New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[hopemax]

The wildcard in LLs has always been the DAS...Disney could (and did) cap the number of Genie+ and ILLs being sold so that the line kept moving, but with DAS being handed out like candy, often for more than the 6 that Disney said they would limit it to, there was really no way to effectively manage LL capacity.

I'm probably in the minority, but I don't see this as a money grab by Disney, and I don't think they're looking to sell more Genie+ - I think they finally recognized that a) people who buy Genie+ are unhappy about the long LLs, b) DAS became ineffective for many who needed it because of the long LLs, and c) standby guests were increasingly upset about the LLs were making the standby lines unbearable.

I'm sort of in your minority... still a money grab, but for different reasons than what normally gets pushed here. I think the uncertainty of the true time spent in a queue, especially standby, is translating into lost vacation bookings. They aren't trying to sell more $30 Genie+, so much as they are trying to avoid losing out on $5K bookings.

Like someone else said, we don't even try to ride most attractions with ILLs and several Genie+ attractions like Frozen, Ratatouille, Slinky Dog, because the standby lines are too painful. It's not even the posted wait, it's the posted wait plus the uncertainty. I've mentioned before getting in lines that were posted as 70 minutes that in actuality were 150 minutes. Lines that we waited 45 minutes in and the ride went down, queue cleared. Get up to rope drop DHS and RoTR, SD, MRRR AND ToT were all down at park opening. For us, we didn't pay to get in the park, so we roll our eyes a lot, and it makes the day disappointing, but we aren't out money like the people around us are. How many times do you have a day like that, avoiding headliners, getting stuck in lines longer than posted, before you say, "Why even come to Disney?"

I think the shell game finally caught up with Disney. They had significantly more people entering the gate, than could theoretically ride all the E-ticket rides they wanted. In ye olden days of the Magic Kingdom, when there were 9 E-tickets, if you missed one or 2, you could still have a successful day. But the way Disney operates and advertises parks now, if you miss the Pandora attractions, or RoTR and Slinky Dog, how would you rate your day at AK or DHS? Actually, that could be another thing... there has always been an imbalance between MK attendance and elsewhere, maybe it's gotten worse. "Go to MK, you'll at least get to ride something without an upcharge." So they need to stabilize the standby experience to get people to distribute themselves somewhere other than the MK.

Because also unlike what other people think, I don't think this change is going to result in significantly shorter standby lines, but the posted wait might get back to the +/- 10 minutes, and not "it might be half of this number, or it might be double, depending on LL usage."

 

[Chip Chipperson]

I think his point is that there is an advantage over everyone else in the sense that a non-DAS person has to actually wait in the lets say 50min line for the ride, go on the ride, then go back into the 50min line to wait in order to ride again. Thats 1hour and 40min of waiting in line, to go on the ride twice. If you are a DAS holder, you get your return time, and then for the first 50 min, you can go grab something to eat, you can go shopping, you could go ride a ride that has no wait time, and then report back for your first ride. Then you can make the decision to re-ride the ride, and for the next 50 minutes find another ride with no wait time, go grab a spring roll, or go grab some pins. For the person without DAS to ride a ride twice your taking that 1hour and 40 minutes out of your day and dedicating it to that re-ride. Whereas for the DAS holder, you can do the same double ride, while still having the ability to do a lot of other things in the park.

Also, you can literally start the 2nd virtual waiting period while still in line for the first ride since you can book as soon as you tap in. If that's 10 minutes in the LL queue and then they have effectively reduced their wait for the re-ride - and still have the ability to ride something else in the interim.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Anyone who is disabled to the point that they require the full family available to them at all times to functionally be able to visit the parks should already be on DAS. Beyond that we are talking about personal preferences, not needs, so Disney has no need or requirement to accommodate people in that way.

Yup, that’s the key.

 

[Splash4eva]

I wonder about those as well. If DAS was already over-used, then why make the problem worse?

Exactly my point

 

[Splash4eva]

Maybe because eliminating prebooks would have been shuffling deck chairs on the titanic and they realized it? Easier to do a wholesale overhaul once they recognized the system was irredeemably broken.

Pre books have existed for awhile and lets face it. Disney is the king of trying to shuffle capacity. This would have actually been something that wasnt shuffling but adding inventory to a strained system…

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

I think if Disney thought the issues were in doubling up and being able to ride other things while waiting in a DAS queue, the first thing they would do would be to remove any verbiage online about what users can do during their waits. That could easily come before enforcing anything with technology.

It’s pretty clear by their actions they saw issues in the sheer number of people using it. I wonder if their data shows the problems were not being caused at the secondary rides with the naturally shorter queues that people can hop in, but at the attractions that the DAS was actually being used at - but in far too high numbers. Their data could also show certain groups were prone to doubling up in problematic to operations ways, and those groups no longer qualify in general so there was no need to make it a strict rule.

 

[hopemax]

Attraction CMs are reportedly pushing back on in-person requests for return times either by claiming they know of no such policy or questioning the guest to verify the veracity of their request. Sounds like it's a bit of a rough start to this new era of DAS.

