Your actual experiences with child swap

[tjmw2727]

Always ask before getting in line about the parent swap. So many rides have a different procedure of doing the parent swap. For example the new coaster at AK (Yeti) tells you, you must all get in line together and at the ride they will place the child and one parent in a holding/waiting area while the other parent rides. I did not like this since my little one was sleeping, the CM said, I'd have to carry the little one in and wait on line holding him , it was much too long of a wait to stand in line with two little ones, one asleep and the other asking why can't I ride?. So, we took turns on the singles line and that saved us some time and frustration. I was surprised the CM could not give me a pass seeing as the child was sleeping in the stroller All of the rest of the rides we had no problem.

Interesing, we got a rider switch pass at EE several times during our Easter trip this year, April 6th - 15th 2007 and never had to have the toddler wait in line with us. In fact children under the height requirement are not even allowed to enter that queue area. At least not when my dd wanted to ride and I had my neice with me.

I do agree its best to ask but in my experience all the height restricted attractions will give you the rider swtich pass for the second parent to enter via FP. The only exception I have ever run into is Star Tours which always has you switch at the exit.

TJ

 

[MindyLuvsMickey]

We used child swap in conjunction with Fast Pass. DS was two at the time. It made life sooooo easy. We would use DH's ticket and DH's niece's ticket to FP one ride and my ticket to FP another, then we could hold two at once. Then we would trade our FP in for a child swap. We would ride and swap and then go to the next attraction and ride and swap. Dniece benefited the most. She rode everything twice. We found the castmembers to be really helpful and accomodating.

 

[Rustysmom]

So they'll give you a baby swap ticket if the child is tall enough for the ride but just doesn't want to ride it? My DD gets scared of a lot of things. She'll just be 4 when we go and might be tall enough, but what if she starts crying that she doesn't want to ride? Will they give us a pass so that we can take turns going with our older DS?

 

[tjmw2727]

So they'll give you a baby swap ticket if the child is tall enough for the ride but just doesn't want to ride it? My DD gets scared of a lot of things. She'll just be 4 when we go and might be tall enough, but what if she starts crying that she doesn't want to ride? Will they give us a pass so that we can take turns going with our older DS?

No if the child is tall enough but chooses not to ride they won't give you the rider switch pass. The swap pass is a convenice for a family that can't ride together due to a Disney imposed restriction - to eliminate a double wait. The only reason they let more than one person return vis the swap pass is so that the 2nd parent doesn't have to ride alone.

If a child chooses not to ride then using fast pass is the next best thing. Some of the rides will let also let you switch at the exit, you would all wait the line together and then one parent and the child who dosen't want to ride would take the chicken exit. Then the second parent can return via the exit to ride after the first parent is done. We did this at RnRc since my youngest dd is tall enough to ride but dosen't want to. They did not let my other dd ride twice so I rode alone. We use FP on TOT because my dd is as afraid of the line as she is the ride

TJ

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Thanks for all the responses! I wish this procedure were more standardized, it seems like its different for every ride! This is our first trip with a child, so I am nervous about things going well.

I know that some rides at WDW enter and exit at different places (though for the life of me I can't think of which ones right now). How does child swap work in that situation?

 

[Kies99]

We were a family of four (2 adults, 5yo and 3yo). The 5yo was tall enough to ride most everything, but the 3yo was not. For each of the rides that the 3yo couldn't go on, the whole family would go up to the CM at the Fast pass entrance. The CM would give the person staying with the 3yo the "switch" pass. The other would then take the 5yo and either go through the regular line. Then when they came out, the one who waited took the 5yo on the ride again by going through the FP line.

On most, if not all rides, the parent waiting with the 3yo did NOT have to stand in the line.

 

[dismom22boys]

We used this numerous times - I cannot even count - and every time it worked great. We especially used it when the boys were napping - so we could take advantage of single rider lines for the inital long wait and then the other of us could go right up Fast Pass. It is really a great idea. There were times when the attendants wanted to see our children so they knew we were not just grabbing a switch pass to use as a fast pass - but it worked out great for us.

