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

[Angel Ariel]

That's such a shame that your school district plans trips that all kids can't go to. We aren't allowed to plan any trips that exclude anyone, as it should be. In fact, if a student requires a parent or nurse and neither can make it (epipen, meds etc), the trip gets canceled and no one can go. We had an instance that a nurse didn't show up day of, the entire trip was canceled on the spot and no one went. This particular instance, the medical need was benadryl prior to an epi. The student isn't self administer for benadryl so a nurse or parent/guardian has to attend to administer the benadryl. Teachers aren't allowed to give benadryl or any medications, however we are all certified to give an epipen. It's awesome how you advocate for your daughter.

Thank you

It's not all field trips, fortunately - but there are more than there should be that just have little ti no accessibility for mobility needs. And they don't have to be that way - there's things both the venue and school could do - there just needs to be the planning to do so.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Nope on your prediction for the responses. This is making a huge assumption about people and why they would need a DAS or apply for one in the first place. NONE of these situations mirror the environment of theme park theming in queues in the least, but I'll play your game and answer these:

• The most applicable situation is getting stuck in traffic:
  • This is not a problem for me at all, I can control the environment inside my vehicle and the things that would be difficult for me in a theme park queue are not here in the least bit. But that is as a passenger. Driving, I wouldn't be stuck in traffic because I can't drive in situations with high traffic/speeds or needing to maneuver due to processing difficulties and my disability, so that eliminates most major cities for me to drive in.
• Same with waiting for a city bus/train
  • The environment for this is completely different. I've never had difficulty in this situation.
• A crowded restaurant without a reservation waiting for a table
  • Can't do. I eat at off times, non-popular restaurants, or get take-out. Even take-out at places that are chaotic are problematic - I had to wait outside at Buffalo Wild Wings because even the 5 minutes I was there was too much.
• Airport security
  • TSA precheck, use smaller airports. Because of where I live, I almost never need to enter the airport/security in the larger places
• Getting in and out of sports/concert venues with large crowds
  • I can't go to a major concert, and had to leave less than 5 minutes into the show the first time I tried :/ I haven't tried going to a major sporting event but I imagine it would be the same.
• Or how about leaving a fireworks show - does Disney have those? HA
  • I live in a small town/area and try to view fireworks from far away. The town next door has a very popular show that I'd love to go see sometime, but I can't because there is no way I'd be able to handle driving at night in the crowds afterwards. At Disneyland the viewing area at Small World worked perfectly for me. Disneyworld I didn't even attempt Main Street and found a quiet table behind the castle at the outside seating at Pinnochio House.

Nope on your prediction for the responses. This is making a huge assumption about people and why they would need a DAS or apply for one in the first place. NONE of these situations mirror the environment of theme park theming in queues in the least, but I'll play your game and answer these:

• The most applicable situation is getting stuck in traffic:
  • This is not a problem for me at all, I can control the environment inside my vehicle and the things that would be difficult for me in a theme park queue are not here in the least bit. But that is as a passenger. Driving, I wouldn't be stuck in traffic because I can't drive in situations with high traffic/speeds or needing to maneuver due to processing difficulties and my disability, so that eliminates most major cities for me to drive in.
• Same with waiting for a city bus/train
  • The environment for this is completely different. I've never had difficulty in this situation.
• A crowded restaurant without a reservation waiting for a table
  • Can't do. I eat at off times, non-popular restaurants, or get take-out. Even take-out at places that are chaotic are problematic - I had to wait outside at Buffalo Wild Wings because even the 5 minutes I was there was too much.
• Airport security
  • TSA precheck, use smaller airports. Because of where I live, I almost never need to enter the airport/security in the larger places
• Getting in and out of sports/concert venues with large crowds
  • I can't go to a major concert, and had to leave less than 5 minutes into the show the first time I tried :/ I haven't tried going to a major sporting event but I imagine it would be the same.
• Or how about leaving a fireworks show - does Disney have those? HA
  • I live in a small town/area and try to view fireworks from far away. The town next door has a very popular show that I'd love to go see sometime, but I can't because there is no way I'd be able to handle driving at night in the crowds afterwards. At Disneyland the viewing area at Small World worked perfectly for me. Disneyworld I didn't even attempt Main Street and found a quiet table behind the castle at the outside seating at Pinnochio House.

But doesn’t this prove a point that you are asking Disney to be more accommodating than other places? You clearly state you avoid other places that can’t/won’t accommodate your needs.

 

[lanejudy]

Nope on your prediction for the responses. This is making a huge assumption about people and why they would need a DAS or apply for one in the first place.

