New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[Angel Ariel]

I sent a detailed email on my condition and was just wanting to know prior to making a resort reservation if I qualified for DAS accommodation. Just received a response I would have to make a reservation and then 30 days prior contact them and then they would make a determination. Needless to say I am not thrilled with how Disney is handling this

That has always been the case. Disney has been lenient on giving refunds to those who don't qualify for DaS (past the typical refund time), but they have never given responses like that over guest services emails ahead of time like that. I wouldn't expect them to start now, as it bypasses the procedures they have set up.

 

[flynnibus]

And how exactly did getting more people (those who need wheelchairs) into their parks to buy food, drinks, and souvenirs negatively affect the operations of the parks?

1 - false pretense. There is no distinction about parks here
2 - the transportation network has its own accessibility requirements

This tangent is dumb regardless. It’s not related to the discussion.

 

[NotTheOne]

I just wanted to know if I would qualify I wasn't looking for immediate approval.

Again, they've never been able to tell people in advance if they would qualify - that's the point of the call to seek approval.

 

[NotTheOne]

1 - false pretense. There is no distinction about parks here
2 - the transportation network has its own accessibility requirements

This tangent is dumb regardless. It’s not related to the discussion.

Um, the entire discussion I was in previously was about park operations.

And I agree the bus comparison is dumb, but then again, I'm not the one who brought up the buses, so...

 

[John park hopper]

That has always been the case. Disney has been lenient on giving refunds to those who don't qualify for DaS (past the typical refund time), but they have never given responses like that over guest services emails ahead of time like that. I wouldn't expect them to start now, as it bypasses the procedures they have set up.

Thanks as long as there is no problem getting a refund I'm good with that

 

[Angel Ariel]

Thanks as long as there is no problem getting a refund I'm good with that

Don't know if it's just a transitional thing or if it will continue, but for now they have been giving refunds when people have been denied DAS and have cancelled.

 

[NotTheOne]

Don't know if it's just a transitional thing or if it will continue, but for now they have been giving refunds when people have been denied DAS and have cancelled.

I've been seeing that as well, and I think it's a fair thing to do given the scope of the changes.

 

[Vacationeer]

Sure it is… it’s accommodating a disability and it impacts operations. It’s very much comparable.

2 things stand out - transportation and lodging are already specifically addressed in ADA (where ride queues are not), separate from that is the ‘nature’ of a business and how accommodations can have a limit where they impact the fundamental nature of a business and it’s operations.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

2 things stand out - transportation and lodging are already specifically addressed in ADA (where ride queues are not), separate from that is the ‘nature’ of a business and how accommodations can have a limit where they impact the fundamental nature of a business and it’s operations.

Oh there are certainly differences, but they are still comparable.

I’m wondering what cases have actually helped up where an accommodation had a limit on the impact of a business.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

And how exactly did getting more people (those who need wheelchairs) into their parks to buy food, drinks, and souvenirs negatively affect the operations of the parks?

Loading wheelchairs takes time and negatively affects the efficiency of the bus system.

Since the bus comparison “is dumb” the same comparison can be made for attractions that handle wheelchairs - it usually takes extra time to load and reduced the efficiency of the attraction.

The point I’m trying to make is accommodating disabilities reduce efficiency - any business could argue that accommodating a disability has a negative impact on efficiency.

 

[NotTheOne]

Loading wheelchairs takes time and negatively affects the efficiency of the bus system.

Since the bus comparison “is dumb” the same comparison can be made for attractions that handle wheelchairs - it usually takes extra time to load and reduced the efficiency of the attraction.

The point I’m trying to make is accommodating disabilities reduce efficiency - any business could argue that accommodating a disability has a negative impact on efficiency.

Again, it's about the degree of impact, and it's not just an efficiency factor.

DAS, as it was prior to the changes, was a nightmare for operations, primarily because there was no way to account for the number of people in the LLs. And when the LLs were backed up beyond the capacity that Disney planned for, it negatively affected DAS users, Genie+ users, and standby users, which in turned affected guest satisfaction across the board. This in turn had (or perhaps quantitatively did) affect guests' decision about whether or not to return, or if they did, less frequently.

