New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[ToTBellHop]

I don't think you actually read my post or understand at all what I was saying. No one is martyring themselves and no one specifically singled you and your personal situation out. I am saying that DAS was not designed to or intended to support every single inconvenience that may arise from one's personal situation. It's intended to provide attraction access to folks who would otherwise be completely unable to experience said attraction without it.

Case in point: more than 60% of the LL queues are DAS right now. Have you ever been in a LL queue where the attraction went down and everyone there ended up waiting 45+ minutes? Did you see 60% of the guests in that queue completely melting down due to their intolerance for wait times? Of course not.

No one is singling you out personally but the vast majority of people are not being honest with Disney or themselves about the inability to wait in a normal standby queue. No one is suggesting that disabilities aren't real or that they don't impact peoples lives in very real ways. But it takes pretty specific circumstances (like yours) that prevent folks from sitting or standing somewhere for 45-90 minutes.

Thank you! I’ve been thinking this for years!

 

[Matthew]

Im confused. I have cerebral palsy im not in a wheel chiar but i have weakness on the right side of my body and cant stand for long streaches i wont be able to get it anymore or because its a brain issue it will be covered

This is what impacts my wife although she really is more impacted by her FND and ME in the last few years. She gets over stimulated in situations where she’s indoors with lots of people and has panic attacks so hopefully we would qualify or we’d just have to stop going tbh because as much as we love going we wouldn’t have a happy experience.

Suppose all we can do is wait and see.

 

[Grantwil93]

I'll be generous and assume you just misread my comment.

The fraud is by those that are either paying for access to a DAS recipient or faking their requirements in order use the DAS to get a superior experience.

Pretending having access to a DAS does not provide a superior guest experience (hence attracting the fraud) is being intentionally disingenuous.

Maybe I'm misreading, but would it be accurate to say "ppl who are getting the pass for fraudulent reasons are doing it because they can 100% have a superior experience as the system exists compared to standby or even G+ since they don't have any mitigating factors that families who do actually need the pass have"

Cause I agree if so

 

[RSoxNo1]

Genuine question. With all this talk about autism and Disney, I do have to ask: Why are people with autism attracted to Disney? This is just an observation of my own, but I have noticed that a lot of Disney fans could be on the spectrum. And it might not just be Disney, but theme parks in general?

I don’t mean any hate with this question. I am genuinely asking. Some friends of mine have always joked with me that I’m on the spectrum, and I have always loved Disney. So, that’s another reason I’m asking. I can’t even answer the question myself. If anyone has any theories, it would be interesting to hear. I tried Googling the question, but didn’t find much.

For our family and my brother it's always been a safe space for him. He has his routine (especially at MK) and it's one of the few vacations that actually caters to him. When he was younger (primarily during puberty) he also "lost" the privilege of going to the park. The stimulation of the day made it where he was a risk to himself and potentially others so my parents removed him from the park shortly after entering the turn styles.

Many of the other destinations we've traveled as a family have been without my brother. It's not so much that he wouldn't enjoy the vacation, but he wouldn't necessarily get the same benefit out of it as we do. As such, we typically have an annual trip to Disney World with him.

 

[Happyday]

The biggest issue with G+ is it sucks for planning, DAS is superior. Going to paid fastpasses with a designated time would be amazing.

I have no issue paying for a service that would actually accommodate scheduling without the expectation of being in the park all day to make your ride selections work.

Maybe Disney needs to look at Genie+ and maybe the conversation should move towards what is wrong with Genie+ what changes happened besides having to pay for it between Fast pass and Genie+

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I don't think you actually read my post or understand at all what I was saying. No one is martyring themselves and no one specifically singled you and your personal situation out. I am saying that DAS was not designed to or intended to support every single inconvenience that may arise from one's personal situation. It's intended to provide attraction access to folks who would otherwise be completely unable to experience said attraction without it.

Case in point: more than 60% of the LL queues are DAS right now. Have you ever been in a LL queue where the attraction went down and everyone there ended up waiting 45+ minutes? Did you see 60% of the guests in that queue completely melting down due to their intolerance for wait times? Of course not.

No one is singling you out personally but the vast majority of people are not being honest with Disney or themselves about the inability to wait in a normal standby queue. No one is suggesting that disabilities aren't real or that they don't impact peoples lives in very real ways. But it takes pretty specific circumstances (like yours) that prevent folks from sitting or standing somewhere for 45-90 minutes.

…there we go…numbers.

We are spitting into the abstract wind until numbers show up?

60%???

That is not reasonable and implies heavy abuse.

And it increases the standby waits for the majority of paying customers significantly for every single attraction across 4 parks for an average of 7 days.

