2-year old with Down Syndrome and DAS

[valerie160]

Hi, we have a trip coming up soon and my son's OT reminded me about the DAS card to use while we are there. My son is 2.5 years old and has down syndrome. I have been reading up on it a little bit, but am still a little confused as to how it would work for us.

1. I understand the DAS card will work on all the rides he can ride with us (PoTC, JC, iasw, etc). He doesn't have a ticket because of his age, but will have a magic band. Will the DAS card be linked to his MB (and through his, all of ours) so we can all ride?

2. Seems like we will need to let the CM at the ride entrance know we have a DAS card and they will give us a time to come back congruent with the current wait time for that ride. When our time is up to come back for the ride, do we just go through the FP line?

3. Am I correct in that you can only hold 1 of these at a time? Once you are done riding the ride, then you can make a second, etc?

4. How does it work in relation to FP? If I have a FP for a ride from 10-11, but don't plan on using my FP until closer to the end of my window, at 10 can I use the DAS card for a ride that has like a 30 minute wait prior to using my FP towards the end of the hour?

5. Last question: Can we get a DAS card at Disney Springs? We have an entire day of relaxing before hitting the parks and we will be spending much of that time at DS, so wondering if this is possible so we don't have to spend MK morning time the next day to do it.

Thank you so much for any help/advice!

 

[SueM in MN]

I don't know if you saw the WDW DAS FAQs thread near the top of this board, but I would suggest reading that because it will answer all your questions (plus some you may not have thought about). Only

Hi, we have a trip coming up soon and my son's OT reminded me about the DAS card to use while we are there. My son is 2.5 years old and has down syndrome. I have been reading up on it a little bit, but am still a little confused as to how it would work for us.

1. I understand the DAS card will work on all the rides he can ride with us (PoTC, JC, iasw, etc). He doesn't have a ticket because of his age, but will have a magic band. Will the DAS card be linked to his MB (and through his, all of ours) so we can all ride?

He will have a Magicband and DAS would be on his Magicband. The rest of you would be linked together with him.

2. Seems like we will need to let the CM at the ride entrance know we have a DAS card and they will give us a time to come back congruent with the current wait time for that ride. When our time is up to come back for the ride, do we just go through the FP line?

You return to the Fastpass line and scan HIS Magicband first. That triggers a blue lit up Mickey and tells the CM to look at their screen where they will see the DAS Return Time. They will look at the picture to verify identity and then the rest of you can scan.
If there is a second Fastpass reader in line, anyone can scan first there.

3. Am I correct in that you can only hold 1 of these at a time? Once you are done riding the ride, then you can make a second, etc?

That is correct.

4. How does it work in relation to FP? If I have a FP for a ride from 10-11, but don't plan on using my FP until closer to the end of my window, at 10 can I use the DAS card for a ride that has like a 30 minute wait prior to using my FP towards the end of the hour?

Fastpass and DAS are completely separate and can be used independently.
For Fastpass, you DONT want him to scan first. Have someone else scan so the system sees the Fastpass time.
Other than that, Fastpass works exactly the same whether using DAS or not.

5. Last question: Can we get a DAS card at Disney Springs? We have an entire day of relaxing before hitting the parks and we will be spending much of that time at DS, so wondering if this is possible so we don't have to spend MK morning time the next day to do it.

Thank you so much for any help/advice!

No
DAS can only be obtained/authorized at one of the Theme Parks.
He will need to be with you and you need to explain what needs he has related to waiting in line (not all people/children with Down Syndrome (or any other condition) need DAS, so DAS is based on needs rather than the diagnosis.
The rest of you party will also need to be there , or at least their Magicbands

 

[minnie mum]

Sue beat me to it

 

[lanejudy]

1. Correct, you can only use the DAS on rides your son can/will do. When you request his DAS, I believe they will give him a "ticket" or maybe on the MB if you have those as on-site guests.

2. If you wish to use the DAS, someone in your party approaches the ride and requests a DAS return time; your son does NOT need to be present for this. He does need to be first to scan when you return for the ride.

3. correct, only 1 DAS return time may be active. You can then get another after using it.

4. It is highly recommended to use FP+ in addition to the DAS.

5. No, only at a Guest Relations at one of the 4 major theme parks.

This link has specifics about DAS. You only need to read the first post, the rest was discussion around the time the program launched and may not be pertinent now.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[lanejudy]

Wow! I've never seen 3 people post at the same time before. Looks like Sue types fastest and I'm slowest, with minnie mum in the middle!

Now back to the thread...

 

[PatMcDuck]

I would assume you may benefit from a stroller as a WC sticker as well. (I have a now adult son with DS and Autism). You may need to explain why he needs a DAS, so be prepared to explain exactly why, they do not generally just give them out for DS. (going by my personal experience).

Have fun! My DS really loves his Disney trips, and pretty much comes home from a trip, wondering when he gets to go again (he watches park videos on YouTube nonstop)

 

[gap2368]

I know your question has been answered but I just wanted to say that a stroller as a wheel chair can be very useful and you will need to go to GR inside the park ( they may do it out side the parks some times and be par pared to exspline why you son need to wait out side the line, they do not care about DX ( or they should not)

 

[valerie160]

Thank you all for the information and advice!

 

[lovewdwfun]

Just wanted to say I have a son who is 3 and had DS. We used the DAS when he was 2 and it worked so well! It was a breeze.

 

[valerie160]

Just wanted to say I have a son who is 3 and had DS. We used the DAS when he was 2 and it worked so well! It was a breeze.

I'm so glad to hear this! My DS is 2.5 and I feel like we will definitely benefit from it this time around. We were at DL for his second birthday and I wasn't sure if he was too little to get a DAS card so I didn't even look into it and for the most part he was fine. He's grown so much in the last few months and with that growth has come some new issues that I am worried about with the lines and crowds and small spaces for him.