New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[NotTheOne]

I glanced at thrill data’s list of when ride LLs sold out a few days after the official changeover and didn’t see a big difference or any discernible pattern. I would like to see people analyze that data for the most in demand G+ attractions — but I think it could get worse (ex-DAS users buying more G+) before it ultimately gets better (more LL inventory becomes available longer in the day and returns are faster)— the wildcard is when Disney starts adding more slots for paid LL returns.

The wildcard in LLs has always been the DAS...Disney could (and did) cap the number of Genie+ and ILLs being sold so that the line kept moving, but with DAS being handed out like candy, often for more than the 6 that Disney said they would limit it to, there was really no way to effectively manage LL capacity.

I'm probably in the minority, but I don't see this as a money grab by Disney, and I don't think they're looking to sell more Genie+ - I think they finally recognized that a) people who buy Genie+ are unhappy about the long LLs, b) DAS became ineffective for many who needed it because of the long LLs, and c) standby guests were increasingly upset about the LLs were making the standby lines unbearable.

 

[Purduevian]

This is great news. Not to give you more work, but something else that would be really interesting to track is genie+ return times for headliners: How far out they are booking and how early in the day they are selling out. As fewer DAS powerabusers tie up the lightning lanes that theoretically opens more capacity for Disney to allocate to genie+ reservations within the LL. I'd be curious to see if they start doing that.

I glanced at thrill data’s list of when ride LLs sold out a few days after the official changeover and didn’t see a big difference or any discernible pattern. I would like to see people analyze that data for the most in demand G+ attractions — but I think it could get worse (ex-DAS users buying more G+) before it ultimately gets better (more LL inventory becomes available longer in the day and returns are faster)— the wildcard is when Disney starts adding more slots for paid LL returns.

I picked peter pan because why not...

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

The wildcard in LLs has always been the DAS...Disney could (and did) cap the number of Genie+ and ILLs being sold so that the line kept moving, but with DAS being handed out like candy, often for more than the 6 that Disney said they would limit it to, there was really no way to effectively manage LL capacity.

I'm probably in the minority, but I don't see this as a money grab by Disney, and I don't think they're looking to sell more Genie+ - I think they finally recognized that a) people who buy Genie+ are unhappy about the long LLs, b) DAS became ineffective for many who needed it because of the long LLs, and c) standby guests were increasingly upset about the LLs were making the standby lines unbearable.

I’m in the minority with you. I don’t think it’s a direct money grab anymore than anything they do is, because after all their ultimate goal is to get us to fork over as much as possible. I think they know they’re walking a fine line here with Genie+ and people throwing in the towel and refusing to keep buying it. I don’t think this is at all about converting DAS users to Genie+ users, I think it’s guest satisfaction with Genie+ and to a lesser extent the overall queuing situation.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I’m in the minority with you. I don’t think it’s a direct money grab anymore than anything they do is, because after all their ultimate goal is to get us to fork over as much as possible. I think they know they’re walking a fine line here with Genie+ and people throwing in the towel and refusing to keep buying it. I don’t think this is at all about converting DAS users to Genie+ users, I think it’s guest satisfaction with Genie+ and to a lesser extent the overall queuing situation.

I think das has helped make genie an unpopular product AND they want to fix that just to sell more

Not mutually exclusive

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I’m in the minority with you. I don’t think it’s a direct money grab anymore than anything they do is, because after all their ultimate goal is to get us to fork over as much as possible. I think they know they’re walking a fine line here with Genie+ and people throwing in the towel and refusing to keep buying it. I don’t think this is at all about converting DAS users to Genie+ users, I think it’s guest satisfaction with Genie+ and to a lesser extent the overall queuing situation.

I agree too. DAS was a problem that was being abused of course if you got a no limits free fast pass to whatever just by saying you have anxiety and 6 guests can come with you, it’s a problem.

 

[Chi84]

But it is publicized on their website. The one that isn't is RTQ. That verbage is never mentioned anywhere.

If it’s not on the website, where did it come from?

 

[KrzyKtty]

If it’s not on the website, where did it come from?

I guess that was part of my question . AQR Is distinctly mentioned on their website, and at least vague details about it. RTQ is no where to be found.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

I agree too. DAS was a problem that was being abused of course if you got a no limits free fast pass to whatever just by saying you have anxiety and 6 guests can come with you, it’s a problem.

The paid for product being inferior to the accommodation is I’m sure a huge part of the problem, both for outright liars and over users.

A person without a disability still shouldn’t be able to experience more (and better) attractions via DAS than they can via the paid service. The only real way to remove the incentive to lie or embellish is to fix Genie+. Hopefully that’s their end goal here or I fear this will all be for nothing as people inevitably work out how to qualify again. Theoretically Genie should be a more appealing product than DAS if you are just touring and don’t need to avoid the queues, with the ability to hold multiple at once and sometimes use to enter immediately.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

If it’s not on the website, where did it come from?

I want to say a CM or somebody close to a CM posting on one of these forums shared AQR and RTQ as the processes that would be used before the info came from Disney. Memory could be off though!

 

[Purduevian]

I guess that was part of my question . AQR Is distinctly mentioned on their website, and at least vague details about it. RTQ is no where to be found.

If it’s not on the website, where did it come from?

Sorry about your family member.

When I was there my dad normally qualified but on our 1st day the CM did not give it. He even said that it was never meant to help with his disabilities (consequences from spinal and heart surgery). RTQ helped quite a bit but it was still taxing for him.

Few days later on day 2 by noon he was super tired and I asked a different CM if there were any other accomodations they could offer and this time he issued a DAS. In the end we were getting maybe 3 or 4 DAS selections during the day as he has to seat down every to rest every so often, but quick queues absolutely eased the burden.

