This. If your kids are having a meltdown that lasts an hour, maybe it’s time to leave whatever you’re doing and go back to the hotel. Things happen when you have kids, that’s part of being a parent. Can’t blame whatever establishment you’re in.
That's exactly what we did, we left the park in response. I'm not blaming Disney for my kids meltdown or my decision to forgo the window they gave me. The old policy would have allowed us to return at a later time once things had cooled off. The new one doesn't give that flexibility any more. There have been a lot of changes at Disney, for better or worse. I've been immune to most but this one hit home for me. Now that I know about the change I'll be better prepared in the future.
Why is it hard to ride something back to back? I mean you have waited in line for the ride already, the rides are only a few minutes long. I would think it would be more of a pain to come back again. I liked it when everyone went through the line and at the point of boarding the parent and small child waited off to the side and swapped right there as the other parent got off. That seems the most reasonable and convenient.
That was quite honestly one of the best parts of Universal. I hate ride swap at Disney because it means my family has to be split up longer. At Universal everyone goes through the line together. You then take the little one off to the side and swap right there at the ride. So much easier IMO. However, when we were at Disney we did use the Ride Swap multiple times. Every time I rode immediately after. And there were a few times my then newly turned 4 year old lost her smit, and I was more than happy to dump her screaming butt on her father for 15 minutes lol. Normally when I came back he had managed to calm her down again.
Try being fully immersed in FOP while you have an over eager beaver sitting next to you telling you about every scene coming up, then asking you every minute how you like it. 
So you still get to double up on fastpasses (because only the initial riders need a fastpass) but the system is "terrible"?
I do that from time to time. Gotta keep everyone guessing.
And that is why they changed the policy because people will make up anything and abuse it. Hour is plenty... if you miss it because of "meltdowns" oh well....
Yes I thought Rider Swap worked really well at Universal. The places to wait were inside so you were out of the sun. Gave my 2 year old a break.That was quite honestly one of the best parts of Universal. I hate ride swap at Disney because it means my family has to be split up longer. At Universal everyone goes through the line together. You then take the little one off to the side and swap right there at the ride. So much easier IMO. However, when we were at Disney we did use the Ride Swap multiple times. Every time I rode immediately after. And there were a few times my then newly turned 4 year old lost her smit, and I was more than happy to dump her screaming butt on her father for 15 minutes lol. Normally when I came back he had managed to calm her down again.
Only bad part about Ride Swap in general is my 8 year old who would ride both times. I always went second and his enthusiasm couldn't keep him from spoiling every aspect of every ride.
I think a lot of people forget that Disney is , first and foremost, a family park. Implimenting a rider switch system that doesn't give families enough time for dealing with emergencies isn't a great decision. A family park shouldn't be asking parents to choose between taking care of their kids or getting on their rides, especially not at this price point. We all make our choices, yes, but this isn't a choice that should have to be made in the first place.
Except it's a "child swap," not a "split the parents so they can run off and do some other ride (and meal, and shopping) and then come back and ride when they feel like it."
So you also don't think it's a good system then? I agree a straight child swap makes more sense but that's not the system Disney has in place.
