Hello, Michelle!
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! We are delighted to answer your questions regarding your upcoming Walt Disney World vacation!
I have five children, so I totally understand why you want to best utilize the
Rider Switch Service for your family. From my experience, here is how I navigate the Rider Switch Service with my family:
1. When my kids were the ages of your kids, I booked the same FastPass+ reservations for my entire family. With a one, four, and seven year-old, your family will be spending the majority of their time together. As your children become teenagers, your strategy could change. For now, I would keep everyone together and lower the stress level when splitting up your family. NOTE: Children cannot experience an attraction without an adult, so splitting up will only make it more difficult to ride any attraction.
2. With the Rider Switch pass, you are only allowed to bring one other person with you. That means that if you stay with the one-year old while your family rides the attraction, you will only be able to take one of your older children with you when it is your turn to ride. For my family, we had each child take turns using the Rider Switch Pass. While this was not ideal, it worked well.
3. I would also recommend talking to the Cast Member at the entrance of the attraction and let them know of your dilemma. Since you are only asking for one additional child to go with you, there are Cast Members who love to make the MAGIC and will allow you to take both children. However, I would ask the Cast Member while the children are not around. That way if the answer is no, you can go back to the plan stated above.
I hope this helps in your planning! If you have other questions, please let us know!
Have a MAGICAL day!
Wes