DAS at Disneyland ~ First experience

[Brisbanemum]

I thought I would put up a post with our recent experience of using the DAS at Disneyland this past May.

Firstly a little background information... We are a Disney-addicted family of 4 from Australia and we have 2 amazing boys with Aspergers 10 and 13. We have previously used the DAS cards (before they were linked to your magic bands) at Disneyworld which helped make that vacation truly magical.

This May I took the boys on a very spontaneous (planned, booked and packed 2 days beforehand) trip from Australia to Disneyland for a Mother's Day surprise. What's a 14 hour flight when you have Disney in your sights!!! It was just myself and our 2 boys as Dh had to stay home and manage our business. I had heard Disneyland had implement the DAS card, and after such a positive experience at Disneyworld, we were confident the experience would be the same.

Once we arrived at Guest Services on Mother's Day, we lined up outside with the 30 odd other families that were mainly there for celebration pins/badges. The line did move rather quickly and we probably only waited 5-10 mins to see someone.

I made the mistake of bringing our old DAS cards to show the CM as she promptly took them and kept them! (I know we no longer needed to keep those cards, but they had pictures of the boys on the front and were still a very treasured souvenir of that vacation for us) The CM was very friendly however and she did help make the process very quick and easy. I was asked what our needs were and I told her that our boys are diagnosed with Aspergers and began to explain the issues we have associated with that. But all I got out was "our boys are diagnosed with Aspergers" and she smiled and stopped me and began telling me about the assistance that they have. It was nice not to have to go into greater detail in our explanation like we had to previously. I don't know why, but it always makes me a little anxious asking for the assistance to begin with?

Anyway, the lovely CM explained that their DAS is a little different to the one we had used previously. Now it would be linked to our tickets and instead of going to each individual ride for the return time (current standby time minus 10 mins), we needed to go to an information booth/umbrella (I'm sure there is a specific name for these but for the life of me I can't remember!) and a CM would help us. These were scattered throughout each park and had a distinctive green umbrella. I had to chose which of my boys would have the DAS and she scanned all 3 of our park tickets and linked them all together. She then asked the boys which was the first ride they wanted to go on, and she put a BTMR return time on them for 5 minutes later. In hindsight, we should have said Hyperspace Mountain or Star Tours as Big Thunder had no line at all! lol oh well, lesson learned....check wait times before getting DAS!

The DAS was a such a great help to us for our crazy 5 day Disney trip and we found it took away so much stress and anxiety and I am very pleased to say we had ZERO meltdowns! The ability to wait in a quieter area for our return time was fantastic once again. We found we mainly just used the DAS and we were able to not worry too much about fighting to get Fast Passes with everyone else first thing in the morning.

One thing we didn't like was having to get our return times from those information booth/umbrella areas. Sometimes they were difficult to find, but the main issue was that because they are also used for people who need information and other miscellaneous things, we found we had to wait in a line to get the return time most of the time. Sometimes there were no other people there, but mostly the wait was around 5 mins with the max wait once of 20 mins. Hmmm Can you say ironic? Waiting in a line to get a return time so you don't have to wait in a line! lol Kind of defeats the purpose in my book.

Well, if you've made it through my ramblings up to this point in the post...... Thank you for reading and please ask away if you have any questions that I may be able to help with

 

[lanejudy]

Thank you for sharing and I'm glad you had a good experience.

The diagnosis alone should not be adequate for obtaining DAS, so the CM was remiss in not allowing further explanation of needs. That does occur at times but should not be considered the norm.

Yes, the California parks use kiosks to get the ride returns. This is specific to those parks and not because of the electronic DAS; WDW now has DAS on the magicbands but return times are still given at the ride itself.

Wow -- I only dream of being able to plan such a spontaneous getaway, especially for that distance in that short of time! That was one special Mother's Day!

 

[Nevada Jen]

The umbrella guest services thing is a bit of a pain when there is a line and I have noticed the lines getting longer and longer at them. However, I do like being able to get any ride from any kiosk. I don't think I would like having to go to the ride and then walk away and wait. I find that the DAS pass really does what it is supposed to do in terms of minimizing line time for those who can't handle it. We simply wouldn't be able to do Disney without it and I am sure you wouldn't have had the confidence to do a last minute trip as single parent all the way from Austrailia without it either!

 

[2tinkerbell]

I am glad you had a good experience with the DAS at Disneyland.

Actually I really like the kiosks to get the return time and not having to go to the ride itself to obtain one. For example, say we are over in Critter Country and we want to ride the Matterhorn. We just find the kiosk right by the Haunted Mansion, get our return time for the Matterhorn and then casually make our way over there while the return time is ticking away. Love that you can park hop with a return time ticking away as well.

