New Rider Switch Policy is Terrible

[ninjaprincesst]

I think it's a bit harsh to criticize OP for not leaving her kids with her husband. She never said he couldn't handle the meltdown. It seems to me like she was just trying to be nice to him and handle the tantrums together, instead of shoving the kids at him and racing off to get on a ride. IMO, the window could be opened up a bit more. Maybe not be open for the parent to return anytime for the next month, but adding an extra or so to the window to give parents time to deal with any emergencies wouldn't be that terrible.

Okay maybe for emergency they could be a little more flexible, but your kids being brats is not an emergency, and that could have quickly and easily been handled before Dad had even gotten off the ride, so i would say emergency yes the should be flexible but kids that don't know how to behave in public is not an emergency.

 

[larryz]

Okay maybe for emergency they could be a little more flexible, but your kids being brats is not an emergency, and that could have quickly and easily been handled before Dad had even gotten off the ride, so i would say emergency yes the should be flexible but kids that don't know how to behave in public is not an emergency.

 

[nickys]

I have a question, let's see if someone who used the new Rider Switch system can help.

I have 2 kids, a 6yo and a 2yo. Can I book a FP for Space Mountain only for my husband and then use the Rider Switch for me and my 6yo?

I know we could do that with the old system, I'm wondering if we can still do that and double the Fastpasses

Yes. It still works in the same way, other than the return window is specified now.

For those who used to return later, say in the evening whilst toddler was asleep and Mom or Dad stayed in the park with 6 year old, it’s the return window that’s changed. Other than that, it’s just the same, except it’s electronic.

One caveat though. For a while now, and for certain rides (FoP and 7dmt being the two I know of), some CMs did insist on everyone having an FP before giving a rider switch. The RS allowed the child to ride twice and still does. That is still being reported for some people (not everyone though). For those two rides you might want to book FPs for everyone, to be on the safe side.

 

[mk1971]

One caveat though. For a while now, and for certain rides (FoP and 7dmt being the two I know of), some CMs did insist on everyone having an FP before giving a rider switch. The RS allowed the child to ride twice and still does. That is still being reported for some people (not everyone though). For those two rides you might want to book FPs for everyone, to be on the safe side.

Well it's almost impossible to book FP for FoP if I'm not staying at a Disney hotel. Does that mean that if I'm not at a Disney hotel I can't have a rider switch for FoP? That doesn't seem fair.

 

[Dave B]

Well it's almost impossible to book FP for FoP if I'm not staying at a Disney hotel. Does that mean that if I'm not at a Disney hotel I can't have a rider switch for FoP? That doesn't seem fair.

Only thru the Fast Pass channel, you can definitely get it waiting thru the normal 2 hour que

 

[mikejs78]

I hope they give this a little more flexibility. When we went in April it was tough to do things back to back between diaper changes, logistics, etc. We would often do it right away but sometimes it took all hands on deck to placate our little one. Having the flexibility to go a little later was welcome. I understand the abuse, and it doesn't have to be an all day anytime FastPass either. Some middle ground would be helpful....

 

[nickys]

I hope they give this a little more flexibility. When we went in April it was tough to do things back to back between diaper changes, logistics, etc. We would often do it right away but sometimes it took all hands on deck to placate our little one. Having the flexibility to go a little later was welcome. I understand the abuse, and it doesn't have to be an all day anytime FastPass either. Some middle ground would be helpful....

I have seen someone say they got a later RS return time because they had an ADR coming up. To begin with, many of the CMs apparently didn’t know how to over-ride the time, but hopefully now they will be able to help if you ask.

 

[TP2000]

Or maybe my kids are just terrible. But today I tried to do rider switch with my husband for Splash Mountain. I was told I only had one hour to redeem it. Long story short, I have twins toddlers who had a meltdown after Dad left and I couldn't get them to settle down within the hour window to use the pass.

I get that people are abusing it and they had to crack down but it seems to restrictive to me, especially with little ones who may not be so crazy about sitting out a whole hour plus so mom and dad can ride. Come on Disney at least give us the option of redeeming it later I the day!!!!

Sorry, I think Disney is in the right here and you should have used the pass within the one hour window you had.