Actually, that post was specifically in response to a conversation about having a bathroom with 3-5 minutes.

 

[Keladry84]

But doesn’t this prove a point that you are asking Disney to be more accommodating than other places? You clearly state you avoid other places that can’t/won’t accommodate your needs.

The fact is that Disney DOES have a system in place to accommodate, and I am able to enjoy the attractions because of it. I'm not asking Disney to do anything - they already have/had a system in place long before I even thought about attending.

And to take that further - isn't that the point of accessibility in the first place - to allow inclusion into public places and activities that would otherwise be non-accessible due to a disability? Your comment actually just made me realize how many places and experiences I am pretty much excluded from due to my disability, which kind of actually sucks.....

 

[Keladry84]

Actually, that post was specifically in response to a conversation about having a bathroom with 3-5 minutes.

Thanks, I missed that! It read like it was pointed at everyone in general!

 

[PrincessV]

Thanks, I missed that! It read like it was pointed at everyone in general!

Same! I even had a really good reply all typed out lol! But you know what? THAT was a really good exercise in thinking about the chasm of difference between an attraction queue and all those other things for my needs, which are exclusively related to the line environment, so it worked out nicely.

 

[nalababybear]

Legoland is also an autism friendly park. Their equivalent pass the "hero pass" is super easy to get. However we have hardly ever needed to use it as the lines are just not there. Its a much smaller quieter park. Lots of places to sit. Lots of space for kids to play. It's very disability friendly.

Hence lifetime pass holder there for us (ambassador)

He really just does the bouncing one that needs special approval on his file given the weight restriction (typically kids only now since too heavy adults caused it to reset!)

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Universal has never promised super fast waits. [in EP lines]

Nor does Disney.

Under Genie Plus, Disney expressly states, "Attractions and waits may vary by date are subject to change or closure and are not guaranteed and may not be available at all on the date of visit."

It is quite the run-on sentence!

The G+ webpage then continues for another whole page of additional similar disclaimers.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Agreed, not a lot of lines. But there are many waiting situations I can think of:

• The most applicable situation is getting stuck in traffic—if you have to go, you could be far away from an exit or building with a bathroom.
• Same with waiting for a city bus/train
• A crowded restaurant without a reservation waiting for a table
• Airport security
• Getting in and out of sports/concert venues with large crowds
• Or how about leaving a fireworks show - does Disney have those? HA

I predict responses to these would sound like, "I can plan around some of those and/or prep before going or adjust my schedule."

Huh?

TSA Cares is available at airports to help with disabilities if a person is unable to wait in line. A person can fill out a form in advance or ask for special help when they arrive.
I can't speak for all the airlines, but the airlines have staff on hand to help as well. So you go to the airline check-in, and a staff member escorts the person as needed.

 

[lanejudy]

Huh?

TSA Cares is available at airports to help with disabilities if a person is unable to wait in line.

That poster was responding to a conversation about being 3-5 minutes from a bathroom.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Nor does Disney.

Under Genie Plus, Disney expressly states, "Attractions and waits may vary by date are subject to change or closure and are not guaranteed and may not be available at all on the date of visit."

It is quite the run-on sentence!

The G+ webpage then continues for another whole page of additional similar disclaimers.

We all know that people expect, through largely Disney's fault, short short waits. This is meaning going all the way back to Legacy FP, onto FP+, then MP, and now Genie+/ILL. The expectation got real with FP+ but even more with Genie+/ILL. We already spoke many pages ago about Disney's disclaimer which was added due to the expectation of getting more rides than people were getting (again because of the past ways of dealing with their get ahead of the line).

EP isn't designed the same as Disney's system. You will wait even in the EP line, less waits on slower days, longer waits on busier days. With Disney they seem to aim to have a low wait on what is now LL regardless of how crowded the days are which are very noticible in the standby lines even on non-high crowded days.

To put it another way the general public expects much shorter waits using Disney's system than they typically do over at Universal.

 

[sunburnin]

Thanks, I missed that! It read like it was pointed at everyone in general!

I liked your responses; you didn't have to delete them. Yes, I was talking about needing a bathroom, but these threads get all tangled up. It sounds like you do a great job planning and adjusting, and I'm sorry you have to skip out on some places.

Same! I even had a really good reply all typed out lol! But you know what? THAT was a really good exercise in thinking about the chasm of difference between an attraction queue and all those other things for my needs, which are exclusively related to the line environment, so it worked out nicely.

