DL questions with multiple disabilities

[clanmcculloch]

I used to know how to manage all of our issues around the parks but our list of things to consider keeps growing and handling of disabilities keeps changing so now I'm not completely sure how things are done. I used to be a regular here but I've been away for a while. I know I've gotten amazing help here in the past so I'm hoping you can help me again.

We've used the DAS at WDW and we used A GAC at DL including for RSR so I get how that works but it was still a card last time we used either. To get a RT now I bring everybody's ticket to either a kiosk or the attraction, correct? Since it's all electronic we have nothing in writing showing the RT, correct?

There will be 7 of us this trip for the first time, one being an infant. From what I've read it's not difficult to have 7 people linked to a DAS, but how do we get the 7th linked when one is too young for a ticket? Since she puts us over the standard 1+5, do we need anything to show at attractions? How is this handled?

On that same thought, what about making sure that all 7 of us are included on a wheelchair RT or are allowed to go together through the wheelchair entrance?

Do they still hand out physical RTs for wheelchairs or is that also electronic?

How does the DAS and wheelchair RT work with child swap? In all of our trips with disabilities, we've never travelled with a baby.

I'm sure I'll have more questions at some point but that's all I've got for now. I think my heads spinning between trying to figure out the changes and planning for all of our food allergies.

Thanks for any advice anybody has to offer.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Just thought I'd add that I do understand that you don't need a DAS for mobility related issues. The Davis for my 17 year old while my 14 year old uses a wheelchair in the parks. The two of them have completely unrelated issues and I'm trying to figure out managing both of their issues at the same time while also keeping my infant grand - daughter in mind. This will be her first Disney park experience.

 

[nikkislaght]

wheelchair return times are now electronic . they link it to everyones cards... so if you dont have the time on your park card that person cant ride with you..

the DAS as you know is for hidden disabilities and they will again link everyones card to the DAS holder.. so again if one persons card was not scanned that person cant ride with you..

O saw a number of large groups of people using the wheel chair entrance with their one member in a chair.. Im talking LARGE group. so I think 7 would be ok.. but please dont quote me on that .. we were there 23rd May to the 30th. so low crowd times.. they may change that with larger crowds...

Wheelchair Return times you will get at the ride.. DAS return times you can still get at the kioks.. and I believe some rides.. again dont quote me,, the last 4 yrs I have used that DAS, but this year with the changes I was considered a mobility guest . so only used the wheelchair return times etc...

Cant help you with the infant q's sorry.. Im guessing that at times you will split up and do things not as a larger group. so the rider swap with be used..but I cant tell you how that will go hand in hand with the DAS and wheelchair returns seeing that in order to ride as a non disabled person you need the person with the DAS with you.. etc.. I think thats one for the CM to answer .. not me

I used a little note book to write my return times... some people use the note function on their phones to remember RT's. sometimes I just tried to remember .. and yeah like that worked.. fibro fogs ROCK.!!!

Hope you all have a great time...

 

[clanmcculloch]

Thanks for the response. I appreciate it.

I hope groups over 6 are that easy to manage. With the 7th person being too young for a ticket, I'm just concerned about how we verify at the attractions that Guest Relations approved of 7 people since in the past they would write the number of people on the card including those too young for tickets. Is the number of 5+guest with disability still the standard with more than that requiring approval or do they no longer even take numbers into consideration for DAS or WC?

I'll probably put a reminder in my phone for each return time to keep track. I feverfew r routing. I had to put a daily reminder in my phone to put my phone in my purse because I kept forgetting it on my desk. Trying to remember will result in missing times.

I'm really excited but I'm also nervous. Between extra things to plan around and discovering after booking flights that we'll be there on the actual 60th anniversary day meaning super high crowds, there's more pressure than most of our Disney park trips.

 

[SMD]

They don't always issue wheelchair return times, but being there in July they probably will be in use. For rider swap I would ask about this. Most likely they will need to scan all 6 tickets, then issue the swap. Otherwise you'll probably have to explain that one person did rider swap when you go to get your next return time. I've heard that they give a paper pass to anyone too young for a ticket. FYI you can't have an active DAS and wc return at the same time. At DL it might not be an issue since most rides use the same return queue for both. But there are some that don't, so you'll want to take the alternate entrance route on those.

