We absolutely love traveling with extended family members or friends as often as possible to Disney, but sometimes it’s just not in the cards. When Eric and I are flying solo with the kids – here is how we make the most of family swap.
As you may or may not know, we have two beautiful children who are 2 and 4 years old. They are great kids but definitely a lot to handle on your own in a busy Disney park. When mom and dad want to go on a “big kid” ride, we try to make the impact on the kids as minimal as possible. No one wants a toddler melt down at 10 in the morning.
In Hollywood Studios, these are usually the rides we are referring to when it comes to the “big kid” rides:
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Star Tours
Today, I want to talk about one of my all-time favorites. The ride I just have to go on every time I visit Hollywood Studios. Can you guess?
Of course it’s Tower of Terror! (Or as 6 year old me said back in ’96 “Terror of Tower!”) Yup, I’ve been a huge fan since my very first visit to Disney way back in the 90’s.
So when it’s just Eric and I with our kids, here’s how we handle Family Swap (because I HAVE to go on this ride). This trick also works really well for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
After we tell the Cast Member we need to do a family swap, they’ll ask who will be staying behind. Usually I stay behind first. They will give me a Lightning Lane Pass to return back to the ride after Eric rides. While Eric is waiting in a 30-50 minute line (we won’t do anything longer than this while we have the kids). I take my kiddos on a short walk up and around the corner to Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy.
This place is brilliant!!
I must admit that prior to going for the first time, I brushed off this ride, focusing more on the popular rides like Slinky Dog Dash and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. But once I found myself here, it’s been a must do every time we family swap!
Let me tell you why I LOVE this place.
1.) Huge Open Space outside the ride. There’s a huge courtyard area with some cute model cars from the movies to see. The courtyard has some shade and benches – perfect for a midmorning reset. There’s a ton of space for the kids to run and skip around and it’s usually not crowded.
2.) Location. If you know Hollywood Studios, you know that Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster are kind of tucked back in the same corner together. If you walk right past Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, you’ll find this place. It has bathrooms and is pretty “protected,” like an enclosed playground or being at a dead end. There isn’t any thru-traffic. If you’re a parent of young children – you know how amazing this is!
3.) The show itself! This is a really well done show – especially if you like the movie, Cars. The show is inside, so it’s air conditioned, with a large surround theatre style screen. The show is short, about 10 minutes, perfect for my low attention span toddler and pre-schooler. Did I mention AIR CONDITIONING? Also Lightning McQueen is a 3-D animatronic right there in front that looks very realistic!
By the time we’ve run around in the courtyard waiting for the ride to start, hit the bathrooms, refreshed our drinks, and took in the show, Eric is usually done and waiting for us right outside! Just in time for me to zip on up to my lightening lane!
After I get out, we are usually ready for our Genie+ Lightning Lane Selection that involves the kiddos, so from here we usually make our way to Toy Story Land and enjoy our day with a huge ride under our belts!
I hope this helps! What are some of the ways you make the most of Family Swap? Leave a comment below!
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