Rider Switch changing (Started June 16th)

[Doug M]

It’s for the FP line too, I’m assuming because it allows the flexibility to not have to fit both groups in in the hour window, allowing the first group to go in anytime in the window like anybody else who holds FP.

Ah that makes some sense, didn't think about the window part.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Both groups don’t have to get through the line in an hour right? It’s just that the second group has to tap in within an hour of the first group.

 

[tlmadden73]

Going digital makes sense and probably saves money.

Having gone to WDW with a young (5mo) child, we didnt use rider swap, was sometimes too disruptive trying to get the entire party to the FP line (baby was sleeping, nursing, etc.). So we just used FP as normal and one of us just rode solo (my older son didnt often want to ride the rides twice anyway).

We may be using it more next trip (the daughter will be 2 yo), but since we will be travelling with grandparents we may just use them to watch the little one.

To me it sounds fair .. I would want to use the rider swap immediately anyway since you are right there. So the 1 hour window doesnt sound too bad.

Does this close the loophole of doubling up FP? (Where I could a FP one ride and my wife could FP another and we could basically both skip the line for both rides using rider swap?)

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Both groups don’t have to get through the line in an hour right? It’s just that the second group has to tap in within an hour of the first group.

Probably, I’m sure the window would work similar to FP.

But that still eliminates a huge advantage of the current program, not having to hang around the area with the too small children.

 

[DizneyMommy]

I do find it irritating to get my 3 year old a fastpass for a ride she can't ride. Like we will want FP+ for FOP. So do 50 other families with at least 1 child too short to ride. Now there are 51 less FP+ available for people tall enough to ride. Except the number will be more like at least a few hundred. That's a fun side "benefit".

The only reason to do that, and the reason someone might have to, is because you have to use your first 3 before you can book more. Disney has forced our hand in that one with the way FP+ is set up. I would much rather get them one by one like DL. No need to waste FP’s

 

[DizneyMommy]

Duplicate. The system went wild

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Going digital makes sense and probably saves money.

Having gone to WDW with a young (5mo) child, we didnt use rider swap, was sometimes too disruptive trying to get the entire party to the FP line (baby was sleeping, nursing, etc.). So we just used FP as normal and one of us just rode solo (my older son didnt often want to ride the rides twice anyway).

We may be using it more next trip (the daughter will be 2 yo), but since we will be travelling with grandparents we may just use them to watch the little one.

To me it sounds fair .. I would want to use the rider swap immediately anyway since you are right there. So the 1 hour window doesnt sound too bad.

Does this close the loophole of doubling up FP? (Where I could a FP one ride and my wife could FP another and we could basically both skip the line for both rides using rider swap?)

It would close that loophole if they require the whole group to hold FP.

I would argue that that loophole while advantageous for families with small children, still doesn’t give them an advantage over families without. Even at a park like Epcot using it for both Soarin’ and TT, I would argue your wait times in the FP line twice for those attractions would be similar to another group using FP for TT and waiting stand by for Soarin.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Probably, I’m sure the window would work similar to FP.

But that still eliminates a huge advantage of the current program, not having to hang around the area with the too small children.

Ok, that makes sense. It seems fair to let people come back when they want and not be restricted to the hour. If they are only going to be holding one at a time and they expire at the end of the day anyway

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Both groups don’t have to get through the line in an hour right? It’s just that the second group has to tap in within an hour of the first group.

Right, but sometimes it can take close to an hour or at least 45 minutes to cycle through a ride fully via the FP line and unless your first person goes right at the start of their window, it is likely that the window would end before the second person would get to "tap" - happened to us on Space Mountain once where we didn't bother getting a rider swap because we thought we could fit both into the hour, but the first round took too long and then we had to like beg the CM to give us a "rider swap qualification" after the first ride so our second person could then go

I really think if they go through with the proposal but eliminate the 1 hour limit (even if they change it to you have to use it that day - right now you can use the rider swap days later) it would be fine - it's just the 1 hour limit I am concerned about having the most impact on our trip and planning for the trip

 

[Hoodie]

We only did rider swap a couple of times, but when we did it, it was always back to back. There were a couple of times where we did a rider swap for Everest, but our tall enough kid didn't want to repeat and the single rider line was shorter so we did that and then gifted the return to someone else going standby. Honestly, never even thought of not using it that day, but I guess at some point it was open ended? I never checked!

