New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[Happyday]

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?

There are more questions than that I am not going to advertise what they are

 

[Angel Ariel]

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?

yes, the parent has to have the child there to get the child's photo. The cm sees the child at least long enough to say hi, try to get them to pose/stay still for a photo, but the child is not required to remain. Some kids with developmental disabilities do not do well with hearing their disability described to others. That can be triggering of a meltdown, or self-injurious behaviors, for ex. So the child isn't required to stay.

The CMs don't want or ask about a condition or diagnosis name. They ask for what needs a child has that need to be accommodated. So, just saying they have anxiety is not an answer. The cm needs to know why that anxiety impacts their ability to be in line (and that's as far as I'll go so as not to encourage abuse by non disabled people by giving further details).

 

[KDM31091]

It also comes down to money. Disney wants to sell as many LLs as possible. DAS is free but takes up space in the LL. Obviously they have a financial incentive to make sure DAS is limited. So they can sell more LLs.

 

[Dis Dragon]

It does come down to money, so any perceived solution that involves Disney spending more in technology (added scan points) or more in human resources (added CM's to lines) will not happen...

 

[Disney Glimpses]

It also comes down to money. Disney wants to sell as many LLs as possible. DAS is free but takes up space in the LL. Obviously they have a financial incentive to make sure DAS is limited. So they can sell more LLs.

It's more that people are using DAS as a means to get LL for free. Not that they are trying to remove DAS access from legitimate holders as a means to generate revenue.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

Money is always going to be a driving factor for Disney, but I’m under the impression that it’s less of a direct less DAS = more Genie sales, and more of an indirect attempt to increase profits by increasing guest satisfaction. Long Genie+ lines and a questionably useful line skipping service is I’m sure not their ideal scenario.

If increasing profits by way of guest satisfaction is their goal in all of this, and it’s an attempt to make the system function better by way of the illusions genie+ changes, that’s more reminiscent of Disney of years past than adding charge after charge after charge. Happy people are happy spending money and keep spending.

 

[wdisney9000]

don’t know. I don’t expect that the number of people who would rope their child into a lie like that would be very large.

People are most likely already doing it. Or Once they learn it could allow them to not wait in 45-90 queues for their trip?? Ya, they would adjust their morals for a brief video call.

But kids are wildly unpredictable, and have a strong propensity to out your lies at the most inopportune times. Like what are they going to tell the kid?

“Sit still and silent while mommy lies to this nice lady on the computer, honey”

Slap a pair of headphones on the child who is "sensitive" and give them their iPad. When it's time for the photo, take them.off amd tell.the child to take a picutre, which most kids get their picutre taken by mom or dad a thousand times a week.

My only point is that it wouldn't be difficult. And as I mentioned earlier, DAS is getting A LOT of publicity right now. More people will learn that autistic children can get DAS and perhaps go for it. These are people who did know abkut it prior. Amd the families who are already doing it will continue to have it.

While Disney may eliminate the IBS users of DAS, they could attract new people to say "autism". Just a thought.

 

[Disney Glimpses]

Money is always going to be a driving factor for Disney, but I’m under the impression that it’s less of a direct less DAS = more Genie sales, and more of an indirect attempt to increase profits by increasing guest satisfaction. Long Genie+ lines and a questionably useful line skipping service is I’m sure not their ideal scenario.

The reality is that their models for how they predicted the Genie+ would work were completely thrown out the window with ridiculous increases in DAS usage. My guess is that they still think Genie+ will be the great product they dreamed of with DAS usage pared back. We'll see.

 

[Grantwil93]

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.

Yeah, when I was in charge of booking it for my cousin and his parents(he has Autism and I've got my guest passes so we got him DAS), this was exactly how I figured out to use it.

We basically just went in a circle around MK and did literally everything worth doing(we did skip a few things he wasn't interested in) and never waited to scan in more than a few minutes. The jungle cruise example is spot on.

The only ride where we had to wait at all for our return time was 7 dwarfs.

That's the system working as intended, and he had a phenomenal day. But I couldn't help but realize how easy it made the parks feel. I was waiting in line for rides while in the LL for other rides. It works so well that I can absolutely see why there is fraud.

I truly think 2 things that could be done to help with this are and additional touch point at the end of a ride that has to be scanned before you can book another attraction(at least on things over a certain popularity threshold), and either removing the 10 minutes for travel or at least reducing it to 5.

 

[Grantwil93]

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.

Yeah, it's not abuse. Especially in the hands of those that need it.

It's really a system working as intended but being flawed which has lead to fraud to get access to the system because it's a better experience when used, even within the confines of intended use.

The "abuse" is the fraud to obtain it. Beyond that, it's just a system that has flaws that really start to show at a bigger scale.

