New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Not trying to antagonize or minimize, but I am struggling a bit to understand why the current DAS system doesn't work for your family.
4 people (your brother plus 3) can stay outside of the line as they previously did under DAS (I assume this would be 1 child, 1 parent, and 1 grandparent). While the other 3 (grandparent 2, parent two, and child two) wait in the standby line. Once they near the LL merge, call/text the outside group and have them tap into the LL and meet at the merge.

I know it isn't ideal as I know people want to keep the family together, but I guess I don't really see why all 7 people need to wait outside of the standby line? I assume I am missing something though. I hope everything works out and you have a magical vacation regardless of what happens.

Technically it could work but the whole point of a family vacation is to be with your family, if you’re spending half your day apart it kind of defeats the purpose of taking the trip in the first place.

It “could” work is not a selling point, the old DAS made Disney one of the most incredible places on the planet for people with disabilities, the new DAS makes it theoretically possible to accomplish things… that’s not comparable.

We adore Disney but if it came down to a family vacation at Disney, where we’re separated half the time, or anyplace else where we can spend our time together Disney now loses every time.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

It “could” work is not a selling point, the old DAS made Disney one of the most incredible places on the planet for people with disabilities,

It still is, provided it’s just them and their immediate families.

 

[Vclguy90]

Technically it could work but the whole point of a family vacation is to be with your family, if you’re spending half your day apart it kind of defeats the purpose of taking the trip in the first place.

It “could” work is not a selling point, the old DAS made Disney one of the most incredible places on the planet for people with disabilities, the new DAS makes it theoretically possible to accomplish things… that’s not comparable.

We adore Disney but if it came down to a family vacation at Disney, where we’re separated half the time, or anyplace else where we can spend our time together Disney now loses every time.

Fully agree. It seems like much more of a headache than an asset to try to utilize the system and coordinating half your party going through standby and meeting up with them via LL which feel likes a huge hit to the consumer. I mean, your party is your party and the people you are spending the day with from the get go. You aren't adding some strangers mid-day to take advantage of your DAS so I am not sure what the issue is.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

It still is, provided it’s just them and their immediate families.

I’m sure some still feel that way, as for us we’ll be spending a lot of our former Disney vacation dollars elsewhere. 2025s big trip is now a Princess Alaska land and sea cruise and 2026s big trip is a Viking river cruise out of Budapest. Disney will still see a sizable chunk of change thanks to DCL but Disneys $25k loss is Princess and Vikings gain.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Not trying to antagonize or minimize, but I am struggling a bit to understand why the current DAS system doesn't work for your family.
4 people (your brother plus 3) can stay outside of the line as they previously did under DAS (I assume this would be 1 child, 1 parent, and 1 grandparent). While the other 3 (grandparent 2, parent two, and child two) wait in the standby line. Once they near the LL merge, call/text the outside group and have them tap into the LL and meet at the merge.

I know it isn't ideal as I know people want to keep the family together, but I guess I don't really see why all 7 people need to wait outside of the standby line? I assume I am missing something though. I hope everything works out and you have a magical vacation regardless of what happens.

In short, we haven't had to do this for 40 years and the underlying messaging was that there would be no material changes to people that qualified for the system.

Add in the fact that even having the conversation is behind a non-refundable paywall and I'm frustrated.

I’m going to step out on a limb and say that if you’re whole party goes up to the cast member at the entrance and plead your case, POLITELY, they’ll bend the rules and let your group through…it’s not WHAT you say, it’s HOW you say it…

And you may be right. I'll certainly follow up here after the trip.

Would you be able to use DAS for 4 members of your party and LL multipass for the others? Try to plan the return times close enough so you can all enter the LL queue at the same time?

We will have LL, but the LL changes aren't exactly guest friendly either from an adaptability standpoint. Essentially you're asking to mix and match two systems, one of which has an end time on the return window. I know I'm yelling into the void here, but visiting a theme park should not be this complicated. We've always managed and always made it transparent to Matt, but this will absolutely be testing our limits.

I just expectation set with my parents with scenarios like "2 of us wait standby, the rest of the group uses DAS, we meet after the ride". We'll see how it all goes. The alternative is trying Matt in standby lines for his favorite rides (Jungle Cruise is his favorite ride and now regularly has an hour+ wait). If he has behavioral issues in the line we'll have to pull him from the line and deal with a 47 year old having a tantrum in the middle of Disney World. We've thankfully been able to avoid that for over 10 years.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I understand the frustration. Here’s the problem though. The difference between 4 people and 6 people in your party might not seem like a lot, but translated across all of DAS that would actually represent a 50 percent increase in the number of DAS-affiliated users in the lightning lanes. DAS as it existed was not sustainable. The lightning lanes have **noticeably** improved since they made these changes, to the benefit of everyone using them (including, by the way, legitimate DAS users such as your brother). Staying on the current path meant that DAS was going to be untenable for everyone. You ever experience a 30-45 minute backup in the lightning lanes at the really popular rides during peak times? That’s not really happening anymore absent extraordinary circumstances. Disney did what it had to do. They simply can’t support DAS for extended families/large parties.

