New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[lentesta]

imho maybe we should ask @lentesta about those numbers

Using MK[1] headliner[2] posted wait times[3] between 11 am and 3 pm[4] in June as a proxy for 'busy', for 2016 to present, excluding 2021:

1. Thursday (highest waits)
2. Monday & Tuesday
3. Wednesday & Friday
4. Saturday
5. Sunday (lowest waits)

There are other ways to measure this, of course. And there's not a lot of data from 'June' - each weekday gets only 4 or 5 samples per year. Expanding to June and July might help.

These data fit into the hypothesis that weekends are more likely to be "travel days". And there's some external evidence for this: the National Household Travel Survey tracks how often non-work driving happens by day of the week:

So more non-work travel happens on weekends versus weekdays. That's not super surprising, of course. But it fits the data above.

I have decent relationships with some folks at ORNL and can follow-up if there are specific questions on this.

[1] MK has the most attractions, so is less susceptible to wait-time swings when a couple of rides go down
[2] Attractions like the Peoplemover are not great measures of crowd levels
[3] Posted wait times are inaccurate. But they're objective and transparent
[4] 0-minute wait times at park open don't really tell us much

 

[Vacationeer]

You're right. I forgot about the people listed who are not doctors. The point is that IBBCES still requires third party verification of some sort. It's better than someone going to Disney and requesting DAS with no proof at all. It would eliminate some abuse. No, it would not eliminate all abuse, but it would eliminate some.

The most direct reason:

It’s not so much that a disability is verifiable but how that disability affects you in the queue.

That was and remains the case with DAS. Even verification of autism is not automatically DAS granted under the new structure, rather the severity where the queue is concerned. Some cases of autism are being declined and given recommendations of alternate accommodations, while a few rare exceptions outside developmental disabilities are still being granted DAS. Verification is little help where precision comes in.

These decisions are multifaceted with many factors being weighed. I think some options don’t do enough in balance with negative impacts, so they look to other avenues that cover those aspects. Like with potentially removing the ability for DAS to repeat rides so headliners capacity is more evenly distributed among different guest groups, why open that can of worms if other changes already lessen the impact to an acceptable degree.

 

[Chi84]

I personally think 7 is quite young to stand in line alone, but I’m sure other parents think it’s fine. It’s ok for Disney to put an age out there, but they shouldn’t make the decision for a parent. Some 12yr olds may be fine waiting in an hour line alone whereas others would not be. OR some parents may not be ok with their 12yr old waiting alone for an hour with a bunch of strangers at a theme park. I wouldn’t be.

They’re not forcing anyone to stand in line alone. They’re offering a disability accommodation that needs to be objectively reasonable. I don’t know if we have any first-hand reports regarding specific ages so it’s probably best not to put out hypotheticals and argue about them.

 

[jennab55]

They’re not forcing anyone to stand in line alone. They’re offering a disability accommodation that needs to be objectively reasonable. I don’t know if we have any first-hand reports regarding specific ages so it’s probably best not to put out hypotheticals and argue about them.

I’ve seen reports of people being told their accommodation is having their 11yr old (or other aged) child wait in a standby queue alone and then the adult can meet them at the merge point. So the accommodation is the minor child waiting in line alone in this example. I think it is ok to offer that as an option, but it may not work for all families and I think people should be able to state that their minor child (or the parent) is uncomfortable with that. I don’t think that is unreasonable.

 

[KrzyKtty]

I’ve seen reports of people being told their accommodation is having their 11yr old (or other aged) child wait in a standby queue alone and then the adult can meet them at the merge point. So the accommodation is the minor child waiting in line alone in this example. I think it is ok to offer that as an option, but it may not work for all families and I think people should be able to state that their minor child (or the parent) is uncomfortable with that. I don’t think that is unreasonable.

Yeah, When my son was eleven I could trust him with that. My current eleven year old daughter is a whole other story.

Not to mention I don't trust people to behave well enough around young children like that. If they're not in high school they are too young.

 

[jennab55]

Yeah, When my son was eleven I could trust him with that. My current eleven year old daughter is a whole other story.

Not to mention I don't trust people to behave well enough around young children like that. If they're not in high school they are too young.

I agreee. Some kids are more mature than others and can handle it. That’s why I think it will be an ok accommodation for some families but it won’t be for others. Depends on the child and parent.

 

[B O]

Does anyone know what disabilities they are allowing I've read autism

I spoke to Disney directly about this & was told Neurodivergent only. Not Epilepsy anymore like my family member has basically we travel with a service dog & were told we will need to go to the que to ask for a return time. Which is honestly fine with me . I don't want to plan my day ahead.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

18 is IMO the easiest cut off for this. Too bad they call 10 year olds adults via tickets lol.

 

[B O]

I believe the important part would be to identify the needs that would prevent her from being able to wait in a traditional line. The calls can be stressful so many people have recommended writing down those needs. It might also be helpful to write down any stories of what has happened when she was waiting in long lines.

I would not concentrate on the embarrassment aspect, though because that would probably not be a consideration for them.

Family member has Epilepsy & takes hands full of meds to no vail. He has seizures if he gets overheated & travels with a dog. Per some back & forth e mails with Disney he is no longer eligible.

 

[Figgy1]

18 is IMO the easiest cut off for this. Too bad they call 10 year olds adults via tickets lol.

Are you saying those over 18 that are neurodivergent shouldn't get DAS even though their situation doesn't change

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

Are you saying those over 18 that are neurodivergent shouldn't get DAS even though their situation doesn't change

No not at all. I should have quoted someone but I was just responding to the general “how old can a child be to hold a place in the line” conversation.