 

[networkpro]

It's more that people are using DAS as a means to get LL for free. Not that they are trying to remove DAS access from legitimate holders as a means to generate revenue.

Correct, its not a money grab, it's a per hour capacity problem as stated by multiple other posters. Unplanned DAS parties added to the paid LL or LL+ ridership increases substantially the wait times of the standby riders. The ratio of standby to LL/DAS decreases so the convenience to one group inconveniences the other, so it's not just a matter of courtesy it's material impact to the product being provided.

 

[Tha Realest]

The people who are saying, “DAS isn’t the problem here, Genie+ is!” ignore both the realities of how much more LL capacity is used by DAS vs. G+, as well as what Disney is required to do to make a reasonable accommodation (hint: they don’t have to get rid of Genie plus or “fundamentally” alter their goods or services).

 

[Tha Realest]

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.

Correct. The standard is, “what is a reasonable accommodation for those with physical ailments, such as IBS?” not, “how can we make it so [WDW poster] doesn’t have to wait in line?”

 

[DryerLintFan]

People are most likely already doing it. Or Once they learn it could allow them to not wait in 45-90 queues for their trip?? Ya, they would adjust their morals for a brief video call.


Slap a pair of headphones on the child who is "sensitive" and give them their iPad. When it's time for the photo, take them.off amd tell.the child to take a picutre, which most kids get their picutre taken by mom or dad a thousand times a week.

My only point is that it wouldn't be difficult. And as I mentioned earlier, DAS is getting A LOT of publicity right now. More people will learn that autistic children can get DAS and perhaps go for it. These are people who did know abkut it prior. Amd the families who are already doing it will continue to have it.

While Disney may eliminate the IBS users of DAS, they could attract new people to say "autism". Just a thought.

I think this boils down to the same thing we’ve been saying the entire thread:

The people who lie to scam now are going to lie to scam with this new system, only the lies will be slightly different.

 

[Tha Realest]

I think this boils down to the same thing we’ve been saying the entire thread:

The people who lie to scam now are going to lie to scam with this new system, only the lies will be slightly different.

I suspect the screening/ approval process will be a bit more diligent in this regard.

 

[DryerLintFan]

Disney should just tear the band-aid.

Only do ADA mandated legal requirements, take the momentary bad press, and allow the park to get back to a sustainable operation that all guests can enjoy.

Yes, parents of autistic children and others will be outraged, but the countless millions of paying guests will celebrate it.

They are simply delaying the pain as this nonsense escalates.

Curious: what, in your opinion, are the mandated legal requirements?

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Disney should just tear the band-aid.

Only do ADA mandated legal requirements, take the momentary bad press, and allow the park to get back to a sustainable operation that all guests can enjoy.

Yes, parents of autistic children and others will be outraged, but the countless millions of paying guests will celebrate it.

They are simply delaying the pain as this nonsense escalates.

Autism is one of the few disorders mentioned in this thread where there likely is no other reasonable accommodation other than DAS. Everyone else who has physical ailments that cause them to not be able to wait in long lines can take advantage of a “take a break from the line and then return to it” system. Disney has made a lot of poor decisions lately, but I think so far they’ve handled this one just right. Save DAS for those who truly can’t use any other accommodation, and for everyone else with a disability, provide an accomodation that is more tailored to them (return to line) without destroying the guest experience for everyone else.

 

[Tha Realest]

Curious: what, in your opinion, are the mandated legal requirements?

They look a lot more like the new rules than the current ones

 

[Tha Realest]

Autism is one of the few disorders mentioned in this thread where there likely is no other reasonable accommodation other than DAS. Everyone else who has physical ailments that cause them to not be able to wait in long lines can take advantage of a “take a break from the line and then return to it” system. Disney has made a lot of poor decisions lately, but I think so far they’ve handled this one just right. Save DAS for those who truly can’t use any other accommodation, and for everyone else with a disability, provide an accomodation that is more tailored to them (return to line) without destroying the guest experience for everyone else.

Exactly this. Disability is not one size fits all; what may be reasonable for one person with a certain disability to endure is different than what’s reasonable for someone differently abled.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

It is not about my opinions, Disney’s ADA lawyers know exactly what they can pass the legal test on in their specific situation and they should be aggressively holding to only that as that is their best defense against liability.

Going above those absolute requirements is only causing them more pain (and the other guests) and exposing them to lawsuits for their discretion and inconsistencies.

I kinda get you here

But the other factor is that Disney is fighting a silent battle at the gates. The Bobs overpriced the parks

If this was 2007 or 2015…the PR concern would be minor. But they don’t need bad juju now. There’s only so long threatened Bob can say the parks are making more money by slashing hourlies and jacking prices on bottled water.