I don't think there's enough information yet on the new system but hopefully they fine-tune to where it can better address needs and curb abuse.

Oddly I think this is the first use of the "RTQ" in this thread... before that it was called many things such as Return to Line, Return to attraction line, Return to attraction Queue.

 

[Chi84]

Oddly I think this is the first use of the "RTQ" in this thread... before that it was called many things such as Return to Line, Return to attraction line, Return to attraction Queue.

Another site.

Another site clarified there are two procedures -

AQR, Attraction Queue Re-entry, which is when you have to leave a queue while in it and come back to the LL merge and wait for your party to catch up.

RTQ, Return to Queue, is when the CM at the attraction gives you a return time rather than going through the AQR process. My understanding is this is supposed to be used sparingly with AQR in play.

 

[C33Mom]

The paid for product being inferior to the accommodation is I’m sure a huge part of the problem, both for outright liars and over users.

A person without a disability still shouldn’t be able to experience more (and better) attractions via DAS than they can via the paid service. The only real way to remove the incentive to lie or embellish is to fix Genie+. Hopefully that’s their end goal here or I fear this will all be for nothing as people inevitably work out how to qualify again. Theoretically Genie should be a more appealing product than DAS if you are just touring and don’t need to avoid the queues, with the ability to hold multiple at once and sometimes use to enter immediately.

G+ needs to be better than DAS without (or with) a disability and for the past year, especially for the headliner rides where lines get crazy, DAS was almost always superior. Disney doesn’t seem to be able to figure out how to configure DAS so it’s fair to the people who absolutely need it but not better when when used by abusers. As far as I can tell, they still aren’t trying to do that (beyond adding a 10m wait), instead they are simply restricting access and hoping they don’t get overwhelmed by liars and fakers.

 

[NotTheOne]

G+ needs to be better than DAS without (or with) a disability and for the past year, especially for the headliner rides where lines get crazy, DAS was almost always superior. Disney doesn’t seem to be able to figure out how to configure DAS so it’s fair to the people who absolutely need it but not better when when used by abusers. As far as I can tell, they still aren’t trying to do that (beyond adding a 10m wait), instead they are simply restricting access and hoping they don’t get overwhelmed by liars and fakers.

There are things they could do, it's just a matter of whether or not they want to do it.

First, the 10 minute wait time to book the next attraction is better than no wait at all, but it really should correspond to how long the ride is and how long (approximately) the time is to get from scan in to boarding.

Second, they need to add a provision to DAS terms of use that says DAS users can't wait in a standby line for another attraction while they're holding a DAS return time. While instant enforcement would be difficult, if not impossible, they can certainly audit DAS usage data, pinpoint people who are using standby while holding a DAS return time, and then either revoke the DAS or revoke their passes and trespass them.

 

[RamblinWreck]

I picked peter pan because why not...
View attachment 790677

This data point seems like it would be best presented in a 7 day rolling average

 

[DoubleSwitchback]

First, the 10 minute wait time to book the next attraction is better than no wait at all, but it really should correspond to how long the ride is and how long (approximately) the time is to get from scan in to boarding.

Second, they need to add a provision to DAS terms of use that says DAS users can't wait in a standby line for another attraction while they're holding a DAS return time. While instant enforcement would be difficult, if not impossible, they can certainly audit DAS usage data, pinpoint people who are using standby while holding a DAS return time, and then either revoke the DAS or revoke their passes and trespass them.

Not only should the wait be extended for ride length, it should include time to walk to next ride and all the things that standby visitors have to do between rides (take the average of time for a meal, snack, and bathroom break). Even then DAS would still be significantly better, but it starts to at least bring ride frequency closer to "fair".

 

[Splash4eva]

There are things they could do, it's just a matter of whether or not they want to do it.

First, the 10 minute wait time to book the next attraction is better than no wait at all, but it really should correspond to how long the ride is and how long (approximately) the time is to get from scan in to boarding.

Second, they need to add a provision to DAS terms of use that says DAS users can't wait in a standby line for another attraction while they're holding a DAS return time. While instant enforcement would be difficult, if not impossible, they can certainly audit DAS usage data, pinpoint people who are using standby while holding a DAS return time, and then either revoke the DAS or revoke their passes and trespass them.

Disney literally encourages people to do other stuff while “waiting”. The change they are implementing will help the system work better but nuking it the way they did has made a ton of people concerned. The changes should have been made then see the impact and proceed from there

 

[Chi84]

@Grantwil93 Can you clarify whether RTQ and AQR are two separate accommodations that can be given out and if so, what exactly is the difference?

 

[DoubleSwitchback]

The changes should have been made then see the impact and proceed from there

What do you mean by that? Isn't that what they're doing?

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

I really think if they can make Genie good, it matters so much less what DAS can or cannot do. Genie theoretically should be the better product. If functioning halfway decent there should (theoretically) be a lot less downtime than DAS. Again in theory you should be able to get more done, faster with Genie if you have a basic understanding of how it works.

I think the majority would prefer to just pay for a good product. You’ll always have your minority of liars to save a buck, but you’ll never eliminate them entirely anyways.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

I think if Disney really wanted to kill the appeal of DAS for those who don’t quite need it, an impactful change would be requiring the user to be within range of the attraction to book it. A digital version of paper DAS, but without the ability to manufacture one’s own cards or written times. I can’t see a world in which they attempt to police what a user is doing during the wait.

I doubt we see this kind of thing though, it doesn’t seem to be the road they’re going down, but that’s just my opinion.