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

[mamapajama54]

I have been approved by universal for life as long as I keep my paperwork up. I have never used it there (on the rare trips there) because I find it hard to do. I pay for express passes or hotel that includes express. It makes a low stress trip. Problem with Disney is that isn’t an option there. The genie plus does not come close to providing similar access. Issue with universal is I can’t ride that much so we don’t go often. I really believe they are going to accept a lot of the same things at Disney they have. They are just going to learn better how to question people or whatever. I honestly believe it isn’t going to be as bad as is assumed. Unfortunately they are hitting us with a gut punch because we are vulnerable people. We are easily panicked. I am just going to take it one step at a time and see how it goes. Worst case scenario is we go to the parks and I wait while my daughter rides alone and we enjoy the small things that don’t have lines.

The problem with Disney offering Genie+ with deluxe hotels is US has 3 hotels that qualify for their Unlimited Express Pass while Disney has like12 Deluxe resorts/villas. There is DVC to factor in that scenario as well and Universal doesn't have any DVC-like properties. Fort Wilderness is not considered a deluxe but now that it's becoming DVC it will have access to PM Extra Magic Hours like a Deluxe so that would make 13.

 

[sprem96]

It's preemptive here as you haven't had your DAS interview so I would take the advice of the mods and wait, I understand that's not an answer you'd want to hear but it's still preemptive how you are viewing things as if you can't get X you won't do Y.

Your comments are also coming from a point of preference but presenting it as how it works. Preferring a way is a different train of thought.

yeah I know it really comes down to waiting, it's frustrating because every year I was able to plan for it, which I did this year too, and it's been changed on me after I committed thousands and thousands of dollars to this trip, people in my same boat know this pain of investing time and money and now a scrambling to see if they can somehow salvage the trip

 

[sprem96]

I have been approved by universal for life as long as I keep my paperwork up. I have never used it there (on the rare trips there) because I find it hard to do. I pay for express passes or hotel that includes express. It makes a low stress trip. Problem with Disney is that isn’t an option there. The genie plus does not come close to providing similar access. Issue with universal is I can’t ride that much so we don’t go often. I really believe they are going to accept a lot of the same things at Disney they have. They are just going to learn better how to question people or whatever. I honestly believe it isn’t going to be as bad as is assumed. Unfortunately they are hitting us with a gut punch because we are vulnerable people. We are easily panicked. I am just going to take it one step at a time and see how it goes. Worst case scenario is we go to the parks and I wait while my daughter rides alone and we enjoy the small things that don’t have lines.

I use similar strategy where I get the express pass for the day. I love universal for their express pass program, I primarily use the express pass over the AAP because I don't want to be a burden on their express pass lines if I can help it (I'll pay my way if necessary, plus it actually works better than their AAP), only use AAP on the 1 ride that Express passes are not eligible. I wish Disney would have the equivalent program, G+ is vastly inferior, and it forces too many people to depend on DAS or lean on it heavily.

 

[jennab]

yeah I know it really comes down to waiting, it's frustrating because every year I was able to plan for it, which I did this year too, and it's been changed on me after I committed thousands and thousands of dollars to this trip, people in my same boat know this pain of investing time and money and now a scrambling to see if they can somehow salvage the trip

I try to never plan on something being available for a future trip. Disney is a business and makes changes. They have now decided to offer different accommodations for disabilities that aren’t always/mostly a problem in longer lines. While I can’t know your exact disability as everyone is different, my husband has similar issues. The thing is, it’s very sporadic. He could have multiple flares in a day or he could have one. It’s really hard to tell what will happen and he can only control so much. However, a child with autism or similar developmental disability will mostly/always have problems in every long line. So I guess even though I’m not a fan of them changing the DAS process I get the difference between those who always/mostly have an issue in line and those who could/might have an issue in line.

It is hard though to go to something that is lesser than what you were used to. We may be in a similar boat. I have no idea if my son will qualify for DAS anymore either. However we aren’t planning to go back until 2025 so I have time to see how this all plays out.

 

[sprem96]

I try to never plan on something being available for a future trip. Disney is a business and makes changes. They have now decided to offer different accommodations for disabilities that aren’t always/mostly a problem in longer lines. While I can’t know your exact disability as everyone is different, my husband has similar issues. The thing is, it’s very sporadic. He could have multiple flares in a day or he could have one. It’s really hard to tell what will happen and he can only control so much. However, a child with autism or similar developmental disability will mostly/always have problems in every long line. So I guess even though I’m not a fan of them changing the DAS process I get the difference between those who always/mostly have an issue in line and those who could/might have an issue in line.

