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Rider Switch (a.k.a. "Rider Swap," "Switching Off," "Baby Swap" or "Child Swap")
Several attractions have minimum height or age requirements. Some couples with children too small or too young forego these attractions, while others take turns riding. Missing some of Walt Disney World's best rides is an unnecessary sacrifice, and waiting in line twice for the same ride is a tremendous waste of time. Instead, take advantage of the "switching off" option, also called the Rider Switch, Rider Swap, Baby Swap, or Child Swap. To switch off, there must be at least two adults--children cannot be left alone while adults ride. The basic idea is that via Rider Switch, a group can split into two (so that an adult is always with the young child) and ride twice while only enduring one "normal" wait in line.
To use Rider Switch at Walt Disney World, first make sure that everyone who wants to ride is present, in addition to the child who will not ride. As you approach the attraction queue, tell the first ride attendant you see that you want to use Rider Switch. (You may be told to stay in the queue until you reach the Cast Member who has the technology required to enable Rider Switch for your group.) If you are using Genie+ and Lighting Lane in addition to Rider Swap, everyone riding (both those riding in the first group and the second group) may be asked to "tap in" at the Lighting Lane readers at the entrance to the attraction.
Although the process used to involve paper tickets, now the Rider Swap is all digital (at least when the technology functions properly). Using a handheld reader, the Cast Member will scan the tickets (or MagicBands) of each person who will be in the second ride group. During this scan, each ticket is assigned the equivalent of a Lighting Lane for this attraction at a time around when the first group's ride is expected to finish. You may or may not be told a specific window in which you must return; the goal is that the second group will ride using the Lighting Lane queue shortly after the first group is finished riding. (The paper Rider Switch tickets used to be valid through the end of the day or the end of the month, but that is no longer the case.)
If there are additional adults or children who are willing and able to ride the attraction in question, they can take double advantage of this system. The Rider Switch pass allows up to three guests entry to an attraction, so one adult can take an older child on the ride, then a second adult can take that same child again as part of the second group. (That is, the same child can be in both the first and second ride groups.)
Recent travelers are reporting that a child can only hold one Rider Switch pass at a time. So, if the child has a return time for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, they cannot get another Rider Switch time until they ride the Mine Train or overwrite that Rider Switch with another. Disney has not yet confirmed that this is policy.
Switching off is common at these attractions:
Magic Kingdom
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Epcot
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Disney's Hollywood Studios
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- Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run
- Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Star Tours
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Disney's Animal Kingdom
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Last updated by Len Testa on April 20, 2022
