New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[Angel Ariel]

It's relevant because it is a factor that may impact standby wait times for all guests, and is one of the major benefits of DAS that contributes to people lying to get it.

Legitimate DAS users who don't want to budge on this issue should consider that. The more a service like DAS provides 'advantages', the more likely it is to be cut back because of various impacts.

To what degree it's an impact we can only speculate. The issue isn't so much riding Pirates 3 times, it's if a lot of people are joining a virtual queue for something like rise 5 times a day. That's where it can impact everyone and isn't equitable.

I sympathize with the extremely autistic kids who only want to ride the same thing over and over, but that's not the intent of any theme park for any guest. Equal access doesn't mean getting an experience way outside the norm.

I mean, the same is true for any guest who chooses to re-ride an attraction. The access here is the choice. Nondisabled families may not choose to ride an headliner multiple times in a day - but it is a choice. Disney doesn't prevent them from doing so via standby on virtually all rides (VQs with Boarding Groups excepted, which is a minimal number of attractions at any given time). any guest choosing to ride a headliner multiple times in a day is going to have that same impact on that ride's standby line as a DAS guest doing so would.

Being able to choose what rides your family experiences during a day at Disney isn't an experience outside the norm. Everyone's daily ride makeup will look different based on their family's needs. For some that will be visit as many varied attractions as possible. For others that will be visiting a smaller number of attractions, possibly multiple times if they are able. Neither is right or wrong.

And again - those continuing to see something like this as an advantage for current DAS holders (so a much more restricted and higher level of need than previous) - please take a few moments to consider how those more significant needs can make riding headliners multiple times in a day extremely difficult for the family as well. There seems to be an accepted assumption that such a day would be easier or better or an advantage over others. Thinking about our own situation, the idea of riding Rise 4x in a day is just laughable because of how difficult the logistics of making that happen would be. I can't find the words to describe how stressful it would be. I actually feel for families whose family member may be super fixated like this, because I can imagine just how difficult it can be on the family to have to potentially choose between dealing with a possible crisis moment for the person by not allowing them to do the re-rides, or how difficult it would be just to logistically make those rerides happen and the impact it could have on the entire party to do so. Both suck and neither would I consider an advantage.

 

[Dranth]

So if you need to be with your fall-prone parent... you think that person is already on DAS?

Assuming there is no other family present then that is the type of case that DAS should cover. Disney is going to need to modify their criteria to allow those types of situations because now you are talking about scenarios where no other accommodation could be considered reasonable.

There will always be edge cases and they need to be handled as such.

Disney doesn't have a 'need or requirement' to do a lot of things - but they do it because it makes sense from a customer service and satisifaction point of view.

Agreed, but in this case we are talking about a program that is, at least in Disney's eyes, starting to overwhelm the system. Judging from what they are doing, fixing it is more important to them than the customer service and satisfaction hit. At least for now. I still expect tweaks down the line to try and help address some of this but we'll have to see how it plays out.

These absolutes just bring out the worst in people...

I used no absolutes.

 

[DoubleSwitchback]

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.

Couldn't agree more! We are big spenders but our last trip was so miserable in Feb, even with G+ (which we know how to "maximize") that we decided not to go back, indefinitely. Obv we had no idea that DAS changes were coming, so indefinitely might be shorter than we originally thought.

 

[Kingoglow]

G+ shouldn't enter the conversation as it is a tool available to both DAS and non-DAS users. DAS needs to be compared to Standby.

I am saying as a non-DAS user I have ridden the same ride more than twice a day (not during extra magic hours or ticketed event or anything). Granted the rides were Pooh, Star tours, and Everest(through SR line).

I don't think it's reasonable to tell 1 person sorry you can't get a return time for this ride (which is supposed to be your substitute for a standby line) because you've already ridden it twice. While telling someone else, go ahead, the back of the standby line is here.

If you want to limit it to E tickets, where do you draw the line?

I will 100% agree the opportunity cost for the DAS user with a return time is much much lower than the opportunity cost of a non-DAS user. However, the only solutions I can think that problem (DAS holding/waiting area, infrastructure to now allow DAS users to wait in standby lines, ect) seem like expenses that Disney would not be willing to do or would actively cost Disney profits from DAS users.

