Parent Swap

[cmshelton1979]

I will be going down to WDW in May with my wife and our 10 ds and 5 mo old ds. Can someone please explain the "swap"? I have been down to DW 6 times and have never done/used this.

[DizneyRox]

It's meant so that one adult can stay with those ineligible to ride while the other(s) ride and then the one who stayed behind can ride without waiting in the line again.

It's only done at rides that have limitations on size, etc. If the kids can ride but you might not want them to, then you may need to make alternate plans. We couldn't do the baby swap at HM for example.

[cmshelton1979]

So is it like a fast pass?? Say my wife rides with my son, do they receive a fast pass to go through the FP line?

[biodtl]

So is it like a fast pass?? Say my wife rides with my son, do they receive a fast pass to go through the FP line?

Sort of - your wife and son would go on, and you would get a fast pass- type ticket so you would get a chance to ride (with or without your son) by going through the FP line.

[cmshelton1979]

Sort of - your wife and son would go on, and you would get a fast pass- type ticket so you would get a chance to ride (with or without your son) by going through the FP line.

Thats what I was wondering. I didnt think i'd get to bypass everyone all together (all though that'd be awesome).

Does the parent swap seem to work well for you?

[drosenbe]

Unless they've changed it, the entire family waits in the queue (or fastpass) and gets up to the loading area of the attraction. One parent rides the attraction with whoever else can ride, while the other parent and 'baby' get escorted to the unloading area. At the conclusion of the ride, the parent who rode the ride gets off and the parent who waited gets on the attraction. One minor benefit is that in some cases the kids who could ride the attraction will be able to ride again with the 2nd parent.
Of course, this varies with the individual attractions, depending upon how they load/unload.

[Buttercup]

Unless they've changed it, the entire family waits in the queue (or fastpass) and gets up to the loading area of the attraction. One parent rides the attraction with whoever else can ride, while the other parent and 'baby' get escorted to the unloading area. At the conclusion of the ride, the parent who rode the ride gets off and the parent who waited gets on the attraction. One minor benefit is that in some cases the kids who could ride the attraction will be able to ride again with the 2nd parent.
Of course, this varies with the individual attractions, depending upon how they load/unload.

This isn't the case for most rides actually. We've been using the Swap for many years now and my family always waits outside the attraction - never has to come through the lineup as a full family. We always do the "swap" outside ourselves - not being escorted by cast members to an unloading area.
My kids would be terrified if they had to come through the lineup with me on Tower of Terror! Instead they wait outside with Daddy eating ice cream until I'm done, and then he can take his turn.
I *think* some rides used to do it the other way, but in the past 5 years I haven't encountered any.

[cinderella crazy]

We've used the Parent/Baby Swap on almost every single one of our trips (except our honeymoon trip). It's really worked out well for us. Our DS is 6 so he can ride some of the rides now but our DD is 3. With the swap, DS was able to ride some rides twice without much of a wait. He thought that was great!

[all4djcc]

I agree with drosenbe. This is how it has worked with us. You go through the que and then tell the cast member that you are doing the swap. Depending on which ride it is, the cast member will wither give you fast passes or escort you to the disembark area. Works really well.

[Buttercup]

I agree with drosenbe. This is how it has worked with us. You go through the que and then tell the cast member that you are doing the swap. Depending on which ride it is, the cast member will wither give you fast passes or escort you to the disembark area. Works really well.

Weird! What rides did you have to go through the queue as a group? I've never had to do it that way! Maybe it has to do with the time of year you visit (if they have the extra manpower to escort people to the disembark area)?

[Goofy4TheWorld]

Based on everything I have read on Intercot, it appears that you may have a choice on how you want to handle it. For example, if a single parent has two kids and one wants to ride and the other is not allowed because he/she is too short, a CM will allow all 3 to enter the que and the parent and the small child will take the chicken exit once they reach the loading platform, while the big child rides the ride alone.

While nobody has specifically said it is allowed, I suppose that if a family of 4 wanted to stay together despite having someone who could not ride, they would allow it just like they do for a single parent. However, everything I have read says that the default procedure is that only the people actually riding the ride enter the que while those not riding go wherever they want after receiving their special baby-swap fastpass. I guess the non-riders could ask to be allowed to walk through the que, but it is certainly not supposed to be required that the non-riders enter the que. They should be free to wander off wherever they want, and just return with their child-swap fastpass whenever they are ready to enter the FP line.

The child-swap system is supposed prevent one parent from having to wait in line twice in order to ride just once. Forcing both parents to go through the line the first time around would defeat a big part of what the system was set up for in the first place.

[magicjasb]

We have used the Baby Swap numerous times over the last few years. Depending on which ride you are going on depends on how the ticket works. For example, on Star Tours, the whole group goes through the line. The first group enters the ride, while the other adult and baby wait on a bench outside the door to the ride. When the ride is over, you enter the ride, the other parent leaves with the baby, and you stay with the older kids to go on the ride. At Test Track and Soarin, and babies are not allowed to go through the line, and therefore, you get a ticket like a fast pass to return sometime that day with (I think) two guests (always my other kids).