DAS changes coming WDW May 20/ DL June 18, 2024

[lanejudy]

Does anyone remember when they started moving away from granting mobility issues for DAS? Was it simply when the system changed from GAC to DAS?

Definitely with the change from GAC to DAS, however even before that (during the GAC years) mobility alone did not require GAC. Though I think it may have been during those GAC years that most queues became mainstreamed.

 

[Philsfan77]

Definitely with the change from GAC to DAS, however even before that (during the GAC years) mobility alone did not require GAC. Though I think it may have been during those GAC years that most queues became mainstreamed.

Thank you for that...was just kind of curious about previous changes to the overall systems.

 

[Disneychick75]

Was this at WDW or DLR? Either way it’s wild, but I know things are handled differently in some ways ant the two parks, so worth asking! And can you get your money back for the G+ that was never used?!

WDW
I felt so blessed with all of the pixie dust yesterday it really never occurred to me to ask for my money back. The mouse can keep it.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Right now Tokyo costs less than Disney World because of how weak the Yen is.

The park tickets are a great price (my husband loved that aspect) but it's expensive to get to Japan. Our airfare for two people RT just from the west coast is more than $4K, we'll fly SWA on points to get from our house to the west coast. The yen being weak doesn't suddenly make it easier to get there or less costly to get there or less vacation time spent to do a trip there. It can just make your costs while there lower than if the yen was strong that's about it.

 

[diablodancer]

Deleted as hadn’t realised FoP had a bathroom in the queue which agree makes the account I’d shared more complex.

 

[lanejudy]

Thank you for that...was just kind of curious about previous changes to the overall systems.

I believe the biggest change was from GAC to DAS, though admittedly I wasn't familiar with the accommodations prior to GAC.

When GAC changed to DAS, there were plenty of folks who were not happy that they were suddenly being excluded, many of whom were told to ask about specific accommodations at each attraction. (sound familiar?)

• mobility - if using a mobility device or simply needing to avoid stairs, etc. told to ask at each attraction; as mentioned, GAC wasn't necessary for this but many people wanted it anyway
• vision - told to ask at each attraction for specific seating needs; based on first-hand reports, this remains one of the most challenging disabilities to be accommodated for queue-related needs; for many years it was very rare for someone with a vision disability to qualify for DAS though in recent years there have been some reports
• hearing - told to ask at each attraction if specific seating was needed; other accommodations (assisted listening, captioning) had been available at Guest Relations even prior to the GAC->DAS change
• WISH trip was completely removed from the internal Disney-offered accommodations and the Genie pass was issued directly by the wish-granting organization

That's what comes immediately to mind. There may have been other needs that were no longer covered by DAS.

 

[jkstewart1800]

I know a lot of people here will probably disagree, but that seems reasonable to me. If you can walk around the park without the need for a wheelchair, then why would walking through the queue be different? If you do need a wheelchair in the park, and the lines are accessible, then why do you need the LL?

so for my bestie she has POTS, which means her heart stuggles to pump her blood enough for it to get to her brain sometimes. Walking elevates her heart rate and that helps, standing for long period of times makes her faint. I think though that they would just say, get a wheel chair, but she doesn't want to use up a wheel chair for someone who actually needs it. She would just sit and wait, or walk until her return time.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Found a new Facebook group with some reports in it as the one I’ve been checking so far has been temporarily archived. A report from AK from yesterday:

Without that person actually being able to hear and convey back the actual conversation IMO it's not something we probably should share, we're not getting the full context of the story. There is a bathroom in FOP line, that could have been a factor in what the CM's were saying who knows. But the story seems to be missing something here because if there were people who left the line to use the bathroom they are the ones who would have asked CMs when they left the line where they would be meeting their group back and what to do. Just asking a random CM who wasn't involved in that is probably going to lead to confusion and could be seen by the CMs that person asked could have been trying to curb line issues.

The process of how leaving the line with interactions with CMs here is what is missing from that person's story and I don't think we should be sharing just a bunch of stories that could lead to panic and assumptions on the competence in CMs (especially as that person said "scary!").

 

[jennab]

so for my bestie she has POTS, which means her heart stuggles to pump her blood enough for it to get to her brain sometimes. Walking elevates her heart rate and that helps, standing for long period of times makes her faint. I think though that they would just say, get a wheel chair, but she doesn't want to use up a wheel chair for someone who actually needs it. She would just sit and wait, or walk until her return time.

Not trying to come off as dismissive, but how does she deal in her everyday life then? Does she just sit down when she needs to wherever she is? If so, then I think a wheelchair could work. I wouldn’t worry about taking one from someone else. If Disney is seeing an uptick in wheelchair usage then they will just need to get more as that is one of their suggested accommodations for people.

