AQR (Attraction Queue Return) Usage Reports

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Perhaps I did. I err on making sure a person with disabilities truly has had their situation assessed. Too often disabled folk are marginalized without knowing what they should be asking for.

Also perhaps you've misread mine poste and intent to advocate, not intend for dishonesty.

I’ve read enough of your posts not to assume you were advocating for dishonesty— I interpreted it as you genuinely trying to help someone you assumed needed better/higher accommodations than they were getting— and while I don’t think kind people like you should be getting hostility, blame or judgment— I suspect it upsets others (especially some of us who are more cynical about human nature) when trusting members of the disability community offer help to randos on the internet so they can get additional accommodations (that place extra strain on the system) who may not truly need them. In this case, we had a poster who said they often visit the parks alone and then you offered language suggesting they tell a CM that their cousin is actually an attendant to help manage their anxiety. While one additional person in AQR might not impact the operation of that ride, it might also have meant that the poster and his cousin would go ride other attractions together while the other members of their group waited out the long lines.

Disney made a call that most conditions (including that poster’s) didn’t qualify for DAS or DAS-lite, and the poster him/herself seems to recognize that AQR worked in their case, it just didn’t let them ride as many rides as they would have liked and stay together with the cousin.

 

[nalababybear]

I’ve read enough of your posts not to assume you were advocating for dishonesty— I interpreted it as you genuinely trying to help someone you assumed needed better/higher accommodations than they were getting— and while I don’t think kind people like you should be getting hostility, blame or judgment— I suspect it upsets others (especially some of us who are more cynical about human nature) when trusting members of the disability community offer help to randos on the internet so they can get additional accommodations (that place extra strain on the system) who may not truly need them. In this case, we had a poster who said they often visit the parks alone and then you offered language suggesting they tell a CM that their cousin is actually an attendant to help manage their anxiety. While one additional person in AQR might not impact the operation of that ride, it might also have meant that the poster and his cousin would go ride other attractions together while the other members of their group waited out the long lines.

Disney made a call that most conditions (including that poster’s) didn’t qualify for DAS or DAS-lite, and the poster him/herself seems to recognize that AQR worked in their case, it just didn’t let them ride as many rides as they would have liked and stay together with the cousin.

Ty for this.

I can see the consternation it may elict too and especially folk who take advantage of said opportunities to ride even more instead of actually managing a flare in their disability.

My character flaw is I believe in people doing the right thing too.much. Conversely also believe purposeful cheats and outright lying get no leniency.

Both can exist and that's gotten me hate from both ends of this revamp Disney these past months!

@mods sorry again to derail the last page. Intent wad to make sure AQR was fully and properly represented and utilized as designed accommodation.

 

[Dumbotron]

We were only able to ride four rides when normally we ride so much more.

Because with the DAS at least we could go into the lightning lane and not have to wait in the regular line, for Cosmic Rewind and Tron the regular lines were forever and kept getting pushed back, with the DAS they would put you in lightning lane

I appreciate this honesty and I think this is a normal response to having DAS previously and then no longer having it. DAS is better than standby for everyone (with or without disabilities) not only because it's nicer to wait outside a line than inside a line but because it is possible to ride more rides with it if desired and without needing to plan the day like a war general. Only doing standby, esp with popular rides, can be very limiting and I think a lot of former DAS users didn't realize how much. It's going to be hard to get used to it and make the changes in planning and touring that can improve one's overall experience without DAS. It's a shame Genie (original Genie) isn't reported to be very useful. Hopefully Disney will be more motivated to improve their app or at least provide better, more comprehensive video tutorials for how to navigate it (those they have now are too brief and too broad with no specific examples). I think that would help with some of understandable anxiety and letdown former DAS users are experiencing now.