I do think a bit more wiggle room than the hour may be necessary. Even with FP and returning immediately, it can be 40+ minutes. Going through Standby, then returning w/FP it can easily be over an hour. That's a lot of waiting in one area for some little ones.

 

[rteetz]

BREAKING: Walt Disney World Switching to Digital Rider Switch Pass (or Baby Swap) at Attractions to Combat Fraud

 

[HopperFan]

Right, but sometimes it can take close to an hour or at least 45 minutes to cycle through a ride fully via the FP line and unless your first person goes right at the start of their window, it is likely that the window would end before the second person would get to "tap" - happened to us on Space Mountain once where we didn't bother getting a rider swap because we thought we could fit both into the hour, but the first round took too long and then we had to like beg the CM to give us a "rider swap qualification" after the first ride so our second person could then go

I really think if they go through with the proposal but eliminate the 1 hour limit (even if they change it to you have to use it that day - right now you can use the rider swap days later) it would be fine - it's just the 1 hour limit I am concerned about having the most impact on our trip and planning for the trip

We don't know how it's going to work, and everyone is making assumptions about the one hour.

I would imagine they are modeling this much like the DAS system which totally incorporates the standby wait time into the return times. The computers automatically determine the times and attach it to the digital pass.

It could be that the system will be set up to be standby time plus one hour. That would give a party plenty of buffer if they use the standby line and WAY plenty time if you utilized the FP+ line. Just a guess on my part but it would make much more sense than giving someone a flat one hour return time, especially since many of these rides SM, 7DMT, FoP, FEA, RnR etc can be close to an hour or even more rendering the pass completely useless.

All those that were overusing and abusing the GAC were upset with the new DAS. Disney was still offering a fair and generous option for those folks with disabilities who needed it. Folks had gotten use to the above & beyond usage. I think this will be the same .... Disney doesn't actually have to offer anything at all in terms of rider swap, they could leave it totally to the guests to figure it out ... but they are still giving folks an option for a second adult/party member to ride without a long wait after they babysit someone.

And as I've said before, Rider Swap came about before there was ANY FastPass. With FastPass they actually could have dropped the program altogether. They didn't, it got out of control and they are doing what they need to do operationally to keep the program.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

We don't know how it's going to work, and everyone is making assumptions about the one hour.

I would imagine they are modeling this much like the DAS system which totally incorporates the standby wait time into the return times. The computers automatically determine the times and attach it to the digital pass.

It could be that the system will be set up to be standby time plus one hour. That would give a party plenty of buffer if they use the standby line and WAY plenty time if you utilized the FP+ line. Just a guess on my part but it would make much more sense than giving someone a flat one hour return time, especially since many of these rides SM, 7DMT, FoP, FEA, RnR etc can be close to an hour or even more rendering the pass completely useless.

All those that were overusing and abusing the GAC were upset with the new DAS. Disney was still offering a fair and generous option for those folks with disabilities who needed it. Folks had gotten use to the above & beyond usage. I think this will be the same .... Disney doesn't actually have to offer anything at all in terms of rider swap, they could leave it totally to the guests to figure it out ... but they are still giving folks an option for a second adult/party member to ride without a long wait after they babysit someone.

And as I've said before, Rider Swap came about before there was ANY FastPass. With FastPass they actually could have dropped the program altogether. They didn't, it got out of control and they are doing what they need to do operationally to keep the program.

well of course we are basing it off the report that was published which includes the 1 hour time frame - if that is not accurate than it changes everything - but that is part of the report so what we have to go off of

Seems complicated to have a varying time based on standby return time plus 1 hour or whatever. Why not just set it that you have it in your system and it is good until you use it - but you can't get another until you use this one? This prevents people from hording a ton of them

To me the biggest abuse of the system is not with being able to return later but with people that doubled up on FP - so 1 parents gets the FP for Soaring and one gets it for TT and then they rider swap so both get to ride both even though only using one FP each. That is the loophole I would hope the new system would close

