DL & DCA -Disability Access Service Card- Post 1 update 12/7/14 DAS tied to ticket

[englishrose47]

I thought I would shar some info I got this morning . I called special needs and was put through to the line that is set up to explain the new DAS. Many thingswere as have been posted BUT I had only read tht you could have 1 DAS return time at a time, I was told that and I use the example she gave
, If I went to Peter Pan at 10 a and the wait was 1 hour , I would be given a return time of 11a anytime afte 11a I could use this and go thru the FP lane pretty much what I had heard BUT at 10:30a I could get a return time for Little Mermaid and that would be fro whatever the current wait time is . These are just the examples she gave , so you are not limited to 1 DAS return time at a time . She was very helpful and understood my concerns travelling with a group of Developmentally disabled with a wide range of disabilities and special needs . From the conversation I definitely got the impression that the CMs are being given some leeway in interperating the new DAS. She asked me to call back after the trip with my feedback as she felt our group would be one of the first of their needs to tryout the new system.

 

[cmwade77]

I thought I would shar some info I got this morning . I called special needs and was put through to the line that is set up to explain the new DAS. Many thingswere as have been posted BUT I had only read tht you could have 1 DAS return time at a time, I was told that and I use the example she gave
, If I went to Peter Pan at 10 a and the wait was 1 hour , I would be given a return time of 11a anytime afte 11a I could use this and go thru the FP lane pretty much what I had heard BUT at 10:30a I could get a return time for Little Mermaid and that would be fro whatever the current wait time is . These are just the examples she gave , so you are not limited to 1 DAS return time at a time . She was very helpful and understood my concerns travelling with a group of Developmentally disabled with a wide range of disabilities and special needs . From the conversation I definitely got the impression that the CMs are being given some leeway in interperating the new DAS. She asked me to call back after the trip with my feedback as she felt our group would be one of the first of their needs to tryout the new system.

I was also told something similar on Friday, but the differences were that you were about to go on the first ride and the second ride had to have a wait of one hour or more.

So, it sounds like this is being refined some and since your conversation was more recent than mine, I am guessing it is more current.

 

[Jperiod]

Hmmm, yesterday I asked about getting another return time right before going on Indy and they said no, had to come back to the kiosk after the ride. All the waits were very long. Maybe it's because you'll have multiple people with DASs? I'll have to ask again when I go back tomorrow.

Today we got to the park 30 minutes after opening and bounced around between kiosks and fastpasses, getting more done, but A LOT more walking. DS faded much faster and so did we. We still did less than we did with the GAC, and much more effort. We used to just stick to the rides in a land before moving on, but we found we needed to bounce between 2 in order to utilize FP, RT, and lower wait rides while waiting for the FP and RT. Even then, he was frustrated by lack of options he was used to, but worked through it. Maybe this is how everyone else does Disney, but I don't think this will work for us until DS is older. Glad this didn't happen until the end of our AP year.

I think getting to the park at rope drop or using a touring plan will work much better with this DAS in order to keep lines the shortest and hopefully keep options open for those that able-bodied.

 

[smidgy]

if you need to sit in the front of shows because of low vision, you only need to tell the castmember at the attraction.

at Alladin, they had us wait in a dif. area and let us in to choose our seats (us and others who were told to wait in that area) before they let everyone else in,.

I was very relieved.

 

[IndianaPrincess]

Can you get a return time and use it the next day?

Also, can someone tell me if they maintain two lines for nonaccessible rides? One for DAS returns and one for wheelchair waiting line.

Thanks!

 

[luv2sleep]

Can you get a return time and use it the next day? Also, can someone tell me if they maintain two lines for nonaccessible rides? One for DAS returns and one for wheelchair waiting line. Thanks!

I was told they have to be used the same day like FPs. You can always ask though. That could change.

I never saw 2 lines.

 

[KPeveler]

I was told they have to be used the same day like FPs. You can always ask though. That could change.

I never saw 2 lines.

They do write the date on the wheelchair return time, so yes, you do have to use it the same day.

Also, some lines are more clear than others about DAS vs wheelchair return line. Some have a wheelchair return and a DAS, some have wheelchair return and DAS all together.

I have not tried ones with a completely inaccessible line yet that did not also have a Wheelchair Return Time, so I cannot tell you.

I can tell you that it will be very hard in some places to separate wheelchair line from DAS - there is simply not room to do so. It also seems to vary by attraction and land.

