New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[TrainsOfDisney]

I feel hugely successful if I can ride a handful of attractions once in a day.

I shouldn’t tell you how many times I’ve ridden the Railroad in a day then! Haha.

 

[Chi84]

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 suspect people have been told there was an option to return to the queue if they had trouble/emergencies in line and they just assumed (with perhaps an additional assist from disability groups already familiar with wheelchair RTQ) it meant they were going to be given return times instead of literally returning to the main queue to meet their group.

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.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

I think the misunderstandings with RTQ are happening because people have come to the conclusion they can choose it as an accommodation similarly to AQR. It seems to be purely based on CM discretion and given out due to logistics not preference or even need.

Earlier on there was a guest who I believe was riding 7DMT with their young child and had to leave the line. They approached a CM when exiting. As it was just the two of them, they were assigned a return time for the length of the current standby time (so they “lost” the time they waited). I’m thinking this is probably the RTQ process in action and it’s just the scenarios where AQR is not logistically possible.

 

[C33Mom]

I think the misunderstandings with RTQ are happening because people have come to the conclusion they can choose it as an accommodation similarly to AQR. It seems to be purely based on CM discretion and given out due to logistics not preference or even need.

Earlier on there was a guest who I believe was riding 7DMT with their young child and had to leave the line. They approached a CM when exiting. As it was just the two of them, they were assigned a return time for the length of the current standby time (so they “lost” the time they waited). I’m thinking this is probably the RTQ process in action and it’s just the scenarios where AQR is not logistically possible.

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.”

 

[NotTheOne]

I'm personally opposed to limiting the number of times a DAS user can ride the same ride using DAS because DAS is supposed to be like standby, and no one limits non-DAS users to how often they wait in standby to ride an attraction.

But a non-DAS user can't wait in two standby lines simultaneously, so I don't see why DAS users should be able to. I know Disney allows it, even encourages it, but that goes above and beyond accommodation and I wish Disney would find a way to stop it and change the rules.

I realize that lots of people are unhappy with the changes, but at the same time, some, or I would guess many, did things that, while not actual abuse, went beyond what they actually needed.

If you had a DAS because you couldn't wait in a queue in direct sunlight (which never made sense to me because the sun shines the same all over the park), then there would no need to use it after the sun goes down. But I'm betting that most did.

If you had a DAS for bathroom issues, then you shouldn't have been waiting in a standby line while you awaited your DAS return time. But I'm betting that many did.

If you had a DAS because you or your child couldn't wait more than 15 minutes in a line, then you shouldn't be waiting in a 20 minute standby line. But I'm betting that many did.

And the one that seemed very common but always made me shake my head...can't sit for more than ten minutes and can't stand for more than 10 minutes...how do you eat? Jump up from the table constantly and walk around?

 

[jaklgreen]

Don’t most of the savviest/heaviest capacity users of the old DAS system likely still have an another few weeks?

Yes, and that is why the drop is most likely do to lower crowds and not DAS changes. It will take many months to get any kind of accurate data on this.

 

[ditzee]

Attraction CMs are reportedly pushing back on in-person requests for return times either by claiming they know of no such policy or questioning the guest to verify the veracity of their request. Sounds like it's a bit of a rough start to this new era of DAS.

Think I posted about my experience. I asked for a return time because Soarin' was broken down. Quite a long line had built up. After 20 -25 minutes or so, I left the line with my family because of pain. I went to the CM where the entrance is and asked for a return time. He threw up his hands and told me, "Ask her". She would not give me a return time and suggested rider switch. How on Earth she thought rider switch would help is beyond me because SOARIN wasn't working. She was rude on top of it. And before anyone asks, yes I was polite.
Just saying do not count on return times, especially if you run into the same type of CM we did.

 

[NotTheOne]

Think I posted about my experience. I asked for a return time because Soarin' was broken down. Quite a long line had built up. After 20 -25 minutes or so, I left the line with my family because of pain. I went to the CM where the entrance is and asked for a return time. He threw up his hands and told me, "Ask her". She would not give me a return time and suggested rider switch. How on Earth she thought rider switch would help is beyond me because SOARIN wasn't working. She was rude on top of it. And before anyone asks, yes I was polite.
Just saying do not count on return times, especially if you run into the same type of CM we did.

Forgive me, as I didn't read your previous post, but why would you expect a return time for a ride being broken down? I'm obviously missing something.

 

[DoubleSwitchback]

Someone just shared this in a DAS FB group about Disney Tokyo... news to me!

"Guests who have difficulty standing in line for a long period will be able to wait at a separate area, along with thier party, instead of in the queue until the designated time (you may not be able to experience the shows or presentations at the queue area).
You will not be able to experience another attraction or Disney Character greeting while using this service."

 

[jaklgreen]

DAS and riding the same attraction three times in the same day should never be in the same discussion, unless it’s, “How to use DAS to ride the same attraction three times in one day”

I feel hugely successful if I can ride a handful of attractions once in a day.

