Rider swap changing in preparation for new FP program

[randumb0]

I am confused because I always thought this policy was 1 + 1 on the second ride

 

[Jrb1979]

I am confused because I always thought this policy was 1 + 1 on the second ride

I thought so too. My guess is some people complained about having to ride alone that they gave in and said your little can ride again.

 

[cakebaker]

I am confused because I always thought this policy was 1 + 1 on the second ride

It’s been +2 for as long as I can remember.

 

[bethbuchall]

I am confused because I always thought this policy was 1 + 1 on the second ride

I thought so too. My guess is some people complained about having to ride alone that they gave in and said your little can ride again.

It’s been +2 for as long as I can remember.

I know it was +2 in 2002 which is the first time we used it (pre-FastPass).

 

[TioAdis78]

During our last trip in the fall of ‘19, we’d approach the FP line when it was our time, all four of us with FP, even when my son wouldn’t ride. So I’d stay behind with him while my wife and daughter rode, then I would ride with my daughter who’d ride twice. HOWEVER, there were two occasions when a little while afterwards, I noticed I still had a pending FP for the attraction (which I used, it wasn’t a cheat, I had no idea what caused it.)

What I think happened those two times was that they put me in the system as party#2, and not counting my FP, which is why I still had it pending.

 

[sndral]

To minimize the number of people entering the FP+ line. And in most rides, 2 is MUCH easier to accommodate than 3. The goal of rider swap was never to let multiple people re-ride (even if I used it for that many times).

And why do they want to do decrease the number of people using the FP+ line for free? Because once they start charging people to use the FP+ line, people are going to be angry if they have to wait >10-15 mins.

Interesting point, I was already a bit annoyed when a FP line was ridiculously long when my FP were ‘free.’ If I’d paid for the privilege, you’d better believe I’d expect the FP line to be, well…fast.
If they are going to monetize FP, I hope they’ll start running things more efficiently, actually train CMs to enforce the rules they have in place, & shut down other situations were people were abusing the system - complaining getting you free FPs as guest recovery, needs to end IMO, for one.

 

[Rowlf the Dog]

Interesting point, I was already a bit annoyed when a FP line was ridiculously long when my FP were ‘free.’ If I’d paid for the privilege, you’d better believe I’d expect the FP line to be, well…fast.
If they are going to monetize FP, I hope they’ll start running things more efficiently, actually train CMs to enforce the rules they have in place, & shut down other situations were people were abusing the system - complaining getting you free FPs as guest recovery, needs to end IMO, for one.

FP-line being fast is an excellent point - although I've been many more days to WDW than Universal, I ran by far more times in 30+min lines with Universal Express Pass (without temporary ride problems) than in 15-20min at WDW (some because of ride issues)...

 

[luv2cheer92]

Interesting point, I was already a bit annoyed when a FP line was ridiculously long when my FP were ‘free.’ If I’d paid for the privilege, you’d better believe I’d expect the FP line to be, well…fast.
If they are going to monetize FP, I hope they’ll start running things more efficiently, actually train CMs to enforce the rules they have in place, & shut down other situations were people were abusing the system - complaining getting you free FPs as guest recovery, needs to end IMO, for one.

Most other parks that offer a paid version of FP advertise a shorter wait than standby, not that it will be fast. Many even say to expect the wait to be half of standby. So if the standby is 90 minutes, you can still expect to wait 45.

 

[Lilsia]

I thought so too. My guess is some people complained about having to ride alone that they gave in and said your little can ride again.

Imagine grown up complaining about having to go on a ride alone. LOL I do that every solo trip. Maybe they should have a rent a friend so that solo travelers don't have the indignity of riding alone.

 

[shawthorne44]

That doesn't work unless they have a third child who is too small to ride most rides and decide to only book Fast Pases for rides with height restrictions.

It also includes kids too scared to ride. They weren't checking to see if there was a kid in the party that never rode.

Even doing mild research I ran across that exact suggestion more than once as a perk for families to turn 3 FPP into 6.

 

[fancymouse]

It also includes kids too scared to ride. They weren't checking to see if there was a kid in the party that never rode.

Even doing mild research I ran across that exact suggestion more than once as a perk for families to turn 3 FPP into 6.

You are right. The Rider Switch page mentions it can also be used for “guests who don’t wish to board an attraction” which means really anyone can use Rider Switch. The practice of using the system to get extra FPs was incredibly common. Whether by accident or knowingly, it was always being promoted on Facebook groups I follow.

 

[cakebaker]

You are right. The Rider Switch page mentions it can also be used for “guests who don’t wish to board an attraction” which means really anyone can use Rider Switch. The practice of using the system to get extra FPs was incredibly common. Whether by accident or knowingly, it was always being promoted on Facebook groups I follow.

My grandson is very tall for his age and the last few times we went, he was tall enough to ride things that we thought he was not yet old enough to ride. We had no problem getting switch for him. I recall lots of argument from some people here swearing that while the website said you could do it, in practice CM’s didn’t allow it.

I think it was more a case of THEY didn’t want it to be the rule rather that it actually wasn’t the rule because we did it, several trips, lots of rides.

Switch will always be subject to abuse but the number that get by with extra rides isn’t enough for anyone to be all that worried about. I think it’s more a case of someone getting something they didn’t rather than anything that causes a significant issue with wait times.

 

[kmurphy11795]

This policy will certainly stop me from buying memory maker for trips in the immediate future. I usually buy it for the ride photos. I have a 3, 5, and 7 year old. The 5 and 7 year old would ride with either myself or my wife as one of us waited with the three year old and then me and my wife would swap waiting with the baby. I like having both my children in those photos and don't want to choose just one. For the pictures not on rides, I'll just utilize my phone until my youngest can join us on the rides.