I mean, of course the don't have to offer anything - they also don't have to offer FP at all, they don't *have* to do a lot of things .... providing a bit of a convenience to families with small kids (who is a big part of their target demographic) just doesn't seem like a crazy concept to me (and as other said, anyone with small kids would much prefer to not have to use rider-swap at all, it isn't' an advantage, just makes it a bit less of a challenge... at least if you don't abuse the loophole)

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Guess it is officially happening:

https://wdwnt.com/2018/06/breaking-...-or-baby-swap-at-attractions-to-combat-fraud/

Though it doesn't specifically say a one hour time limit, but rather a more vague "Switch Pass now only being valid for a certain length of time on the day issued"

 

[mickeychickie]

I was under the impression that the child swap was specifically so that when you go through the line with children who obviously can't ride, it gives both parents a chance to ride without having to make the line twice, but back-to-back - meaning one parent rides, gets off and takes over watching the child while the other parent rides immediately after - I didn't realize it would allow for a return at any other time...

 

[MrInfinity]

Are they giving RS for people going through the FP line? This seems silly because the waiting part of the party can also go through the FP line on their FP when the first group returns. The RS does not skip the FP line. If it was FOTL I could get that but it isn't.
I thought the RS was for those going through standby on rides that had a height restriction so the waiting parent would not have to do standby but instead did FP.

How you've described it is the intent of Rider Switch. However people have come to expect to use it with FastPass because it was not enforced otherwise and easy to abuse. Entire strategies developed around how to get freebies out of the system. I'm hoping a new system will prevent people from using this when not waiting standby at all. It has nothing to do with FastPass and is only relevant when waiting Standby.

 

[splash327]

I was under the impression that the child swap was specifically so that when you go through the line with children who obviously can't ride, it gives both parents a chance to ride without having to make the line twice, but back-to-back - meaning one parent rides, gets off and takes over watching the child while the other parent rides immediately after - I didn't realize it would allow for a return at any other time...

That's how it worked when my kids were little, before fast pass. You had to all wait in the line. When you got to the front, told them you were doing rider swap, one would ride then the other.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I was under the impression that the child swap was specifically so that when you go through the line with children who obviously can't ride, it gives both parents a chance to ride without having to make the line twice, but back-to-back - meaning one parent rides, gets off and takes over watching the child while the other parent rides immediately after - I didn't realize it would allow for a return at any other time...

the current system let you return much later (not even the same day - could go days later) - and also lets you return with up to 3 guests, so it was a way for some in the party to ride twice (one with their FP / waiting on line and then once with the rider swap). I think it is these aspects that made them very valuable to sell on eBay as they are basically extra fast passes you could buy)

Have more flexibility in time really helps as the parent with the child too small can go do something else rather than just waiting with the small child doing nothing for the first parent to get off ... especially for rides where it could take 20 mins or it could take 60 mins (you don't know) for the first person to cycle through the ride and return.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

How you've described it is the intent per the website description of Rider Switch. However people have come to expect to use it with FastPass because it was not enforced otherwise. I'm hoping a new system will prevent people from using this when not waiting standby at all. If you have a FastPass, you don't need RS except to try to get "more".

well, you do need something that would allow for the 2nd person to go if the FP window is open if it takes the first person an hour to fully cycle through the ride - otherwise the second person loses their FP (this would have happened to us many times in the past)

 

[Hoodie]

How you've described it is the intent per the website description of Rider Switch. However people have come to expect to use it with FastPass because it was not enforced otherwise. I'm hoping a new system will prevent people from using this when not waiting standby at all. If you have a FastPass, you don't need RS except to try to get "more".

Most times we just timed our FP window so we used FP instead of Rider Swap. It's not that hard. We did use Rider Swap once or twice with fast pass but it was because it was the end of our fast pass window and we didn't know if we could complete the swap before it expired. Still, we just went back to back so it was more an extension of the FP window than more times to ride. My understanding was they were supposed to check if everyone had FP for that before issuing the swap time, but that it was rarely done.