FOP Rope Drop & Child Swap/Queue Question

[jenPSU]

Hi everyone,

We are heading to WDW in two weeks and I’m trying to create a plan of attack for FOP. We have a party of six: my husband and me, 6YO, 3YO, and grandparents. Grandmother doesn’t like thrill rides/simulators and 3YO is too small to ride. We don’t have FPs because we are staying offsite and they were long gone at 30 days out. I’m going to try to get FPs starting the night before, but I know it’s a long shot.

So currently our plan is to rope drop and for 4 of us to ride FOP. But I am not sure what my mom and 3YO should do. If they come with us to the ride, we can do a child swap and then 3 of us can ride again, correct? Is it worth them doing the rope drop craziness with us for that benefit though? I’m a little worried about the crowd aspect and my 3YO in the stroller. How aggressive is the rope drop crowd these days? Also when you do child swap, where do the ones not riding leave you? I have heard the queue is interesting, would it be worth it for them to stay with us for whatever portion of the queue they would experience as part of the child swap? Is it possible for them to do the whole queue and then bail out right before the ride? I don’t want them to be bored but if it is a fun experience it might be better for them to stay with us rather than trying to find something else to do for the couple hours it might take the rest of us to ride.

Thanks so much for your input!

P.S. If I manage to get fastpasses for FOP the night before, then our plan will be to rope drop for Nav’i, which I understand is appropriate for all ages.

 

[Robo]

Hi everyone,

We are heading to WDW in two weeks and I’m trying to create a plan of attack for FOP. We have a party of six: my husband and me, 6YO, 3YO, and grandparents. Grandmother doesn’t like thrill rides/simulators and 3YO is too small to ride. We don’t have FPs because we are staying offsite and they were long gone at 30 days out. I’m going to try to get FPs starting the night before, but I know it’s a long shot.

So currently our plan is to rope drop and for 4 of us to ride FOP. But I am not sure what my mom and 3YO should do.
1. If they come with us to the ride, we can do a child swap and then 3 of us can ride again, correct?
2. Is it worth them doing the rope drop craziness with us for that benefit though?
3. I’m a little worried about the crowd aspect and my 3YO in the stroller. How aggressive is the rope drop crowd these days?
4. Also when you do child swap, where do the ones not riding leave you? I have heard the queue is interesting, would it be worth it for them to stay with us for whatever portion of the queue they would experience as part of the child swap?
5. Is it possible for them to do the whole queue and then bail out right before the ride? I don’t want them to be bored but if it is a fun experience
6. it might be better for them to stay with us rather than trying to find something else to do for the couple hours it might take the rest of us to ride.
7. P.S. If I manage to get fastpasses for FOP the night before, then our plan will be to rope drop for Nav’i, which I understand is appropriate for all ages.

1. Correct
2. That's a "you need to decide" kind of question.
3. You will, by far, not be alone in that situation.
4. & 5. Non-riders cannot even enter the indoor themed queue.
Guests who are too short to ride won't be allowed in the actual queue.
6. The rider switch pass is good for any time, the rest of the day (often for more than one day.)
You all can meet-up somewhere after your first ride.
7. OK.

 

[PeterPan1234]

My wife and I did rider swap for FoP this week at rope drop. She and the kids had to wait with me in the extended queue until we reached the actual entrance where the wait times are posted. There they gave us the rider swap pass. So they waited with me maybe 20-30 minutes. The crowd wasn’t aggressive at all when I went.

 

[DvF Diva]

PeterPan1234 -- do you happen to remember if the Rider Switch Pass states that you can bring 1 or 2 guests back with you? WDW website has said one thing since ~2014 but my own experience has been 3 guests total can come back on the RSP. Thanks!

 

[Robo]

PeterPan1234 -- do you happen to remember if the Rider Switch Pass states that you can bring 1 or 2 guests back with you? WDW has said one thing since ~2014 but my own experience has been 3 guests total can come back on the RSP. Thanks!

Ignore the WDW site.
It is for 3 guests.

 

[Luckysix]

Hi - We were in a similar situation today at AK. We decided to RD river ride, as we had FP for FOP. We arrived with a young child and stroller at 8:30, for a 9am opening. We ended up being in the middle of the pack waiting to enter Pandora. It was crowded shoulder to shoulder. At 9am, the line began to move- that was when slight pushing and line jumpers occurred. I do not like crowds. I found it hard to navigate the stroller as people were darting in and out.

child swap - we did this later for our FP to FOP. the child and caregiver just hung out in Pandora. It’s beautiful. It was a great opportunity to take photos and take a breather from the line up. Only those entering the ride get to see the que. Hope this helps! Enjoy AK!

