DAS Pass Question

[Rockon2002]

My husband has intermittent explosive disorder and can’t wait in lines too long without having somewhat of a meltdown. He does pretty well with controlling it minus waiting in lines. We also have little kids. Would DAS help us? I would say he is ok for doing a line for 15 minutes but longer than that he is going to have a hard time. Any info is appreciated. We are first timers.

 

[MinnieMSue]

It definitely would help but one thing is the lines sometimes are longer than 15 min especially in busy times. Last summer we were really hit with long FP lines - sometimes as long as 30 min so if you come upon a really long one you prob would have to skip it or come back later. I would say overall he would be ok and most lines would be under 15 min though.

 

[redberyl]

Das brings you back through the fastpass line, and as minniemsue posted, usually the FP line is less than 20min, so das could help. But there are times when even the FP line backs up longer, usually during busy times. Also, just a heads up that sometimes the wait to get into restaurants can be lengthy even if you have reservations. Ive never had it be more than 20 minutes but definitely ive waited 20 minutes to get in to eat, with reservations, so be prepared for that.Also buses can take a while, they seem to run every 20 minutes most of the day but if you get to the bus stop at just the wrong time you might have to wait longer than that, so thats something else to plan for if youre taking buses. Definitely avoid the buses at park closing as you would definitely wait longer than 20 minutes. Also the line to get through security to get into the parks can often take longer than 20 minutes. There is a much shorter security line if you dont have bags, so maybe he can go in without a bag. And if youre flying out of orlando on your way home, getting through security at the airport is a nightmare, we have never waited under an hour. There is a program called tsa cares that is supposed to offer assistance at the airport; you may want to give them a call if youre flying.

 

[jeal]

A DAS will help but the FastPass line at the more popular attractions like Soaring or FOP is often more than 20 minutes.

 

[SueM in MN]

As others already posted, waits can sometimes be greater than 20 minutes.
So, he will need to be ready with whatever strategies/techniques he normally uses to deal with his issues..

For the airport, we have used TSA CARES; you can find more info on the TSA website at TSA.gov
It’s important to be aware that what is available at each airport varies and it was made very clear to us that TSA Cares doesn’t shorten the wait. For example, they can’t put you into the PreCheck line unless your boarding passes were issued with PreCheck.
They may be able to help make the wait more tolerable (depending on the airport). We found they were very helpful at our home airport (Minneapolis/St Paul), but not very helpful at Orlando.

For restaurant, avoiding peak times will be helpful, both for counter service and table service. Many counter service restaurants have Mobil Ordering, which allows guests to order and pay for their food on a smart Phone using the My Disney Experience app. When ready, you go to a Mobile Order window to pick up your food with a minimal wait. You will still need to find a table, which may require a wait or looking around if it’s busy.

You might also want to look into a service called Touring Plans - they can help with planning for the park, times and attractions with the shortest waits. It won’t eliminate waits, but will help you to be in the least busy places.

 

[WawaCoffee]

My husband has intermittent explosive disorder and can’t wait in lines too long without having somewhat of a meltdown. He does pretty well with controlling it minus waiting in lines. We also have little kids. Would DAS help us? I would say he is ok for doing a line for 15 minutes but longer than that he is going to have a hard time. Any info is appreciated. We are first timers.

Similar condition (though not as severe) as your husband. We try to visit WDW when the crowds are "low", however, the parks are crowded (to an extent) year-round. For our previous trip, we didn't use DAS. We will be for our upcoming trip. Here's a few tips that help me... most of which have already been covered by previous posters.

• Sign up for Touring Plans and plan your trip as much as possible. Find a week that (historically) has a lower crowd volume. See which rides get busy and grab FastPasses for those.
• Plan your meals during off hours. We found that most restaurants were quiet prior to 5:30pm. 5pm was the sweet spot for us. We never had to wait for a table.
• If you plan to see the Magic Kingdom fireworks show, consider purchasing the Garden Plaza dessert package. This will guarantee you a nice viewing spot in the Garden Plaza without having to stake your spot out an hour in advance. The Garden Plaza is, also, much-less crowded than standing in Main Street

As others have stated, sometimes the FastPass queue can exceed 15-20 minutes. This only happened to us once or twice throughout our 5-day visit. Test Track was the worst offender, as the ride broke down twice while we were in line. The FastPass line on most attractions moves quickly and never agitated me.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Most lines at WDW are at least 20-30 minutes long.... there are at least 30,000 people in the Parks at any given time.
Sometimes you even have to wait in line for a restroom.
Plan for being pleasantly surprised and excited at any line that is less than 20 minutes long but expect to wait at least that long for everything and anything, from meet and greets to being seated at an ADR to the bag check/security at the front gates.

 

[montreid]

Like others mentioned already. flight pandora and Sorin' and Tesla track can be tight lines and quarters that tend aggrevate those with line issues.

Mobile ordering has been a godsend for us.

Dining packages can work for those wanting shows but given the crowds and seated and waiting, we tend to hang on the periphery of these shows in less crowded areas to allow for easy exit to lessen the masses.

Avoid early morning and last show evening. Foe MK....that means anything within 2 hours of close.

 

[gap2368]

I find bringing something to do ( like silly Putty head phones small squishy ball something to eat) while waiting ( for the FP since I use a DAS) can really help me when I am close to going over my limit. There have been times I have had to leave the line or wait for the FP line to get shorter Hope this helps

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Be prepared that rides can go down while you are waiting in line or some other situation can happen which can make the FP return line wait much longer than you expect. We have had to wait for up to an hour on rare occasions. A line of 15 minutes or less is a great blessing, but isn't guaranteed, so being mentally prepared that unannounced changes and delays could happen can really help if Murphy's law strikes while you're in line.

 

[Lilsia]

I had never heard of this so I looked it up. It sounds just like my Dad. He would get very angry at nothing and would have, what I would call a toddler like temper tantrum. It is crazy to see that behavior in an adult. You could not have any kind of normal discussion with him because he ALWAYS had to be right. He did not hold back when we were at home, but if we were out and about, and he felt that he was getting angry, then he would just walk away and remove himself from the situation. We never went to WDW, but we did go to local places like six flags. There were plenty of rides that we went on without him and we were perfectly fine with it because it was better then his anger. Your husband should know when it is better to just walk away, even if it means missing a ride or two. This is a self control issue. My mom would be in the line of fire and just "put up with it". After she passed, whenever we visited with him, if he started that, we left. Over the years he learned that his temper tantrums would not be tolerated by us and amazingly, he controls himself very well now.