New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[Fido Chuckwagon]

This has been answered by several people already, the system was being used as designed and as Disney instructed people to use it, that was the point of the post, Disney could have made changes to the program to limit it to specific use for individual needs and salvaged it, instead they chose to simply scrap the whole thing.

You’re blaming people for using the program as they were instructed to use it.

And has already been answered by several people, if the system hadn’t been powerused by so many people who admittedly didn’t need to use it all the time, then we probably wouldn’t be where we are today. The poster who, on the one hand complained that he is no longer eligible for DAS, and on the other hand complained that Disney didn’t programmatically prevent him from abusing it when he didn’t need to use it, is somewhat off-putting. Do you see why?

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

And has already been answered by several people, if the system hadn’t been powerused by so many people who admittedly didn’t need to use it all the time, then we probably wouldn’t be where we are today. The poster who, on the one hand complained that he is no longer eligible for DAS, and on the other hand complained that Disney didn’t programmatically prevent him from abusing it when he didn’t need to use it, is somewhat off-putting. Do you see why?

Just to explain why, once people with DAS for heat sensitivity decided it was socially acceptable to use it for rides with indoor air-conditioned queues, and once people with IBS who have no problem waiting in a 20 minute Soarin LL decided it was socially acceptable to use it for FOTL access at a 10 minute peoplemover line, the program’s fate was sealed. Both of those examples aren’t hypothetical, they were things that posters early on in this thread admitted to / bragged about. “Why wouldn’t they do it?” They asked? “Disney is letting them!” They said. This is the unfortunate consequence of that philosophy, which appears to have been widespread.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I have often heard some say "DAS is not the same as free LL". From a blogger who used to post here a lot...
"Walt Disney World has publicly stated that DAS usage has tripled since 2019. Independent of that and prior to it, we received credible reports that the majority of Lightning Lane usage is actually not Genie+ guests, but rather, DAS. Just to put that into perspective for people who might be inclined to believe that DAS is still a low number in the grand scheme of things or relative to Lightning Lanes as a whole. It’s not."

 

[maemae74]

I have often heard some say "DAS is not the same as free LL". From a blogger who used to post here a lot...
"Walt Disney World has publicly stated that DAS usage has tripled since 2019. Independent of that and prior to it, we received credible reports that the majority of Lightning Lane usage is actually not Genie+ guests, but rather, DAS. Just to put that into perspective for people who might be inclined to believe that DAS is still a low number in the grand scheme of things or relative to Lightning Lanes as a whole. It’s not."

And this is why so many or so angry and having epic social media melt downs because for some the "free ride" is over.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

And has already been answered by several people, if the system hadn’t been powerused by so many people who admittedly didn’t need to use it all the time, then we probably wouldn’t be where we are today. The poster who, on the one hand complained that he is no longer eligible for DAS, and on the other hand complained that Disney didn’t programmatically prevent him from abusing it when he didn’t need to use it, is somewhat off-putting. Do you see why?

You are still missing the point of the post though, people were using it as designed and as they were told to use it, we had no idea that was unsustainable.

When I moved to Las Vegas 20+ years ago everyone had grass yards and we watered them daily, when the drought started and we were asked to conserve water people started removing yards, watering less, etc. The water authority also uses a progressive fee structure so you pay more if you use excessive amounts. Vegas now uses less water with 2 million people than it used to use with 1 million people. When people are aware a problem exists, especially combined with a disincentive, they will modify behavior.

What you’re doing is essentially saying we were abusing the water system back in 2005 when we were using it exactly as we were being told to.

Had Disney let DAS users know there was a problem, especially if they’d combined that with a deterrent, we most likely could have fixed DAS also.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

You are still missing the point of the post though, people were using it as designed and as they were told to use it, we had no idea that was unsustainable.

When I moved to Las Vegas 20+ years ago everyone had grass yards and we watered them daily, when the drought started and we were asked to conserve water people started removing yards, watering less, etc. The water authority also uses a progressive fee structure so you pay more if you use excessive amounts. Vegas now uses less water with 2 million people than it used to use with 1 million people. When people are aware a problem exists, especially combined with a disincentive, they will modify behavior.

What you’re doing is essentially saying we were abusing the water system back in 2005 when we were using it exactly as we were being told to.

