In this post I'll share my own experience virtually pre-registering for DAS (which I finished up today), and answer any questions people have, like what exactly goes on in the process, why does it take so long to get through, etc.
My quick tip: Hop on the virtual chat this week and you're much more likely to get ahold of somebody. Nobody is spending their Thanksgiving in front of a computer, so with less people dialing in, you're more likely to get ahold of a cast member. Today I opened up the chat and talked to somebody within seconds!
I'm heading to WDW next week, and was interested in a disability pass. I dialed into the video chat, and it tells you that it could be hours before you are connected to somebody. Well, they are not kidding. LOL. I tried for days and days to connect with somebody with no luck. First day, six hours just staring at video chat. Next day it was eight hours.
I even emailed Disney and called them because I was so annoyed. And...did not hear back and they did not pick up. LOL.
Finally, on the third day I had a good feeling I would get through. After *13 hours*.... I finally got to talk to a cast member!
Is it annoying? Yes, incredibly. Is it worth it? I think so. I would much rather sit in the comfort of my own home and wait, then wait in a line for hours at a theme park for a ride. Whether this is worth it to you depends on how much your time matters to you. I'm an incredibly patient person, and I was willing to wait.
I also think the incredibly long wait time is done on purpose to dissuade people who want to abuse the pass. If you have to wait days on end to register for the pass virtually, that is going to deter some people who didn't actually really need it.
If you pre-register virtually, you get access to DAS so that you can request return times for rides when you are at the park, instead of waiting in line. Also, you get 2 Advance Selections each day you are there. But according to the Disney website, you only qualify for the Advanced Selections if you pre-register virtually. "Note: if you did not register pre-arrival, you won’t be eligible to make DAS Advance selections on the day of your visit." So, keep that in mind that pre-registering has its benefits.
There's three steps to the process: eligibility qualification, video chat, and DAS Advance Selections. When you finally do get through to a cast member after your days upon days of waiting (lol), you first chat with a cast member who determines your "eligibility." This is a text chat, not video chat. Honestly I'm not sure what this is. All she did was ask me my name and how long I was going to be staying at the park. It was extremely brief and then I immediately got transferred to video chat.
At video chat, you meet a cast member who talks about your disability. They keep this incredibly brief and they don't ask any prodding questions or ask to go into too much medical history. I thought they were going to need much more information. But I just said a couple sentences and she said "Okay! That's all I need!" and she said I qualified. Much, much easier than I thought. Yippee! I'll be honest, I think they are very generous with this program and will hand out the DAS to most people. She was also extremely kind and asked if I had any questions about the program. *By the way, if you have any questions at all, you should ask them at this point because this is one of the only times you'll get to talk to somebody!
Then I got transferred to DAS Advance Selections. This part confused me and I said to the cast member "Oh its okay, I'll reserve them on my own"... because I thought you could. You can't. You need to reserve them through DAS. So I called back today and connected with a cast member and made all of my Advance Selections. They are like little travel agents, helping you to plan everything and making recommendations. I'm going for 6 days and it took 1 1/2 hours to book my Advance Selections. Wow! Yes of course if you are staying less days it won't take as long. But if you ever wonder "Why does it take so long to reach somebody on these chat lines?" Well, this process takes a long time.
I'm going next week. I'm so excited because it's 30 degrees where I live right now and I'm looking forward to that warm Florida weather! And I feel so much better knowing I have this pass in place to make my Disney trip a lot better. I will let you know how it goes!
Feel free to ask questions!
Have a great Thanksgiving everybody!
Much love! xoxo
My quick tip: Hop on the virtual chat this week and you're much more likely to get ahold of somebody. Nobody is spending their Thanksgiving in front of a computer, so with less people dialing in, you're more likely to get ahold of a cast member. Today I opened up the chat and talked to somebody within seconds!
I'm heading to WDW next week, and was interested in a disability pass. I dialed into the video chat, and it tells you that it could be hours before you are connected to somebody. Well, they are not kidding. LOL. I tried for days and days to connect with somebody with no luck. First day, six hours just staring at video chat. Next day it was eight hours.
I even emailed Disney and called them because I was so annoyed. And...did not hear back and they did not pick up. LOL.
Finally, on the third day I had a good feeling I would get through. After *13 hours*.... I finally got to talk to a cast member!
Is it annoying? Yes, incredibly. Is it worth it? I think so. I would much rather sit in the comfort of my own home and wait, then wait in a line for hours at a theme park for a ride. Whether this is worth it to you depends on how much your time matters to you. I'm an incredibly patient person, and I was willing to wait.
I also think the incredibly long wait time is done on purpose to dissuade people who want to abuse the pass. If you have to wait days on end to register for the pass virtually, that is going to deter some people who didn't actually really need it.
If you pre-register virtually, you get access to DAS so that you can request return times for rides when you are at the park, instead of waiting in line. Also, you get 2 Advance Selections each day you are there. But according to the Disney website, you only qualify for the Advanced Selections if you pre-register virtually. "Note: if you did not register pre-arrival, you won’t be eligible to make DAS Advance selections on the day of your visit." So, keep that in mind that pre-registering has its benefits.
There's three steps to the process: eligibility qualification, video chat, and DAS Advance Selections. When you finally do get through to a cast member after your days upon days of waiting (lol), you first chat with a cast member who determines your "eligibility." This is a text chat, not video chat. Honestly I'm not sure what this is. All she did was ask me my name and how long I was going to be staying at the park. It was extremely brief and then I immediately got transferred to video chat.
At video chat, you meet a cast member who talks about your disability. They keep this incredibly brief and they don't ask any prodding questions or ask to go into too much medical history. I thought they were going to need much more information. But I just said a couple sentences and she said "Okay! That's all I need!" and she said I qualified. Much, much easier than I thought. Yippee! I'll be honest, I think they are very generous with this program and will hand out the DAS to most people. She was also extremely kind and asked if I had any questions about the program. *By the way, if you have any questions at all, you should ask them at this point because this is one of the only times you'll get to talk to somebody!
Then I got transferred to DAS Advance Selections. This part confused me and I said to the cast member "Oh its okay, I'll reserve them on my own"... because I thought you could. You can't. You need to reserve them through DAS. So I called back today and connected with a cast member and made all of my Advance Selections. They are like little travel agents, helping you to plan everything and making recommendations. I'm going for 6 days and it took 1 1/2 hours to book my Advance Selections. Wow! Yes of course if you are staying less days it won't take as long. But if you ever wonder "Why does it take so long to reach somebody on these chat lines?" Well, this process takes a long time.
I'm going next week. I'm so excited because it's 30 degrees where I live right now and I'm looking forward to that warm Florida weather! And I feel so much better knowing I have this pass in place to make my Disney trip a lot better. I will let you know how it goes!
Feel free to ask questions!
Have a great Thanksgiving everybody!
Much love! xoxo