 

[Evita_W]

Does anyone remember when they started moving away from granting mobility issues for DAS? Was it simply when the system changed from GAC to DAS?

Actually, it was when they changed to GAC from DAP.

 

[PrincessV]

So in the other DAS thread (the one with a poll I think? good grief - I’ve already forgotten!) yet another poster states that the DAS video chat CM told them to use “Return To Queue” and that those were the exact words used by the CM. The poster asked for clarification, knowing that RTQ and AQR are different, and the CM explained how RTQ works… by describing how AQR works. No wonder we’re all confused - this is at least the third time someone has described the DAS CM getting the terminology wrong for sure, with multiple other instances where it’s unclear whether the CM was mixing up RTQ and AQR or the Guest was. I’m sorry, but I can’t give Disney a pass on this one: it’s fine if they don’t want to describe in detail how either RTQ or AQR works until a Guest requests it at an attraction, but for goodness sake, they can and should be making sure the CMs advising their use know which is which and are advising Guests properly.

 

[Evita_W]

Not trying to come off as dismissive, but how does she deal in her everyday life then? Does she just sit down when she needs to wherever she is? If so, then I think a wheelchair could work. I wouldn’t worry about taking one from someone else. If Disney is seeing an uptick in wheelchair usage then they will just need to get more as that is one of their suggested accommodations for people.

You know there isn't a ton of standing without walking in a lot of people's everyday lives. It amazes me when people ask things like this..or when people say they need a DAS and people respond with how do you do grocery shopping then? They act like waiting less than 5 minutes in a grocery line is the same as an hour long line at a theme park. I mean if they have hour long grocery lines, they should really consider shopping elsewhere or having groceries delivered.

Same in this instance, DH and I can't really think of many times we have had to stand without walking, except when we used to work retail, but even then they could have accommodated such needs easily.

As for a solution to this issues, now that cane seats are officially allowed, I wonder that would help in this situation?

 

[Evita_W]

So in the other DAS thread (the one with a poll I think? good grief - I’ve already forgotten!) yet another poster states that the DAS video chat CM told them to use “Return To Queue” and that those were the exact words used by the CM. The poster asked for clarification, knowing that RTQ and AQR are different, and the CM explained how RTQ works… by describing how AQR works. No wonder we’re all confused - this is at least the third time someone has described the DAS CM getting the terminology wrong for sure, with multiple other instances where it’s unclear whether the CM was mixing up RTQ and AQR or the Guest was. I’m sorry, but I can’t give Disney a pass on this one: it’s fine if they don’t want to describe in detail how either RTQ or AQR works until a Guest requests it at an attraction, for goodness sake, they can and should be making sure the CMs advising their use know which is which and are advising Guests properly.

I actually don't think it is fine for us to not know how AQR works ahead of time, RTQ, maybe, but there should be detailed video on every attraction of how to leave and reenter each queue, with and without mobility devices posted on the accessibility portion of the website, this would help people know if this accommodation could work or not. Of course it would mean Disney would see that it won't actually work with mobility devices at many attractions.

 

[Lugan]

I just spent several days at the park, still approved with the old system. One thing that I noticed which I feel epitomizes the push for selling more LLs and Genie+ is how Space Mountain is being handled at WDW.

For years, I've only ever ridden the Omega side (right side), as it was dedicated to the LL. I've never been routed to the Alpha side. During this trip, we went into the standard queue during the fireworks with a posted 15 minute time, as I can handle that duration. What we experienced was a significant slowdown after the fireworks ended as the CMs continually held the standard queue to push LL through both sides. This turned our 15 minute wait into a 40 minute wait. I barely made it through. I can't speak more to why without getting too much into specifics of my condition.

When we returned to this attraction later in the week, using a DAS return time, we were pushed through the Alpha side again. In this instance, the LL wasn't backed up much, and the posted wait time was only 35 minutes.

This kind of operational change indicates, to me, that Disney is expecting more LL users, and giving them even higher preference. It also makes wait time estimations less trustworthy for those of us that would make a decision based on whether the queue requires a return time or not.

Anecdotally, this trip was by far the worst in terms of number of Lightning Lane users, and the wait time experienced in those queues after returning with my DAS time. I last went to WDW just 5 months ago, and this was a significant increase. I only saw a handful of other parties get the blue circle response tapping in, so it's hard to equate this with over abuse of DAS.

 

[lanejudy]

I think though that they would just say, get a wheel chair, but she doesn't want to use up a wheel chair for someone who actually needs it.

As for a solution to this issues, now that cane seats are officially allowed, I wonder that would help in this situation?

