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

[disneyholic family]

You wouldn't be able to do rerides, but it seems like stacking Genie+ rides would work similarly to DAS. The difference would be that instead of showing up in the morning and using DAS, you would show up in the afternoon and use the 3 or 4 Genie+ reservations that you have made. Since it doesn't seem like he is riding that many headliners, Genie+ should be easy to get and modify so they are at convenient times.

that's not how he experiences the parks..
he comes in the morning...does a few rides that we rope drop and DAS...
then he goes back to the resort to rest while we carry on in the park using genie+ on the rides he can't ride..
then he comes back in the afternoon or evening if he's up to it and rides a few rides using DAS.
we wouldn't be able to coordinate between us in the way you're suggesting...

 

[lanejudy]

So in the new system, do the CM’s ever approve the DAS without looping in the medical professionals?

Or are the medical professionals only looped in for denials that are still advocating, or for people the CM’s don’t know what to do with?

Yes, CMs are definitely able to approve DAS without the HCP.

The CM may pull in an HCP if the CM is unsure about whether a guest qualifies.

If you are asking whether the guest can request the HCP, I'm not sure but it seems possible.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

that's not how he experiences the parks..
he comes in the morning...does a few rides that we rope drop and DAS...
then he goes back to the resort to rest while we carry on in the park using genie+ on the rides he can't ride..
then he comes back in the afternoon or evening if he's up to it and rides a few rides using DAS.
we wouldn't be able to coordinate between us in the way you're suggesting...

Why wouldn’t that work? Rope drop plus a genie+ or two, then start stacking his genie+ for the afternoon.

Oh wait - the problem isn’t him. It’s that your family would be using their Genie+ slots on the rides that he can’t ride so you wouldn’t be able to coordinate the PM times.

Unfortunately in that case Disney will probably continue to deny you because DAS is for the benefit of the holder, not the family. So he should actually be ok with Genie+ as laid out above. He just wouldn’t have someone to ride with him unless another member of your party voluntarily skipped out on the afternoon rides to preserve the GenieA+ timeslot.

 

[disneyholic family]

Why wouldn’t that work? Rope drop plus a genie+ or two, then start stacking his genie+ for the afternoon.

Oh wait - the problem isn’t him. It’s that your family would be using their Genie+ slots on the rides that he can’t ride so you wouldn’t be able to coordinate the PM times.

Unfortunately in that case Disney will probably continue to deny you because DAS is for the benefit of the holder, not the family. So he should actually be ok with Genie+ as laid out above. He just wouldn’t have someone to ride with him unless another member of your party voluntarily skipped out on the afternoon rides to preserve the GenieA+ timeslot.

as i said, he has no way of knowing when he will return to the park.
genie+ has a hard return window.
He cannot make a hard return window.
Maybe he'll be there at 3, maybe he'll be there at 5 maybe at 9 .....genie+ doesn't work that way.

whatever, i don't know why people are so angry at those of us who are disappointed.
as i said before, i've been going to WDW since 1974, mostly every year, sometimes multiple times a year.
I'm familiar with the parks etc etc.
we've waited in many long lines over the years (back when splash first opened, i waited for hours with my daughter and son who were in elementary school at the time).... waiting in lines together is part of the "fun" of being there..
we have stories about some of our long line waits...
but now we have a member of the family who can't experience the parks the same way we do..
GAC/DAS helped him.....now he won't have that..
he fell in love with disney back when he first came with us...much to our relief since we were stupidly addicted.
we shall see what happens this time around...it will be a challenge for him for sure....

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

that's not how he experiences the parks..
he comes in the morning...does a few rides that we rope drop and DAS...
then he goes back to the resort to rest while we carry on in the park using genie+ on the rides he can't ride..
then he comes back in the afternoon or evening if he's up to it and rides a few rides using DAS.
we wouldn't be able to coordinate between us in the way you're suggesting...

Maybe he'll be there at 3, maybe he'll be there at 5 maybe at 9 .....genie+ doesn't work that way.

You could try to make some Genie+ or ILL selections for him around a time (and yes like another poster mentioned if you'd like others to ride with him consider that when making your own selections). While ILL can't be modified Genie+ selections can and if available you could adjust the time to be later. When FP+ was around that was planning the time I'd be riding something 60 days in advance (2017 was the only time we stayed on site so we were at the 60 day mark) so that part did bite.

As far as the re-riding that's a downer for me honestly one of the issues I had with Genie+ when it was announced but that is the rule for everyone in the park with respects to Genie+/ILL.

