Disney Genie and Genie+ at Walt Disney World

[Splash4eva]

So inflating times to deter DAS users.

My opinion is that wait times are inflated because MONEY, not to deter DAS use.

As we know, WDW has trespassed the un official tour guides who may have been misusing DAS and both WDW and UNI have made it extremely hard to even qualify for their DAS.

I have not experienced the new system Universal has implemented, but the system Disney implemented truly turns away folks who need it for sure; decisions made by random cast members and most who qualified before are now turned away.

I think we need not worry the DAS system will be abused at WDW going forward UNLESS you personally know the cast member making the random decision as Disney does not want to see any documentation on a disability and folks are truly disabled are being rejected at random based on how the random cast member feels at that moment.

As a DAS user i will respectfully disagree that Disney has made it harder and i do not know anyone who has been rejected by Disney who has needed it…

 

[Splash4eva]

Can someone waiting in standby for 7DMT enjoy those at the same time? If not, DAS users shouldn’t be able to either.

I get your “logic” & “basis” but personally think its a ridiculous take to have especially if people really believe DAS users take up so many LL. Where are you putting these people? In some holding pen until their time is up…

 

[Andrew25]

So inflating times to deter DAS users.

My opinion is that wait times are inflated because MONEY, not to deter DAS use.

I don't believe it's this specific reason, I believe it's just the amount of downtime we're seeing throughout the resort. Tower of Terror is consistently being posted at double what it should be in case one tower goes down. If both goes down, you'll then have all of the scheduled DAS/LL users come back when it reopens. It's a death spiral that WDW walked into themselves for not investing properly.

But, they are making money off that downtime as lots of people want to guarantee access to an attraction. So to a degree your right.

Can someone waiting in standby for 7DMT enjoy those at the same time? If not, DAS users shouldn’t be able to either.

That's a reasonable argument... issue is what do you let them do then? You can't let them bake under the Florida sun and they've cracked down on some QSR locations to prevent people not eating to sit... so where do you put them?

In an ideal world, each attraction would run a "Virtual Queue" line like Fallon at Universal, where there's enough seating and entertainment to do in an indoor cooled environment and you can "capture" DAS inside and prevent them from going elsewhere.

 

[nickys]

Can someone waiting in standby for 7DMT enjoy those at the same time? If not, DAS users shouldn’t be able to either.

What about G+ users? Does the same apply to them too?

 

[Disstevefan1]

As a DAS user i will respectfully disagree that Disney has made it harder and i do not know anyone who has been rejected by Disney who has needed it…

We can respectfully agree to disagree on this. Its good to see WDW can still accommodate for you.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Yes, because people waiting in the standby line can't enjoy other attractions while stood in line.

Don't worry. Now some folks who need it (and who previously qualified for it) are now being turned away. I also hope in the future you will never need it and get turned away.

Folks in my life would LOVE to have the health and capacity to wait in standby and now are unable AND cant get DAS when they previously could and (maybe) get on 2 or 3 attractions.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Das return times are based on standby times, the longer the wait the longer before a DAS person can enter the LL and get a new one.

So this is a deterrent to DAS folks, that I understand.

 

[Touchdown]

So this is a deterrent to DAS folks, that I understand.

If this is happening, yes

 

[SingleRider]

What about G+ users? Does the same apply to them too?

No because it is a paid service. DAS is essentially a virtual standby wait while G+ is a service Disney sells to limit the amount of time you have to wait in line.

 

[Disstevefan1]

If this is happening, yes

If we are talking conspiracy, I really think inflated wait times are more to push folks to buy Genie+ and ILL than to deter DAS.

I think the reality, if the wait times are inflated, its just the totally worthless, broken, awful system in place, that's all.

 

[mikejs78]

People have certain needs which Disney allows & its really not up to you or me to be judging them but this simply comes down to lack of capacity. These people in theory would be in lines anyway waiting. Ive suggested this before and it is a hot take but maybe allow less people on the DAS travel party and have the people who can wait stand in line and the person who can get 1 maybe 2 max to go on with and have them try and time it. I dk but that can definitely cut down on people getting on rides

That would be hard for a family, say, of 4, where two adults are needed to support the child with a disability. What do you do with the 2nd child in that case? You can't just leave them alone in the park...

Yes, the DAS system allows you to select return times for all rides with a line

It does not allow you to select a return time. It gives you a return time based on the standby wait time.

you get 3 preselects, made in advance of your trip, on top of what I just mentioned

Yeah, I think that could, and should, easily go.

For DAS at WDW they will not even look at your documentation. The decision is made at the whim of the random cast member on duty. Very bad.

There's also the pre-registraiton, which I've found to be much better.

It's allowed because the 3rd party (IBCCES) conforms to HIPAA due to the fact that the board that is reviewing the information are medical directors (and not Universal Team Members). You can still get a card without medical records but IBCCES is allowed to ask you direct questions as it pertains to your medical condition whereas Universal (or Disney) are not allowed to.