I do know that the system is being kept as it is, warts and all, for two weeks, so they can gather sufficient data before making any changes to either the DAS or the wheelchair return time tickets. This makes sense, since we knew there would be problems, but it is impossible to tell what they are after only one or two days. So, once two weeks have gone by, IF any adjustments need to be considered, they will do so. But until those two weeks are gone (8 more days), nothing should be changing, at least on the DL/DCA side of the country.

 

[cmwade77]

They do write the date on the wheelchair return time, so yes, you do have to use it the same day.

Also, some lines are more clear than others about DAS vs wheelchair return line. Some have a wheelchair return and a DAS, some have wheelchair return and DAS all together.

I have not tried ones with a completely inaccessible line yet that did not also have a Wheelchair Return Time, so I cannot tell you.

I can tell you that it will be very hard in some places to separate wheelchair line from DAS - there is simply not room to do so. It also seems to vary by attraction and land.

I do know that the system is being kept as it is, warts and all, for two weeks, so they can gather sufficient data before making any changes to either the DAS or the wheelchair return time tickets. This makes sense, since we knew there would be problems, but it is impossible to tell what they are after only one or two days. So, once two weeks have gone by, IF any adjustments need to be considered, they will do so. But until those two weeks are gone (8 more days), nothing should be changing, at least on the DL/DCA side of the country.

I would imagine that just like with FP, Disney can make exceptions for having to use return times the same day in cases of things like ride closures. So if you find yourself with a Return Time AND the ride is down at the end of the night, I would ask if they can do anything.

 

[Jperiod]

The RTs don't have the date on the card, they would never know if you waited the next day until after the same time as the card. We had them cross out Matterhorn from yesterday at 12:20 because it was 8:30 am this morning and we were going to go on it first so we got a new return time.

There is no double line for chairs aand DAS that I saw. We did standby for Pirates and small world because of 10 min waits this morning. When we did peter pan, we used DAS and there was only 1 in front of us. Though this was yesterday morning and standby was 40 min.

 

[SueM in MN]

The RTs don't have the date on the card, they would never know if you waited the next day until after the same time as the card. We had them cross out Matterhorn from yesterday at 12:20 because it was 8:30 am this morning and we were going to go on it first so we got a new return time.

There is no double line for chairs aand DAS that I saw. We did standby for Pirates and small world because of 10 min waits this morning. When we did peter pan, we used DAS and there was only 1 in front of us. Though this was yesterday morning and standby was 40 min.

The pictures I have seen did have a complete date on them.

 

[KPeveler]

The RTs don't have the date on the card, they would never know if you waited the next day until after the same time as the card. We had them cross out Matterhorn from yesterday at 12:20 because it was 8:30 am this morning and we were going to go on it first so we got a new return time.

There is no double line for chairs aand DAS that I saw. We did standby for Pirates and small world because of 10 min waits this morning. When we did peter pan, we used DAS and there was only 1 in front of us. Though this was yesterday morning and standby was 40 min.

There is a date on the wheelchair return tickets. There is not a date on the times given on the DAS card.

I have had them use a double line for Peter Pan for me when I had a DAS return time, but only because the wheelchair return line (this is after waiting their "turn" with the wheelchair tickets) had 5 parties in it. I arrived at my return time, and went in about 10 minutes after that.

I think if they can, they will pull people with a DAS ahead of the wheelchair return parties, but not all lines and needs allow that. Some places are too narrow for two lines, and some it is not needed (like when there is one person in front of you).

I do say that if you have a DAS return time and there is a long "return line" - ask a CM what to do, especially if you do NOT have a wheelchair in the group. For some attractions, everyone with a wc return time or a DAS time were being sent through the same place, and the lines can get to be pretty long at certain times of day (after parades, fireworks, fantasmic, end of the night, things like that)

There is no end time on the wc return tickets, and that is causing some congestion at the rides - the idea was not only to combat abuse, but to spread people out, so the wheelchair line did not get too long.

I keep ending up having the same problem - I need the wheelchair boats/vehicles, and it seems like every time I go back to a ride when it is time, there is at least one other party that needs the same vehicle. Which means I get to wait, somewhere between 4 and 20 minutes per party (depending on ride length) in addition to the wheelchair line, in addition to the time I already waited.