I'm well aware, and that extra capacity can be sold for $329 a head.

This was absolutely an over correction. I will fully acknowledge that on previous trips it was VERY easy to exceed the 6 person cap. In December of 2023 my in laws joined our group of 6 and one visit to a Blue umbrella had that 6 person "cap" increased to 8. I completely understand the need for having a cap of some sort, my argument is that 4 is too low and putting the conversation behind a paywall is abhorrent.

Universal and Lego Land have a 6 person cap and you can get IBCCES approval in advance of purchasing tickets. Six Flags has a 4 person cap, and while I think that's too low, those parks aren't exactly kid friendly. Having a 4 person cap at Disney makes very little sense.

 

[RememberWhen]

In short, we haven't had to do this for 40 years and the underlying messaging was that there would be no material changes to people that qualified for the system.

Add in the fact that even having the conversation is behind a non-refundable paywall and I'm frustrated.

And you may be right. I'll certainly follow up here after the trip.

We will have LL, but the LL changes aren't exactly guest friendly either from an adaptability standpoint. Essentially you're asking to mix and match two systems, one of which has an end time on the return window. I know I'm yelling into the void here, but visiting a theme park should not be this complicated. We've also managed and always made it transparent to Matt, but this will absolutely be testing our limits.

I just expectation set with my parents with scenarios like "2 of us wait standby, the rest of the group uses DAS, we meet after the ride". We'll see how it all goes. The alternative is trying Matt in standby lines for his favorite rides (Jungle Cruise is his favorite ride and now regularly has an hour+ wait). If he has behavioral issues in the line we'll have to pull him from the line and deal with a 47 year old having a tantrum in the middle of Disney World. We've thankfully been able to avoid that for over 10 years.

It’s very frustrating for your family group. I wish I had more than sympathy, but I think Disney is trying to be firm on this to make a stand against all the folks who used to abuse it. Maybe someone in person would be able to make an exception for you (which seems legitimate in this case). Not all families are “immediate” families. Many come in different varieties (fosters, grandparents with custody, extended step families). It seems reasonable to include the family that you have historically traveled to WDW with as your immediate family. I hope that they are able to help you out and you’re able to have a great trip.

 

[Jrb1979]

It’s very frustrating for your family group. I wish I had more than sympathy, but I think Disney is trying to be firm on this to make a stand against all the folks who used to abuse it. Maybe someone in person would be able to make an exception for you (which seems legitimate in this case). Not all families are “immediate” families. Many come in different varieties (fosters, grandparents with custody, extended step families). It seems reasonable to include the family that you have historically traveled to WDW with as your immediate family. I hope that they are able to help you out and you’re able to have a great trip.

I can understand the frustration but the bolded was a big part of the problem. I know many think an extra 2-3 per party is no big deal. When it's multiple families doing it, it ends up overwhelming the LL queue. It's why Disney put a limit to immediate family. The only time they seem to extend it is for families with more than 2 kids.

 

[Angel Ariel]

It still is, provided it’s just them and their immediate families.

In the situation shared here today though, the only non"immediate" family is the minor children, though (and I suppose OP's wife if getting seriously technical). The DAS user is a disabled adult. His immediate family is his parents, his brother (and imo yes I would say his SIL).

It's different than, for example, my family's party of 5 where the DAS user is my child, and the grandparents are not immediate family.

 

[Angel Ariel]

In short, we haven't had to do this for 40 years and the underlying messaging was that there would be no material changes to people that qualified for the system.

Add in the fact that even having the conversation is behind a non-refundable paywall and I'm frustrated.

And you may be right. I'll certainly follow up here after the trip.

We will have LL, but the LL changes aren't exactly guest friendly either from an adaptability standpoint. Essentially you're asking to mix and match two systems, one of which has an end time on the return window. I know I'm yelling into the void here, but visiting a theme park should not be this complicated. We've always managed and always made it transparent to Matt, but this will absolutely be testing our limits.

I just expectation set with my parents with scenarios like "2 of us wait standby, the rest of the group uses DAS, we meet after the ride". We'll see how it all goes. The alternative is trying Matt in standby lines for his favorite rides (Jungle Cruise is his favorite ride and now regularly has an hour+ wait). If he has behavioral issues in the line we'll have to pull him from the line and deal with a 47 year old having a tantrum in the middle of Disney World. We've thankfully been able to avoid that for over 10 years.

 

[jennab55]

I wanted to bump this thread to share my recent experiences / frustrations.

For those that don't know, I have an autistic older brother Matt. He's in a group home, he has behavioral issues, he is who this program is designed around. He was eligible in the past and remains eligible now. We verified that this weekend on the video call.

I understand why Disney has made these changes, but I completely view this as an over correction. I recognize that there are 547 pages of differing opinions on this, but I wanted to now share my firsthand knowledge of the experience.

