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

[AJA]

So, tell me if I'm way off here, but aren't the DAS users at WDW now (not all, but many) still under the old rules as the new rules for approval went into effect May 20? I realize some folks didn't apply until directly before their trip but a lot of folks register at or around the 30 daymark from their trip.

My friend (non-disabled person) in WDW yesterday was chatting with a ride CM that told him that the LL line was "much less due to the new DAS, so not as many in the lines right now. "

I think a lot of people “in the know” went ahead and registered early but most people don’t plan that far out. Not everyone even visits annually, some may not have even know you could register early online.

The new rules have been in effect over two weeks and already the CM’s can see the difference in the lines.

Disney had to have solid numbers of the percentage of DAS to paying Genie+ customers in the LL’s. It’s not going to turn out that Disney “guessed wrong” DAS wasn’t a major part of the LL’s afterall. Disney made this decision because they have cold hard data.

 

[Jellybean9]

It’s to do with having to leave the park and return windows.

For example I only managed 2 hours in animal kingdom one day before having to leave and also had a rest day the next day. That would have been a waste of genie+ as I would have only booked that first one at 7am. Then as we left after two hours I wouldn’t have actually gotten around to booking anymore. So that’s whatever it costs x4 that would be wasted. As we had DAS we managed one ride. But didn’t lose out on anything.

Second example for last year is we were up getting a return time for Guardians and we got a virtual queue and it was a really good time, like one of the first boarding so it was before 9.30am. We were just leaving the villa at 8.10am and it hit me and we couldn’t go (luckily my kids love the villa so they don’t get too disappointed at a pool day)
We eventually managed to get in at around 4.30 and I just explained to the CM under the blue umbrella and as I had DAS she said it was all ok and to go on. It was only just an off chance I asked as I thought it might have just been gone.
This could have gone a little worse though-as in I might not have gotten to the park at all that day.

However if we had of bought genie+ at same time we did the virtual queue at 7am to book a first ride and then not gotten into the park at all that is again “cost x4” wasted. However on DAS I didn’t lose anything.

The only reason I even knew about DAS was after talking to CM in 2019 when I was having to leave and return to a line. They originally suggested it. They didn’t even see the lines/parks I left and just didn’t go back.

It’s not even like we do a lot of actual rides.
I managed 8 days (not full days-max 5.5hrs)
The most DAS I have used in a day was 4. And that was once. There were two days I had 3 DAS. Other day was 1 DAS.
Four of the days were no DAS as they were for Fireworks and I got a virtual queue.

So I’d even be quite happy if they gave me say 4 passes a day.

So those four days I would need extra help on I would have to pay around $100 per day roughly just to manage rides that others can.

The return to queue would only work in certain circumstances as sometimes I need my hubby’s help and I can’t leave 9&8yr old in the line themselves, sometimes I have to leave the park all together.

Honestly the scenario where you showed up at the park at 4:30 seems perfect for G+. You could stack G+ LL’s all day and just ride back to back once you arrive in park in the evening.

For the scenario you mentioned where you only managed 2 hrs in Animal Kingdom, I’m confused why you think you’d only use 1 G+ LL? You can book your next LL as soon as you scan in for your existing G+ selection. If you book a G+ LL right at 7 am for shortly after park opening, you could easily book another LL.

 

[mistysue]

Translation thought- for the Deaf or HOH who don't sign, Disney has a closed captioning device you can borrow for the day. I know there is a language selection. You have to leave a $25 deposit but you get it back at the end of the day when you return it. Might even be interesting if you had a person trying to learn another language that it would print out for you.

We've been being told the last few trips nobody fills out the survey and they want to improve the system but need more feedback before corporate will move on it. My son fills one out every day we are in the parks... So if anyone is just up for random activity to see how accurate the read out is... please have at it. My son really relies on it due to his inability to hear words out of the noise in loud places.

 

[Tripletmom2001]

So, tell me if I'm way off here, but aren't the DAS users at WDW now (not all, but many) still under the old rules as the new rules for approval went into effect May 20? I realize some folks didn't apply until directly before their trip but a lot of folks register at or around the 30 daymark from their trip.

My friend (non-disabled person) in WDW yesterday was chatting with a ride CM that told him that the LL line was "much less due to the new DAS, so not as many in the lines right now. "

It seems to me that some of the negativity that we are getting is being spread with false assumptions - still - and not just from other guests.

We all need to try to stay positive and support each other in understanding how things will work for us going forward... I know most folks here are in the same boat, but elsewhere, we need to try to stay positive and assume that Disney has our interests at heart, but there will be wrinkles and hurdles...