 

[nherbert]

I am bumping this thread, in the hope that people can now provide examples of AQR or RTQ experiences, please see post 1 for the kind of information we are all hoping to hear about your experiences.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

I visited the second week of August and thought I would have more to report but between the heat, the rain, rides going down and issues with transit, we didn’t attempt many standby lines and weren’t even able to use all of our LLs. We (family of 4, two elementary aged kids and two parents) did use GOTG VQ twice and the first time I just asked the DAS team how long the line was because I had health problems that made lines challenging and they said less than 30m so I said I would try it— it was probably less than 20m to the pre-show but then there was all the standing through the pre-shows and the loading room (I often sit on the floor during the pre-show if they let me) and I was in rough shape by the time we actually boarded the coaster. A couple days later when we tried again, I mentioned that I tried standby a few days earlier and had a rough time and they scanned all of our MBs and told me that we could just use the LL. When we walked inside, there was not much of a line for either VQ or LL, but we were very grateful.

So our very limited AQR experience was mostly positive, but the trip itself was more taxing as we scrambled to work the new LL system. The positive note was that the LLs themselves were much shorter. I don’t think we waited more than 5-10m anywhere (if you don’t count pre-show and post-pre-show lines)— ToT was the worst and maybe took 20m between preshow and actual elevator shaft. We will continue to visit but probably not as frequently.

 

[nalababybear]

I visited the second week of August and thought I would have more to report but between the heat, the rain, rides going down and issues with transit, we didn’t attempt many standby lines and weren’t even able to use all of our LLs. We (family of 4, two elementary aged kids and two parents) did use GOTG VQ twice and the first time I just asked the DAS team how long the line was because I had health problems that made lines challenging and they said less than 30m so I said I would try it— it was probably less than 20m to the pre-show but then there was all the standing through the pre-shows and the loading room (I often sit on the floor during the pre-show if they let me) and I was in rough shape by the time we actually boarded the coaster. A couple days later when we tried again, I mentioned that I tried standby a few days earlier and had a rough time and they scanned all of our MBs and told me that we could just use the LL. When we walked inside, there was not much of a line for either VQ or LL, but we were very grateful.

So our very limited AQR experience was mostly positive, but the trip itself was more taxing as we scrambled to work the new LL system. The positive note was that the LLs themselves were much shorter. I don’t think we waited more than 5-10m anywhere (if you don’t count pre-show and post-pre-show lines)— ToT was the worst and maybe took 20m between preshow and actual elevator shaft. We will continue to visit but probably not as frequently.

Glad you were able to get some things done. August is brutal for any time. I remember us visiting when DS was 9months on the way down to visit his great grandma in Miami and got his first haircut at MK barbers. -- he was soaking.

Change those trips over to manageable Nov-Mar dates or move the summer visits over here in DLR. If we're available, would love to meet up at Lamplight or hangout of your choosing -- DVC lounge even since we're finally blue card holders!

 

[DisneyOma]

I’m not going back to retrace whatever prior discussion occurred ….but anybody who needs to leave the queue is separated from their party. Disabled or non-disabled alike. The disabled are not singled out in this, they are treated exactly the same as a non-disabled individual/party.

It wasn't about leaving the queue for a bathroom break once a day - it was waiting outside the queue at every single attraction (like DAS would do for the entire group before) because the queue caused the issues. That would be spending a whole lot of time separated, wouldn't it?

 

[OurBigTrip]

It wasn't about leaving the queue for a bathroom break once a day - it was waiting outside the queue at every single attraction (like DAS would do for the entire group before) because the queue caused the issues. That would be spending a whole lot of time separated, wouldn't it?

And?

 

[Evita_W]

And?

And people go to the parks to spend time TOGETHER, this defeats that purpose and DH definitely thinks Disney knows this and is targeting those with disabilities, trying to discourage them from coming.

 

[jennab]

And people go to the parks to spend time TOGETHER, this defeats that purpose and DH definitely thinks Disney knows this and is targeting those with disabilities, trying to discourage them from coming.

I highly doubt Disney doesn’t want disabled guests coming. That’s a pretty bold statement. Unfortunately there are a lot of disabled people and giving them all DAS plus their closest friends and family just doesn’t work for Disney’s business. The way it was previous actually caused problems for those with disabilities and those without.

 

[OurBigTrip]

And people go to the parks to spend time TOGETHER, this defeats that purpose and DH definitely thinks Disney knows this and is targeting those with disabilities, trying to discourage them from coming.

Oh, well if your DH thinks so, that changes everything!

 

[Disturbia]

FYI: This is the usage thread.

 

[Philsfan77]

FYI: This is the usage thread.