It is hard though to go to something that is lesser than what you were used to. We may be in a similar boat. I have no idea if my son will qualify for DAS anymore either. However we aren’t planning to go back until 2025 so I have time to see how this all plays out.

Sadly I don't have the option of waiting out for my trip this summer, I'll know to plan for my potential 2025 based on how this years trip ends up panning out (and assuming Disney doesn't make further changes)

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

I've mentioned this in the past in this thread, there is a lot of rides that require supervision that would interfere with 2 kids, SD, TSM, SDMT, BS, TS (MK), BLSSR, AO, Dumbo, MAofWtP, GotG, SE, TS (AK), all rides my kids are both tall enough to ride
Not sure if I missed any others that are 42"height or smaller, youngest can't ride 44" or higher

If your argument to Disney is that you need DAS for 5 so that if you leave the line your kids will still have an adult to ride with you are probably not going to get the response you are hoping for. As others have mentioned DAS is for the benefit of the holder, not the rest of the party. Fortunately you said that you also buy G+ and ILLs. They are likely the more appropriate way to handle your family’s situation in Disney’s eyes if you don’t want to wait for Rider Swap or the equivalent.

Edited to fix a grammar mistake.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

yeah I know it really comes down to waiting, it's frustrating because every year I was able to plan for it, which I did this year too, and it's been changed on me after I committed thousands and thousands of dollars to this trip, people in my same boat know this pain of investing time and money and now a scrambling to see if they can somehow salvage the trip

This Europe trip we just got back on we avoided airline and rail strikes by 1 day for Heathrow and a few days with respects to Germany's rail system meaning they called off the strike that would have impacted us just a day and a few days respectively before the deadline. It was the single biggest worry of our trip because that is commonplace in Europe and prohibited in the U.S. (meaning these types of strikes). It worried us because over the holidays Eurostar had a rail strike cutting of London from the rest of Europe and that was the route we were going at the front of our trip (London to Belgium).

We had a mixture of cash and Chase points converted to airline points and hotel points. There's no refund on that. I am not sure if rail or airline strikes qualifies under Chase's trip insurance but it wouldn't solve the issue of points converted to other points (for instance Chase points converted to Hyatt hotel points and the hotel then being booked on points. We did book when we could hotels that had a forgiving cancellation policy but those points would still be sitting there already converted. I know how it feels with that planning, changing, etc, we booked airline and hotels with points primarily last July for our May trip only to find out strikes were planned announced with fairly short notice just before the trip. And it was a considerable time investment for Europe being gone 15 days, many months of planning, costs in both cash and points, arranging pet sitting, hotel bookings in JFK and Baltimore, time off work, etc. I love traveling in Europe and have a 3rd trip planned next year but it is very nerve racking dealing with the very real possibility of strikes impacting your trip (there were strikes last year at Heathrow we missed by a few days as well, they occurred it just wasn't on a day we were flying through Heathrow). I mean the French government had to write in a law prohibiting strikes and disruptions for large events as it was a possibility the Olympics could be impacted among other future events. So all that to say we were just in the same boat.

With respects to what you were discussing with DAS there are alternatives that are available to people especially with the adjustments made. Just writing those alternatives off is what I'm speaking to. Just stating "if I don't get approved for what worked for me in the past" is what I'm speaking to going back to your comment about your kids riding.

As far as AQR after merge, I am unaware is there a rule that's been said that AQR is prohibited after the merge? All Disney states is
"There may be times when a Guest must briefly step out of the standby line and then rejoin their party in the line. Every location has a defined process to support this option based on a person’s disability while the rest of the party remains in line.

How to Use Queue Re-entry

Speak to a Cast member at the location for directions on how to re-enter the queue.

1. A Cast Member will provide details about how to exit the queue and how to navigate back to your party.
2. While the Guest who must leave the line is briefly away, the rest of the party will remain in line.
3. The Guest reunites with their party to ride the attraction.

Note: Guests must meet boarding requirements to ride."

