PDA

View Full Version : Trip Help Please - Fastpass and Baby Swap



jldev
03-27-2006, 12:33 PM
We are a family group travelling from NZ for our big Disneyland trip in May. We will consist of a two family groups each with 3 children as well as Grandma and Grandpa. The children range in age from 8 down to 18mths so we will want to be using baby swap at times. I have been reading the Unofficial Guide and this site trying to come armed with as much information as possible. However I cannot work out whether you can use a fastpass and babyswap at the same time? Can you return at your fastpass time, go into the fastpass line and then use babyswap?

Also, I am trying to work out a plan for the morning we first go into Disneyland. We will get there before the opening time in hope that we can go straight in once the rope drops. I realise that we should use this opportunity to head straight for one of the big, busy rides however I don't think there is anyway I will be able to steer the girls away from Sleeping Beauty's castle and therefore Fantasyland. Is it feasible for one of the group, probably me, to veer off to Indiana Jones and get fastpasses to use later, and be able to meet up in Fantasyland without missing much? Not sure of the distances as you really can't tell from the map.

Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks a lot

tmptink
03-27-2006, 12:35 PM
We are a family group travelling from NZ for our big Disneyland trip in May. We will consist of a two family groups each with 3 children as well as Grandma and Grandpa. The children range in age from 8 down to 18mths so we will want to be using baby swap at times. I have been reading the Unofficial Guide and this site trying to come armed with as much information as possible. However I cannot work out whether you can use a fastpass and babyswap at the same time? Can you return at your fastpass time, go into the fastpass line and then use babyswap?


I just went in September and my DH and I used a fastpass and the babyswap for SM. It was the best.

going2disneyAZ
03-27-2006, 01:35 PM
On both my recent trips my wife or I would ride with a fastpass and get the baby swap, then the other would ride with just the babyswap. The babyswap will let two people ride without waiting in the regular line. For most attractions you go through fastpass line. At Matterhorn you go in the exit and flag down CM.

twist1980
03-27-2006, 01:38 PM
Is it feasible for one of the group, probably me, to veer off to Indiana Jones and get fastpasses to use later, and be able to meet up in Fantasyland without missing much? Not sure of the distances as you really can't tell from the map.

Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks a lot

Of course you can do it, but how long it will take you to do it will depend on the crowds. Fantasyland is not all that far from Indy, but if it is really busy, it can take forever to go that short distance, especially if there is a parade going on.

going2disneyAZ
03-27-2006, 01:40 PM
Is it feasible for one of the group, probably me, to veer off to Indiana Jones and get fastpasses to use later, and be able to meet up in Fantasyland without missing much? Not sure of the distances as you really can't tell from the map.


That is EXACTLY what we do. In fact I would get Fantasyland done early as the lines get huge as the day goes on. No Fastpass rides there. Although I would go to Space or Splash as those are the fastpasses that will run out quickest. Space is the closet to Fantasyland. They would probably only get one or two Fantasyland rides in by the time you got back from Space.

Once your fastpass opening time is past, run somewhere else and get another fastpass. I would do this throughout the morning and then when the park fills and the queues start getting long start using your accummulated fastpasses. Remember you can still use the fastpass after the later time on the time range, but not earlier than the earlier time.....

TTFN92
03-27-2006, 02:20 PM
I completely agree. You need to go get Space fastpasses first. We always send someone to get the fastpasses while we do other things. I would also do Peter Pan first in Fantasyland because it has the longest line off all the rides there. Next I would go to Dumbo, Casey Jr., Mr. Toad, and Alice. I would leave Snow White and Pinocchio for last. They always have the shortest lines.

As for the fast passes, read on it when you can get a new fast pass. You can usually get one earlier than you can ride the ride, especially as the day goes by. The time you can use the fastpass is not the same time that you can get a new one. It will make a big difference. As soon as you can get a new one, have someone run to get another one. If you get the one for Space first then go to Fantsyland, I would go get one at Buzz when it is time because it is pretty close. Plus your kids will love it. Hope it helps.

