News New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[TrainsOfDisney]

We're not talking about different issues as far as I know; you think that disabled people shouldn't have to wait alone, so they should get a DAS even if another accommodation will work, such as waiting outside the line and meeting their party.

correct, I do not think disabled guests should be asked to wait alone while the rest of the party must wait in standby.

But I do acknowledge it’s a bit complicated since every attraction is a bit different.

 

[NotTheOne]

correct, I do not think disabled guests should be asked to wait alone while the rest of the party must wait in standby.

But I do acknowledge it’s a bit complicated since every attraction is a bit different.

Thankfully, Disney disagrees with you, which, by all accounts, has led to better experiences for those waiting in standby and LL.

 

[flynnibus]

What is the operational consequence of other guests waiting with a disabled guest outside the of the que?

You're asking about a specific scenario -- which is not the point being highlighted.

But in general, the more bodies moving through the LL, the more impact the LL has on the ride's queues, and thus impacts how much you can put through that line. I'm not going to go back and rehash if people think a virtual queue is net zero impact or not.

 

[jennab55]

correct, I do not think disabled guests should be asked to wait alone while the rest of the party must wait in standby.

But I do acknowledge it’s a bit complicated since every attraction is a bit different.

But isn’t the point for them to get through the queue to enjoy the ride? In the end, they all get to ride together.

 

[WDWTrojan]

correct, I do not think disabled guests should be asked to wait alone while the rest of the party must wait in standby.

But I do acknowledge it’s a bit complicated since every attraction is a bit different.

Disabled guests can have a caregiver. They aren't waiting alone.

 

[DCBaker]

Walt Disney World has made another update to the DAS policy - Guests can now have a pre-arrival discussion with a Cast Member as soon as 60 days prior to their visit. Previously it was 30 days.

Here's the updated language:

You may have a pre-arrival conversation as soon as 60 days in advance of a park visit.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Speaking specifically to EPCOT, if we got a DAS and started at, for example, Soarin', we would have either (a) waited for our return time which was an hour, had a nibble, then done the ride, then walked over to Ratatoulle, gotten another time (when I looked it was a 90 minute return time

I recognze this is from a few days ago but I just wanted to make sure that you know you are misunderstanding what you get with DAS. You don’t need to “walk over to the ride.” You grab DAS passes in the app.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I don't want this to come off in any way judgmental or rude. But I think that they gave Disney the impression that the nephew's life was not to be long lived

Just wow at this post.

We still waited 15, 20, 30, even 40 minutes for a particular ride once we were in line.

You really should give DAS a try. One of the things the DAS changes improved was significantly reducing the wait time in the lightning lanes, because there are no longer thousands of guests with “irritable bowel syndrome” jumping in to them. The result of that is that LL wait times of 30, 40 (even 20 usually) minutes are a thing of the past absent a ride breakdown. Most LL lines are now near walk-ons to the merge, or at most 5-10 minutes or so until the merge.

The new DAS is designed for children like your nephew and it sure sounds like he would qualify. You seem to have a misunderstanding about how DAS works with the app return times. It’s not like the old paper fastpass days. Given the distances involved and the mobility issues you describe, you might not even see a noticeable difference compared to your old touring style since you can grab your next DAS return before you even start heading to the ride. Yeah, if you go on super high-crowd days the return times can be a little out there, but on moderate or low crowd days? I really don’t think you’ll see much of a difference. You should consider giving it a try. Unfortunately you tried standby and LLMP, which, yeah, that is nothing like what your previous accommodation was. But DAS is not super different in effect from your old accommodation. The only real change you’d probably see is maybe getting one or 2 fewer headliners done in a 4 hour time period.

 

[jennab55]

Walt Disney World has made another update to the DAS policy - Guests can now have a pre-arrival discussion with a Cast Member as soon as 60 days prior to their visit. Previously it was 30 days.

Here's the updated language:

You may have a pre-arrival conversation as soon as 60 days in advance of a park visit.

Good news! This will help with people worried about cancellation policy if denied.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Walt Disney World has made another update to the DAS policy - Guests can now have a pre-arrival discussion with a Cast Member as soon as 60 days prior to their visit. Previously it was 30 days.

Here's the updated language:

You may have a pre-arrival conversation as soon as 60 days in advance of a park visit.

Glad to see this change! They must have gotten a lot of feedback about the timing with the cancellation deadline

 

[DisneyHead123]

The new DAS is designed for children like your nephew and it sure sounds like he would qualify. You seem to have a misunderstanding about how DAS works with the app return times. It’s not like the old paper fastpass days. Given the distances involved and the mobility issues you describe, you might not even see a noticeable difference compared to your old touring style since you can grab your next DAS return before you even start heading to the ride. Yeah, if you go on super high-crowd days the return times can be a little out there, but on moderate or low crowd days? I really don’t think you’ll see much of a difference. You should consider giving it a try. Unfortunately you tried standby and LLMP, which, yeah, that is nothing like what your previous accommodation was. But DAS is not super different in effect from your old accommodation. The only real change you’d probably see is maybe getting one or 2 fewer headliners done in a 4 hour time period.

