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

[Baytothemax]

they had the ride tiers during FP+ and it absolutely mucked up the wait times for the smaller rides at parks that didn’t have a ton because people felt compelled to choose one so it would give 20-30 min waits to like Figment when we all know that should be a 10 min max line.

Do I have an alternate solution over open more rides & shows or let less people into parks? Not really

Honestly I am truly hoping Epic Universe is an amazing success and people flock there and balance out the Orlando crowds in all parks.

 

[mamaofsix]

Agree with a few previous posters that everyone seems to be focusing on the Autism part of Disney's statement instead of "or similar." My adopted children have fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which is permanent frontal lobe brain damage due to prenatal alcohol exposure. Here in Canada, it affects 4% of the population - 2.5 times more common than Autism. It affects the domains of the brain that contribute to impulse control, aggression, understanding of time, basic decision making and comprehension of novel situations. It is an invisible disability to the average passerby. Many people get mis-diagnosed as Autistic when it is actually FASD. DAS is a lifesaver for us.

I'm simply using this as one example of "or similar" that the general population would have no knowledge of, but health care experts DO know a lot about. Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) are also an important sector of the population that are in desperate need of line accommodations.

I see the addition of Health Care professionals to the decision making process as a wonderful thing for DAS. It takes the pressure off Cast Members.

However, I'm on the fence about requiring proof of diagnosis. In Canada, it takes years to get an FASD diagnosis (took us three years, even with proof of birth mom's chronic alcohol and drug use). If you go the private route, the cost is about $5000.00 to have the psychological assessment needed for the diagnosis.

For those waiting for a diagnosis, it would likely be better to be assessed for DAS based on symptoms instead of a piece of paper diagnosis.

 

[CarouselofColor]

I am very concerned about these changes because it sounds like I will no longer be eligible and the accommodations won’t work for me. I have multiple reasons why I am eligible for DAS under the current program.

I do not think renting a scooter is a viable solution for me. I am physically able to walk from point a to point B. I could easily walk a mile. However, I am not able to stand a walk in a slow moving line for more than 10 or 15 minutes. I know Disney will say the solution is to get a scooter, but I don’t think my condition warrants a scooter or a wheelchair. The last thing Disney needs is more scooters and wheelchairs in the parks.

I am intending to say this in the most respectful way that I can, so please don't take this as an attack...but it sounds like a scooter or wheelchair would be an accommodation that would potentially allow someone with this limitation to manage the normal queues? It seems like Disney's whole motivation for this change is to lessen how many people need to go through Lightning Lane, so I'd imaging if someone doesn't need a scooter/wheelchair walking in the park, but it would allow them to wait in a normal line, that would probably still be a reasonable accommodation instead of DAS. I can't/won't speak to your other conditions, or even for you specifically because I obviously don't know you or your limitations, nor am I trained by Disney to make a call, but just wanted to point out that from an operational standpoint, if someone cannot stand in a queue but they could sit in a queue, a wheelchair would probably work, if that was the only issue at play?

 

[TwoMisfits]

The Disneyland info makes clear that they will see teens as able to either wait in standby or be assists for adults, so anyone with teens as one of their children should expect they may also be shuffled into the rider pass situation.

As I said way earlier in the thread, it looks like DAS is being skewed for minor children needs only - whether they themselves need it, or whether they are traveling with a single aged 14+ member who needs accommodation.

 

[dreamer17555]

View attachment 850857
Based upon this screenshot from the Disneyland disability guide (which was posted in the DAS discussion in the Disneyland forum) it looks as though Disney is moving towards rider switch as opposed to DAS for conditions requiring frequent restroom use. For example, a party of 4, one of whom has IBS, could do a rider switch with two members of the party (who don’t have IBS) riding standby, following which the other two (including the person with IBS) could ride with LL. Such a system would obviously make it much less attractive for a party of (for example) six healthy young people to lie about one of them having IBS, as even if approved, four of them would still have to go through the standby line at each ride. Obviously there would be special cases like solo travelers, or parties of two where one person has the condition and needs the other person’s assistance to use the restroom, for which rider switch would not work, in which case the existing system could still be used.