Had Disney let DAS users know there was a problem, especially if they’d combined that with a deterrent, we most likely could have fixed DAS also.

I’d argue that “using it as designed” would include such things as doubling up on attractions (having a DAS wait going while riding a different attraction) or just having a DAS wait going while doing anything that is not sitting around waiting for the time to pass.

I think what’s more grey is the people who were approved for needs like heat/sun related exposure, or the type of bathroom needs that flare and are not an all the time
issue, but used it at all times. Usage at queues that are never exposed to heat or sun from someone who has the DAS to avoid heat/sun, or usage by someone who has DAS due to bathroom needs but is not actually experiencing a flare at that day or time, as two examples, I wouldn’t call “using as designed”.

I don’t begrudge these people for using all the tools in their arsenal to tour, as Disney has become much more complicated and expensive, but it shouldn’t be surprising that they’re attempted to curb the people who qualify but don’t require the access at all times. I would never expect people to have fallen on the sword so to speak and not use DAS outside of “proper use”, but yeah, shouldn’t be surprising they’re narrowing in.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

You are still missing the point of the post though, people were using it as designed and as they were told to use it, we had no idea that was unsustainable.

When I moved to Las Vegas 20+ years ago everyone had grass yards and we watered them daily, when the drought started and we were asked to conserve water people started removing yards, watering less, etc. The water authority also uses a progressive fee structure so you pay more if you use excessive amounts. Vegas now uses less water with 2 million people than it used to use with 1 million people. When people are aware a problem exists, especially combined with a disincentive, they will modify behavior.

What you’re doing is essentially saying we were abusing the water system back in 2005 when we were using it exactly as we were being told to.

Had Disney let DAS users know there was a problem, especially if they’d combined that with a deterrent, we most likely could have fixed DAS also.

Watering your lawn and using a system designed to make rides accessible for people with a disability at times and in manners that aren’t necessary to make rides accessible for your disability are not the same thing. This is a bad analogy. The lollipop at the bank or the bowl of Halloween candy analogy is better. Do you really need someone to tell you not to upend the entire bowl of candy into your purse? If your partner has a handicapped placard/plates for your car, would you park that car in a handicapped spot when not with your partner?

 

[hopemax]

I have a question about how DAS users would approach queues with low posted waits. For example, after lunch, non-busy times, Spaceship Earth will often be 15 min or less, and because the queue before merge is visible you could see there may be 1-5 standby parties waiting to merge. So which line do people enter? And for the purpose of this question, I am not asking about people with severe conditions.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I think what’s more grey is the people who were approved for needs like heat/sun related exposure, or the type of bathroom needs that flare and are not an all the time
issue, but used it at all times.

Yes, this.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I have a question about how DAS users would approach queues with low posted waits. For example, after lunch, non-busy times, Spaceship Earth will often be 15 min or less, and because the queue before merge is visible you could see there may be 1-5 standby parties waiting to merge. So which line do people enter? And for the purpose of this question, I am not asking about people with severe conditions.

This question was already answered by posters in this thread months ago. They would grab an immediate access DAS return time, because why not, Disney is letting them. (Immediate access because that 15 minute wait becomes a 5 minute return time and you can tap in to your return time up to 5 minutes early).

 

[Angel Ariel]

I have a question about how DAS users would approach queues with low posted waits. For example, after lunch, non-busy times, Spaceship Earth will often be 15 min or less, and because the queue before merge is visible you could see there may be 1-5 standby parties waiting to merge. So which line do people enter? And for the purpose of this question, I am not asking about people with severe conditions.

I was about to answer you, but it appears someone has spoken for everyone in this thread already. I'm happy to connect with you over PM instead.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I hope people who truly need DAS can get it.

This one sentiment is the crux of most of this thread.

How do we define which people truly need DAS, and which people don't?

(I'm not asking you specifically, just quoting you because you happened to express an important concept in one succinct sentence.)

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I have a question about how DAS users would approach queues with low posted waits. For example, after lunch, non-busy times, Spaceship Earth will often be 15 min or less, and because the queue before merge is visible you could see there may be 1-5 standby parties waiting to merge. So which line do people enter? And for the purpose of this question, I am not asking about people with severe conditions.

