Riderswap issue today at SDMT

[Wubar]

Maybe Disney should just start banning kids from parks altogether

Not ban them, just corral them into one huge holding pen. Or just send them to HS and let them take over the half-park/half construction site. Kids like to dig and play in dirt, right?

 

[CT Disney]

The family who enters the Standby line and waits the time with everyone else did not get a free FP+, they got a real Rider Swap. This was how the system was built and works fairly. This is not gaining any advantage, they waited their time. They earned it.

The fact that the pass lasts so long is totally on Disney and I think that should be changed. This is the FP+ that people sometimes collect and sell or use improperly. It is one reason you have started to see lanyards at some rides.

And funny how no one mentions that the members waiting outside the line can go ride other shorter line kiddie rides while they wait, in essence gaining another ride. We do that all the time.



It's completely fair because that child can use all of their FP+ and then begin to roll them, especially at MK. It is the parent who has chosen to use their FP+ on a ride their child can not go on.

I have a DS who is disabled and can't go on some rides even though he is tall enough. I have been told multiple times by CMs that he does not qualify for Rider Swap because he is too tall. Some have had better luck. So when the rest of the family goes on Space Mountain, rather than me just go on after them and he not use his .... I book DS and I to go on the Speedway. When they go on RnR, I book to take DS on TSMM or ST. I am responsible for my child's experience, and I'm willing to pass on a ride so they have a great day. If one is going to place the importance being their child having a wonderful day ... why is it not worth passing on "an amusement ride" so that your child can have a great day.

Everyone seems to continue to leave out that FP+ are a nice perk but not the end all to going on rides. Many standby line for "kiddie" rides are quite doable. We jump in them often. And even once you use your FP+, you can roll them ... and yes we do that all the time quite successfully, sometimes walking straight from ride to ride. There are only a couple that we are likely to not get, but even those we have picked up in small numbers.

Also, is it fair to my DS who is disabled can't go on all the rides or an elderly family member who can't go on any rides .... they all pay the same. And Disney is optional, a choice we make with our money. It's not an argument that a child didn't use their FP+ when that was the parents choice for not riding with them.




I don't think that was the point, if that were the case then it should work with a much wider berth of folks. It was so a family didn't stand in line twice using up lots of park time because of a smaller member. Doing it this way mean the whole family waited once, just in two locations. I guess Disney's thought process was those who were waiting might go shopping or do a kiddie ride. The Universal way might make more sense ... an internal R/S room to wait after all go through the line ... but Disney was being more generous.



Would not be surprised and hope so before the next lands come open. MB/ticket will make it very easy for them to make changes.



This conversation happens about every 6 months usually because of something that happened at the parks such as OP experienced. It continues because the website doesn't match the passes, because there are those who have been there as this process evolved over the decades, because there are those that use this loophole to gather 2-3x the number of FP+ than other guests, and there are those who see the bigger picture and disagree with the loophole.

Have 3 kids, been going since they were infants, have a big kid now who functions as a young child ...... so I totally get the "obstacles" that some of you see but I also know they don't have to be there and are really self-imposed. But I get it, there is a loophole that allows families to take advantage of the system and gather way more FP+ than others - so why not. That is on Disney for not updating the program when they added FP+. Sounds like they might be starting, and Pandora has highlighted it as families split their FP+ usage there to go on both rides with R/S. TSL will be a problem and SWL will be a HUGE problem ... they need to address this sooner than later as they have the other loops lately.

I absolutely 100% agree with everything you said above...especially the bolded part.

When my kids were little we just rode the things we could all ride together. Or, we would split up and one of us would take the bigger kid while one of us took the smaller kid.

In situations with four adults and one too-short kid, RS shouldn't even be a "thing". If a family brings grandparents along, RS isn't needed. The adults can take turns sitting out with the too-short kid and, with so many adults, nobody would ever have to ride alone. The only reason to use RS in this case is to double up on fast passes and give the older child multiple rides with little to no wait.

I really hope Disney closes this loophole.

 

[Amelia :)]

This is exactly how it should work. The kids or kid will get to ride 2 x's with just 1 FP. 1 with the first parents FP and the kids FP's, and 1 with the second parents FP in conjunction with the rider swap pass.

This is the issue, you say this is how it should work, but why? Why should anybody, child or adult, get to ride twice with only 1fp? How is that fair? It just doesn’t seem right to me.

 

[CanuckGirl78]

This is the issue, you say this is how it should work, but why? Why should anybody, child or adult, get to ride twice with only 1fp? How is that fair? It just doesn’t seem right to me.

Even on the Disney website it says, “If the person in Party 2 waited alone with the child, he or she may bring one other Guest back to ride the attraction with him or her. Please note that only 2 Guests are allowed per Rider Switch Pass.”

It doesn't restrict whether the
Guest had previously ridden the ride or not. Disney knows it’s not so fun going on a ride by yourself is not so fun, especially when you have a small child, & as a parent, you want to be part of their happy memory.