This poster alluded to the fact that there were other changes in cast member attitude that she was not happy about. I’d actually be really curious to hear what those are but I understand talking about specific incidents can be identifying and privacy is important. I was actually really pleased with the cast members interactions with my son on our last trip. He is a “quirky” kid who we haven’t quite figured out yet (no definitive diagnosis). If he made socially inappropriate comments (we would correct him, but still awkward for us,) the cast members took a moment to reassure us that they weren’t offended and understood. On a couple of occasions when he wasn’t eating the food in a restaurant the waitstaff would bring him a complimentary, sensory friendly alternative without us asking. We were pretty pleased overall but I know it can be luck of the draw with the cast members one encounters. My hope is that they do have cm’s undergo some training in the area of common special needs issues though, but again, curious what other people’s experience has been.

 

[Ayla]

Good news! This will help with people worried about cancellation policy if denied.

But not if they still have to purchase tickets before they can even schedule the call.

 

[jennab55]

But not if they still have to purchase tickets before they can even schedule the call.

This has always been their policy. Had they changed their policy to having to purchase tickets prior to the DAS call when things changed last year, then I would see a problem. However, it’s always been the case. Heck, even just a few years ago people could apply until they were already on site in person. If people didn’t care then, why do they all of a sudden care now?

 

[Ayla]

This has always been their policy. Had they changed their policy to having to purchase tickets prior to the DAS call when things changed last year, then I would see a problem. However, it’s always been the case. Heck, even just a few years ago people could apply until they were already on site in person. If people didn’t care then, why do they all of a sudden care now?

I have always disagreed with having to purchase tickets before even knowing if you are still eligible under the changes. If you aren't eligible, what good are the tickets you spent thousands of dollars on? People should not be required to spend thousands of dollars before they are deemed eligible to speak to someone on whether they qualify or not.

People care now because the eligibility is now so restrictive (as it should be). In the past, pretty much everyone was approved, so there was very little risk of buying tickets in advance.

 

[jennab55]

I have always disagreed with having to purchase tickets before even knowing if you are still eligible under the changes. If you aren't eligible, what good are the tickets you spent thousands of dollars on? People should not be required to spend thousands of dollars before they are deemed eligible to speak to someone on whether they qualify or not.

People care now because the eligibility is now so restrictive (as it should be). In the past, pretty much everyone was approved, so there was very little risk of buying tickets in advance.

Honestly, I think most disabled visitors don’t know what DAS is. Many are first time visitors. Disney has to offer disability accommodations, and they do. There are more accommodations than just DAS, so people will be accommodated, it just might not be there preferred accommodation.

 

[DoubleSwitchback]

But not if they still have to purchase tickets before they can even schedule the call.

I think this is another thing affected by scam culture. There are people who openly called 10 times before Disney implemented the blocked-after-two-denials policy, and encouraged p
others to do it. Without a ticket, and therefore something to tie the denial to, someone could call dozens of times to do CM shopping again. Remember what a nightmare the wait times used to be?

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I think this is another thing affected by scam culture. There are people who openly called 10 times before Disney implemented the blocked-after-two-denials policy, and encouraged p
others to do it.

It’s not a scam to call back if you get poor customer service - which is what was being reported early on by some.

 

[DoubleSwitchback]

It’s not a scam to call back if you get poor customer service - which is what was being reported early on by some.

If someone applies and is denied multiple times, they are clearly not the intended recipient of DAS. If they continue to call back, tweaking their story to seek approval and using approval scripts published by DAS Defenders, what would you call that?

 

[Angel Ariel]

I have always disagreed with having to purchase tickets before even knowing if you are still eligible under the changes. If you aren't eligible, what good are the tickets you spent thousands of dollars on? People should not be required to spend thousands of dollars before they are deemed eligible to speak to someone on whether they qualify or not.

People care now because the eligibility is now so restrictive (as it should be). In the past, pretty much everyone was approved, so there was very little risk of buying tickets in advance.

Exactly.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Honestly, I think most disabled visitors don’t know what DAS is. Many are first time visitors. Disney has to offer disability accommodations, and they do. There are more accommodations than just DAS, so people will be accommodated, it just might not be there preferred accommodation.

And they should have the right to determine if the accommodation they will have access to will fit their needs. Just because Disney says it will doesn't mean they will agree - everyone should have the agency to determine if accommodations anywhere will work for them or not without being financially tied.