Why not? What difference does it make if someone uses DAS to go on Pirates more than once. Everyone else has that option. So only disabled people can't enjoy the rides that they love? That doesn't make any sense.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Why not? What difference does it make if someone uses DAS to go on Pirates more than once. Everyone else has that option. So only disabled people can't enjoy the rides that they love? That doesn't make any sense.

Does the average guest have access to the lightening lane for all rides all day? I understand where you’re coming from but don’t be disingenuous.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

Repeats make sense to me from the perspective that DAS is simply access to each individual attraction and a standby line alternate, and has little to do with your big picture day similar to the way it isn’t intended to squeeze a full days worth of attractions into less time to compensate for anything either. On that basis, I don’t think you can make an argument for restricting them.

However like other aspects of DAS, it’s disingenuous to not recognize that the ability to wait for a headliner multiple times in the same day using DAS does not come with the same touring related sacrifice as waiting for that same ride using the standby line multiple times.

 

[ditzee]

Forgive me, as I didn't read your previous post, but why would you expect a return time for a ride being broken down? I'm obviously missing something.

Because the last time I was Disney in 2015 or 2016 and rides broke down, people in line were offered slips of paper with a return time. It happened to us at Test Track.

 

[Chi84]

Think I posted about my experience. I asked for a return time because Soarin' was broken down. Quite a long line had built up. After 20 -25 minutes or so, I left the line with my family because of pain. I went to the CM where the entrance is and asked for a return time. He threw up his hands and told me, "Ask her". She would not give me a return time and suggested rider switch. How on Earth she thought rider switch would help is beyond me because SOARIN wasn't working. She was rude on top of it. And before anyone asks, yes I was polite.
Just saying do not count on return times, especially if you run into the same type of CM we did.

Your whole family asked for return times? But they weren’t offered to everyone in line?

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Does the average guest have access to the lightening lane for all rides all day? I understand where you’re coming from but don’t be disingenuous.

DAS users don’t have that either, they have to wait the equivalent of the wait time in order to use it.

So for slinky dog, for example, they can ride 3 times in a row but they have to wait the length of the line.

Now yes, I get the issue of they can go do another attraction in that time, but that’s a different part of the issue.

 

[jaklgreen]

I think the misunderstandings with RTQ are happening because people have come to the conclusion they can choose it as an accommodation similarly to AQR. It seems to be purely based on CM discretion and given out due to logistics not preference or even need.

Earlier on there was a guest who I believe was riding 7DMT with their young child and had to leave the line. They approached a CM when exiting. As it was just the two of them, they were assigned a return time for the length of the current standby time (so they “lost” the time they waited). I’m thinking this is probably the RTQ process in action and it’s just the scenarios where AQR is not logistically possible.

That is not right. I hope that Disney does something about that. Who hasn't had a small child have an emergency potty situation right before you get on a ride.

 

[DoubleSwitchback]

That is not right. I hope that Disney does something about that. Who hasn't had a small child have an emergency potty situation right before you get on a ride.

This seems incredibly fair. Yes, they lose the time in line but they get a return time and can spend the rest of the wait off doing something else. What is the alternative, if the CM doesn't know how long they had already waited?

 

[jaklgreen]

Does the average guest have access to the lightening lane for all rides all day? I understand where you’re coming from but don’t be disingenuous.

You are not talking about LL access, you are talking about being able to ride something more than once. Why shouldn't they be able to use DAS for a certain ride more than once? If your issue is with DAS itself, than just say that. What is disingenuous is saying that you think that those with Disabilities should have LESS access to rides than the typical guest does instead of just coming right out and saying that you don't like how DAS works. Again, some are so caught up in believing that every single DAS user is lying and faking that you all are forgetting that most have genuine medical issues.

 

[jaklgreen]

This seems incredibly fair. Yes, they lose the time in line but they get a return time and can spend the rest of the wait off doing something else. What is the alternative, if the CM doesn't know how long they had already waited?

But that seems to be punishing single parents. If there were another adult in that group that they could meet back up with, then they wouldn't lose all of that time that they waited. So Disney is going for not only being unfriendly to those with disabilities, but also single parents. This really is a shame, especially since Disney used to pride itself on being great for everyone.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

DAS users don’t have that either, they have to wait the equivalent of the wait time in order to use it.

So for slinky dog, for example, they can ride 3 times in a row but they have to wait the length of the line.

Now yes, I get the issue of they can go do another attraction in that time, but that’s a different part of the issue.

I don’t agree that Disney should put any limitations on DAS attraction repeats except for what they already do when the actual attraction has some limitation (the rides with VQ), but I think not recognizing that a 60 minute standby line physically stood in 3 times is a much bigger deterrent than a 60 minute virtual line waited in 3 times is why this discussion keeps popping up about repeats.