New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[RamblinWreck]

Wow… for some people there just are not words (well there are words…. But not nice ones lol). But in all seriousness, I do hope that since they plan to have a lot of folks leaving and entering lines, they also have cast members accessible to prevent these sort of scenarios.

The cynical side of me says the they probably want to have leaving the line available as an option they have offered just to protect from lawsuits, but they’d rather it not seem like an easy or comfortable thing to do.

 

[KaitlinGrace1990]

Agree not sure how to word it but 'autism and similar' are spectrum issues and some higher functioning may or may not be able to handle lines. Again this is where the questions that are asked will be important, I think taking it on an individual case by case situation is best they probably shouldn't have added that.

That’s true… I guess the challenge they had is gracefully communicating that simply being diagnosed with autism, doesn’t guarantee a DAS.
I’ve got two family members with autism and it truly is a spectrum. The older member (now a young adult) struggles with social anxiety and certain sensory issues but he was able to attend college and holds down a job.
The younger member is severely limited by his challenges (non verbal, severe sensory issues, ect).
So I understand that it might seem inappropriate to imply that anyone has “mild autism” like a mild cold or something… but I do see where they are going with that. They just want to make it clear that they won’t be offering the same accommodations for everyone on the ASD spectrum.

 

[Happyday]

That’s true… I guess the challenge they had is gracefully communicating that simply being diagnosed with autism, doesn’t guarantee a DAS.
I’ve got two family members with autism and it truly is a spectrum. The older member (now a young adult) struggles with social anxiety and certain sensory issues but he was able to attend college and holds down a job.
The younger member is severely limited by his challenges (non verbal, severe sensory issues, ect).
So I understand that it might seem inappropriate to imply that anyone has “mild autism” like a mild cold or something… but I do see where they are going with that. They just want to make it clear that they won’t be offering the same accommodations for everyone on the ASD spectrum.

Totally agree. I was wondering how else they could word it and unfortunately I don't think there is a way without upsetting someone.

 

[KaitlinGrace1990]

The cynical side of me says the they probably want to have leaving the line available as an option they have offered just to protect from lawsuits, but they’d rather it not seem like an easy or comfortable thing to do.

That’s true, they might want to make sure it’s not overused since it would be a logistical headache to have tons of people leaving and returning to lines…
BUT…, they do need to be careful to make accommodations accessible. So while they might want to make sure people only come and go as needed… they can’t single out those who need to leave and come back. There is wording in the ADA about accommodations allowing “equal opportunity to access goods and services” so they don’t want to make it to challenging …

 

[Splash4eva]

I don't think every line is able to be reconfigured, so it'll be something like "For the lines that offer it, the exit-and-re-enter process is this..."

I'm told that some lines are too small to be reconfigured, so you'll have to excuse yourself back through the line to get out and back to where you were. I'm not sure how that's going to work, from the perspective of "I was at this exact spot 20 minutes ago so I'm going back to there now."

The regular CMs at the line entrances will be reminding people to hit the restrooms before they get in long lines.

Whats gonna happen when your a single parent with a minor child?

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Whats gonna happen when your a single parent with a minor child?

You go with the child to the bathroom and then return to line?

 

[RamblinWreck]

I wonder how many people will try to “return to lines” that they were never in.

 

[Comped]

This is especially the case given the current makeup of the federal courts in Florida, the eleventh circuit, and the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Roberts would apparently qualify for DAS under the old system, but not the new system (even if his seizures are likely controlled quite well). Wonder if he'd complain about that during a hearing?

 

[Angel Ariel]

There are absolutely differing severities of diagnoses. Someone in my life is very high functioning Aspergers. She would say herself she doesn't need a DAS.

I could be wrong, but I think what the poster is getting at is that when it's shared as mild/severe, those with less familiarity view it as a linear progression. The more accurate representation I've seen from autistic self-advocates is that if a sound mixer where there's multiple faders (needs) that all exist at once at different levels depending on the individual.

Stereotypically speaking, a non-speaking autistic is often considered to have "more severe" autism (in quotes because that phrasing is often not well taken in the community), but it's possible that their other faders Are set in a way that theme park lines are fine for them. Where a speaking autistic may stereotypically be considered more "mild" in presentation, yet their other faders (needs) are such that being in line is not possible.

So it's not about saying there aren't different levels of need within a diagnosis - of course there are, but that wording like mild/severe is often stereotyped in ways that a person's needs may be more likely to be misconstrued or misunderstood/inappropriately classified.

 

[Splash4eva]

You go with the child to the bathroom and then return to line?

How are they realistically expect people to just walk back thru the line and know where there spot is? What happens if it takes longer than expected and their “spot” has ridden already?

