DAS changes coming WDW May 20/ DL June 18, 2024

[lowlight]

Instead, they are pushing the message that if you do not have a developmental disability, DAS is not for you - before they have actually understood your needs or given an opportunity for them to be understood. That is segregation on diagnosis, NOT need.

Yes, that’s the part that was odd to me. So if you have autism of any severity you get DAS, but if you have x, y, or z you get accommodations, whatever that means. I think the abuse will be just as bad, just with different diagnoses.

 

[SteveMouse]

I can already see guests getting upset when people return to the line & take their back in their spot.
"You left you lost your spot... You weren't in front of me... You can't just get back in front of me... Etc. etc"
And the poor cast members who will then have to calm the situation.

My Disney party is usually only my wife and myself. I happen to be a wheelchair user. I also have other issues necessitating immediate bathroom access.I cannot complete toileting alone. If both my wife and I leave the line, what is the placeholder? There's not a party to return fo.

I guess Disney could utilize sensors like NASCAR does at racetracks in their "loops" for determining car position. Your Magic Band will set off a visual and audio clie when you get back to where you leff?

 

[hulagirl87]

Just yesterday I read an article about this change and in it, mentions someone overhearing a parent bragging that they said their child had autism and now they don't have to wait in lines. This is infuriating to me, but how do you prove it, and now with this being the only diagnosis they accept as ok, how many more will be "saying" this to get the pass. Heartbreaking to those of us that really need it and aren't allowed to prove it.

The whole getting out of line and then you can get back in? The thought of saying "excuse me" to a hundred or more people to get out and then the same thing to get back in, to try to remember where you were and annoy a whole lot of people who are hungry, tired, hot, etc? yeah, that sounds like a blast.

I looked on the DAS site this morning and it says for arrival now through May 19, DAS will be available for 30 days. After that it will be good for 120 days. We arrive on the 18th so I am curious how this will work for us. Anxious to do my chat next week when we are 30 days out. And not gonna lie, really stressed about it.

 

[Tatebeck]

like NASCAR

Next thing you know we'll only be able to turn left! But kidding aside if they are able to pinpoint locations like that it would be interesting

 

[ryang25]

I just spoke to the UK WDW team as this would make or break our upcoming holiday. They are going to get me a proper response but indicated that it’s likely I would still be eligible for DAS. Whether this is just to keep me from cancelling or they actually have a bit more information, I am unsure. Will wait for the proper email response.

 

[lanejudy]

N

So if you have autism of any severity you get DAS

No, my understanding is the diagnosis alone doesn’t qualify. The individual also must explain their needs just like they do today.

I fully agree that we need more info about the “leave the line” pass or any other accommodations. It’s a poor roll-out with more questions than answer. It very much reminds me of the GAC-to-DAS changeover and how nothing was easily available about how “other” needs would be handled. Folks with needs that had different stamps were voicing many of the same complaints then about not being accommodated. I do expect more info will come.

 

[mamaofsix]

Just yesterday I read an article about this change and in it, mentions someone overhearing a parent bragging that they said their child had autism and now they don't have to wait in lines. This is infuriating to me, but how do you prove it, and now with this being the only diagnosis they accept as ok, how many more will be "saying" this to get the pass. Heartbreaking to those of us that really need it and aren't allowed to prove it.

The whole getting out of line and then you can get back in? The thought of saying "excuse me" to a hundred or more people to get out and then the same thing to get back in, to try to remember where you were and annoy a whole lot of people who are hungry, tired, hot, etc? yeah, that sounds like a blast.

I looked on the DAS site this morning and it says for arrival now through May 19, DAS will be available for 30 days. After that it will be good for 120 days. We arrive on the 18th so I am curious how this will work for us. Anxious to do my chat next week when we are 30 days out. And not gonna lie, really stressed about it.

It's good to remember that the vast majority of guests are honest people who would never consider faking a disability / diagnosis in order to get DAS. The very few who would do this are not the majority. We are doing a lot of extrapolating based on stories read online about that one person who abuses it.

Even the "80% of those in the LL are using DAS" being circulated as fact - when it's a bogus rumor. Anyone who has used DAS knows that almost no one scanning in around them in the LL is also using DAS. Most are G+ or Ride swap users. It's easy to tell the difference at scan in. And it's not 80%.

 

[mercuryvenus]

It's good to remember that the vast majority of guests are honest people who would never consider faking a disability / diagnosis in order to get DAS. The very few who would do this are not the majority. We are doing a lot of extrapolating based on stories read online about that one person who abuses it.

Even the "80% of those in the LL are using DAS" being circulated as fact - when it's a bogus rumor. Anyone who has used DAS knows that almost no one scanning in around them in the LL is also using DAS. Most are G+ or Ride swap users. It's easy to tell the difference at scan in. And it's not 80%.

That has been our experience too.

The scan in process is different for DAS vs Genie+, so it’s obvious when someone is using one vs the other.

I don’t think we’ve ever encountered someone else using it. Maybe once.

