New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[StarBright]

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+.

From what I've read, guests don't need to be present at the call, but they do need to be added as friends-and-family on the call. If an extra guest needs to be added to the party or the friends-and-family list then you would need to call again since CMs at the park won't have the ability to add anyone.

 

[JAN J]

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 don't want to nitpick too much, but anxiety issues can be addressed and mitigated by ourselves. I never tried or even thought of getting DAS for that, and don't think it would've been granted anyway.

Now for those with more serious, less controllable neurodivergent conditions and other physical ailments (IBS severe allergies etc), even if something was to happen, other people would likely clear the way and let a CM / Medical team reach them or clear the way so they can leave.

It's on the less serious, less visual issues where it can get finicky, but I'm assuming that between Disney's planning and people's understanding, there won't likely be too many out-of-control occurrences.

 

[Figgy1]

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

There are many reasons why that so called site is banned Accuracy is on the long list

 

[ditzee]

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

And I remember my Dad having to pay per ride or buying a book of ride tickets back about 1973. This was in addition to the entry fee of $4.50. The 20,000 Leagues ride line was 90 minutes. Of course, I was 15 yo back then so a 90 minute ride didn't affect me the way it does now that I'm 66 yo.

 

[DisneyHead123]

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.

I didn't think about not being able to speak in the moment - hope you get approved if you are a DAS user, and it doesn't come to that!

 

[Drdcm]

I

This is why I carry a rabies booster with me at all times. You just never know.

I figured that it was probably safe to say their wasn’t rabid, but I did have my nurse give me a tetanus booster when I got home lol

 

[DisneyHead123]

I don't want to nitpick too much, but anxiety issues can be addressed and mitigated by ourselves. I never tried or even thought of getting DAS for that, and don't think it would've been granted anyway.

Anxiety differs greatly from person to person though. For some it's a minor annoyance, for some it is literally paralyzing with every shade in between.

Now for those with more serious, less controllable neurodivergent conditions and other physical ailments (IBS severe allergies etc), even if something was to happen, other people would likely clear the way and let a CM / Medical team reach them or clear the way so they can leave.

It's on the less serious, less visual issues where it can get finicky, but I'm assuming that between Disney's planning and people's understanding, there won't likely be too many out-of-control occurrences.

I don't know, I think it will depend on how often people are trying to get in and out of lines. It worries me. You have such huge crowds at Disney, often in tight spaces - adding a lot of potentially confusing movement of people in and out of line under those circumstances freaks me out. If a mob of people gets out of control and starts pushing it's really bad news.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

What don’t you understand? If someone is waiting at merge they will be waiting there while others go past. Those going past can make comments to the person waiting.

A cast member standing nearby didn’t stop the previous issues which is why physical barriers were put in place.

Why would anyone be mad at someone who is letting them pass by them in line?

 

[hopemax]

Just cancelled our trip and they waived the fee. So with that our days of visiting Disney have come to an end.

I'm very sorry to hear this, and happy that they didn't give you hassle about cancellation fees. But really, this is the only way that Disney will get the message that they have gone too far and are affecting people who have legitimate disabilities.

Based on the reports I'm seeing, I'm wondering if there is some sort of reverse quota in action, going on here. That the people on the other end of the call are fearful they will be under review if they approve more than X number during their shift. So they are denying people who would otherwise qualify, so they don't get in trouble. But if you get a CM near the end of their shift who still has approval space, it gets done. Or if you're the CMs first call of the day. Plus, there are those people that are just good at saying no to everything.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Universal’s Express Pass Queue’s are not similar to Disney’s Lightning Lanes. In theory they are supposed to be half the posted wait of standby. They are often better than that but they’re certainly not the 5–15 minutes you can expect at WDW either for the headliners.

You mean headliners like Soarin' and Space Mountain? I've used G+ and EP many times, and IME, the waits are on par. IME, EP is a bit more consistently 5-15minutes, while G+ varies 0-25.

Once in a while, Mummy gets backed up. At Disney though, ride breakdowns are sadly pretty common. When a ride goes down, G+ can be a long wait. That's also true at Universal, but the breakdowns/ride stops are far more common at WDW.

 

[Happyday]

WARNING: Unpopular opinion follows!

I get it -- everybody wants to go to WDW. But believe me, it's not worth your mental and physical health to do so, especially if either or both are already compromised by extenuating circumcisions.

I am going to respond with this response!

It's not Disney the place that causes anxiety and stress. It's how poorly Disney has handled this roll out.

For the love can we please just stop with telling people in not so thinly veiled ways that they just shouldn't go to Disney?

You don't have to be able to imagine anything. Just accept that another person is telling you this is a place they enjoy, and the stress that they're experiencing is that they don't know if they'll be able to keep experiencing that joy.

 

[Gomer]

I'm very sorry to hear this, and that they didn't give you hassle about cancellation fees. But really, this is the only way that Disney will get the message that they have gone too far and are affecting people who have legitimate disabilities.

Based on the reports I'm seeing, I'm wondering if there is some sort of reverse quota in action, going on here. That the people on the other end of the call are fearful they will be under review if they approve more than X number during their shift. So they are denying people who would otherwise qualify, so they don't get in trouble. But if you get a CM near the end of their shift who still has approval space, it gets done. Or if you're the CMs first call of the day. Plus, there are those people that are just good at saying no to everything.