How does he coordinate now with the rest of the traveling party when he needs to leave and go back to the hotel and then comes back later on? Would that method not work now? To at least tell you and then you guys start looking at the Genie+ selections (if you already made them to modify them at that time). It seems like you at least have a good idea if he needs to leave he probably wouldn't be back before X time which is at least a starting place.

 

[LoveToDisney]

It truly saddens me that there are some who are not willing to even try the other options suggested to them. They assume nothing but DAS will work and dwell on what is lost.
It is hard to lose an accommodation that one is accustomed to and it worked so well, but once that option has been removed, one must try to move on and listen to suggestions and try planning a new way to experience the parks.

 

[disneyholic family]

But this decision seems again like Disney is just assuming everyone is trying to cheat and game the system and not really stepping back and understanding that there is a lot of anxiety associated with these video chats and some people may not do the best job at advocating for themselves in the right way.

this is so true.
i spoke first since my son in law was embarrassed to speak for himself.
it's not easy asking for help.
In the end, he did speak up and he was great!!! spoke so well and so clearly for himself.
I've told him repeatedly since the call how great he was.
In the end, it wouldn't have mattered what he said, but i wanted him to know how well he advocated for himself!!!!

This is really sticking out to me, too - not just in disneyholic family’s case, but across the board. If there are other members of the party who can do the waiting, Disney sure seems to see the AQR accommodation being the best fit. I can see its limitations in a theoretical sense - in disneyholic family’s SIL’s case, if the rest of the party waits in SB but he’s not feeling able to ride at the time they’re ready to board, AQR won’t have worked. BUT, I’d like to think if that situation arises that a conversation with either the CM at the attraction or GS could come up with a work-around to allow him to return later - maybe not with the entire party, but with at least one other family member. Ditto for using G+ if he’s unable to ride within the window. Probably not multiple times a day, but if it’s just one ride out of 3 or 4 that he needed some extra time? Maybe I’m giving Disney too much credit, but I think if asked nicely they might be willing to help.

have you ever asked CMs at attractions for anything?
sometimes they're super nice. Sometimes they're not. I suppose because they're constantly dealing with people trying to game the system.
back when it was the GAC and the early DAS, you had to go to the attraction and it was embarrassing to constantly having to ask for special treatment.

Well I wouldn't find it ridiculous considering I spent the majority of my day at Universal for instance sitting out waiting for my husband to ride rides and we're just 2 people touring the parks and that's with me not being able to even ride many of those rides. For as much comments people have about this splitting up (which sometimes is just assumptions on how it would go prior to the DAS interview and other times it is the advice recommended after the DAS interview) it's honestly getting to the point of borderline rude to talk about it the way some are.

why don't you go into the line with your husband?
I don't ride lots of rides, but i always stay in line with my family.
Then i take the chicken out door or whatever it is.
Universal actually is far superior to disney in terms of baby switch.
the entire family stays together in line and then there's a baby switch room (nice and air conditioned) where you sit with the kids who can't ride until the riders come back (usually only a few minutes wait)
but you all go through the line together, experiencing the theming together..
even though you're not a baby, you could go through the line with your husband and then wait in the baby switch room while he's riding the ride.

 

[Dulcee]

as i said, he has no way of knowing when he will return to the park.
genie+ has a hard return window.
He cannot make a hard return window.
Maybe he'll be there at 3, maybe he'll be there at 5 maybe at 9 .....genie+ doesn't work that way.

whatever, i don't know why people are so angry at those of us who are disappointed.
as i said before, i've been going to WDW since 1974, mostly every year, sometimes multiple times a year.
I'm familiar with the parks etc etc.
we've waited in many long lines over the years (back when splash first opened, i waited for hours with my daughter and son who were in elementary school at the time).... waiting in lines together is part of the "fun" of being there..
we have stories about some of our long line waits...
but now we have a member of the family who can't experience the parks the same way we do..
GAC/DAS helped him.....now he won't have that..
he fell in love with disney back when he first came with us...much to our relief since we were stupidly addicted.
we shall see what happens this time around...it will be a challenge for him for sure....

I would just try to go with a more open mind. How families tour the parks change for everyone. The trip my husband and I took for our honeymoon was very different from our first trip with a kid. Our last two trips included elderly members who needed scooters and had to avoid hot midday sun so those trips looked different from our upcoming trip with three kids in tow. Your family has dealt with what sounds like heartbreaking challenges in the past and have overcome them to continue to thrive.

Maybe it won’t be the trips of the past, maybe you bend where before you didn’t have to but if you keep an open mind and everyone goes in with “we’re here, we’ll soak up what we can and we’ll keep everyone healthy and happy” mindset you might still be pleasantly surprised to find the magic is still there for you.

