New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[Disstevefan1]

I'll throw myself into this conversation. No pity party here, just providing an example. I'm in a seemingly odd spot that needed the former DAS program for queues, no longer qualify for it, and cannot reliably use a mobility device at the current advice of Cast. I have three separate rheumatological diseases that affect a lot of things, with the bottom line being my knees, back, and sense of balance may work perfectly normally, get kinda out of whack, or completely crap out. Any combination of the three affected areas could act up at any point, or just one; there's no way to tell.

Using a wheelchair gets very painful quickly due to pressure on my back (prolonged touch = pressure in this case), but it does save my knees and occasionally my sense of balance. Walking around the park is an unknown, but it provides the best odds of things staying on the positive side since I can compensate mild to moderate mobility problems a bit. I've taken 30+ trips, so I have a very strong sense of what does and does not work for me. Standing in the typical stand-by queue is miserable. The combination of standing and lack of movement, especially if combined with the hear, is guaranteed to make my knees swell horribly. A good if not exaggerated example is Flight of Passage. By the time one simply gets up to the show building, that's a lot of walking to then stand for quite some time in the queue and preshows. It's also not feasible for me personally to roll a chair toward (yes I know there is at least the possibility of powered chairs).

So, all that said, there is no longer a box for the parks to check for me that is genuinely helpful, since I'm told I'm considered a general mobility disability (which is technically not false, while also not true). I've had/chosen to cancel an upcoming trip to see how things shake out and for the cost/benefit of going under my particular circumstances.

Its totally wrong you no longer qualify for DAS.

Welcome to the new Disney.

A sincere question.

Genie+ and/or ILL does not work for you?

No judgment here, just an honest question.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

And that nobody, nobody, who is a standby rider would ever ride those rides several times in a day. And if they did, their day would be absolutely miserable.

Why would the day be miserable? If rise is my favorite attraction and I wanted to ride it 3 times vs. riding it, slinky dog, and tower (assuming they all had similar wait times) wouldn’t my day be less miserable waiting for my favorite attraction?

If waiting in a 60 minute line 3-4 times in a day = miserable then everyone must be miserable at Disney! Haha

 

[Disstevefan1]

Didn't the DAS system give you a return time based upon the standby wait duration at the time you are trying to use DAS? If that is the case why should it matter, as you are providing equal access. Just like someone could choose to wait in line for the same ride twice, someone should be able to use DAS twice.

IF the DAS user literally does NOTHING during that time, just like the folks in the standby, then yes.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

But end of day in the guests eye its a Disney problem. Thats where they are vacationing and thats who they are getting their info from. Thats all im saying.

But I/Disney don't really care about that, at least from a macro level. Meaning what's in the guest's eye, or their subjective opinion doesn't matter in the realm of fixing the problem. I want the systems to work as well as the possibly can. To do that you need to figure out why something is happening, not just gloss it over when there is an incident of customer complaint in order to "fix" or make the guest in that limited situation feel better.

Plus i don't know about all consumers, but I can usually tell when I am dealing with a bad company policy, or a bad employee, and try not to hold the later against the former.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

We called that 'Disney world' for decades...

I mean, it's what WDW was known for in terms of being different.. their ability to make massive waits more tolerable through queue design and various forms of interest/entertainment in the queue. EPCOT era and onward especially. Then around the MGM/USO period monitors being added to the queues with videos was all the rage.

I mean people today take all this extended queue and work in the queue for granted... before WDW it was all just endless switchbacks. WDW was renowned for how hour+ waits were common but tolerable compared to the alternatives.

Disney World always had a mix of headliners with massive waits and many other experiences/attractions/shows/pavilions/parades with little to no wait (and they still do!). It was never the case that people who went to WDW were going for 10 hours and spending those 10 hours waiting in 5 2-hour lines. That is not a thing that happened except in extremely rare edge cases.

 

[Figgy1]

IF the DAS user literally does NOTHING during that time, just like the folks in the standby, then yes.

For the most part people still eligible for DAS will be tending to needs when not riding, will not elaborate further as to not give a roadmap
many on line can play on a phone, some with DAS can't, some can do many things in a que somebody with DAS can't

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

But equal access includes the ability to re-ride as much as you want during park hours...

We can debate what they should or should not be able to do between re-rides, but not allowing access to something that people without DAS have access to really feels like crossing a line to me.

I'll also throw my hat in as someone that has ridden the same ride/attraction 3+ times a day. Granted the biggest one was Everest through the SR line, but certain people may not be able to ride EE SR.

I'll throw my hat in as someone who re-rides BTMRR 5+ times in a row whenever the queue is 15min or less.

One time we rode it over 15+ times in a row, and then stopped counting, but continued to re-ride it for another hour after we stopped counting. It was easier when MK stayed open later, but last summer we managed 5 in a row before the park closed.

We regularly re-ride Everest 4- 5 times in a row using a combo of standby, G+ and SR.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I'll throw my hat in as someone who re-rides BTMRR 5+ times in a row whenever the queue is 15min or less.

Sure. How many times have your reridden ROTR 5 times in a row when the queue was 120 minutes though?

 

[Disstevefan1]

For the most part people still eligible for DAS will be tending to needs when not riding, will not elaborate further as to not give a roadmap

Just trying to explain the difference between actually waiting in a standby compared to getting a return time (similar to a fastpass) that is equal to the standby wait.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Sure. How many times have your reridden ROTR 5 times in a row when the queue was 120 minutes though?

You’d have to find a time when Rise was a 120 minute wait…. Slinky dog commands more wait times than rise. Which is an interesting point for another thread topic haha. Current wait time on the app is 40 for rise.

