New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I think everyone is going to be very disappointed when this rolls out, the former DAS users are now going to struggle a bit more to enjoy the parks and the standby guests are going to be disappointed when they realize average waits only go down a couple minutes.

This isn’t the answer to long lines, it’s just another scheme to avoid the elephant in the room, not enough ride capacity.

55 minute standby waits are better than 60 but is that really going to make a difference in guests perception of the parks?

Reminds me of the “get rid of FP to fix it” arguments back in the day, everyone claimed getting rid of FP would speed up the standby queue and then in 2020 (with no FP and reduced attendance) the lines were just as slow as before. This problem can’t be fixed with line schemes, it needs shovels and ladders.

Realize that Disneys intent is not to lower standby time…it’s to make genie a more attractive purchase by adding slots to it

 

[Angel Ariel]

Realize that Disneys intent is not to lower standby time…it’s to make genie a more attractive purchase by adding slots to it

Oh i get that. And I expect what will happen is they'll much of this DAS capacity to Genie+, which will likely have an effect short term of making Genie+ more attractive and then more people will buy it, but they will have added enough slots back that once people start buying them all, we'll be right back in the same position with long LL and Genie+ no longer being attractive again.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Realize that Disneys intent is not to lower standby time…it’s to make genie a more attractive purchase by adding slots to it

I know, I just see a lot of comments about how this is going to speed up the standby lines and I think those people are setting themselves up for a huge disappointment.

Most legitimate former DAS users are going to have no choice but to buy G+, we’re still going to be “skipping” the line, it’s just not going to be free anymore.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I know, I just see a lot of comments about how this is going to speed up the standby lines and I think those people are setting themselves up for a huge disappointment.

Most legitimate former DAS users are going to have no choice but to buy G+, we’re still going to be “skipping” the line, it’s just not going to be free anymore.

In their ideal world…the standby line would GROW…and all those disgruntled magic seekers would see people whipping by in the lighting lane…jumbo turkey leg and Mickey bar in hand…and would be on their phones buying up some magical genie

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Oh i get that. And I expect what will happen is they'll much of this DAS capacity to Genie+, which will likely have an effect short term of making Genie+ more attractive and then more people will buy it, but they will have added enough slots back that once people start buying them all, we'll be right back in the same position with long LL and Genie+ no longer being attractive again.

Correct…because there’s no way to put too many people in too few seats…which is what has to happen to make people happy to the point they want to spend even more money on your parks

A bit of an issue

 

[DisneyHead123]

For most people, FP+ didn’t work well at all.

It’s the worst thing Disney has ever done.

Anecdotally, it seems to me that guest satisfaction with FP+ was at least relatively good, but I will certainly cede that I don’t have data on that, so those are just my anecdotal impressions. (The pre-selections were more likely to be what people wanted, but even beyond that, people seemed to have good luck with the “refresh” strategy day-of.)

If nothing else, though, I think the fact that it was offered to every single park goer and still worked is kind of amazing considering how clogged Genie is with presumably a fraction of the users. Increases in DAS usage, from what I’m hearing, contribute to that somewhat. But I think the time selection capacity of FP+ also made a big difference. Genie+ forces everyone into reservations as early as possible. When people could sort themselves into times throughout the day, it seemed to work much better. Genie+ seems like it was designed for a park with much more capacity (presumably because it’s based on Disneyland’s system) where the majority of the rides don’t inevitably fill up and become unavailable on busy days.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Anecdotally, it seems to me that guest satisfaction with FP+ was at least relatively good, but I will certainly cede that I don’t have data on that, so those are just my anecdotal impressions.

Same. I’m not sure where all the “unsustainable” claims are coming from.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Same. I’m not sure where all the “unsustainable” claims are coming from.

Not enough seats for the demand? And the problem of “negative capacity” being created across the board based?

 

[homerdance]

Not only that…if you buy genie you are in 3 places at once from an operational standpoint

The computer is dictating standby flow and genie slots taking your spots into account

Which being so dependent on a computer exasperates the problem, unless they also use the computer to set standby times. Based on info in this thread, wait times are set by the ride ops vs any sort of computer which, with todays AI could give a near exact number of how many are in the line physically and virtually.