 

[luv2cheer92]

This policy will certainly stop me from buying memory maker for trips in the immediate future. I usually buy it for the ride photos. I have a 3, 5, and 7 year old. The 5 and 7 year old would ride with either myself or my wife as one of us waited with the three year old and then me and my wife would swap waiting with the baby. I like having both my children in those photos and don't want to choose just one. For the pictures not on rides, I'll just utilize my phone until my youngest can join us on the rides.

You would be able to have a photo with either you or your wife with both kids (I know, not both of you). Whoever goes first can have both kids with them. Maybe alternating rides where one of you goes first on one ride, then the other goes first on the next ride. So you can still get pics. If you're interested in that of course.

 

[anomamatt]

You are right. The Rider Switch page mentions it can also be used for “guests who don’t wish to board an attraction” which means really anyone can use Rider Switch. The practice of using the system to get extra FPs was incredibly common. Whether by accident or knowingly, it was always being promoted on Facebook groups I follow.

For what it's worth: the text on the website has always been this way. However, in my efforts to exploit this (just being honest), it rarely works in practice. CMs have a large amount of discretion and 99.9% of the time if my kid was tall enough (but honestly scared), we couldn't get a rider swap. But using it to "double" FPs when a kid is too short worked consistently.

 

[cakebaker]

For what it's worth: the text on the website has always been this way. However, in my efforts to exploit this (just being honest), it rarely works in practice. CMs have a large amount of discretion and 99.9% of the time if my kid was tall enough (but honestly scared), we couldn't get a rider swap. But using it to "double" FPs when a kid is too short worked consistently.

We didn't do it to exploit, we were following the rules they gave us. We never once had an issue and I had always said, if I did, I would've asked for a supervisor or headed to guest services. Call me a Karen, don't care. If they're going to post rules on their website for me to follow, they can follow them in the parks too.

After being told here a million times I couldn't do it, I always kept a screenshot of the page on my phone. I never had to use it.

 

[Roxyfire]

My grandson is very tall for his age and the last few times we went, he was tall enough to ride things that we thought he was not yet old enough to ride. We had no problem getting switch for him. I recall lots of argument from some people here swearing that while the website said you could do it, in practice CM’s didn’t allow it.

I think it was more a case of THEY didn’t want it to be the rule rather that it actually wasn’t the rule because we did it, several trips, lots of rides.

Switch will always be subject to abuse but the number that get by with extra rides isn’t enough for anyone to be all that worried about. I think it’s more a case of someone getting something they didn’t rather than anything that causes a significant issue with wait times.

I've noticed people put a lot of complexity and personal rules onto something that there is not a rule. Then, they judge you for not following their personal complexity rules, like with FP refreshing or DAS. I see nothing wrong with getting a DAS return time and then going to do something else with a short wait, especially if you have a group with people who want to do different things.

 

[anomamatt]

We didn't do it to exploit, we were following the rules they gave us. We never once had an issue and I had always said, if I did, I would've asked for a supervisor or headed to guest services. Call me a Karen, don't care. If they're going to post rules on their website for me to follow, they can follow them in the parks too.

After being told here a million times I couldn't do it, I always kept a screenshot of the page on my phone. I never had to use it.

I'm glad it worked for you. And yes, they should follow whatever rules *they* post.

Maybe it was a seasonal thing for me... but the last trip where we tried it (Christmas / NYE 2019-2020), we were consistently denied when a kid was tall enough but scared. And always OK'd when a kid was too short. And for what it's worth, I have only used RS in combination with FP+. Maybe that is also part of the difference? Either way, glad it worked for you as it should have!

 

[fancymouse]

We didn't do it to exploit, we were following the rules they gave us. We never once had an issue and I had always said, if I did, I would've asked for a supervisor or headed to guest services. Call me a Karen, don't care. If they're going to post rules on their website for me to follow, they can follow them in the parks too.

After being told here a million times I couldn't do it, I always kept a screenshot of the page on my phone. I never had to use it.

But the Rider Switch page does say it’s for the “regular queue”. The FP lane is not the regular queue. It would be more helpful if it was front and center, but it does say it in step 5 on the actual page. The Disney Mom’s Panel also explain it this way and it’s my understanding those people are officially promoted by Disney. It is 100% the rule, but like everything else at Disney, they just shy away from confrontation and don’t want to make a scene. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people arguing with the FP attendant and then the CM just waves them through. They don’t want people standing around yelling or asking to see a manager, so they take the path of least resistance. I actually don’t blame them. Look at the CM who got punched at ToT over a FP argument. Personally I think they just need to remove a lot of the discretionary decisions on the CM at the FP queue. Their processes should be be explicit and clear and either you have a FP or you don’t. If they are going to a paid option, I’m sure that’s what they are preparing for.

Again, I think it’s just a strange to highlight use the extra people riding in RS, when it’s clear people use the FP lane for lots of unintended rides. You may think it’s not common, but just on this one thread two more people stated they get extra FPs and on Facebook it’s promoted heavily. I would imagine the majority of guests at Disney are still families, so apply this little sample size to tens of thousands of daily guests and you would definitely have a number that makes a difference.

 

[cakebaker]

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people arguing with the FP attendant and then the CM just waves them through. They don’t want people standing around yelling or asking to see a manager, so they take the path of least resistance.

As I said, we were never questioned. We simply said he's too young to ride and that's all they needed. But this is an argument that is years old, so not going through it again. We were able to get switch for a kid that was tall enough to ride, every ride we did it on, every trip we took where it applied. That's it.

It is possible to have an issue that needs cleared up without yelling and screaming so your comment really doesn't apply to me.
I've seen people make fools of themselves in all sorts of ways at WDW and anytime you have a problem and you behave in such a way that people around you take notice, you're doing it wrong.