New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[ConfettiCupcake]

Legacy Fastpass used to be anytime after the time - it worked fine.

Kind of. If memory serves they had to start enforcing the end of the return windows near the end of paper FP’s life in anticipation of the changeover because more people would be using the system and they needed more accuracy with returns.

I don’t know that open ended returns could function in todays system with so many people understanding and using it.

 

[RSoxNo1]

You get 5 minutes early and 15 minutes late as a rule. Depending on the ride, front line CMs will allow a little wiggle room on the 15 minutes, but I'd try not to push it.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Legacy Fastpass used to be anytime after the time - it worked fine.

They changed it because it didn't work fine.

People would collect Fastpasses and save them all for later in the day when lines were longer, backing up the Fastpass line.

 

[DoubleSwitchback]

Legacy Fastpass used to be anytime after the time - it worked fine.

From 10 years ago? But we're told that the crowds and the rates of disability have both drastically increased in recent years. Not to mention knowledge of how to "work the system" via social media.

 

[Angel Ariel]

The return time, the way Universal uses them, requires going to the ride to get the return time placed on the card. This may be difficult for ASD level 3 guests who may have difficulty understanding the concept of going to the ride but then walking away.

It seems that their system has been hailed as practically perfect by many though.

I can’t help but think it will just add to walking/more pain/problems for those who prefer not to use mobile devices such as amputees, those with chronic back pain, and neuropathy, etc., as well as those who suffer from heat intolerance or who’s conditions are exacerbated by physical and psychological stress, such as IBS, Diabetes, POTS, etc. I’m assuming all of these categories are being approved by Universal.

Maybe neither system is perfect but my family has learned to adapt to whatever accommodations are available to supplement the ones we work out on our own.

Im not sure why I was quoted as I was referring to Disney's system not universal's?

I am not one that would say universal's system is practically perfect - not in the eligibility process or in the actual process of using it in the parks. Neither Disney's nor universal's is..both require our family to still make our own accommodations as well.

 

[nickys]

Maybe someone knows better but what would be the bad of allowing people to head back to the LL late? The whole benefit of checking in within that hour is that you also get to book another ride, so someone not arriving on time is just missing that chance. I suppose there can be times the LL gets backed up if everyone blows off their time and say tries to go right after dinner, in which case I wonder if they could THEN enforce it, and deny riders.

They do allow it. Or they did with G+ .

FP+ had a 15 minute grace period. G+, certainly recently, allowed you to enter late. The latest I’ve seen confirmed was an hour.

It might not have always been like that of course.

 

[Kingoglow]

Legacy Fastpass used to be anytime after the time - it worked fine.

Legacy (paper) Fastpasses had an entire different issue. Most of the people in this thread discussing disability access for themselves and their families, were at a SEVERE disadvantage when compared to the able-bodied guests that ran to the distribution machines.

Disabled guests arrived at the machines later and had to endure other guests running by them which only increases the stress, and frustration of that experience.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

Legacy (paper) Fastpasses had an entire different issue. Most of the people in this thread discussing disability access for themselves and their families, were at a SEVERE disadvantage when compared to the able-bodied guests that ran to the distribution machines.

Disabled guests arrived at the machines later and had to endure other guests running by them which only increases the stress, and frustration of that experience.

This is spot on. Also, if you wanted to just visit the parks for the afternoon, you were going to be out of luck on that FP for good rides. The only benefit was there were many people who had the FP but weren't necessarily cashing them in, as the return time could be too late or whatever, so the standby lines later in the day still benefited.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I was trying to get some general questions that pertain to my family answered ahead of any future trips we make. The Disney World online chat will only allow you to proceed with valid theme park admission. I'm certainly not willing to commit thousands of dollars on a whim that we will be accommodated.

I know my brother qualifies for DAS, that's not the issue. The issue is the composition of our party and whether or not they will allow for more than 4 guests. As it currently stands, our party consists of 5 adults (including my disabled brother) and two children (4 and 2, so only one requires a ticket). Does anyone know what allows Disney to "bend" on the 4 person cap?

Logic would state that when we have 6 ticketed guests that they would allow 5 total to use the DAS because one adult would have to join the 2 year old. Then when the 2 year old becomes a ticketed guest they would allow 6 total guests, again it would be 1 adult per child and disabled guest.

Does anyone have experience with more than 4 guests under the new system?

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

How are the wait times for an interview? I know there has been quite a bit of talk in the news about how Delta is required to answer customer service issues in a “reasonable” amount of time and that hours on hold is not considered reasonable by the DOT.

Obviously not directly comparable but it still made me think of the multiple hour delays reported for DAS interviews.

 

[flynnibus]

Legacy Fastpass used to be anytime after the time - it worked fine.

It didn't 'work fine'

It's a big part of the problem with surges in waits in the lines. FP's deferred queuing model was designed on the idea of you can take someone and tell them to come back later... using slots you've allocated from the ride's capacity. Do it right, and you don't excessively cause delays, and the person returning has a low wait too.

The problem with 'return anytime' is it can cause the number of returners in a time window to grow far higher than you had intended... which causes a huge backup in the returner queue... until you drain it by allocating a higher percentage of the ride capacity to the returner queue to 'catch up'.

This is most obvious when large amounts of people act in unison.. like say... after a major show. Or.. after a downtime.

With legacy FP the problem was even compounded by the 2hr rule... which allowed you to stack unused passes. The no enforcement of return times enabled that strategy.