 

[Karin1984]

I remember you from the Disneyland Paris board. Based on the language you used back then, I assume you probably wouldn't want to come near (a hotel in) Disneyland Paris ever again, but... with us you can use a doctor's note to get one of the DAS equivalents. So... maybe back to Paris if the US parks are not a good fit anymore?

 

[voxparse]

as i said, he has no way of knowing when he will return to the park.
genie+ has a hard return window.
He cannot make a hard return window.
Maybe he'll be there at 3, maybe he'll be there at 5 maybe at 9 .....genie+ doesn't work that way.

whatever, i don't know why people are so angry at those of us who are disappointed.
as i said before, i've been going to WDW since 1974, mostly every year, sometimes multiple times a year.
I'm familiar with the parks etc etc.
we've waited in many long lines over the years (back when splash first opened, i waited for hours with my daughter and son who were in elementary school at the time).... waiting in lines together is part of the "fun" of being there..
we have stories about some of our long line waits...
but now we have a member of the family who can't experience the parks the same way we do..
GAC/DAS helped him.....now he won't have that..
he fell in love with disney back when he first came with us...much to our relief since we were stupidly addicted.
we shall see what happens this time around...it will be a challenge for him for sure....

I don’t know you or your SIL personally but if he can survive an accident and grueling surgery and what I assume was probably hellacious PT and recovery, he is way tougher than some changes to an accessibility program. Figuring it out won’t be easy because no new thing ever is when you’re disabled but I have no doubt he is up to it. Take some time to be frustrated but then y’all will saddle up and make new Disney memories. Lots of us have been through this shiitake more than once and that experience tells me y’all will get through it too.

 

[lanejudy]

i don't know why people are so angry at those of us who are disappointed

Disappointment is perfectly understandable, and you have a right to feel angry at the changes. However, I don't see anyone "angry" with you -- I see posters trying to be helpful by pointing out alternatives, and getting met with a stone wall of "nothing but DAS will work for us." It will be different, but if you have been going yearly since the 1970s you apparently have learned to roll with changes -- maybe ticket booklets, paper FP, then prebooked FP+, then Genie+ and now this. AQR with some adjustment to how your party plans out the G+ attractions is worth a try since you don't intend to cancel. Will it be perfect? No. Will it be different? Yes. It may take some trial and error. But if it was my family member I would certainly be trying to make it work rather than deflecting all suggestions as "angry."

 

[rk3668]

as i said, he has no way of knowing when he will return to the park.
genie+ has a hard return window.
He cannot make a hard return window.
Maybe he'll be there at 3, maybe he'll be there at 5 maybe at 9 .....genie+ doesn't work that way.

whatever, i don't know why people are so angry at those of us who are disappointed.

What if he rests in the morning and plans on getting to the parks at 3? I think most people are trying to help and are not angry. I don't think Genie+ will work as well as DAS did, but, based on what you have said, it seems like he could still have an enjoyable trip.

 

[disneyholic family]

I remember you from the Disneyland Paris board. Based on the language you used back then, I assume you probably wouldn't want to come near (a hotel in) Disneyland Paris ever again, but... with us you can use a doctor's note to get one of the DAS equivalents. So... maybe back to Paris if the US parks are not a good fit anymore?

i'm laughing....that hotel was so filthy...what's it called? the one that looks like the yacht club...
Newport Bay Club?

our next trip to orlando will be to universal (epic universe and the other parks)
after that, the only disney park we'll visit will be tokyo disney.
I love japan. Spent much of my childhood and teen years there, so it's been on my bucket list to bring the whole family to japan.
i should thank disney for pushing me to finally go ahead with the trip.

by the way, while i'm at WDW with my husband, daughter, SIL and baby granddaughter, my son and his family are going to efteling and phantasialand for the first time (as part of a train trip through europe)..
it will be interesting to hear how those two parks are in comparison...

 

[Marrila]

What if he rests in the morning and plans on getting to the parks at 3? I think most people are trying to help and are not angry. I don't think Genie+ will work as well as DAS did, but, based on what you have said, it seems like he could still have an enjoyable trip.

I am thankful for kindly given tips like this. I bet lots of us are reading and making a notes of suggestions and ideas for our next trip that might make the days easier.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

And remember, unlike in the past Genie+ can be modified without impacting your 2 hour window. So if he is targeting 3pm keep modifying one ride until it hits 3pm. Modify your 2 hour after park open ride to 330/4. Modify the next to 5. Etc. if he doesn’t come back at 3, as long as the window hasn’t closed yet just back that one up as needed. It’s actually remarkably easy to do. And given the kinds of attractions he is likely riding you are unlikely to have them sell out so far in advance, unlike the headliners.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

why don't you go into the line with your husband?
I don't ride lots of rides, but i always stay in line with my family.
Then i take the chicken out door or whatever it is.
Universal actually is far superior to disney in terms of baby switch.
the entire family stays together in line and then there's a baby switch room (nice and air conditioned) where you sit with the kids who can't ride until the riders come back (usually only a few minutes wait)
but you all go through the line together, experiencing the theming together..
even though you're not a baby, you could go through the line with your husband and then wait in the baby switch room while he's riding the ride.

