A few general DAS use questions - what if they don't ride?

[chekhovgirl]

Bear with me here, this may be a little long! We have a soon to be 12 year old with Aspergers and Tourettes and will be visiting the parks for two days in April. We have a family of six: two adults and four children, and will also be visiting with my parents and extended family. When we visited a year and a half ago (before the Tourettes developed) I didn't think to get a DAS for him, I didn't know much about it, I hadn't yet been to a theme park this big with him because he is my stepson, and we try to have him live as normalized a life as possible with the other children. There were a lot of rides he opted not to ride (someone had to sit out with him) and a few that he rode and vowed never to ride again...he gets extremely anxious waiting in line and this is not helped by the fact that he watched videos on YouTube of all the rides beforehand because he wants to know what they will be like. We rope dropped FOP and at the last minute he sat it out, though we gave him ear plugs and tried to get him to join us after the early arrival and long wait. He had a nice conversation with the CM he waited with while we were on the ride and they graciously gave us a FP to come back to ride it again - he rode it and loved it! I think it's just that he gets so worked up while waiting, and this really affects the family dynamic with the other three children.

So, based on what happened last time, I think we can accurately describe why he needs one, but as much as I hope it gets him to join us the first time around on more rides, I'm still afraid that he won't. I read that the DAS rules say that the person it's issued to must ride, but what if he opts out at the last minute like on FOP? Does that mean the rest of us can't ride? Because this will cause more problems. Or is it at all possible to do something like a child swap where you can get a pass for the person who has to wait with the child who won't ride due to anxiety and sensory issues from his conditions?

And just to be clear, my goal is to get him to ride with us, not to abuse having a DAS to get the rest of the group on a ride.

Thank you for any insight!

 

[siren0119]

I can't speak for what Disney's official policy is if you use a DAS entry and the person with DAS opts not to ride at the last minute (I am guessing that by the time you get to the loading/chicken out area they have no idea whether you used a DAS or a FP to get into that line). BUT our philosophy with our son that is eligible for DAS is that it's for him and not us. So if he chickens out of a ride, we all get out of line. We can book Fastpasses or wait in the regular line if we want to ride something without him.

 

[chekhovgirl]

I'm happy to Fastpass or wait in a regular line for things I know he is not going to ride, someone will keep him company in the family whether they get to ride or not, though it would be nice for everyone to ride. The thing I'm trying to avoid is him chickening out and all of us having to get out of line, if it was just me and my husband, I wouldn't care, but when I take the other three kids into consideration, that happening (possibly over and over any time we use the DAS - let's just put out the hypothetical extreme) it's going to be a big problem for us...

 

[gap2368]

The DAS holder must tap in first when getting in the FP line after this the CM do not know it was a DAS or FP and then after the FP line and standby Line come together the CM shave no clues if you were FP DAS or standby. With that said it would be wrong if you to know your son will not do a ride and get a return time anyways but if you truly think he will and he gets scars last second then that is understandable.

Have you been on Tourette.org website great information in Tourette’s. And the co conditions that can coincide with T. Best of much on your trip

 

[lanejudy]

The official rule is that the DAS holder must ride. I can't say whether that actually gets enforced with a last-minute change-of-mind. They would be within policy to deny the whole party if he backs out even at loading. I would plan accordingly, using FP+ for the must-do attractions for the other kids, and try to prepare him for specific rides to lessen the chance he would back out.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[DLgal]

The DAS person has to ride. I would get FP for everyone on rides he may back out of and use the DAS for "for sure" rides you know he won't.

There is a photo linked to the DAS holder. When they scan in to a ride, the photo pops up on the CMs handheld device for verification.

 

[siren0119]

The DAS person has to ride. I would get FP for everyone on rides he may back out of and use the DAS for "for sure" rides you know he won't.

Just as an addendum to this - you should be making and using fastpasses as much as possible anyway. Not sure if you've used DAS before, but you can only have ONE return time set up at a time - all the more reason to really reserve the DAS for the rides you know he will be able to ride, and use FP for the questionable ones.