 

[SueM in MN]

I don't have time for much of an answer, but anyone too young for a ticket doesn't count in other ways.
For example, since they don't have a ticket, they can't get a Fastpass. They just go in with their family without a Fastpass.

 

[lanejudy]

... To get a RT now I bring everybody's ticket to either a kiosk or the attraction, correct? Since it's all electronic we have nothing in writing showing the RT, correct? ...

I apologize if I missed it, but are you going to WDW or DL? While both are now electronic, there are still some slight differences.

At WDW, you will have all people connected through your MDE account. My understanding is when you go to Guest Relations to get the DAS, you will indicate which people and their tickets will be tagged to your (DD's) DAS electronically. The baby shouldn't matter since the baby has no ticket, receives no FP+, just travels with the family. So it sounds like you will be a party of 6. Return Times are issued AT THE ATTRACTION but you only need one person (any person) to get it, and only that person's MB/ticket. Since your party is linked through MDE, when getting the Return Time you will indicate which guests will join you for that ride.

At DL, the DAS is generally allowed for up to 4 people or more with approval. So you would need to have the full party present at Guest Relations to get approval for 6 (again, baby shouldn't matter for that count). DAS Return Times are given AT KIOSKS and while the DAS person does not need to be present, all tickets must be presented to have the electronic DAS attached.

It is important to note that since your party may be using both DAS and wheelchair return times, only 1 may be active at a given time. So each member of your party cannot have a return time tagged to DD17 with the DAS and another with DD14 in the wheelchair. Wheelchair return times are a 1-hour window, DAS return times are open-ended (return anytime after x:xx). You might want to bring a notebook or index card to jot down return times. You will be able to see them in MDE as well.

I'm honestly not sure how rider-swap will work with the DAS. The DAS holder must ride for a DAS return time. Presumably a rider swap could be issued when your party approaches at the DAS return time, then the second half of the party would only need to ride on the swap pass. I'm not positive about this; hopefully someone who has experience will post.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[clanmcculloch]

Thanks everybody. This is starting to come together in my head.

Well be at DL. At WDW tying them together by MBs makes sense. Good to know for our next trip (there will definitely be one).

Our entire party will be there the first time we enter the parks so we'll just head to Guest Relations to get the DAS and everybody's tickets scanned. I now feel better about the baby being included without a ticket for both the DAS and WC entrance.

For some reason I thought I had read that RTs for DAS were now also available at the actual attractions in addition to the kiosks. I guess I was wrong. I'm glad I confirmed with knowledgeable people.

If an attraction has both FP and a WC entrance like Jungle Cruise, the RT would be a WC RT, right?

Thinking back to our last DL trip, I don't think we had any long WC waits that required a RT at the same time we were using the GAC so hopefully we won't encounter an issue of log WC line requiring a RT at the same time we have a DAS RT. We'll just have to come back later for those attractions if we already have a RT. In general I try to plan for using the DAS as little as possible so we should be fine managing things with only one or the other at any given time. The hard part will be remembering which RTs have an end time. I'll have to figure out a way to note note that in my phone.

I suspect you're right on how the rider swap will work. I wonder, at RSR since we'll be loading from the exit and there will room to wait, would we be able to go through the line together then swap right there at the exit rather than having the person waiting with the baby wait outside the line then have to go through waiting through the FP line? Not really a disability question, but it is part of the bigger picture planning. Most likely the person in the wheelchair and the person with the DAS will accompany the person using the swap.

 

[SMD]

Jungle Cruise uses the same return for WC and DAS. What you could do is go to the attraction, check the standby time, ask for the current WC return (waiting area is small, so they usually do returns there) and if the standby minus 10 is shorter, send a runner to the kiosk for a DAS return instead. Does your daughter need the WC boat or can she transfer? Your return wait will be a lot less if she can transfer.

For RSR you go through the standard queue or FP queue until they merge, then you get sent to the HA loading area. They won't let the baby pass the queue entrance, there's a height stick there that they check. What you could do is just use FP for that one, or single rider.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Thanks for the great JC info. I've added it to my notes.

