Baby Swap?

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11-09-2002, 02:20 PM
tinkerbella27

Hi, I hope I am posting this in the right place. Last Nov, we were at WDW and had good and bad experiences with the baby swap for rides. For instance, at AK, we had no problem leaving our 1 year old with my sis and her hubby while hubby and I rode Dinosaur and Kali River Rapids. When we got off the ride, we found them easily and they were able to "cut" to pretty close to the front of the ride. However, at MK, we had problems. The CM at Big Thunder Mtn, was rude. Not just impolite, he was rude. He told us that 2 of us had to wait in line and then when they got off, swap the baby and the other 2 had to wait in line all over again. :mad: What is the point of this? Because of that, I was unable to ride Big Thunder. My baby would not have let me leave her that long (and I didn't want to, I had just gone on Splash Mtn) I am pretty sure I just got an incompetent CM, but I would like to avoid this on our next trip in Jan. Anyone have experience with this? Mainly at Magic Kingdom and MGM. This time we will have 4 adults and 2 babies ages 1 and 2. Your help is appreciated!! [img]graemlins/mickey.gif[/img] Thanks!

Oh and sorry if I posted this in the wrong area [img]graemlins/doubleeek.gif[/img]
11-09-2002, 08:31 PM
Disney-4-Me

The last time we went with babies in our group was in April. We had inconsistent instructions from CMs too. I think maybe this is an area that is not covered carefully enough when training them. Oddly enough, our worst experience was on Big Thunder Mt. also.
11-12-2002, 12:38 PM
mommystieg

We also found the "baby swap" to be kinda confusing and inconsistent. We told the first CM we saw at BTMR and he let us all wait in line. Guess what, they aren't supposed to let the little ones in the loading area-some kinda of safety issue. They let us do the baby swap but they seemed sort of frustrated that the first CM let us through. The only place where it seemed to work like it was supposed to was TT in Epcot. When we told the CM there we were given a "child swap" pass. Like the other posters, I don't think this is covered very well with the CM's.
11-12-2002, 05:13 PM
tinkerbella27

Thanks for your replies ;) I guess we will just have to hope for nice CMs while we are there.
11-12-2002, 11:48 PM
Hardcase

Attractions with Fastpass really don't require baby swap. Also you might want to consider leaving the baby with a sitter. I have always found the CM's to be very helpful and nice.
11-13-2002, 12:46 PM
Black Jack Shallack form Frontenac

Quote:

Originally posted by Hardcase:
Attractions with Fastpass really don't require baby swap.

Do you mean that if you get 4 fastpasses, then come back with 2 FastPass, on time, and then come back again with the other 2 FastPasss, but this time late, you can still get through?

Also, can 1 person get 4 Fastpass, or are the 4 people required to get their own? The later seems logical.

Quote:

Originally posted by Hardcase:
Also you might want to consider leaving the baby with a sitter.

Now, why would you want kids to miss all attractions just because they cant/wont get on some of them?

Quote:

Originally posted by Hardcase:
I have always found the CM's to be very helpful and nice.

I have MOSTLY found the same thing, but some are just plain rude.
11-13-2002, 12:50 PM
big mac

It was always my understanding that the "baby swap" was designed for two people traveling with a child/children, who want to go on a ride that their child/children would not enjoy. By letting groups with more than two adults and with small children not have to wait in line, would mean half the park was not waiting in line.
11-13-2002, 03:36 PM
tinkerbella27

Black Jack - I completely agree. Why would I want my kids to miss the park because of a few rides they cannot go on?