There's no rule or law that says Disney has to do Rider Switches at all, it's just a nice little perk. But people were abusing it, so Disney had to restrict it to one hour which seems more than accomodating.

If the kids weren't cooperating, then that's the life of being a parent and making that lifestyle choice. At the 61 minute mark it's time to throw the Rider Switch pass in the trash and move on with life.

 

[Willmark]

I love all the critiques and suggestions from people that do NOT even have kids or understand, it is comical

I do have kids (and side 100% with Disney which is rare for me.)

As noted up thread rides have a finite capacity per hour and per day. This impacts that.

 

[mikejs78]

I do have kids (and side 100% with Disney which is rare for me.)

As noted up thread rides have a finite capacity per hour and per day. This impacts that.

Sure, and that's fine. And I acknowledge that Disney is well within it's rights to do this, and capacity is an issue, etc... But I wonder if there is some middle ground that could be reached. Previously the rider swap passes were good until the end of the month. Now its one hour. Again, all I'm saying is that the reality of parenting young children makes the one hour time a bit difficult, and some middle ground flexibility that still addresses the abuses could be possible. Am I angry with Disney for it's policy? No, it's perfectly reasonable. I'm just stating that increased flexibility would be a bit more helpful to parents of young children and wouldn't be surprised if Disney does tweak this in the future based on guest feedback.. But if they don't I'll do my best to make the window, talk with a cast member if for some reason I miss the window, and if they override, great, if not, oh well, we will go do something else. No big deal.

 

[thomas998]

Yes. It still works in the same way, other than the return window is specified now.

For those who used to return later, say in the evening whilst toddler was asleep and Mom or Dad stayed in the park with 6 year old, it’s the return window that’s changed. Other than that, it’s just the same, except it’s electronic.

One caveat though. For a while now, and for certain rides (FoP and 7dmt being the two I know of), some CMs did insist on everyone having an FP before giving a rider switch. The RS allowed the child to ride twice and still does. That is still being reported for some people (not everyone though). For those two rides you might want to book FPs for everyone, to be on the safe side.

Well I'm glad some people are keeping the people from gaming the system. Though I suspect when you have a family of 4 that knows they will be doing a rider switch on a ride where only the parent will ride that some parents are using those 2 remaining fastpasses that their kids don't need to get themselves a fastpass on another ride... I would hope they would require the kids to have a fastpass for the ride they are being swapped for just to make sure parent don't use that method to game a system a little bit more. Especially since all the parents would need to do is swap the magic bands with their kids to do it.

 

[wdisney9000]

I love all the critiques and suggestions from people that do NOT even have kids or understand, it is comical

Are you implying that people without children can not possibly understand the struggles of parenting? Or that they can not understand that people who have children should be allowed extra privileges?

 

[Willmark]

Are you implying that people without children can not possibly understand the struggles of parenting? Or that they can not understand that people who have children should be allowed extra privileges?

Yeah kinda my point as well.

It’s an interesting angle to say the least that the implication is “you can only comment if you have kids” all the while this impacts everyone’s experience.

 

[RememberWhen]

Well I'm glad some people are keeping the people from gaming the system. Though I suspect when you have a family of 4 that knows they will be doing a rider switch on a ride where only the parent will ride that some parents are using those 2 remaining fastpasses that their kids don't need to get themselves a fastpass on another ride... I would hope they would require the kids to have a fastpass for the ride they are being swapped for just to make sure parent don't use that method to game a system a little bit more. Especially since all the parents would need to do is swap the magic bands with their kids to do it.

We’re planning to use rider switch for our family of four this December. Our 18 month old doesn’t require a ticket and is therefore ineligible for FP. But we will certainly have a FP for her 6 year old brother. I actually preferred the old system where everyone waits in line together. I remember my mom waiting at the end of thunder mountain, handing the baby to my dad and taking his place.
People are certainly abusing the system, but not everyone. We just want to be able to ride the rides. And the big brother gets to ride twice. Bonus.
I had no idea the old rider switch had such a long expiration. That was crazy.

