New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[Drdcm]

I think that remains to be seen legally - I personally don’t think it should be up to a business to decide what disabilities receive what accommodation.

If DAS is not a requirement of the law, Disney would be better off to not offer it to anyone in my opinion.

I was wondering about this earlier. It’s a very unusual type of accommodation in general that I can’t really think of applying to any other business model that involves waiting. Even with govt agencies like TSA.

If this goes poorly could they just end DAS?

I am NOT saying this should happen, was just thinking about it this morning.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I think that remains to be seen legally - I personally don’t think it should be up to a business to decide what disabilities receive what accommodation.

If DAS is not a requirement of the law, Disney would be better off to not offer it to anyone in my opinion.

But in some ways it already is? Not just at Disney. We have building requirements now for businesses to meet many mobility needs, but there's no requirements for businesses to meet sensory needs the same way. Some choose to offer them, others don't.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

Regardless of party size, I just don't see many abusing this system as it takes a lot of work to do it. You first have to get into a standby queue, then leave the queue, tell a CM you are leaving, then re-enter an LL queue.

Will there be guests doing it that sure but IMO it will a lot less than many seem to think.

Agreed.

The combination of the online platform as well as the one and done approval process was likely a huge factor in people using DAS when they either didn’t need that level of accommodation or didn’t need an accommodation period. The online platform in particular is so much more convenient than having to approach a ride or even enter the standby to earn your entry into LL. And now in order to get any real advantage with AQR when you don’t need it there needs to be a proven and consistent way to lie to a CM to get your entire party out of line and assigned a return, you need to do this every single time you want to use it, and it requires being present at the attraction.

What you’re gaining is just far less than using DAS as an open virtual queue for absolutely everything without any pushback and without having to waste any time earning it.

 

[Drdcm]

Agreed.

The combination of the online platform as well as the one and done approval process was likely a huge factor in people using DAS when they either didn’t need that level of accommodation or didn’t need an accommodation period. The online platform in particular is so much more convenient than having to approach a ride or even enter the standby to earn your entry into LL. And now in order to get any real advantage with AQR when you don’t need it there needs to be a proven and consistent way to lie to a CM to get your entire party out of line and assigned a return, you need to do this every single time you want to use it, and it requires being present at the attraction.

What you’re gaining is just far less than using DAS as an open virtual queue for absolutely everything without any pushback and without having to waste any time earning it.

It makes sense. When you want to reduce unwanted behavior, you increase the barriers to enabling the behavior, and disincentivize the behavior itself. Those are really the only other option.

People tend to follow the path of least resistance. If it is about more effort to game the system, fewer people will.

This is how security theater works in a way…

The balance is not making it too difficult for people that actually need it, which needs to be demonstrated with the new system.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I have a parent who qualified under the old system because of a stroke. Looks like now they will be eligible to join us in line when we are ready to ride . That seems fair.

Good to hear they are accommodating your parent. And this does seem like a good idea on the surface. How does your parent get to the load point? Possibly through the exit? I am trying to visualize how this is going to work?

Obviously your family will not be the only one to be using this, so will there be folks (in a queue) waiting to join up with their families when they are ready to ride?

Will there be a LL queue, a standby queue and a DAS rejoining queue?

 

[Drdcm]

I will say this as well… my patients are really bad at estimating their own needs. Just for example. Someone with panic disorder might ask me for a work accommodation allowing them to miss 10+ days a month. They get upset when I won’t make the recommendation and suggest they pursue SSDI instead if they feel they are unable to tolerate my recommendations of 3-5days max.

Being too generous for somewhat subjective symptoms in my field often reinforces the anxiety making it not only emotional but behavioral because they don’t use their skills to manage their distress at all - because it is much more difficult to do.

 

[maemae74]

Good to hear they are accommodating your parent. And this does seem like a good idea on the surface. How does your parent get to the load point? Possibly through the exit? I am trying to visualize how this is going to work?

Obviously your family will not be the only one to be using this, so will there be folks (in a queue) waiting to join up with their families when they are ready to ride?

Will there be a LL queue, a standby queue and a DAS rejoining queue?

Literally have no idea. The text read I will have the option to meet up with everyone closer to ride time. I am sure after our trip I will have a better idea and will share the details on how it worked for her.

Also she can wait for 30/45 minutes. It is just the longer waits she struggles with.

 

[KrzyKtty]

Again though, not everyone is a big family. Plenty of people travel as couples, solo, or in small friend groups.

That is probably why they have both the RTQ and the other one. A?Q. I forget the acronym.

 

[Chi84]

I think that remains to be seen legally - I personally don’t think it should be up to a business to decide what disabilities receive what accommodation.

If DAS is not a requirement of the law, Disney would be better off to not offer it to anyone in my opinion.

I think you're getting to the heart of the problem now.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I think you're getting to the heart of the problem now.

It comes back to the “why we can’t have nice things.” Every time people abuse, soft abuse, and power use one of these systems to make sure they have their perfect day at the expense of everyone else it ultimately forces Disney to tighten up the system. Is it possible that one day all DAS will need to be eliminated in favor of a much more restrictive system? Definitely.

 

[Drdcm]

I will say this as well… my patients are really bad at estimating their own needs. Just for example. Someone with panic disorder might ask me for a work accommodation allowing them to miss 10+ days a month. They get upset when I won’t make the recommendation and suggest they pursue SSDI instead if they feel they are unable to tolerate my recommendations of 3-5days max.

Being too generous for somewhat subjective symptoms in my field often reinforces the anxiety making it not only emotional but behavioral because they don’t use their skills to manage their distress at all - because it is much more difficult to do.