Our traveling party has typically been 5, 6 or 7 over the last 10 years. I have a 4 year old and a 2 year old, hence the variability. We've also occasionally been joined for a day by additional family members and prior to the changes earlier this year they could often be added as additional capacity in park at a Blue Umbrella / guest services. We all know now that this is no longer the case.

This upcoming trip has my two 76 year old parents, my 47 year old brother (The DAS guest), myself and my wife, and my two children. 6 ticketed guests and a 2 year old. Disney has limited us to 4 guests on the DAS standing by the "immediate family" description. I have tried to make the case that an expansion to 5 is necessary simply because certain 2 seater attractions require a minor guest to be accompanied by an adult and my brother would also need to be accompanied by an adult (5 tickets guests + 2 year old). That fell on deaf ears as well.

Honestly, none of that surprised me. The real issue I'm having with all this is that Disney will not talk with anyone unless they have valid ticket media. For a family dynamic like ours, that means spending $5K+ on tickets to see if we can work with the accommodations they're willing to provide. That in itself is unacceptable. The IBCCES approval process and subsequent 6 guest limit at Universal and Legoland do not face that same concern.

I tried framing this a few different ways, including the hypothetical scenario about my 2 year old being 3 (she turns 3 in April). Would we then see an increase to 5 guests? They won't comment on that until I'm within 30 days of a trip with tickets in hand for her and the other applicable guests.

My brother loves Disney, as does the entire family. I'm hopeful that our upcoming trip works well enough (hopefully the crowds will be light enough where this will be largely moot), but I'm not optimistic.

The last piece of this is that there's no real avenue for feedback. There is a general e-mail address for Disability Services and my interaction with that e-mail address has been form responses with a direction to return to the video chat conversation. It's circular and frustrating.

I mean they are accommodating the DAS holder and helper. That’s really what is needed. The other 2 people (4 max) and just a nice extra. Why don’t you just buy LLMP for the extra people and coordinate ride times? Sorry but to me this seems as though your expectations are too high. Since most of your family can wait in a queue, there’s no need for all of you to have DAS, that was part of the previous problem…. The 4 of your immediate family could wait in the queue and your brother, mom, and dad could meet you at the merge point. Then you all still get to ride together and no one is left alone either.

 

[Angel Ariel]

The 4 of your immediate family could wait in the queue and your brother, mom, and dad could meet you at the merge point. Then you all still get to ride together and no one is left alone either.

This assumes that the 76 year old parents can meet the needs of the 47 year old DAS user on their own. The OP said the brother lives in a group home, so I wouldn't make that assumption.

 

[Vclguy90]

I mean they are accommodating the DAS holder and helper. That’s really what is needed. The other 2 people (4 max) and just a nice extra. Why don’t you just buy LLMP for the extra people and coordinate ride times? Sorry but to me this seems as though your expectations are too high. Since most of your family can wait in a queue, there’s no need for all of you to have DAS, that was part of the previous problem…. The 4 of your immediate family could wait in the queue and your brother, mom, and dad could meet you at the merge point. Then you all still get to ride together and no one is left alone either.

Too high of expectations? How? Is it too much to ask for his entire party to be accommodated so they all can be together? Hell, why stop at 4. Maybe just the DAS person should be the only one allowed to utilize it and everyone in party pays for an MPLL (which are not equal and would be a super stressful to coordinate, btw) This is my qualm with Disney. Disney used to be that accommodating and Disney used to have a difference. Now it doesn't and it's super nickel and dimey with little value. It almosts seems like it happened overnight, which is jarring and therefore I can't fathom how people can defend them taking away accomodations/rides/portions/services/etc. in effort to make more money can truly be justified. I kinda feel these individuals are speaking about Disney as if they knew how it was in the past; but really they don't.

 

[Comped]

I will say that on Sunday, I went to Epcot for the first time in a few weeks (probably at least a month or so which is a long time for me), and decided to try my luck with getting a return time for LWTL instead of sitting on Zoom during the week, waiting for quite a long time, and likely having an argument with whatever poor underpaid CM has to try to understand how my diagnosis fits into the limited guidelines Disney has for getting it.

Turns out it was really easy and painless, and exactly how it was before for getting a return time without all the annoyances of getting one through the old system (mainly an annoying amount of waiting every few weeks, or now sitting on a call for a renewal twice a year under strict guidelines and a high likelihood of rejection). And the CM who initially put in my return time into the system was so nice about it all that I actually gave her a cast compliment over making the whole thing rather easy. I enjoyed my absolutely gigantic peanut butter cookie from the nearby food outlet, one of the best cookies from the cookie stroll this year I guarantee, and simply waited out my time of 30 minutes or so in relative comfort. And this was after 6:00 in the evening, when the ride gets especially popular because of the holiday lights! I honestly think that if this is the standard going forward that I might just do the return times permanently and skip the automatic system. Because nothing particularly changes except me not being able to use the app for choosing rides. A little more walking, but it's an annoyance at worst. Nothing I can't handle especially when compared to the hassle qualifying for the new version takes up.