DAS and wait times

[2tinkerbell]

I am confused about DAS, Lightning Lanes and Genie+. I knew how DAS worked with FP and MaxPass but this new stuff confuses me.

Say we are getting a DAS return time. The standby time is 60 minutes. We wait the 60 minutes for our return time and we go to the ride. The LL is a 20 minute wait. Do we wait the additional 20 minutes as well, but this time in line?

In the example above, if we have to stand in the 20 minute line, would it have been better to just get a Genie+ time? If you have to wait in the line, and your disability is such you would have a problem standing in the close quarters of a waiting line, what is the reason behind the DAS? What if the LL is over an hour? If you don’t have to wait and are put further up in the line, does it cause attention to you and you get the dirty looks and comments?

Thanks in advance. I am just trying to figure this out. My DD’s comfort level and anxiety is kicking in and she is having concerns.

 

[bluecruiser]

Typically the DAS return time is slightly less than the posted wait time. I believe it's about 10 minutes less. Which means that you may still end up waiting longer than the standby line, depending on the LL wait.

From what I've seen posted lately, DLR currently has a big issue with attractions going down. Once an attraction comes back up, the LL line can get quite long due to the greater crowd build up. This includes the backlog of LL people who couldn't ride during the ride's downtime. I don't know if it gets up as high as an hour or not.

The other factor here is that some (many?) posted wait times for attractions are inflated. I noticed this firsthand at WDW last year, but I expect it's the same at DLR. Hopefully someone with recent experience can speak up.

Disney knows people will be happy if they end up waiting a *shorter* time than the posted time and unhappy if their wait is longer. What this doesn't take into account is any DAS person (as well as people using mobility devices that won't fit through the old queues, e.g. Peter Pan) is having their DAS/mobility return time artificially inflated. So even if the LL isn't backed up, they may end up waiting longer than the actual standby line wait.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

...

Say we are getting a DAS return time. The standby time is 60 minutes. We wait the 60 minutes for our return time and we go to the ride. The LL is a 20 minute wait. Do we wait the additional 20 minutes as well, but this time in line?
...

Yes, you wait the additional time in the LL/DAS return line. We've waited 20-25+ minutes for HMH several times this month. There was a line to get to the scanner (the line can go all the way back past the Splash Mt. drop), then the additional wait to get to the ride itself. The line does move more quickly than you'd expect, but you still have to wait.

 

[lcp9]

We just got back from a trip where we utilized Genie+ and DAS. Short answer: it depends.

Rides with LL available, you will typically wait in the LL. Some of those were 20-30 min waits. Some were much shorter. An exception - space mountain you go through the exit and a CM sends you directly to the loading area. A couple times, super kind CM asked if we were ok waiting because of delays in the LL.

Rides with no LL, you typically go through the exit and have little to no wait. Usually we were on the next round of rides.

Even if it's super busy, if you are kind of strategic about your G+ and DAS selections, you can keep your day moving. Keep in mind DAS works like G+, and you can technically get there 5 minutes before the window.

 

[alisonleigh21]

We just got back from a trip where we utilized Genie+ and DAS. Short answer: it depends.

Rides with LL available, you will typically wait in the LL. Some of those were 20-30 min waits. Some were much shorter. An exception - space mountain you go through the exit and a CM sends you directly to the loading area. A couple times, super kind CM asked if we were ok waiting because of delays in the LL.

Rides with no LL, you typically go through the exit and have little to no wait. Usually we were on the next round of rides.

Even if it's super busy, if you are kind of strategic about your G+ and DAS selections, you can keep your day moving. Keep in mind DAS works like G+, and you can technically get there 5 minutes before the window.

This was not our experience with Space Mountain. For space mountain, we only were sent to the exit if a wheelchair was involved. We were sent to the regular LL queue where we waited an additional 35 minutes. We did combine LL and DAS to make the experience as smooth as possible, but we ended up waiting longer for DAS than ever before and it defeated the purpose for us (we get DAS for sensory/anxiety issues due to husband's Autism). I actually injured myself during our trip and had to use a scooter for the back half. Only then did we get to go through the space mountain exit, but there was a long wait and a lot of people there due to rider swap.

Agreed that those rides without LL had little to no waiting time one the DAS window was open.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I've seen photos of the LL queue for Radiator Springs Racers backed up all the way to the Cars Land entrance. Which is RIDICULOUS for DAS users. I emailed to complain because it really sucks for people like my son who aren't able to wait in long lines. It means we have to skip things when the LL/DAS wait is long.

Disneyland has made it pretty clear the $$$ is way more important than people with disabilities.

 

[2tinkerbell]

Thanks! My DD is the same and therefore the reason for the DAS.

I remember when Guardians first opened. The FP/MaxPass line was super long. There was no way we could do it. I talked to a CM at guest services and he suggested we do it first thing in the morning. We entered DCA at rope drop and got a return time. We walked over to Guardians and the line was at the gate. I am lucky in that my DD is older so she talked to the CM there and I stood in line and when I entered the building the CM had her join me.

We might have to figure out something for RSR. I think the rides constantly going down an issue for everyone but especially those who have DAS.

I am not afraid to complain if we have to wait in long lines. I am also not afraid of working to accommodate my DD’s needs ourselves. We are there 5 days so hopefully we can get the things on her list checked off.

 

[FireflyTrance]

We got DAS for my daughter on our last trip and my observation was that on rides with LL you can be waiting a very long time in line. I think we waited in the LL for webslingers for about 45 minutes. I think Genie+ has made visiting Disneyland a lot more miserable for everyone. LL is frequently backed up. If they have that many issues with LL then I think they need an alternative DAS entrance, but that seems unlikely to happen.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Very unlikely since they wouldn't make any money of off it. It's frustrating. We are going in February and I'm nervous. Especially since during the off-season they tend to run less ride vehicles and whatnot on rides.