If Disney used Ai to count queue numbers, added G+ reservations, then added DAS as they are selected you would see a much truer standby queue wait time which would reduce the DAS usage. And also make G+(which is a crappy product) more attractive.

 

[rtmachine]

Anecdotally, it seems to me that guest satisfaction with FP+ was at least relatively good, but I will certainly cede that I don’t have data on that, so those are just my anecdotal impressions. (The pre-selections were more likely to be what people wanted, but even beyond that, people seemed to have good luck with the “refresh” strategy day-of.)

Yes I'm sure they were high from resort guests who "WE" had a 30 day advantage..I would give them 100% satisfied for that benefit and the refresh was a great bonus... Plus less pressure on DAS.
I always thought the FP+ was an incentive to fill the resorts and based on my experience AP rooms were harder to get sometimes .
When 19 came along and reduced staff for resorts, then they went to a paid version to increase $$$.. and that brings us to the DAS abuse...
Extended family's could plan a trip with FP's and not need DAS for the reasons they get them now.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Reminds me of the “get rid of FP to fix it” arguments back in the day, everyone claimed getting rid of FP would speed up the standby queue and then in 2020 (with no FP and reduced attendance) the lines were just as slow as before.

Well, part of the reason the lines were “just as slow as before” is because Lightining lanes were still being used by a lot of DAS users. But yeah, this alone certainly won’t fix the issue, but it certainly won’t hurt.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

People are conflating “guest satisfaction”…which is an amorphous “metric” anyway…with operational functionality.

Fastpass plus didn’t work from an ops standpoint.

And wasn’t NEARLY as popular on a day to day basis as its being lauded as since. Absence makes the heart

 

[LittleBuford]

And wasn’t NEARLY as popular on a day to day basis as its being lauded as since. Absence makes the heart

It was distinctly unpopular here in the forum, though a few of us (myself included) were steadfast fans.

I’d be curious to know how the general guest population felt about it. Perhaps @lentesta has some relevant data.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

The reason I am confident that these changes are going to have some sort of noticeable impact on park operations is I simply don’t think Disney would go through the trouble of changing the system and doing this if it wasn’t going to do something and they weren’t confident in it furthering their goals.

I don’t think they’re intending to help standby. I think they’re attempting to free up LL capacity to encourage Genie+ sales by way of making it a less frustrating product with increased capacity, as well as more consistent controlled LL waits for everyone, and that’s a win as far as I’m concerned.

 

[Touchdown]

It will significantly improve the G+ experience, and keep LL queues to a minimum outside of breakdowns. It will marginally improve standby by a few minutes but will notably smooth LL returns so that standby moves consistently.

 

[jaklgreen]

Because how to game the system/avoid the fees becomes commonplace info in our digital world…unfortunately

No one is asking HOW to get the return to line feature, they are asking about how logistically it is going to work. Most of us have been there numerous times and know that the queues are not really compatible with people coming and going. Not sure what all of the secrecy is about to say how they are going to accomplish getting people in and out of line quickly and safely.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Not sure what all of the secrecy is about to say how they are going to accomplish getting people in and out of line quickly and safely.

My concern is that they don’t know and are leaving it up to front line managers and CM’s to figure out. That means lots of inconsistency, confusion, and dare I mention frustration.

 

[Ayla]

Im pretty sure you are being sarcastic when you and everyone else repeats the line that DAS is a line skip system….

I'm pretty sure you are being disingenuous when you claim it *isn't* a line skip system. It was literally designed for people who claim they are unable to stand in the regular line...aka, a line skip system.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I'm pretty sure you are being disingenuous when you claim it *isn't* a line skip system. It was literally designed for people who claim they are unable to stand in the regular line...aka, a line skip system.

Are wheelchair loading areas at the bus stops a line skip system?

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

My concern is that they don’t know

This has been a common theme with Disney as long as I can remember, they come up with an idea, roll it out before sorting out the details, chaos and frustration ensues, and they patch it with bandaids as they go.

That’s been true of their line schemes, their apps, their website, RunDisney… everything they do puts the cart before the horse, and we happily pay for the bad experience while complaining.