New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[Vegas Disney Fan]

It’s important to sometimes recognize you’re better off skipping the event place entirely and that seems lost on the Disney community. Believe me I get it, it sucks if you’re passionate about it and your disability gets in the way. But no need to aggravate your condition or stress yourself out, either, accommodations can only go so far. Sometimes best to just avoid the situation.

I don’t think that’s lost on the Disney community at all, that’s what many are facing right now and, you are right, it sucks.

I think what’s getting downplayed though is for many this isn’t comparable to just losing concerts, for many people they are losing the one place they could go that made their stressful life a little easier.

I feel fortunate we can easily replace Disney with dozens of other vacation options, for the people with, for example, autistic kids being denied that’s not true though.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Why does it matter where people are waiting??? Nobody is stalking guests around them to see who they are joining. Who cares who they are joining?? For better or worse no one cares what other people are doing. It's so silly to think folks will get angry about someone patiently waiting to the side and then joining people from stand by.

People generally do not care about what is going on around them if it doesn't effect themselves. Someone standing to the side letting people pass at the merge point has no impact on anyone. Nobody is going to care. You're inventing unlikely negative hypothetical scenarios to trash an accommodation that just started yesterday.

Then why did people in FastPass lines taunt and insult people in the stand-by line? How did it get to such a point that physical barriers were built? This isn’t really a hypothetical.

 

[Drdcm]

But, critically, that is not what will be happening here. Nobody will be "cutting" to the front. Both sets of people will be waiting in a line, not passing anyone. One set will be waiting in the standby line, the other in the lightning lane line, and they will both meet at the merge.

I get that. I think the return to line system isn’t going to be as wild as people think. I suspect they’ll have a reasonable plan in place to make it work.

Just pointing out that the current iteration of people meeting up with families can be annoying. I don’t expect the new system to work that way.

In fact, I know someone who went on a “tour group” on which the tour guides (plural) would wait in multiple long lines and the family would cut to meet up with them.

The person who disclosed this is a horrible person.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Then why did people in FastPass lines taunt and insult people in the stand-by line? How did it get to such a point that physical barriers were built? This isn’t really a hypothetical.

The idea that physical barriers were built between some FP and regular lines because of an epidemic of fastpass users "taunting" standby line users is absolute hogwash nonsense. Barriers were built to make it more difficult for people to switch between the lines...

 

[pigglewiggle]

Then why did people in FastPass lines taunt and insult people in the stand-by line? How did it get to such a point that physical barriers were built? This isn’t really a hypothetical.

That happened? I read about fights the past couple years, but most didn't have to do with lines.

I don't recall ever hearing someone taunt us in the fastpass lane. And if they did I probably said something like "pay to play baby!"

Just kidding, I'm sure I would have just smiled.

 

[Drdcm]

I was bit by a random kid once because I was standing in the way of his view of buzz light year while in line.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

That happened? I read about fights the past couple years, but most didn't have to do with lines.

I don't recall ever hearing someone taunt us in the fastpass lane. And if they did I probably said something like "pay to play baby!"

Just kidding, I'm sure I would have just smiled.

I can’t recall issues either, at most maybe Wayne’s world references…

Edited to add I really miss the old paper fast passes.

 

[MintCity]

The other part of this is WDW isn't expanding ride capacity at parks to reduce the wait times.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I have yet to see a single person say that the return to line plan might work for their family. It’s kind of curious because it’s the obvious choice for the majority of people who can cognitively manage the wait but have physical limitations.

It’s an obvious choice for a family to split up for an hour at a time while on vacation?

That may work fine for some, but I’m guessing it’s not the most ideal choice for many groups traveling with guests with disabilities.

 

[ToTBellHop]

The other part of this is WDW isn't expanding ride capacity at parks to reduce the wait times.

The irony of this is that I routinely find 2024 wait times to be less than I remember in the ‘90s.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

The irony of this is that I routinely find 2024 wait times to be less than I remember in the ‘90s.

Same here, but people don't want to hear the truth about how it used to be in the summer.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Same here, but people don't want to hear the truth about how it used to be in the summer.

100 percent correct, as we all know, summer visitors have been declining over time.

It was always historically MOBBED in the summertime, folks learned over time not to visit then.

 

[JAN J]

It has already been posted that the return to queue system will not involve "cutting past" people. Rather, the person who returns to the queue will use the lightning lane and will meet the rest of their party at the merge.

