DAS advance selections and split stay - really frustrating!

[Eeyore's Tailfinder]

Feeling really frustrated with DAS advance selections.

I am staying at 3 hotels on my trip next month: Hotel 1 is a package with 14 day tickets (that I will use for my whole visit); Hotel 2 & 3: Room Only. However, because my tickets are attached to the first hotel stay, apparently the Planning Team cannot make any of my advance selections beyond the first 6 days. They say I will only be able to make them for the rest of my trip after checking into AKL.

Has anyone else experienced this? I've emailed Disability Services but I'm not sure what else to do. I have valid park admission and valid park passes, so it feels very unfair!

 

[lanejudy]

Are you less than 30 days out from Hotel2 check-in? If not, that may be the issue. Same with dates associated with Hotel3. You can reconnect to the chat to do the Advanced Selections once those dates fall within the 30-day window. You may need to do this twice, once for each of the hotel stays.

 

[Eeyore's Tailfinder]

I think that I'm within my 30 days for Hotel2 (checking in on 17th August) - I thought that was the issue to start with too, which is fine, same issue with ADRs.

It feels like a really obvious gap in the system - I'll bet I'm not the only person using their package tickets after checking out!

They're saying I can book them after checking into AKL (which I have doubts about as they also said I could do it today), but I'm going to have to connect to Live Chat and spend time doing that on vacation, and availability is likely to be low/gone for some rides.

 

[Narcoossee11]

Your situation is VERY unique. Maybe you are from Europe, due to the 14day ticket. Group in 3 different hotels also
You may have to wait till your whole trip is with in the proper dates.

 

[lanejudy]

Yesterday was just 30 days from 8/17, but the rest of that stay and the 3rd stay is outside the window. This has impacted several people with split stays, though a 14-day ticket and 3 stays is not as common. The WDW website actually states “Please note that all park visits must be within 30 to 2 days of the live chat.” Some CMs have allowed booking “length of stay” outside that window but not all. So if contacting before your last park day is within that window is very much YMMV.

 

[Eeyore's Tailfinder]

Thanks! I think I might just have to wait until I check into the first hotel and just hope there's some Jungle Cruise still available! (my son is autistic and would ride it all day if he could!) You're right that I think it might be a unique problem because of the ticket/package type I have, which is frustrating, but it doesn't seem there's anything I can do.

 

[lanejudy]

I think I might just have to wait until I check into the first hotel

No need to wait that long unless it will be within the next week. I suggest reconnecting to chat 30-days from the last day of Hotel2. A different CM may actually book for the rest of your trip at that point, or at least the middle leg.

 

[DisneyOma]

Feeling really frustrated with DAS advance selections.

I am staying at 3 hotels on my trip next month: Hotel 1 is a package with 14 day tickets (that I will use for my whole visit); Hotel 2 & 3: Room Only. However, because my tickets are attached to the first hotel stay, apparently the Planning Team cannot make any of my advance selections beyond the first 6 days. They say I will only be able to make them for the rest of my trip after checking into AKL.

Has anyone else experienced this? I've emailed Disability Services but I'm not sure what else to do. I have valid park admission and valid park passes, so it feels very unfair!

Just remind yourself that the advanced selections are a nice perk, and Disney doesn't have to offer them? We barely used our advanced selections, as they didn't mesh well with our day. You can get DAS at the park for Jungle Cruise, and after you tap in, get another DAS time for it.

 

[Eeyore's Tailfinder]

Just remind yourself that the advanced selections are a nice perk, and Disney doesn't have to offer them? We barely used our advanced selections, as they didn't mesh well with our day. You can get DAS at the park for Jungle Cruise, and after you tap in, get another DAS time for it.

That's good to know, thank you! I get super stressed about stuff like this, so it's really useful to know that you didn't really need them!

 

[pregnantw4thprincess]

Are you less than 30 days out from Hotel2 check-in? If not, that may be the issue. Same with dates associated with Hotel3. You can reconnect to the chat to do the Advanced Selections once those dates fall within the 30-day window. You may need to do this twice, once for each of the hotel stays.

I was able to book all 8 days of our stay, but I purchased my tickets separately from our hotel stays. We have 2 days @ WL, 4 days @ CR, and another 3 nights in another CR room type - all booked separately. I was 29 days out from our first checkin.

 

[lanejudy]

I was 29 days out from our first checkin.

You were one of the lucky ones! Many are finding they cannot book that far ahead, and the WDW DAS info even says all park days must be within the 30-day window.

 

[pregnantw4thprincess]

You were one of the lucky ones! Many are finding they cannot book that far ahead, and the WDW DAS info even says all park days must be within the 30-day window.

Bummer! I wonder if it had anything to do with our tickets being purchased separately

 

[lanejudy]

I wonder if it had anything to do with our tickets being purchased separately

No, it's not the onsite resort nor the ticket type, you just got a chat CM able to push past that 30-day mark. I don't know if some stick to the stated policy, or if some have ability to override it that others don't.

 

[Eeyore's Tailfinder]

I have an update! I tried for a 3rd time and they were saying my tickets were invalid (showing as only valid until the end of my first hotel stay) even though they are 14 day tickets. I've checked this on the UK planning forum and others in the UK are having the same issue with the hotel/ticket package and split stays (the issue is that the ticket doesn't expire by the valid date, but rather must be 'activated' by the valid date). I've been able to book park passes fine, but this seems to be causing problems with the DAS system as until the ticket is 'activated' before 8/17, it appears in the system that you don't have a valid ticket beyond that date.