The issue that promoted Disney to change the DAS system in the first place was its need to clear the LL ques so that guests that are paying an additional 25-30% of their admission to use the LL service, feel like there is value in their purchase. It has been said that the number of DAS ab/users are causeing the LL wait to be far longer than what Disney wants.

So allowing multiple rerides, all day, via to LL que is counter to what Disney is trying to achieve with changing DAS.

 

[Kingoglow]

Why would the day be miserable? If rise is my favorite attraction and I wanted to ride it 3 times vs. riding it, slinky dog, and tower (assuming they all had similar wait times) wouldn’t my day be less miserable waiting for my favorite attraction?

If waiting in a 60 minute line 3-4 times in a day = miserable then everyone must be miserable at Disney! Haha

Which is more miserable?
Stand-by que of for 90 minutes for Rise 3 times in a day
OR
waiting for Rise 3 times (outside the que) for 90 minutes each time, while being able to go eat or use the bathroom of see Mano etc?

That is what that poster you quoted is talking about. It ISNT about riding any ride multiple times, it is about being able to have an elevated experience above every other guest. Standing in the Rise ques for 270 minutes (4+ hours) or using those 270 minutes to do other things with your park day.

 

[mysto]

Rider accomodation at WDW is now almost as complicated as Genie+.

Discussions about what could or should be done read like a murder mystery with enough acronyms fo fill an IT conference. With the rules kept secret, and their interpretation at the whim of a CM, who can say whodunnit?

 

[KrzyKtty]

So allowing multiple rerides, all day, via to LL que is counter to what Disney is trying to achieve with changing DAS.

Obviously not in disney's viewpoint otherwise they would have done something about it when they were revamping the system. They distinctly didn't, so I guess I just don't see the point in debating something that obviously isn't changing right now. What does it accomplish other than riling a bunch of people up And making them feel defensive.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

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…

Right, but we've seen people admit to riding something else while waiting and defend it as something Disney allows and encourages - and they're right, It is allowed and encouraged so they aren't doing anything wrong. But if someone has DAS for a 90-minute wait for 7DMT, for example, they have plenty of nearby options to ride in the meantime. While some posters are saying that the waiting period is spent tending to needs - and I'm sure that's true for some, especially if the waiting period is relatively short - I think it is safe to say that more DAS users are able to ride other rides during a lengthy wait for their return time than need that full amount of time to tend to needs every time. It certainly has an impact on wait times for everyone and I hope that the changes implemented help in that regard because that benefits everyone, both DAS and non-DAS alike.

 

[DoubleSwitchback]

Obviously not in disney's viewpoint otherwise they would have done something about it when they were revamping the system. They distinctly didn't, so I guess I just don't see the point in debating something that obviously isn't changing right now. What does it accomplish other than riling a bunch of people up And making them feel defensive.

I agree Disney isn't interested in addressing re-rides. I think the reason it keeps coming up, though, is when people insist that DAS is no advantage over SB; re-rides of headliners is one of the most glaring cases of a different guest experience between the two.

 

[Splash4eva]

Right, but we've seen people admit to riding something else while waiting and defend it as something Disney allows and encourages - and they're right, It is allowed and encouraged so they aren't doing anything wrong. But if someone has DAS for a 90-minute wait for 7DMT, for example, they have plenty of nearby options to ride in the meantime. While some posters are saying that the waiting period is spent tending to needs - and I'm sure that's true for some, especially if the waiting period is relatively short - I think it is safe to say that more DAS users are able to ride other rides during a lengthy wait for their return time than need that full amount of time to tend to needs every time. It certainly has an impact on wait times for everyone and I hope that the changes implemented help in that regard because that benefits everyone, both DAS and non-DAS alike.

I have admitted to as well but they are few & far between where you see things that are less than say 20 minute waits. Hence why i always purchase Genie

 

[Kingoglow]

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.

And I don't think that it is (medically) necessary for a family to have to stay together. We are talking about DAS here, and what accommodations that Disney is able to provide someone in need of DAS.

Personally, when I was a child and my parents took us to Disney World, my brother (6 yo) and I (8 yo) got to go do whatever we wanted without our parents. We were told to meet at a restaurant by 3 PM and got to go have fun.

