My DAS Experience & Tips

breeknee

Looking Forward to MVMCP
Joined
Nov 19, 2006
I am technically still on my last day and wanted to provide some updated DAS info.

Party: Myself plus 7 guests

AK: At Guest Relations I was told to go to a Guest Experience (blue umbrella stand) person. She was after the Oasis. They set me up in under 5 minutes. AK had plenty of Guest Experience stands and they would give me return times for any ride, and the FP line cast members with iPads would give them for their rides. For setup, I had everyone’s magic bands in my hand ready to go and she seemed to really like that I did this, as the iPads can be finicky and it was easier for her.

MK: A Guest Experience stand in each land. We were told by one (who still gave us the return time) that GE isn’t supposed to issue return times, and soon it’ll be enforced that you can only get them at the ride you want them for, but any member of your party will still be able to fetch it. We had some success getting return times for another ride by going to the FP cast member at the ride we just exited. So if you’re on your way across the park to get a return time, you may as well try at other rides along the way. Some said they could only issue for their own ride. It was fairly inconsistent but still convenient when it worked. I did see the say no to me but do it for a mom alone there with her child who was in a wheelchair, so I think they will rightfully make exceptions to this.

Epcot: There are no Guest Experience stands here. I didnt see anyone walking around with iPads, only at lines. We only utilized it at Frozen and had zero issue with it.

HS: The placement of the GE stands was really convenient, only 4 but at sensible places. We did get grief here about return times for over 6 people once, but they were kind and still did it for Toy Story Mania. We also got it easily for Slinky Dog for 8, no questions.

Galaxy’s Edge: Zero issue using DAS for just my husband and myself, but saw someone else be told the max will be 6 as that’s what the ride holds, and not 8 unless the DAS holder comes back out and gets another return time. This makes sense considering it’s for the purpose of the DAS holder getting to experience the ride with their family/friend/loved ones. They were angry but it’s totally reasonable. I didn’t even expect to get 8 on my DAS, period. This was the best thing I used the DAS for because I found the hallways and cattle holding rooms quite nerve wracking. It made that ride waiting experience go a lot faster.

My experience: I won’t go into it too deeply because I will get emotional, but it truly changed my trip and allowed me to have a full Disney experience just like I see so many other people have. I have to take longer breaks than my family members and this ended up being okay because now I was doing it during time they would otherwise be standing in line. They got to rest, get snacks, shop, walk around, go on no wait attractions while I did what I needed to do to feel 100%. I didn’t feel like a burden for the first time ever.

Disney was in a word, AMAZING in this regard. I got zero guff, I felt no judgment, and the concept of being able to say “can I get a return time?” eliminated any and all calls of attention to what I was doing. Well, once a group of guys got very irritated because Smuggler’s Run is not doing Fast Passes. We got a few comments as our line passed the standby. Other than that, people just assume you don’t know the correct word for fast pass or something. I heard one person mumble “you know it’s $500 a day to skip the lines” to her friend and that was kind of funny.

In any case it certainly and rightfully isn’t skipping the lines, so if there’s a good planner in your group in terms of time management, have them plan the DAS just like FP’s. We were able to be strategic about handling our ‘waiting time’. We did a lot of ‘let’s let this person who doesn’t want to go on this ride go ahead and get a return time for Slinky Dog while we ride this ride, then we will all eat lunch near Slinky while we wait’. The first day we didn’t do this and did a lot of walking all over the place.

I figured in the regard of planning this long winded post would be helpful! If you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to ask! I have a long drive tomorrow and I’ll try to check again tonight too.
 
Great read!

Thanks for posting all of this info - I am still somewhat confused by the process though. Do you have to go back to guest relations/GE areas to get the pass for the next attraction?
I was thinking you went to the actual attraction FP line and requested the return time once you had DAS already in place?

Thanks again for any clarification. 13 sleeps till my trip!!
 