I was in the parks over Memorial Day weekend. There were many guests at Magic Kingdom with iPads in the courtyard near Guest Services. I'm assuming it was those guests who typically go to Guest Services and ask for accommodations. Crowds were very high on Monday at Epcot, but LL lines seemed much shorter than usual. My party did not include any DAS users this trip and we purchased Genie +.

 

[rk3668]

Really don't see high DAS usage either as claimed so much. We are pretty mindful of other parties when we near tap in due to sons own beh issues that's part of his DAS reason, and less than 20% do we have any DAS party near us for those rides clearly attached to DAS...namely stairs

Why would Disney be making this change if DAS usage was not high? I saw a lot of blue lights tapping into lightning lanes in my last trip-- I have no idea how many of those were DAS but would estimate about half of the groups got blue lights. It was just an anecdotal observation so I didn't put much stock in it at the time. But it made sense when Disney announced that DAS changes were coming.

 

[mistysue]

I think a lot of people “in the know” went ahead and registered early but most people don’t plan that far out. Not everyone even visits annually, some may not have even know you could register early online.

The new rules have been in effect over two weeks and already the CM’s can see the difference in the lines.

Disney had to have solid numbers of the percentage of DAS to paying Genie+ customers in the LL’s. It’s not going to turn out that Disney “guessed wrong” DAS wasn’t a major part of the LL’s afterall. Disney made this decision because they have cold hard data.

We were there at the end of April/start of May - every morning guest services had a huge line of people, many of whom were applying for DAS. I don't think most want to preregister. There was nothing subtle about the number of groups who were in the LL -you would have 8 families from LL, 2 from standby, repeat all day long... and for some rides that is a generous description for how many came from standby. And those lights were blinking blue nearly every group entering LL when we were walking up. It wasn't every single group being late. We did G+ for nearly everything the whole trip. We actually had a CM say "is the right person scanning?" as we approached at SDD, which we haven't heard in the past either. It getting so common to have to regroup because people weren't watching who had the DAS they didn't even wait to see if we were a DAS group before checking.

I just have no doubt the parks wouldn't "feel" a difference within a week.

 

[nalababybear]

Why would Disney be making this change if DAS usage was not high? I saw a lot of blue lights tapping into lightning lanes in my last trip-- I have no idea how many of those were DAS but would estimate about half of the groups got blue lights. It was just an anecdotal observation so I didn't put much stock in it at the time. But it made sense when Disney announced that DAS changes were coming.

Clearly DAS holders make up an amount, otherwise Disney wouldn't be making such an effort. Perhaps it is where we don't frequent either as the LL queues at DLR can go 30+ min and those are complete nonstarters for our guy and we just bail and reset the return time.

We don't even try radiator springs for nearly a year due to the LL queue length.

It's not the only cause as some desperately want to paint it as

 

[starlite_]

Clearly DAS holders make up an amount, otherwise Disney wouldn't be making such an effort. Perhaps it is where we don't frequent either as the LL queues at DLR can go 30+ min and those are complete nonstarters for our guy and we just bail and reset the return time.

We don't even try radiator springs for nearly a year due to the LL queue length.

It's not the only cause as some desperately want to paint it as

I hope the new rules reduce the LLs enough for your son to be able to ride RSR again♡.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

I don’t understand why someone would assume that a CM (who actually works the rides in the park talking directly to a guest!) would have malice towards DAS users and lie rather than that the CM was accurately relaying that LLs have been shorter and easier to manage since a substantial percentage of LL users have been eliminated from the queue (smaller parties, fewer qualifying, extra 10m wait buffer). Sure many on this board made sure to get in a last trip or qualify in advance, but we are probably not representative of many local visitors, especially the ones who learned of the “hack” years ago but don’t actually belong to the DISabilities community. The average faker is probably not plugged into many disability support networks, here or elsewhere.

It’s probably impossible to tell how many people are G+ v DAS v late/early return, and I don’t want to further debate it here (Disney wouldn’t be making these changes if the use wasn’t high)— but for those who say they didn’t see many, keep in mind that only one person is a blue scan, and then everybody after them is indistinguishable from a G+ users, so a DAS party of 6 could easily look like 1 DAS + 5 G+.

 

[tom1944]

It’s probably impossible to tell how many people are G+ v DAS v late/early return, and I don’t want to further debate it here (Disney wouldn’t be making these changes if the use wasn’t high)— but for those who say they didn’t see many, keep in mind that only one person is a blue scan, and then everybody after them is indistinguishable from a G+ users, so a DAS party of 6 could easily look like 1 DAS + 5 G+.

