New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[DoubleSwitchback]

I think it’s hard to argue Florida DAS AP holders aren’t significantly affecting lines.

I'm not sure what to make of it, between storms this week, old-DAS not fully phased out, etc.

However, it is interesting to see folks* arguing that the low crowds are evidence of DAS APs "voting with their feet and wallets" and Disney is going to regret these changes, etc.; because if the effect were due to DAS, it would be very contrary to the position that there aren't that many people with DAS, and if there are, then there aren't that many power users, they barely ride rides anyway, yada yada. Hard to have it both ways... (* Not saying you are one; I mean elsewhere)

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

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

Rise is a lame ride. I mean, all of Galaxy's Edge is poorly executed, and we usually skip ALL of GE.
Mind, I was in HS the day it opened. I had high hopes GE would be good. It isn't.

But see, where you and many others WANT to go on Rise, I don't. That's my point.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

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

Or maybe the Biblical level rains this week are playing a role?

National Weather Service

forecast.weather.gov

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Yes its possible to re ride when the standby waits are not too bad.

I'm not crazy. I'll only wait twice in a long line for a ride that is worthwhile.

Except for GoG, the worthy ones are all at Universal.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Or maybe the Biblical level rains this week are playing a role?

National Weather Service

forecast.weather.gov

Disney could go back to COVID reopening capacity maximums and some here would claim the low waits are due to DAS changes. It’s about confirming biases, not a rigorous look at data.

 

[DisneyHead123]

I don't know; sometimes I think I go to an entirely different place than some of the posters here. I can absolutely say that in over 50 trips to Disney as an adult, I've never once approached a CM with a polite, reasonable request and had them "throw up their hands" in exasperation. Lucky, I guess.

I feel like it keeps being implied that the person in this situation was causing a problem or rude. I really don't think that's fair as none of us were there. I have had plenty of "What the actual f-?!" moments in life in general, where people were surprisingly weird, rude, aggressive, whatever. It happens. And how a person is treated is based on a variety of factors - it seems unfair to say "Well everyone is really nice to me so if they're not nice to you, you're probably the problem."

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

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.

It's ultimately speculation as to whether or not the re-ride factor for headliner attractions is truly having a major impact. It's just a case where lawsuits have been filed expecting immediate and endless re-rides, so it's a high profile issue that gets discussed.

Disney didn't restrict people from doing anything else while waiting on DAS. I don't know if it was a specific intent or just an acknowledgement you can't control it so why would it ever be a policy either way?

It's another area where it makes sense for some people, those who can't handle a full day in a theme park for example, but was advantageous for others which attracted fraud.

 

[Touchdown]

I'm not sure what to make of it, between storms this week, old-DAS not fully phased out, etc.

However, it is interesting to see folks* arguing that the low crowds are evidence of DAS APs "voting with their feet and wallets" and Disney is going to regret these changes, etc.; because if the effect were due to DAS, it would be very contrary to the position that there aren't that many people with DAS, and if there are, then there aren't that many power users, they barely ride rides anyway, yada yada. Hard to have it both ways... (* Not saying you are one; I mean elsewhere)

I think there is a small amount of power users significantly effecting lines, I think the crowds remain low but when the power users come out greatly affecting the wait times.

 

[flynnibus]

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.

Waiting in hour plus lines was the norm. Sure you could go in other periods and have lower lines - but for 'neurotypical non-disabled 5 year olds' waiting in lines of these sizes multiple times a day was typical. Now about this drama about somehow stretching this to 5 times whatever... we're approaching strawman.

To the point at the core here about someone 'needing' to re-ride so many times... when you are trying to compare 'neurotypical' vs non-typical... you're glossing over the key thing.. for many types of NON-typical types.. repetitive behavior *IS* different between those populations. For rando kid maybe it's just a perk.. or the one who is not neurotypical, it can be very much entwined in their coping.

I mean.. at the high level 'unlimited access' we know the consequences... but this chatter about what people need or should in broad strokes is not going to end well.

 

[Chi84]

I feel like it keeps being implied that the person in this situation was causing a problem or rude. I really don't think that's fair as none of us were there. I have had plenty of "What the actual f-?!" moments in life in general, where people were surprisingly weird, rude, aggressive, whatever. It happens. And how a person is treated is based on a variety of factors - it seems unfair to say "Well everyone is really nice to me so if they're not nice to you, you're probably the problem."

That’s why I didn’t say all that. But my experiences do lead me to give Disney the benefit of the doubt when it comes to anonymous internet posts.

 

[Splash4eva]

It's ultimately speculation as to whether or not the re-ride factor for headliner attractions is truly having a major impact. It's just a case where lawsuits have been filed expecting immediate and endless re-rides, so it's a high profile issue that gets discussed.

Disney didn't restrict people from doing anything else while waiting on DAS. I don't know if it was a specific intent or just an acknowledgement you can't control it so why would it ever be a policy either way?

