DAS with anxiety disorder

[Disneyfan_76]

I don't know if anyone here can help me with this particular question. I was doing the online Pre certification for das yesterday. The person I was talking to (after it was stated that I qualified) started asking me to "pre book" two rides per park ahead of time. Unfortunately we lost connection and I'm getting a call back later today to finish. I guess my question is why? This almost seems like a fastpass+ advantage, is it not? I thought it worked the same as it did prior to covid where you can go to the ride to get a return time then once you have waited the alotted amount of time, you can go back through the LL line. Hoping my issue is temporary and the das I need for my upcoming trip will not be needed for my trip in May 2023. I'm guessing this is why some think its gaming the system a bit since you have the ability to pre book two rides, G+ and individual lightning lanes.

The two pre book rides are 'freebies' to get you started. You can go to the DAS website at disney and it will list the rides that are available for prebooking. You will then need to call back with the DAS staff when you have made your choices to get them set up. Basically the way this works is that you get two rides like you would under the old fastpass system, but not all rides qualify. Then, on the day you are there, and enter the park, you can start booking DAS pass times through the app. They are not limiting you to only two per day. These are merely pre selected for your convience.
When we went to AK, we had a Navi river journey at (930) and Festival of the Lion king (11?) pre selected. When we entered the park, we put a DAS pass for flight of passage, and virtually waited in line on the walk over there. By the time we got there we only had to wait about 15min till we could go through the lightning lane. We rode flight, got off, booked a DAS for the safari. Rode our pre selected Navi river journey, and then made our way over to safari, etc, etc. Hope that makes sense and helps. It's very confusing at first, but not bad once you get used to it. I would make your pre selections as soon as you can though, because the times get used up fast.

 

[MickeyCB]

As I posted in this thread earlier, using DAS with my husbands health issues is the only reason we really can still go to the parks. It is a very appreciated service.
But, I was wondering if anyone knows why Disney does not charge for this service? Is it against the law or just seen as poor form?
And I also was wondering if anyone knows why when they went digital that they offer the ability to pre-book 2 rides? TIA

 

[DryerLintFan]

I’m most certainly not the one purposely undying the waters here, I CLEARLY said “early on”.

It's two completely different programs.

 

[DryerLintFan]

As I posted in this thread earlier, using DAS with my husbands health issues is the only reason we really can still go to the parks. It is a very appreciated service.
But, I was wondering if anyone knows why Disney does not charge for this service? Is it against the law or just seen as poor form?
And I also was wondering if anyone knows why when they went digital that they offer the ability to pre-book 2 rides? TIA

I really wonder that as well about the pre booking. It makes no sense to me.

 

[Hawg G]

The two pre book rides are 'freebies' to get you started. You can go to the DAS website at disney and it will list the rides that are available for prebooking. You will then need to call back with the DAS staff when you have made your choices to get them set up. Basically the way this works is that you get two rides like you would under the old fastpass system, but not all rides qualify. Then, on the day you are there, and enter the park, you can start booking DAS pass times through the app. They are not limiting you to only two per day. These are merely pre selected for your convience.
When we went to AK, we had a Navi river journey at (930) and Festival of the Lion king (11?) pre selected. When we entered the park, we put a DAS pass for flight of passage, and virtually waited in line on the walk over there. By the time we got there we only had to wait about 15min till we could go through the lightning lane. We rode flight, got off, booked a DAS for the safari. Rode our pre selected Navi river journey, and then made our way over to safari, etc, etc. Hope that makes sense and helps. It's very confusing at first, but not bad once you get used to it. I would make your pre selections as soon as you can though, because the times get used up fast.

HA! What you are describing is just.a Liiiiiiitle bit better than "not bad" for WDW in 2022. Especially for free. You realize it is actually "pretty awesome" instead, right?

 

[Disneyfan_76]

HA! What you are describing is just.a Liiiiiiitle bit better than "not bad" for WDW in 2022. Especially for free. You realize it is actually "pretty awesome" instead, right?

I didn't say it wasn't. I was answering the person's questions about how the DAS works with the 2 pre bookings. We were very happy with the DAS system. Granted, what I described was doable because we got there earlier in the day. The wait times were much longer as the day progressed. The important thing is that we were able to wait for the ride outside of the line and not be a disturbance to other guests.