No business has an obligation to provide accommodations to the degree that everyone else is miserable.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

No business has an obligation to provide accommodations to the degree that everyone else is miserable.

To be clear I’m not saying DAS as it was didn’t need some fixes.

But adding 5 or even 10 minutes to a standby line does not make people miserable.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Let's be cautious about putting overall guest satisfaction and decisions on whether or not to return solely - or even largely - on DAS' impact on LL.

Disney has been continually increasing prices while decreasing in-park entertainment, taking away park and hotel benefits, having more park maintenance issues (which affects LL annd standby when rides anre unexpectedly down), and being quite stingy in terms of adding meaningful attraction capacity. The downshift in guest satisfaction is far more complicated than there was just too much DAS use.

 

[NotTheOne]

Let's be cautious about putting overall guest satisfaction and decisions on whether or not to return solely on DAS' impact on LL.

Disney has been continually increasing prices while decreasing in-park entertainment, having more park maintenance issues (which affects LL annd standby when rides anre unexpectedly down), and being quite stingy in terms of adding meaningful attraction capacity. The downshift in guest satisfaction is far more complicated than there was just too much DAS use.

Oh no way am I blaming it all on DAS - DAS or no DAS, Disney quality has declined over the last 15-20 years, no question. But the impact of even longer standby lines, which is heavily impacted by the volume of guests in LLs, is without question a contributor to guest dissatisfaction.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

when I get into a standby line that says 45 minutes, and it ends up being 20 or 30 minutes longer (or more) due to LLs being so backed up, that's a problem.

why is that a problem caused by DAS - if DAS has to get a return time, then Disney knows how many guests (DAS times + LL) it has given out and the standby time should be updated accordingly.

 

[Angel Ariel]

why is that a problem caused by DAS - if DAS has to get a return time, then Disney knows how many guests (DAS times + LL) it has given out and the standby time should be updated accordingly.

The issue with DAS is that Disney doesn't know when that person will come back to the LL, as it's able to be redeemed at any point over the rest of the day.

 

[NotTheOne]

why is that a problem caused by DAS - if DAS has to get a return time, then Disney knows how many guests (DAS times + LL) it has given out and the standby time should be updated accordingly.

Because Disney can't limit how many DAS users choose a given ride, nor do they know when those guests will return.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Let's be cautious about putting overall guest satisfaction and decisions on whether or not to return solely - or even largely - on DAS' impact on LL.

Disney has been continually increasing prices while decreasing in-park entertainment, taking away park and hotel benefits, having more park maintenance issues (which affects LL annd standby when rides anre unexpectedly down), and being quite stingy in terms of adding meaningful attraction capacity. The downshift in guest satisfaction is far more complicated than there was just too much DAS use.

Genie + / LL was the beginning of the end for us, that’s when we went from feeling like Disney was an expensive, but fun, vacation to a vacation where we are nickel and dimed to death, it also seems to be the beginning of the exploding DAS use because people like us, who could formerly manage the parks with FP, had no choice but to rely solely on DAS if we had any hope of ever doing the major rides with long lines (without dropping a couple hundred dollars extra a day).

Disney got overly greedy and disabled people are paying the price, they under-invested in the parks, cut everywhere they could, and monetized the system that formerly made the parks manageable. I’m not surprised it’s blowing up in their face.

 

[Jrb1979]

Genie + / LL was the beginning of the end for us, that’s when we went from feeling like Disney was an expensive, but fun, vacation to a vacation where we are nickel and dimed to death, it also seems to be the beginning of the exploding DAS use because people like us, who could formerly manage the parks with FP, had no choice but to rely solely on DAS if we had any hope of ever doing the major rides with long lines (without dropping a couple hundred dollars extra a day).

Disney got overly greedy and disabled people are paying the price, they under-invested in the parks, cut everywhere they could, and monetized the system that formerly made the parks manageable. I’m not surprised it’s blowing up in their face.

To be fair they were just catching up with every other park with charging for skip the line pass.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

The issue with DAS is that Disney doesn't know when that person will come back to the LL, as it's able to be redeemed at any point over the rest of the day.

Ah! So maybe put a time on it? Like an hour so they can plan accordingly.