It’s here, y’all — the Disney Genie has arrived in Disney World.

Scanning our card to get in a Lightning Lane

That means that you can now get custom itineraries and recommendations for park attractions with the free Genie (on the My Disney Experience app), and you can pay to skip the lines using Genie+ and Individual Attraction Selections (Pay-Per-Ride). We’ve already taken a look at how to use these features and some unexpected bumps we hit along the way. Now we’re explaining how rider swap works with the new Genie.

Rider Swap is available for people who have some members of their group that can’t or don’t want to ride an attraction. So if there are 5 people in your group and one person is not tall enough to go on a ride, everyone (all 5) would go up to a Cast Member and request a rider swap.

Space Mountain Rider Swap

The Cast Member will scan your MagicBands (or park ticket), and then most of the group would wait in the standby line to ride the attraction while one person waits with the person who can’t ride. When the people who waited in line are finished riding, they can switch places with the one who waited behind, and the person who stayed behind would get to ride without waiting in line. This person (the one who waited) can bring one other person with them to ride (even if that other person already rode it with the first group).

Alternative Access Entrance and Rider Swap

So is this process any different now that Genie+ has entered the equation?

Genie+ ©Disney

For the most part, Rider Swap works the same way. If you’re just using the standby line, it works exactly the same way. With Lightning Lane reservations (either Genie+ or Pay-Per-Ride), there are a few things to keep in mind. You can’t cheat the system and buy a Pay-Per-Ride reservation for one adult and try to get rider swap for another person using that same reservation. If you want to use Rider Swap with your Lightning Lane reservations, the Cast Members will make sure that everyone who rides has a Lightning Lane reservation.

Lightning Lane Entrance at Pirates of the Caribbean

If you only have one Lightning Lane reservation, then only one person will be able to use the Lighting Lane, and everyone else who wants to ride will need to go through the standby line.

Lightning Lane sign at Frozen Ever After

For the Pay-Per-Ride attractions, you have to buy a Lightning Lane pass for each person who wants to ride. So let’s say that there’s a group of three people, and two of them want to ride Frozen Ever After. Both of those two will need to buy Pay-Per-Ride reservations if they want to skip the line. They can’t send one person through the Lightning Lane to ride, use Rider Swap, and then send another through the Lightning Lane with only one Pay-Per-Ride pass.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Lightning Lane

You CAN still use Rider Swap with Pay-Per-Ride by buying a Lightning Lane pass for everyone who wants to ride.

Lightning Lane

And the person who stays behind can still bring one additional person with them when they ride.

Winnie the Pooh Lightning Lane

Rider Swap changed recently from allowing multiple people to go on the ride with the one who stays behind to only one additional person. (So the first group gets to ride and then they swap with the one person who stayed behind, who then gets to ride with an additional one person.)

Jungle Cruise Lightning Lane Sign

Disney is heavily enforcing that Cast Members see the child/person who’s staying behind. It’s always been a rule that Cast Members need to see the person who’s not going to ride, but now this is being enforced more strictly.

Keep following DFB for more updates and news about the Genie’s debut in Disney World!

Click Here to Check Out Our First Experiences With the Disney Genie 

Do you use Rider Swap often in Disney World? Let us know in the comments!

TRENDING NOW