From what I heard from my attraction host friend... it's typical Disney being typical. Their attraction has, in general, good managers so they were explained all the options and how to work with guests. In talking with hosts that work elsewhere, their managers aren't telling them much at all.

 

[Splash4eva]

The advantage comes from Disney allowing DAS users to ride something else while waiting. That effectively makes DAS an unlimited G+ with better return times for those who choose to ride something else while waiting for their return time. It is also what makes it ripe for abuse by skidmarks with no sense of right and wrong who are happy to lie about a false issue in order to get DAS. It increases Standby times at the other (typically non-geadliner) attractions since there are then groups of people in line for the 2nd ride who otherwise wouldn't be. I understand why Disney hasn't chosen to address that issue (yet) - enforcing it would require additional expenses for both tapstiles in the Standby entrance and additional staff to monitor those tapstiles. I'm sure they're hoping that these other changes will be enough to fix the issue. However, just because it isn't being addressed now doesn't mean it doesn't happen and doesn't cause problems. And pointing it out doesn't mean that anyone thinks every single DAS user does it (or even can do it, logistically).

Again riding something in between on a normal day with realistic wait times are few and far between. NOT counting cheaters/liars. This is one of the reasons why i still buy Genie+ along with DAS to eliminate so much down time in between waiting for attractions. Yes its an “advantage” but in all reality anyone with an issue can only wait oh so long and those rides are literally walk ons. So does it really matter?!?

 

[jaklgreen]

I get it is a personal thing but we separate all the time for various reasons in the park so yes, I do think it is reasonable. Did it when we went to DL when I was a child and we do it now as adults. It isn't a huge deal, and I am frankly puzzled by the people who think it is. In fact, I would say it was the common way to handle things for most of the park’s history.

Anyone who is disabled to the point that they require the full family available to them at all times to functionally be able to visit the parks should already be on DAS. Beyond that we are talking about personal preferences, not needs, so Disney has no need or requirement to accommodate people in that way.

I don't think that it is unreasonable for parents and children to stay together. And I also don't think that the average park goer are always separated from their families. People go on family vacations to be together.

 

[twall0415]

I'm not sure if anyone else noticed this, but on the Disneyland DAS site, they list having an Accessibility Services window available once the new policies go live there.

 

[jaklgreen]

It doesn’t help to talk or think in absolutes - no one, everyone, every time, never, etc.

It’s hard not to. I’m guilty of it too but it’s not helpful.

That is what I have been trying to say. No one can claim that all DAS users have this "advantage" or that the are all cheating the system.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Also, you can literally start the 2nd virtual waiting period while still in line for the first ride since you can book as soon as you tap in.

There will now be a 10minute delay before another DAS can be booked.

 

[Jenny72]

I'm not really sure what touring "normally" is, but I think a lot of people can't do it. Disney is tough, physically and mentally. We spend a lot of time trying to cool down, avoiding various stressful or strenuous activities, getting food or beverages, and going back to the hotel to rest, often for long periods. In other words, we spend a lot of our non-waiting time tending to our needs, too! But our issues aren't specifically about waiting in queues, so DAS wouldn't make sense. It's more about heat, overstimulation, lack of stamina, etc.

I'm just saying that people in the park have quite a range of abilities. We could all use some help, here! I really hope this issue makes Disney think about the significant challenges of the parks. I doubt it, though...

 

[fairy8i8]

Disney World always had a mix of headliners with massive waits and many other experiences/attractions/shows/pavilions/parades with little to no wait (and they still do!). It was never the case that people who went to WDW were going for 10 hours and spending those 10 hours waiting in 5 2-hour lines. That is not a thing that happened except in extremely rare edge cases.

I must be an edge case, then. WDW Christmas week of my teenage years. Only stood in 2-4 hour waits for the headliners because as a teenager, I had no interest in the kiddy rides. No smart phones then, so we talked with our friends and people watched. Really, we did what we did any other place we hung out, we just got to go on a few rides and see some really interesting people.

Also, anyone can ride more rides than the average park goer simply by using a touringplan. People here are making a lot of assumptions about DAS users that for my family and others I know are frankly not true. I would appreciate it if people spoke from their own experience as DAS users or denied previous users and how they plan to accommodate their needs moving forward.

Disney is a really tough place for certain people. I took my kids to Universal and Legoland San Diego, and was honestly scared away from Disneyland because I was hearing reports of 30 minute waits in LL. We finally went because, well, grandparents, and even the 10-15 minute waits were nerve wracking during 2 of the least busy days of the year.

 

[dreamfinder912]

From what I heard from my attraction host friend... it's typical Disney being typical. Their attraction has, in general, good managers so they were explained all the options and how to work with guests. In talking with hosts that work elsewhere, their managers aren't telling them much at all.

