Specific Questions about DAS and upcoming trip

[mtnprotracy]

We are traveling to Orlando the week after Christmas (crazy, I know) with our family of 6, all boys--ages 20, 19, 16, and 3. Our 16 year old is severely autistic and non-verbal. We've done Disney several times with him, using the old "guest assistance pass." In the past Disney has truly been a magical place for our sweet boy.

Unfortunately, we are not staying on Disney property for this trip. Here are my questions:

1. How does the "DAS" system work if you aren't on a Disney property? From what I've read, the DAS is linked to the wristbands, and it appears you can only get the bands by staying on the property. Do you spend your time "running around" getting the next pass so that is difficult to enjoy the parks?

2. Have you ever attempted the parks the week after Christmas? Is it really as bad as it appears. We are always there when the parks open, and we know our way around the parks.

3. We've always done the parkhopper option and stayed on Disney property. Have any of you done a day per park and found that works better? Does it get really unbearable in the afternoons when the parks get crowded?

4. We'll be in Orlando December 27th - January 3rd. Will there be any time during those dates that it might be "less busy?"

Thanks in advance for any help/insight any of you can offer .

Tracy in NC

 

[lanejudy]

You do not need a MagicBand to use DAS. The DAS us actually attached to the ticket media and MDE account. Those guests without bands will use your tickets.
More about DAS can be found in the WDW - Disability Access Service thread pinned near the top if this forum.
You will definitely want to plan your 3 FP+ attractions to use along with DAS.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[CoriM48]

You will be able to use your DAS with your plastic ticket; you don't need a magic band. However, staying off property means you will only be able to make your FP selections 30 days in advance. Make sure to get these as it's crucial to using FP in conjunction with DAS. You won't do any more running around than you did with the GAC. We try to plan our day and our FP to avoid criss crossing back and forth around the parks. We start on one side and pretty much work our way around land by land. Going at such a busy time of year, I think this would be even more important as it will be harder to just get around due to crowds.

And we never use park hoppers. For us, the transition time between parks took too long and transitions aren't really easy for our son. We much prefer to spend the whole day at a single park and just methodically get everything done we want to do.

 

[DisneyOma]

1. You can buy magic bands at the parks or even order them online if you want them.

2. The week between Christmas and New year's is the craziest time to go - one of the busiest weeks in the parks. Plan for it.

3. We always use park hoppers, but we don't have anyone with transitioning issues.

4. Just checked the calendar - doesn't look too good, as you are staying at the busiest times, through NYE, and a weekend. Be prepared for crowds, crowds, and more crowds. Get to the parks at rope drop and stay put, as some parks may close due to capacity limits.

 

[SueM in MN]

We are traveling to Orlando the week after Christmas (crazy, I know) with our family of 6, all boys--ages 20, 19, 16, and 3. Our 16 year old is severely autistic and non-verbal. We've done Disney several times with him, using the old "guest assistance pass." In the past Disney has truly been a magical place for our sweet boy.

Unfortunately, we are not staying on Disney property for this trip. Here are my questions:

1. How does the "DAS" system work if you aren't on a Disney property? From what I've read, the DAS is linked to the wristbands, and it appears you can only get the bands by staying on the property. Do you spend your time "running around" getting the next pass so that is difficult to enjoy the parks?

As the other posters said, you don't need Magicbands. If you don't have them, DAS will be linked to your tickets.

Keep in mind that DAS allows you to wait outside of lines, but you will still be waiting a similar time to the length of the Standby line. So, if the wait for a Small World is 2 hours, you will wait outside of the line for about 1 hour 50 minutes, then return to the attraction to enter the Fastpass line.

2. Have you ever attempted the parks the week after Christmas? Is it really as bad as it appears. We are always there when the parks open, and we know our way around the parks.

We have gone during that time several times. We were actually there last year from December 30 thru January 6.
I would say that yes, it is as bad as it appears.
On New Years Eve and New Years Day, plan that you will literally not be able to stretch your arms out in any direction without touching someone else. The other days may not be as busy, but will still be very, very crowded.

Even if you don't normally use a wheelchair for your child with autism, you may want to use one and have other members of your family act as 'buffers'. A wheelchair would give him a safe haven and also help keep you from losing him.
If he needs a quiet place for a while, I would suggest First Aid. It is likely to be busy there, but less busy than other places. Even if you have favorite quiet spots, they are likely to be full of people.
Expect long waits for everything, including bathrooms, restaurants and tables after you have gotten your food in quick service restaurants. Bring snacks for your child with autism do he can eat when hungry.
Keep in mind that driving into and out of the parking lots may be very time consuming and you will spend time just sitting and waiting for traffic to clear.

3. We've always done the parkhopper option and stayed on Disney property. Have any of you done a day per park and found that works better? Does it get really unbearable in the afternoons when the parks get crowded?

during that time period, it becomes busy enough that one or more perks generally reach capacity and no more guests are allowed to enter.
There are different stages of closing - the first is generally to close to off site guests or anyone parking in the parking lots. The last stage is to close to all guests. So, you will want to go early and realize that if you les e, you might not get back in.

Park hoppers might be useful in case the park you are in gets unbearably busy - but there is no guarantee that any park will be better.

4. We'll be in Orlando December 27th - January 3rd. Will there be any time during those dates that it might be "less busy?"

Thanks in advance for any help/insight any of you can offer .

Tracy in NC

These are park crowd estimators from Undercover Tourist. The whole week is red - busiest. Each day does have one park that is estimated (at this point) to be the least busy - but least busy is relative. The green (recommended) park during that week is still probably going to be busier than the red (not recommended ) park during quieter times.