New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[KrzyKtty]

Sure, I can appreciate that as well.

As much as it seems to be a huge unknown, I have to imagine that after a number of attractions, you get a feel for what the accommodations are going to be most of the time. A single adult, with her without a young child is probably going to receive a RTQ most times. An individual in a larger group is probably going to be directed to a quite/cool place to sit (if needed) while they wait for their family to do the SB, who will then call them to join them at the merge point. There might be some rides that might have slightly different procedures, but for the most part, they all sound like one of two options - RTQ or AQR. I would hope that after getting a couple of attractions under one’s belt, the process will become a lot less stressful once a family knows what to expect. Again - I HOPE. I could be way off base here, I suppose.

I’m just thinking back to my old CM days - pretty much every 4th person entering the queue would ask us such silly questions: “How long is the wait?” (while pointing to the wait sign) “Is this Attraction X?” (While pointing to the ride’s name?) “Wife, are you sure you’re tall enough?” (Har, har husband…)
A genuine question about a brand new procedure isn’t going to annoy a CM (unless they’re just a bad CM ), so I hope no one feels bad or like a pest for talking to the CM before entering the queue about an accommodation they might need.

I think we also have a habit of over exaggerating how easy these systems are to figure out, because most of us by the nature of being members of this board have a deeper knowledge of disney parks. There are very large number of people who visit the parks for the first time in their life with very little knowledge. What seems easy to us to figure out as we go along might not be so much for them, especially combined with the day today stress of having to deal with unpredictable disabilities.

It really wouldn't kill disney to provide a little bit clearer direction.

Heck on another aboard, within one day there were two conflicting reports about trying to use AQR. Both people talked to cast members before getting in line. The first person only tried it on two rides, was a single traveler, and had a lot of success with both. Is the other person I believe was in a small party, and reported that every cast member except 1 that she talked to looked at her like she had three heads and had no idea what she was talking about with AQR. How is that supposed to help her?

I give disney a lot of leeway, I adore those parks. But it does not seem like proper planning and training really went into this before going live. It seems a bit slap dashed.

I can fully admit that these systems seem pretty straight forward to me and I wouldn't necessarily have issues with them. I am A type a planner all the way around. If my husband were the one traveling and leading the trip, he would literally break his hand trying to punch a hole through wall with sheer frustration. There is no way his patience and stress levels would be able to handle something like that.

 

[natatomic]

I think we also have a habit of over exaggerating how easy these systems are to figure out, because most of us by the nature of being members of this board have a deeper knowledge of disney parks. There are very large number of people who visit the parks for the first time in their life with very little knowledge. What seems easy to us to figure out as we go along might not be so much for them, especially combined with the day today stress of having to deal with unpredictable disabilities.

It really wouldn't kill disney to provide a little bit clearer direction.

Heck on another aboard, within one day there were two conflicting reports about trying to use AQR. Both people talked to cast members before getting in line. The first person only tried it on two rides, was a single traveler, and had a lot of success with both. Is the other person I believe was in a small party, and reported that every cast member except 1 that she talked to looked at her like she had three heads and had no idea what she was talking about with AQR. How is that supposed to help her?

I give disney a lot of leeway, I adore those parks. But it does not seem like proper planning and training really went into this before going live. It seems a bit slap dashed.

I can fully admit that these systems seem pretty straight forward to me and I wouldn't necessarily have issues with them. I am A type a planner all the way around. If my husband were the one traveling and leading the trip, he would literally break his hand trying to punch a hole through wall with sheer frustration. There is no way his patience and stress levels would be able to handle something like that.

Yeah, having no need for these systems myself, I can’t speak from first hand experience. To me, it sounds like a fairly straightforward system - BUT from what you’re describing, it also sounds like Disney is botching the rollout whether it be through miscommunication or poor training.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

I agree - "on the ground" reports I've seen show that procedures can differ based not just on the attraction, but crowd level, standby length, LL length, number in party, need of the guest, etc.

Putting out a page for each attraction saying "this is how it will be handled" will not only encourage too many people to try to get more accommodation than they actually need, it will result in unhappy guests who expect one thing but get something else due to all of the variables listed above.

Yep, I think it’s this.

They don’t want a family of 4 getting visibly frustrated with a CM because they thought they would be accommodated with a return time when exiting instead of guidance to split the party and re-enter, or a group thinking they would be escorted to the loading platform when the entire group has left the line pre merge, people thinking they can request return times and not enter a line, people thinking they will always be directed straight into the LL, etc.

From the little bits of reports that have come out, they seem to actually intend to accommodate in a variety of different ways that are dependent on more factors than just which attraction it is.

 

[Vacationeer]

Yeah I think this is an issue as well as procedures likely differ at some attractions depending on the party size, the situation, the location in line, the crowd level, the reason for leaving (are you coming back promptly or do you need an open amount of time), and that makes it hard to publish a set of procedures. I don’t think they want a person to think they will be accommodated with X when actually their situation gets Y.

I think they mean it when they say you need to ask at each attraction because the procedure is different. I don’t think they’re trying to be difficult for the sake of being difficult.

