New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[Angel Ariel]

True. But that wait isn’t from end of ride to beginning of ride.

You DAS jungle cruise, for example. 45 minute wait, okay. You booked it the moment you got into the park, so by the time you walk there, after taking Castle selfie’s and grabbing a Starbies, it’s time to get on the ride. Zero wait.

The moment you scan in, you book DAS for pirates that has a 45 minute wait (35 min return time). You get through the LL of JC, ride the actual ride, then by the time it’s over your return time is up for Pirates so you walk onto that. Rinse and repeat.

That’s what that poster is saying.

I understood what the poster was saying, thank you. That doesn't change my response.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Why is this a DAS issue and not a Genie+ issue?

Genie+ is absolutely an issue! Many of the same in this thread who are commenting on how DAS is broken are the same who comment in the Genie+ thread about how that is broken as well. However when the vast majority of people in the LL’s are DAS users and not Genie+ users, DAS is a bigger issue than Genie+.

 

[DryerLintFan]

I have a longer answer to this, that I’ll respond with whenever I wake up tomorrow. They wanted me to sleep for 4 hours after this LASIK and now my sleep schedule is off and I’m realizing it’s 4am.

Let me just say this for now.

Disney has had numbers on a lot of things for a very long time. For years now, an endless number of things could have been done to not end up where we are now.

I’m assuming you have been to the parks plenty so you will know what I’m talking about here is true.

Disney sells you on the Magic. The memories.

Hey check out this DVC, you can share the Magic with your family for the next 50 years. Generations of your family will experience the Magic together.

Now a lot of families have an older generation that they would most definitely would like to share the Magic with.

You have seen them, a sweet 81 year old lady getting on Space mountain, Grandkid in the front seat and she is sitting there with a look of pure happiness on her face.

You see that’s Disney to me. That’s what it represented. It was more than just some rides and a castle. It was the culmination of so many amazing things coming together to deliver an experience you simply couldn’t find anywhere else.

It’s family.

It’s home.

You also know too be true that among that older generation there will be many that struggle with the parks and benefited greatly from DAS.

I know they are going to provide some other form of accommodations but it may just be to much for some people.

They could have added sufficient capacity to the parks.

They didn’t have to monetize line skipping.

The could have had more live entertainment and things to do besides rides.

They could have lived up to the Disney name instead of cowing to Wall Street.

Well I was planning on keeping this short but the pills they gave me are kicking in and I’m rambling.

Hopefully some of this makes sense.

All I know for sure is this whole situation really miffs my muffins because it could have been avoided with proper stewardship of what it means to be Disney.

It’s not that they monetized front of line, it’s the way they did it. If they went to paid fast passes that you pre booked three and had the option to pay for more, and people could plan their park days, i don’t think this would have been an issue.

But they created a whole new system where you pay and it’s all a chance game and you cannot plan your day out like they’ve trained us to. Paid FP+ would have been fine. Genie + is an issue.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

If they aren’t careful about implementing their alternative accommodations, they may even lose a lawsuit.

They’re not losing a lawsuit on this. From just the publicly available data we know that DAS was significantly impacting the guest experience for everyone else and “fundamentally altering” their business. Honestly, they could probably go further than they did here and still not lose. There’s not a ton of case law on ADA accommodations relative to theme parks and line skipping, but what little there is (including Disney’s previous GAC lawsuit) favors Disney.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I agree with the substance of your post BUT how does does Disney have concrete numbers of DAS users who are also going to wait in standby lines while waiting for their call back time? Nobody scans into standby

And, again, Disney literally told people to do this. So it's frustrating to constantly read it being classified as evidence of abuse.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Ultimately, I think having everyone scan into lines will be the ultimate answer.

Making 92 percent of park goers scan into every attraction to prevent 8 percent of park goers from getting into a second attraction while waiting their virtual time cannot possibly be the answer.

 

[DryerLintFan]

I understood what the poster was saying, thank you. That doesn't change my response.

Oh. Sorry!

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

And, again, Disney literally told people to do this. So it's frustrating to constantly read it being classified as evidence of abuse.

It doesn’t have to be “abuse” for it to be unsustainable and for it to suck up the lion’s share of ride capacity.

 

[DryerLintFan]

Making 92 percent of park goers scan into every attraction to prevent 8 percent of park goers from getting into a second attraction while waiting their virtual time cannot possibly be the answer.

Lol i could swear back when we were discussing numbers you were one of the ones with the totals in your comments.

8 out of 100 people have DAS, but those 8 people have people in their party in their DAS. Let’s say it’s a magical party of four. That’s now 32 out of 100 people. A third.

 

[Angel Ariel]

It doesn’t have to be “abuse” for it to be unsustainable and for it to suck up the lion’s share of ride capacity.

I didn't indicate otherwise, and have said repeatedly in this thread I understand the need for changes.

But it's very irksome to see use that Disney explicitly allowed and encouraged be referred to as abuse. If "it doesnt have to be "abuse" for it to be unsustainable," then it should be easy to stop referring to usage allowed and encouraged by Disney as abuse.

 

[wdisney9000]

A majority of guests are families with children. Won't they just have to say their child has autism and then be granted a DAS?