Sorry to respond to my own post but I wanted to make one more point about this. This type of situation is expected for anxiety symptoms though because anxiety involves worry about the unknown and control. People gravitate towards situations where they feel they have more control even if it isn’t helpful in the long-run.

It does not necessarily apply to someone with mobility problems as an example.

 

[KrzyKtty]

I think that remains to be seen legally - I personally don’t think it should be up to a business to decide what disabilities receive what accommodation.

If DAS is not a requirement of the law, Disney would be better off to not offer it to anyone in my opinion.

It's normally somewhat up to the business to determine how they will meet an accommodation. For a example, we have an employee who travels frequently for work. The paperwork from his doctor stated he would need extra leg room, along with some other vague accommodations during long flights that could be met with economy+. Basically booking exit row seats. In the employee's mind we should have been paying for premium select. His interpretation of the accommodation might have been more comfortable, but it was also $1k more.

Checked with hr and legally all we had to do is provide the exit row seat.

Similar thing happened with my co-worker.When she submitted paperwork about her desk being more economic for her back problems. What she wanted is not what was done. Legally all they had to provide a rather poor condition keyboard tray than a very expensive chair and desk.

My point is that often times our own interpretation of what our accommodation should be is different than what is legally required.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

My point is that often times our own interpretation of what our accommodation should be is different than what is legally required.

Exactly.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

My point is that often times our own interpretation of what our accommodation should be is different than what is legally required.

But if another employee with a disability was upgraded to premium select based on a quick video interview I think the employee given the exit row would be considering hiring an ADA lawyer.

 

[Grantwil93]

I would bet my car against some of the predictions made in this thread (especially the more histrionic ones that make it sound like the standby lines are going to turn into a scene from Mad Max). Unfortunately for everyone else, my car is a 20+ year old Cavalier. It's still in pretty good condition, though, all things considered.


They apparently will be, according to this:


My stance is this:

1. DAS was zero risk, high convenience, extremely high reward and was available to anyone who wanted to get it. None of these other accommodations are remotely as good as DAS, are much less convenient, and entail at least some risk of you getting caught if done often enough.
2. AQR is essentially something people have been able to do since forever (they just had to wade through the standby line instead of rejoining via the Lightning Lane). It's very much not ideal, which is why people are rightly concerned about how it will work for those needing to use it for legitimate reasons.
3. RTQ is probably not going to be something you'll get away with using frequently without a really good reason.
4. If these line return systems are abused, Disney will simply adjust/restrict them further without so much as an announcement. It will be far easier to do than the upheaval going on now.
5. Even if literally everyone who previously used (not just "abused") DAS engages in constant line-return trickery throughout their entire trip (obviously not a realistic scenario), they will still use up far less overall attraction capacity than they were able to with DAS and will have to do a lot more walking to do it. With DAS, you could virtually wait in line for Space Mountain while physically waiting in the standby line for Big Thunder. No one is ever going to do the equivalent of that using any of these "totally awesome park hacks", and it doesn't even make much sense to bother with at all in EPCOT or AK.

Best comment in the thread. Your point in #4 is the best. These systems can change overnight because they aren't any kind of formal pass or accommodation. If it's broken, they can adjust.

If people figure out how to get CM's to hand out return passes and it's becomes an issue, they can stamp that down with an easy update to CM's. Whether these changes are good or not is up for debate. But this upheaval with DAS is a harder adjustment than curbing abuse in the alternate accommodations will be.

 

[Angel Ariel]

My point is that often times our own interpretation of what our accommodation should be is different than what is legally required.

I would actually say it slightly differently - in that there's a difference between ADA compliance and accessibility.

ADA compliance does not always actually mean something is then accessible to someone with disabilities. Look at playgrounds, for ex. Many if not most have an adapted swing. But to get to that swing, someone in a wheelchair or using a gait trainer often has to traverse mulch (which is also ADA compliant) - but mulch is not actually *accessible,* and so often the population intended to have access to that swing can't use it because they can't get to it.

The ADA is helpful in many ways, but it often falls short of actual accessibility.

 

[Chi84]

But if another employee with a disability was upgraded to premium select based on a quick video interview I think the employee given the exit row would be considering hiring an ADA lawyer.

On what basis? The ADA requires accommodation specific to the individual’s needs. If a person can’t establish it was necessary for their own disability, the process itself and accommodations given to others won’t come into play.

ETA: The ADA requires accommodation; it does not entitle disabled persons to some vague right to fairness not given to others. In the example you gave, the employer could say the lesser accommodation would have worked just as well for the second employee, they just liked his work better.

 

[KrzyKtty]

But if another employee with a disability was upgraded to premium select based on a quick video interview I think the employee given the exit row would be considering hiring an ADA lawyer.

I Work for a government contractor so I can guarantee you no one is getting premium select unless they have a rock solid case. . DOD is CHEAP!

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

If DAS is not a requirement of the law, Disney would be better off to not offer it to anyone in my opinion.

There’s a legal aspect to this but even more important, in my opinion, is the business aspect of it. Disney is known for being Disability friendly, Pooh size friendly, family friendly, etc, if they lose that image they’re going to lose a lot of guests.

If dad and son now spend half their day standing in lines separate from mom and disabled daughter that family vacation really isn’t a family vacation anymore.

 

[SamusAranX]

Best comment in the thread. Your point in #4 is the best. These systems can change overnight because they aren't any kind of formal pass or accommodation. If it's broken, they can adjust.

If people figure out how to get CM's to hand out return passes and it's becomes an issue, they can stamp that down with an easy update to CM's. Whether these changes are good or not is up for debate. But this upheaval with DAS is a harder adjustment than curbing abuse in the alternate accommodations will be.

Someone in the thread already referenced that they’re going to be watching how many RTQs are issued like a hawk. Too many and CM will invoke suspicion. Wonder if it’s true