 

[Tam1067]

We did it on Everest, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Test Track, Soarin' and probably something else. It works very well and is super easy. My older kids liked it because they got to ride more than once!

 

[maxtomsmom]

I think child swap works differently during the different parts of the year. Both times we went, we had no problems, never had to show our children, never had to bring our younger son up to a certain point. We merely asked to get one and we did. We liked it, but it does eat up time. I do recommend using it when you can. Since the op said she was going in Sept. you shouldn't have too many issues. It is considerably less busy during that time.

 

[myrsfmly]

The last time we were at WDW I believe we babyswapped at every rie wth a height estriction at every park. My youngest DD was 2 at the time and I love the rides as much as the big kids so we swapped everything. To make it faster, we would get a fast pass for everyone, so tthat way our youngest didn't have to wait forever while we were in line the first time. The 2nd half of the swap should work like a fastpass, where you return to the FP lane, like a PP post said. I did find that the CM's don't offer or suggest this, so left to your own you could waste a lot of time in the regular line. I also made a habit of telling every CM we saw while in line that we were swapping, as different rides have different procedures. I would recommend it to anyone with kids unable or unwilling to ride. Oh, it took a lot of explaining to the 2 year old, the first time I ried to swap on SM she tought I wasn't coming back!

 

[BlakeNJ]

I tried the child swap once in November. The CM at the entrance was clueless and told me I had to wait in line with the child. So we skipped the ride until my inlaws were around to watch our DD. When we went back to the ride, there was a different CM so I pointed to my in-laws and my DD and they gave me a pass for me plus three additional riders. It all depends on who you ask. If you fail, just try another CM. They will fix the situation for you.

Blakely

 

[ss0414]

Not sure I understand something....when we get to the park, do we ask for a child swap pass then, or do we ask at the ride? We are going 6/29 - 7/6 and in Dec. 2006, we simply told the person right before we boarded a ride....Is there a better way to swap?
thanks.

 

[Tam1067]

Not sure I understand something....when we get to the park, do we ask for a child swap pass then, or do we ask at the ride? We are going 6/29 - 7/6 and in Dec. 2006, we simply told the person right before we boarded a ride....Is there a better way to swap?
thanks.

At all the rides with height restrictions, there is a CM who is supposed to verify that the kids are tall enough to ride. You can't miss the person with the measuring stick thing.

For each ride you want to get a child swap pass for, your entire party (including the small one) must either wait in line up to that point or present a Fastpass to enter the line. We go in July when it's busy, and they're very strict about this for the most part. At Expedition Everest in particular, the CM made me walk my DD over to her (we were standing off to the side while DH and the boys went to ride) to prove that she was too short to ride. But at some rides, the CMs are not that strict and sort of take your word for it.

You get a return pass for up to 3 riders who can show the child swap pass and enter the ride at the Fastpass entrance the next time through.

I also had an odd experience at BTMR first thing in the morning where the CM would not give me one because she said there was no wait and we could just go through the line when DH and the boys finished. So things do vary depending on the CM.

Basically it's a Fastpass good for the remainder of the day for 3 people.

 

[mommylicious]

We've used Rider Switch often during our trips (most recent being Feb of this year) and it has always been the same procedure at every ride. We always use it in combination with a fast pass as well.

If there is a CM working at the Fast Pass Kiosk I ask them if I can get a Rider Switch ticket from them. Most of the time they have them and will give one if they see you have a baby or toddler with you. Occasionally they say to ask when you enter the attraction.

If we don't have one already from the Fast Pass Kiosk CM then we ask for one when entering the Fast Pass line. The CM gives us the Rider Switch ticket. One parent takes our 2 oldest kids with their fast passes, the other waits with baby somewhere close by. Later the 2nd parent and 2 older kids ride the attraction together while the other parent waits with baby. Sometimes we ride again right away but a lot of times we save the rider switch ticket to come back later in the day and ride with little to no wait.