I got a wc return time for Jungle Cruise yesterday, and no one needed the wheelchair boat. I am in a manual chair, and since it was a 20 minute wait time, I just stayed in the area. I am solo in the parks, and do not have the ability to push myself in circles all day getting the return tickets, then going back. I watched the wc boat go by empty, then when it was my turn, I was behind someone who needed the wc boat as well. They cannot deviate from the system yet, but rides like JC and IASW are hoping (the attractions CMs hope, I have not heard this from management yet) to have the ability to mark on a ticket whether that person needs the wc boat. That not only gives the ride a heads up what is coming, but if no one is waiting for the wc boat and it is empty, they would just load me in that previous circumstance.

I am all for waiting my turn, but instead I would have waited twice as long as stand-by, because I need the wheelchair boat.

This is going to be especially problematic for Small World Holiday, as those lines are very long. They are having problems at HM right now for the same reason - they don't know if someone needs to park a chair and walk, or take the chair in (green or red card). Since there is no "end time" to the wc return ticket, sometimes 5 or 6 "red cards" show up in a row. This happened the last time I road Mansion. I waited my 90 minutes, went to the attraction, waited outside the queue (even the wc queue was too full to send us in) for about 10 minutes, then waited in the wc holding area for the people in the building to cycle out (another 20+ minutes).

I wish that the wheelchair return tickets had a window like a FP - with opening for the CM to make personal judgments, like if a ride broke down or someone was in an interpreted show that ran late. Most families will be able to make it back, or get another time. If the goal is to spread out wheelchair users, not knowing when people are returning is not helping.

I have had no problems with the DAS. I wish that wheelchair return times had a return window. And as a solo manual wheelchair user, I wish I could get a return time for Splash Mountain without having to push all the way there (very bad hills). I have a DAS, but most manual wheelchair users will not.

The idea is sound, there are just a few bugs to work out. In general, I have had good luck with the way things are working now.

 

[luv2sleep]

The pictures I have seen did have a complete date on them.

True but my son's, for example, is a 2 week pass because my he is an AP holder.

 

[SueM in MN]

True but my son's, for example, is a 2 week pass because my he is an AP holder.

i thought the person who posted about it was talking about the wheelchair return tickets, not the DAS.

 

[KPeveler]

i thought the person who posted about it was talking about the wheelchair return tickets, not the DAS.

Correct. For 9 rides in the park there is not a wheelchair stand by time - if a person with a wheelchair/scooter/etc shows up, and does not have a DAS card, a wheelchair return time is written. This is for that day only. It completely separate from the DAS, and has nothing to do with how long a person is staying or AP holders.

 

[luv2sleep]

i thought the person who posted about it was talking about the wheelchair return tickets, not the DAS.

Got it. Thought the return time question was in reference to the DAS cards. Sorry for the mistake.

 

[cmwade77]

The pictures I have seen did have a complete date on them.

I just looked at my DAS and it does not have a date on the return time that we never made it back to Toy Story for. That being said, I wouldn't use it after the date I got it though, unless there were extenuating circumstances that Disney told me it was ok to do.

I just saw that the times being talked about are for the return time cards, which I have not yet used, but I can imagine them having a date on them as well.

 

[Jperiod]

Sigh, tried for a RT at screaming tonight at 7:07 and were turned away. Park closed at 8, woc at 8:15, standby was 30 min and they were still taking people in line. DS was very upset.

 

[luv2sleep]

Sigh, tried for a RT at screaming tonight at 7:07 and were turned away. Park closed at 8, woc at 8:15, standby was 30 min and they were still taking people in line. DS was very upset.

Why wouldn't they give you a return time? Was it because it was too late?

 

[KPeveler]

Sigh, tried for a RT at screaming tonight at 7:07 and were turned away. Park closed at 8, woc at 8:15, standby was 30 min and they were still taking people in line. DS was very upset.

File a complaint, either in person (and ask for an extra return time), or in writing. Disneyland City Hall Plaids generally tell me to go online and click the "email us" option at the bottom of the Disneyland webpage. I know it will not fix today but they should know about it. Also include any CM names you remember.

I got a DAS RT for Peter Pan at 830 when the wait was 45 minutes and the park closed at 9! They should definitely have written you a time!

 

[IndianaPrincess]

Got it. Thought the return time question was in reference to the DAS cards. Sorry for the mistake.

I was asking about the DAS card. Thank you to everyone who answered.

The no changes for two weeks thing is dumb. If something is so obviously no working, then fix it! Don't make those of us who visit during your "test" time to deal with stuff that you know needs tweaking.