 

[Disneyfan_76]

As I posted in this thread earlier, using DAS with my husbands health issues is the only reason we really can still go to the parks. It is a very appreciated service.
But, I was wondering if anyone knows why Disney does not charge for this service? Is it against the law or just seen as poor form?
And I also was wondering if anyone knows why when they went digital that they offer the ability to pre-book 2 rides? TIA

I don't know. But I feel like the way the current company is managed, they would charge if they could. Perhaps it looks bad, or they can't get it by legal, who knows?
As far as the pre book, I feel like this was a way to help spread people out the same way that Genie plus makes recommendations. Most of the rides that were offered as a pre book were things that don't have much of a wait time. The E ticket attractions need you to be in the park to book for.

 

[Trackmaster]

So I just read the DAS for the first time (since I dont need it, its never applied to me). Its kind of a crappy system.
I have a friend i went to six flags with that had the equivalent (he had a drs note where he couldnt stand for very long in one place due to back issues), and you just showed the ride attendant the pass and they sent you in the back way to the front of the line (some pretty interesting backdoors i must admit like an elevator that went right to the entrance!!)

yet disney is just 2 rides per day. If you have a legitimate need for 1, I am fine with you getting the equivalent of lightning lane.

Then again I dont know the volume.. i might be shocked.

Wow, so much wrong with this post. Where do I begin?

1. Six Flags has a terrible system for a terrible chain of parks -- I've been to every Six Flags park other than Great Escape and Six Flags Mexico. I think that what you might mean is that its more advantageous for people with disabilities. But it reduces the size of the pie for all guests, and makes the day much worse for the other paying customers -- and it also effectively downsells the Flash Pass that they actually charge a lot of money for.
2. The doctor's note is irrelevant. The regulations prohibit any park from asking for a note. To be honest, this is kind of an annoyance more than anything, since they cross examine you on your own, and just having a note won't help.
3. No, its not an unlimited free for all. You get time intervals between rides. Still extremely generous, as you burn off this time generally by riding and going to your next ride, but its not exactly unrestricted-- and it effectively stops you from marathoning at least (but its still a headscratcher that they'd make it even more valuable than the Flash Pass). And when I expressed my contempt for the system, its because of how they give them exit entries -- it means that the disability guests must be fully seated before the airgates can open and the stand-by/Flash guests can get on. This causes horrible stacking and terrible dispatches. Not only is someone skipping the line in front of you, but they're really slowing the line down hard to do it. Disney is smart enough to send the DAS guest through the LL line at least so its pretty seamless.
4. I don't know where you got this two lap maximum nonsense from at Disney. You get comeback times that you reserve based on length of stand-by line. When you cash that come time in, and you can book again. You could conceivably ride Rise of the Resistance six times in one day if you committed to just booking return times for it again and again and occupying yourself in between.

 

[crazy4disney]

Being someone who uses DAS just got approved & booked my rides this week. Shocked process took less than an hour all in what a contrast from last year… as ive stated prior issue i had in November was bc Genie was awful & lines were long we spent way too much time basically waiting for our window to open up via Genie or DAS. This never happened with FP+ ever. Even if it mean filling some spots w any rides just to do something as we enjoy riding everything & not a fan of people watching. So yes DAS helps but when return times are 60-90 minutes out min at times its not some system that allows you free run of the park. Genie being limited to only 1 ride per attraction & truly limited capacity vs FP definitely made my November trip
Worse than past ones. We shall see what August brings in less than a month.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Under the old system, that's pretty much what you got - and according to some CM's, it really was an obscene percentage of guests who had them. Don't quote me, but I believe they used to say something like 20-25% of guests on a given day.

Of course, it got so bad that once people started "renting" disabled folks so they got to skip lines, that that old program turned into what we have today.

It's a shame for people that really needed it, because - as you say, if you had a legit need, more power to you. The problem is, it became more about "want" than "need". And folks who just don't like to wait in line with neurotypical children feeling entitled to it.

To be honest, I think the real issue is the ADA itself - it was poorly written and erred too far on the "privacy" side to prevent any real enforcement. Privacy is important, of course, but I don't know anyone who truly has a medical disability that wouldn't gladly carry a doctors certification or other proof if Disney was able to require it. Most people already have that documentation any way for various reasons.