The system has been pretty consistent for us. Expedition Everest and Soarin both followed this procedure. The only differences have been how strict the CM giving out the passes is. Some of them are fine with the baby sitter parent being a ways away and just waving, others require the baby to be right there. On both Soarin and Everest they would only give the switch ticket to the person riding and would not allow them to hand that off to the baby sitter parent...they had to carry the switch ticket with them on to the ride. Not a problem for us at all, just a little more strict on the rules with those since they are newer and more popular.

 

[ss0414]

Thanks for the replies. The problem I'm going to have is that she is 7, and tall enough to ride EE, TOT, etc., but completely freaked out in December and wouldn't ride anything the rest of the trip! We'll probably have to swap out as we get on...thanks again. The nice thing about it is my son, 8, gets to ride twice!
Have a great day.

 

[tjmw2727]

Thanks for the replies. The problem I'm going to have is that she is 7, and tall enough to ride EE, TOT, etc., but completely freaked out in December and wouldn't ride anything the rest of the trip! We'll probably have to swap out as we get on...thanks again. The nice thing about it is my son, 8, gets to ride twice!
Have a great day.

As I said earlier you can not get the "rider switch pass" if the child is tall enough to ride. In your case you can take turns via standby, take turns using FP or on some attractions you can swap at the exit.

The pass is only offered for families with a child who dosen't meet the height restriction and "can't ride together".

Simply put.

If you have a child who dosen't meet the height requirement you can get a "rider switch pass" from the CM at the attraction. It is good for up to 3 people to ride that attraction anytime that day through the fast pass line. The child has to be present.

The first parent and any others ride by waiting in the standby line or using fast passes as you normally would. Then the second parent and up to 2 others (3 total) ride later using the switch pass via the fast pass line.

The second parent and child who isn't riding don't have to wait at the ride. We leave and ride a favorite ride, play in the playgrounds, get a ice cream etc.

TJ

 

[myrsfmly]

I also should note that on all my trips to WDW where I swapped, I was the only adult in the party, and while my DD's were tall enough to ride, I didn't feel they were tall enough to wait in line alone, I worried about missing them at the exit etc... they were even too young for cell phones then! On all the rides, except I think TT and maybe MS, the CM allowed me to walk them all the way to the ride, wait in a designated area inside, usually near the handicapped entrance, and then exit with them and return to ride again. Many even let us swap right there! I should note though that we only go to WDW during it's slowest times of year so the CM's are usually very flexible. I have also never been denied doing a swap when the child was tall enough to ride but a scaredy cat.... Like I said though, I travel during slow times so maybe the CM's don't care so much then... i didn't even know the too short too ride was their standard for allowing the swap

 

[tjmw2727]

Just to clarify - there are many ways to "swap" when the child is tall enough but chooses not to ride.

However, the "Rider Switch Pass" is a peice of paper that is similar to a Fast Pass and only offered if you have a child in your party that dosen't meet the height restriction.

HTH
TJ

 

[myrsfmly]

Even if your child is tall enough to ride, therefore not eligible for the "swap pass" I would ask at each ride. It seems at Disney there are always exceptions to everything, and if you find a nice cast member willing to give you the child swap pass, even if your child is tall, like in my experience, it will save you a ton of time and make your day smoother. I wouldn't assume that the CM's will say no without trying. I was never denied a pass

 

[beattyfamily]

Even if your child is tall enough to ride, therefore not eligible for the "swap pass" I would ask at each ride. It seems at Disney there are always exceptions to everything, and if you find a nice cast member willing to give you the child swap pass, even if your child is tall, like in my experience, it will save you a ton of time and make your day smoother. I wouldn't assume that the CM's will say no without trying. I was never denied a pass

Just to show a contrast, when my DD was just over the height requirement but didn't want to ride, we did ask at Splash and ToT. He measured her and then said, sorry, she's tall enough to ride so she must enter the line with you and you can try and swap at the ride itself.

We instead decided to swap on our own with Fastpasses. Works like a charm.