I don’t think there’s an answer to this question because it would vary by user, I don’t think we ever used it for a line under 20 minutes, I’m sure others did though, others probably never used it for lines under 30, 45, etc.

I’m sure this is true of number per day also, we probably used it 3-5 times a day on average, others have posted they rarely ever used it, the power users were likely using it a dozen times a day or more. Outside of Disney I don’t think anyone has these answers.

 

[Touchdown]

Noon on Memorial Day Monday. Things look a bit more crowded today but MK lines still appear very light. I don’t know what is going on with Mission Space

 

[KDM31091]

Just to explain why, once people with DAS for heat sensitivity decided it was socially acceptable to use it for rides with indoor air-conditioned queues, and once people with IBS who have no problem waiting in a 20 minute Soarin LL decided it was socially acceptable to use it for FOTL access at a 10 minute peoplemover line, the program’s fate was sealed. Both of those examples aren’t hypothetical, they were things that posters early on in this thread admitted to / bragged about. “Why wouldn’t they do it?” They asked? “Disney is letting them!” They said. This is the unfortunate consequence of that philosophy, which appears to have been widespread.

This exactly. The number of people using DAS to access the Peoplemover and avoid a 10 minute wait should be extremely low. Yet it was happening almost every single time I visited lately.

 

[KDM31091]

Noon on Memorial Day Monday. Things look a bit more crowded today but MK lines still appear very light. I don’t know what is going on with Mission SpaceView attachment 787844View attachment 787843

MK in general has been lighter lately; I'm guessing people are waiting for Tiana to open before visiting at this point

 

[hopemax]

I don’t think there’s an answer to this question because it would vary by user, I don’t think we ever used it for a line under 20 minutes, I’m sure others did though, others probably never used it for lines under 30, 45, etc.

I’m sure this is true of number per day also, we probably used it 3-5 times a day on average, others have posted they rarely ever used it, the power users were likely using it a dozen times a day or more. Outside of Disney I don’t think anyone has these answers.

It was a solicitation for multiple answers. Not a one-size-fits all question with one answer.

At Universal, we use the Express Pass line even if the regular line is short, although sometimes the TMs direct us to the regular line anyway. But at Universal sometimes the Express Pass line is a shorter distance to walk. I was curious what people did at Disney when they were eligible to go through LL.

 

[maemae74]

You are still missing the point of the post though, people were using it as designed and as they were told to use it, we had no idea that was unsustainable.

When I moved to Las Vegas 20+ years ago everyone had grass yards and we watered them daily, when the drought started and we were asked to conserve water people started removing yards, watering less, etc. The water authority also uses a progressive fee structure so you pay more if you use excessive amounts. Vegas now uses less water with 2 million people than it used to use with 1 million people. When people are aware a problem exists, especially combined with a disincentive, they will modify behavior.

What you’re doing is essentially saying we were abusing the water system back in 2005 when we were using it exactly as we were being told to.

Had Disney let DAS users know there was a problem, especially if they’d combined that with a deterrent, we most likely could have fixed DAS also.

They modified the behavior because it came with a cost not to do so! Que Genie +

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I have a question about how DAS users would approach queues with low posted waits. For example, after lunch, non-busy times, Spaceship Earth will often be 15 min or less, and because the queue before merge is visible you could see there may be 1-5 standby parties waiting to merge. So which line do people enter? And for the purpose of this question, I am not asking about people with severe conditions.

It would vary quite a bit.

Specifically at SE- if the DAS holder happens to use a wheelchair, then wheelchair users enter SE via the ride's exit, where there is space to park wheelchairs/mobility devices.

It would also depend if they opted to get a DAS pass for the ride, or not. They could ride it without using a DAS pass. DAS holders are not required to use DAS for every ride.

Someone else can correct me if I am wrong, but I think DAS passes can be cancelled, so cancelling it is an option.

DAS users would not be able to book a different DAS pass unless they either used the DAS pass or cancelled it.

If they are in Epcot on a slow day, then Living w/Land, Nemo, Moana, Imagination probably also all have short waits. Maybe some would book those, but DAS wouldn't make a walk-on wait any shorter.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I don’t know what is going on with Mission Space

I’m guessing they are only using 1 simulator per side vs. 2 - if the wait time was cut in half it’s what I would expect (35 minutes)