Big Mac - Regarding the baby swap, with my party being 4 adults and 2 babies, 2 adults would wait in line while the other 2 waited with the babies. After the first 2 adults ride the attraction, the second 2 adults are allowed to enter the line at a closer location. Why should the second set of adults have to wait in line all over again for the same ride? At that rate (waiting twice) we would see maybe 3 attractions a day. [img]graemlins/shakehead.gif[/img]

At some rides they will let all four of us wait in the queue area together. Then 2 will ride and then switch off while the second two ride. But not every attraction will allow us to wait together. :(
11-14-2002, 07:42 AM
frakers

We've used the baby swap many many times and have never had to start all over in the begining of a line after the swap is made. That's the whole point of the baby swap. It's not cheating. The line was waited in by all the members of the party that were allowed to wait.
That being said, never should there be more than 2 allowed back in after the swap is made. And yes, FastPass is another option that allows a swap without the hassle of getting the wrong cast member.
11-14-2002, 08:35 AM
Black Jack Shallack form Frontenac

Quote:

Originally posted by frakers:
[QB]That being said, never should there be more than 2 allowed back in after the swap is made./QB]

Of course, a guest who has already ridden in the first part of the swap can't ride a 2nd time in the second part of the swap. He/she has to stand in line again.
11-14-2002, 09:20 AM
frakers

I don't necessarily agree on that last point, Jack. I hate riding alone because I don't want to get stuck with the person that didn't bathe that day and is wearing their favorite tank top and keeps their arms up the whole time.
In a case where, say, there are 2 adults, a 10 year old and an infant. One adult and the 10 year old ride (because the 10 year old can't/shouldn't be responsible for the infant. The ride is over and it's time to swap. I have no problem with the 10 year old riding again while the 1st adult keeps the infant. We've done that and it still seems fair to me. It's not that we don't all want to wait in line together and ride together, it's that we can't. I don't consider that cheating.
4 capable, healthy adults...that's a different story.
11-14-2002, 12:04 PM
Black Jack Shallack form Frontenac

Quote:

Originally posted by frakers:
I hate riding alone because I don't want to get stuck with the person that didn't bathe that day and is wearing their favorite tank top and keeps their arms up the whole time...

You got a point! ;)

Quote:

Originally posted by frakers:
...One adult and the 10 year old ride... ...The ride is over and it's time to swap. I have no problem with the 10 year old riding again while the 1st adult keeps the infant. We've done that and it still seems fair to me... ...I don't consider that cheating...

I do. :D
11-14-2002, 01:05 PM
mickeynuts

Quote:

Originally posted by frakers:

I have no problem with the 10 year old riding again while the 1st adult keeps the infant. We've done that and it still seems fair to me. It's not that we don't all want to wait in line together and ride together, it's that we can't. I don't consider that cheating.

We not only do this, it's what the CMs have always told us to do! There are a lot of rides that our oldest loves, but the others don't, they always tell her to come back and ride again with the second parent. If you are riding alone they will often put you in a car alone anyway, it's the same difference.
[img]smile.gif[/img] Laura
11-14-2002, 01:57 PM
tigmickey

That is great news to hear that 2 people can do the baby swap. This will be my first trip to WDW with a baby and I was not sure if that could be done.
11-14-2002, 03:21 PM
tinkerbella27

Info Central here at Intercot has a link called Baby Ride Swapping. Go check it out those of you who think we are cheating the system. This is what it says:

Note: The word "group" can mean a couple, family or group of people.

The "baby swap" allows a group to ride the more thrilling rides at the parks in shifts when some members of the group are too short (some rides like Space Mountain and Star Tours have height minimums to ensure that the restraint systems work properly) or are simply too young (i.e. an infant or toddler) to ride.

The "baby swap" is when a portion of your party gets in the attraction queue. The rest of the party stays with the child(ren) that can't or doesn't want to ride while the first group transverses the queue and the ride. When the first group is done, the second group enjoys the attraction while the first group stays behind with the non-riders. It's kind of ironic that the baby isn't really swapped so much as the adults are.

The advantage of the "baby swap" is that the second part of the group doesn't have to wait through the entire queue. That's a big advantage when the lines for the ride are over an hour or more.

That is a direct quote from the info central link. Go check it out. So even if we have 4 healthy capable adults and 2 babies, we are within the Disney guidelines for the Baby Swap.