Any experienced baby swappers??

[Laura]

I have read so many different things from different sources on how the baby swaps work, I am still so confused!

Can someone who has done this before tell me the best way to baby swap for each ride??

Space Mountain
Thunder Mountain
Splash Mountain
RocknRoller Coaster
Tower of Terror
Test Track
Mission Space

Should we wait in line together and switch off at the loading platform? Or should one of us wait outside while the other rides and then switch? Is it different for each ride?

Thanks for your help!

 

[wdwfan30]

hello we were there this past october with our 8 year old and 5 month old. my husband would tell the cast member that he was riding with my 8 year old but i was going to wait with my baby. they would give him a pass it looks like a fastpass that entitles you to ride again without waiting.when they were done he would hand me the pass i would give him the baby and i would ride with my 8 year old who thought it was great because he would get to ride twice in a row.

 

[nicholas]

HAHAHA. From the subject line, my mind instant went to:

Woman 1: I don't want my baby anymore. Yours is cuter.
Woman 2: You can have mine if you want. I'm growing a little tired of him
Woman 1: Awesome! Thanks. Here, take mine!

I'm a sick sick person.

 

[tigsmom]

Originally posted by nicholas
HAHAHA. From the subject line, my mind instant went to:

Woman 1: I don't want my baby anymore. You're is cuter.
Woman 2: You can have mine if you want. I'm growing a little tired of him
Woman 1: Awesome! Thanks. Here, take mine!

I'm a sick sick person.

No you're not. I have a 15 y/o & 9 y/o I'm was going to trade.
:lol:

wdwfan30 said it all. :wave:

 

[bhg469]

Originally posted by nicholas
HAHAHA. From the subject line, my mind instant went to:

Woman 1: I don't want my baby anymore. Yours is cuter.
Woman 2: You can have mine if you want. I'm growing a little tired of him
Woman 1: Awesome! Thanks. Here, take mine!

I'm a sick sick person.

dude i was thinking they mixed up their strollers and all of a sudden bam you have a new baby :lookaroun dose that make me sick too?

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Babyswapping changed a little in the past year. Now all rides are done from the outside. As you're getting in line, tell the castmember you're babyswapping and he'll give you the pass like wdwfan said. You'll go back through the fastpass line to redeem your swap ticket.

The old way had you taking the kids all the way through the lines of rides like space mountain and swapping in the loading and exiting area. Or for test track, the new riders went back through the exit and skipped the whole preshow.

It's a toss up on which is better. The old way was MUCH faster but you missed the preshow which was a bummer if you're a first timer on that ride. The new way is nice because the older child, if you have one, can ride twice. The baby swap ticket is good for three riders.

Have fun!

 

[CPPirate]

Please Remember

As an attractions cast member I must ask you to remember:

Not all attractions offer Child Swap.
As a reminder, any attraction that does not have an age or heighth restriction will most likely not offer this service.
Please check with the Greeter cast member to be sure.

:wave: Thank You! :wave:

 

[will_hsv]

I am glad to hear that they have changed it a little, I was fortunate enough to be able to take my family to the world the last two years and I have still not seen the preshow to test track. I was always the one waiting in the post show area for this one.

 

[Disney Hog]

Originally posted by Disneyfalcon
Babyswapping changed a little in the past year. Now all rides are done from the outside. As you're getting in line, tell the castmember you're babyswapping and he'll give you the pass like wdwfan said. You'll go back through the fastpass line to redeem your swap ticket.

The old way had you taking the kids all the way through the lines of rides like space mountain and swapping in the loading and exiting area. Or for test track, the new riders went back through the exit and skipped the whole preshow.

It's a toss up on which is better. The old way was MUCH faster but you missed the preshow which was a bummer if you're a first timer on that ride. The new way is nice because the older child, if you have one, can ride twice. The baby swap ticket is good for three riders.

Have fun!

Most of this is true. You now swap outside except for Star Tours, Body Wars and Dinosaur. On Star Tours and Body Wars, the whole party goes through the line and the ones that are riding first go on the ride as the one that is swapping waits on a bench. After your party goes on the ride you walk through the ride and hand the baby or child to the parent who just rode. Up to three others in your party can remain seated and ride it again with you.

On Dinosaur you must go through the line and the preshow. Right before you get to the loading dock the CM will show the person who is not initially riding out an exit that leads to the gift shop. There you will wait until the rest of your party rides and then three additional people and you can go back through the exit door and are allowed to cut back in line.