In today's world, the lack of return time enforcement would enhance the accessibility of the pass. And it's consequences would likely be far less negative, then the gains it would offer... as long as the population using the pass remains small.

 

[seabreezept813]

How are the wait times for an interview? I know there has been quite a bit of talk in the news about how Delta is required to answer customer service issues in a “reasonable” amount of time and that hours on hold is not considered reasonable by the DOT.

Obviously not directly comparable but it still made me think of the multiple hour delays reported for DAS interviews.

I’ve been on twice. Once for the interview, once for a question both times less than a 15 minute wait.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

It didn't 'work fine'

It worked fine for me. If it failed you then I’m sorry.

 

[Tigger&Pooh]

Does anyone have experience with more than 4 guests under the new system?

If I were you I would plan for all names to be linked but only 4 (DAS-holder + 3) may ride together. Since there are multiple adults in the party it is unlikely an exception would be made to allow all to ride with DAS.

 

[jennab55]

I was trying to get some general questions that pertain to my family answered ahead of any future trips we make. The Disney World online chat will only allow you to proceed with valid theme park admission. I'm certainly not willing to commit thousands of dollars on a whim that we will be accommodated.

I know my brother qualifies for DAS, that's not the issue. The issue is the composition of our party and whether or not they will allow for more than 4 guests. As it currently stands, our party consists of 5 adults (including my disabled brother) and two children (4 and 2, so only one requires a ticket). Does anyone know what allows Disney to "bend" on the 4 person cap?

Logic would state that when we have 6 ticketed guests that they would allow 5 total to use the DAS because one adult would have to join the 2 year old. Then when the 2 year old becomes a ticketed guest they would allow 6 total guests, again it would be 1 adult per child and disabled guest.

Does anyone have experience with more than 4 guests under the new system?

From what I’ve read, it’s mainly immediate family over 4 they have been making exceptions for, like parents and multiple minor children. I’ve seen posts of parents with adult and minor children over 4 not being able to get an exception for their adult children. So I’d expect them to say no, but that you can all be linked so the 3 other people riding with the DAS holder can change depending on the ride. This is just a guess based on what I’ve read though.

 

[flynnibus]

It worked fine for me. If it failed you then I’m sorry.

You do realize you don't goto the park alone right? That the system as a whole is significant, not just your individual experience?

Try being less selfish.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I was trying to get some general questions that pertain to my family answered ahead of any future trips we make. The Disney World online chat will only allow you to proceed with valid theme park admission. I'm certainly not willing to commit thousands of dollars on a whim that we will be accommodated.

I know my brother qualifies for DAS, that's not the issue. The issue is the composition of our party and whether or not they will allow for more than 4 guests. As it currently stands, our party consists of 5 adults (including my disabled brother) and two children (4 and 2, so only one requires a ticket). Does anyone know what allows Disney to "bend" on the 4 person cap?

Logic would state that when we have 6 ticketed guests that they would allow 5 total to use the DAS because one adult would have to join the 2 year old. Then when the 2 year old becomes a ticketed guest they would allow 6 total guests, again it would be 1 adult per child and disabled guest.

Does anyone have experience with more than 4 guests under the new system?

I have not seen many reports of them allowing extra people beyond the 4, unless it's adults outnumbered by minor children (2 adults, 3 minor children for ex). Since you have 5 adults, 2 children and your brother I would not expect them to increase the party size at all. ETA: as the others said, I expect they'll allow the extra people to be in the "travel party" from which 3 additional people can be chosen to accompany the DAS holder - but they aren't likely to increase the DAS amount beyond 4 total to ride.

Unless you already have an approved DAS, I would also not expect that your brother will be approved for DAS. I've read multiple reports from families with a child with autism or other developmental disability, even with cognitive impairment, who have been denied DAS. My child should absolutely continue to qualify for DAS, but I'm not viewing it as a given at all.

 

[Ayla]

I was trying to get some general questions that pertain to my family answered ahead of any future trips we make. The Disney World online chat will only allow you to proceed with valid theme park admission. I'm certainly not willing to commit thousands of dollars on a whim that we will be accommodated.

I know my brother qualifies for DAS, that's not the issue. The issue is the composition of our party and whether or not they will allow for more than 4 guests. As it currently stands, our party consists of 5 adults (including my disabled brother) and two children (4 and 2, so only one requires a ticket). Does anyone know what allows Disney to "bend" on the 4 person cap?

Logic would state that when we have 6 ticketed guests that they would allow 5 total to use the DAS because one adult would have to join the 2 year old. Then when the 2 year old becomes a ticketed guest they would allow 6 total guests, again it would be 1 adult per child and disabled guest.

Does anyone have experience with more than 4 guests under the new system?

Logic says you have plenty of adults in the group, so no exceptions should be made.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Has Disney World been employing Return to Queue or Location Return Time in the same way that Disneyland is? It was posted on here a while ago that at some attractions, guests would express their needs to a CM at the entrance and then receive a time later to return, very similar to DAS. I know that's taking place in Disneyland at attractions where the queues are a bit narrower. To my knowledge it's not taking place at DCA.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I know that's taking place in Disneyland at attractions where the queues are a bit narrower. To my knowledge it's not taking place at DCA.

many attractions at Disneyland can’t accommodate guests in wheelchairs, or even some other mobility issues in the standard queues - so they have to be given a return time so they can be accommodated.

I’m not sure if that is technically part of the DAS system or not.