It's also attraction specific. At space mountain a party of any size has to make it to merge and then someone can tell the cast member they need to leave and then they'll be sent back up when ready. At tower of terror they do not have any accomodations for parties of one. If you are unable to wait in standby you are unable to ride. You must have a second person to wait for you in line. (And like check in at the entrance, explain why you can't wait, explain who is going into standby on your behalf, and then be approved to do so which can also be denied but I can't really see any reason why it would be but that's just speculation)

So even if teams are told everything they need to know with perfect accuracy we are going to get different policies per attraction with varying degrees of helpful/usefulness which then also runs through the varying responses/decisions made by each cast member in the moment.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

Again riding something in between on a normal day with realistic wait times are few and far between. NOT counting cheaters/liars. This is one of the reasons why i still buy Genie+ along with DAS to eliminate so much down time in between waiting for attractions. Yes its an “advantage” but in all reality anyone with an issue can only wait oh so long and those rides are literally walk ons. So does it really matter?!?

I find very few rides to actually be walk-ons when I visit. The reason it matters is that even if we lowball the number of DAS users doing that, that's still a lot of people and the rest of their parties adding time to what should be shorter lines - so then everyone else is waiting longer. It might only be 5-10 minutes, but those minutes add up over the course of a day in the park. And if it truly is a super-rare situation that DAS users actually ride something else while waiting for their return time, then nobody should be upset about it being taken away if that day ever comes.

 

[Grantwil93]

@Grantwil93 Can you clarify whether RTQ and AQR are two separate accommodations that can be given out and if so, what exactly is the difference?

Sorry I'm late. 2 different accommodations.

1 is a pass you get added to your account at the front of the attraction to come back later and use the LL. These are supposed to be incredibly rare and not given out willy nilly. You have to get them at the attraction and itll let you comeback once you waited the same as the current wait published when you got it. I think this AQR(the acronyms confuse me , so i might have these reversed). It's essentially an in person DAS pass for that specific ride. CM'S aren't obligated to give it to you just cause you ask. It's supposed to be a last resort thing. But it'll probably depend on the CM. It's not an advertised solution and if you walk up asking for it, itll probably be less likely given. Though Disney knows which CM gives out each AQR, so theoretically there shouldn't be much abuse of these.

RTQ is the split the party accommodation where all but 2-3 members of the party(usually 2, 1 caregiver with the person who needs to be accommodated) can wait outside the ride while the rest of the party goes through standby. The party of the party that is in standby will be instructed to call the part of their party that is outside once they reach the merge CM(or reach the load area, depending on the ride), then they will wait in that area while the ppl who were outside then wait in the LL. They will wait in the LL until they reach their party who is waiting. They then join together and finish the wait together.

The second accommodation has seen fairly heavy use in my anecdotal experience, and seems to be getting smoother by the day.

 

[Splash4eva]

I find very few rides to actually be walk-ons when I visit. The reason it matters is that even if we lowball the number of DAS users doing that, that's still a lot of people and the rest of their parties adding time to what should be shorter lines - so then everyone else is waiting longer. I tight only be 5-10 minutes, but those minutes add up over the course of a day in the park. And if it truly is a super-rare situation that DAS users actually ride something else while waiting for their return time, then nobody should be upset about it being taken away if that day ever comes.

I can only speak for myself and i actually keep a track of what i ride via DAS via pre books via Genie and via walk ons… lets just say my last trip i was only able to basically do 2 walk ons a day and those rides being fillers for most part figment/peoplemover/philharmagic/speedway/ariel. So rides with literally no waits at all. So anyone who has DAS really cant wait if they legit need DAS. Yes im “lucky” in the sense i can use Genie while waiting for my DAS to come up but thats a feature im paying for… we can have the debate whether thats fair or not but again im paying for that…

 

[Splash4eva]

It's also attraction specific. At space mountain a party of any size has to make it to merge and then someone can tell the cast member they need to leave and then they'll be sent back up when ready. At tower of terror they do not have any accomodations for parties of one. If you are unable to wait in standby you are unable to ride. You must have a second person to wait for you in line. (And like check in at the entrance, explain why you can't wait, explain who is going into standby on your behalf, and then be approved to do so which can also be denied but I can't really see any reason why it would be but that's just speculation)

So even if teams are told everything they need to know with perfect accuracy we are going to get different policies per attraction with varying degrees of helpful/usefulness which then also runs through the varying responses/decisions made by each cast member in the moment.

So wait… if im a solo traveler or someone in my party that only can ride ToT their is no way to ride other than waiting in line? Even if im unable to?

 

[Grantwil93]

I think the misunderstandings with RTQ are happening because people have come to the conclusion they can choose it as an accommodation similarly to AQR. It seems to be purely based on CM discretion and given out due to logistics not preference or even need.

Earlier on there was a guest who I believe was riding 7DMT with their young child and had to leave the line. They approached a CM when exiting. As it was just the two of them, they were assigned a return time for the length of the current standby time (so they “lost” the time they waited). I’m thinking this is probably the RTQ process in action and it’s just the scenarios where AQR is not logistically possible.

Exactly this. Last resort or no other feasible option is the only reason a guest should get an RTQ pass. Otherwise it should be AQR, Child swap, etc.