Just found out about Rider Swap change to digital returns

[DisFam17]

Help please! We have our FPs already booked for March 16-23, 2019. We leisurely decided to watch some Youtube videos on Rider Swap, and, now I am a little panicky. We are a family of two adults, two kids who meet height requirements and a baby. There is mixed information out there about how CMs are handling FPs. There was a video where the who family of potential riders had ALL had FPs. At Mine Train, the canceled the dads FP who was waiting with toddlers and gave him a return time for the length of the regular line even though he had a FP. They would not let him use it with the kids when his 2 older children and wife exited the ride. They had to go kill time for 30 minutes. As you can imagine, over the course of a day, this REALLY messes the touring plan in an unpredictable way. There does not appear to be consistent anecdotal information about how CMs are handling the new digital policy. Some are allowing the partner to go on the ride through the FP line immediate after his/her family exists and take the two additional riders with him/her IF everybody in the party started out with a FP anyway. If you are going to change the rules to prevent adults from essentially doubling their family's FPs, I think the latter solution is more fair. Otherwise swap families on super scheduled vacations are having 20-45 minute or more time slots where they have to find something nearby to do that is that amount of time. Anybody been through the new system during a busy time, and mastered it?

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

When we were there in August, the experience was inconsistent as to what happened if we all had FP vs if only some of us did. It varied from attraction to attraction and depending on which CM was there. The only thing that was consistent was that the CM asked to see the child who could not ride, and needed to issue the rider switch to the second party (which meant all 3 of us had to be there as well). I make my touring plans assuming one party will need to ride right after the other, back-to-back as that was our experience in each instance. We were never given more than 1 hour to return for a ride we did not have an FP for.

Return times varied (and this was the time you had to use the rider switch by, NOT the time we were to return). Some examples: At Soarin', we all had FP. DH went first, and I was given 30 minutes to use my rider swap (CM stated- correctly- that DH would be back by then using his FP. Once he used his FP, I used RS to ride. We ALL had FP for Soarin in this case).
At Space Mountain, same setup, our return time was 45 minutes. Later in the trip, we were given a return window of 1 hour.
DH and DS rode Dinosaur standby and the posted wait was 30 minutes. We were given a return window of 45 minutes.

In almost every case, our return window was almost exactly enough time for party A to ride and return to the FP entrance. I usually used this time for a bathroom/ snack break. To try to go to an attraction, wait, and run back was too much. Maybe something with a commonly short ride/ wait time like the carousel but not anything with more than a 15 minute wait and brief ride time.

 

[DisFam17]

That does not sound good. Thank you for sharing. Update: I talked a Disney CM last night and today. He said rider swap policy confusion and inconsistent implementation has caused lots of problems for guests. The clarification of the new policy is being communicated to all CMs and will be posted on WDW website soon as well. He said all people wanting to use Rider Swap with the FP will have to have a FP – even the person in Party 2 who is waiting. Then that person should be able to go directly in FP line when Party 1 exists. If not all waiting parties have a FP, then they will not be able to use the FP in combination with Rider Switch to ride. If Party 1 goes in Stand By line then after Party 1 is off the ride, Party 2 will go in FP line.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

That does not sound good. Thank you for sharing. Update: I talked a Disney CM last night and today. He said rider swap policy confusion and inconsistent implementation has caused lots of problems for guests. The clarification of the new policy is being communicated to all CMs and will be posted on WDW website soon as well. He said all people wanting to use Rider Swap with the FP will have to have a FP – even the person in Party 2 who is waiting. Then that person should be able to go directly in FP line when Party 1 exists. If not all waiting parties have a FP, then they will not be able to use the FP in combination with Rider Switch to ride. If Party 1 goes in Stand By line then after Party 1 is off the ride, Party 2 will go in FP line.

This was our experience in August. I know others had other luck and there was zero consistency but any time I approached the CM Manning the FP entrance for a rider switch, they were quick to verify that all riders had FP regardless of who was going first.

 

[super7wdw]

This seems really cumbersome. It also seems like it might be easier to stagger our Fastpasses ourselves.... group 1 at 10am and group 2 at 10:30, for example.

Thoughts??

 

[emilyrachael]

That does not sound good. Thank you for sharing. Update: I talked a Disney CM last night and today. He said rider swap policy confusion and inconsistent implementation has caused lots of problems for guests. The clarification of the new policy is being communicated to all CMs and will be posted on WDW website soon as well. He said all people wanting to use Rider Swap with the FP will have to have a FP – even the person in Party 2 who is waiting. Then that person should be able to go directly in FP line when Party 1 exists. If not all waiting parties have a FP, then they will not be able to use the FP in combination with Rider Switch to ride. If Party 1 goes in Stand By line then after Party 1 is off the ride, Party 2 will go in FP line.

Ok, trying to figure out these new rules. So does this mean Party 2 will essential 'use' their FP at the same time as their RS when they enter the FP line? Meaning, after they ride, they will no longer have that FP? I'm trying to see if now there's really any difference between staggering FPs as the PP said. Can one person still get an extra ride and be in Party 1 and Party 2?

