults and 6 year old have a FP+ for something that my youngest is too short for. Without RS, someone would have to ride alone. With it, we all use our FP+, but my 6 year old gets to ride twice (once with Mom, once with me). I think that is still "needed". Otherwise, it would likely mean one of the adults would not ride -- because we would be unlikely to ride alone if my oldest daughter could not do ride #2.

With the new system, I am assuming we can still do this. But I guess we will find out soon when we start getting the reports from the field.

 

[DizneyMommy]

What they did at Disneyland was scan in the FP, and then I opened my tickets on the app, and they just added RS on the first 3 tickets, stating it did not matter which tickets were scanned. However, if they scanned my ticket and not my husbands, his would turn blue when he tried to scan in. He did not use the app but used the paper tickets. They still let him ride though because the girls turned green.

That’s not been our experience. We always have to decide who will ride second and they scan those people’s passes. If they don’t light up they get turned away. We mixed up who was going once and they would not let that kid ride. Oops lol. Maybe you got a CM who needs more training, I dunno. But in dozens of RS since it went digital we’ve always had to put it on the right passes.

 

[WillowRain]

That’s not been our experience. We always have to decide who will ride second and they scan those people’s passes. If they don’t light up they get turned away. We mixed up who was going once and they would not let that kid ride. Oops lol. Maybe you got a CM who needs more training, I dunno. But in dozens of RS since it went digital we’ve always had to put it on the right passes.

That surprised me too, but considering it was not a very busy weekend, perhaps they were more lax about it. We always had to show the baby, but they kept saying the tickets didn't matter. I think that was assuming he had the app lol. Who knows, but it worked. I think at WDW it will be easier with our bands, I so wish DL would go full digital with the bands!

 

[ArwenMarie]

It's my belief that this is happening because of the new lands opening up. Toy Story Land is coming up soon, and they have two rides opening with height restrictions. SWL is a whole other animal. Getting FPs for that is going to be insane

It's easy to get into an us-against-them mentality as customer, but Disney doesn't do things to enforce fairness between guests. They didn't build FP+ for that reason, along with a whole bunch of other changes since then. They do change things when it's in their best business interest to do so.

 

[DizneyMommy]

This isn’t going to be the most popular opinion, but I think a lot of people need to change their perspective.

You are fortune to be able to afford this amazing vacation, that your children are going to love, and have a fabulous time as a family - if you let yourself. These details are just noise. Appreciate the accommodation Disney offers, they don’t have to offer anything! Roll with it, tour in an enjoyable way rather than a stressful one. We just try not to let these things ruin our day and we certainly would not cancel our childrens’ trip over it.

 

[MomOTwins]

Please don't flame me, but I just want to understand, where are people getting the information that everyone has to have a fastpass to use rider swap? I did not see when when I read the linked articles on the first page, so I just want to know if that is something people are guessing or if it has in fact been disclosed as part of the planned changes. I am wondering because this what we were planning to do for our summer trip (FP booking window opens next week) and I am trying to find out if I need to change my plan, which is:

DH + older kids have a FP to ride 7DMT. I do not have a 7DMT FP. I walk with them to the entrance, and they add a rider swap to my magic band, and then I go and use my own FP for the same time period to ride Winnie the Pooh with the baby while the others ride 7DMT. We should both be done around the same time so it wouldn't be a problem for me to regroup with them, hand baby to DH, and ride 7DMT within an hour of when my band was scanned. Does this work?

Based on all the descriptions of the new digital changes, it seemed like this would be fine, but I see so many posts here saying "everyone needs a fastpass" and I don't know where that information is coming from.