 

[DLgal]

Also want to add, if he literally bails at the LOADING point, it won't be an issue for the rest of your party. At that stage in the game, the loading CMs have no idea you are a DAS party on most rides (unless you entered through the ride exit and they made a special concession to get your party loaded separately from the general loading area).

 

[Lauren in NC]

I feel for you - we've had similar experiences with our son.

If he was willing to ride it (and you fully believe he would ride it) when you entered the line but something happens during the wait, I wouldn't feel bad about the rest of the family riding while one of the adults waits with your son, though I'm not sure anything would be done for that adult who misses the ride. You could ask about the child swap policy while getting the DAS and see if that would help, but I think it's more for a kid who refuses to enter the ride completely, and I've gotten pushback from ride CMs before if the child was tall enough to ride but unwilling to, despite being told that was an option by the City Hall CMs. In other words, the waiting adult is probably out of luck (but might get pixie dust from a CM), but the other family members would be OK riding, in my opinion.

 

[chekhovgirl]

Thank you everyone. Yes, we will definitely be making use of FP and setting up a good plan whether he has a DAS or not. There are rides that I know he absolutely won't ride that we absolutely do want to ride! And it seems like it also will not hurt to ask about the rider swap in the situation of him bailing at the last second if he has a DAS. I appreciate all the info, insight and shared experiences!

 

[OurBigTrip]

I can't speak for what Disney's official policy is if you use a DAS entry and the person with DAS opts not to ride at the last minute (I am guessing that by the time you get to the loading/chicken out area they have no idea whether you used a DAS or a FP to get into that line). BUT our philosophy with our son that is eligible for DAS is that it's for him and not us. So if he chickens out of a ride, we all get out of line. We can book Fastpasses or wait in the regular line if we want to ride something without him.

Well said. The policy is really clear - the DAS shouldn't be used if the DAS holder isn't riding. The right thing to do is to get out of line and go do something else, especially if it happens frequently. I personally don't think it's right to create an uncomfortable situation by asking the CM to break Disney policy. And then to ask for a rider swap for the person who got out of line so that they can ride without the DAS holder too? Wow.

 

[Mleach]

Yeah this has happened a lot of times with our kiddo. We always leave the line. If it's for a medical reason, they will let you come right back through the FP line again. Sometimes we've even returned through the exit if we were about to load and something clearly emergent happened (seizure: no worries, come back for a redo). Even in those cases, we all leave. When traveling with a bigger family group, the rest of the family goes in the regular line and we meet them after, so that other kids' days aren't affected by the complexities of one kid's day.

 

[chekhovgirl]

Well said. The policy is really clear - the DAS shouldn't be used if the DAS holder isn't riding. The right thing to do is to get out of line and go do something else, especially if it happens frequently. I personally don't think it's right to create an uncomfortable situation by asking the CM to break Disney policy. And then to ask for a rider swap for the person who got out of line so that they can ride without the DAS holder too? Wow.

I’m not trying to do anything to cheat the system, that’s why I’m asking clarifying questions. To be clear, my question about rider swap was independent of DAS, which is why I used the word OR in my original post and also said that someone would sit out with him if he got out of line whether they were about to ride or not. I was asking if they had something as an alternative to DAS where you can do rider swap. It doesn’t seem out of line that if you have a child with a disability that prevents them from riding (just like age or height prevents kids from riding) that they might have an option to use a rider swap type of system for the person who has to sit out, after the rest of the group waits in standby or uses a FP. I was not saying I would use DAS and then expect a rider swap if he jumps out of line.

I would appreciate any constructive comments. Thank you.