For RSR we can't FP it. We have to stay to the back of the RD crowd or DD17 will have a meltdown and we'll have to leave. By the time we get through the gates for somebody to take all of our tickets to the RSR FP line, FPs will either be gone or for a time later than we can stay in the parks because of her autism. I've never considered single rider because I don't want to risk meltdowns due to splitting up in separate cars plus with the wheelchair two people (DD14 plus whomever is pushing her) would go one way while everybody else goes another further risking meltdown. It'll be hard enough with splitting up due to rider swap but she'll be riding each time so it'll be easier for to cope as she'll be with somebody from our group at all times. Further splitting up once in the queue I think might be too much. Maybe I'm not giving her enough credit but I only want to push so much during our trips and there are already plenty of challenges for her in our trips. Basically, without using the DAS we can't ride RSR.

It stinks that they won't let us bring her through the queue to the exit but I do respect that rules are rules and if they bend rules (not to let her ride but to let her in the query) then others may argue that they should be able to do the same then once up to the ride argue that the person should be able to ride since they were allowed in the query they should be allowed to ride. I would NEVER do that but I can see a slippery slope if they were to allow it for some. It makes sense but I'm disappointed. I'll figure out making it work.

Again, thank you!!

 

[SMD]

Are you park hopping at all? If you activate your tickets for the day at DL (like for MM) then someone can be the runner to get RSR FP. You can also use the Ask Otto phone number to get the current FP return time, it might not be as late as you think an hour after the park opens. The other option is to use the DAS for that ride and then instead of rider swap, just have the person waiting with the baby use single rider. Then they don't have to even take the baby to the ride entrance and can be an FP runner for something else, then do your own swap. Yes, the rider swap allows 2 or 3 people to ride, but just for RSR they may be ok riding alone. The cars hold 6, so with FP or DAS a party of 5 should all get to use the HA loading area.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Yes we'll be hopping. I'd hate to send somebody off during MM since that's when we'll be doing Fantasyland and I'm guessing will be the area the baby will be most excited, though I suppose I could be wrong about what will interest her. I guess my statement that the only way to ride would be using the DAS. There is this one way that requires MM, hoppers, and somebody missing all of MM (in order to get an early enough FP time that we could actually use it, the person would have to be at the front of the pack meaning lining up early) . I think the DAS is a better overall option. I'm not trying to take advantage of the DAS. I'm just trying to accommodate her needs so we can have a equal an experience as everybody else though I do know we'll only be able to spend enough time in the parks to do a fraction of what most people can do.

For rides with single rider, I'll certainly make it known that it's an option for the person waiting with the baby to go through the single rider line when everybody is done riding. IMO it's not the greatest option since the person has already spent a chunk of time alone with just the baby then they'll be going off alone to ride something. Our trips are about doing things together more than just about the rides. Sure we occasionally split up because some people may not want to do something others do but we do try to stick together as much as possible. It is good to keep it in our arsenal of options.

How could the person with the baby while everybody else rides be the FP runner? Won't everybody need their tickets in line?

 

[SMD]

Yea, you're right. I haven't been with someone in a wheelchair since before the returns went electronic. They will need the tickets to use the DAS return. I still think you're way over estimating how fast RSR FP will run out. How long do you spend in the park, unless it's under 4 hours, I think with a 7am MM at DL and a 8am DCA opening you'd be fine to get an FP around 8:30-9am without going past a 2pm return time. But that is a lot of hopping you could just as easily get a DAS return before leaving DL. Even the rider swap may be simple. Maybe they'll just scan the ticket of the person waiting with the baby and hand over the swap at the line entrance. That's the best case scenario.

 

[clanmcculloch]

On a good day we can stay in the parks until 2:00 but that's only with a noonish ADR since our TS meals take a good 2 hours (three of us have long lists of allergies so it takes a lot longer than for most people) and then we leave as soon as the meal is done. When we eat QS we typically leave by 1:00. At WDW in Epcot we've managed to go longer but really only there. DD17 can't handle more than that.

Things have likely changed as far as how quickly the RSR FPs run out since we were there in 2013. Back then they would completely run out in the first hour and if you didn't get in line within the first 10 minutes of park opening your FP would be evening. It's 2 years later so I guess some of the newness has worn off.