I do it at Universal depending on the attraction, like the second time he did Hagrid's (I tried it once and that was a one and done lol) so the second time when it got to the loading I just went off into the Rider Switch area. Often it's promoted by the TM's at Forbidden Journey so you're not missing the queue of the castle (I've tried FJ back in 2011 goodness that was a doozy!) This last trip majority of the wait times (even standby) weren't long at Universal to begin with, FJ had like 10 min standby waits so you're just walking majority of the time anyhow. We also had Express Passes with our hotel stay so that part mostly negates going in line just to sit out. I did explain in a prior comment that I enjoy being able to hear my husband's laughter when he's on a ride (which mostly is outdoor attractions which is mostly at Universal) so sitting out does allow me that. VelociCoaster (which did not have Express Pass when we went) I can position myself to hear him although one of the times I meandered in the Discovery Center nearby. It makes more sense at Universal IMO to do this with how their queues are set up especially if you don't have Express Pass.

At WDW there are more attractions I'm able to do but for instance Space Mountain I can't do at WDW any more, I did find I could do it at DL because it was side to side seating which did not active my motion sickness the same way as WDW's front to back but I was very nervous trying that out at DL. I'm lucky that my motion sickness doesn't usually wipe me out for the rest of the day. There's been times I've gone on PeopleMover waiting for him (which is one of my fav rides).

While I could go in line with him for every attraction I find other things to occupy my time (plus it gives my feet a break if I'm just sitting and I'm prone to blisters at the parks annoyingly) and it's not always practical for me to go in the line with him just to get a bit of time with him. I'm a "people watching, enjoy the ambience" kind of person. I chatted it up with a person from TN discussing gardening of all things and of course the weather while my husband rode VelociCoaster and listened to the sounds of Tomorrowland while he did Space Mountain. I love to pour over maps (which sadly have gone away) and just enjoy the parks. Sometimes I'm window shopping (oohhh I almost bought this Vera Bradley Ariel purse last time...soooo close to doing it) or getting a cup of water. I do not find any less enjoyment out of the parks if I'm not in line with my husband, though I understand for some that is part of their definition of enjoyment that isn't a de facto feeling for all.

But yes I do do that sometimes It's def. something others can do for sure!

 

[Karin1984]

whatever, i don't know why people are so angry at those of us who are disappointed.

I went back to reread your experience in Disneyland Paris a few years ago. What I see as similar with your posts here and back then is that it took you some time to get out of the mindset of your initial post and be open minded to find some positives in Disneyland Paris.

I understand your disappointment and your need to vent about not getting approved. But maybe it is time to step away from this thread for a moment, a day, a few days. Let it sink in what has happened and what it will mean for your family and look at the positives and what is still possible for your family.

I do not think people here are angry at you, they are trying to help to find the positives and to find a way to make this work for you, because they want you to have a good trip. To find a can-do-mentality. Yes, it will change and be different. But different doesn't have to be bad.

 

[disneyholic family]

Disappointment is perfectly understandable, and you have a right to feel angry at the changes. However, I don't see anyone "angry" with you -- I see posters trying to be helpful by pointing out alternatives, and getting met with a stone wall of "nothing but DAS will work for us." It will be different, but if you have been going yearly since the 1970s you apparently have learned to roll with changes -- maybe ticket booklets, paper FP, then prebooked FP+, then Genie+ and now this. AQR with some adjustment to how your party plans out the G+ attractions is worth a try since you don't intend to cancel. Will it be perfect? No. Will it be different? Yes. It may take some trial and error. But if it was my family member I would certainly be trying to make it work rather than deflecting all suggestions as "angry."

we've been going since 1974 (when it was a $4.50 to get into the park LOL) as able bodied people...
lines were never an issue....it was part of the experience....
our daughter married in 2011 when our son in law joined the family pilgrimage to WDW and he struggled with what was normal and natural to us.
Initially we rented him one of those electric scooters from WDW, but it didn't help him at all.
he was in even more pain sitting on it..
so after 4 days of him spending most of the time either in bed or in a warm bath, we went to guest services to try to figure out what we could do to make his visit enjoyable.

