& that my friend may have been the best solution to the problem! Absolutely within every rule and guideline as a regular guest is in. No law suit a DAS can win and now if they want to get on more rides purchase Genie+. Win win for all. Especially that they have cut down on party sizes pre books and when you can book your next ride.
I wonder how these conversations are going.
The issue for sure that this is not publicly documented anywhere; only AQR is. I'm not even sure it's internally documented anywhere. Reading between the lines, it sounds the DAS CMs were originally told to say something along the lines of "discuss your situation with the CM and they will try to accommodate you" and it snowballed into something that was considered to be official policy (despite there being no policy around it at all).
Yeah, what @Disney Glimpses described sounds possibly like the system working as intended. There isn’t a “RTQ” return except in narrow circumstances, there’s a “join your party at the merge” (AQR) option for people who need it. I think people misunderstood what they were told during DAS denials or potentially misinterpreted what others reported on DAS forums and just assumed they could get a return time without anybody waiting in line.
I agree that "tiered", i.e. good-better-best DAS, would cause problems; but certainly they have more flexibility in the software without anything like the cost/hassle of new physical infrastructure. For example, anybody who doesn't have autism and doesn't "fixate" could be limited to one DAS per ride; people who are heat-sensitive could be granted DAS only for rides that have SB lines primarily outside; people without mobility issues need to be near the ride to join the DAS VQ (this one may require infrastructure updates); etc. People could still lie to get them all, sure, but now you're having to convince the CM you have 4 or 5 different conditions you don't have, instead of just one (or previously, just asking for it).
I wouldn't call it "abuse" but certainly in the past many people in the past have been conditioned to push, push, push -- push for DAS, push for a larger group size, push for leniency if you break the very few rules around DAS (e.g. arriving too early) -- and it appears CMs always said yes without any resistance. It's going to take awhile until people see rules as applying to them, too, as fair.
The intended benefit is to be able to experience attractions that you can’t wait in line for due to a disability.
They basically already did this when they had the Guest Assistance Card (GAC), the predecessor to DAS. Which was abused to the point of needing DAS instead of it.
RTQ does exist. It's what happens, for ex, when a wheelchair user wants to experience an attraction whose queue isn't accessible (not as much of an issue at WDW, but significantly more of an issue at DLR). A digital return time based on the standby wait is given, and a person is told where to return to in order to redeem it. It is a separate system from DAS and AQR.
depends on the attraction - several rides probably see a decent number of re rides. Slinky dog, mania, rise, test track, flight of passage all come to mind
I don't think it's intentional, but I do think it's possible the accessibility team has unintentionally caused confusion here
What percentage of park guests are waiting in standby for Slinky Dog 3+ times in a day?
The percentage of park guests with kids who are obsessed with slinky dog! Haha
That’s what is being said on another site too and it makes sense.
Yes, you’re right. I meant to say there isn’t RTQ available as a general disability option for those who were not given DAS and then show up at an attraction but don’t want to have any members of their party wait in lines (wheelchair users and their party have had RTQ for years for rides they physically can’t access via standard line for years, as you pointed out).
I shouldn’t tell you how many times I’ve ridden the Railroad in a day then! Haha.
So it looks like the options are what Disney is saying on its website; if you don’t qualify for DAS you go to the attraction and they’ll accommodate you with AQR or child swap.
Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but I think this is generally good— hard for ride attendants to monitor how long they’ve been in line and the line leavers can keep that RTQ until it’s convenient, so they can spend the rest of the wait going to the bathroom, riding short wait rides, souvenir shopping, catching a show, etc. Even tacking on current wait time, they may have come out ahead with less total time committed to the ride, but they still had to commit some time in the queue which makes it a bit less attractive as a “park hack.”