Thanks for your information.
This got posted on the disABILITIES Community Board, which is more for general disabilities questions.
I’m going to move this to the main disABILITIES Board for you where more people will see it.

The Guest Experience stands are relatively new - less than a year old - and are not at Epcot yet. They started out at a few locations at MK and Hollywood Studios and more have been added.
AK has had a satellite Guest Relations kind of across from the entrance to Bug’s Life for a bit over a year. Their regular Guest Relations is not that large and the lines were pretty long, which was why they moved DAS issuing to the satellite location.
Great read!

Thanks for posting all of this info - I am still somewhat confused by the process though. Do you have to go back to guest relations/GE areas to get the pass for the next attraction?
I was thinking you went to the actual attraction FP line and requested the return time once you had DAS already in place?

Thanks again for any clarification. 13 sleeps till my trip!!
To answer your questions.
Once DAS has been issued, you don’t need to go back to Guest Relations again. You might go back if you need to add people to the DAS, but won’t go there for a Return Time.

DAS Return Times can be obtained at an attraction for that attraction. The CM issuing DAS Return Times will usually be near the Fastpass entrance and will have (or get) an iPad for issuing the time. The CM can read the Magicband/ticket of any member of the group linked to the DAS in order to issue a Return Time. (If the iPad is working), the names of all the guests linked to that DAS will show up for the CM to add to the Return Time.

You should be able to get a Return Time at one of the new Guest Experience locations.
 
I am glade you had a fun time. I find the guest experience team to have truly changed my vacation and I keep meaning to email Disney about how they have. I hope they stay and from talking to CM it sounds like they will.

I posted back in April about then and have a thread on where they are what they can do and so on. If anyone wants to check it out link in my signature
 
I am technically still on my last ... (snip) ... I heard one person mumble “you know it’s $500 a day to skip the lines” to her friend and that was kind of funny. (snip) try to check again tonight too.
Don't laugh too long. Such a program has existed. You engage a "tour guide" and you get to customize what he takes you to and what he talks about. Somehow the number $600.00 stands out in my mind.

I did not do that but I took a $50.00 "canned" tour called "Marcelline to Magic Kingdom." The tour guide took us on Haunted Mansion, Small World (and Carousel of Progress), cutting to the front of the line in each case..
 
Thanks for your information.
This got posted on the disABILITIES Community Board, which is more for general disabilities questions.
I’m going to move this to the main disABILITIES Board for you where more people will see it.

The Guest Experience stands are relatively new - less than a year old - and are not at Epcot yet. They started out at a few locations at MK and Hollywood Studios and more have been added.
AK has had a satellite Guest Relations kind of across from the entrance to Bug’s Life for a bit over a year. Their regular Guest Relations is not that large and the lines were pretty long, which was why they moved DAS issuing to the satellite location.
To answer your questions.
Once DAS has been issued, you don’t need to go back to Guest Relations again. You might go back if you need to add people to the DAS, but won’t go there for a Return Time.

DAS Return Times can be obtained at an attraction for that attraction. The CM issuing DAS Return Times will usually be near the Fastpass entrance and will have (or get) an iPad for issuing the time. The CM can read the Magicband/ticket of any member of the group linked to the DAS in order to issue a Return Time. (If the iPad is working), the names of all the guests linked to that DAS will show up for the CM to add to the Return Time.

You should be able to get a Return Time at one of the new Guest Experience locations.

On our last night we were told by 3 Guest Experience people in Magic Kingdom that they will no longer be issuing return times very soon (one said within a month) and you will have to go to the ride itself that you want the return time for. Hollywood Studios and AK Guest Relations never mentioned this to us and were happy to do return times, so I’m not sure if that’s MK specific.
 


Don't laugh too long. Such a program has existed. You engage a "tour guide" and you get to customize what he takes you to and what he talks about. Somehow the number $600.00 stands out in my mind.