But more broadly, to me the problem is that not everyone can simply get out of line, solve their problem, and get back in. That certainly wouldn’t work for my husband. So it’s not an accommodation.

 

[Genie+]

The core issue is the never-ending pursuit to increase guest daily per-capita spend while reducing operational costs.

Something’s got to give.

 

[mercuryvenus]

The core issue is the never-ending pursuit to increase guest daily per-capita spend while reducing operational costs.

Something’s got to give.

The issue here, though, is that Disney has a legal obligation to accommodate those with ADA qualified disabilities. And that does not only include developmental disorders and mobility issues. It’s much broader than that.

 

[2tinkerbell]

I believe by saying “developmental disabilities or similar” and using “autism” as an example, Disney is not limiting disabilities to only developmental disabilities, it is clearly eliminating physical disabilities. Face it, those physical disabilities are already accommodated with accessible queues, ramps, accommodating ride vehicles, return times, etc.

Nothing can accommodate every disability perfectly or to everyone’s liking. Not everything my DD needs can or is accommodated by Disney. We have to learn to accommodate those things ourselves. Sometimes even that isn’t enough and we have to accept that it isn’t possible. For example, World of Color at Disneyland. If we are close enough for her to “see” it, then she will get “misted” and that will bother her due to sensory issues. We could try to get the dessert party and therefore have a reserve seat without waiting in line to accommodate her need of not waiting too long in line, but then we don’t have an unobstructed view (too much figure ground for her to actually see). It is the same way with the fireworks on Main Street. It just isn’t “reasonable” to expect Disney to accommodate her every need nor is it expected.

I am worried about this return to line thingy. Are we talking about the standby line only? I can see many people leaving the line for a pretend bathroom emergency just because they don’t want to stand in line and then coming back when it is their turn to ride. I see 2 things in play here, 1st Disney is trying to have it be limited by being “embarrassing” or “humiliating” (clearing not condoning this) by pointing out the person line or 2nd saying they simply can’t accommodate it. Both of which are hard things. Please don’t get me wrong. I completely understand. I have a very sensitive stomach and have had many “bathroom emergencies” at Disney. What is worse is rushing to a restroom only to find a huge line. I have a sister with IBS and are constantly having to accommodate her needs. I am just merely saying that Disney is perhaps trying to crack down on the many fakers with IBS because of the TikTok videos. Like I said, I worry about how they are going to work this without skewing the wait times or inadvertently making the LL’s longer.

 

[Thegoatfeeder]

I have a mobility disability and have to use an ECV at Disney. That isn’t why I use DAS though, in theory I could use the scooter in the regular line.

My problem however is that I suffer with recurrent bladder infections, acute IBS, and urgency to pee caused by a ruptured bladder when I was a child.

It would take a lot to define any of that as a ‘development issue’ and whilst the ability to leave and rejoin a queue is somewhat helpful, if I was in a queue for more than 40 minutes I’d likely have to leave and rejoin twice and I’m not sure how that could ever be accommodated.

Coupled with that is the anxiety I suffer with when I can’t easily get to a bathroom caused by 30 years of ‘not quite making its incidents. This anxiety only makes the bladder and IBS worse and it becomes a vicious cycle.

All in all me losing access to DAS would turn trips into a nightmare of anxiety whilst standing in lines. The ability now to wait out an hour queue virtually whilst in a shop and being able to nip to the bathroom makes trips for me, I couldn’t do it any other way.

I totally understand that Disney need to restrict DAS access and I understand that lines can accommodate scooters and wheelchairs for people that aren’t very mobile but for me personally it’s not only that, in fact if it wasn’t for all the mental health things, and the bladder and bowels I’d be quite happy to take my scooter into lines, but sadly I can’t.

 

[mkatsy]

This is my thought too. I hope they increase janitorial cast members cause I can promise I won’t make it!

Why does the queue smell like poo? I can’t believe Disney is being this ignorant. The rapid fluid shift is going to cause hypotension + heat and boom unconscious guests. stupid … stupid … stupid.

 

[Grim Grinning Ghostie]

Woah I don't think I've ever posted a thread that got more than a couple responses lol.

I understand the uptick in DAS use since Genie. Truthfully, we are one of those families. I was a master at fastpass. We took 3 family trips with it, and because I researched to death, we honestly never stood in a line. I was great at knowing the good times of day to go, reserving the FP in advance, and then refreshing and getting additional FP throughout the day. You also could ride the same ride more than once. If a FP was available and all he wanted to do was ride Big Thunder over and over, done. Totally doable.

After FP went away, we have been on one family trip since then. We had 2 very rough days, even though I bought genie. It also is impossible for a family like mine to ride a ride more than once-even if there is genie availability for those who haven’t used one on that ride yet (meaning that of course even FP could eventually run out on a particular ride, but for many rides it didn’t… so even on a less popular ride now you can’t get more than one genie) On our third day, in HS (which is almost impossible anymore), we were trying to wait in a normal line. I won't go into my child's specific behavior and needs, but a CM saw the struggle and took us outside, out the back of the que/ride for some air. She is the one that said, I don't mean to pry, but I believe you may qualify for some help-why don't you find the closest blue umbrella CM and see. She was right, and I was so grateful for the compassion and the help. It saved our trip.