The online video chat would most likely be done with a parent not the child. Once they say "my child has autism", what does the CM do? Ask them to prove it? Ask questions about their child's condition? Doubt it.

And with all the media attention this current situation is getting, I would bet that many people who never heard of DAS are now aware of it and will learn its mostly for autistic issues which could give them the idea to try and get it. Or they will just hear about it on Facebook or from a friend and learn they just need to say autism on the video call.

For everybody person Disney deters, they could be attracting a new one.

 

[Angel Ariel]

The online video chat would most likely be done with a parent not the child. Once they say "my child has autism", what does the CM do? Ask them to prove it? Ask questions about their child's condition? Doubt i

The DAS user has to be present for the call. They don't have to do all the talking, the parent can do that, but they do need to see the child. And while they don't ask questions about a diagnosis, they do ask questions about what the child needs are. DD is not able to answer their questions, so they do allow me to answer for her. It's pretty clear to them when they see her on the video, however, that she can't answer their questions.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

8 out of 100 people have DAS, but those 8 people have people in their party in their DAS. Let’s say it’s a magical party of four. That’s now 32 out of 100 people. A third.

The point doesn’t change. Touch points back up every ride. Making 68 percent who don’t have DAS scan in to avoid abuse from the 32 percent who do is not workable (plus the increase in staff that would require the costs of which would necessarily be passed on to everyone else). Now, if Disney just wanted to make a “rule” that someone in a DAS virtual wait is not allowed to enter another attraction, along with the threat that “if caught” they would be trespassed, I suppose that could be workable. I don’t think they’re going to go in that direction though because there would be a lot of gray area between what is and isn’t allowed (ok to watch a show?), and the natural confusion would almost certainly make it very problematic to enforce.

 

[Happyday]

True. But that wait isn’t from end of ride to beginning of ride.

You DAS jungle cruise, for example. 45 minute wait, okay. You booked it the moment you got into the park, so by the time you walk there, after taking Castle selfie’s and grabbing a Starbies, it’s time to get on the ride. Zero wait.

The moment you scan in, you book DAS for pirates that has a 45 minute wait (35 min return time). You get through the LL of JC, ride the actual ride, then by the time it’s over your return time is up for Pirates so you walk onto that. Rinse and repeat.

That’s what that poster is saying.

Sounds like Disney needs to have another scanner at the exit of all rides so you can't book another ride till you scan out of the ride.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

But it's very irksome to see use that Disney explicitly allowed and encouraged be referred to as abuse. If "it doesnt have to be "abuse" for it to be unsustainable," then it should be easy to stop referring to usage allowed and encouraged by Disney as abuse.

It’s a mix though. There’s some definite abuse. “I have IBS” when the person does not have IBS. There’s also probably some level of “soft abuse” from people who have conditions and are qualifying, but also are definitely using accommodations they don’t actually need. Finally there are the general systemic problems. These three things are not mutually exclusive.

 

[wdisney9000]

The DAS user has to be present for the call. They don't have to do all the talking, the parent can do that, but they do need to see the child. And while they don't ask questions about a diagnosis, they do ask questions about what the child needs are.

Then the parent has the child sit next to them. Nothing difficult about that.

When asked about their needs, they simply respond with the childs anxiety and lack of ability to wait in a long line without suffering.
Is there a response the CM uses to navigate around that to prevent them getting DAS?

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

The online video chat would most likely be done with a parent not the child. Once they say "my child has autism", what does the CM do? Ask them to prove it? Ask questions about their child's condition? Doubt it.

Right now the video chat requires that the child be on the video chat as well. I don’t think that as many people are capable of lying like that in front of their children as you think.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I don’t think they’re going to go in that direction though because there would be a lot of gray area between what is and isn’t allowed (ok to watch a show?), and the natural confusion would almost certainly make it very problematic to enforce.

And realistically speaking Disney doesn't want these people just hanging out in the walkways. They don't have the walkway space (or seating, since they've been removing benches for years). Especially at Disneyland where there's so much less walking space to begin with.

 

[DryerLintFan]

Sounds like Disney needs to have another scanner at the exit of all rides so you can't book another ride till you scan out of the ride.

This could work. Like only DAS need to scan it. And only to activate their next selection.

But then if they’re having bathroom issues they’d have to jet to the nearest bathroom and then Come all the way back to sign in, so that wouldn’t be fair.

 

[Happyday]

A majority of guests are families with children. Won't they just have to say their child has autism and then be granted a DAS?

The online video chat would most likely be done with a parent not the child. Once they say "my child has autism", what does the CM do? Ask them to prove it? Ask questions about their child's condition? Doubt it.

And with all the media attention this current situation is getting, I would bet that many people who never heard of DAS are now aware of it and will learn its mostly for autistic issues which could give them the idea to try and get it. Or they will just hear about it on Facebook or from a friend and learn they just need to say autism on the video call.

For everybody person Disney deters, they could be attracting a new one.

Not sure if it applies across the board but during our last video chat (more than a year ago) we were expected to have the individual needing the DAS on video as well as a picture was taken for the pass.