Rider Switch and Child Swap Guide

Are you traveling with young children or children who might be too scared to ride some of Disney’s thrill rides?

That doesn’t mean you have to skip some of your favorites like Space Mountain, Rise of the Resistance, or Cosmic Rewind. You can use Rider Switch!

Overview

Both parents can ride an attraction at Disney World or Disneyland that their kids may not be able to ride or are too nervous to ride. One parent waits in line and rides with anyone else in the party that will ride the attraction. The second parent can do something else in the park such as ride a different, more young child-friendly attraction, take a break, have a snack, or enjoy something else in the park while the first parent waits and rides. The parents then switch and the second parent can then use the Lightning Lane to skip the line while the other parent stays with the child.

How It Works

Everyone in the party will need to check in with a cast member at the entrance to the attraction. The parent who will be waiting with the non-riders will be given a Rider Switch pass in the My Disney Experience app or Disneyland app by using their MagicBand, MagicMobile, or ticket. The pass will be visible in the My Day tab in the app.

1. The first group will wait in the queue and ride the attraction.

2. After the ride, the riders and non-riders will meet up and switch watching the non-riders.

3. Those with the Rider Switch pass will usually tap into the Lightning Lane to skip the regular line. (Sometimes cast members may give you different directions.) If there is only one person with a Rider Switch, they can take one person from the original riders to ride again.

If you have two children where one can ride and one cannot, the older child can ride with both parents. My daughter has been able to ride Flight of Passage back to back when we’ve used Rider Switch.

Rides With Rider Switch Available

Here are the current attractions where Rider Switch is available for guests.

Disney World:

• Avatar Flight of Passage (Animal Kingdom)

• Alien Swirling Saucers (Hollywood Studios)

• The Barnstormer (Magic Kingdom)

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Magic Kingdom)

• DINOSAUR (Animal Kingdom)

• Expedition Everest (Animal Kingdom)

• Frozen Ever After (EPCOT)

• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (EPCOT)*

• Kali River Rapids (Animal Kingdom)

• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run (Hollywood Studios)

• Mission Space (EPCOT)

• Na’vi River Journey (Animal Kingdom)

• Rise of the Resistance (Hollywood Studios)

• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (Hollywood Studios)

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (Magic Kingdom)

• Slinky Dog Dash (Hollywood Studios)

• Soarin’ (EPCOT)

• Space Mountain (Magic Kingdom)

• Star Tours (Hollywood Studios)

• Test Track (EPCOT)

• Tomorrowland Speedway (Magic Kingdom)

• Tower of Terror (Hollywood Studios)

*All riders will need to be in Virtual Queue Boarding Group or have purchased an Individual Lightning Lane.

Disneyland:

• Autopia (Disneyland)

• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Disneyland)

• Goofy’s Sky School (California Adventure)

• Grizzly River Run (California Adventure)

• Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout (California Adventure)

• Incredicoaster (California Adventure)

• Indiana Jones Adventure (Disneyland)

• Matterhorn Bobsleds (Disneyland)

• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run (Disneyland)

• Radiator Springs Racers (California Adventure)

• Rise of the Resistance (Disneyland)

• Silly Symphony Swings (California Adventure)

• Soarin’ (California Adventure)

• Space Mountain (Disneyland)

• Splash Mountain (Disneyland)

• Star Tours (Disneyland)

Exceptions and Odd Circumstances

The Rider Switch experience can vary depending on the attraction, crowd levels, or time of day. The process outlined here is what normally happens, but there may be times where you are given different directions. Most of the time the Rider Switch is good for a return at any time during that day, but you may also be given a specific time to return. The cast member at the entrance to the queue can usually check you in for Rider Switch, but you may need to wait for a different cast member or may need to wait in the extended queue that is outside the main entrance of the attraction if there is a longer than normal queue before you can check in for Rider Switch. Finally, there may be instances where the whole party is instructed to wait in the queue and separate at the loading zone where the non-riders will wait for the first group of riders before the second group can ride.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

Universal’s Child Swap

Universal also has a similar option known as Child Swap. The whole party waits in line with this program. Near the loading platform, the riders and non-rider split up with the non-riders going to a designated waiting room until the riders are done with the attraction. Many of these rooms have some sort of entertainment such as playing Harry Potter on a loop and may even have restrooms. Most attractions at Universal have this option even from guests without children, such as someone who doesn’t like intense thrill rides, but doesn’t want to be left in the park on their own.

Universal Orlando:

• Amazing Adventures of Spider Man (Islands of Adventure)

• Doctor Doom’s Fearfall (Islands of Adventure)

• Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls (Islands of Adventure)

• Fast & Furious Supercharged (Universal Studios FL)

• Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure (Islands of Adventure)

• Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts (Universal Studios FL)

• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (Islands of Adventure)

• Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit (Universal Studios FL)

• The Incredible Hulk Coaster (Islands of Adventure)

• Jurassic Park River Adventure (Islands of Adventure)

• Jurassic World VelociCoaster (Islands of Adventure)

• Men in Black Alien Attack (Universal Studios FL)

• Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges (Islands of Adventure)

• Race Through New York with Jimmy Fallon (Universal Studios FL)

• Revenge of the Mummy (Universal Studios FL)

• The Simpsons Ride (Universal Studios FL)

• Skull Island: Reign of Kong (Islands of Adventure)

• Transformers (Universal Studios FL)

The Rider Switch or Child Swap options can allow everyone in the group to enjoy their days at the park without missing out when young children can’t ride every ride. And remember, if the younger child is disappointed about not riding an attraction, it’s an excuse to return to the parks in a year or two when they are tall enough to ride!