All this to say, YES DAS use has risen since genie, I can totally see that! I'm sure some is abuse. But some is very likely families like mine that didn't ever ask for accommodations because the normal, available to everyone cadence of the parks was enough, and that is no longer the case.

You are precisely correct. A lot of people eligible for DAS simply didn't need to use it before, because waiting in long lines was avoidable using the FastPass system without the need for further accommodation.

Disney did this to themselves by not only making Genie+ a paid service, but by also limiting users to only being able to ride each ride once per day. That won't fly for families who have members who can't handle not being able to ride their favourites multiple times per day, even if they would have otherwise begrudgingly used Genie+ like everyone else.

 

[Liquidice]

The core issue is the never-ending pursuit to increase guest daily per-capita spend while reducing operational costs.

Something’s got to give.

Doesn't having less people wait in line improve guest daily per-capita spend? If I'm waiting in a line for 2 hours then I can't be outside of the line spending money. I would imagine that for some people, DAS actually increases their guest spending as they are not in the line and while they are waiting may spend that time spending money on food or merchandise.

There was an idea being floated a long time ago that Disney should simply do virtual queues for most rides and cap the physical wait time to about 30 minutes. Similar to how Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind works, when its your turn you would be called back. The difference is that if every ride had a virtual queue like this and you are limited to 1 VQ per person (similar to DAS), the VQ's wouldn't all sell out instantly. Don't allow entrance into a virtual queue unless you have scanned into the park.

If there are some rides that generally don't have a queue more than 30 minutes then allow regular standby instead of a virtual queue like the People Mover.

Maybe they should consider doing that which would allow more people to be outside of the queue and spending money and likely keeping guest satisfaction higher and potentially help with some people with disabilities who could use a VQ system like this and not have to ask for any accommodation. I am sure for most, if they were able to have a successful trip at Disney w/o any accommodations, they would gladly take that rather than have to ask for accommodations.

I definitely agree and understand folks who have said that FP+ worked for them in the past and is the only reason why they started using DAS after FP+ went away.

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

To add, there's quite a few times DAS users wait more than standby guests.

Thank you for this comment. I experienced this twice with my DD at DLR. First, at Soarin' in DCA and a second time at Space Mountain in DL. Both had posted 45 minute or more waits. I told my DD let's DAS the ride and we will sit down and get a water and a snack and wait.

On both occasions we walked by the queue to find a cart or stand, and I asked the CM if the wait was that long because the queue didn't look that long and we had a DAS for later, and on those two occasions the CM at the front said that the wait time was incorrect and that we should just go ahead and use the standby because it would take less than 30 minutes. In fact, it took less than 30 minutes each time, so had I not inquired when we walked by we would've waited longer with the DAS. I just told my kid to cancel the DAS and let's just wait the 30 minutes or less.

 

[RamblinWreck]

Robert Niles is a reputable Disney reporter and has a good article with Theme Park Insider ..

- Health Alliance is training Disney CM to better handle the process, ask the right questions, understand the information.
- Without third party Disney can not ask for medical history.
- There does not appear to be any paperwork like Universal, that has to be costing Universal plenty.
- NO MORE advance reservation times.
- For regular tickets it expires with tickets, with AP 120 days.
- Limits on number on DAS.
- New return to queue pass - in the past they have tested this, I saw it, for any guest needing to leave for bathroom.

I've seen references that DAS requests have tripled, likely since Genie+ became a thing. No surprise that this is happening. Not looking forward to the process, but I understand just based on observations at the park.

I don’t think Genie+ was the major driver.

I think it was before Genie+ that blew the lid on it. Everyone was saying “hey, I thought fast passes were gone! How are those people still using the line?”

I’m sure Genie+ was a catalyst but I don’t think that many people even knew much about the DAS until the pandemic.

 

[lanejudy]

legal obligation to accommodate those with ADA qualified disabilities

But the ADA tempers that with accommodations that significantly impact operations and/or other guests are not required. I do believe the issue Disney is trying to correct is the vast number of people in the LL queue. I don’t have the answer and wish Disney had shared more about how the “leave the line” pass will work. How/where do folks rejoin? Whole party or individual (or individual w/helper)? When? Those all need to be known before one can say “ it doesn’t work.”

 

[Tatebeck]

They really just waited too long to expand the parks or limit capacity until they did expand. More stuff to do would mean a shorter average wait per attraction.

 

[RamblinWreck]

It appears she would just ask a Cast Member in the queue.

Issue being... regular Guests are going to start abusing this to leave the line and get something to eat, etc. etc. etc.

Disney is resolving one issue but creating another.

I see this being such a miserable process to use that nobody is going to want to do it, even people who need it.