Sorry I wasn't specific. I meant I can wait "in line" so that the people on my party may wait / stay seated somewhere else where (RTQ is not available in all attractions, only those that are not harder accessibility)

 

[RSoxNo1]

Just watched the report on this from the Site that Shall Not be Named and one thing they indicated was that multiple video calls can take place and similar to the old GAC days (and pre-video DAS days) all additional guests must be present.

Our family's plan for Disneyland is for me to spend the day with my brother when we're 30 days out and everyone else to go about their day. My brother will be in the house and I'll be waiting on the computer to connect to the live person (Disneyland this is 2-5 hours). We will have tickets for more than 4 guests (actually 10 ticketed guests total), but my fear now is they will only allow myself to be connected to my brother because we are the only two that will be on the call.

If that's the case, I assume we can rectify it with another call once we're at Disneyland, but ultimately this is a bad look all around. Going into this trip, our expectation was that we would simply have 6 of us on the DAS and we would use it in conjunction with Genie+.

 

[pigglewiggle]

Just watched the report on this from the Site that Shall Not be Named and one thing they indicated was that multiple video calls can take place and similar to the old GAC days (and pre-video DAS days) all additional guests must be present.

Our family's plan for Disneyland is for me to spend the day with my brother when we're 30 days out and everyone else to go about their day. My brother will be in the house and I'll be waiting on the computer to connect to the live person (Disneyland this is 2-5 hours). We will have tickets for more than 4 guests (actually 10 ticketed guests total), but my fear now is they will only allow myself to be connected to my brother because we are the only two that will be on the call.

If that's the case, I assume we can rectify it with another call once we're at Disneyland, but ultimately this is a bad look all around. Going into this trip, our expectation was that we would simply have 6 of us on the DAS and we would use it in conjunction with Genie+.

Can't you make sure everyone is on the call then?

 

[Drdcm]

It’s an obvious choice for a family to split up for an hour at a time while on vacation?

That may work fine for some, but I’m guessing it’s not the most ideal choice for many groups traveling with guests with disabilities.

Sure but now you’re getting into wants vs needs which isn’t really what accommodations are designed for. 60yo grandpa who needs a bathroom break doesn’t need to stay with his family the entire trip because of his bladder issue, he wants to though… which makes sense.

I’m not really attacking anyone here. I’ve been consistently telling people that if the alternative doesn’t work, you have to demonstrate the dysfunction and resulting consequences. This is no different than any other accommodation.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

It was always historically MOBBED in the summertime, folks learned over time not to visit then.

Part of that is Disney’s promotion of Halloween and Christmas - those are the seasons that are now the most crowded it seems.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Can't you make sure everyone is on the call then?

The initial call, no. If we have a subsequent call on the day we arrive at the resort, yes that won't be a problem. It seems like that's the procedure.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Just watched the report on this from the Site that Shall Not be Named and one thing they indicated was that multiple video calls can take place and similar to the old GAC days (and pre-video DAS days) all additional guests must be present.

Our family's plan for Disneyland is for me to spend the day with my brother when we're 30 days out and everyone else to go about their day. My brother will be in the house and I'll be waiting on the computer to connect to the live person (Disneyland this is 2-5 hours). We will have tickets for more than 4 guests (actually 10 ticketed guests total), but my fear now is they will only allow myself to be connected to my brother because we are the only two that will be on the call.

If that's the case, I assume we can rectify it with another call once we're at Disneyland, but ultimately this is a bad look all around. Going into this trip, our expectation was that we would simply have 6 of us on the DAS and we would use it in conjunction with Genie+.

The site that shall not be named is back on the media list, not that that would change their coverage but they said yesterday in their daily video, the DAS process is fast and easy so we might as well shut this thread down

 

[Patcheslee]

I think it's probably a mix. Some people may see it as a downgrade. But for someone with anxiety issues, this is basically saying they have to wait until they have a panic attack, and then get out of line (at which point they're already mid panic attack). For those who might encounter a medical need, I can see how the idea of getting out of line quickly if needed could be scary. Some of those lines are quite packed and there's no obvious place where a person could alert a CM that they need to leave without either waiting quite awhile or pushing past people.

Unless they are going to give you one of those giant flags to hold up, lol (you know the ones they give you in corn mazes, so the staff can come retrieve you if you're lost), I really don't see any way around that. I don't want to prejudge, but I just literally see no physical way that would not be the case with the current line structures.

I've thought about keeping a card with me that says "having panic/anxiety attack, need to leave the line for a break ASAP". If they get bad enough just talking to random ppl is hard. Also have a MyID keeper for my MB so if BP get out of whack med can pull up info. Guess just trying to be proactive to help with the unknown right now.