I’m taking DS9 to WDW in September. Just the two of us. Great father/son bonding time. He’s not quite as daring as DS13, who is getting his own UOR trip in a few weeks. DS9 doesn’t like RNRC or TOT. I think I may be able to get him to ride TOT, but def not RNRC. My question is whether there is a way to do some sort of rider swap system where we both go through the line, and I ride while he waits in the queue somewhere. Is that a thing? Or am I S.O.L and just won’t be able to ride it? I don’t want to leave him alone while I wait in line and also ride it. If he was a little older, maybe, but not at that age.
He could just step through and wait on the other side - they would probably ask for him to move further than the actual unloading platform.
My now 16yo ds is not a coaster kid, or anything resembling a thrill ride. Our strategy as a tween was to walk to the exit of the ride and find a good spot where he could wait. We would then go through the line together, he would take the “chicken exit” and wait in the pre-agreed upon spot (He had his cell phone w/ games on it to play while waiting), and we would meet him after we rode.
I did a couple mom and kids trips (dd is now 20yo) through their tween years and dd is the complete opposite of ds where she is our thrill seeker! This allowed dd and I to ride together and ds only had a minimal wait by himself.
This was my thought too. Have him wait in line and take the chicken exit (usually very close to boarding, so wait won’t be long) and wait at the exit.
Thanks for all the quick responses! This is great. I wasn’t sure if that would work. I’m guessing I can just tell the CM that he isn’t going to ride as he takes the chicken exit. I know that RNRC isn’t too long of a ride once you get loaded. TOT might be a little longer. He may not even feel comfortable doing that, but we’ll see!
My husband likes several rides that I would get sick if I rode. If it has an interesting queue, I’ll wait with him in line and ask a CM where I can bail while I wait for him to ride. (If the queue isn’t interesting, I find something else to do while I wait and we meet up after.) It’s technically possible. The decision is whether or not you and DS are comfortable with him waiting alone for the duration of the ride.
I think it might depend on how mature DS9 is. There are 9 yr olds who can patiently wait and be there when you get back, and those who will worry or wander etc.