I'm glad I could help! HA. Yes, this whole conversation is a big thought exercise, and it helps to hear all these different perspectives. There's no one right or wrong answer when we consider all these possible scenarios.

 

[keishashadow]

The accessibility of attractions at universal (O/H) is significantly different than WDW/DLR, which I would expect to play a part in what any of those numbers would look like also. I don't think it'll be a 1:1 shift.

One thing to be aware of if visiting U for the 1st time, the ride seating is often not very forgiving of certain body types.

Not just weight, height & body build (larger chests) can result in difficultly if not being able to ride. They do have test seats and certain rows in some ride vehicles are designed to hold larger guests.

If anyone is particularly interested, the Universal side of the boards is a good place to ask specific questions before investing in tickets

but there express pass lines are also really long. Universal just doesn't seem to really care

that is absolutely not my experience with the EP as an onsite guest. They do get backed up at times. Our rule is if the projected wait is longer than 15 minutes in the express, we head to another attraction.

the holidays are seriously busy in the U parks & the EP lines do reflect that

There are different types of aap. Orange and gold. The orange type let you enter the express line after you have waited outside the line. With the gold they escort you to the loading platform after you have waited outside the line.

We didn’t know they offered a Gold AAP @ Universal until after going thru the IBCESS process. After talking to the TMs on the phone pretrip were absolutely shocked to be told they had a pass that would work better for our family vs the red (orange) card we had been utilizing.

 

[Keladry84]

I liked your responses; you didn't have to delete them. Yes, I was talking about needing a bathroom, but these threads get all tangled up. It sounds like you do a great job planning and adjusting, and I'm sorry you have to skip out on some places.


I'm glad I could help! HA. Yes, this whole conversation is a big thought exercise, and it helps to hear all these different perspectives. There's no one right or wrong answer when we consider all these possible scenarios.

Thank you very much for your positive feedback and support! I sometimes have difficulty with communication (both interpreting others and expressing what I want to say), and getting that type of feedback is really useful for me to see how others interpret what I write.

I also have to agree with PrincessV: Answering the questions was pretty useful for myself as well, so thank you for the thought exercise!

 

[oynk]

Ok folks - I have an actual report from the trenches. Today we went to MK to do the passholder preview of Tiana's Adventure, (didn't get in on the virtual queue - bummer) and to check out life without a DAS.

Let me begin by saying that it was an overall positive experience and I was very impressed by the way things were handled.

I am going to be a bit vague on details because unfortunately there are people who are looking for a blueprint and everyone's situation is different. For a variety of reasons, my daughter is unable to wait in many standard lines; but, we are very committed to finding ways to make sure that she get equal access - not necessarily an extra advantage.

Here is what we found, in no particular order:

-There were lots of CMs posted (sometimes with signage) near the more "problematic" rides to offer assistance and suggestions as needed.
-When we saw a line that did not look like something she could manage, we followed the instructions we had been given on our DAS call. Three times, we were accommodated without any issues. Once, the CM we spoke to had us wait while he checked with someone else (supervisor?) and then came back and helped us. (Because we have been doing this a long time, we also know where/how to rest, and what lines are manageable for her and what aren't)
-Several times, CMs made a point of announcing what the procedure was if you needed to leave for any reason.
-CMs were uniformly pleasant and helpful. No one was snarky or huffy about the fact that we had special needs.

Depending on your expectations and previous experiences, visiting WDW without DAS may be a big adjustment; but I would encourage you to go in with an open mind.

As an aside - this is completely subjective, but we both felt like there were a lot less ECVs. (Like a lot less).

 

[Unity]

Ok folks - I have an actual report from the trenches. Today we went to MK to do the passholder preview of Tiana's Adventure, (didn't get in on the virtual queue - bummer) and to check out life without a DAS.

Let me begin by saying that it was an overall positive experience and I was very impressed by the way things were handled.

I am going to be a bit vague on details because unfortunately there are people who are looking for a blueprint and everyone's situation is different. For a variety of reasons, my daughter is unable to wait in many standard lines; but, we are very committed to finding ways to make sure that she get equal access - not necessarily an extra advantage.

Here is what we found, in no particular order:

-There were lots of CMs posted (sometimes with signage) near the more "problematic" rides to offer assistance and suggestions as needed.
-When we saw a line that did not look like something she could manage, we followed the instructions we had been given on our DAS call. Three times, we were accommodated without any issues. Once, the CM we spoke to had us wait while he checked with someone else (supervisor?) and then came back and helped us. (Because we have been doing this a long time, we also know where/how to rest, and what lines are manageable for her and what aren't)
-Several times, CMs made a point of announcing what the procedure was if you needed to leave for any reason.
-CMs were uniformly pleasant and helpful. No one was snarky or huffy about the fact that we had special needs.