Chadsgal
03-27-2006, 04:12 PM
I agree get fastpasses too!!! Well we got to use this last June. You want to let the Cast Member at the entrance know that you need a babyswap they'll give you a slip and that slip gets you into the Fastpass line. BUT the slip is good for upto two people soooo we all got FP as well and then a couple people got to go on the ride twice because a group of us would go w/ our FP and then get the babyswap then come right back out and the if you have two people waiting w/ the baby/kid then they can use the baby swap and two others can use thier FP! :D It was great fun!!

jldev
03-28-2006, 12:33 PM
Thanks so much everyone for your help. We are all so looking forward to this trip that we have been planning for the last two years - although it sounds like the week of May 8-14 that we will be there will be a lot busier than we had hoped. I will have to remember all the hints I have learnt off this site!

ComfyCody
03-28-2006, 01:21 PM
Just another fyi - hopefully the weather will be nice - but in the rain - the fastpass machines for Indy shut down!! This happened this AM, when I asked the cm about it, she said the water pools around the machines, and electricity + water = :eek:

ToursbabeC3po
03-28-2006, 05:39 PM
I don't understand why you need a child swap if everyone has a fast pass? The people that are waiting with the child can use there fast pass when the rest of there party comes out. Unless they send you a differant way with a child swap that is faster but I know that on star tours you just went through the fast pass line anyways with a child swap so it would not save you any time. I hope I just made sense?

tmptink
03-28-2006, 05:44 PM
I don't understand why you need a child swap if everyone has a fast pass? The people that are waiting with the child can use there fast pass when the rest of there party comes out. Unless they send you a differant way with a child swap that is faster but I know that on star tours you just went through the fast pass line anyways with a child swap so it would not save you any time. I hope I just made sense?

On Space Mountain they sent us a different way then the FP.

DaddyB
03-28-2006, 06:59 PM
Is it really called "Baby Swap"? Brings interesting connotations to mind.

ToursbabeC3po
03-29-2006, 09:15 AM
awww I see I had not worked space since they put in fast pass. Thanks :-)

gimp_boy76
03-29-2006, 09:32 AM
Also Toursbabe it allows you an extra "fastpass" per se. For instance we are going with 6 people: Myself, DW, DS1 (age 4), DS2 (age 8 months), Gpa, and Gma. Here's how we plan on doing it on say Splash for instance. Everyone except Gma gets Fastpasses, when it's time to ride Myself, DW and DS1 will ride using our fastpasses, but Gpa, Gma and DS2 follow us to get a babyswap pass. When we get off then Myself, DW and DS2 wait while Gpa uses his fastpass, and Gma and DS1 (who gets to ride again) use babyswap passes. Basically it allows DS1 to ride twice in a row. However I didn't know about Space having a seperate baby swap entrance I don't know if this plan will work with that attraction.

jldev
03-29-2006, 01:10 PM
I also have read that sometimes, even in the Fastpass line, you wait up to 20 mins until you board the ride. Is this true? If this was the case and we didn't use baby swap, then we would be waiting up to 40 mins while both adults took their turns riding using Fastpass.

Thats why I hoped we could use baby swap with fast pass. However I thought we would all go in line together and then when we got to board, one adult goes while the other waits there with the baby. Then when adult 1 gets back, he takes baby and adult 2 can ride. Have I got this wrong?

gimp_boy76
03-29-2006, 01:58 PM
I also have read that sometimes, even in the Fastpass line, you wait up to 20 mins until you board the ride. Is this true? If this was the case and we didn't use baby swap, then we would be waiting up to 40 mins while both adults took their turns riding using Fastpass.

Thats why I hoped we could use baby swap with fast pass. However I thought we would all go in line together and then when we got to board, one adult goes while the other waits there with the baby. Then when adult 1 gets back, he takes baby and adult 2 can ride. Have I got this wrong?
Actually yes, the Unofficial guide hasn't been updated as far as baby swap goes and I think the way they describe it only happened at WDW anyways. But presumably to avoid parents trying to sneak kids on who weren't tall enough you get your baby swap pass at the entrance to the queue. So yes there in fact is a chance of a long wait while both sets wait in the fastpass queue. But if it's any consolation on rides like Space Mt. and Splash Mt. that 40 minute total is only a fraction of the time if both sets tried to ride standby.

Bolivar
03-29-2006, 03:23 PM
If you get your baby swap at the beginning of the line, what, other than an innate sense of doing the right thing, stops someone from getting in line and getting a baby swap, then immediately leaving the line and using the baby swap? Granted they didn't all get to ride, but if they hopscotch attractions when they circle back the second person would get to ride.