I wonder if the OP had the problem because CM saw there were multiple adults waiting with the small child... most cases I read, it’s usually two adults plus kids, one of which who can’t ride.

 

[KrazeeK120]

This is the issue, you say this is how it should work, but why? Why should anybody, child or adult, get to ride twice with only 1fp? How is that fair? It just doesn’t seem right to me.

So that both parents can experience the ride with a child and neither one has to go alone. I am seriously astounded that people have a problem with this.

 

[Amelia :)]

So that both parents can experience the ride with a child and neither one has to go alone. I am seriously astounded that people have a problem with this.

This argument still doesn’t seem logical to me. We go as 3, should my kid get two rides on say EE so she can ride with both of us? Should that be the case for all families travelling in odd numbers? Just my opinion, but I think 1fp should equal 1 ride. Fair is fair.

 

[CanuckGirl78]

This argument still doesn’t seem logical to me. We go as 3, should my kid get two rides on say EE so she can ride with both of us? Should that be the case for all families travelling in odd numbers? Just my opinion, but I think 1fp should equal 1 ride. Fair is fair.

But if adult #2 can bring a guest using their RS under Disney rules, why should any of us have care if that guest had a FP or not? I really don’t understand the issue. Disney didn’t put any stipulations on who that guest is.

 

[KrazeeK120]

This argument still doesn’t seem logical to me. We go as 3, should my kid get two rides on say EE so she can ride with both of us? Should that be the case for all families travelling in odd numbers? Just my opinion, but I think 1fp should equal 1 ride. Fair is fair.

The difference is that you’re all experiencing the ride together, even if one of you is sitting in front of or behind the other 2. It’s different than hanging out with the baby alone followed by riding the ride literally by yourself. In the situation you described, you’re never separated from the rest of your party other than when you’re actually seated on the ride, and even then, you’re in very close proximity.

Rider switch has always allowed for multiple people to ride together using the swap pass. Disney must also think it’s more fun for both parents to be able to have the experience with a child.

Using rider switch takes a long time. Parties not using rider switch can accomplish much more in a day than parties using the switch.

I guess I just have better things to do than be mad that a CHILD gets an extra ride or 2 at Disney. My guess is that the number of people actually using rider switch doesn’t cause an appreciable difference in wait times.

 

[KrazeeK120]

But if adult #2 can bring a guest using their RS under Disney rules, why should any of us have care if that guest had a FP or not? I really don’t understand the issue. Disney didn’t put any stipulations on who that guest is.

There are people who make the argument that no one should get to ride twice (parent 2 should just ride alone if everyone else in the family already rode). Doesn’t seem like anyone questioned a kid getting to ride with both parents until FP+ came into play.

 

[wonderstruck88]

Last Fall on SDMT they were not giving out rider swap passes. You had to go thru the FP or standby line with the child that was not riding, then they would take you and the child off to the side, let the rest of your party ride, and then swap when they returned.

This sounds like a great way to do it! That way the second parent doesn’t have to start over at the beginning of the FP line.

 

[KrazeeK120]

This sounds like a great way to do it! That way the second parent doesn’t have to start over at the beginning of the FP line.

I agree, but I am a little surprised that they allowed children under the height requirement in the line. I thought they never did that.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I absolutely 100% agree with everything you said above...especially the bolded part.

When my kids were little we just rode the things we could all ride together. Or, we would split up and one of us would take the bigger kid while one of us took the smaller kid.

In situations with four adults and one too-short kid, RS shouldn't even be a "thing". If a family brings grandparents along, RS isn't needed. The adults can take turns sitting out with the too-short kid and, with so many adults, nobody would ever have to ride alone. The only reason to use RS in this case is to double up on fast passes and give the older child multiple rides with little to no wait.

I really hope Disney closes this loophole.

we had 4 adults but my husband can not ride with me and he can not handle both granddaughters by himself so if I wanted someone to ride with me we needed RS as he used his PF+ with older granddaughter for a ride with her and yes she was not tall enough for most height rides. it was daughter, mother of granddaughters, who rode with me that got 2 rides

 

[bladiator]

It seems the answer to why Disney allows extra riders with the RS is because there are tons and tons of situations and scenarios that can come up and this seems to make people happy.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Disney will change the RS system when Disney wants to change the system for their own purposes. They just put restrictions on it at DLR not too long ago. No one is owed rider swap in its current form, or any form. Until then, enjoy

 

[CT Disney]

It seems the answer to why Disney allows extra riders with the RS is because there are tons and tons of situations and scenarios that can come up and this seems to make people happy.

But, I have to wonder how people would react if Disney suddenly started extending a distinct advantage to other subsets of people and other scenarios. Say, unlimited free Mickey bars for families with teenagers or front row parade viewing for all parties with senior citizens. After all, those things would make people happy.

But, I bet most people (especially those families without teenagers or senior citizens) would cry unfair.