Agreed...I was really hoping this would be beneficial, but it just hasn't been. The few reports people actually provided, were mostly positive, which is good to hear. The rest of it should be happening on other DAS specific threads though.

 

[Evita_W]

I highly doubt Disney doesn’t want disabled guests coming. That’s a pretty bold statement. Unfortunately there are a lot of disabled people and giving them all DAS plus their closest friends and family just doesn’t work for Disney’s business. The way it was previous actually caused problems for those with disabilities and those without.

It is not just the DAS issue, but there are many things they could and should do that they aren’t that shows they are not being inclusive of those with disabilities, take Tron as a prime example, there was NO reason to design the queue in such a way that ECVs cannot be accommodated. This is jut the top of the iceberg, they could have videos showing how loading and unloading works for wheelchair users at every attraction like many other theme parks are doing. The list goes on and on of things that are simple, low cost items that really make a large impact and show a dedication to wanting those who are disabled to be included.

 

[jennab]

It is not just the DAS issue, but there are many things they could and should do that they aren’t that shows they are not being inclusive of those with disabilities, take Tron as a prime example, there was NO reason to design the queue in such a way that ECVs cannot be accommodated. This is jut the top of the iceberg, they could have videos showing how loading and unloading works for wheelchair users at every attraction like many other theme parks are doing. The list goes on and on of things that are simple, low cost items that really make a large impact and show a dedication to wanting those who are disabled to be included.

You should write them an email with these suggestions and examples. Maybe hearing about will help make a change!

 

[Evita_W]

You should write them an email with these suggestions and examples. Maybe hearing about will help make a change!

Oh, he has, they basically just respond back with it is what it is and genuinely don’t care anymore.

 

[jennab]

Oh, he has, they basically just respond back with it is what it is and genuinely don’t care anymore.

About DAS or the other items you are referring to? I’d do one that is not about DAS as I’m sure they get many about that. You may get an automated response but just respond to that email.

 

[honeymo78]

Not exactly an AQR experience but sort of - I waited outside the queue completely and joined the rest of my party at the LL merge. I chose not to reapply for DAS as I don't think my main issue would qualify anymore (more of a sometimes situation) and my secondary issue is only with a handful of standby queues but exists regardless of queue length. One of those queues is the Peter Pan standby queue - LL line is fine. While we purchased MPLL, we opted for Tiana on our MK days and I wasn't sure we could get Peter Pan later in the day. My mom and I arrived at Peter Pan just as early entry was ending with a 30 min posted wait. I told the CM I was unable to wait in the standby queue and asked if my other party member could wait in the standby line and if I could join them at the LL merge. The CM confirmed that the rest of my party would wait in the standby line and said they should call/text me when they got to the merge and I would be allowed to join them. I did not need anyone to wait with me. I waited on a bench for less than 20 minutes before my mom called to let me know she was at the merge. I returned to the entrance and told the CM the rest of my party was at the merge. She let me through the LL line to the merge point where I joined my mom and got to ride. The two different CMs involved were familiar with the process and it was quite easy.

 

[trippedup]

Hi. Wanted to give a data point, though its not great news. We were in the WDW parks 11/1-11/4. I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, standing for long periods of time is painful and I get tired quickly. Feel free to look it up if you'd like more details. In the past I used DAS and rested in mothers rooms or first aid... anywhere I could lay down. I had difficulty requesting accommodations the first few days and became discouraged. Most CMs had no idea what I was asking for, one even tried to give me a wheelchair return time. I wound up sitting or laying in the queues, which was suboptimal for all involved. On the third day, my more assertive wife started going to the CM and saying something along the lines of "He needs to meet us at the split. How do you do that here?". This worked better, I could at least sit on a bench at the exit. Overall, the new system was a big step back for me. I hope it works better for others. I really feel like the CMs should be be better educated if this is now the process for most disabled folks. I don't want to sound like too much of a downer, we had a great time as a family, it was just hard on me.

 

[lanejudy]

I’m sorry you found it so challenging. What your wife asked was fine; if you were going into too much detail of the diagnosis that’s not what the CMs want or need. A simple explanation of leaving and returning to the queue is all.

In the future would you consider a rollator? It would allow you to stand/walk and sit when needed.