I agree with this. Our family of 4 has 1 person who qualifies and the other 3 are allowed to go in her group.

We will not request DAS this year and will use Genie+ and ILL because our person who easily qualifies really should not go on several of the rides.

 

[Flynn's Gal]

Has anyone who has completed the DAS call since the change been able to have someone else (SO, Parent, Caregiver, etc.) advocate for an adult with a disability?

In addition to being her parent, I'm my daughter's caregiver and legal guardian( she's 20 y.o.). She is nonverbal and unable to comprehend complex language. I did the video chat with her beside me even though she had no contribution to the conversation.

 

[nalababybear]

I hope the new rules reduce the LLs enough for your son to be able to ride RSR again♡.

He would LOVE that.

if the lines do decrease to manageble times, and if DAS is no longer available to him, at least ILLs would come into play.

It’s probably impossible to tell how many people are....— but for those who say they didn’t see many, keep in mind that only one person is a blue scan, and then everybody after them is indistinguishable from a G+ users, so a DAS party of 6 could easily look like 1 DAS + 5 G+.

Very true, yet can tell rather readily who's togehter. With 2-4 scanners ongoing, rather easy to notate a DAS group vs a different blue screen.

The dropping of party size per ride is a good move overall if they keep ability to have caretakers rotate.

 

[OurBigTrip]

He would LOVE that.

if the lines do decrease to manageble times, and if DAS is no longer available to him, at least ILLs would come into play.


Very true, yet can tell rather readily who's togehter. With 2-4 scanners ongoing, rather easy to notate a DAS group vs a different blue screen.

The dropping of party size per ride is a good move overall if they keep ability to have caretakers rotate.

I agree that the smaller party size will help, as will getting rid of the pre-selects.

What's frustrating to me as an IT professional is that if Disney would just get their act together in the IT sphere, they could truly tailor the DAS to individual need and perhaps offer it to some of the folks who are borderline now but not getting approved.

 

[StarCruzer]

I agree that the smaller party size will help, as will getting rid of the pre-selects.

What's frustrating to me as an IT professional is that if Disney would just get their act together in the IT sphere, they could truly tailor the DAS to individual need and perhaps offer it to some of the folks who are borderline now but not getting approved.

Definitely agree with this. Some folks can't handle indoor queues, some can't handle outdoor queues. Clear from reading this thread, some people only even want 2-4 DAS options per day. Heck, some people don't even seem to mind paying for G+ if the return window can be more open-ended. That flexibility could surely be added to the app (though I'm sure, with considerable effort).

 

[mistysue]

I can't find the original comment from the legally blind poster - but we were told the appropriate accommodation for someone who can't see well enough to get through the line and may constantly hit barriers and is not alone, is a wheelchair. This was after doing so caused an injury. As much as the LL is shorter, it doesn't fully address the issue because they also can snake around and have barriers.

Gaslighting: psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one's emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator

So, no.

The CM could have been the rudest CM to ever work for Disney Parks. I am not questioning you on if he listened or not to your SIL or if he seemed like he didn't want to help you. I wasn't there, so I will take your word for it. It's still not gaslighting.

As someone who has actually lived through the hell that is gaslighting and gets to hear people claim every situation they don't like is it, THANK YOU for posting this.

 

[Karin1984]

I can't find the original comment from the legally blind poster - but we were told the appropriate accommodation for someone who can't see well enough to get through the line and may constantly hit barriers and is not alone, is a wheelchair.

Do you mean this post?
https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...l-june-18-2024.3943880/page-268#post-65509138

 

[OurBigTrip]

Do you mean this post?
https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...l-june-18-2024.3943880/page-268#post-65509138

I read on another page that this was from a hacked FB account and didn't really happen. Can't verify, of course, but I personally don't believe for a second that Disney would have made those recommendations.

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

I can't find the original comment from the legally blind poster - but we were told the appropriate accommodation for someone who can't see well enough to get through the line and may constantly hit barriers and is not alone, is a wheelchair. This was after doing so caused an injury. As much as the LL is shorter, it doesn't fully address the issue because they also can snake around and have barriers.

That does not address the issue at all if the person they are with cannot push the wheelchair. For example if they have a medical condition themselves that prevents it.

 

[OurBigTrip]

That does not address the issue at all if the person they are with cannot push the wheelchair. For example if they have a medical condition themselves that prevents it.

ECVs are available.

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

ECVs are available.

For someone that clearly has difficulty seeing to stand/walk in a queue you suggest they then drive an ECV through the queue? That doesn't seem like a viable solution.