This is me spitballing here but I actually thinking notifying a CM is easier post merge than pre-merge because that is where you are most likely to find them. But as I understand AQR to be you can speak to a CM before entering the line regarding the process for that specific attraction.

And to the mod's point Disney has been pretty clear about the DAS situation. Even though I'm pulling up the verbiage from now I'm pretty certain it's been this way for a long while (bolding mine)

• The Guest for which DAS is being requested must be present during registration and must experience the attraction when redeeming a DAS return time at Walt Disney World theme parks.

Policing that policy is another thing but it's as far as I understand how DAS has been written to be about for years.

 

[lanejudy]

As far as AQR after merge, I am unaware is there a rule that's been said that AQR is prohibited after the merge?

There is no reason to believe it's not available. We simply haven't had any reports of it yet as "AQR". However, there are earlier reports of parents leaving the queue with a child right before boarding and still allowed to return and ride. So based on that I have no reason to think it won't be accommodated if needed.

 

[sprem96]

If you argument to Disney is that you need DAS for 5 so that if you leave the line your kids will still have an adult to ride with you are probably not going to get the response you are hoping for. As others have mentioned DAS is for the benefit of the holder, not the rest of the party. Fortunately you said that you also buy G+ and ILLs. They are likely the more appropriate way to handle your family’s situation in Disney’s eyes if you don’t want to wait for Rider Swap or the equivalent.

my argument was I appreciated the party of 6 because if the situation arose it was a fall back (not my intention to use, I pay for park tickets to ride rides, not sit in a stall all day) . Don't forget we wait patiently for return times and had to wait in LLs, and ultimately I lost out when that happened, so it's not all rainbows and sunshine. Plus what do you want Disney to do, chase after me as I'm running for a stall and say you need to ride it you're the primary DAS user. Plus, I have asked a couple times when I had a second to double check, and after merges the CMs I dealt with were never were bothered by it because they understood the emergency of the situation, if anything one time the CM asked if I was sure I wanted to leave because I was so close to riding.

and if I still get qualified, I'll have a much harder time dealing with everything as a party of 4 with the 2 young kids, and not sure how Disney will accommodate that problem if it were to arise

 

[sprem96]

There is no reason to believe it's not available. We simply haven't had any reports of it yet as "AQR". However, there are earlier reports of parents leaving the queue with a child right before boarding and still allowed to return and ride. So based on that I have no reason to think it won't be accommodated if needed.

That is what I was looking for this entire time, thank you @lanejudy,

A reasonable answer to my exact question, I will ask CM in my registration, and if they don't know I will ask the CM at a ride, if I were to have an issue after merge, how will that be accommodated for us leaving the line too late to return in time

 

[GoingSince1990]

That is what I was looking for this entire time, thank you @lanejudy,

A reasonable answer to my exact question, I will ask CM in my registration, and if they don't know I will ask the CM at a ride, if I were to have an issue after merge, how will that be accommodated for us leaving the line too late to return in time

In the (hopefully rare) cases where you need to use the restroom after the merge, I would think that the rest of your party would be allowed to wait for you before boarding the ride, and you would be able to reunite with them either via the LL or entering through the exit.

 

[mistysue]

That is what I was looking for this entire time, thank you @lanejudy,

A reasonable answer to my exact question, I will ask CM in my registration, and if they don't know I will ask the CM at a ride, if I were to have an issue after merge, how will that be accommodated for us leaving the line too late to return in time

FWIW - we had two bathroom emergencies happen in early May before this change, one after a merge and one just before it. In both cases, we asked a CM the best way to manage this and they simply had our group stand aside in the boarding area until the other part of our group returned. (one of these we were even directed to a "secret" bathroom to make this all easier)

 

[starlite_]

It is very hard to ride rides if just 4 people, that I specified, what has happened is that my wife may take my oldest child on rides she is tall enough for, but it doesnt help us when all 4 can ride a ride unfortunately

and to point out, it didn't have to be grandparents, but usually only ones that would come on the trip (from Toronto, can't just ask anybody to tag along for a day lol), this year my sister is coming down with us with her kid and husband because we assumed party of 6 when booking 8 months ago

You, wife, 2 kids, sister, sister husband, sister kid. That's 7 people, one would have to miss out on using DAS with you anyways even if the party of 6 was still allowed.

Your sister's family should be able to get Genie+ to coordinate with you no? Not like your family would be able to keep going in the LL anyways since you would be leaving it in those scenarios you mention.