They got a problem. I suspected as such when they voluntarily rolled out a new policy that was gonna cause them negative feedback and headaches

This is the lesser of two weevils…for sure

 

[pigglewiggle]

This is what impacts my wife although she really is more impacted by her FND and ME in the last few years. She gets over stimulated in situations where she’s indoors with lots of people and has panic attacks so hopefully we would qualify or we’d just have to stop going tbh because as much as we love going we wouldn’t have a happy experience.

Suppose all we can do is wait and see.

I'm asking because I don't know, but do they have a way where you can wait in the line and your wife can join you later? Perhaps a CM can have her meet up with you when you are close to front? Maybe that can work. That way she doesn't have to be surrounded by so many people and can relax while you do the waiting!

I realize it's not ideal for you guys to have to do it alone, but maybe it's better than nothing if you can't get the DAS anymore.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Maybe Disney needs to look at Genie+ and maybe the conversation should move towards what is wrong with Genie+ what changes happened besides having to pay for it between Fast pass and Genie+

That’s over with. We lost that battle about 15 years ago. They rejected expansion for flexible capacity in favor of implying the micro Econ curve to the park operations. Limiting supply to increase demand and price. b-rate thinking.

There’s one way to legitimately fix it and this management will not

 

[Dranth]

Yes, that's true but short of putting you in a holding cell while you wait for your ride time, there has to be an accommodation for people who want to re-ride but can't wait in a traditional queue.

Also the people who actually can't wait in a traditional queue won't be getting in line for other rides in the interim, but they should be allowed to eat or shop.

I don't want the ability for them to move around and do short wait rides removed. I just also don't want it being abused by people who don't need it and it seems like a lot of that is going on currently.

As for not getting in other lines, sure, at least ones that are too long for them to handle but plenty of rides/attractions have very low waits that most could get in while waiting for their return outside of the busiest days.

 

[flynnibus]

Her doctor incidentally (who is also a big Disney fan and visits often) also agrees that the exclusionary direction DAS has been moving towards regarding those who really need it is unacceptable.

I think the problem is Disney keeps falling into the trap lazily having 'one solution'... which ultimately ends up being the most powerful one, it gets overused/abused, and the system breaks down again.

Way back with GAC, they used to have multiple different accommodations the card could be marked for... regarding steps, etc. The immediate access wasn't intended to be the only accommodation GAC offered, but it eventually goto to that point.

DAS has suffered the same fate... instead of a system that can offer tailored experiences, they've gone to the 'one answer' for DAS... and accessible queues for everything else. There is no tailoring to specific needs. So once again, the 'powerful' option becomes too attractive, and gets overused, and the system breaks down again.

To break this cycle they really need to offer accommodations of more than 1 or 2 sizes... and then be able to ensure people get mapped to the accommodation that suits them. Not all disabilities require a 'no wait' or a 'instant reride' scenario. Maybe some specific cases do... but the problem is when you try to have 'one size fits all' - it creates all kinds of competing issues.

Doing something like the 'get out of line' option, or a DAS like 'wait outside the queue', and others are all ways to try to expand the arsenal of tools. They can keep going on that path... but it's not easy. And I certainly am skeptical of how they plan on achieving some of them. But that's what will get interesting I think.

 

[Happyday]

They've had similar language in place in the past. I've yet to hear even anecdotal evidence of anyone being banned.

What would be interesting is if they took the ability away from the front line cast members in the park to adjust the DAS at all. If they make it so that your only option is the online pre-registration I think that would go a long way to curbing abuse.

That's exactly what Disney did

 

[Patcheslee]

This would be the only way I can see this working without causing an entirely new issue to fix.

It allows someone who needs quick access to a bathroom to leave and return to still experience the attraction. They wouldn't gain any time advantage, and in fact would lose some of the time they would otherwise be waiting. This would cut down on abuse because there is no incentive for someone to leave the line unless they actually have to go, and not because they "might" have to.

I assume they would have to allow for this in the LL queue as well because those sometimes get backed up when an attraction goes down.

But how in the hell are they going to map where exactly someone left and came back? I assume this would be in place for everybody in the SB line and not just someone presenting with a disability, so it would be nuts in that case to issue LL return times to anybody whose kid drank too much Powerade.

The plan for "return to line" is really the lynchpin of the modification. If that hasn't been carefully reasoned, this will be an operational nightmare.

The return to line information will hopefully be disclosed soon. If Disney has numbers on how many with DAS were granted due to restroom needs, they have an idea of how many ppl they should expect to be impacted as well.
Maybe they'll be looking at "mile marker" type situation, once you pass X, you can only return at marker Y or earlier. Don't know, there's not an easy solution and the lack of details is frustrating.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

I'm not signalling you out but you happen to be the first I replied to.

I get the frustration cause of the changes. What did you want them to do? Disney sees the the LL queues are being overwhelmed more than they have ever been. It's not all due to abuse but the system can't handle the amount of people using it.

The only thing we do know is DAS usage has tripled in the last few years.

