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

[Snyders22000]

In theory, I think AQR should be available for the VQ rides - but I’ve yet to see anyone actually test it.

We were there a few weeks ago and my daughter had a very sudden need to use bathroom (she has some GI issues). We found a CM right at the locker area and very quickly said that we had a bathroom emergency. They let us out a side door and showed us where to go find the bathroom (the main bathroom area up the ramp to Tron). She told us to come back to the door that she let us out when we returned and she would let us back in where we had been. Our conversation was literally 10 seconds because my daughter really needed to leave. It worked perfectly and we came back and joined back at the locker room with no problem. The CM’s were very understanding and kind. Hopefully that helps!

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

We were there a few weeks ago and my daughter had a very sudden need to use bathroom (she has some GI issues). We found a CM right at the locker area and very quickly said that we had a bathroom emergency. They let us out a side door and showed us where to go find the bathroom (the main bathroom area up the ramp to Tron). She told us to come back to the door that she let us out when we returned and she would let us back in where we had been. Our conversation was literally 10 seconds because my daughter really needed to leave. It worked perfectly and we came back and joined back at the locker room with no problem. The CM’s were very understanding and kind. Hopefully that helps!

Very helpful—makes sense that the locker room area would also be a good place to meet up.

 

[SueM in MN]

That’s really good to hear.

I’ve really only seen negative reports of people having trouble trying to exit, having to have discussions with each CM, CMs telling people the line is short enough that they shouldn’t have to leave, CMs just saying they don’t know about the procedure at all, etc.

If it’s working, that’s great. I’d love to hear about that. That’s my hope that they get feedback and iron out the kinks.

My only real point was that I think there are a lot of people out there like me who aren’t seeing evidence of it working and aren’t getting information from Disney on how to use it. They are just being told to try it in the park and see what happens, when that’s too late to get a refund if it doesn’t work. It seems to me like that’s causing a lot of anxiety and making people upset, and I just wish everyone could have a little compassion and understanding on how these people who are told this feel.

Hopefully, your reassurance you are seeing reports of it actually working will help calm a lot of people’s fears.

I have been following different social media other than just this site.
Like @lanejudy, I have seen quite a few positive reports.

Most of the negative reports I've seen were from people who asked a CM for AQR using that acronym or who thought it was 'old school DAS' which to them meant going up to whatever attraction they wanted and asking the CM for a Return Time.
AQR is not an official Disney acronym/name. It's a name that was made up by social media posters. So, if CMs are asked for AQR, they may not know what the guest is asking for.

It's not practical for the phone CM to tell you how AQR will work at every attraction because it won't necessarily work the same way at different attractions. Or, not even the same way at the same attraction; it might well depend on crowd level, how long the standby and LLs are, how many people in the party, etc.

I agree - there are too many variables for there to be a standard process.

 

[nalababybear]

I have been following different social media other than just this site.
Like @lanejudy, I have seen quite a few positive reports.

Most of the negative reports I've seen were from people who asked a CM for AQR using that acronym or who thought it was 'old school DAS' which to them meant going up to whatever attraction they wanted and asking the CM for a Return Time.
AQR is not an official Disney acronym/name. It's a name that was made up by social media posters. So, if CMs are asked for AQR, they may not know what the guest is asking for.

I agree - there are too many variables for there to be a standard process.

Attraction Queue Reentry is an official term.

LRT Location Return Time is for ecvs

RTQ is not.

Agree that the confusion is when requesting something directly vs inquiring CM on issue and letting the CM decide best options available to them to offer accommodation.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Attraction Queue Reentry is an official term.

LRT Location Return Time is for ecvs

RTQ is not.

Agree that the confusion is when requesting something directly vs inquiring CM on issue and letting the CM decide best options available to them to offer accommodation.

I could be wrong but I think Sue's point was it could be confusing if a guest asks a CM "can I get/I need an AQR if I need to leave the line" or something similar that uses AQR. I'm sure some CMs have figured out that could be a way of saying Attractions Queue Re-entry but it's not the official acronym Disney is using, just a short hand way of typing it on social media. It *could* create unnecessary confusion on behalf of the CMs and frustration on behalf of the guest if someone used that in the park even if someone did end up encountering a CM who knew what they meant.

Even the directions on Disney's page says "Speak to a Cast Member at the attraction for directions on how to re-enter the queue" which makes no actual reference to AQR or what the option is conversely Rider Switch says "Upon arriving at the selected attraction, approach the greeting Cast Member with your entire group and inform them you are interested in the Rider Switch option." and makes explicit note of the Rider Switch term.