From first hand reports this seems very likely. They're still watching how this all works in real time. At some point WDW might post the more pertinent details once they’re certain no further adjustments are needed.

The compartmentalization of video chat, GR and ride CMs being separated is likely a shield for things like unwillingness to try other options or persistence of unreasonable requests. Somewhat anti-consumer, also a tool for accomplishing goals.

It’s frustrating for guests caught in the middle who are just trying to figure out how to use the new system. Hopefully WDW is rectifying sensible complaints. Changes could be justifiable if eventually leads to net improvements overall. The more severe disabilities regarding queue see improvement, new methods work for accessing attractions, standby and Genie+ work better. The park experience worsened to the point it pushed even more people into DAS reliance or out of their trips. The post-FP+ spiral was unsustainable. Genie+ was unable to relieve any of it while exacerbating the issues.

 

[Vacationeer]

The sensory guide at WDW has been out a long time (at least 2015). It’s a great help!

Our family has a few timid riders and it helped put their mind at ease knowing exactly what to expect beforehand. Without the guide they would’ve skipped more rides due to fear of the unknown.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I think a huge part of the issue is that so many now say their medical issues are disabilities but funny how it only applies to their time at Disney.

That seems overly broad.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Putting out a page for each attraction saying "this is how it will be handled" will not only encourage too many people to try to get more accommodation than they actually need, it will result in unhappy guests who expect one thing but get something else due to all of the variables listed above.

Other than AQR, which is now available to everyone, what is the 'more' additional accommodation?

 

[Chi84]

Other than AQR, which is now available to everyone, what is the 'more' additional accommodation?

I agree. The accommodation is being able to leave the line and return. I think what the poster may be referring to is the idea that there's an extra accommodation that lets you skip standing in line at all. My understanding is that you go to the queue, tell them that you may have to leave the line and then they decide what to tell you. In some cases, it may be a return time, but that seems to be based on the number in the party and the specific configuration of the ride.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I agree. The accommodation is being able to leave the line and return. I think what the poster may be referring to is the idea that there's an extra accommodation that lets you skip standing in line at all. My understanding is that you go to the queue, tell them that you may have to leave the line and then they decide what to tell you. In some cases, it may be a return time, but that seems to be based on the number in the party and the specific configuration of the ride.

Disney should be able to easily explain AQR, even if it varies a bit by attraction. Disney should be proud that they are now able to offer this option to every parkgoer. If they want people to use it. then people need to know how to ask for it.

I have a feeling the new option is still in flux. Disney's testing to see if they can get away with this/make it work, but they don't want to broadcast it too loudly, so they can continue to tweak their policy.

If this doesn't work, then they will want to rework it. Aside from legality, there's just a question of logistics. As I said a while back, Disney's queues were not designed with AQR in mind. I suspect some queues themselves will need to be modified.

 

[Gomer]

Not sure if anyone here would know the answer to this question, but curiosity struck me while "on hold" for 3 hours this morning to do my DAS application. For guests who are instructed to do the virtual screening in the park, are they going through the same queue with DAS guest services as people doing it from home ahead of their visit?

I expected a somewhat hefty wait, so I carved out a block of time that made it work for me. But I'd imagine this could cause problems if a Day Guest who just dropped $175 per person to get into MK had to sit there with a cast member's iPad for 3 hours and lose a significant amount of their park day. Add to that the requirement to have the DAS recipient ready for the video chat. It was difficult for me to keep my son close by and at the ready for that length of time at home. That could become very problematic in a hot, crowded theme park.

On one side, I would expect that someone in park will be placed into an escalated virtual wait and get serviced first. But that is then increasing wait times for the people doing it ahead of time and rewarding those who didn't plan ahead. Basically it seems like this could either create a very bad experience for those in the park, or penalize those who were responsible and planned ahead. If its the latter I could definitely see people eventually opting to do their registration in the park as a way of forcing preferential treatment (which would in turn make waits at home even worse).

 

[Purduevian]

Disney should be able to easily explain AQR, even if it varies a bit by attraction. Disney should be proud that they are now able to offer this option to every parkgoer. If they want people to use it. then people need to know how to ask for it.

I have a feeling the new option is still in flux. Disney's testing to see if they can get away with this/make it work, but they don't want to broadcast it too loudly, so they can continue to tweak their policy.

If this doesn't work, then they will want to rework it. Aside from legality, there's just a question of logistics. As I said a while back, Disney's queues were not designed with AQR in mind. I suspect some queues themselves will need to be modified.

I don't think they even want AQR advertised too much. Too easy for people to discover the "Hack" of Dad waits in line at 7D while Mom and Jr go ride teacups, dumbo, and barnstormer, then meet up with Dad at the merge point. I realize it only works for parties of 3 (can get 1 person and 1 caregiver out of the SB line) but still not something Disney wants to advertise.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Not sure if anyone here would know the answer to this question, but curiosity struck me while "on hold" for 3 hours this morning to do my DAS application.

Nothing says “we care about Disabled guests” like keeping them on hold for 3 hours.

Maybe our resident lawyer can chime in - does a company need to require “reasonable” wait times for guests to make an interview?

