On our last Walt Disney World trip, we had 2 families with a total of 4 kids ranging in age from 2-10. We did a lot of child swapping using Fast Passes and learned a lot in the process.  Many people have asked me exactly how it works so I’ll help clarify that for anybody who hasn’t done it.  Also, we discovered good waiting spots that might be helpful for others who are swapping as much as we did.

How to Child Swap
The quickest way to Child Swap is to obtain Fast Passes for part of your group ahead of time. The first part of the group that goes can report to the Fast Pass line area and ask the Cast Member there for a Child Swap ticket. That ticket entitles you to hand it off to the second part of your group and up to 4 people can use that ticket. Some members of your party can ride more than once so that members aren’t riding alone (older kids who love bigger rides will especially love this perk!). Mostly the bigger rides with height requirements will allow Child Swapping and every ride seems to have slightly different rules. Some Cast Members want to see the smaller children that won’t be riding, for example.

Using this combination of Fast Passes and Child Swap tickets drastically speeds up the riding process but you still will be spending a lot of time waiting.  We discovered some good areas to wait with the smaller children.  Here are some ideas:

Magic Kingdom
While waiting on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain, you can ride the train.  Under the train at Splash Mountain, the play structure is supposed to be fun too.  While waiting for Space Mountain, you can ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority.

Epcot
While waiting for Test Track, you can wait in Innoventions East and have the kids make a robot and explore the other areas here.  While waiting for Mission: Space, kids have a play structure at the exit of the ride that they can climb on and other various activities here to explore. While waiting for Soarin’, you can wait by riding Living with the Land in the same building.  Circle of Life is also a possibility.

Animal Kingdom
While waiting for Dinosaur, you can wait with the kids at The Boneyard and maybe even catch Lucky the Dinosaur on the way.

Other Ideas

• We bought several frozen lemonades at different times and found a shady spot while waiting many times as well. The kids all seemed to really love these and it pacified them as they passed the time away.
• We used little bottles of bubbles to entertain the kids throughout our trip, including while waiting for swapping. So simple, so cheap and other children enjoy chasing after the bubbles too!
• Both parties should definitely have a cell phone or 2 way radio so you can easily locate each other.
• Every Cast Member is different and some required us to show the child in order to get the child swap pass so keep the child(ren) in the same basic area in case this happens!

Happy Child Swapping!
Shannon Albert
shannon@MEI-Travel.com

On our last Walt Disney World trip, we had 2 families with a total of 4 kids ranging in age from 2-10. We did a lot of child swapping using Fast Passes and learned a lot in the process.  Many people have asked me exactly how it works so I’ll help clarify that for anybody who hasn’t done it.  Also, we discovered good waiting spots that might be helpful for others who are swapping as much as we did. < more... >

As some of you may know, I make computer games for a living. So it’s always cool to see my job (aka Dr. Egon Spengler) and my passion for Disney (aka Dr. Peter Venkman) cross streams.

Dr. Egon Spengler: There’s something very important I forgot to tell you.
Dr. Peter Venkman: What?
Dr. Egon Spengler: Don’t cross the streams.
Dr. Peter Venkman: Why?
Dr. Egon Spengler: It would be bad.
Dr. Peter Venkman: I’m fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing. What do you mean, "bad?"
Dr. Egon Spengler: Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.
Dr Ray Stantz: Total protonic reversal.
Dr. Peter Venkman: Right. That’s bad. Okay. All right. Important safety tip. Thanks, Egon.

So today it was cool to see that the gamers at Disney & Buena Vist Games have put together a fan fest for players of Toontown Online. More below the fold.

North Hollywood, Calif. - August 11, 2006 – Kids and adults alike are gathering their gags, gassing up their Toon’s go-karts, and preparing their character costumes for ToonFest 2006, the first official fan fest dedicated to Disney Online’s family-friendly game, Disney’s Toontown Online. Thousands of fans, along with Kyle Massey of That’s So Raven and the upcoming Disney Channel Original Series Cory in the House, will gather at an already sold-out event at the Walt Disney Studios on Saturday, August 26, 2006, to play Disney’s Toontown Online and take part in a host of themed activities and competitions.

“We have a truly dedicated group of kids and families that play Toontown together online on a regular basis and ToonFest will give these players the chance to show off their characters and prove they’re Toon enough,” said Steve Parkis, vice president of Premium Products for Disney Online. “ToonFest is a great way for us to celebrate the more than 15 million Toon characters that have been created since the game launched three years ago.”

Designed specifically for kids and families, Disney’s Toontown Online is an award-winning massively multiplayer online game filled with nonstop play, ever-changing adventure and irreverent fun. It is a vast online world where you live life as a cartoon character. Players can create their own Toon, furnish an estate, customize a race kart, train a pet Doodle, and team up with friends to defeat the invading robot Cogs. With an arsenal of gags to add to the fun, the Toontown experience is always growing, always changing, and as wild as the imagination.

At ToonFest 2006, fans will take part in Toontastic activities and competitions throughout the day including an in-game scavenger hunt, fun carnival games such as “Pin the Tail on the Doodle,” a costume parade and contest, Q&A panels with the game’s developers, and a sneak peek at future game expansions and features. Fans at home will be able to participate in the in-game scavenger hunt, as well.

Disney’s Toontown Online is available for download at http://www.Toontown.com for $9.95 per month, with longer membership packages available at reduced rates. Each membership includes six separate “Toons” so that individual family members may play as their own character. A free 3-day trial and additional information is available on the site.

As some of you may know, I make computer games for a living. So it’s always cool to see my job (aka Dr. Egon Spengler) and my passion for Disney (aka Dr. Peter Venkman) cross streams.

Dr. Egon Spengler: There’s something very important I forgot to tell you.
Dr. Peter Venkman: What?
Dr. Egon Spengler: Don’t cross the streams.
Dr. Peter Venkman: Why?
Dr. Egon Spengler: It would be bad.
Dr. Peter Venkman: I’m fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing. What do you mean, "bad?"
Dr. Egon Spengler: Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.
Dr Ray Stantz: Total protonic reversal.
Dr. Peter Venkman: Right. That’s bad. Okay. All right. Important safety tip. Thanks, Egon.

So today it was cool to see that the gamers at Disney & Buena Vist Games have put together a fan fest for players of Toontown Online. More below the fold.

< more... >

The Orlando Centinal’s blog reports: 

The Wiggles and Disney. Can’t get more kid-friendly than that. The ever-popular Wiggles are among the performers who will be at the "seven-week theatrical and musical extravaganza" at Disney-MGM Studios. The Wiggles will perform Aug. 29-Sept. 1.

Starting things off this week will be the Imagination Movers, a pretty cool and wholesome kids rap group.

The Orlando Centinal’s blog reports: 

The Wiggles and Disney. Can’t get more kid-friendly than that. < more... >