 

[Burgermom]

Hi - We were in a similar situation today at AK. We decided to RD river ride, as we had FP for FOP. We arrived with a young child and stroller at 8:30, for a 9am opening. We ended up being in the middle of the pack waiting to enter Pandora. It was crowded shoulder to shoulder. At 9am, the line began to move- that was when slight pushing and line jumpers occurred. I do not like crowds. I found it hard to navigate the stroller as people were darting in and out.

child swap - we did this later for our FP to FOP. the child and caregiver just hung out in Pandora. It’s beautiful. It was a great opportunity to take photos and take a breather from the line up. Only those entering the ride get to see the que. Hope this helps! Enjoy AK!

Hello! What time were you finished Navi River journey?

 

[tlmadden73]

A somewhat related question:

Do you miss a lot of the themed queue if you Fast Pass FOP? I know I've never seen the interactive exhibits on Peter Pan and SDMT because I have always Fast Passed them. I want to experience those with my family, but really have no desire to ever wait in the long queues for those rides (my son is spoiled by having to just walk on those every trip thus far ).

Just curious if we'll miss something if I am lucky enough to get a FP for it.

 

[PeterPan1234]

A somewhat related question:

Do you miss a lot of the themed queue if you Fast Pass FOP? I know I've never seen the interactive exhibits on Peter Pan and SDMT because I have always Fast Passed them. I want to experience those with my family, but really have no desire to ever wait in the long queues for those rides (my son is spoiled by having to just walk on those every trip thus far ).

Just curious if we'll miss something if I am lucky enough to get a FP for it.

I went through the queue. I don’t remember there being anything special.

 

[Luckysix]

Hello! What time were you finished Navi River journey?

Hi Burgermom- sorry for the delay. Just got back in. We were finished around 9:55am.

 

[subtchr]

I just had someone who said she was an FoP cast member post on a Disney page that rider switch passes now must be used on the day they are given, as of February 1. As far as she knew, it was only for FoP, to cut down on the number of rider switch passes being collected and sold. Has anyone gotten a switch pass at FoP in the past 2 days who could confirm?

 

[TheFloatingBear]

A somewhat related question:

Do you miss a lot of the themed queue if you Fast Pass FOP? I know I've never seen the interactive exhibits on Peter Pan and SDMT because I have always Fast Passed them. I want to experience those with my family, but really have no desire to ever wait in the long queues for those rides (my son is spoiled by having to just walk on those every trip thus far ).

Just curious if we'll miss something if I am lucky enough to get a FP for it.

We were there on Sunday and we did FP first and then decided to do standby at the end of the night. The posted wait was 90 minutes, but it was about 30 minutes - it was rainy so it looked like a lot of people were heading out, so we decided to roll the dice.

Anyway, I don't remember much of the FP line, but we were walking fast. The standby line was incredibly detailed, with different rooms - one was like a lab and another had glowing "flora", so to speak. I don't remember a lot of interactive stuff, although there were things to read in the "lab" room. I really enjoyed it and the line seemed to move. Thirty minutes was great! But if the line was long, I definitely want to have a FP if possible!

 

[Armycavprincess]

I just had someone who said she was an FoP cast member post on a Disney page that rider switch passes now must be used on the day they are given, as of February 1. As far as she knew, it was only for FoP, to cut down on the number of rider switch passes being collected and sold. Has anyone gotten a switch pass at FoP in the past 2 days who could confirm?

We got one today and it was only good for today( 7DMT was also only good for the same day) all other have been good till the end of the month.

 

[subtchr]

We got one today and it was only good for today( 7DMT was also only good for the same day) all other have been good till the end of the month.

Thanks! So they looked just like the others, just had today's date on them?

I think this is a smart move. Especially if you check EBay to see people selling the ones that are good all month! It's a bit of an inconvenience for families who might want to use it a few days later, but I'm glad they are making an effort to cut down on abuse of the system.

 

[Armycavprincess]

Thanks! So they looked just like the others, just had today's date on them?

I think this is a smart move. Especially if you check EBay to see people selling the ones that are good all month! It's a bit of an inconvenience for families who might want to use it a few days later, but I'm glad they are making an effort to cut down on abuse of the system.

It looks the same. It took a hour yesterday for us to do it twice(once with FP and then ride swap). Luckily the baby napped in the stroller during that time.