DAS, but number of people in our party in flux

[donaldandpirates]

This will be our first time going with the DAS and FastPass+, and I'm really trying to schedule FPs and make it work the best I can by preparing ahead of time. I figured if I can understand and plan, then I'll be able to do videos and social stories for my son before the trip.
DS (7)(Autism) will be getting the DAS. We are meeting extended family at Disney for a reunion. There are some days we will have 4 in our group; some days 3; some days 7, etc., with 7 being the most at any one time. Does anyone have any advice on the best way to handle scheduling FP and using the DAS with the number in our party changing on a daily basis?

 

[OurBigTrip]

If all 7 will be there the first day, that would be the best time to add everyone. If not, you'll need to go back to Guest Services every time you need to add someone.

I believe that the limit is 6, including the DAS holder, but I'm also assuming that they will make exceptions, as they did with the paper card.

 

[gap2368]

for the rides your son rely likes get a fat pass for it and when you get to that ride get a DAS return time for it go on using the fast pass then do the return for the DAS you may have to wait a little before your FP and your DAS rerun time. also GR can give you a return time for your first attraction of the day this can help a lot with waiting first thing. make sure that you tell the CM what your son needs as they can taller it to what your son need witch can help out a lot but you have to be specific on what he need and it will depend on the CM if the DAS is not working for you then go back to GR and talk to them

as fair as how many people you will have all people with the DAS have to be linked by the magic bands or ticket cards I know with the paper one you could get a CM to over ride the number not sure if the new way will allow the CM to do so.

 

[SMD]

Assuming that you're only making FP+ reservations for your immediate family, I'd just make the best plan for him, then tell them that these are the reservations you made and invite them to try to grab the same ones. You could also offer times that you'll be available to meet up of they don't want to get the same FP+. Then go to GS once you're in the park and link the tickets for whoever you'll be with that day. Even if for some reason you can't or don't want to link everyone, they could still get in the standby queue when you get a return time for your son and you should still end up riding at around the same time. On many rides a party of 7 would be spread out anyway, so 3&4 isn't that inconvenient. The only thing that might be an issue would be if someone else in the party also has a DAS or needs a WC return time. In those cases a person's ticket can only be linked to one DAS and only one return time can be active. But if it's just the one DAS then GS can add people as they join the party.

 

[SueM in MN]

Assuming that you're only making FP+ reservations for your immediate family, I'd just make the best plan for him, then tell them that these are the reservations you made and invite them to try to grab the same ones. You could also offer times that you'll be available to meet up of they don't want to get the same FP+. Then go to GS once you're in the park and link the tickets for whoever you'll be with that day. Even if for some reason you can't or don't want to link everyone, they could still get in the standby queue when you get a return time for your son and you should still end up riding at around the same time. On many rides a party of 7 would be spread out anyway, so 3&4 isn't that inconvenient. The only thing that might be an issue would be if someone else in the party also has a DAS or needs a WC return time. In those cases a person's ticket can only be linked to one DAS and only one return time can be active. But if it's just the one DAS then GS can add people as they join the party.

If at all possible, I would suggest having all 7 in your party with at the time DAS is requested. That way, you will only have to go once to Guest Relations. If thats not possible, you will have to go back to Guest Relations to add the new members as they show up, as the poster above and others mentioned. Adding a few at a time would involve more Guest Relations visits.

The usual number for DAS is 6, which is 5 plus the person with a disability. They were able to make exceptions for larger groups, with a lead or supervisor's approval. As far as I know, this has not changed. A group of 7 who are all family members probably will not be an issue (we can't make promises though since only Guest Relations CMs at the park can issue DAS). If your group was larger than 8 or 9, I would expect an exception not to be made.

Since linking DAS to tickets or Magicbands is so new at WDW, we don't know whether all members of your party need to be there to get linked or if they can just give you their Magicbands/tickets. In the past, if your group was bigger than 6, all members needed to be physically present in order to get an exception. I have not heard anything specific since DAS started being linked to Magicbands, but expect that still will be the case, so expect all will need to be there.

If more than one person in your group needs a DAS, you CAN have all members of your group linked to both DAS at WDW. This is according to reports from people who have gotten DAS since the linking began.
Each DAS can only have one active DAS Return Time at a time. When you get the DAS Return Time assigned, you specify which members of your group should be assigned to that DAS Return Time. Even though people may be linked to more than one DAS, they can only be assigned to one DAS Return Time at a time.

 

[SueM in MN]

This part has nothing to do with DAS, but just involves My Disney Experience (MDE).
Inside of MDE, you can invite people to become part of your Friends and Family group.
Here is the link for getting an account and adding people to your Friends and Family group.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/p...Y15_DOM_NGE_SitelinkMDX|G|4151322.NG.AM.02.01

You can do this all on computer or download an app to an Apple or Android smartphone (or iPad/iPod touch).
With the app on a smartphone, you are able to view your plans, including Fastpass Plus and meal reservations. The DAS holder and guests linked to the DAS will also be able to view DAS Return Times.

Members of your group will be able to view those same things. That makes sharing plans easier. In some cases, they may be able to copy a Fastpass Plus that you have to themselves or (with their agreement), you will be able to make Fastpass times for them.

Although people who are linked to the DAS can VIEW DAS Return Times in the app, it is not possible for you or anyone in your group to get or change a DAS Return Time in MDE (either on computer or from the app). CM must do that for you; that happens at the individual attraction at WDW. Anyone linked to the DAS can go to the attraction to get a DAS Return Time. The DAS holder does not need to be present to get a time assigned, but must be there to use the DAS Return a Time.

 

[donaldandpirates]

Thank you, everyone, for your help and suggestions! We'll definitely plan on having everyone in the group go to GR on the first day and link as Friends and Family in MDE.

 

[design_mom]

Building off what Sue indicated about making FP+ arrangements for a large group: We are traveling with a large family group (10 people) in June. We will not have a DAS, but I recently scheduled our FPs. We linked all of our accounts together as Family/Friends in MDE, and I made reservations for everyone.

When you first make the reservations, you can choose which members of your group you are making them for and which attractions you want to reserve. You have to choose the same three attractions for everyone you select. However, after you have made your initial reservations, you can go back in and make adjustments to individual reservations.

For instance, our group has several members who won't ride roller coasters. For AK, we all want to do the safari and the Festival of the Lion King (FoTLK) show. Some of us wanted to do Expedition Everest (EE) and some wanted their other FP+ to be the Finding Nemo show. I went ahead and booked all ten of us for the safari, FoTLK, and EE. That way, we all got the same time slot for the things we want to ride together. Then I went back in and changed the EE reservation to the Finding Nemo show, just for the people who didn't want to ride EE. I did all of ours on the first morning we were eligible, but I didn't have any trouble getting what we wanted.