I did not do that but I took a $50.00 "canned" tour called "Marcelline to Magic Kingdom." The tour guide took us on Haunted Mansion, Small World (and Carousel of Progress), cutting to the front of the line in each case..
Before I knew about DAS, my husband and I thought we would just save up a lot of extra money and hire one of these tour guides, or do the crazy expensive Disney one, so that I could bypass the lines that cause my issues and have a normal time. It was only a few months ago, but the three places we contacted all seemed to say they could masterplan our fast passes for us but didn’t promise front of the line access. One place got back to us after I’d already discovered DAS. From what they explained, I think they use a magic band with a DAS and then just plan your ‘fast passes’ (return times) so that you think you’re just walking onto everything. So I guess they’re either lying or selling their disability, both I think are horrible.
 
So no one knows if they will for sure be making people go to the ride instead of guest experience kiosks for return times? Why would they do this? Why would they make it more difficult for people with health problems/disability issues???
 
So no one knows if they will for sure be making people go to the ride instead of guest experience kiosks for return times? Why would they do this? Why would they make it more difficult for people with health problems/disability issues???
Right now no one know for sure. It might be a bad / miss informed cm or two ( and yes they are out there) that is saying this. If you think that getting a return time from the kiosk ( GE) would help you if you have used one before let Disney know send them a email Incase they are thinking of changing
 
I don't have a disability, but I have traveled with people who do. Being able to go to the kiosks helps in so many ways. I do hope this is misinformed CMs that gave this information.
 
So no one knows if they will for sure be making people go to the ride instead of guest experience kiosks for return times? Why would they do this? Why would they make it more difficult for people with health problems/disability issues???

Well, in fairness, the DAS is only technically designed to help those with disabilities avoid waiting in lines. The ability to snag a DAS at a guest relations kiosks on the other side of the park from a ride is a distinct advantage, over and above what DAS states it's for.*

As someone who used DAS for the first time last trip, I really enjoyed the convenience of the kiosk locations and wish they would stay, but I understand the argument that they provide a convenience that goes beyond the intent of DAS.




*For example, the DAS is intended to make it so if I, a DAS holder, walk up to a standby line at the same time as another gues (non DAS-holder), we will theoretically arrive at the loading area at roughly the same time...the only difference being the non-DAS party stood in line, and my party did not. Having the ability to get return times at kiosk locations gives DAS holders an additional advantage, in effect giving DAS holders the equivalent of a FP+ every time they go to a kiosk. There were several times over the course of our trip where I scheduled a MFSR return time near at the kiosk at ToT, knowing we had a Star Tours FP in between. That gave us the ability to walk from ToT, hit up Star Tours with our FP, then walk onto MFSR. As opposed to us walking all the way over to MFSR, getting our return time, and having to walk back to Star Tours to use our FP. Kiosk return times provide a distinct advantage in ground covered, planning, scheduling, etc. I can understand Disney feeling like this is not in line with the spirit of DAS)
 
Last edited:
Well, in fairness, the DAS is only technically designed to help those with disabilities avoid waiting in lines. The ability to snag a DAS at a guest relations kiosks on the other side of the park from a ride is a distinct advantage, over and above what DAS states it's for.*

As someone who used DAS for the first time last trip, I really enjoyed the convenience of the kiosk locations and wish they would stay, but I understand the argument that they provide a convenience that goes beyond the intent of DAS.




