Rider switch - response from Disney re:Fastpass+

[Tink_83]

Maybe your kids are different than mine, but I’m picturing the meltdown that would ensue if I took my 3 year old through a line (especially a long one) when he knows he’s not going to get to ride the cool ride at the end.

I think current rider swap may be slightly inconvenient for the people riding, but it’s great for the small child who isn’t riding.

I think it also depends on the age of the child. My 19 month old doesn’t care... but yes I can see when he is 3 that could be a problem.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I will say I would personally prefer if Disney would do riderswap at the end of the line, then everyone stands in line together, and at the end group 1 boards while while group 2 waits (typically one adult and the child) and then group 2 goes with maybe one extra person so they don’t ride alone. This is how many other parks handle this and it takes far less time for the family involved because there is no double wait in line and then find each other, switch, etc. further it would end the whole discussion about this and if the system is “fair”... a win win for me. Now that said it’s my preference and I know there are others who like that the whole family isn’t waiting in line together.

what would happen if you unload at a different spot than loading? how would transfer the child who cant ride? this happens on a number of Disney rides

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

Maybe your kids are different than mine, but I’m picturing the meltdown that would ensue if I took my 3 year old through a line (especially a long one) when he knows he’s not going to get to ride the cool ride at the end.

I think current rider swap may be slightly inconvenient for the people riding, but it’s great for the small child who isn’t riding.

I totally understand that. For us, we aren't going to get into any line that has a posted wait of 30 mins or longer as we don't want to wait that long as adults. We FP those rides with long waits to reduce our time waiting and it wouldn't be a huge deal to keep my 3 year old occupied in a line up to 30 mins, especially if it meant we didn't have to wait another 30 mins to get the second group through with rider swap. He could also be calmed down quickly with the assurance that we'd ride something he wanted next and that we were taking turns. Depending on the kid, I know that isn't as easy for some though.

I doubt Disney is going to let little ones in the lines for height-restricted rides any time soon for the reasons mentioned in my previous post, so it doesn't really matter anyway. I am grateful that Disney offers rider swap and think they do a pretty good job of trying to accommodate families.

 

[Tink_83]

what would happen if you unload at a different spot than loading? how would transfer the child who cant ride? this happens on a number of Disney rides

That is a good point and maybe that is why they have the system they have... Look I get this is the system and it’s not going anywhere- but it does seem like a hassle - to me. I’ll probably just skip rides so we don’t waste time at them - so long as DD gets on that’s all that I care about anyway. Regardless it would be nice to have a system that doesn’t double the wait time for families needing to swap kids- but no system is perfect nor will work for everyone... and that’s fine to. last time I was pregnant and couldn’t get on those rides anyway... life does go on and I will still have plenty of fun on the trip! And for those that prefer the current system - that’s great! I’m glad it works for you and your family!