I’m just going to use the numbers…according to the CDC, the autism rate in 2000 was approximately 1 in 150…last year in NJ (where I live is now 1 in 35.
The rates have increased over 4 times in 23 years. So if the numbers are increasing at that alarming rate, and Disney is such a popular attraction for children with autism, the numbers are never going to decrease, only increase. So we’re going to see a dip in guests that really need it and don’t have access to it with a steady increase in DAS numbers…I just don’t get it…Disney, the epitome of inclusion EXCLUDING whole groups…

 

[Basil of Baker Street]

No matter what happens. People will come to accept it as the new normal. This is the way.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

I think the problem is Disney keeps falling into the trap lazily having 'one solution'... which ultimately ends up being the most powerful one, it gets overused/abused, and the system breaks down again.

Way back with GAC, they used to have multiple different accommodations the card could be marked for... regarding steps, etc. The immediate access wasn't intended to be the only accommodation GAC offered, but it eventually goto to that point.

DAS has suffered the same fate... instead of a system that can offer tailored experiences, they've gone to the 'one answer' for DAS... and accessible queues for everything else. There is no tailoring to specific needs. So once again, the 'powerful' option becomes too attractive, and gets overused, and the system breaks down again.

To break this cycle they really need to offer accommodations of more than 1 or 2 sizes... and then be able to ensure people get mapped to the accommodation that suits them. Not all disabilities require a 'no wait' or a 'instant reride' scenario. Maybe some specific cases do... but the problem is when you try to have 'one size fits all' - it creates all kinds of competing issues.

Doing something like the 'get out of line' option, or a DAS like 'wait outside the queue', and others are all ways to try to expand the arsenal of tools. They can keep going on that path... but it's not easy. And I certainly am skeptical of how they plan on achieving some of them. But that's what will get interesting I think.

I agree with your post. Until proven otherwise, I’m remaining optimistic - maybe naively so, that an arsenal of tools is what they’re attempting to do here. You’re right, they historically have either not done it or backed off of it. I’m hoping that once things settle everybody is left with the accommodation they need to access attractions, even if it’s not the accommodation they would opt for if given the choice.

It’s such a delicate balance and emotionally charged conversation. Every accommodation does have a real impact on all the park guests. Even DAS guests are impacted by too many DAS users. I’m hoping that although they are always making decisions with profits in mind, this time it’s at least indirectly by way of increasing across the board guest satisfaction with more manageable queue times (LL and standby) and by adding more value to Genie+.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'm asking because I don't know, but do they have a way where you can wait in the line and your wife can join you later? Perhaps a CM can have her meet up with you when you are close to front? Maybe that can work. That way she doesn't have to be surrounded by so many people and can relax while you do the waiting!

I realize it's not ideal for you guys to have to do it alone, but maybe it's better than nothing if you can't get the DAS anymore.

That costs money and they will not do it

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Maybe Disney needs to look at Genie+ and maybe the conversation should move towards what is wrong with Genie+ what changes happened besides having to pay for it between Fast pass and Genie+

Disney largely created this problem by replacing FP with G+, they say they have to change it because abuse is up but I still think the increase is primarily people who used to use FP to accommodate their situations and now have no choice but to use DAS more.

We probably used DAS 1-2 times a day when FP still existed, we knew which lines would be problematic and booked them with FP, now we use DAS 4-5 times a day, that’s a massive increase on paper but we’re “skipping” the same number of lines.

If Disney eliminates our ability to use DAS we’ll substantially reduce our trips, if it’s the only way we can do the parks we’ll pay for Genie but we aren’t going to pay for it multiple times a year, we love Disney but if we can’t do it comfortably we’ll go to the places where lines aren’t an issue.

 

[Matthew]

Just

I'm asking because I don't know, but do they have a way where you can wait in the line and your wife can join you later? Perhaps a CM can have her meet up with you when you are close to front? Maybe that can work. That way she doesn't have to be surrounded by so many people and can relax while you do the waiting!

I realize it's not ideal for you guys to have to do it alone, but maybe it's better than nothing if you can't get the DAS anymore.

While a fair point I wouldn’t feel comfortable with leaving her alone in the park, it’s not just indoor spaces, example she had a panic attack in IKEA parking lot once because I’d gone to the toilet and in the easiest way of explaining her brain told her that I’d left her and she was stuck there all alone.. in reality I was gone 5 minutes and had told her where I was going.

She is always more on edge when we are abroad and thousands of miles away from her safety nets.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Okay then you can't ride more than once either.

Are we talking about Orlando?

It is becoming unrealistic to ride ANYTHING more than once unless it has no line in the first place

 

[Splash4eva]

You don't get the point, others may not keep riding the same ride but we are talking about someone that is not neurotypical if they had the ability to wait in line they would!

I do get the point all im saying is if rerides and party size is the major issue then try and figure a way to fix that as opposed to reinventing the wheel