How to juggle rides with little ones??
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| Sun, 04-08-2007 - 9:08pm |
I am super excited about the rides. Dh and I love roller coasters, thrill rides and I'm really looking forward to the virtual rides. Big problem is we have three kids... the oldest will be 9 and he will most likely be willing to try anything with us. The 6 year old is very timid and the teacups are his speed. The up and down of the carpets and dumbo might even be pushing it (just got him on a moving horse on a merry go round last year for the first time if that gives you any idea!!) My youngest will be 5 and she would probably go on Expedition Everest if she was tall enough. The height restrictions will hold her back. I have actually pondered putting off this trip until everyone was a little older and enjoyed rides more!
So, my fear is I will miss out on some great rides because of the kid juggle. Geesh, that sounds horribly selfish of me. What I need are your well-practiced tactics for dealing with this problem! One idea I had was we get four fast passes and dh and 9yo do the ride while I do something with the younger two, then we meet up and I ride with 9yo again. Is that how we'd do it??
Are single riders a pain in the butt or are CM's and other guests accomodating for single riders? Also I'll feel TERRIBLY guilty if my younger two spend half their trip waiting on a bench for me or daddy to get thru a queue and off a ride. Are there usually things/characters/play areas around the big attractions that will keep little ones entertained? And I assume we will live with our cell phones communicating back and forth when we split up.
Thoughts on your experience with this?
Thanks tons.
Laura

Do you know about rider swap for the big rides? This is a wonderful option. In our family, the older 3 can ride anything, but my baby can't. So....we walk up to a CM at the front of the ride. Explain that we need to do a rider swap. This is usually after we already have fast passes. The CM gives us a special "rider swap" ticket. One parent rides with the older kids while the other parent hangs out with the little one, maybe having a snack or walking around. Then we switch. The best part? The older kids get to ride AGAIN with the second parent! Rider swap tickets are good for up to 4 people and you go through the fast pass line. You don't have to do these rides right in a row - you can save the rider swap for later.
Otherwise, yes....have cell phones handy. There are some neat playground-type areas in the parks where little ones can run around and have fun instead of waiting and being bored.
What I love about Disney is that most everything is a family-type ride. The thrill rides are a pretty small percentage. Even if you and your husband swap on these, it won't be like the little ones will be hanging out and doing nothing for the entire trip. No worries! :)
Laurie in OH, mom to
Alex, 12 years old
Julianne and Leah, 10.5 years old
Audrey, 3 years old
WDW visits in 1973, 1986, 1987, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006!
LAURIE IN OH, Mom to:
Alex, 1
To do rider swap do you all have to stand in line and wait in the queue? That is what I want to avoid is having my little ones stand in lines for things they aren't doing. If dh and ds ride Soarin and ask for a rider swap, when they come out can I get right back in line with ds without getting 4 fast pass tickets? Sorry, I know this is probably much simpler than I am making it sound.
Can you tell the logistics are bogging me down??
: )
Laura
Laura
check out my blog
When I say "ask the CM at the front of the ride"....I mean it's BEFORE you get in line......at the point you'd be getting in line. The CM will explain what you need to do, so you must talk to him or her. So NO, it is not necessary for your little ones to wait for something they won't ride. The entire party goes to the CM (so he or she can see that you actually do have little ones!), you get a rider swap pass, one adult goes off to do *whatever* with the little ones while the other adult rides with older or willing children. Then you switch later on....the OTHER adult can ride with the older kids again, or just alone, showing the CM the rider swap pass at the front of the ride so you can join the fast pass line. You don't walk right up to the front....it is necessary to stand in line for most rides. However, it's pretty quick.
Does that help? I know it sounds confusing, but it really isn't. The CMs on the rides are wonderful and used to helping this way. Disney does all it can to make the thrill rides a happy experience for the entire family.
Laurie in OH, mom to
Alex, 12 years old
Julianne and Leah, 10.5 years old
Audrey, 3 years old
WDW visits in 1973, 1986, 1987, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006!
Edited 4/9/2007 9:08 am ET by laurieh88
LAURIE IN OH, Mom to:
Alex, 1
With Ride Swap one part of the family stands in queue to ride. This can be standby or fast pass queue. Then they get off the ride and the other part of the family gets in line, normally the fast pass line to ride. Not all rides offer fast pass nor do they all offer ride swap, so you'll still want your phones.
Single rider isn't a problem, and often single riders go through the fast pass line, just ask at the ride how single riders are handled.
Now, a small disclaimer, Ride Swap is designed for families with children who do not meet the requirements for rides, not for children who are scared of the ride. More often than not this will not be an issue at all. But I have seen one case where a CM refused Ride Swap to a family for that,and of course you can read all sorts of horror stories about it on other sites. Things get blown out of proportion on the net. In multiple trips I've only seen it once. But, at Soarin and Expedition Everest, two rides notorious for long lines, I was asked by the CM where my children who were to small were. Don't know if this is normal, but it happened each time we wanted to do Ride Swap at those rides. So when asking for Ride Swap keep your family nearby.
FW Cabins- Dec 2006, POFQ- August 2006, FW Cabins- Dec 2005, Contemporary-Sept 2004, offsite July 2002, FW
Thanks Laurie and Sonya... that clears it up for me. Hopefully we won't have any problems.
Laura
Laura
check out my blog
We love baby swap.