My child has a medical disability - multiple actually - and yes, I would absolutely have a problem with being required to disclose medical diagnoses in order to receive accommodations. It’s dehumanizing. I have no problem disclosing that she requires accommodations and what those accommodations are. But medical information should not be required.

ETA: quite frankly it’s attitudes similar to this that make families like mine - where there is a legitimate need, but it can be “invisible” - feel entirely self-conscious about asking for and using the accommodations we require. And no, requirement of doctor’s certification doesn’t ameliorate that - it exacerbates that. It may not make sense, but we have absolutely experienced that. Disabled people have the same right to medical privacy as neurotypical people.

 

[crazy4disney]

Under the old system, that's pretty much what you got - and according to some CM's, it really was an obscene percentage of guests who had them. Don't quote me, but I believe they used to say something like 20-25% of guests on a given day.

Of course, it got so bad that once people started "renting" disabled folks so they got to skip lines, that that old program turned into what we have today.

It's a shame for people that really needed it, because - as you say, if you had a legit need, more power to you. The problem is, it became more about "want" than "need". And folks who just don't like to wait in line with neurotypical children feeling entitled to it.

To be honest, I think the real issue is the ADA itself - it was poorly written and erred too far on the "privacy" side to prevent any real enforcement. Privacy is important, of course, but I don't know anyone who truly has a medical disability that wouldn't gladly carry a doctors certification or other proof if Disney was able to require it. Most people already have that documentation any way for various reasons.

Ill be honest i dont mind disclosing my issues & concerns under the new & old system & would bring paperwork prior to this new policy when you had to go into city hall… i see why others wouldnt want to but ill say this it would truly eliminate for most part any questions about whether or not someone qualifies for DAS only issue is who determines whether or not disability A is worthy or not but honestly doesnt bother me being upfront with them.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Ill be honest i dont mind disclosing my issues & concerns under the new & old system & would bring paperwork prior to this new policy when you had to go into city hall… i see why others wouldnt want to but ill say this it would truly eliminate for most part any questions about whether or not someone qualifies for DAS only issue is who determines whether or not disability A is worthy or not but honestly doesnt bother me being upfront with them.

I hear what you’re saying, truly. And. At the same time, I feel there is a lot of ingrained ableism in requiring disabled people to give up privacy rights that everyone else takes for granted every day because someone who isn’t disabled might pretend they are. The burden for another’s bad actions shouldn’t fall on the disabled person.

 

[Patcheslee]

Question, again because I am curious. What do people do that travel by air to Orlando. @helenabear , I know you have issues, that seem unavoidable in a line.

We have to fly, TSA at home airport has never been more than 30 minutes luckily. MCO for our flight times have been the same. We sleep overnight close to airport to avoid extra stress of a 2hr drive to the airport. For the flight I make sure to have a big breakfast with a bit to drink. Get my yeti cup filled with ice for the flight once through TSA (I drink less that way) Wait until the 2nd to last BG is being called, make a quick pit stop, then board. About 30 minutes before landing make another pit stop before seat belt time, then another stop if needed when we get off.

 

[crazy4disney]

I hear what you’re saying, truly. And. At the same time, I feel there is a lot of ingrained ableism in requiring disabled people to give up privacy rights that everyone else takes for granted every day because someone who isn’t disabled might pretend they are. The burden for another’s bad actions shouldn’t fall on the disabled person.

Can i ask or suggest this to make the system better and more effective and honest…
The only people/person who is truly getting your information is the person you speak to granted that when in person it is done in a public setting but what happens if say Disney hired medically qualified personal to handle DAS would that make you/others feel more comfortable discussing? And if its in person done if maybe a more private setting. Just spitballing here bc in theory it be like discussing your situation with a Dr lets say if you were looking for a 2nd opinion. Also imo Disney should also grandfather people in depending on their situation. If someone is dealing with a permanent disability there shouldnt be a need to re qualify annually or every visit past 60 days. Should be a simple online tool to attest that the medical condition still exists and then ask who iw in your party that will be traveling with you. To me that would make the process that much better and easier for everyone involved and saves time and money and energy. Just my thoughts.

