New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[nickys]

Good point, when you call to book a hotel you ask if handicap rooms are available with the accommodations you need. You don’t book the hotel and then call 30 days out and see if you qualify.

There is no such thing as “qualifying” for a HA room though. Anyone can book one.

 

[Basil of Baker Street]

Good point, when you call to book a hotel you ask if handicap rooms are available with the accommodations you need. You don’t book the hotel and then call 30 days out and see if you qualify.

Which kinda points to how silly this is - imagine a hotel saying “I’m sorry, you don’t qualify for a hotel room with support bars in the restroom, we suggest you practice at home by bracing against a wall.”

I believe you can call Disney without a ticket and find out what attractions are handicap accessible. If you don't want to get on the phone, a lot of information can be found here.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/mobility/

 

[Purduevian]

There is no such thing as “qualifying” for a HA room though. Anyone can book one.

Also, Disney can't "Run out" of DAS for the day.

 

[DryerLintFan]

It’s the same exact situation now, it’s just a different set of people getting very different results.

My GFs heart condition issues are compounded by heat, we did DL last week and it was insanely hot, we averaged about 3-4 hours a day in the morning and about 3-4 hours at night in the park, one night she was so sick we didn’t even go back though, so while most people were getting up to 14 hours a day of park time we averaged about 6 a day for the same exact price, is that fair? Over our 4 days we managed about 25 hours of park time total, and probably 25 rides total. In the past with DAS we’d have had similar park time but probably averaged 35-40 rides.

We were fortunate the lines were short in the mornings this week so we got more done than I expected but we still don’t know if we’ll be back, between the tickets, hotel, food, etc we figured it cost us about $100 an hour for every hour we were actually in the park (or $100 per ride depending on how you want to look at it), that’s horrible value. DAS didn’t give us an advantage, it just made it so we could accomplish something similar in our short time to what the normal guest would get in a full day.

A typical trip with young children is equal to this or less. Our first trip, we rode dumbo twice, ride Winnie, and then she decided that all rides were scary because Winnie scared her. So for the rest of the trip we’d wake up early, spend 3 morning hours at the park meeting princesses and finding food, then two ish hours at night to see parade’s and firework’s.

So i guess my question is what is normal? You’re comparing your park productivity to people who are called park commandos, but there’s no way those folks are the average.

 

[Hockey89]

A typical trip with young children is equal to this or less. Our first trip, we rode dumbo twice, ride Winnie, and then she decided that all rides were scary because Winnie scared her. So for the rest of the trip we’d wake up early, spend 3 morning hours at the park meeting princesses and finding food, then two ish hours at night to see parade’s and firework’s.

So i guess my question is what is normal? You’re comparing your park productivity to people who are called park commandos, but there’s no way those folks are the average.

100% facts. It’s actually more time than we have ever done with children.

 

[jaklgreen]

The entire change that was enacted into the system was started because the data WDW had showed overuse/abuse of the system, which was effecting wait times and lines.

And of course there is going to be a concern on abuse on attempts to link ticket sales to accommodations. First, the company doesn't want to lose money, either through people refusing to buy tickets if not given what they want, or threatening to return tickets if they don't get what they want. Second, the system shouldn't have any financial incentive behind the determination on what accommodation should be given. It should be money blind. Any link to the accommodation having an effect on profits/sales inherently bias the decision and the system, and would result in overuse...which is what the entire purpose of the change in the system in the first place.

As to not knowing what accommodation a person will get without going through the process...that is inherent in the entire system. Reasonable accommodations are not meant, and the law doesn't require, there being a one size fits all approach. Its supposed to be a reasonable accommodation such that it provides just enough accommodation to the person seeking it, while having minimal impact on business operations and other customers/employees, ect. As a general rule, it is the business that is going to decide what accommodation is necessary. The company is not going to pay of the costs of people to conduct interviews, make determinations, for people who haven't already purchased tickets, either to avoid the increased volume of people who will be tying up the system for "lets just see" calls, or "we want to go someday" type calls, or again people who are going to try and leverage what they think they want, vs what WDW thinks they need for purchasing tickets.