 

[Chi84]

I’ve seen reports of people being told their accommodation is having their 11yr old (or other aged) child wait in a standby queue alone and then the adult can meet them at the merge point. So the accommodation is the minor child waiting in line alone in this example. I think it is ok to offer that as an option, but it may not work for all families and I think people should be able to state that their minor child (or the parent) is uncomfortable with that. I don’t think that is unreasonable.

Is this what you saw? That’s why hypotheticals are unproductive.

On the other hand, I don't love some of the people on this forum dismissing concerns from people who find the seemingly different policies from ride to ride to be acceptable. Yes a few minor things will vary from attraction to attraction, but what shouldn't change is how a guest is accommodated. For example, a single mom with an 11 year old son being told that they can be given a return time at Big Thunder so the kid doesn't have to wait alone, while being told at Space Mountain the child should wait alone until merge is seemingly kind of an unnecessary layer of stress.

Is that an actual example or a hypothetical for the purposes of illustration? I thought their park policy was that children had to be 14 to be unattended in parks.

 

[KrzyKtty]

Family member has Epilepsy & takes hands full of meds to no vail. He has seizures if he gets overheated & travels with a dog. Per some back & forth e mails with Disney he is no longer eligible.

On another forum, there is a board about approvals/disapproval. Not everyone approved is neurodivergent. I think the best thing is for a person to try if they feel they have a real need.

 

[jennab55]

Is this what you saw? That’s why hypotheticals are unproductive.

Yes, I have seen reports of this on fb groups. I’ve seen this reported a few times with posters with children of different ages. But with everything reported online it could be exaggerated. However I’m also thinking possibly likely since Disney's policy to stand in line alone is 7yrs old. And again I’m talking about the adult being the disabled person and the child being neurotypical.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Yes, I have seen reports of this on fb groups. I’ve seen this reported a few times with posters with children of different ages. But with everything reported online it could be exaggerated. However I’m also thinking possibly likely since Disney's policy to stand in line alone is 7yrs old. And again I’m talking about the adult being the disabled person and the child being neurotypical.

I am joining this discussion late so forgive me. Is it Disney’s policy to allow 7 year olds to stand in line alone?

 

[jennab55]

I am joining this discussion late so forgive me. Is it Disney’s policy to allow 7 year olds to stand in line alone?

That is the minimum age for a child to wait in line and ride alone.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

So the accommodation is the minor child waiting in line alone in this example. I think it is ok to offer that as an option, but it may not work for all families and I think people should be able to state that their minor child (or the parent) is uncomfortable with that. I don’t think that is unreasonable.

While most of us likely agree with you I don’t think Disney cares, they’ve created an unsustainable condition in the parks where there’s not enough capacity for the number of guests in the parks, their solution appears to be a “take it or leave it” approach, if their accommodation doesn’t work then your (our) option is not to ride or not to go.

As others have stated Disney has shifted from accommodating wants to accommodating needs, they no longer care about going above what is necessary, that’s counterproductive to the Disney standards that drew most of us to Disney in the first place but they’ve created a situation where it’s their only choice.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

I am joining this discussion late so forgive me. Is it Disney’s policy to allow 7 year olds to stand in line alone?

Not going to lie I read that and thought it was crazy talk.

From WDW help. Unaccompanied minors need to be at least 14 to be on Disney Property.

Disney Theme Parks & Water Parks – Frequently Asked Questions​

Q:
What is the minimum age requirement for unaccompanied children to enter Walt Disney World theme parks, water parks and other locations?
A:
Children under age 14 must be accompanied by a Guest age 14 or older to enter the following Walt Disney World parks and locations:

Now that is entering the parks, not just standing in line.

From the property rules page it says:

"Children should be supervised. Guests under age 14 must be accompanied by a Guest age 14 or older to enter a theme park or water park. To board an attraction, children under age 7 must be accompanied by a person age 14 years or older."

I always took this as they have to be 7 to ride the ride alone, like in the ride vehicle, not that once they get into the park they could just run around the park all day, wait in lines by themselves ect.

 

[jennab55]

Not going to lie I read that and thought it was crazy talk.

From WDW help. Unaccompanied minors need to be at least 14 to be on Disney Property.

Disney Theme Parks & Water Parks – Frequently Asked Questions​

Q:
What is the minimum age requirement for unaccompanied children to enter Walt Disney World theme parks, water parks and other locations?
A:
Children under age 14 must be accompanied by a Guest age 14 or older to enter the following Walt Disney World parks and locations:

Now that is entering the parks, not just standing in line.

From the property rules page it says:

"Children should be supervised. Guests under age 14 must be accompanied by a Guest age 14 or older to enter a theme park or water park. To board an attraction, children under age 7 must be accompanied by a person age 14 years or older."

I always took this as they have to be 7 to ride the ride alone, like in the ride vehicle, not that once they get into the park they could just run around the park all day, wait in lines by themselves ect.

Yes I don’t believe a 7yr old should be running around the parks all day alone, but I guess if they can enter a ride vehicle on their own then they must be able to stand in line alone? Maybe I’m wrong?

A few years ago there were twin 8yr olds next to us in line for Kali. I remember thinking wow they are young and all alone, but they did a great job and had a grand time on the ride with us. So I suppose this policy would work for some families, but not all.

 

[Chi84]

Yes, I have seen reports of this on fb groups. I’ve seen this reported a few times with posters with children of different ages. But with everything reported online it could be exaggerated. However I’m also thinking possibly likely since Disney's policy to stand in line alone is 7yrs old. And again I’m talking about the adult being the disabled person and the child being neurotypical.

The problem with second or third-hand reports is that they often get mangled in the re-telling and there is no way to ask questions or clarify circumstances. Then people make up facts to fill in the blanks and argue over things that never happened.