Unless I'm missing something that doesn't sound like a good plan because while I do believe that most people do have an innate sense of doing the right thing, there is a percentage that don't. And given the large numbers at Disneyland, that percentage would equal a lot of people cheating the system.

gimp_boy76
03-29-2006, 08:45 PM
If you get your baby swap at the beginning of the line, what, other than an innate sense of doing the right thing, stops someone from getting in line and getting a baby swap, then immediately leaving the line and using the baby swap? Granted they didn't all get to ride, but if they hopscotch attractions when they circle back the second person would get to ride.

Unless I'm missing something that doesn't sound like a good plan because while I do believe that most people do have an innate sense of doing the right thing, there is a percentage that don't. And given the large numbers at Disneyland, that percentage would equal a lot of people cheating the system.
No the second person would never get to ride here's why:

Say Mr. and Mrs. Smith go to DL with Jr. Smith. Mr. Smith gets a babyswap for the Matterhorn. Then Mr. Smith promptly gets out of line and uses his babyswap pass. Because Mrs. Smith still has to watch Jr. she can't join him (you have to be together when you ride you don't get two passes good for two people, you get one pass good for two people). So, yes Mr. Smith could cheat the system but Mrs. Smith would never ride anything, also I think that the CM who hands out the babyswap pass is the same CM to get you into the right queue when you return with your babyswap so that wouldn't work either.

Granted this is all based on what I've read here as I haven't used babyswap yet, this trip will be the first time, but from what I've read it seems right.

Bolivar
03-30-2006, 08:26 AM
So Mr. and Mrs. Smith do that at the Matterhorn and only Mrs. Smith got to ride it. Then they go to Space Mountain and do the same thing and only Mr. Smith rides it, then they go to Star Tours and this time Mrs. Smith rides, etc. They do this around the park until they get back to the Matterhorn where they repeat the process only this time the other person rides.

But, I can't imagine that it is true that you get the baby swap at the beginning of the line rather than the front because take the Matterhorn as the example -- I've gotten in that line way back by where Ariel is getting her picture taken and haven't seen a CM until all the way up near the front of the line when it starts winding through the wooden rails.

MsYumiBr
03-30-2006, 11:12 AM
My kids are big so I knew nothing about babyswap. My friend has a baby so as we went into Indy she asked each CM about baby swap and they kept pointing her in. When we got to the ride, the CM started out nice but then told her she should have known better and by that time she was too mad to go on the ride anymore. On my next visit, (interestingly a few days after I complained about this on the boards) I saw the CM passing out baby swap passes! It gets so annoying. I saw kids asking for single rider passes for Space and the guy wouldn't give any out. But the guys in front of us had single rider passes!!!! They may have got them from somebody else because afterwards I saw them with one of the CMs taking a break. It's not fair. I just wish I didn't notice this stuff.

going2disneyAZ
03-30-2006, 12:43 PM
Here's the breakdown as I have used baby (stroller) swap.

Matterhorn: There was a cast member at the front where the lines for both sides kind of come together. We asked for a stroller swap pass and he gave it to us. I then waited in line. When I got off the ride my wife went to the same CM and he escorted her up the exit to flag down the CM that loads. She was assigned a seat on the next bobsled.

Indy: There is a cast member at the point where you either go left to the standby line or right to the fastpass line. He hands a stroller swap pass. Then one person waits in standby line, or if you have fastpass, in the fastpass line. Upon return the other goes to the fastpass CM and waits in the fastpass line.

BTMRR: There is a cast memeber near the fastpass entrance. Ask for a stroller swap pass. Then like indy wait in standby or go in fastpass. Upon return the other goes through fastpass.

Splash: the same but because it was only my wife and I the CM recommended we go in the singles line as it is always faster. (up through the exit, over the bridge and wait for a single seat to open up)

There is room here to "play" the system. Although we were always asked to see the babies before they issued it. I also think that because the CM that hands out the pass is the same that takes it they are going to notice someone if you just grab it and go without someone in your party waiting in one line or the other....We have gone back some time later to use the stroller swaps and I am sure that is not the intention. But with little kids sometimes they have other ideas than just waiting for both parents to ride a big kid ride, so we had to adjust.

I have heard of people "abusing" the system in this way. Two sets of adults in a group. One with enhanced fastpass, the other without. In this case using stroller swaps both sets can take advantage of the enhanced fastpass.