Disney has not shown any data on DAS. You all keep talking about the numbers from the lawsuit. That was when they changed from GAC to DAS over a decade ago. Those numbers where based off of GAC, a true front of the line accommodation for everyone, even those in wheelchairs/ECVs. Disney has not shown anyone data from the past decade. There has been nothing official from Disney because they don't release that information, unless it is for something like a lawsuit.

 

[Chi84]

Disney has not shown any data on DAS. You all keep talking about the numbers from the lawsuit. That was when they changed from GAC to DAS over a decade ago. Those numbers where based off of GAC, a true front of the line accommodation for everyone, even those in wheelchairs/ECVs. Disney has not shown anyone data from the past decade. There has been nothing official from Disney because they don't release that information, unless it is for something like a lawsuit.

Disney hasn’t released it but they do have it.

 

[jaklgreen]

Disney hasn’t released it but they do have it.

I agree that they have it. My issue is that people keep bringing up "the numbers" and they are talking about the ones from the lawsuit a decade ago. They have zero bearing on what is happening with DAS. Yes, there was abuse, yes too many people probably got DAS. But we need to be honest here and stop acting as if the GAC numbers are relevant.

 

[Chi84]

I agree that they have it. My issue is that people keep bringing up "the numbers" and they are talking about the ones from the lawsuit a decade ago. They have zero bearing on what is happening with DAS. Yes, there was abuse, yes too many people probably got DAS. But we need to be honest here and stop acting as if the GAC numbers are relevant.

The post you quoted didn’t mention GAC numbers, though. It just said Disney had data of abuse/overuse of the system.

 

[DryerLintFan]

Disney has not shown any data on DAS. You all keep talking about the numbers from the lawsuit. That was when they changed from GAC to DAS over a decade ago. Those numbers where based off of GAC, a true front of the line accommodation for everyone, even those in wheelchairs/ECVs. Disney has not shown anyone data from the past decade. There has been nothing official from Disney because they don't release that information, unless it is for something like a lawsuit.

I don’t think we need official numbers to make points, here. We have observations, experiences, and we do Have numbers from Len and His Team. We also have CMs in the thread sharing experiences from their side, and we’ve seen video proof of system abuse strategies. Overall, the GAC numbers do nothing for the conversation except that they propose the assumption that Disney wouldn’t have made this move if they didn’t have numbers to back it up.

 

[DisneyHead123]

I think what is known with a fair degree of certainty is that DAS usage was increasing. What is not known is the degree to which this was driven by abuse vs. a genuine increase in disabilities / disability awareness / a movement towards self advocacy vs. a “suck it up and put on a happy face” attitude.

On the former point, my understanding is that there is hard data. On the latter, I think it’s mostly a handful of anecdotal stories. I’m actually open to either interpretation or both, just saying, I don’t think there’s any real data on whether the increase was need driven or abuse driven.

 

[Basil of Baker Street]

It’s the same exact situation now, it’s just a different set of people getting very different results.

My GFs heart condition issues are compounded by heat, we did DL last week and it was insanely hot, we averaged about 3-4 hours a day in the morning and about 3-4 hours at night in the park, one night she was so sick we didn’t even go back though, so while most people were getting up to 14 hours a day of park time we averaged about 6 a day for the same exact price, is that fair? Over our 4 days we managed about 25 hours of park time total, and probably 25 rides total. In the past with DAS we’d have had similar park time but probably averaged 35-40 rides.

We were fortunate the lines were short in the mornings this week so we got more done than I expected but we still don’t know if we’ll be back, between the tickets, hotel, food, etc we figured it cost us about $100 an hour for every hour we were actually in the park (or $100 per ride depending on how you want to look at it), that’s horrible value. DAS didn’t give us an advantage, it just made it so we could accomplish something similar in our short time to what the normal guest would get in a full day.