*For example, the DAS is intended to make it so if I, a DAS holder, walk up to a standby line at the same time as another gues (non DAS-holder), we will theoretically arrive at the loading area at roughly the same time...the only difference being the non-DAS party stood in line, and my party did not. Having the ability to get return times at kiosk locations gives DAS holders an additional advantage, in effect giving DAS holders the equivalent of a FP+ every time they go to a kiosk. There were several times over the course of our trip where I scheduled a MFSR return time near at the kiosk at ToT, knowing we had a Star Tours FP in between. That gave us the ability to walk from ToT, hit up Star Tours with our FP, then walk onto MFSR. As opposed to us walking all the way over to MFSR, getting our return time, and having to walk back to Star Tours to use our FP. Kiosk return times provide a distinct advantage in ground covered, planning, scheduling, etc. I can understand Disney feeling like this is not in line with the spirit of DAS)
Well I guess I will have to agree to disagree with you because it give me equal access to ride it made it so I had less meltdown and I was actually able to do things. I will give you one example ( if many I could) I got to MK ( 9 am opening) at 7:45 was one of the first 100 if that at the touch point to get in walked down Main Street was in the first row of people at the rope to go to 7DMT but soon had to leave the area since it got too crowded for me but I tried to be as close to the front so that I could get a return time ( mind you I got there early enough to be up by the rope ) by the time the park opened and I can get to 7DMT it is an hour long wait and I am having an hour plus long meltdown and that me even long to recover from and that is just the first ride of the day. And I am alone

And this is just one ride. For some the kiosk give equal access not better.
 
Well, in fairness, the DAS is only technically designed to help those with disabilities avoid waiting in lines. The ability to snag a DAS at a guest relations kiosks on the other side of the park from a ride is a distinct advantage, over and above what DAS states it's for.*

As someone who used DAS for the first time last trip, I really enjoyed the convenience of the kiosk locations and wish they would stay, but I understand the argument that they provide a convenience that goes beyond the intent of DAS.

*For example, the DAS is intended to make it so if I, a DAS holder, walk up to a standby line at the same time as another gues (non DAS-holder), we will theoretically arrive at the loading area at roughly the same time...the only difference being the non-DAS party stood in line, and my party did not. Having the ability to get return times at kiosk locations gives DAS holders an additional advantage, in effect giving DAS holders the equivalent of a FP+ every time they go to a kiosk. There were several times over the course of our trip where I scheduled a MFSR return time near at the kiosk at ToT, knowing we had a Star Tours FP in between. That gave us the ability to walk from ToT, hit up Star Tours with our FP, then walk onto MFSR. As opposed to us walking all the way over to MFSR, getting our return time, and having to walk back to Star Tours to use our FP. Kiosk return times provide a distinct advantage in ground covered, planning, scheduling, etc. I can understand Disney feeling like this is not in line with the spirit of DAS)

...By that logic DL should have changed systems years ago. The kiosk system is the system Disneyland uses for their DAS holders. Its the one we got stuck with when we went digital. We used to have a mix (get it from the exit or get it from the hubs) back in the paper days. Now adays you can sometimes get it from the exit but most rides will redirect you to the kiosks.

You might think otherwise but Disneyland apparently thinks the kiosks level the playing field. Since we've had it for several years now.

Even then the kiosk system isn't perfect. Using Soarin for a second since last I checked they don't allow return times at the exit in CA. Let's say I'm over at GOTG. The nearest kiosk to me at this point is all the way back at the Buena Vista Street hub. Now, most people could probably get from GOTG to Soarin in what I'm guessing is probably 10-15 minutes max. They can dodge and move easily through a crowd. A person with a mobility device? Not so much. While Hollywood is huge you still get large groups walking several across probably walking slower then you want to. So let's say 5-10 to get back to the hub. Now let's say that today there's a few families in front of you and their questions take time. That's probably another several minute there. And then you have to hope the system isn't acting stupid and lets the CM in easy to give you a time. So another couple of minutes there and your already at what probably would be the max for a normal person to make standby for the same ride.

And again I can't get a return time from Soarin because they don't allow it. And there's a 50/50 chance that if I grab a MaxPass that it will be an hour or two later then standby if its a crowd heavy day.

So just because the kiosks can help doesn't mean necessarily they put us at an advantage. Its just another way of leveling the playing field which is what the system is there for. Also, I agree with gap here grabbing a return time from the ride exit can be a crapshoot depending on the ride. Sometimes it's okay, sometimes it's so crowded that I have to back out so I can give myself room to breathe. And I'm not even extremely claustrophobic.