 

[DisFam17]

The extra two guests may still ride in Party 2. It appears when Party 2 enters the ride is when Magic Band is scanned and FP is used. So if you are clearing the decks for your 4th FP, that is the moment. Also, the CM said if you are using RS in the Stand By line, the Parties will get a physical marker maybe not a paper pass. The marker will be presented to the FP line once Party 1 exits the ride. The two guests and waiting person may go in FP line at that time. The problem is some FP lines are not super quick during peak seasons. So, still more waiting. Supposedly all of this new policy is supposed to go up on Disney's website.

 

[Brian4891]

Really hope none of this is true. There are several posts from back in November and December with pretty much everybody saying the system was working the same as always.

I booked fast passes for my late February trip under the premise that Party 2 does not need to have fast passes. If that is no longer the case then my plans will be totally messed up.

If anyone has any recent experience with this please post! I will certainly share how the system works for me when I get back.

 

[quagmire0]

This sounds terrible, if true. Last trip we would get FPs for half the fam and different FPs for the other half, then use rider swap for both and get everyone on.

 

[Lilsia]

I can't imagine that this is a regular occurrence. Either the cast member was not informed or the family misunderstood. Child swap allows the second party to enter the ride after the first party gets off and they give you a certain time limit to do that so that the rider swap pass is not an open ended FP like it once was. I am thinking that the family thought that they needed to return after 30 minutes, not that they had 30 minutes to use the rider swap.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

I can't imagine that this is a regular occurrence. Either the cast member was not informed or the family misunderstood. Child swap allows the second party to enter the ride after the first party gets off and they give you a certain time limit to do that so that the rider swap pass is not an open ended FP like it once was. I am thinking that the family thought that they needed to return after 30 minutes, not that they had 30 minutes to use the rider swap.

We were given 30 minutes to return, NOT told to come back IN 30 minutes. The amount of time we were given to return varied by attraction.

ETA: we used rider swap on all of the following, with the same exact procedure (we were given a time to return by- longest time was 1 hour, for FoP) each time so this was not a fluke or a mistake, nor am I confused:
Space Mountain
7DMT
Splash Mountain
BTMRR
FoP
Primevil Whirl
Dinosaur
Soarin
Mission Space
Star Tours
SDD
Alien Saucers
Expedition Everest

I don’t think every CM we encountered at each of these attractions over the course of a week (sometimes multiple times) were wrong or that I was confused. They are closing the loophole by which people get FP for half the party, and it may be inconsistent or you may be seeing trip reports otherwise but that is at the CM’s discretion.
One day we did not all have FP for SDD and we were told that if half the party that did not have FP were riding standby, that party could use RS.

 

[Lilsia]

We were given 30 minutes to return, NOT told to come back IN 30 minutes. The amount of time we were given to return varied by attraction.

Yes, that is how it works. That is why I said that the person the OP was talking about probably misunderstood and thought they meant to come back in 30 min, not use it within 30 minutes.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

Yes, that is how it works. That is why I said that the person the OP was talking about probably misunderstood and thought they meant to come back in 30 min, not use it within 30 minutes.

Understood, I just wanted to make sure I was clear that my experience was as you’re describing. I would hate for someone to miss out on something because they don’t understand that this is the biggest change to RS (the time limit to come back is dependent on the attraction).

I see a lot of “that can’t be right,” “that isn’t how it worked.” It was definitely how it worked. My aunt is there now having the exact same parameters.

 

[Amanda Hall]

I do find this frustrating . We are going in April . I realize some think having double fast passes is not fair but even with them , due to having to use rider switch , that family is at a disadvantage, having to take double the time for rides . It seems a small compensation to allow double fast pass booking for those families already losing time to do as many attractions as those not dealing with RS.

 

[chris1212]

We were just there and we were never asked for the second party to have FP's as well. They did ask if we had FP's, just to know when to set the return time of the RS. If we had a FP for the first group, then they set the RS time much sooner than they would have if we were doing stand by.

We were a group of 5, with one not tall enough to ride anything. So when booking FP's I would book 3 FP's for the first group, then they would give us 3 RS's for the second group. I can see there being an issue if you have 1 FP, then want a RS for 3?

Also, we didn't use a RS from the morning for FOP. Asked late afternoon if it still would be valid and were told it would be.

 

[Lilsia]

I do find this frustrating . We are going in April . I realize some think having double fast passes is not fair but even with them , due to having to use rider switch , that family is at a disadvantage, having to take double the time for rides . It seems a small compensation to allow double fast pass booking for those families already losing time to do as many attractions as those not dealing with RS.

I don't see it that way at all. Not everyone can go full blast and stay all day and ride everything even without kids. So older people that can't ride thrill rides should get double fast passes? How about people with back problems, pregnant woman, those with lupus, the list goes on and on. Having children is NOT a disability that someone should feel sorry for you and give you something extra for the "disadvantage". We took our kids every year starting when they were 1 year old. We just skipped the bigger rides that they could not enjoy with us and stayed together as a family. We have had many years of enjoying the rides as they aged. We did not feel that we missed out on anything by just riding what our kids could.