Shouldn't people who are in the parks 14 hours accomplish more than people in the parks for 6 hours?

 

[DryerLintFan]

I think what is known with a fair degree of certainty is that DAS usage was increasing. What is not known is the degree to which this was driven by abuse vs. a genuine increase in disabilities / disability awareness / a movement towards self advocacy vs. a “suck it up and put on a happy face” attitude.

On the former point, my understanding is that there is hard data. On the latter, I think it’s mostly a handful of anecdotal stories. I’m actually open to either interpretation or both, just saying, I don’t think there’s any real data on whether the increase was need driven or abuse driven.

The second point is irrelevant, imo. The TYPES of disabilities that can have (and have now) been accommodated by other strategies makes it a moot point.

those people with disabilities are still being accommodated, just in a way that is more tailored to their situation

 

[jaklgreen]

I don’t think we need official numbers to make points, here. We have observations, experiences, and we do Have numbers from Len and His Team. We also have CMs in the thread sharing experiences from their side, and we’ve seen video proof of system abuse strategies. Overall, the GAC numbers do nothing for the conversation except that they propose the assumption that Disney wouldn’t have made this move if they didn’t have numbers to back it up.

I don't think you need the numbers either. We all know that there was abuse. So then we don't need to be coming up with random numbers saying that 14% was taking up 80% of the queue, or whatever it was you all were saying. Those numbers are pulled out of thin air because no one has the official numbers and Disney is not talking.
So let's all keep it honest and not act as if their made up numbers are fact.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Shouldn't people who are in the parks 14 hours accomplish more than people in the parks for 6 hours?

Yes, and even when people had DAS those who could spend the whole day in the parks accomplished far more than the people who had DAS.

The argument DAS gave (genuinely) disable people an advantage is ludicrous though, it gave us the ability to have a similar experience to a non-disabled guest, a lessor experience but similar enough to justify the high ticket price, now it’s not even comparable which means it’s also not worth the price of admission anymore.

We’ll likely continue to take the occasional (short) WDW trip but we won’t be going for a week anymore and paying for 6 days of park tickets, we’ll still visit Epcot since it’s not ride dependent, we’ll enjoy our resort, enjoy Disney Springs, ride the boats, and resort hop and enjoy the other things around the parks though. It’s not worth $180 a day to go to the other 3 theme parks where we can only go on 4 or 5 rides a day though.

 

[Chi84]

Yes, and even when people had DAS those who could spend the whole day in the parks accomplished far more than the people who had DAS.

The argument DAS gave (genuinely) disable people an advantage is ludicrous though, it gave us the ability to have a similar experience to a non-disabled guest, a lessor experience but similar enough to justify the high ticket price, now it’s not even comparable which means it’s also not worth the price of admission anymore.

We’ll likely continue to take the occasional (short) WDW trip but we won’t be going for a week anymore and paying for 6 days of park tickets, we’ll still visit Epcot since it’s not ride dependent, we’ll enjoy our resort, enjoy Disney Springs, ride the boats, and resort hop and enjoy the other things around the parks though. It’s not worth $180 a day to go to the other 3 theme parks where we can only go on 4 or 5 rides a day though.

I think what people have to figure out is if just being given access to the LLs would result in a similar experience. Or were there parts of DAS that went over and above that were necessary for your enjoyment of the parks.

If it’s only access to the LLs, that is still available with LLMP and LLSP. If that isn’t sufficient (several posters have said it is not) but Disney is still not extending DAS, then I can see having to go somewhere else with more value.

The other point is that WDW is unique in how much it has to offer other than rides. We never go on more than 4 or 5 rides in a park on any given day, so a lot depends on how you like to spend your time there.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I'm pretty sure most who have had DAS have a pretty good idea as to whether LL will result in a similar experience or not

I appreciate that Disney is more than rides - of course. Without going into more detail about DD's needs - the rides are what's *unique* to Disney for her. That there is such a wide variety of thrill factor and they are all safe and accessible for her is what's unique.