 

[DizneyMommy]

Please don't flame me, but I just want to understand, where are people getting the information that everyone has to have a fastpass to use rider swap? I did not see when when I read the linked articles on the first page, so I just want to know if that is something people are guessing or if it has in fact been disclosed as part of the planned changes. I am wondering because this what we were planning to do for our summer trip (FP booking window opens next week) and I am trying to find out if I need to change my plan, which is:

DH + older kids have a FP to ride 7DMT. I do not have a 7DMT FP. I walk with them to the entrance, and they add a rider swap to my magic band, and then I go and use my own FP for the same time period to ride Winnie the Pooh with the baby while the others ride 7DMT. We should both be done around the same time so it wouldn't be a problem for me to regroup with them, hand baby to DH, and ride 7DMT within an hour of when my band was scanned. Does this work?

Based on all the descriptions of the new digital changes, it seemed like this would be fine, but I see so many posts here saying "everyone needs a fastpass" and I don't know where that information is coming from.

Some people have been told this when they went to get RS at popular rides. Someone recently posted the email reply from disney clarifying and they did say FP is required for all parties riding. I’ve emailed and ask too and gotten the same answer.

 

[ninafeliz]

This isn’t going to be the most popular opinion, but I think a lot of people need to change their perspective.

You are fortune to be able to afford this amazing vacation, that your children are going to love, and have a fabulous time as a family - if you let yourself. These details are just noise. Appreciate the accommodation Disney offers, they don’t have to offer anything! Roll with it, tour in an enjoyable way rather than a stressful one. We just try not to let these things ruin our day and we certainly would not cancel our childrens’ trip over it.

I certainly agree with this, and I don't mean any disrespect in saying this, but in every possibly contentious topic I have followed over the years on these boards when someone would come on with a comment like this it would tend to inflame many people. I think what you wrote could be said for pretty much every aspect of a disney vacation, and sometimes I do actually benefit from someone stepping in and reminding me that I'm getting focused on the little stuff that shouldn't be important. But it seems as if for most of the topics that get discussed on message boards, things that are small get blown up when we all discuss every tiny detail ad nauseam. I think in a way it's just a fun part of planning for a lot of people, and when they get on their vacation it really isn't as big of a deal as it seems it would be from reading their posts. I know that happens to me all of the time! I'll ask a question about some minutiae regarding a resort room or room request, or get fixated on some detail of a dessert party, and then when we get there and the trip occurs it all falls away and we just go with the trip. I don't really think our trip will be ruined if this new program starts mid trip, and even if there are aspects I don't like I'll get over them and move on, but for the time being today I'm following this and spending an unusual amount of time thinking about Disneys RS program! I'll keep up just so I at least know there is a chance there will be changes, so I'm not totally surprised. Because while I often don't like a lot of changes, I really don't like being surprised by them in the heat of the moment! That is what reading these boards is good for!

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I would lay down my life for my kids, but they'd be pulling my Mine Train FP's from my cold dead hands before I'd trade them for those terrible carpets they love. Trust me, a toddler getting an extra turn on Tomorrowland Speedway with me is not taking anything away from a childless adult's disney experience.

Side note- Disney is totally turning us against each other right now because of a problem they created. Standby lines are crazy long even for the least popular attractions bc of what they've done with the FP system. When you only had one paper fastpass at a time, you just went to Space M with your party, showed them a little kid, and got rider swap passes, and then adult 1 got in line however your little heart desired, FP or not. the littles could go standby on another attraction with little to no wait, but often those don't exist anymore. Now with tiers and times and paid FP we're all posting hundreds of replies and getting up in arms (myself included, I'm legit annoyed at the policy and it will have 0 effect on my life) because someone's child might get an extra ride on It's Small World. So crazy.

Bottom line is, riding standby on anything doesn't make a lot of sense to me anymore and I definitely would not tour that way, especially with little kids. No one on these boards is riding SB on the major rides.

My point was that you don’t HAVE to FP attractions that have height restrictions. Some people like to argue that their little ones are somehow deprived of a FP if the entire party needs a FP to get RS. The easy solution is not to FP those attractions if you don’t want to “waste” a FP. Each park has a headliner that the whole family can ride using FP (Peter Pan, FEA, NRJ, TSMM...). Or get a FP for everyone and ride the other stuff....but there will have to be a sacrifice somewhere, that’s just part of taking little kids.