 

[Figgy1]

And I don't think that it is (medically) necessary for a family to have to stay together. We are talking about DAS here, and what accommodations that Disney is able to provide someone in need of DAS.

Personally, when I was a child and my parents took us to Disney World, my brother (6 yo) and I (8 yo) got to go do whatever we wanted without our parents. We were told to meet at a restaurant by 3 PM and got to go have fun.

Those who qualify under the new rules may need to stay with their families for medical reasons, it wouldn't surprise me if most do

 

[Kingoglow]

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.

Heck, I don't have a need or desire for the DAS service but this is EXACTLY the way I tour. I think most guests look for places to take a break and sit in the cool air. When I go back to the hotel (around 11 am) to rest, the bus is usually more than half full, so lots of guests do this. That feels like normal touring to me... at least for a reasonable person that understands that it is not good to stand in the Florida sun for eight hours. If everyone was able to do that while standing in a free to use virtual que system, I am not sure what the wait times would be.

 

[jaklgreen]

And I don't think that it is (medically) necessary for a family to have to stay together. We are talking about DAS here, and what accommodations that Disney is able to provide someone in need of DAS.

Personally, when I was a child and my parents took us to Disney World, my brother (6 yo) and I (8 yo) got to go do whatever we wanted without our parents. We were told to meet at a restaurant by 3 PM and got to go have fun.

People don't need to go to WDW at all so we can go down that road all you want. Disney brands itself as being a family destination, where everyone can enjoy things together. That was the whole reason why Walt opened DL in the first place, so that he could enjoy a theme park WITH his kids. Separating disabled people from their family/children goes against everything Walt wanted in his parks.

 

[Kingoglow]

maybe get something free out of it like a LL

Giving out advice like this is how Disney gets into these situations.

 

[Dranth]

People don't need to go to WDW at all so we can go down that road all you want. Disney brands itself as being a family destination, where everyone can enjoy things together. That was the whole reason why Walt opened DL in the first place, so that he could enjoy a theme park WITH his kids. Separating disabled people from their family/children goes against everything Walt wanted in his parks.

And yet Walt made everyone wait in the lines. If you didn't wait, you didn't ride.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

People don't need to go to WDW at all so we can go down that road all you want. Disney brands itself as being a family destination, where everyone can enjoy things together. That was the whole reason why Walt opened DL in the first place, so that he could enjoy a theme park WITH his kids. Separating disabled people from their family/children goes against everything Walt wanted in his parks.

Disneyland was born from taking his daughters to places where parents would sit on the sidelines and watch their kids enjoying things. Today’s Disney parks still 100% follow his mindset, where attractions are designed for the whole family to enjoy together, not just a bunch of carousel type rides where adults are watching from the sidelines. IMO it doesn’t and didn’t ever mean families should never be apart in the parks if they do not explicitly choose to be, rather the whole experience is one for the whole family - which it is.

At the end of the day, I don’t believe framing a party splitting up for a portion of the standby wait and then meeting up to ride together as forcing families to not spend time together on vacation is an accurate depiction of what’s going on. If a person with a medical need is tending to those needs, why is it harmful for members of their party who are not required to help in caretaking to be carrying out the standby wait (provided it makes sense logistically, so everyone’s old enough, the timing works, etc)?

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

Yes they gave them out if you pre booked but again why?!? It was part of the reason the system was crippled

Because they were trying to incentivize pre-booking vs last minute on site applications.

Its the same reason any business gives out anything, they are trying to incentize certain behaviors. It's the reason discounts are giving during certain times of the year, or deal

 

[Grantwil93]

Giving out advice like this is how Disney gets into these situations.

GR using a low tier LL as a recovery or as pixiedust has been a thing since the inception of Fastpass. They don't always do it, but it's been an approved option for them for more than 20 years. I'm not really spreading new information.

They aren't ever obligated to give you one, especially if you are rude. But sorry if ppl weren't aware of that.

 

[Chi84]

Those who qualify under the new rules may need to stay with their families for medical reasons, it wouldn't surprise me if most do

If they qualify for DAS under the new rules, why would they need to split up? Isn’t the splitting up only for rider switch or AQR?