 

[Fantasmik]

Its totally wrong you no longer qualify for DAS.

Welcome to the new Disney.

A sincere question.

Genie+ and/or ILL does not work for you?

No judgment here, just an honest question.

That's a great question! They would indeed be useful tools for this kinda in-between situation. That said, regardless of my situation, I just strongly prefer not to pay for them. However, you are correct that they would be a viable health-based option if my opinion on pay was otherwise.

 

[Splash4eva]

But I/Disney don't really care about that, at least from a macro level. Meaning what's in the guest's eye, or their subjective opinion doesn't matter in the realm of fixing the problem. I want the systems to work as well as the possibly can. To do that you need to figure out why something is happening, not just gloss it over when there is an incident of customer complaint in order to "fix" or make the guest in that limited situation feel better.

Plus i don't know about all consumers, but I can usually tell when I am dealing with a bad company policy, or a bad employee, and try not to hold the later against the former.

But as a guest you are not gonna fix the problem you are gonna go to GR and figure out how they can make you whole…

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

There is a weird amount of , " What about me ism" in this thread. So many posts Is ring with an air of, "Well I can't do that thing, so it's not fair the disabled person can." That is such a weird take to have.

The disabled person might have physical or mental limitations that proclude them from riding a decent number of rides. So, what does it matter if they choose to ride the three or four over and over again that they can.

They might also only be able to be in the park for a limited number of time directly related to their disability, so what does it really matter if they can use DAS for 1 really long line, while waiting in two or three shorter ones in the mean time. I know that I cannot do the same thing, but I also have the option to choose to be in the park for twelve hours that day with minimal impact to my health.

The better way to take these discussions is when somebody comes in concerned about how to prepare, Advice is given. Or when somebody is denied and doesn't know what to do, Advice is given.

Arguing about the would of, should have, could've of what disney should have done might be more fun, but is definitely more fruitless. Thay have made their decision regarding DAS for now.

The problem with DAS is that it's not individually tailored.

Having this level of accommodation for people with such limits is great. It accounts for all of the challenges some of us can't even imagine. The wheelchair user who takes longer to get around or takes longer to do something like use the restroom for example.

The problem is, every user gets the same level of accommodation. The person with a more mild condition and all the cheaters can power use it.

This is a big reason the service has been reduced and those who truly need it suffer.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Current wait time on the app is 40 for rise.

Sounds like great news. Some more anecdotal evidence that cutting down on the DAS powerusers may be starting to pay dividends.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

The stories of non DAS users re riding things multiple times almost always include the use of LL (or FP, which allowed for immediate looping in some cases), strategic touring (like rope drop looping), or special events. It’s rarely people just re-entering the standby over and over during the heaviest parts of the day.

I don’t think Disney should be limiting it at all when it comes to rerides (and I imagine if it was posing a major problem they would have already done something about it) but it’s just not comparable scenarios.

 

[Disstevefan1]

That's a great question! They would indeed be useful tools for this kinda in-between situation. That said, regardless of my situation, I just strongly prefer not to pay for them. However, you are correct that they would be a viable health-based option if my opinion on pay was otherwise.

I also hate to pay for Genie+ and ILL. We all miss free fastpass!!

 

[KrzyKtty]

The problem with DAS is that it's not individually tailored.

Having this level of accommodation for people with such limits is great. It accounts for all of the challenges some of us can't even imagine. The wheelchair user who takes longer to get around or takes longer to do something like use the restroom for example.

The problem is, every user gets the same level of accommodation. The person with a more mild condition and all the cheaters can power use it.

This is a big reason the service has been reduced and those who truly need it suffer.

But ultimately that is where Disney decided the problem truly was, and the one they needed to correct. They chose not to do anything about rerides or using DAS for one ride while doing something else. I think people are making mountain out of mole hills there, possible at the expense of the feelings of those with disabilities.

 

[Disstevefan1]

For the most part people still eligible for DAS will be tending to needs when not riding.

Possibly much like the folks who previously qualified for DAS and now do not.

 

[natatomic]

I'll throw my hat in as someone who re-rides BTMRR 5+ times in a row whenever the queue is 15min or less.

One time we rode it over 15+ times in a row, and then stopped counting, but continued to re-ride it for another hour after we stopped counting. It was easier when MK stayed open later, but last summer we managed 5 in a row before the park closed.

We regularly re-ride Everest 4- 5 times in a row using a combo of standby, G+ and SR.

And those with disabilities could do the same without the DAS as well, since the wait is so short. But would you reride multiple times while the line is 60+ minutes knowing you would be doing it at the sacrifice of doing something else?

I’d be okay with the policy being something like allowing DAS rerides if the wait is less than 30 minutes. If it’s more, then they can have their initial booking and after that, they can use Genie+/ILL for additional access, which is how most people have to do rerides of headline attractions these days.

Not that Disney cares what little ol’ me thinks. But that’s just my idea of a compromise that’s sounds reasonable to me.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I am leaving out non DAS users and non Genie+ users as its not possible to do this Unless its the WDW RR or something else with no demand whatsoever.

This is technically incorrect though. As a non-DAS, I often do re-rides. I tend to do more-rides when the queue is short, but there have been a number of times when I waited twice for a re-ride because it saves walking time.

One type of ride we tend to re-ride- even if it means waiting - are the game rides like Buzz, MIB, and Toy Story Mania. Or Test Track to try a different car design.

Sometimes it is fun just to do re-rides for no good reason. It is just a different way of touring to spend 3 hours going on one ride over and over. We sometimes re-ride HM just to get (a variety of) different hitchhikers.