 

[jaklgreen]

Sure, and that's fine. And I acknowledge that Disney is well within it's rights to do this, and capacity is an issue, etc... But I wonder if there is some middle ground that could be reached. Previously the rider swap passes were good until the end of the month. Now its one hour. Again, all I'm saying is that the reality of parenting young children makes the one hour time a bit difficult, and some middle ground flexibility that still addresses the abuses could be possible. Am I angry with Disney for it's policy? No, it's perfectly reasonable. I'm just stating that increased flexibility would be a bit more helpful to parents of young children and wouldn't be surprised if Disney does tweak this in the future based on guest feedback.. But if they don't I'll do my best to make the window, talk with a cast member if for some reason I miss the window, and if they override, great, if not, oh well, we will go do something else. No big deal.

And before that everyone went through the queue and one parent rode while the other stayed off to the side. Then the second parent rode immediately while the first exited with the child. Maybe they should go back to that system since that seems to be the only "fair" solution. And if something happens and someone is unable to ride, well that kind of falls under the life is not fair and tough luck category. When our kids were little and something happened and we missed out on something, the thought never once popped into our heads to complain to Disney and expect something special like a PF. Where is this way of thinking coming from? Why does everyone feel like they are owed something now? I don't understand it.

 

[mikejs78]

And before that everyone went through the queue and one parent rode while the other stayed off to the side. Then the second parent rode immediately while the first exited with the child. Maybe they should go back to that system since that seems to be the only "fair" solution. And if something happens and someone is unable to ride, well that kind of falls under the life is not fair and tough luck category. When our kids were little and something happened and we missed out on something, the thought never once popped into our heads to complain to Disney and expect something special like a PF. Where is this way of thinking coming from? Why does everyone feel like they are owed something now? I don't understand it.

Did you read what I said? I don't think I'm owed anything. I'm just saying what would be easiest for me as a parent of a small child. But I fully recognize that Rider Swap is a nice perk, not something I'm entitled to.

 

[LaughingGravy]

People are parents of a small child or children for a limited time. During that time, the parents should make appropriate accommodations and that includes a change of lifestyle to not inconvenience others, including in restaurants and amusement parks.
We didn't bring our kids until they were old enough to both walk around with us all day. Even with that, the younger one doesn't remember her first trip at all, though she was aware enough to enjoy it. We don't regret bringing her, but we also went to other age appropriate non-Disney park things without all the hassle and expense of a Disney vacation.
The fact that there was a rider swap that was good for a month just blows my mind.

 

[JennSmith]

I think some people are being a bit unfair and judgy. For 16 years I only had 2 girls until my son was born. Both girls were extremely well behaved. I could go anywhere with them, do anything with them...no problem. I was THAT parent that judged other parents when I would see over the top tantrums or hear parents complain about not being able to go shopping or out to eat with their kids. Then I had my son. And as karma would have it, despite being the same parent and parenting the same way as I always had, I quickly became the parent who could not shop or eat with my child, who's child would occasionally have over the top tantrums. I mean calling 2 year old toddlers "brats" because they were being 2 year old toddlers is a bit harsh and really ignorant IMO. Congrats to all of you for having gone through raising all of your children without having times like these. I mean that...I genuinely mean that. But remember that you are really fortunate for that. Because even the BEST parents sometimes have moments where their children are acting out of control.

ETA...
I'm not suggesting that anyone receive special treatment because of these moments either. I'm just annoyed with some people literally calling her kids brats and being judgy parents.

 

[jaklgreen]

I think some people are being a bit unfair and judgy. For 16 years I only had 2 girls until my son was born. Both girls were extremely well behaved. I could go anywhere with them, do anything with them...no problem. I was THAT parent that judged other parents when I would see over the top tantrums or hear parents complain about not being able to go shopping or out to eat with their kids. Then I had my son. And as karma would have it, despite being the same parent and parenting the same way as I always had, I quickly became the parent who could not shop or eat with my child, who's child would occasionally have over the top tantrums. I mean calling 2 year old toddlers "brats" because they were being 2 year old toddlers is a bit harsh and really ignorant IMO. Congrats to all of you for having gone through raising all of your children without having times like these. I mean that...I genuinely mean that. But remember that you are really fortunate for that. Because even the BEST parents sometimes have moments where their children are acting out of control.