 

[DryerLintFan]

I think what people have to figure out is if just being given access to the LLs would result in a similar experience. Or were there parts of DAS that went over and above that were necessary for your enjoyment of the parks.

If it’s only access to the LLs, that is still available with LLMP and LLSP. If that isn’t sufficient (several posters have said it is not) but Disney is still not extending DAS, then I can see having to go somewhere else with more value.

The other point is that WDW is unique in how much it has to offer other than rides. We never go on more than 4 or 5 rides in a park on any given day, so a lot depends on how you like to spend your time there.

What makes LLMP difficult is the small return time window. One hour is hard for *most* people with disabilities to make, at least some of the time. Like if you’re on one ride and you’re walking to the next ride, even if you have a half hour more to get there, you might have a flare up or episode along the way.

If they offered a hybrid, it might work. Like if you register as disabled, you can still pay for and Book LLs, but have the return time have no limit for the day, just like DAS. I think that would help a LOT of folks who no longer qualify for DAS

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I think what people have to figure out is if just being given access to the LLs would result in a similar experience. Or were there parts of DAS that went over and above that were necessary for your enjoyment of the parks.

If it’s only access to the LLs, that is still available with LLMP and LLSP. If that isn’t sufficient (several posters have said it is not) but Disney is still not extending DAS, then I can see having to go somewhere else with more value.

The other point is that WDW is unique in how much it has to offer other than rides. We never go on more than 4 or 5 rides in a park on any given day, so a lot depends on how you like to spend your time there.

LL could probably replace DAS but it comes at such a steep price it dramatically changes the value proposition, $360 a day (for 2 people) for 5-6 rides in 5-6 hours vs $460 (for 2 people) for 9-10 rides in 5-6 hours… either way we’re limited by time constraints so we don’t get the same benefit from LLMP that others might.

The last paragraph is where my Gfs medical issues hurt us the most regardless of DAS or LL, we haven’t seen an afternoon parade in years because it’s simply too difficult to stay in the parks til 3 in the afternoon, we used to love the AK trails but we don’t have the time to do many of them anymore, when you’re trying to prioritize rides to get some value you have to sacrifice much of the wandering around looking at stuff time to do it, EP is the only park where we still spend the whole day, because we spend so much of it indoors, which is why I think it still has so much value for us.

We still love the vibe of WDW, we just do it differently now, rather than spending a week at WDW and spending thousands of dollars on park tickets (we can’t fully take advantage of) we find more value in a couple days at WDW enjoying EP and the non park activities and then jumping over to Port Canaveral and spending the rest of the week on a DCL cruise.

 

[Basil of Baker Street]

Yes, and even when people had DAS those who could spend the whole day in the parks accomplished far more than the people who had DAS.

The argument DAS gave (genuinely) disable people an advantage is ludicrous though, it gave us the ability to have a similar experience to a non-disabled guest, a lessor experience but similar enough to justify the high ticket price, now it’s not even comparable which means it’s also not worth the price of admission anymore.

We’ll likely continue to take the occasional (short) WDW trip but we won’t be going for a week anymore and paying for 6 days of park tickets, we’ll still visit Epcot since it’s not ride dependent, we’ll enjoy our resort, enjoy Disney Springs, ride the boats, and resort hop and enjoy the other things around the parks though. It’s not worth $180 a day to go to the other 3 theme parks where we can only go on 4 or 5 rides a day though.

Ok but reading your last sentence.

DAS didn’t give us an advantage, it just made it so we could accomplish something similar in our short time to what the normal guest would get in a full day.

I mean.... that is an absolute advantage. Just like buying LLMP is an advantage over Standby. Or people who pay for a plaid have an advantage. I don't think DAS is/was intended to make it to where you could accomplish a full day of parking in a shorter amount of time. It was so people who cant stand in a physical line didn't have to. That's it. Someone with DAS should not be able to ride more than any other person waiting standby.