There is an exception that we experienced when we rode Dinosaur back in Feb. Both of our smaller children (3 and 1) were asleep in the double stroller. We begged the CM to let us do something else instead of taking our sleeping children out of the stroller and carry them through a line that they will never ride. The CM said "I know what it's like to have kids" and scribbled something on a pass with her name on it and told me that if I had any trouble, to have them call her. This way I was able to wait in the gift shop with the two sleeping children. It worked out fine, but I don't think that that was standard operation.

I would say that there are benefits to both ways. Sometimes it was easier to leave the kids in the stroller. Sometimes the fast pass line was still a 10- 15 minute wait and having to come out of the ride and get back in line was time consuming. Either way it is a good program that I don't think anybody else offers.

I hope I didn't confuse you with my rambling.

 

[Disney Hog]

Originally posted by Laura22


Can someone who has done this before tell me the best way to baby swap for each ride??

Space Mountain
Thunder Mountain
Splash Mountain
RocknRoller Coaster
Tower of Terror
Test Track
Mission Space

All of these do the baby swap outside. The best thing to do is to approach the CM by the gate and tell him/her that you want to swap. After you get the ticket, you and the child go do something while you wait. Go get a snack, go shopping or at least go wait in the exit/gift shop area where it is nice and cool. Don't worry about taking the baby out of the stroller unless it is a good break for him/her.

Space Mountain- about a 5-10 minute wait to swap when using fast pass. There is a fairly big gift shop in the exit area.

Thunder Mountain- about 5 minute wait. Not a lot to do over there. There is a nice sitting area by the exit, but it is also a smoking area.

Splash Mountain- about a 20 minute wait. Go to the gift shop or get a snack.

Rock n Rollercoaster- about a 15- 20 minute wait due to the pre-show.

Test Track- about a 15 minute wait due to pre-show. Go to the giftshop in the exit and check out the new cars and stuff.

Mission Space- about 15-20 minutes. You can go through the exit and into the post-ride area. There is a McDonald's-type playground and other cool stuff you can do while you wait.

We never did Tower of Terror due to the fact my wife did not care to ride. I just rode it with my older two.

I hope that helps.:wave:

 

[goofyguy]

Originally posted by Disney Hog
Most of this is true. You now swap outside except for Star Tours, Body Wars and Dinosaur. On Star Tours and Body Wars, the whole party goes through the line and the ones that are riding first go on the ride as the one that is swapping waits on a bench.

You also have to go through the line for Kali River Rapids, although you can bring your stroller with you.

However, don't worry about trying to remember how each attraction operates. Just let the cast member in front of the attraction know that you would like to do a baby swap and he/she will explain what you need to do.

 

[Laura]

Yeah see that's why I was confused. I read in the Unofficial Guide (I think) that you are supposed to both wait in line with the kids and trade off when you get up to the ride. But then in this forum I've been reading that you're supposed to take turns waiting in line and getting the free fastpass type ticket for the other parent. So I wasn't sure if it was different for every ride.

I don't have an older child. Both my kids are under 3. So I was hoping that my husband and I could wait in line together with the kids for the rides and switch at the loading platform, so then we aren't waiting line alone (which would be boring with no one to talk to!). But at the same time, I'm sure we'll encounter situations like the one described above where my kids will both fall asleep in the stroller and we won't want to bring them through the line.



So if I'm reading correctly, one of us will have to wait in line alone while the other waits with the kids outside, and this applies to every height restricted ride with the exception of Star Tours, Body Wars, Kali River Rapids, and Dinosaur for which we'll have to bring the kids in line with us (unless we sweet talk the CM).

Not sure if this is good news or bad news. I was hoping to not have to wait in line by myself, but at the same time it wouldn't be fun to carry 2 squirmy kids through the lines either.

Oh well, it only applies to a small percentage of the rides anyway. The one good thing about Disney is babies can go on almost all the rides with you!

 

[Laura]

Disney Hog - thanks so much for the suggestions of what to do while waiting with the kids!

Now, it was because of all this baby swapping that I was considering getting the 2-way radios. Because I imagine it would be hard to figure out when and where to meet up after each ride and with the radios we could just page each other to say "ok I'm done".

How did you all meet up when it was time to switch off?

 

[Disney Hog]

Radios are the way to go. You could also use your cell phones if you have a nationwide-type plan.

It took my wife and I a couple of tries to get the waiting down pat. We used to just sit in the sun by the entrance and then we figured that it would be much more productive to do something and then hook back up.

Another thing that you can do while waiting is get Fast Passes for another ride. If you have 15-20 minutes, go over to the closest Fast Pass ride and get some new ones. That way by the time you swap and ride, you'll be closer to your Fast Pass Time.

 

[RandeB]

Tower Of Terror

Good change for us on TOT...my kid is most terrified by the preshow for some reason. Taking her through there to get to the swap cause some anxiety.