Remember the DAS isn't just about physical issues that come with standing in line.
 
On our last night we were told by 3 Guest Experience people in Magic Kingdom that they will no longer be issuing return times very soon (one said within a month) and you will have to go to the ride itself that you want the return time for. Hollywood Studios and AK Guest Relations never mentioned this to us and were happy to do return times, so I’m not sure if that’s MK specific.
Not for long. They're phasing this out as an offering at the blue umbrella GE kiosks.
The Guest Experience locations are pretty new (less than a year) and were an experiment, so what they would do was probably never a sure thing. As far as I know, they didn’t initially do anything with DAS.
When DAS started out at WDW, a person linked to the DAS had to go to the attraction to get a DAS Return Time. It never had to be the actual disabled person. That worked well at WDW because there were CMs at the entrance to each attraction and most had Fastpass.

At Disneyland, DAS rolled out with kiosks for giving out Return Times and some attractions gave at the attraction.
 
...By that logic DL should have changed systems years ago. The kiosk system is the system Disneyland uses for their DAS holders. Its the one we got stuck with when we went digital. We used to have a mix (get it from the exit or get it from the hubs) back in the paper days. Now adays you can sometimes get it from the exit but most rides will redirect you to the kiosks.

You might think otherwise but Disneyland apparently thinks the kiosks level the playing field. Since we've had it for several years now.

Even then the kiosk system isn't perfect. Using Soarin for a second since last I checked they don't allow return times at the exit in CA. Let's say I'm over at GOTG. The nearest kiosk to me at this point is all the way back at the Buena Vista Street hub. Now, most people could probably get from GOTG to Soarin in what I'm guessing is probably 10-15 minutes max. They can dodge and move easily through a crowd. A person with a mobility device? Not so much. While Hollywood is huge you still get large groups walking several across probably walking slower then you want to. So let's say 5-10 to get back to the hub. Now let's say that today there's a few families in front of you and their questions take time. That's probably another several minute there. And then you have to hope the system isn't acting stupid and lets the CM in easy to give you a time. So another couple of minutes there and your already at what probably would be the max for a normal person to make standby for the same ride.

And again I can't get a return time from Soarin because they don't allow it. And there's a 50/50 chance that if I grab a MaxPass that it will be an hour or two later then standby if its a crowd heavy day.

So just because the kiosks can help doesn't mean necessarily they put us at an advantage. Its just another way of leveling the playing field which is what the system is there for. Also, I agree with gap here grabbing a return time from the ride exit can be a crapshoot depending on the ride. Sometimes it's okay, sometimes it's so crowded that I have to back out so I can give myself room to breathe. And I'm not even extremely claustrophobic.

Remember the DAS isn't just about physical issues that come with standing in line.
I will add to what I said above that I tried to get a return time for Peter Pan Flight 4 times and never could ( one time the CM asked me to move out of the way, since I was just standing there I could not talk could not think of why I was there, I finally made it some where full meltdown crying took me a good 20-30 minutes to get any since of what was going on and had to leave the park all together and go back to the hotel for a 3 hour break( all I could do was get under my weight blanket) the rest of the day was pretty shot for me I did go back to the parks but just was kind of there. If they had the kiosk it would have made getting a return time so much easer
 
I will add to what I said above that I tried to get a return time for Peter Pan Flight 4 times and never could ( one time the CM asked me to move out of the way, since I was just standing there I could not talk could not think of why I was there, I finally made it some where full meltdown crying took me a good 20-30 minutes to get any since of what was going on and had to leave the park all together and go back to the hotel for a 3 hour break( all I could do was get under my weight blanket) the rest of the day was pretty shot for me I did go back to the parks but just was kind of there. If they had the kiosk it would have made getting a return time so much easer

DL's Peter Pan has it own issues (get a return time, and then go wait in the handicapped line possibly doubling your wait time in comparison to standby can be a common occurence during heavy crowd days) and I've never tried to get to WDW's one since I started using the DAS (to be honest I haven't really gone on any of the old Fantasyland rides since getting the DAS but that's mainly because I can ride all of them back at Disneyland, I'll occasionally do the meet and greets for Princesses but usually that area isn't too bad when I'm there) but it sounds like a nightmare of crowd proportions.