 

[keishashadow]

Before that.Mobility issues alone never were supposed to get GAC or DAS

A friend wouldn’t get DAS. She would tell TMs that she had a fused hip and couldn’t do stairs, particularly on Indy & fantastic. Never had an issue with it being granted. She’s worried now What do you think?

For sure we're holding our breathe as DLR rolls out its revamped system next month.

When you have interview, could you ask if the two systems might finally be merged as to DAS?

Good luck

On the other hand, disabilities can be inconsistent, so if someone books a ride for ToT at 2pm for a return at 3pm (70 min wait time posted), it doesn't actually mean that person will get there at that scheduled time, some might take double that time to get to that ride due to many factors. Disney has given DAS users the ability to book things on their app and not right in front of the ride, mainly due to those reasons. Before the app, I had to physically show up to the ride and get them to give me a RTQ time, the problem like my disability or others, is that sometimes when the time arrived, we were unable to ride at that moment. So booking from everywhere has given disabled people to ride it when they feel comfortable.

Absolutely true for so many

I always wondered how people who “can’t wait more than 15 minutes in line” deal with rides like GotG, as I don’t think I have ever been out in under 30 minutes even with Genie+ and the ride itself isn’t that long.

Know more than a few who some days only manage one 30 minute line before they need to try to regroup in order to continue their day

Either need a quiet break in park afterwards or have to retreat to resort and try things again later in day or the next.

Worrisome for them to buy genie+ under any version of that scenario. LL an option if it’s their first attraction

 

[nalababybear]

When you have interview, could you ask if the two systems might finally be merged as to DAS?

It was reported on the FB page by a wdw adult with asd that the two systems were merged and he did nit have to redo the interview for dlr.

They still need to chat to get it loaded on the dlr app. But the approval process wasn't needed.....so it's active in the background

 

[sprem96]

In the (hopefully rare) cases where you need to use the restroom after the merge, I would think that the rest of your party would be allowed to wait for you before boarding the ride, and you would be able to reunite with them either via the LL or entering through the exit.

all I'll say is they could wait, true, the only problem is an IBD doesn't just work like a pee break, where you go and come right back, and even if it were to take under 30 minutes, you ever experience the anger of other guests that see you sneaking in the back to join your party at the front, my wife has been treated horribly enough times that I can't do that to her, and why they choose to leave with me when we go anywhere just the 4 of us because it's hard on her and myself emotionally to deal with that issue

I would not be surprised we'll some of that with this whole AQR merge point, previous guests will not see what's going on ahead and if they're the ones being told to wait for a party of 12 to be reunited, that won't go well, disabled people and family members don't like to feel responsible for others being mad, we have enough guilt and troubles on our plate as it is, it actually makes you feel sick to your stomach and makes you feel terrible and takes away the joy of the day, which is why programs like DAS removed some of that interaction with the regular crowd, we just want to go about our days as peacefully as possible

 

[sprem96]

You, wife, 2 kids, sister, sister husband, sister kid. That's 7 people, one would have to miss out on using DAS with you anyways even if the party of 6 was still allowed.

Your sister's family should be able to get Genie+ to coordinate with you no? Not like your family would be able to keep going in the LL anyways since you would be leaving it in those scenarios you mention.

Yes, I know the 7 is a huge problem this year, but if it was still 6, the husband is not a huge ride goer and it wouldn't be too much of an issue, but we'll see I guess what Disney has to say first and take it from there, all 7 of us are prepared to use G+ and ILL to help as much as possible, take it 1 step at a time I guess

 

[sprem96]

FWIW - we had two bathroom emergencies happen in early May before this change, one after a merge and one just before it. In both cases, we asked a CM the best way to manage this and they simply had our group stand aside in the boarding area until the other part of our group returned. (one of these we were even directed to a "secret" bathroom to make this all easier)

which ride is that, would love to know in case that comes up

 

[mistysue]

which ride is that, would love to know in case that comes up

I don't want to post it, because inevitably people will see and someone will ask or count on it being there. The real point is that when you ask for help, CMs tend to be people who want to help. All we said was we were having a bathroom emergency, how is the best way to manage this at this point? And they volunteered ways to let us all still ride.

 

[Disneychick75]

Just want to mention that watching the previews of inside out 2 are good way to stay cool before going to your next Das reservation