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Rider Switch 101 at Walt Disney World

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Credit: Disney Tips

Christy Caby
Disney prides itself on being a place that is extremely family friendly for families of all sizes with kids of all sizes, too. Disney is always coming up with services to offer that will make experiencing a Disney vacation easier and better than ever for families. Rider Switch is an extremely valuable service and is easy to utilize. There are a lot of guests that don’t know about it or know how it works, so if you will be traveling with smaller children that can’t ride some of the large attraction, then you definitely want to keep reading. Here is Rider Switch 101 while at Walt Disney World:

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5. What is Rider Switch?

Rider Switch is a service offered at many Disney attractions to help make it easier for families with young children to still be able to experience attractions without waiting in the full line twice, or having to wait in line with a young child who may not have the patience to wait in what could be a long line. The first group of the family wait in the stand-by line and receive the Rider Switch and then after they have ridden the ride, the next group (up to 3 people) can ride and enter the FastPass line so they won’t have to wait as long.

4. Verifying eligibility for Rider Switch.

You will have to verify with the cast member at the attraction entrance that you have a young child with you to get the lanyard the crew will carry with them in line. You must actually have the child with you when you request the Rider Switch from the cast member. They have tightened up the process for this in recent years and require to actually see the child so that individuals can’t take advantage of the service. Once you have verified and the first group entering the line receives their lanyard, the folks that are waiting can go wherever they like and regroup together when the first group is off of the ride.

3. What to do while in line.

You will receive a lanyard to wear while you are in line. You will need this lanyard to give to a later cast member to get the Rider Switch pass before you board the ride. Be sure that you put the Rider Switch pass in a safe place so that you don’t lose it while you are riding. The group that is waiting will need this pass in order for them to have their turn to board the ride.

2. Who can use the Rider Switch pass.

Really, anyone can use the Rider Switch pass once you have it. The pass just says that it allows the admission for 3 people, but these can be any 3 members of your party. So the same group can ride again, or you can change out a few members of the party allowing a couple to ride again. Take full advantage of 3 people getting to ride since it is another opportunity to experience the attraction again with less of a wait. Disney does this so that the person(s) waiting with the child(ren) can experience the ride with members of their family and not just on their own.

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1. Attractions that offer the service.

There are many attractions that offer the service at all 4 of the major theme parks. Here is the complete list below:
Magic Kingdom Park
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Splash Mountain
The Barnstormer
Space Mountain
Stitch’s Great Escape
Tomorrowland Indy Speedway

Epcot
Mission: SPACE
Soarin’
Test Track

Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
Star Tours® – The Adventures Continue
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park
DINOSAUR
Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain®
Kali River Rapids
Primeval Whirl

About Christy Caby

I am a diehard Disney fanatic! I fell in love with all things Disney from an early age and that only increased once I first visited Walt Disney World! It led me to complete a yearlong Disney College Program working at merchandise locations within Disney’s Hollywood Studios (Disney-MGM Studios at that time) and I worked for Disney Parks & Resorts Technology in Project/Program Management. Now I get to write about Disney and help others plan their magical vacations! Disney holds a special place in the hearts of my entire family as my husband proposed there, we honeymooned there, took trips while pregnant with each of my boys and have visited with them many, many times from 8 weeks old through now. One of my favorite memories from each trip is always the look on my kids’ faces the first time they see the castle. I’d love to help you plan your magical vacation! Request a free quote at http://magicalvacationplanner.com/staff/christy-caby/ or look for me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/christy.caby. Have a magical day!