Hi Desiree, and welcome back to planDisney!
Oh boy! Your vacation to Walt Disney World Resort will be here before you know it. And I'm happy to help iron out the details to make the most of your son's most magical celebration! The last time you visited, we talked about park hopping with your little one. As much as I love park hopping, my all-time favorite Disney service as a mom of two is
Rider Switch. So, let's dive into it.
First, be sure to make your first
Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane selection at 7 a.m. If you are staying off-property, you'll be able to make your first selection once the park's official operating hours begin. In addition to Genie+, you can access the Lightning Lane via an Individual Lightning Lane purchase, too. This applies to those high-in-demand attractions like
Seven Dwarves Mine Train and
Avatar Flight of Passage. Using the Lightning Lane means that your party can bypass the standby queue and maximize your time celebrating your kiddo's birthday.
Rider Switch is a complimentary service that you can indeed use along with your Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane access. Visit a Cast Member with a tablet nearby the attraction’s entrance. All they need to set up the Rider Switch are the tickets (or MagicBands,
MagicBands+, or Apple Watch with linked tickets) of the party who will ride second. In your case, this would be the two adults staying with the child while the first two adults ride.
If the first two riders have Lightning Lane access, they will wait in the Lightning Lane queue. If they do not, then they will wait in the standby queue. The second party (who originally waited with the child who isn’t tall enough or doesn’t want to ride) will ride via the Lightning Lane regardless if they have Lightning Lane access or not.
AN EXTRA GEM: I love that there are several attractions at the Walt Disney World theme parks that have
no height requirement. Magic Kingdom Park has the most rides without one, including classics like "it's a small world," Peter Pan's Flight, and Pirates of the Caribbean. So, while Rider Switch is super useful, you may find that you won't rely on it a lot.
If you have any further questions, feel free to revisit us here at planDisney, Desiree.
I'm all ears!
Magic always,
LeAndra