ETA...
I'm not suggesting that anyone receive special treatment because of these moments either. I'm just annoyed with some people literally calling her kids brats and being judgy parents.

To be fair, most kids are brats in one way or another. Boys tend to be worse generally speaking. I do think that people allow boys to be more rambunctious without really realizing that they are allowing this type of behavior. It's just "boys will be boys". I am no expert but I am an observer and working in a restaurant affords me more opportunity to observe families in public. I will say that now, more so then 10 years ago, people allow their children to behave poorly in public. By allow I mean that they ignore the bad behavior or give a half hearted "don't do that honey". What I see on a regular basis... children running in the restaurant where it is very dangerous because people are carrying hot soup; children screaming and crying for prolonged periods of time(10+minutes) without the parent taking them out; kids allowed to stand on the seat/booth and general horrible table manners; parents not teaching kids how to eat over their plate and having 1/2 of their kids food land on the floor without the parent picking any of it up; kids standing on the trays; kids reaching through the little gaps in the glass and knocking over bowls and cups. Do we judge? Of course we do. We live in a society and there is some expectation that people should be able to enjoy their meal without a constantly screaming kid, or to have a child slam into you while you are carrying your food because the parents let them run wild. There is no way we were allowed to act in this way and we learned at a very young age that if we did, so help us God when we got home our behinds would be beat and we would never do it again. What is wrong with teaching kids social behavior? If the child is like you describe yours to be then you were right to not take him out to the stores and restaurants until he was ready. That is something that most people do not want to do. They don't want to give up their lifestyle and work around their kid's needs. They are more then happy to take a disruptive child out to the detriment of other's peace and enjoyment.

 

[JennSmith]

To be fair, most kids are brats in one way or another. Boys tend to be worse generally speaking. I do think that people allow boys to be more rambunctious without really realizing that they are allowing this type of behavior. It's just "boys will be boys". I am no expert but I am an observer and working in a restaurant affords me more opportunity to observe families in public. I will say that now, more so then 10 years ago, people allow their children to behave poorly in public. By allow I mean that they ignore the bad behavior or give a half hearted "don't do that honey". What I see on a regular basis... children running in the restaurant where it is very dangerous because people are carrying hot soup; children screaming and crying for prolonged periods of time(10+minutes) without the parent taking them out; kids allowed to stand on the seat/booth and general horrible table manners; parents not teaching kids how to eat over their plate and having 1/2 of their kids food land on the floor without the parent picking any of it up; kids standing on the trays; kids reaching through the little gaps in the glass and knocking over bowls and cups. Do we judge? Of course we do. We live in a society and there is some expectation that people should be able to enjoy their meal without a constantly screaming kid, or to have a child slam into you while you are carrying your food because the parents let them run wild. There is no way we were allowed to act in this way and we learned at a very young age that if we did, so help us God when we got home our behinds would be beat and we would never do it again. What is wrong with teaching kids social behavior? If the child is like you describe yours to be then you were right to not take him out to the stores and restaurants until he was ready. That is something that most people do not want to do. They don't want to give up their lifestyle and work around their kid's needs. They are more then happy to take a disruptive child out to the detriment of other's peace and enjoyment.

Yea I get that. I worked as a server for years. Sometimes I even miss it lol. I actually edited my original post because I stated even the best parents have kids who at times act like d-bags lol. I was afraid someone would twist it. Yes I know that there are garbage/lazy parents who truly have brats as kids. I just didn't like how a previous poster referred to these 2 year old toddlers as brats. Like, they're 2. Are their tantrums annoying? Duh. Are they brats because of it? Eh...
I dunno. Maybe I'm being too sensitive. Always possible I just would hate for someone to have seen my kid at a bad moment and just write him off as a brat when he was a good kid the majority of the time. And yea...no way in H#LL would I have ever let him behave like a lunatic in public to the point that he was ruining other peoples' time. I would remove him immediately and at times didn't even bother taking him places until he learned how to behave properly. I'm not perfect either but I try to be conscientious to other people. Also I don't wanna be judged haha.