Does Rider Switch currently work this way? For instance if someone waits outside the line because of bathroom needs how do they "join up" with their party? LL? How do they coordinate that timing? Does the family member in the standard queue have to reach a merge point to be able to let the CM at the front know to allow access? Where are they going to put people if their are multiple parties waiting at the merge point (I am thinking locations like ToT or BTMRR)?

 

[GoingSince1990]

I just wonder how they will handle it for parties of 2 or solos.

Solos would probably be allowed to use the system as it is currently. As would a party of two where the person requiring accommodation needed the other person’s assistance to use the restroom. Of course anyone lying about this would need to bear in mind that there are cameras everywhere, and if they were seen using the bathroom unassisted multiple times during the day, they may well be pulled aside and banned for life.

 

[lynzi2004]

The bottom line is that DAS is too appealing to both disabled and cheaters. The current DAS system is honestly amazing and has made touring with our 6 year old so much better! Less than 5 years ago, 2 different groups of people could skip the majority of the "in que wait" for free. Now they can charge upwards of $160 (not including the Individual Lightening Lane costs) for a family of 4 to do the same thing OR the same family can qualify for DAS (whether honestly or not) and get a "superior" product for free.

We have 3 children with a 5 year age gap between the older 2 and the younger (12, 11, 6). We went to Disney for years with the older 2 on FP alone and made it great. I learned how to work the system well, they were both neurotypical kids and we had a great time. Fast forward to my now 6 year old with autism. We have paid for Genie+ and it has worked well on several trips as he was too little to ride the bigger rides anyway. So my bigs would either wait in line with a parent, use rider switch, etc while the youngest one and a parent went off exploring and doing other things (or pulling the stroller cover down and escaping) for a few minutes. Or there was times when one parent would take an older child to one park to rope drop, while we stayed in until DS was ready to go. I wasn't even aware of how DAS worked, until a recent trip when someone suggested we try it for him. It was getting to the point on Genie+ that I couldn't get all the "rides" in and he would see them and flip out not understanding that we couldn't just ride. Our last trip was with DAS and it was a night and day difference. Our day flowed so much smoother, we saved so many steps walking/not criss-crossing the park, there wasn't near the begging to go back to the pool bc DS6 was "done". I would most definitely pay for the DAS pass over paying for Genie any day. I think the reason so many of us are upset is bc we LIKE and realize that if they change DAS, there's not much way to make it better for those of us using it. The fact that we could sleep in on an AK day, schedule a DAS when we walked in the park for FOP, go due to gorilla and tiger trails, maybe eat lunch and then walk on FOP for free of charge is in no way comparable to Genie+ or $LL. With that service I would have needed to be up at 7am and charged for it, hoping that the time I wanted was available. While in the pre shows for FOP, I can now select Safari and even if it's 60 min out. 20 min of that will be spent in the pre shows and riding FOP. So by the time we are off, look through the gift shop, stop for a bathroom break or a dole whip and all of a sudden we are walking on Safari. Now, I understand that the reason this service is available is bc my 6 year can be extremely difficult to deal with and yes, if he has a complete meltdown, our day is shot. Or take for instance, HS. We've have done the morning race to RotR. Sometimes it's been successful, others the ride has broke down and we've had to shift gears. None of it was pleasant for us or our DS. And in recent years, we've just sucked it up and paid vs. doing the rat race. The fact that DAS allows us to do the same thing as $125 $LL (family of 5), even I don't think it's "fair," although my son definitely qualifies and benefits. Do I want to lose what we currently have with the DAS? Absolutely not. Bc it makes our days SO MUCH better and saves us nearly $600+ plus on an average trip as a family of 5. Bc yes, even my neurotypical kids greatly benefits from it. They are your average pre-teen... they still get tired, hot, cranky, impatient...all the things. Disney is our happy place bc everyone kind of gets a 'break'.