I also was thinking a cane seat, or a rollator, if a wheelchair is unwanted. Something that provides a place to sit when needed but she can otherwise walk.

And I think it's probably important to point out that Disney (any of the parks east coast or west coast) does not have wheelchairs available for guest use at every attraction. It is pretty much expected that if someone needs use of a wheelchair they will bring/rent one. The attraction wheelchairs tend to be at attractions where it's required to transfer from an ECV to a wheelchair.

 

[jennab]

I just spent several days at the park, still approved with the old system. One thing that I noticed which I feel epitomizes the push for selling more LLs and Genie+ is how Space Mountain is being handled at WDW.

For years, I've only ever ridden the Omega side (right side), as it was dedicated to the LL. I've never been routed to the Alpha side. During this trip, we went into the standard queue during the fireworks with a posted 15 minute time, as I can handle that duration. What we experienced was a significant slowdown after the fireworks ended as the CMs continually held the standard queue to push LL through both sides. This turned our 15 minute wait into a 40 minute wait. I barely made it through. I can't speak more to why without getting too much into specifics of my condition.

When we returned to this attraction later in the week, using a DAS return time, we were pushed through the Alpha side again. In this instance, the LL wasn't backed up much, and the posted wait time was only 35 minutes.

This kind of operational change indicates, to me, that Disney is expecting more LL users, and giving them even higher preference. It also makes wait time estimations less trustworthy for those of us that would make a decision based on whether the queue requires a return time or not.

Anecdotally, this trip was by far the worst in terms of number of Lightning Lane users, and the wait time experienced in those queues after returning with my DAS time. I last went to WDW just 5 months ago, and this was a significant increase. I only saw a handful of other parties get the blue circle response tapping in, so it's hard to equate this with over abuse of DAS.

On our last trip about 1.5yrs ago I noticed quite an increase in LL wait times over previous visits. There were a few times when we would return for our DAS time and the line was backed out of the queue and looking longer than 20min. We ended up just leaving instead. It seems there has been an uptick in the waits for the LL lines, one of the supposed reasons for the DAS change. I’ve honestly never paid attention to others scanning in so wouldn’t be able to tell ya if it was other DAS users or not.

 

[OurBigTrip]

so for my bestie she has POTS, which means her heart stuggles to pump her blood enough for it to get to her brain sometimes. Walking elevates her heart rate and that helps, standing for long period of times makes her faint. I think though that they would just say, get a wheel chair, but she doesn't want to use up a wheel chair for someone who actually needs it. She would just sit and wait, or walk until her return time.

I get what you’re saying, but it isn’t (or at least shouldn’t be ) about what she prefers (not wanting to use a wheelchair), it should be about the accommodation and whether or not it will work .

 

[jo-jo]

so for my bestie she has POTS, which means her heart stuggles to pump her blood enough for it to get to her brain sometimes. Walking elevates her heart rate and that helps, standing for long period of times makes her faint. I think though that they would just say, get a wheel chair, but she doesn't want to use up a wheel chair for someone who actually needs it. She would just sit and wait, or walk until her return time.

Would just walking in place help?

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

This kind of operational change indicates, to me, that Disney is expecting more LL users, and giving them even higher preference.

Whether it is DAS or G+, this is all virtual queue for a guest.

DAS is a money losing proposition for TWDC. There is no revenue from DAS (i.e. no charge) and there is specific operating costs (i.e. CMs wages and benefits to staff the program). There is little incentive for TWDC to invest into the DAS program any longer. Goodwill and guest satisfaction is not as high of a priority for TWDC as compared to revenue and profits. The Parks & Experiences Division is a critical revenue stream for the entire company.

With G+, there is a revenue stream to pay for operating costs (attractions, CMs, utilities, etc. etc.). TWDC needs to maximize this pay option virtual queue by adding as many people to that stream as possible, including, without limitation, pushing this pay option even more to disabled guests by eliminating an option of DAS.

 

[DoryGirl1963]

On our trip in April 2023, we had constant issues with the standby line just being repeatedly stuck at a standstill for 10-20 minutes at a time while LL folks were rolled through across multiple rides. Our 35 minutte Remy wait became an hour and 50 minutes for this reason. On Toy Story Mania, not one single standby person was let in for 45 straight minutes while a packed stream of LL were put thru - we bailed on that one - God only knows how long we'd have been there. We chatted with numerous folks all of which had the same experience across all the parks & rides when using standby. All of our waits were 2-4 times longer than posted due to the LL being exclusively prioritized. By the last day, my husband wouldn't even get in line for a ride that had a LL and I don't think I'll ever get him to go back .