 

[Joel]

Chief Justice Roberts would apparently qualify for DAS under the old system, but not the new system (even if his seizures are likely controlled quite well). Wonder if he'd complain about that during a hearing?

The twist ending is Disney losing in the Supreme Court because a majority of the justices have been abusing DAS and don't want to pay for Genie+.

 

[pigglewiggle]

I could be wrong, but I think what the poster is getting at is that when it's shared as mild/severe, those with less familiarity view it as a linear progression. The more accurate representation I've seen from autistic self-advocates is that if a sound mixer where there's multiple faders (needs) that all exist at once at different levels depending on the individual.

Stereotypically speaking, a non-speaking autistic is often considered to have "more severe" autism (in quotes because that phrasing is often not well taken in the community), but it's possible that their other faders Are set in a way that theme park lines are fine for them. Where a speaking autistic may stereotypically be considered more "mild" in presentation, yet their other faders (needs) are such that being in line is not possible.

So it's not about saying there aren't different levels of need within a diagnosis - of course there are, but that wording like mild/severe is often stereotyped in ways that a person's needs may be more likely to be misconstrued or misunderstood/inappropriately classified.

Okay.
I hope you and your daughter are able to still experience Disney in a way that works for you both.

 

[KaitlinGrace1990]

Yeah, it really is going to suck for them. And they are absolutely going to get just abused like crazy. People are so sure that they are entitled to their right to skip the lines. I really hope Disney doesn’t end up losing staff over the verbal abuse they’re going to endure.

I agree they are going to be confronted with angry people… but I would respectfully push back on calling it a “line skip” implying front of the line access…
Ive been in a DAS group and non DAS group and Those using the DAS don’t skip the wait…
But they do skip the wait “in” the standby line… the time waiting is the same… but the experience is different.
And , certainly there are some people who feel “entitled” to a DAS …but most people who were using it before the changes were doing so because Disney told them that was the accommodation for their challenge.
So I don’t blame them for being uncertain and frustrated at having to suddenly adjust to a new way of doing things.
I absolutely agree Disney has to change the way accommodations worked for a lot of people.. but I also don’t fault people who have a need for some type of accommodation for being a little flustered and upset.
It’s a really complex situation .

 

[pigglewiggle]

How are they realistically expect people to just walk back thru the line and know where there spot is? What happens if it takes longer than expected and their “spot” has ridden already?

Is anything going to work?

Things will go wrong at first. Then they will need to be tweaked.

Let's stop automatically assuming nothing is good enough.

 

[Jrb1979]

How are they realistically expect people to just walk back thru the line and know where there spot is? What happens if it takes longer than expected and their “spot” has ridden already?

I would imagine they will have a lanyard of something similar so the CM knows roughly where you were in line.

 

[Splash4eva]

Is anything going to work?

Things will go wrong at first. Then they will need to be tweaked.

Let's stop automatically assuming nothing is good enough.

If i understand correctly Disney expects guests to police themselves basically to walk out and in line. If you feel this is the best course forward then we can respectfully disagree. Line cutting has been an issue for years now and a noticeable one imo. Can you imagine how many “incidents” are gonna happen when countless people just walk past others…

 

[Splash4eva]

I would imagine they will have a lanyard of something similar so the CM knows roughly where you were in line.

Just gonna be a matter of time where Disney simply says if you gotta go too bad. Either lose your spot or hold it in lol

 

[Happyday]

I could be wrong, but I think what the poster is getting at is that when it's shared as mild/severe, those with less familiarity view it as a linear progression. The more accurate representation I've seen from autistic self-advocates is that if a sound mixer where there's multiple faders (needs) that all exist at once at different levels depending on the individual.

Stereotypically speaking, a non-speaking autistic is often considered to have "more severe" autism (in quotes because that phrasing is often not well taken in the community), but it's possible that their other faders Are set in a way that theme park lines are fine for them. Where a speaking autistic may stereotypically be considered more "mild" in presentation, yet their other faders (needs) are such that being in line is not possible.

So it's not about saying there aren't different levels of need within a diagnosis - of course there are, but that wording like mild/severe is often stereotyped in ways that a person's needs may be more likely to be misconstrued or misunderstood/inappropriately classified.

Yes exactly every person with autism is still an individual. I know non verbal individuals that are extremely able to communicate with a communication device, even writing term papers and others that use a communication device to express basic needs and/or wants.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Okay.
I hope you and your daughter are able to still experience Disney in a way that works for you both.

Thanks.

I'm not concerned about me. I've done lines at Disney for years on trips before she was born. My concern is just her ability to access something that brings her the joy and relief it does.

 

[rtmachine]

This is going to turn a large block of DAS guests "unfairly or not" into paid LL guests, which probably won't make a difference in the wait times as they are already in the LL ...Plus some of the YouTube streamers..not all...will be back to waiting like everyone else