New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[Vacationeer]

I agree - I’m guessing there was another issue as well? Otherwise it doesn’t make sense, no.

I think that part is important because a CM suggesting an ECV to a blind person could be for that secondary issue.

 

[dovetail65]

I was in Disneyland last week. We had pre-registered under the old system but were using it under the new system. I stopped at accessibility services to see if our party size could be increased and was told no. It seems the primary variable there is the number of children in the party.

They did make an alternative accommodation for us, indicating there is some flexibility here. What it really seems like is they want to be able to say that they've restricted the usage to 4 guests per DAS user, but they have the ability to grant additional "anytime" lightning lanes. I also witnessed a separate area outside of Indiana Jones for accessibility.

In short, I think they've succeeded in making another thing more confusing.

By comparison, we also went to Universal Hollywood last week, submitted the documentation for my brother ahead of time and were approved. That was quite simple. Go to the attraction, if the wait is 25 minutes or less, you go in the Express Lane, otherwise you get a return time.

Return times don't work for a majority of the people DAS is targeted at, this is part of the reason Disney DAS was mostly preferred over Universal system for people that have neurodivergent issues.

 

[DoubleSwitchback]

I really don’t know. I didn’t know if they loosened it because of former DAS users, if we just got lucky, or if it’s because of the upcoming switch or something else.

If permanent, this is another thing that will get killed via proliferation on social media. (Initially I was gonna add "unless it's only restricted to former DAS users", but based on the volume of those, that alone could overwhlem the system again.)

 

[NotTheOne]

Return times don't work for a majority of the people DAS is targeted at, this is part of the reason Disney DAS was mostly preferred over Universal system for people that have neurodivergent issues.

DAS was (and is) a return time, so not sure what you're talking about.

 

[NotTheOne]

If permanent, this is another thing that will get killed via proliferation on social media. (Initially I was gonna add "unless it's only restricted to former DAS users", but based on the volume of those, that alone could overwhlem the system again.)

Yeah, hoping they'll get that figured out...

 

[DrummerAlly]

DAS was (and is) a return time, so not sure what you're talking about.

There is no end time for a DAS. It is a return anytime after <<blank>>. For people with neurodivergent issues, the one hour window LL is often very difficult.

 

[AJT607]

We visited last week and had the exact opposite experience with being late for a Lightning Lane. We scanned at Soarin' a little more than 2 hours late, just to see if we could possibly still be accommodated (especially because there were lightning lanes available to be booked and we just couldn't book one because our previous lightning lane had already expired) and were rather abruptly reminded by the CM at the front line that we were over two hours late when our bands scanned blue. One CM seemed like he wanted to spread some pixie dust and still allow us through the LL, but the other cast member loudly said "standby is only 35 minutes, they can wait." This experience is part of what concerns me about the new AQR/RTQ processes. Front line CMs are not trained or qualified to be making determinations about what accommodations are reasonable/necessary for each individual. In our case, the reason for the initial delay was due to sensory issues and a panic attack triggered by getting trapped in an unexpected rainstorm in World Showcase. After taking time to re-group and cooldown in The Odyssey, we eventually made our way to Soarin only to have this negative experience end up triggering another meltdown.

Thankfully, the negative experience didn't ruin the whole trip. After we returned home, we sent a very kind, thoughtful message sharing our experience with Disney, only to get a 'form letter' response about the DAS changes being designed to focus the service on "those it was originally intended for" which seemed incredibly distasteful.

 

[Angel Ariel]

DAS was (and is) a return time, so not sure what you're talking about.

DAS is able to be used any time after the return time. Only DAS preselects, which no longer exist, were limited to a 1 hr window.

 

[NotTheOne]

DAS is able to be used any time after the return time. Only DAS preselects, which no longer exist, were limited to a 1 hr window.

Yes, I know - I thought the discussion about return time was in relation to even having one, as opposed to the old GAC which didn't.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I want to share my experience from WDW this past week to offer some hope to former DAS users. (And would really appreciate no un-kind comments). My daughter has Level 1 Autism with Language Impairment and used DAS previously. She would have been extremely upset to apply for DAS and be denied and so we decided to not even apply for it, to explain to her that the system changed and its no longer available, and set her expectations accordingly to help her plan ahead. Like many with autism, changes of plans or expectations are difficult, and so for our family, it was better to just not even try and set expectations for this trip differently.

The Good:
We were able to ride everything we wanted with lightening lanes using very careful planning. We purchased Genie+ everyday and used it efficiently. We had a great trip, overall, and my family was basically able to do what we used to do.

The Stressful:
The one hour return time was extremely stressful at first as it didn't allow us to be flexible when my daughter's needs changed (need for a break, need for air conditioning). Additionally, she had significant stress thinking we had to run from one ride to the next to catch the LL window and was disoriented and frazzled, at one point leaving behind her bag with her glasses and prescription on Big Thunder Mountain (both were recovered). The best news of the trip occurred when we figured out by chance that Disney was not enforcing the LL return window times (at least on any ride we tried). We tapped into several rides several hours late, including for headliners like Frozen, and the mickey went green immediately. Once we had figured this out, it really helped.