 

[nalababybear]

I could be wrong but I think Sue's point was it could be confusing if a guest asks a CM "can I get/I need an AQR if I need to leave the line" or something similar that uses AQR. I'm sure some CMs have figured out that could be a way of saying Attractions Queue Re-entry but it's not the official acronym Disney is using, just a short hand way of typing it on social media. It *could* create unnecessary confusion on behalf of the CMs and frustration on behalf of the guest if someone used that in the park even if someone did end up encountering a CM who knew what they meant.

Even the directions on Disney's page says "Speak to a Cast Member at the attraction for directions on how to re-enter the queue" which makes no actual reference to AQR or what the option is conversely Rider Switch says "Upon arriving at the selected attraction, approach the greeting Cast Member with your entire group and inform them you are interested in the Rider Switch option." and makes explicit note of the Rider Switch term.

Yep. Agreed. As said earlier, Keep it simple by asking CM how to rejoin. Stay away from the acronyms.

 

[SueM in MN]

....My answer to that is, granted it may have not been working anymore, but Disney was watching the entire time (they admitted themselves to seeing growth over 3 years) and magically in April it was so dire it had to be fixed immediately with a drastic change on top of it. There is so many problems with that. Why did they wait so long then? Why did they let it get so bad, why didn't start planning for it earlier? .......... IMO I don't think they did a good enough job, if they were really concerned with the growing usage for so long, then they should have been more proactive beforehand. I agree with the need for change, I can say even with the policies they put into place, just not with the amount of time they gave or how much they rolled back in 1 shot.

I don't know if people are thinking of this in this way, but ...

Disney tried doing some things to make DAS more strict in the past.
I know that Disney periodically reviewed the DAS registration process with CMs. It would get more strict for a while, but not all consistently followed it.
It was pretty well known that certain locations (at least at WDW) were more lenient giving out DAS. There were a lot of Facebook posts recommending which park to go to, which asked no/few questions and which would give out DAS for needs that were strictly mobility. There were also a lot of posts about the parks that were 'hardest' to get approved for DAS.
It is understandable that many CMs on 'Guest Relations' or 'Guest Experience' teams would be more concerned with guest satisfaction than following a strict DAS policy, especially when some guests demanding DAS at their location disrupted the location and upset other guests.

The biggest 'try' before the current changes was when Disney began doing DAS Advance Video Registration in October 2021 for WDW and December 2021 for Disneyland resort.
Part of the reason was probably to decrease in person face to face visits to Guest Relations after reopening after COVID. But, if that was the main reason, I think that would have already been set up when Disneyland reopened on April 30, 2021 and WDW in July 2021.
Another big part was to use DAS Advance Video Registration as an attempt to standardise the DAS registration process more than it was. It also took a large number of registration 'confrontations' out of the parks.
DAS Advance Selections (3 per day) were set up as incentive for using the Advance Video Registration; at first only available with Advance Video Registration. But, as guests who hadn't done it asked at the parks, it was being done for in park registration too.
These were some of the 'stopgap' methods that really didn't do much - they led to the current new process with a dedicated accessibility team. Not being park of Guest Relations, their only focus will be on following the process (or should be). As time goes on, the process may change some, but I don't think it will go back the lenient system it was before

 

[preemiemama]

Reporting in today from DHS. We opted to try Genie+ today (vs RTQ) and planned to rope drop Rise the be ahead of the crowd. It was down, and we didn’t find that out until we were at the ride. Not a great start- and had to take some time to regroup as a result. That used up our EE time, and lines grew quickly. Since we opted for G+ Slinky at 7 am, and the return was 7 pm, we were stuck with no other LL picks until 11 am. And a breakfast reservation at Boardwalk at 11:15. We didn’t even attempt a line of any substantial length because at that point even RTQ wouldn’t have worked. We just needed to get to breakfast and regroup.

We came back to the room after breakfast and were able to get a few rides stacked for the evening, so that went better. LLs were short- most 10 minutes or less to at least the pre-show. We took breaks between rides, ate dinner, took photos. It was a much better experience because we could take our time.

We did do Rise at the end of the night. The line moved quickly(70 mins posted, we were at the pre-show in about 25) which helped had a few groups cutting through line, and saw some pushback on that further up the line. Larger groups of 4-5 people and it was maybe 3 groups in a row. Things got a little tense with that, but we made it through.

What we both noticed was that from the queue entry point to the pre-show, there was not a single CM in sight, and no way to exit except to double back out. We didn’t ask before walking in, but as things got tense, we both wondered what a possible exit could look like. My advice would be if you think it could be an issue, ask the CMs at the entry before getting in the line. We knew at the end of the night we were either riding or going back, so we didn’t think about an exit strategy. Next time we will be better prepared- hope that helps someone else going in!

Tomorrow we’re at AK. I’ll do my best to answer questions and report on that as well. DHS was definitely the most difficult for us so far.