Personally, I use the DAS return times along with the Fastpasses - makes it easy to schedule our day. But my DD likes to have a schedule and know what is next.

 

[Aladora]

I am glad you had a good experience with the DAS at Disneyland.

Actually I really like the kiosks to get the return time and not having to go to the ride itself to obtain one. For example, say we are over in Critter Country and we want to ride the Matterhorn. We just find the kiosk right by the Haunted Mansion, get our return time for the Matterhorn and then casually make our way over there while the return time is ticking away. Love that you can park hop with a return time ticking away as well.

Personally, I use the DAS return times along with the Fastpasses - makes it easy to schedule our day. But my DD likes to have a schedule and know what is next.

Ditto this. We've used the DAS now on 4 trips to DL and love it along with FP. If you are not used to the kiosk locations, it can be a bit tricky to spot them but once you get used to where they are they are a snap to use.

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

Loved your experience. I'm glad everything went well

 

[gap2368]

I wish WDW had kiosk too I some times skip rides since it can be so hard to get a return time.

 

[Brisbanemum]

Thanks for the replies everyone

I think the DAS is awesome and I really wish they had a similar system here in Australia at our theme parks.

Thank you for sharing and I'm glad you had a good experience. The diagnosis alone should not be adequate for obtaining DAS, so the CM was remiss in not allowing further explanation of needs. That does occur at times but should not be considered the norm.

For this visit, I think that with the combination of sighting our previous DAS, seeing the boys and having me know exactly what I was after, the CM was mainly just checking that our needs had not changed since we last required one. I agree with you that our experience this trip was definitely not the norm and would encourage people to be prepared to be able to state and explain your needs in more detail! We have our big vacation to Disneyland and Disneyworld booked for the end of this year and we will definitely be assuming they will require more information on our needs before getting the DAS.

The umbrella guest services thing is a bit of a pain when there is a line and I have noticed the lines getting longer and longer at them. However, I do like being able to get any ride from any kiosk. I don't think I would like having to go to the ride and then walk away and wait. I find that the DAS pass really does what it is supposed to do in terms of minimizing line time for those who can't handle it. We simply wouldn't be able to do Disney without it and I am sure you wouldn't have had the confidence to do a last minute trip as single parent all the way from Austrailia without it either!

I still can't believe I took the boys myself! lol Since we have returned, we keep being shocked at ourselves and walk around still in disbelief that we went to Disneyland all the way from Australia on a whim and saying "who does that?" Clearly we are the crazy people that do that!!! lol

I am glad you had a good experience with the DAS at Disneyland. Actually I really like the kiosks to get the return time and not having to go to the ride itself to obtain one. For example, say we are over in Critter Country and we want to ride the Matterhorn. We just find the kiosk right by the Haunted Mansion, get our return time for the Matterhorn and then casually make our way over there while the return time is ticking away. Love that you can park hop with a return time ticking away as well.Personally, I use the DAS return times along with the Fastpasses - makes it easy to schedule our day. But my DD likes to have a schedule and know what is next.

I 100% agree! It was nice to get the return times without needing to go to each individual ride each time. I think it was only a little harder for us as the boys were used to having do that, so that change took quite a while to process for them and come to terms with. Part and parcel of Aspergers I used the Fastpasses only twice for this 5 day trip but we may have used them more if Dh had come along?

Ditto this. We've used the DAS now on 4 trips to DL and love it along with FP. If you are not used to the kiosk locations, it can be a bit tricky to spot them but once you get used to where they are they are a snap to use.

This exactly Aladora! As we had not been to Disneyland in 4 years, we were quite unfamiliar with the parks layout and sometimes had a hard time spotting them.

Loved your experience. I'm glad everything went well

Thank you WDWJonasGirl we praise the DAS highly to anyone over here that will listen! lol It makes our vacations to Disney possible!!

 

[Brisbanemum]

I wish WDW had kiosk too I some times skip rides since it can be so hard to get a return time.

We are going back to Disneyworld in December, so it will be very interesting to see the difference for us using the magic bands with the DAS. Can you use their electronic Fastpass distribution kiosks to select a DAS return time or is it still only available at each individual ride?

 

[gap2368]

We are going back to Disneyworld in December, so it will be very interesting to see the difference for us using the magic bands with the DAS. Can you use their electronic Fastpass distribution kiosks to select a DAS return time or is it still only available at each individual ride?

you have to go to the ride just like with the paper ones I do hope they will let you go to the FP kiosk but right now it is the rides

 

[SueM in MN]

We are going back to Disneyworld in December, so it will be very interesting to see the difference for us using the magic bands with the DAS. Can you use their electronic Fastpass distribution kiosks to select a DAS return time or is it still only available at each individual ride?