We CAN make Disney work with just Genie+. It may not be like it was with DAS and my kids may not get to ride everything they want, but thats life and sometimes it doesn't always go as we planned...those with disabilities and parents with kids with disabilities know that all too well. If we purchase Genie and DS totally flips out on us, and we have to leave it would be very unfortunate. But thats where as a parent, DH and I would just have to decide how we were going to handle it. One parent stay and ride with the bigs, all of us leave and just talk to Guest Services about a refund, etc. It is only Disney's job to provide "reasonable" accommodation, not make our day the very best peachy experience possible. When someone is winning, someone else is losing...it's just a fact of life. Taking a kid with autism to a theme park, or an adult with IBS, or any of the things, is just a risk you take. No one is forcing us to Disney. Somehow we are all driving for hours, getting on a plane for hours, etc to get there and have made that process work for us. This may just make us rethink "how" we will do Disney. We recently went to a MLB game. It was part of a choir trip bc my oldest DS was singing "God Bless America" and we paid for our DS6 a ticket. By the 2nd inning, he was squirming on my lap asking to go home. By probably the 6th inning, he had moved to his own seat with a blanket over his head watching Youtube I didn't "expect" the stadium to do anything, we brought him bc it was a family event and we wanted him to come, knowing full well it wasn't going to be his favorite day. I hope Disney can come up with a solution that is helpful for everyone, but we must keep in mind, that it's still our choice each day whether we vacation here or not. Obviously, there's some people caught in limbo with this upcoming change. We are potentially in that group. We have a Disney cruise scheduled for May 20-24. We were thinking about tacking on a couple Disney days after that, but we are going to wait and see how it plays out first.

 

[GoingSince1990]

Does Rider Switch currently work this way? For instance if someone waits outside the line because of bathroom needs how do they "join up" with their party? LL? How do they coordinate that timing? Does the family member in the standard queue have to reach a merge point to be able to let the CM at the front know to allow access? Where are they going to put people if their are multiple parties waiting at the merge point (I am thinking locations like ToT or BTMRR)?

No “joining up”. Everyone gets to ride, medical issues are fully accommodated, but the entire party does not get to ride together.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Does Rider Switch currently work this way? For instance if someone waits outside the line because of bathroom needs how do they "join up" with their party? LL? How do they coordinate that timing? Does the family member in the standard queue have to reach a merge point to be able to let the CM at the front know to allow access? Where are they going to put people if their are multiple parties waiting at the merge point (I am thinking locations like ToT or BTMRR)?

Rider Switch is the 1st party rides the ride and meets up with their party. Then, the next party rides. They don't ride together with rider switch, since normally the whole point was that some member couldn't ride the ride (like a baby).

 

[Disturbia]

Good morning everyone.

I just wrote to disney explaining as DVC, if we wait until 30 days before and are denied, our points go into holding. Also to apply we need to purchase tickets, we no longer need, cause we would just cancel the trip. I asked at least think about making it 40 days ahead and not require tickets attached to apply.

Probably get the same message everyone does, but we'll see.

It’s clear they are not thinking from the guest’s perspective when coming up with time frames. Just like they release the park hours according to your ADR booking window! And then keep changing park hours and dropping additional dining; Package releases vary; ADR windows vary (some at midnight, some (varies) at 5:30 am some 5:45 rest 6 am) and we have to adjust dining (your park close dining just cut into park time).

At the minimum they need to communicate changes at least via email. I have yet to receive an email from Disney that they’re making these DAS changes. I am not sure if people who have recent trips got an email.

 

[dreamer17555]

No “joining up”. Everyone gets to ride, medical issues are fully accommodated, but the entire party does not get to ride together.

That is so disheartening. That would mean the guest with needs would always be riding alone?

 

[TwoMisfits]

That is so disheartening. That would mean the guest with needs would always be riding alone?

No, normally rider switch allows a 2nd person to ride with them.

So, if you wait out alone b/c you are 2 parents and 2 kids (and the 1st 3 go together), the 2nd parent waiting out b/c of disability needs could have 1 kid ride twice.

 

[dreamer17555]

No, normally rider switch allows a 2nd person to ride with them.