 

[HHMcG]

All of my kids are too big for RS now but next trip will be with our best friends and their little ones.

The only thing I find annoying about the new system, is that the there doesn't seem to be enough time for the "none rider" to get to do anything. Last trip I can remember doing standby of the Pooh ride while DH and the big kids did SDMT. I may not have been back in the allowed time window. The poor little kids don't get to do the ride and don't get to do anything else either.

 

[Amanda Hall]

I can see where you are coming from but Im not sure your comparisons are quite the same. Our kids are 9, 7 and 1. I prefer to ride things together as well. The only time we would use a "double fastpass" is the mine train. What we did last time when the 1 year old was 4 months was 1 big kid and parent rode the Mine Train while 1 big kid, parent and baby had a FP for Winnie the Pooh. We would then do RS and do the opposite. Both kids can not go one the Mine Train as they are not old enough to sit alone. Now we can not do that and we can not even get in stand by for Winnie the Pooh because we won't be out in time to make the RS time. I dont think its fair for them to miss out because they have a baby sister. It's not the same as an adult who has back problems going in knowing they can not physically ride things. Now the big kids ride much because because of RS and they have to spend time waiting for the other 1/2 of the family . Even if a family worked out double fastpasses for 3 different rides each ride takes the twice as long. I think Disney knew this and thats why nothing as been done for quite some time. Even by getting extra the family was still not riding as much as other folks. I do not feel like I am saying having a young child is a disability. I am saying that its hard on the kids who are able to not be allowed to ride things due to the amount of time 1 ride takes and not have the chance to do something else(return time window). We could skip using RS but then our family misses their favorite rides. So we accept that it will take twice as long. It was just nice when Disney would let the waiting children do something else.

I don't see it that way at all. Not everyone can go full blast and stay all day and ride everything even without kids. So older people that can't ride thrill rides should get double fast passes? How about people with back problems, pregnant woman, those with lupus, the list goes on and on. Having children is NOT a disability that someone should feel sorry for you and give you something extra for the "disadvantage". We took our kids every year starting when they were 1 year old. We just skipped the bigger rides that they could not enjoy with us and stayed together as a family. We have had many years of enjoying the rides as they aged. We did not feel that we missed out on anything by just riding what our kids could.

 

[scrappinginontario]

This sounds terrible, if true. Last trip we would get FPs for half the fam and different FPs for the other half, then use rider swap for both and get everyone on.

If this was what you were doing I'm glad they're changing the system. This is unfair to all other guests who are not using child swap. Just because you have a child that requires the use of a child swap, does not mean half of the family should get a 'free ride'.

If you are using a FP for a ride then all eligible riders want to go on the ride, each one should have a FP. The 'bonus' is that the children who are old enough get to ride twice.

The Child Swap system is not created to allow everyone in a party to ride with only half of the party having a FP. That is unfair.

Possibly I am misinterpreting but that's how I interpret what was written above. Please forgive me if I did not understand properly.

 

[Lilsia]

I can see where you are coming from but Im not sure your comparisons are quite the same. Our kids are 9, 7 and 1. I prefer to ride things together as well. The only time we would use a "double fastpass" is the mine train. What we did last time when the 1 year old was 4 months was 1 big kid and parent rode the Mine Train while 1 big kid, parent and baby had a FP for Winnie the Pooh. We would then do RS and do the opposite. Both kids can not go one the Mine Train as they are not old enough to sit alone. Now we can not do that and we can not even get in stand by for Winnie the Pooh because we won't be out in time to make the RS time. I dont think its fair for them to miss out because they have a baby sister. It's not the same as an adult who has back problems going in knowing they can not physically ride things. Now the big kids ride much because because of RS and they have to spend time waiting for the other 1/2 of the family . Even if a family worked out double fastpasses for 3 different rides each ride takes the twice as long. I think Disney knew this and thats why nothing as been done for quite some time. Even by getting extra the family was still not riding as much as other folks. I do not feel like I am saying having a young child is a disability. I am saying that its hard on the kids who are able to not be allowed to ride things due to the amount of time 1 ride takes and not have the chance to do something else(return time window). We could skip using RS but then our family misses their favorite rides. So we accept that it will take twice as long. It was just nice when Disney would let the waiting children do something else.

Life is unfair. If your family dynamic is that you have 2 older kids and then decided to have another one, well that kid did not just pop up on the way to WDW. You all KNEW that there will be things that the little one will not be able to do. We decided to stop having kids after 2 for a number of reasons, one of which was the issue with travelling with that extra person. So your family should get the bonus of an extra FP because you chose to have that 3rd kid? And your older kids are not missing out on anything because they have a rider swap, one kids can go at a time on mine train with one adult and then the adult can switch and ride with the other child. Just like every other family does. Or you just plain miss out on things. Big deal, so does every other family.