The Meh:
It was much more expensive than I would have liked.
I drew a hard line and refused to purchase any ILLs. We tried waiting in a 50 minute line for Rise of the Resistance and my daughter ended up crying and panicking through much of the line. We got lucky and managed the rest of the ILL rides with much less waits (with significant planning on my part), without purchasing ILL. For a less savvy Disney traveler with an evening high functioning autistic child, this would have been a nightmare.

Next Trip:
Probably Universal so we can just get Express Passes and skip the stress. But, this is do-able. I hope this helps and provides some hope to people who are going to skip DAS or are denied DAS.

Sounds similar to our plans for our upcoming trip in Jan, we aren’t even going to attempt to get DAS, we are on the fence whether we’re going to pay extra for LL or just skip the nickel and diming and see what happens. Ultimately the success or failure of our trip in January will determine whether we’ll continue to take WDW trips in the future or give up on the Disney parks and spend our travel dollars elsewhere.

As people who’ve taken countless trips to DL, WDW, and DLP I never would have believed we’d ever be in this position… but here we are.

Hoping for the best but simultaneously preparing myself for frustration and ultimately deciding to move away from Disney.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Return times don't work for a majority of the people DAS is targeted at, this is part of the reason Disney DAS was mostly preferred over Universal system for people that have neurodivergent issues.

Thankfully, outside of prioritizing the Jungle Cruise, my brother is generally ok with us telling him we will do something later. For that reason we've been able to keep things largely transparent to him.

 

[Minnie93]

DAS is able to be used any time after the return time. Only DAS preselects, which no longer exist, were limited to a 1 hr window.

The return time, the way Universal uses them, requires going to the ride to get the return time placed on the card. This may be difficult for ASD level 3 guests who may have difficulty understanding the concept of going to the ride but then walking away.

It seems that their system has been hailed as practically perfect by many though.

I can’t help but think it will just add to walking/more pain/problems for those who prefer not to use mobile devices such as amputees, those with chronic back pain, and neuropathy, etc., as well as those who suffer from heat intolerance or who’s conditions are exacerbated by physical and psychological stress, such as IBS, Diabetes, POTS, etc. I’m assuming all of these categories are being approved by Universal.

Maybe neither system is perfect but my family has learned to adapt to whatever accommodations are available to supplement the ones we work out on our own.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

Maybe someone knows better but what would be the bad of allowing people to head back to the LL late? The whole benefit of checking in within that hour is that you also get to book another ride, so someone not arriving on time is just missing that chance. I suppose there can be times the LL gets backed up if everyone blows off their time and say tries to go right after dinner, in which case I wonder if they could THEN enforce it, and deny riders.

 

[NotTheOne]

Maybe someone knows better but what would be the bad of allowing people to head back to the LL late? The whole benefit of checking in within that hour is that you also get to book another ride, so someone not arriving on time is just missing that chance. I suppose there can be times the LL gets backed up if everyone blows off their time and say tries to go right after dinner, in which case I wonder if they could THEN enforce it, and deny riders.

Because it needs to be consistent; it can't be that sometimes you can come back as late as you want and sometimes you have to come back on time or you can't enter the LL.

I do understand why DAS users have the option of coming back when they're able to after the return time, because in some cases there is a need to do so due to their disability. But I see no value in allowing it for everyone.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

Maybe someone knows better but what would be the bad of allowing people to head back to the LL late? The whole benefit of checking in within that hour is that you also get to book another ride, so someone not arriving on time is just missing that chance. I suppose there can be times the LL gets backed up if everyone blows off their time and say tries to go right after dinner, in which case I wonder if they could THEN enforce it, and deny riders.

They used to have a 15-minute grace period, I believe. That seems reasonable to me since it keeps the latecomers from building up too much of a backup in the LL line. Allowing return times to mean "any time after ___" is a recipe for disaster. It takes an operational issue that was largely limited to DAS usage and applies it to anyone using the LL. Yes, those users are delaying their ability to select another LL, but when all of the good LLs are gone for the day or someone doesn't want to book any others beyond what they already have, it invites them to set their own return times regardless of what the app said was available (ie, "2:00-3:00 doesn't work for us, but pick it and we'll show up at 4:15 instead.").

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Legacy Fastpass used to be anytime after the time - it worked fine.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

Legacy Fastpass used to be anytime after the time - it worked fine.

Kind of. If memory serves they had to start enforcing the end of the return windows near the end of paper FP’s life in anticipation of the changeover because more people would be using the system and they needed more accuracy with returns.

I don’t know that open ended returns could function in todays system with so many people understanding and using it.

 

[RSoxNo1]

You get 5 minutes early and 15 minutes late as a rule. Depending on the ride, front line CMs will allow a little wiggle room on the 15 minutes, but I'd try not to push it.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Legacy Fastpass used to be anytime after the time - it worked fine.

They changed it because it didn't work fine.

People would collect Fastpasses and save them all for later in the day when lines were longer, backing up the Fastpass line.

 

[DoubleSwitchback]

Legacy Fastpass used to be anytime after the time - it worked fine.

From 10 years ago? But we're told that the crowds and the rates of disability have both drastically increased in recent years. Not to mention knowledge of how to "work the system" via social media.