It's another area where it makes sense for some people, those who can't handle a full day in a theme park for example, but was advantageous for others which attracted fraud.

I have a simple question for Disney now again i wasnt complaining but why did they give away 2 free pre books?!? Absolutely NO need on an already strained system and why didnt they remove them when this was clearly noticeable. We are gonna compare DAS (old version) to DAS new version which is literally completely different animals. No more pre books. Party size has been reduced. You can no longer book another ride immediately. Am i missing anything else? ALL of these even if they gave away the same amount of DAS access would have helped things out. So imo any result we see would not be a direct comparison to the old system

 

[Kristamouse]

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.

Yes, if MMRR was 50 wait, your return time was in 50 mins.

 

[DoubleSwitchback]

I have a simple question for Disney now again i wasnt complaining but why did they give away 2 free pre books?!?

That's a great question. What was the rationale? I don't know, but since they seemed to make it an umbrella to cover the absolute worst case of every condition, I assume there's a type of autism that fixates on knowing exactly when something will happen that day?

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

Prebooks were an incentive to register for DAS online and not necessarily an accommodation if I understand correctly.

 

[DoubleSwitchback]

Prebooks were an incentive to register for DAS online and not necessarily an accommodation if I understand correctly.

Oh that's right! I think I did know that, lol

 

[jaklgreen]

I don’t think people are doing that. But there is a wide range of disabilities so assumptions can’t be made either way about how much can be accomplished.

Yes, people absolutely ARE doing that. Just from even the one post that I quoted shows that. Many are assuming and saying that all DAS holders are going on ride after ride, from open to closing time, and taking up all of the "E" ticket LL space. That simply is not true for so many people with disabilities, as you said, there are a wide range of disabilities so clearly not every DAS holder is doing what people are assuming. Half of the posts here are about how many rides DAS holders are going on in a day and it is all speculation.

 

[jaklgreen]

I can only speak to my experience as a CM from the GAC days - but I can tell you it happened because I saw it first hand. Everest, Splash, Star Tours (when it first reopened), Kali - the same families would come through over and over and over again flashing that red card without blinking an eye. Was every GAC holder a power user? No. But was every a power rerider holding a GAC? Yes, unless the attraction happened to not have a wait.

I know it’s different with DAS, in that you can’t have instant access to the to the lightning lane now. But it would be naive to assume those former GAC power users wouldn’t still use the DAS to reride their favorites as many times as they could.

I never said that NO ONE was doing it. I am saying that many on here are assuming that ALL DAS holders are doing this. And of course that is not the case. There is zero empathy here from some about those who deal with legitimate medical issues. From calling people "entitled" to assuming that everyone is abusing DAS. It is gross. We know that there are people who are faking it, but stop lumping everyone in that group.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I don't know; sometimes I think I go to an entirely different place than some of the posters here. I can absolutely say that in over 50 trips to Disney as an adult, I've never once approached a CM with a polite, reasonable request and had them "throw up their hands" in exasperation. Lucky, I guess.

For all my visits to both WDW and DL the over all majority of CM’s are wonderful especially compared to “real world” destinations.

But I have had a few surprisingly rude encounters, some were directed at me personally, and others I’ve just witnessed. It happens.

The most bizarre that happened to me personally was when I asked a CM where to stand if I wanted to order in person - there was one long line and I didn’t know if that was mobile order pickup - I wasn’t rude or frustrated I just genuinely didn’t know where to stand and asked her and she began yelling at me for not seeing the line of people, not joking a lead came out and replaced her right after the incident it was that bad.

So yes… CM’s can be aggressive and rude but thankfully that is the minority.

 

[jaklgreen]

You are right, if I had DAS I would try to use it to get maximum advantage and ride my favorite attraction three times in one day.

It is not an advantage when everyone is free to re-ride whatever they want. DAS holders don't get on rides faster than anyone else, they still wait the posted standby wait time for that ride. Is there still a confusion about that?

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

It is not an advantage when everyone is free to re-ride whatever they want. DAS holders don't get on rides faster than anyone else, they still wait the posted standby wait time for that ride. Is there still a confusion about that?

I think his point is that there is an advantage over everyone else in the sense that a non-DAS person has to actually wait in the lets say 50min line for the ride, go on the ride, then go back into the 50min line to wait in order to ride again. Thats 1hour and 40min of waiting in line, to go on the ride twice. If you are a DAS holder, you get your return time, and then for the first 50 min, you can go grab something to eat, you can go shopping, you could go ride a ride that has no wait time, and then report back for your first ride. Then you can make the decision to re-ride the ride, and for the next 50 minutes find another ride with no wait time, go grab a spring roll, or go grab some pins. For the person without DAS to ride a ride twice your taking that 1hour and 40 minutes out of your day and dedicating it to that re-ride. Whereas for the DAS holder, you can do the same double ride, while still having the ability to do a lot of other things in the park.