 

[DryerLintFan]

Can i ask or suggest this to make the system better and more effective and honest…
The only people/person who is truly getting your information is the person you speak to granted that when in person it is done in a public setting but what happens if say Disney hired medically qualified personal to handle DAS would that make you/others feel more comfortable discussing? And if its in person done if maybe a more private setting. Just spitballing here bc in theory it be like discussing your situation with a Dr lets say if you were looking for a 2nd opinion. Also imo Disney should also grandfather people in depending on their situation. If someone is dealing with a permanent disability there shouldnt be a need to re qualify annually or every visit past 60 days. Should be a simple online tool to attest that the medical condition still exists and then ask who iw in your party that will be traveling with you. To me that would make the process that much better and easier for everyone involved and saves time and money and energy. Just my thoughts.

They already kinda do this. They don’t want to go through the process every time with you, either. After your first time qualifying, subsequent visits you are supposed to tell them you want to renew your DAS not get a DAS.

 

[crazy4disney]

They already kinda do this. They don’t want to go through the process every time with you, either. After your first time qualifying, subsequent visits you are supposed to tell them you want to renew your DAS not get a DAS.

Its the exact same process trust me ive had it for a long time. Nothing is different from when you apply the 1st time or the 10th time….

 

[Angel Ariel]

Can i ask or suggest this to make the system better and more effective and honest…
The only people/person who is truly getting your information is the person you speak to granted that when in person it is done in a public setting but what happens if say Disney hired medically qualified personal to handle DAS would that make you/others feel more comfortable discussing? And if its in person done if maybe a more private setting. Just spitballing here bc in theory it be like discussing your situation with a Dr lets say if you were looking for a 2nd opinion. Also imo Disney should also grandfather people in depending on their situation. If someone is dealing with a permanent disability there shouldnt be a need to re qualify annually or every visit past 60 days. Should be a simple online tool to attest that the medical condition still exists and then ask who iw in your party that will be traveling with you. To me that would make the process that much better and easier for everyone involved and saves time and money and energy. Just my thoughts.

My child’s main disability is caused by a condition less than 500 people *in the world* have. Most doctors don’t know about it until we, as parents, educate them. So, no, medically qualified personnel at Disney wouldn’t rectify anything for us.

We go to Disney specifically because it is one of the few places we have been able to take DD and entirely escape and just enjoy her childhood. No doctors, no therapies, no medical/therapeutic speak required, well-accommodated - she can enjoy leaving behind today to enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy , and so can we as her parents, and know that she’s able to have an amazing experience just like her peers do. It is a lifeline for all of us. I truly can’t put into words how critical that’s been for us.

Also keep in mind that not every condition that qualifies for DAS use is considered a medical condition currently - like sensory processing disorder (which is not currently recognized in the DSM,m). Requiring medical documentation would hurt many people who have a legitimate need for reasons beyond their control.

 

[DryerLintFan]

Its the exact same process trust me ive had it for a long time. Nothing is different from when you apply the 1st time or the 10th time….

It amazes me that everyone is so adamant that the experience with Disney has to be the same across the board.

 

[crazy4disney]

It amazes me that everyone is so adamant that the experience with Disney has to be the same across the board.

not sure how that has anything to do with my response to your statement which was 100% inaccurate based on my countless experiences and what ive been told. do you have DAS? is that what they did with you? because ive been using it for about 10 years now and not once have they cared about prior usage and the process was the same each time applying both in person and now both times on the video chat....

 

[crazy4disney]

My child’s main disability is caused by a condition less than 500 people *in the world* have. Most doctors don’t know about it until we, as parents, educate them. So, no, medically qualified personnel at Disney wouldn’t rectify anything for us.

We go to Disney specifically because it is one of the few places we have been able to take DD and entirely escape and just enjoy her childhood. No doctors, no therapies, no medical/therapeutic speak required, well-accommodated - she can enjoy leaving behind today to enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy , and so can we as her parents, and know that she’s able to have an amazing experience just like her peers do. It is a lifeline for all of us. I truly can’t put into words how critical that’s been for us.

Also keep in mind that not every condition that qualifies for DAS use is considered a medical condition currently - like sensory processing disorder (which is not currently recognized in the DSM,m). Requiring medical documentation would hurt many people who have a legitimate need for reasons beyond their control.

fair enough and i wasnt questioning your need and as i said .. everyone is different. I just know plenty of people always question others who use DAS and granted a guest truly dk if you are using DFAS or FP/genie now a CM can and i will say there are times you definitely get the look when i would go up for a return time in the past bc my conditions are not as obvious as others...