Depending on your expectations and previous experiences, visiting WDW without DAS may be a big adjustment; but I would encourage you to go in with an open mind.

As an aside - this is completely subjective, but we both felt like there were a lot less ECVs. (Like a lot less).

This is questions to prepare for the future mostly, if you do not mind answering. No pressure either way.

1. What was the instructions given?

2. *Did* your daughter have to step out of line? How was the process regarding that? We have a thread right now regarding AQR reports but very few reports on it so it is useful for new information.

 

[PrincessV]

Ok folks - I have an actual report from the trenches. Today we went to MK to do the passholder preview of Tiana's Adventure, (didn't get in on the virtual queue - bummer) and to check out life without a DAS.

I’m so glad you had a good day! Though sad that you didn’t get to experience Tiana’s. Two of my local friends were there yesterday, too, and never made it on.

-There were lots of CMs posted (sometimes with signage) near the more "problematic" rides to offer assistance and suggestions as needed.

I’m super curious about this - what did the signs say?! I’ve never seen CMs with signage beyond the usual “Line Starts Here” so that sounds new and unreported until now.

-Several times, CMs made a point of announcing what the procedure was if you needed to leave for any reason.

Can you tell us what they said in the announcements? I don’t think that would be any kind of blueprint to nefarious types if CMs were announcing it to the general public.

 

[jlundeen]

... snip... We have a thread right now regarding AQR reports but very few reports on it so it is useful for new information.

Thanks for mentioning the other thread... I didn't know it was out there and that is where I would have the most interest if my next trip is not approved.

Here's the link in case others didn't know about it.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/aqr-attraction-queue-return-usage-reports.3946748/

 

[oynk]

This is questions to prepare for the future mostly, if you do not mind answering. No pressure either way.

1. What was the instructions given?

2. *Did* your daughter have to step out of line? How was the process regarding that? We have a thread right now regarding AQR reports but very few reports on it so it is useful for new information.

1. So, when we were given our instructions, I asked the CM if she was going to make any type of notation on my daughter's account and she said that there wasn't any need. I then asked, how the attraction CMs would know that we had been told to ask for an accommodation. The response was that it would be obvious because the only way we would know to ask would be because we had talked to the DAS request people.

I didn't say anything, but I thought that that was ridiculous because it is already all over the internet. However, I don't really feel right being the one putting the information out there.

That being said, I will give some additional information. First, we did not have to give a detailed explanation to any of the in park CMs. (Depending on your perspective that can be good or bad. For us it was good because she didn't have the added anxiety of sharing personal information. OTOH, they may end up having the the issues of people faking or exaggerating their needs. It probably does help that she has a personal powerchair lending credibility to the fact that she is "really" disabled).

Also, there were already systems in place to accommodate people who had been denied for DAS. I'm attaching the sign that was outside of space mountain. (It may have been there before and we never noticed).


2. We did not have to step out of line; however I did see how it worked on several occasions. Because we were in MK, several rides are not wheelchair accessible and those had to admit us into the accessible (usually lightning lane) either immediately or give a return time (which I think has been an ongoing procedure).

Additionally, it looked like rides where it would be difficult to get out of line had procedures in place to avoid the line. (BTW rider switch was what it was called even if we weren't actually doing a traditional rider switch - in other words, they did not require one of us to go through the line while the other one waited).

In other shorter and less "complicated" situations I also heard CMs giving instructions generally saying things like if you need to leave for any reason find me or anyone else wearing a...blue vest, or whatever).

In short, it really did seem like they were trying to make it work. To be fair, in a weird way the fact that MK is the least accessible park may also make it the easiest one to make adjustments to. At least for now, I really felt like everyone I encountered was making a concerted effort to find ways to make things work with minimal fuss and embarrassment.

As always your mileage may vary.

 

[oynk]

I’m so glad you had a good day! Though sad that you didn’t get to experience Tiana’s. Two of my local friends were there yesterday, too, and never made it on.

I’m super curious about this - what did the signs say?! I’ve never seen CMs with signage beyond the usual “Line Starts Here” so that sounds new and unreported until now.

Can you tell us what they said in the announcements? I don’t think that would be any kind of blueprint to nefarious types if CMs were announcing it to the general public.

I put the sign from space mountain in a different post. There were also groups of CMs that we were directed to when we asked for help.

The announcements were basically: If you need to leave for any reason ask me or one of the CMs dressed like me