 

[gap2368]

I’m not trying to do anything to cheat the system, that’s why I’m asking clarifying questions. To be clear, my question about rider swap was independent of DAS, which is why I used the word OR in my original post and also said that someone would sit out with him if he got out of line whether they were about to ride or not. I was asking if they had something as an alternative to DAS where you can do rider swap. It doesn’t seem out of line that if you have a child with a disability that prevents them from riding (just like age or height prevents kids from riding) that they might have an option to use a rider swap type of system for the person who has to sit out, after the rest of the group waits in standby or uses a FP. I was not saying I would use DAS and then expect a rider swap if he jumps out of line.

I would appreciate any constructive comments. Thank you.

For the most part if the child is tall enough to ride they will not give a rider swap out but have the child wait in line with everyone else then do the swap at the ride it self so child wait with an adult while everyone else rides then the adult that waited rides Since your child will have the DAS not sure the child could wait in the standby line. This might be something you will need to talk to the CM about or plan on using one of your FP for the ride

 

[chekhovgirl]

Yeah this has happened a lot of times with our kiddo. We always leave the line. If it's for a medical reason, they will let you come right back through the FP line again. Sometimes we've even returned through the exit if we were about to load and something clearly emergent happened (seizure: no worries, come back for a redo). Even in those cases, we all leave. When traveling with a bigger family group, the rest of the family goes in the regular line and we meet them after, so that other kids' days aren't affected by the complexities of one kid's day.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I was hoping that DAS would help our family ride more rides together by making him more comfortable with riding more things, but I’m not sure we will even attempt to do this when I factor in all dynamics. Hearing everyone’s experience is very helpful in making that decision. Thanks again!

 

[chekhovgirl]

For the most part if the child is tall enough to ride they will not give a rider swap out but have the child wait in line with everyone else then do the swap at the ride it self so child wait with an adult while everyone else rides then the adult that waited rides Since your child will have the DAS not sure the child could wait in the standby line. This might be something you will need to talk to the CM about or plan on using one of your FP for the ride

Good to know! When he opted out of FOP the first time through they asked his age (10) and he was allowed to sit by himself on a bench just outside our room’s exit while our whole party rode. At Disney, and other theme parks, we’ve either had him wait on his own if he wants to make a last minute exit - which he is okay to do depending on where he is allowed to wait - or have someone wait with him. I wouldn’t want to rely on this, but the fact that they allowed him to do it when he absolutely did not want to ride last minute shows that they will accommodate when needed. We gave a shout out on Twitter to the CM that happened to be there with him, he was fabulous with our son and, as I said, gave him a second chance at riding, which made the trip!

 

[chekhovgirl]

I should be very clear that he doesn’t mind waiting on his own at all and he is capable of doing so, his priority is not riding!

 

[OurBigTrip]

I’m not trying to do anything to cheat the system, that’s why I’m asking clarifying questions. To be clear, my question about rider swap was independent of DAS, which is why I used the word OR in my original post and also said that someone would sit out with him if he got out of line whether they were about to ride or not. I was asking if they had something as an alternative to DAS where you can do rider swap. It doesn’t seem out of line that if you have a child with a disability that prevents them from riding (just like age or height prevents kids from riding) that they might have an option to use a rider swap type of system for the person who has to sit out, after the rest of the group waits in standby or uses a FP. I was not saying I would use DAS and then expect a rider swap if he jumps out of line.

I would appreciate any constructive comments. Thank you.

I apologize for not being clear - With regard to rider swap, I was referring to the poster that said they requested rider swap after their child used the DAS but backed out before riding, with the rest of the party continuing to ride. I agree 100% that if a disability prevents a child from riding, rider swap should be available for the companion who waits with the child.

 

[lanejudy]

When he opted out of FOP the first time through they asked his age (10) and he was allowed to sit by himself on a bench just outside our room’s exit while our whole party rode.

WDW will allow any child over age 7 to wait alone (or to ride alone). If he is capable of doing the queue with you and then using the chicken exit alone, that will work fine.

enjoy your vacation!

 

[chekhovgirl]

WDW will allow any child over age 7 to wait alone (or to ride alone). If he is capable of doing the queue with you and then using the chicken exit alone, that will work fine.

enjoy your vacation!

Thank you!