 

[SueM in MN]

Attraction Queue Reentry is an official term.

LRT Location Return Time is for ecvs

RTQ is not.

Agree that the confusion is when requesting something directly vs inquiring CM on issue and letting the CM decide best options available to them to offer accommodation.

I meant more people using the acronym. There are actually people who were asking for it by the acronym and CMs didn't know what they were asking

I could be wrong but I think Sue's point was it could be confusing if a guest asks a CM "can I get/I need an AQR if I need to leave the line" or something similar that uses AQR. I'm sure some CMs have figured out that could be a way of saying Attractions Queue Re-entry but it's not the official acronym Disney is using, just a short hand way of typing it on social media. It *could* create unnecessary confusion on behalf of the CMs and frustration on behalf of the guest if someone used that in the park even if someone did end up encountering a CM who knew what they meant.

Even the directions on Disney's page says "Speak to a Cast Member at the attraction for directions on how to re-enter the queue" which makes no actual reference to AQR or what the option is conversely Rider Switch says "Upon arriving at the selected attraction, approach the greeting Cast Member with your entire group and inform them you are interested in the Rider Switch option." and makes explicit note of the Rider Switch term.

Exactly

 

[nalababybear]

Reporting in today from DHS. We opted to try Genie+ today (vs RTQ) and planned to rope drop Rise the be ahead of the crowd. It was down, and we didn’t find that out until we were at the ride. Not a great start- and had to take some time to regroup as a result. That used up our EE time, and lines grew quickly. Since we opted for G+ Slinky at 7 am, and the return was 7 pm, we were stuck with no other LL picks until 11 am. And a breakfast reservation at Boardwalk at 11:15. We didn’t even attempt a line of any substantial length because at that point even RTQ wouldn’t have worked. We just needed to get to breakfast and regroup.

We came back to the room after breakfast and were able to get a few rides stacked for the evening, so that went better. LLs were short- most 10 minutes or less to at least the pre-show. We took breaks between rides, ate dinner, took photos. It was a much better experience because we could take our time.

We did do Rise at the end of the night. The line moved quickly(70 mins posted, we were at the pre-show in about 25) which helped had a few groups cutting through line, and saw some pushback on that further up the line. Larger groups of 4-5 people and it was maybe 3 groups in a row. Things got a little tense with that, but we made it through.

What we both noticed was that from the queue entry point to the pre-show, there was not a single CM in sight, and no way to exit except to double back out. We didn’t ask before walking in, but as things got tense, we both wondered what a possible exit could look like. My advice would be if you think it could be an issue, ask the CMs at the entry before getting in the line. We knew at the end of the night we were either riding or going back, so we didn’t think about an exit strategy. Next time we will be better prepared- hope that helps someone else going in!

Tomorrow we’re at AK. I’ll do my best to answer questions and report on that as well. DHS was definitely the most difficult for us so far.

Ty for the update. Glad G+ worked and you able to modify your touring plans for that. Did you find it better style vs the morning even though you rope dropped for rise.....what rides did you do a hs before brunch?

Amazing to see how different the posted waitntimes are compared to real life times.


Curious, with aqr in place as a ubiquitous accommodation, cms theoretically can enforce folk NOT pushing through the line to meet their party. It would be great to have less of that overall....and very common issue at dlr

 

[gottalovepluto]

... I am worried about the boarding groups for Tiana, Tron, and guardians. We've always had it transfer to LL so I don't know what to expect without the previous das system for boarding groups.

They can be long lines. For GOTG & Tron if you can get a first BG (like 1-25ish) they might start running part way into early entry and will be walk on, I actually feel since they save you like a 45min+ line they are a good use of EE. I did GOTG and Tron like this last trip. I just start pounding away at the refresh button a few seconds before 7am and don’t stop clicking until my screen stops changing and then I see the end result. I have about a 50% success rate with getting an early group but I don’t go during busy times.

Alas going forward if they’re must do I’ll probably be pre-purchasing LLs since I won’t know until day of about my BG position, bummed about that. (But, it will depend on the sellout rate, maybe they won’t sellout before day of? Won’t know until the new system goes live.)

 

[CanucksRock]

For GotG - We had the extended evening hours for our last trip, a VQ and an ILL. We went towards the end of the night because we wanted to ride back to back. They made us use the ILL first, ILL had a huge back up. We waited over 30 minutes. Then when we swung back through to use the VQ - it was closer to 9 pm and we walked right through the queue. The EE was also walk on because we beat the post fireworks rush. So YMMV but in the last 30 minutes it can be shorter line. (In between each ride, we had to wait for my niece to go to the washroom - she loves the ride, but gets anxiety ..which for her results in us basically visiting every washroom in WDW…)

 

[diablodancer]

Genuine question - a screenshot alleging to be from the WDW cast training has been shared in a Facebook group. Can this be shared here? It expressly lists that autism spectrum is the only thing they will consider, and lists conditions that do not qualify.