I personally think this is something Disney should do for a few reasons:

• it lasts for a year instead of 60 days
• will greatly reduce fraud
• benefits the legitimately disabled guest with a better experience (lower wait times in the LL queues)

As a parent of a child who does need this, I would support this.

See thats the problem with society and issues like this. I understand privacy etc but again. Explain to me why anyone who legit needs DAS or disability access would want to sue?!? Ive said it before but its lunacy to me.

People are entitled to certain rights under the law. The ADA has specific requirements and enumeration of rights on how to handle disability accomodations. If those rights aren't being respected and the law not being followed, people have a right to sue. Not something I would do, but if the law is being violated (and I don't have enough info to know that), then a lawsuit is the right remedy.

If Disney was willing to take a potential PR hit, they could probably significantly alter/limit the DAS system. Not even necessarily in terms of who has access to it, but how it actually functions.

I don't know exactly how it works, so I could be wrong, but based on the way I've seen it described I think it goes far beyond what would be considered a reasonable accommodation under the ADA; i.e., it could be a more limited system and still be compliant with the ADA.

They could, but as I've said previously, they have a great reputation for being extremely disability-friendly - not just in DAS, but in the rest of the park. If they change it too much as to where it would prevent people with genuine disabilities from enjoying the park, it would be a lot more than just a PR hit.

Yup. Big difference between reasonable accommodation and going straight to or near the front of the line.

It isn't that. DAS is there for people who, because of a disability, are actually incapable of waiting in long lines or would suffer extreme hardship by waiting in long lines (this is how Disney describes it). It's not for any disability, but for those that a long line would be prohibitive. So the idea is that they are allowed to do their waiting outside the line.

You definitely get to make 2 preselects on top of being able to request return times once you’re actually in the park. Here’s Disney’s own website explaining it:

Again, you don't request return times, you are able to rejoin the line at the estimated time that the standby time would have taken. It is usually slightly less, because you do end up spending some time in the LL. (Say for example you get a DAS pass at 11 AM for a 60 minute wait, you may get a return time 50 or 55 minutes out because of the estimated LL wait time).

But can you enter more than one line at once?

I'm legitimately curious. If it only allows you to enter one line at a time, or at least only lets you enter one line until your return time comes back -- you could conceivably stack multiple times this way but you couldn't just go enter 5 separate lines in a 10 minute span -- then that's probably right in line with ADA expectations.

You cannot. You can have one active DAS pass at a time. You can, however, get in another standby line.

Also, does it allow you to enter an ILL/VQ only attraction (like Guardians) without purchasing the ILL or getting a VQ spot?

If it's an ILL attraction with a regular standby queue, you can get a DAS pass for it as if it was a standby line. If it has a VQ, you can't get a DAS pass for it - you need to get a VQ or purchase an ILL.

if you get in line using DAS, you aren't able to get in another rides stand by line. Walk around, shop, eat, etc. sure but no rides

How? How would you even enforce that? I can't see that happening...

 

[nickys]

if you get in line using DAS, you aren't able to get in another rides stand by line. Walk around, shop, eat, etc. sure but no rides.

How? How would you even enforce that? I can't see that happening...

I’ll go further and say that it won’t happen.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

have not experienced the new system Universal has implemented, but the system Disney implemented truly turns away folks who need it for sure; decisions made by random cast members and most who qualified before are now turned away.

This isn't even close to being true.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Can someone waiting in standby for 7DMT enjoy those at the same time? If not, DAS users shouldn’t be able to either.

And, not for nothing, but a whole mess of DAS users seeing that Mermaid is a walk on and jumping in while counting down their DAS time for 7DMT will turn Mermaid into not a walk on anymore. However, this is all theoretical since there's no practical way to enforce such a restriction.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

on't worry. Now some folks who need it (and who previously qualified for it) are now being turned away.

[ ] Citation Needed

I guarantee you if Disney started denying people who needed it we'd see lawsuits very quickly.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Again, you don't request return times, you are able to rejoin the line at the estimated time that the standby time would have taken. It is usually slightly less, because you do end up spending some time in the LL. (Say for example you get a DAS pass at 11 AM for a 60 minute wait, you may get a return time 50 or 55 minutes out because of the estimated LL wait time).

We're arguing over semantics, I understand how DAS works. You "request" through the app that they give you a return time, which equals the current standby line minus a few minutes.

 

[Disstevefan1]

This isn't even close to being true.

100 percent true. It happened to my family member.
So we can agree to disagree.

 

[Disstevefan1]

[ ] Citation Needed

I guarantee you if Disney started denying people who needed it we'd see lawsuits very quickly.

Well we wont start with a lawsuit but we will see what happens...

 

[Laketravis]

So the idea is that they are allowed to do their waiting outside the line.

Exactly. And that is a reasonable accommodation. But going "straight" to or near the front of the line is beyond reasonable.

 

[mikejs78]

Exactly. And that is a reasonable accommodation. But going "straight" to or near the front of the line is beyond reasonable.

So how would you propose they implement it?