But back to advance selections - the CM on this attempt was able to assign 'park planning passes' to me, which then made the rest of my dates 'plan-able' so I could book the rest of the selections. It's a little frustrating as this could have been done when I first contacted them on 7/17, if I had known, which might have meant better time slots. I hope this helps someone else with a similar problem.

As a side note because of the discussion above: I was able to make selections for 8/25 yesterday (I think at 31 days), and there was already only 1 time left for Slinky (the last slot before park close). It was already unavailable for every other day. So I think there is definite inconsistency in booking selections which is making some rides harder to get for those booking in the 30 day window.

I'm glad I've got it sorted now though! I did get Jungle Cruise at some point on each MK day, which was the priority, so knowing that we have those in the bag is a relief!

 

[pregnantw4thprincess]

If it makes you feel any better, our request had times that were all over the map as well - and I booked all 8 days at 29 days out. I would still definitely suggest people do it as soon as they can, but I am willing to bet that they don’t release every single DAS allocated spot at once.

 

[Burgermom]

I have an update! I tried for a 3rd time and they were saying my tickets were invalid (showing as only valid until the end of my first hotel stay) even though they are 14 day tickets. I've checked this on the UK planning forum and others in the UK are having the same issue with the hotel/ticket package and split stays (the issue is that the ticket doesn't expire by the valid date, but rather must be 'activated' by the valid date). I've been able to book park passes fine, but this seems to be causing problems with the DAS system as until the ticket is 'activated' before 8/17, it appears in the system that you don't have a valid ticket beyond that date.

But back to advance selections - the CM on this attempt was able to assign 'park planning passes' to me, which then made the rest of my dates 'plan-able' so I could book the rest of the selections. It's a little frustrating as this could have been done when I first contacted them on 7/17, if I had known, which might have meant better time slots. I hope this helps someone else with a similar problem.

As a side note because of the discussion above: I was able to make selections for 8/25 yesterday (I think at 31 days), and there was already only 1 time left for Slinky (the last slot before park close). It was already unavailable for every other day. So I think there is definite inconsistency in booking selections which is making some rides harder to get for those booking in the 30 day window.

I'm glad I've got it sorted now though! I did get Jungle Cruise at some point on each MK day, which was the priority, so knowing that we have those in the bag is a relief!

Thanks for sharing this. We have 9 day tickets with a split stay (Poly/Beach Club); sounds like we may encounter a similar issue with the second half of our trip. We are Canadian (not from UK) but we do have our tickets as part of a vacation package. So would you suggest if I don't have luck during my first attempt that I try again once the booking window for my second half of the trip opens up? TIA

 

[lanejudy]

So would you suggest if I don't have luck during my first attempt that I try again once the booking window for my second half of the trip opens up?

Yes, or better yet, try once all your dates are within the 30-day window. The issue doesn't seem to be directly related to split stays as much as it's some CMs strictly following the stated policy while other CMs apparently have the ability to override the 30-day window.

 

[Eeyore's Tailfinder]

Thanks for sharing this. We have 9 day tickets with a split stay (Poly/Beach Club); sounds like we may encounter a similar issue with the second half of our trip. We are Canadian (not from UK) but we do have our tickets as part of a vacation package. So would you suggest if I don't have luck during my first attempt that I try again once the booking window for my second half of the trip opens up? TIA

I would check the MDE app (not the website) now and see what it says about your tickets in the "Tickets and Passes" section - our tickets say "valid through 8/17" (i.e. the end of our first stay). If yours are only showing as valid until the end of your first stay, then you may have a similar issue - I'm not sure whether this is just a particular issue with the UK Ultimate Tickets or package/splits in general!

If you have any problems like me (the rest of my dates would not 'appear' until I checked in, so there was no way I could make more advance selections), I would ask them to assign you a "park planning pass" which will allow them to make the selections for the dates you need. The CM may need to get in touch with their planning/services team to make that happen. I think some are aware that there is an issue with the UK tickets and split stays.

If your tickets don't have the weird validity date thing, you should be OK!

 

[Burgermom]

I would check the MDE app (not the website) now and see what it says about your tickets in the "Tickets and Passes" section - our tickets say "valid through 8/17" (i.e. the end of our first stay). If yours are only showing as valid until the end of your first stay, then you may have a similar issue - I'm not sure whether this is just a particular issue with the UK Ultimate Tickets or package/splits in general!

If you have any problems like me (the rest of my dates would not 'appear' until I checked in, so there was no way I could make more advance selections), I would ask them to assign you a "park planning pass" which will allow them to make the selections for the dates you need. The CM may need to get in touch with their planning/services team to make that happen. I think some are aware that there is an issue with the UK tickets and split stays.

If your tickets don't have the weird validity date thing, you should be OK!

Ok thank you for explaining that to me, that is really helpful. I checked and it looks like my tickets are valid through both parts of my stay so hopefully it will be ok

 

[DisneyOma]

Thanks for sharing this. We have 9 day tickets with a split stay (Poly/Beach Club); sounds like we may encounter a similar issue with the second half of our trip. We are Canadian (not from UK) but we do have our tickets as part of a vacation package. So would you suggest if I don't have luck during my first attempt that I try again once the booking window for my second half of the trip opens up? TIA

We had no problems with a similar split stay last month - although our tickets were separate? Hope it works out for you!