The Fastpass kiosks are just for Fastpass. I honestly can't see WDW giving out DAS Return Times there in the future (at least the near future and very possibly never).
They are self service, although there is a CM in the area. They are also usually quite busy.
I don't think that they would go to a self-service DAS arrangement.
Also, Fastpass uses a completely separate database than DAS does.
Fastpass = are there any Fastpass times available? What times are they?

DAS = what is the current attraction wait time?

You do have to go to individual attractions for DAS Return Times, but only one member of your group needs to go to get the time. That might not work for a particular family (especially only one parent and children), but it works fine for others.

Another nice thing at WDW is that all guests can preschedule 3 Fastpasses. Once those have been used, you can schedule more Fastpasses, one at a time. This can include Fastpasses at a different park if you choose to park hop.
Many people are finding that with the 3 Fastpasses and being able to see wait times on the My Disney Experience app, they are not needing to use DAS very much.

 

[Brisbanemum]

you have to go to the ride just like with the paper ones I do hope they will let you go to the FP kiosk but right now it is the rides

The Fastpass kiosks are just for Fastpass. I honestly can't see WDW giving out DAS Return Times there in the future (at least the near future and very possibly never).
They are self service, although there is a CM in the area. They are also usually quite busy.
I don't think that they would go to a self-service DAS arrangement.
Also, Fastpass uses a completely separate database than DAS does.
Fastpass = are there any Fastpass times available? What times are they?
DAS = what is the current attraction wait time?
You do have to go to individual attractions for DAS Return Times, but only one member of your group needs to go to get the time. That might not work for a particular family (especially only one parent and children), but it works fine for others.
Another nice thing at WDW is that all guests can preschedule 3 Fastpasses. Once those have been used, you can schedule more Fastpasses, one at a time. This can include Fastpasses at a different park if you choose to park hop.
Many people are finding that with the 3 Fastpasses and being able to see wait times on the My Disney Experience app, they are not needing to use DAS very much.

Thanks for the replies gap2368 and SueM in MN We quite liked the simplicity of going to each ride for a return time last time we were at Disneyworld and used the DAS when it was on a seperate card. We found it to be a very simple and easy process and our Aspie boys actually loved the whole process as they could visually see what was planned and helped them self-manage their own structured day. Using the magic bands in replacement of the card will be a little different so I need to research and prepare the boys for the change.

It usually takes us 24 hours of travel from the time we leave our house, till the moment we arrive at Disneyworld so we tend to stay a long time once we are there. Our last Disneyworld stay was two split stays (4 nights at Universal and a Disney Magic cruise in between) of 10 & 12 nights each staying onsite. I took full advantage of the ability to book our fastpasses 60 days out for resort guests and this really helped immensely. Some days we only used the DAS once as we had already secured the Fastpasses for the most popular rides and it just wasn't needed. Visiting the parks for such an extended period of time allows us to take our time and cater for the sometimes inevitable meltdowns or super high anxiety that those with similar special needs can understand. I think the key is to be prepared and just do the best for your individual family

 

[gap2368]

With the magic band it is just the same but In stead of having a paper they scan your magic band you only need one magic band to scan and it dose not have to be the one with the DAS so they could scan your band for the retrurn time

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

I agree with you Brisbane. I'm a 21 year old with high functioning autism so I understand.


Last time I went to WDW, we brought the card from Disneyland (they didn't do the magic band thing yet) and they did everything without a problem. At WDW, you will also need to have the boys there when requesting the pass

 

[dreiwhit]

The CM was very friendly however and she did help make the process very quick and easy. I was asked what our needs were and I told her that our boys are diagnosed with Aspergers and began to explain the issues we have associated with that. But all I got out was "our boys are diagnosed with Aspergers" and she smiled and stopped me and began telling me about the assistance that they have. It was nice not to have to go into greater detail in our explanation like we had to previously. I don't know why, but it always makes me a little anxious asking for the assistance to begin with?

Our experience was the same. I was prepared to have to go into a lengthly explanation and answer questions about my son's Aspergers and the issues he might have, but the CM stopped me and offered us a DAS card!

I'm really grateful for this. Since he got his diagnosis, it seems like every time we have to explain, it turns into a lengthly explanation and Q&A session. I'm really glad I didn't have to do this at Disney.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I greatly prefer the umbrella stations at DL to get the return times myself. Like it better than the WDW procedure. It is nice not to approach the actual ride and have my son pointing at it, wanting to ride immediately for one thing. Plus it saves time to get one one one side of the park, for a ride on the other side of the park (we then slowly make our way in the that direction). And even better, getting a DAS for the opposite park is great as well. I would usually get one before we left the park for a break, for whatever park we wanted to see that evening.