I'm honestly hoping they keep them. A mix of the system is what I've wanted for years. And I felt the absence of the kiosks at WDW keenly last January when I had to navigate all the way down into Pandora to get a return for FOP that I wouldn't be able to use for another 3 hours. For the rides with the long wait times and are slightly tucked off the main path (because as much as I love Pandora I'm pretty much there for one reason and its out of the way for me due to that) the kiosk system is a blessing.
 
... since I was just standing there I could not talk could not think of why I was there ...
With speech being part of a disability, would writing down your request on paper have helped?

In an earlier lifetime (pre-Epcot) I was working in a college laboratory and some visitors -- a prospective student and his father -- came in and we started talking. The father interrupted and said I needed to look directly at his son; he didn't hear me. I did so and also raised my voice somewhat; there was a lot of background noise. Then the father admitted that his son was deaf but was good at lip reading.

The son was admitted and I ran into him on numerous occasions during the next year. Being myself uneasy when I talk to anyone perceive that there was lots of room for details to be lost in the translation, I always wrote out anything technical I needed to say to him.

Back to 2019, there needs to be consistency in where to go to get a Disability Access System come back time (at a ride or at a central kiosk), where to exit Epcot to return to Pop Century and you see lightning and hear thunder in the distance (International Gateway to get on Skyliner or outside Future World to catch the bus), etc. We cannot live with pure guesswork but instead there should be a lot of redundancy in the system whenever there might be uncertainty.

... I got to MK ( 9 am opening) at 7:45 was one of the first 100 if that at the touch point to get in walked down Main Street was in the first row of people at the rope to go to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train but soon had to leave the area since it got too crowded for me but I tried to be as close to the front so that I could get a return time ( mind you I got there early enough to be up by the rope ) by the time the park opened and I can get to 7DMT it is an hour long wait ...

This would be a new functionality for DAS, to make up for a disability resulting in lower speed of movement. Such disability allowed many others others with higher speed of movement to overtake from the location of the dropped rope and therefore get to the ride in question more quickly, nullifying the effort previously expended by the subject person to get up close to the rope in the first place. Whether issuing DAS return times from a central location long (distance wise) before the ride (and close to the location of the dropped rope) can and should be used to address this separate and independent topic is left as a philosophical question.

Once I saw a CM at a ride trying to give out a DAS time and after fumbling around with his iPad apparently without success, he gave the guest a "password" and told him to go directly and immediately to the Fastpass line.
 
Last edited:
With speech being part of a disability, would writing down your request on paper have helped?

In an earlier lifetime (pre-Epcot) I was working in a college laboratory and some visitors -- a prospective student and his father -- came in and we started talking. The father interrupted and said I needed to look directly at his son; he didn't hear me. I did so and also raised my voice somewhat; there was a lot of background noise. Then the father admitted that his son was deaf but was good at lip reading.

The son was admitted and I ran into him on numerous occasions during the next year. Being myself uneasy when I talk to anyone perceive that there was lots of room for details to be lost in the translation, I always wrote out anything technical I needed to say to him.
I have written my needs down but my phone I might have trumped something out but in that crowd area the ability to show the CM my phone and or the CM willingness to read my phone was not there and no one should have to try 4 times to get a return time it was so crowded that I could not even get to the CM ( the first 3 times I tried) let alone have the ability to show them my phone It was just a mess
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!






Top