 

[Jasten]

So much of this thread can be split into people arguing for normal line rs and fp+ rs. I dont think people generally have any issues with rs in normal queue or rs when all riders are using a fp. The issue comes when you gain a rider swap for a person in a fp line who didnt use a fp. If that person did not value the ride enough to use a fp, then they should not get a quick trip through on it. Now to the argument of having to use a fp for a smaller kid ride....that is your choice (and the right one in my opinion as it should be about the kiddos).
We are bringing our dd toddler next month and I personally had no problem passing on the big ticket rides like sdmt and fop to instead book fp's that we all could enjoy together. Could we have just rider swapped to do both and split dw and my fp+? Apparently we could have but I would have felt pretty guilty that we were gaming the system because we wouldnt be willing to face the fact that the trip is about dd and not us.

 

[srwarden1928]

This is coming from an adult with no children who has on one occasion used rider swap when accompanying family members. Yes, with the way rider swap is set up often one family member gets a second ride in the fastpass line. The first ride depended on having a fastpass. The key that many people seem to be overlooking is that rider swap takes LOTS of time. Even if both times they go through the fastpass line--once with fastpasses, once with rider swap--the family with the small child is NOT going to be able to do NEAR as many attractions as the family without, or especially with the single park visitor. It is NEVER going to be completely fair to everyone. I believe that Disney does the best they can. They know that the family with the small child is going to have to do without some attractions. Rider swap allows them all to share the attraction except for the too small child. I don't see a person who has experienced rider swap could possibly be so jealous of one family member--usually a child--getting a second ride due to rider swap, especially considering how much that family is missing, even if that person will never be able to use the swap again. I would much prefer my great nephew be 48" and be able to ride everything with everyone else, but I certainly am not going to leave him at home while the rest of us go to Disney just because he is short.

 

[KrazeeK120]

So much of this thread can be split into people arguing for normal line rs and fp+ rs. I dont think people generally have any issues with rs in normal queue or rs when all riders are using a fp. The issue comes when you gain a rider swap for a person in a fp line who didnt use a fp. If that person did not value the ride enough to use a fp, then they should not get a quick trip through on it. Now to the argument of having to use a fp for a smaller kid ride....that is your choice (and the right one in my opinion as it should be about the kiddos).
We are bringing our dd toddler next month and I personally had no problem passing on the big ticket rides like sdmt and fop to instead book fp's that we all could enjoy together. Could we have just rider swapped to do both and split dw and my fp+? Apparently we could have but I would have felt pretty guilty that we were gaming the system because we wouldnt be willing to face the fact that the trip is about dd and not us.

Conversely, in my family, the vacation is about ALL of us. I have a toddler as well, and when we went, we did a lot of “kiddie” stuff, but DH and I both rode a few of the headliners and had a couple of drinks at the Flower & Garden Festival. We did not use rider swap because DH and I have different preferences when it comes to headliner rides. We attempted to schedule our individual fastpasses for times when we thought our son would be asleep and for the most part, we nailed it. But when he was awake, it wasn’t hard to find things to do with him while the other parent was on the ride. It was fun for us to have some one on one time with our son on vacation (especially for my husband since I stay home with him during the day and my husband doesn’t get as much one on one time).

I honestly don’t care how other people are using rider swap. It doesn’t have any affect on my day.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I appreciate that RS exists. I agree that you should not have to have a FP to get a RS. The person who doesn't have the FP for the attraction is using 1 of their 3 FP to take the shorter child on a ride. What would be the point of a RS if they were forced to have a FP in the first place?!

The point, that has been made continuously throughout this thread, is that some people are using to actually gain extra FP by using RS without everyone have FP+. Take the Tier 1 rides in EP for instance or the rides with height restrictions. Mom gets a FP+ for Soarin', but Dad gets a FP+ for TT. When Dad gets to TT, he gets RS for Mom and, voila, Mom now has FP+ for TT. Mom gets to Soarin' and gets RS for Dad. Now he has FP+ for Soarin'. In one day, they just scored two FP+ for two tier 1 rides. Same thing can happen in MK. 1 gets FP+ for 7DMT, the other gets FP+ for Space and they just scored FP+ for both rides. There is no rule that says if Dad got the FP+ for TT, Mom now has to use her FP+ on something her child can ride. For all we know, Mom and Dad could have scheduled separate FP+ for themselves on height restricted rides all day long, getting RS for those rides while the kiddo just sits in the stroller. I agree with the others who say you either RS with everyone in standby or RS with everyone having FP for the ride. Otherwise, yeah, you're totally gaming the FP+ system.

 

[KrazeeK120]

For all we know, Mom and Dad could have scheduled separate FP+ for themselves on height restricted rides all day long, getting RS for those rides while the kiddo just sits in the stroller.

Honestly though, how many people seriously leave their kid in a stroller all day while they ride rides? Using rider switch takes a long time, especially at certain rides.

Are there people using a loophole to their advantage? Sure, but it’s not a permanent loophole for anyone. Eventually, the kids will grow and be tall enough to ride. Is it causing inconvenience to others? Unlikely. I don’t think it’s making a real dent in wait times. Is it worth worrying about? Absolutely not.