Welcome back to the Disney Parks Moms Panel, Julianne! This is a fabulous question! Many parents struggle to fit entire families onto rides and may not know what the “buddy system” rules may be.
As they say on Toy Story Mania, toys age 7 and younger need a riding buddy (who is aged 14 or older). Toys ages 8 and older may ride alone. If your whole family was to ride Splash Mountain, you can fit 2 people in each row, but your eldest two still may not ride together because your eldest is not 14 (she cannot supervise your 6 year old, but she may ride alone). This is when
Rider Switch is handy. Dad can take the eldest kids to ride with him (9 year old can ride in a row alone). When they return, Mom can take a twin to ride via the FP+ queue, and then a third Rider Switch may be necessary if the second twin wishes to ride. The others can do as my husband and daughter do with Frontierland Churros or taking the ferryboat to Tom Sawyer’s Island, which is a lot of fun for the whole family. My Rider Switch experience with my kids has been great, as we tend to divide and conquer and find unique activities like A Pirate’s Adventure free walking game.
When rides may seat 3, such as Haunted Mansion, my son’s favorite ghost party!), seating won’t be an issue as you can ride like this: Mom, Twin 1, 6 year old in one DoomBuggy. Dad, Twin 2 and 9 year old in another DoomBuggy. Big Thunder Mountain and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train may pose the same issues as Splash Mountain as they are strictly 2 seater rides and will necessitate Rider Switch due to the children’s ages. If I can help you further with Preschool vacations or how to make your trip a little smoother, please let me know. You’ve got a friend in me! ~ Lindsey P.