I doubt Disney would put formal quotas or metrics in place that could be used against them in any potential law suit. But I'm certain leadership is expecting to hit a target in YoY reduction of DAS and the frontline managers will make sure they hit it regardless of whether they have any formal measurements in place.

Because of this, I'm taking any early anecdotal stories about denials with a grain of salt. I'd expect them to take firm stances now to set a new normal and scare people off from attempting to get a DAS if they are borderline cases. Then over time it will probably ease up just like DAS did after the change from GAC.

Its just unfortunate for anyone with a legitimate DAS request who might get denied in this first 6 months to a year of the new program. Even if my son gets denied for our trip this summer, I'll probably try again next year before I give up on the process entirely.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

You mean headliners like Soarin' and Space Mountain? I've used G+ and EP many times, and IME, the waits are on par. IME, EP is a bit more consistently 5-15minutes, while G+ varies 0-25.

Once in a while, Mummy gets backed up. At Disney though, ride breakdowns are sadly pretty common. When a ride goes down, G+ can be a long wait. That's also true at Universal, but the breakdowns/ride stops are far more common at WDW.

Soarin' is not the best example as that has probably the worst LL wait of any ride in WDW simply because the wait post-merge can be so long. Generally speaking LL queues for WDW are going to be shorter than the really popular Universal Express Pass queues during times of similar crowd conditions.

 

[hopemax]

I am going to respond with this response!

Really though, what is the alternative?

Disney has created a situation where the choices are A. Use alternative accommodations / skip stuff B. Risk their health C. Cancel the trip.

Do you have a D option, that affected guests can effectively implement on their own? People aren't suggesting cancel to be mean, but acknowledgement that A & B are unacceptable options to the affected guests, and D... what is the D option?

 

[The Mom]

Several posters seem to be incapable of discussing this politely, and cannot resist making snarky responses. I've posted general warnings; they've been ignored.

This is the reason why some of you will no longer be allowed in this discussion. At least for 2 weeks in most cases.

If you have been blocked, this is the reason. Please don't PM me.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

I doubt Disney would put formal quotas or metrics in place that could be used against them in any potential law suit. But I'm certain leadership is expecting to hit a target in YoY reduction of DAS and the frontline managers will make sure they hit it regardless of whether they have any formal measurements in place.

Because of this, I'm taking any early anecdotal stories about denials with a grain of salt. I'd expect them to take firm stances now to set a new normal and scare people off from attempting to get a DAS if they are borderline cases. Then over time it will probably ease up just like DAS did after the change from GAC.

Its just unfortunate for anyone with a legitimate DAS request who might get denied in this first 6 months to a year of the new program. Even if my son gets denied for our trip this summer, I'll probably try again next year before I give up on the process entirely.

Looking at this assumption from a slightly different POV, they may be attempting to force people who they consider borderline to try the non DAS accommodations first not as a scare tactic but to let them actually see if it truly does not work for them before they give them DAS instead as a way to help ensure the traditional DAS like accommodation is only going to those who truly cannot be assisted in some other form.

Telling Disney some form of return to line won’t work 30 days out from the visit is very different then telling Disney it didn’t work with detailed reasons half a day into using it.

 

[Gomer]

Looking at this assumption from a slightly different POV, they may be attempting to force people who they consider borderline to try the non DAS accommodations first not as a scare tactic but to let them actually see if it truly does not work for them before they give them DAS instead as a way to help ensure the traditional DAS like accommodation is only going to those who truly cannot be assisted in some other form.

Telling Disney some form of return to line won’t work 30 days out from the visit is very different then telling Disney it didn’t work with detailed reasons half a day into using it.

That's an interesting point and raises a question we probably can't get the answer to yet. Will Disney accept review requests from people onsite who have attempted to visit without DAS but have found it impossible. I was assuming once you were rejected, you could not reapply within a certain period. But maybe that isn't the case.

 

[nickys]

Are you able to explain to me how this would work as a single parent with a minor child? Obviously one wouldnt be able to leave the child alone so curious what protocol is here

I believe they will be able to get a return time based on the standby wait. But it will be important to speak to the CMs before getting in line and when you have to leave.

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+.

Reports from actual experience on the DIS have said that you can add an unlimited number of people from your friends and family to be in the DAS holder’s potential travel party. According to one poster, the new verbiage is:

Travel Party - An unlimited number of people linked to the DAS holder from their family and friends list.
Riding Party - A group of up to 4 from the Travel party.

Hopefully if your brothers friends and family list is up to date, you’ll be able to get them all added as part of the travel party when you do the call.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

The return to line system does not involve walking past people, it involves use of the lightning lane. For attractions without lightning lanes we don't know how it will work yet, but most of those attractions have near non-existent waits so it shouldn't be an issue anyway.

How do you know this?

I have read Disney's name for this new option is called Attraction Queue Re-entry (AQR), but seen very little info on how it will work.

 

[lazyboy97o]

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...

That’s why merge had validation in the form of handing over your FastPass ticket or doing the second tap. The actual physical and visual separation came later and was largely driven by altercations between guests.

Why would anyone be mad at someone who is letting them pass by them in line?

Just take a look at this thread and the flak people are getting for bringing disabled children to the park. Or giving people crap about not really having an issue. Those attitudes we are seeing right here are what would spark comments.