So, if you wait out alone b/c you are 2 parents and 2 kids (and the 1st 3 go together), the 2nd parent waiting out could have 1 kid ride twice.

How does this work with a party of 2? Both guests ride alone? One in a standard queue one after LL?

 

[GoingSince1990]

That is so disheartening. That would mean the guest with needs would always be riding alone?

No, I would expect that one other person would be allowed to accompany them, just as the current child swap (for children too small to do a ride) does not force people to ride alone (except when the party is just mom, dad, and one child, in which case it is unavoidable).

 

[AnneK]

If you go the bathroom pass route, potentially you could ask for a pass as soon as you get into line, then have your family text you when they are close to the front, then you can rejoin and all ride together.

 

[nighttowll]

View attachment 850857
Based upon this screenshot from the Disneyland disability guide (which was posted in the DAS discussion in the Disneyland forum) it looks as though Disney is moving towards rider switch as opposed to DAS for conditions requiring frequent restroom use. For example, a party of 4, one of whom has IBS, could do a rider switch with two members of the party (who don’t have IBS) riding standby, following which the other two (including the person with IBS) could ride with LL. Such a system would obviously make it much less attractive for a party of (for example) six healthy young people to lie about one of them having IBS, as even if approved, four of them would still have to go through the standby line at each ride. Obviously there would be special cases like solo travelers, or parties of two where one person has the condition and needs the other person’s assistance to use the restroom, for which rider switch would not work, in which case the existing system could still be used.

I think something like this could work with some tweaking. Waiting in a holding area with the ability to switch from standing to sitting, room to move around, ability to eat and drink if needed, room to service medical equipment, and a bathroom nearby, that's reasonable.

The only thing I'm not sure about is solo travelers and groups of 2. I feel like there should be a way to allow both to wait together in the room, and then say, "Hey, the wait is 45 minutes, you can come out of this room and ride in 45 minutes." because it seems unfair to make the disabled person wait alone for hours. If I'm disabled and I go to Disney with my friend, I don't want to spend more than 50% of it alone. If it was a one off thing, it would be ok, but it's like wait 1 hour to ride for 2 minutes on every ride in the park, so you might as well go solo if you will be separated from your group for most of the day.

Holding rooms would be a great idea and cut down on abuse. You can't ride anything else if you are in a holding room, so it diminishes the attractiveness of faking.

The problem is the current child swap rooms are tiny and in no way ready to handle the volume of people this solution would lead to.

 

[ryang25]

No “joining up”. Everyone gets to ride, medical issues are fully accommodated, but the entire party does not get to ride together.

I just hope WDW release some info on this soon. Their docs still have rider switch documented as purely a process intended for someone in the party who is not going to be riding.

Out of interest - have Disneyland in California addressed the point about solos/small groups anywhere since their documentation is clearly the most up to date so far?

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Solos would probably be allowed to use the system as it is currently. As would a party of two where the person requiring accommodation needed the other person’s assistance to use the restroom. Of course anyone lying about this would need to bear in mind that there are cameras everywhere, and if they were seen using the bathroom unassisted multiple times during the day, they may well be pulled aside and banned for life.

In our situation, I am the DAS user and usually travel to WDW with my very young DD, who can not wait in the line without me. I would be fine limiting DAS to the two of us - if/when we travel with other family members, I could just send her on the rides with other adults in the family and stay behind (unfortunately due to the nature of my condition - returning to the line to meet them most likely will not work).

 

[CarouselofColor]

How does this work with a party of 2? Both guests ride alone? One in a standard queue one after LL?

Right now, it doesn't work with a party of 2, because there is no way to do a rider switch where one person does not ride with less than 2 additional people. So this is one of those things that we'll have to wait and see what Disney's solution ends up being. Maybe it's riding alone, maybe it's the person who waiting getting to ride twice, maybe it's something else entirely. But that's something none of us can know until they implement it officially.

 

[TwoMisfits]

How does this work with a party of 2? Both guests ride alone? One in a standard queue one after LL?

If only one needs accommodation (and no assistance), one would ride 1st, and then the 2nd rider would probably be allowed to bring the 1st rider back again.