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Reading this thread reminds me how overwhelmed I was planning my first Disney trip, and that was back in the simple days of Magical express (no transportation issues), not going with someone who needed DAS, no 7am scramble for a virtual queue, easy to use paper FP rather than a multi tier paid Genie system …

I don’t know how new people do it, we are doing a Disney cruise in January out of Port Canaveral so we are booking a WDW trip with it, we haven’t gone in 2 years and we’ll be in Orlando anyway so it makes sense, it‘s causing us so much anxiety we’ve gone from 4 park days, to 3, to only doing 2 days, and the Epcot day is the only one that sounds like a fun vacation since it’s not ride focused. We’re still on the fence whether we want to do MK, since we’ve never done Tron, or just do AK since that’s not a ride focused day either.

It shouldn’t be this stressful and complicated to go to the happiest, most magical, places on earth.

 

[nickys]

Not sure if anyone here would know the answer to this question, but curiosity struck me while "on hold" for 3 hours this morning to do my DAS application. For guests who are instructed to do the virtual screening in the park, are they going through the same queue with DAS guest services as people doing it from home ahead of their visit?

I expected a somewhat hefty wait, so I carved out a block of time that made it work for me. But I'd imagine this could cause problems if a Day Guest who just dropped $175 per person to get into MK had to sit there with a cast member's iPad for 3 hours and lose a significant amount of their park day. Add to that the requirement to have the DAS recipient ready for the video chat. It was difficult for me to keep my son close by and at the ready for that length of time at home. That could become very problematic in a hot, crowded theme park.

On one side, I would expect that someone in park will be placed into an escalated virtual wait and get serviced first. But that is then increasing wait times for the people doing it ahead of time and rewarding those who didn't plan ahead. Basically it seems like this could either create a very bad experience for those in the park, or penalize those who were responsible and planned ahead. If its the latter I could definitely see people eventually opting to do their registration in the park as a way of forcing preferential treatment (which would in turn make waits at home even worse).

Those doing it in the park have reported being asked “are you in the park now”?

And in the main these will be those who didn’t know about it or international guests who cannot do it ahead of time (a few can with a vpn but Disney have been blocking VPNs in some cases).

Why someone would choose to do it in the park with the uncertainty but already having used their ticket to get in is beyond me. I think your fears of “preferential treatment” are unfounded.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Why someone would choose to do it in the park with the uncertainty but already having used their ticket to get in is beyond me.

why do some guests buy tickets from the ticket booths when they can purchase them in advance?

 

[Gomer]

Those doing it in the park have reported being asked “are you in the park now”?

And in the main these will be those who didn’t know about it or international guests who cannot do it ahead of time (a few can with a vpn but Disney have been blocking VPNs in some cases).

Why someone would choose to do it in the park with the uncertainty but already having used their ticket to get in is beyond me. I think your fears of “preferential treatment” are unfounded.

The uncertainty is somewhat temporary. As of now no one knows if they will qualify. But a year from now many people (especially locals and AP holders) will have found out if they qualify a few times and have some certainty (nothing is guaranteed obviously) whether they will continue to qualify. At that point a person may say "why call ahead of time and wait hours when I can do it in the park and wait 5 minutes?"

I very well may be blowing it out of proportion and its possible the wait times aren't always that different. But if you are reasonably sure you will qualify and have been through the process before, doing it in park may be quicker and more predictable.

 

[pdude81]

The uncertainty is somewhat temporary. As of now no one knows if they will qualify. But a year from now many people (especially locals and AP holders) will have found out if they qualify a few times and have some certainty (nothing is guaranteed obviously) whether they will continue to qualify. At that point a person may say "why call ahead of time and wait hours when I can do it in the park and wait 5 minutes?"

I very well may be blowing it out of proportion and its possible the wait times aren't always that different. But if you are reasonably sure you will qualify and have been through the process before, doing it in park may be quicker and more predictable.

Remember though that any time this takes in the park reduces your available ride or attraction time. And if there is a big line at GR for iPads, it will take even longer.

 

[Gomer]

Remember though that any time this takes in the park reduces your available ride or attraction time. And if there is a big line at GR for iPads, it will take even longer.

That's true. And i suppose its a somewhat self-correcting process. If any significant number of people tried to take advantage of doing it in park, those lines would become longer and reduce the advantages of doing so. And i would imagine if Disney saw the number of AP holders choosing to register in park growing, they'd just start throwing incentives at people doing it in advance again.

 

[nickys]

That's true. And i suppose its a somewhat self-correcting process. If any significant number of people tried to take advantage of doing it in park, those lines would become longer and reduce the advantages of doing so. And i would imagine if Disney saw the number of AP holders choosing to register in park growing, they'd just start throwing incentives at people doing it in advance again.

The CMs may well be able to prioritise guests when giving them the iPad. Presumably they set the video call up for the guest.

So they could just put the local AP holder into the regular line, whilst putting the international guest straight to the “hot line”.

 

[NotTheOne]

Other than AQR, which is now available to everyone, what is the 'more' additional accommodation?

Reports are showing return times being issued in rare cases, as well as rider switch being offered. I can absolutely see trying to insist on a return time for their entire party rather than rider switch or AQR.