 

[KrzyKtty101]

as i said, he has no way of knowing when he will return to the park.
genie+ has a hard return window.
He cannot make a hard return window.
Maybe he'll be there at 3, maybe he'll be there at 5 maybe at 9 .....genie+ doesn't work that way.

whatever, i don't know why people are so angry at those of us who are disappointed.
as i said before, i've been going to WDW since 1974, mostly every year, sometimes multiple times a year.
I'm familiar with the parks etc etc.
we've waited in many long lines over the years (back when splash first opened, i waited for hours with my daughter and son who were in elementary school at the time).... waiting in lines together is part of the "fun" of being there..
we have stories about some of our long line waits...
but now we have a member of the family who can't experience the parks the same way we do..
GAC/DAS helped him.....now he won't have that..
he fell in love with disney back when he first came with us...much to our relief since we were stupidly addicted.
we shall see what happens this time around...it will be a challenge for him for sure....

FWIW, I am taking most of the responses as people genuinely trying to see if they ken help it anyway rather than being angry.

Completely understand being disappointed. But this is now the Dis world we live in, so I mostly read this as people trying to brainstorm ways that might still work for him.

 

[disneyholic family]

I do it at Universal depending on the attraction, like the second time he did Hagrid's (I tried it once and that was a one and done lol) so the second time when it got to the loading I just went off into the Rider Switch area. Often it's promoted by the TM's at Forbidden Journey so you're not missing the queue of the castle (I've tried FJ back in 2011 goodness that was a doozy!) This last trip majority of the wait times (even standby) weren't long at Universal to begin with, FJ had like 10 min standby waits so you're just walking majority of the time anyhow. We also had Express Passes with our hotel stay so that part mostly negates going in line just to sit out. I did explain in a prior comment that I enjoy being able to hear my husband's laughter when he's on a ride (which mostly is outdoor attractions which is mostly at Universal) so sitting out does allow me that. VelociCoaster (which did not have Express Pass when we went) I can position myself to hear him although one of the times I meandered in the Discovery Center nearby. It makes more sense at Universal IMO to do this with how their queues are set up especially if you don't have Express Pass.

At WDW there are more attractions I'm able to do but for instance Space Mountain I can't do at WDW any more, I did find I could do it at DL because it was side to side seating which did not active my motion sickness the same way as WDW's front to back but I was very nervous trying that out at DL. I'm lucky that my motion sickness doesn't usually wipe me out for the rest of the day. There's been times I've gone on PeopleMover waiting for him (which is one of my fav rides).

While I could go in line with him for every attraction I find other things to occupy my time (plus it gives my feet a break if I'm just sitting and I'm prone to blisters at the parks annoyingly) and it's not always practical for me to go in the line with him just to get a bit of time with him. I'm a "people watching, enjoy the ambience" kind of person. I chatted it up with a person from TN discussing gardening of all things and of course the weather while my husband rode VelociCoaster and listened to the sounds of Tomorrowland while he did Space Mountain. I love to pour over maps (which sadly have gone away) and just enjoy the parks. Sometimes I'm window shopping (oohhh I almost bought this Vera Bradley Ariel purse last time...soooo close to doing it) or getting a cup of water. I do not find any less enjoyment out of the parks if I'm not in line with my husband, though I understand for some that is part of their definition of enjoyment that isn't a de facto feeling for all.

But yes I do do that sometimes It's def. something others can do for sure!

we were at universal in 2022, the line for hagrids was insanely long.
even with early entry, by the time we walked there with the toddlers in tow, the line was already 2 hours
so we walked over to velocicoaster which only had a 10 minute line (i didn't ride, i stayed with the toddlers in the switch room)
it wasn't on express pass yet, but it was early entry and everyone else was in hagrid's line

we also get the express pass (we like royal pacific)..
it makes everything much much much much easier!!!!!
my son in law had covid when we were in universal so i don't know how he would have done
i caught it first (the first week we were in WDW, then my husband, then my daughter etc etc like dominoes)

i also can't ride space mountain anymore
i went on it in 2022 and the ride was so much rougher than i remember, or else my internal springs aren't very springy anymore...

as for motion sickness, have you tried seabands?
they're what some people use for cruises, but they also work for regular motion sickness.
i began using them for a cruise back in 2012
i was shocked at how well they worked for me, much better than medicine ever did.
and we got caught in hurricane sandy, so it was a really really really really really rocky ride (i swore i'd never cruise again, but yeah, of course i have many times since then)...
anyway, try seabands. They supposedly work on about 2/3 of the people who try them.
and they help me even on rides that i couldn't ride before because of motion sickness (like the carousel and tea cups!!!!!)