Hesitant to share as it also states the qualifier for autism spectrum which I realise would fall within the ‘script’ ban here, however I think it ruling out a number of conditions is useful when many of us have still been unsure if we’d qualify? Happy to black out the autism qualifier if that would help or send a screenshot to a mod.

 

[jennab]

Genuine question - a screenshot alleging to be from the WDW cast training has been shared in a Facebook group. Can this be shared here? It expressly lists that autism spectrum is the only thing they will consider, and lists conditions that do not qualify.

Hesitant to share as it also states the qualifier for autism spectrum which I realise would fall within the ‘script’ ban here, however I think it ruling out a number of conditions is useful when many of us have still been unsure if we’d qualify? Happy to black out the autism qualifier if that would help or send a screenshot to a mod.

Ugh, just what I didn’t want. Now everyone in the FB group knows what to say and lie to get DAS… Figured it was only a matter of time before people again figured out the right words to say just to get access to what they’ve lost. Hopefully most with be ethical enough to not do it, but based on what I’ve read there’s quite a few who will go to those lengths to lie to get DAS back.

 

[jennab]

Genuine question - a screenshot alleging to be from the WDW cast training has been shared in a Facebook group. Can this be shared here? It expressly lists that autism spectrum is the only thing they will consider, and lists conditions that do not qualify.

Hesitant to share as it also states the qualifier for autism spectrum which I realise would fall within the ‘script’ ban here, however I think it ruling out a number of conditions is useful when many of us have still been unsure if we’d qualify? Happy to black out the autism qualifier if that would help or send a screenshot to a mod.

Also let me guess, it’s the “defenders” group? They are ridiculous and promote people lying and sharing info on what to say.

 

[diablodancer]

Ugh, just what I didn’t want. Now everyone in the FB group knows what to say and lie to get DAS… Figured it was only a matter of time before people again figured out the right words to say just to get access to what they’ve lost. Hopefully most with be ethical enough to not do it, but based on what I’ve read there’s quite a few who will go to those lengths to lie to get DAS back.

I’m trying to be careful what I say so as to not break the rules here but I don’t read it as explicitly saying what people have to say, it’s more about severity as a qualifier as guidance for cast members. It’s quite brief, the more interesting part was that it explicitly rules out conditions by name that might reasonably have fallen under the description used on the public website.

Edit to add: Also emphasis on this being alleged as there’s zero way to verify

 

[jennab]

I’m trying to be careful what I say so as to not break the rules here but I don’t read it as explicitly saying what people have to say, it’s more about severity as a qualifier as guidance for cast members. It’s quite brief, the more interesting part was that it explicitly rules out conditions by name that might reasonably have fallen under the description used on the public website.

Oh I don’t mean anything against you at all! Just sucks someone shared it in a fb group of people who will now use it to their advantage. But yes interesting if it does list diagnosis that wouldn’t qualify. I feel like Disney wouldn’t be dumb enough to put something like that in writing as it could end up being seen as discriminatory as not all diagnosis equal the same disability.

 

[diablodancer]

Oh I don’t mean anything against you at all! Just sucks someone shared it in a fb group of people who will now use it to their advantage. But yes interesting if it does list diagnosis that wouldn’t qualify. I feel like Disney wouldn’t be dumb enough to put something like that in writing as it could end up being seen as discriminatory as not all diagnosis equal the same disability.

Oh I know you didn’t mean me, no worries

It does strike me as going against the ‘don’t tell us your diagnosis’ approach which is part of what makes me sceptical. And agree it wouldn’t be the best choice to write that down when it would be likely to get leaked from a press perspective.

 

[jennab]

Oh I know you didn’t mean me, no worries

It does strike me as going against the ‘don’t tell us your diagnosis’ approach which is part of what makes me sceptical. And agree it wouldn’t be the best choice to write that down when it would be likely to get leaked from a press perspective.

Who is alleging they have this info and how did they get it? I feel like anyone could just make up a diagram or something too… I mean I want to see it now, but yeah I’d wait until a mod says if it’s ok or not. I’m just curious!

 

[DiznyDiva]

It's been pulled now.. IMO it's faked by one of members on that board to keep stirring them up into frenzies. Some of this post are so.....If find the way they warped the girls story who is all over the news... just....

I understand having a disability but it's not just disability in some of the posts, its a send I am owed this because I spend money here. Then the anger at the kids and people who dare to tell them they got accepted...

Please ,do not take this as me saying anything about the harshness and reality of any disability mental or physical, but we all have our crosses to bear. Some just do it with more grace than others. I hope I did not break any rules.