 

[mster425]

My point was that you don’t HAVE to FP attractions that have height restrictions. Some people like to argue that their little ones are somehow deprived of a FP if the entire party needs a FP to get RS. The easy solution is not to FP those attractions if you don’t want to “waste” a FP. Each park has a headliner that the whole family can ride using FP (Peter Pan, FEA, NRJ, TSMM...). Or get a FP for everyone and ride the other stuff....but there will have to be a sacrifice somewhere, that’s just part of taking little kids.

they already took my sanity and my abs, havent i sacrificed enough???? .

 

[CT Disney]

So it looks like everyone will have to scan their FP+ to be sure everyone has one. So now my 4 year old will have fastpasses for ToT, RnR, EE, TT, FOP, and the 3 mountains at the very least that she will not use. I only have one ticketed child (other will be almost 2), but some families have more. Multiply that times the number of families with children too short/don't want to ride who used to get them something else. You now have the number of fastpasses no longer available to people actually tall enough to ride. I'm sure Disney will adjust...eventually.

I have a question for getting 4th FP+. Even though she won't ride, can I/will I tap my preschooler's magic band at Rock N Roller coaster or where ever to clear the FP+ so we can book a 4th? 5th? etc.

I am not understanding the bolded part above. Why would your 4-year-old need FP+ for the the rides that she won't use? When we hear rumors about everyone needing a FP+, I think that just means everyone that's going to ride the ride. I believe you will still be able to use your 4-year-old's FP+ for something she wants to ride. The only problem is that if all the adults are using their fast passes on big rides, her FP+ will "go to waste" because there won't be an adult to take her. But, that's ultimately your decision. I don't think it makes sense that they would require the too-short child to get a FP+ for something they won't even ride.

 

[ninafeliz]

My point was that you don’t HAVE to FP attractions that have height restrictions. Some people like to argue that their little ones are somehow deprived of a FP if the entire party needs a FP to get RS. The easy solution is not to FP those attractions if you don’t want to “waste” a FP. Each park has a headliner that the whole family can ride using FP (Peter Pan, FEA, NRJ, TSMM...). Or get a FP for everyone and ride the other stuff....but there will have to be a sacrifice somewhere, that’s just part of taking little kids.

I see both side of this argument, which is why I typically don't get too involved in the discussions. I agree that once I had kids I realized that I wasn't able to do many of the things I used to take for granted. In fact, we haven't gone back to Hershey Park, Cedar Point, or Kennywood since we had kids because i don't want to see all of those big fun coasters and not be able to ride them since the kids can't, and I won't make them just sit around all day waiting while we ride the big rides. However, for some reason at Disney I don't want to have to miss all of the headliners since I have kids under 44 (or 40 or 48)". I'm not sure why the distinction - maybe because Disney is such a big trip - tons of planning, huge expense, long trip, etc and those other parks are one day with maybe an overnight stay or 2 to make it a weekend. Maybe because Disney is considered more of a family park. I don't know why, but it seems like in every other aspect of life I will "sacrifice" my own fun, dessert, seat, etc for my kids (mostly) gladly, but when we go to Disney I want to hit both the fun rides even lap babies can ride as well as the headliners - and IMO those headliners require FPs. We aren't willing to wait more than say 30 min for any ride, and haven't done RD since our second child. I do, however, know it's a choice and I could make all FPs for rides even the babies could ride. Since our upcoming trip is long we have some days we do have 3 FPs for rides we can all ride, and other days we either have a sitter for the babies or will utilize RS. It felt weird making FPs for IASW, Dumbo, and LM during this trip, like I should be trying for harder to get ones (we do have those on other days...). I guess what I'm saying is that for some reason I feel that at Disney, it doesn't seem right for one parent to have to sacrifice the big rides when they have a kid under 40". I'm not saying Disney has to care, it just feels that way to me, and I'm glad there is (or maybe was) a way for them to avoid this.