Unsure about DAS for DD

[Michigan]

What does this mean?

Brazilian citizens formerly were limited as to the times they could travel to the US? I don't believe this is correct.

I said last year and it was January 2012 when the president closed down the Magic Kingdom so he could stand in front of Fantasyland and tell the country that he was going to ease the visa wait times making it so Brazilians could travel all year to Florida. It used to take 144 days for groups to get visa approval and that's why they all came at one time. Now their visa time is short and they are always here.

 

[WheeledTraveler]

Does a "stroller are a wheelchair" person have to load through the wheelchair line? I know most lines are accessible, but toward the end don't they usually route the wheelchair users off to a different load area? The reason I ask is I am wondering if the OP will find that taking the stroller in the line might cause a dramatic increase in wait time on some rides, possibly creating a situation annoying enough to outweigh the benefit of not carrying the child through the last few minutes of some queues if they are able.
My youngest is also a hypotonia child, who has barely learned to walk on our last trip so we weighed the extra time it would add to our wait (thinking we would have to go through the alternate loading) and realized the ability to set DS down was not worth the waiting. If it doesn't work that way, I would love to be able to set him down next year- it's too hot in August to walk around with a portable heat generator on your hip.

It's going to depend on the ride. For some rides, it's the difference between a flat transfer or ride vehicle, but for others it's a matter of making sure the mobility device is in the "right" spot. The majority of rides, though, don't actually split off anywhere. Not counting completely alternate entrances (i.e. Small World or Spaceship Earth), I can only think of a handful of rides that split off for wheechair boarding. Most of the rides that do split off, don't require a much longer wait for people who can transfer. The exception to that are rides like the Safari because it takes more than one or two parties to fill each vehicle. If it happens that there aren't many parties with mobility aids when you show up, there can be a wait for them to fill up the vehicle more.

 

[JillyBean1899]

The "extra" wait that wheelchair parties sometimes have is simply for the next chair accessible vehicle to come around. Since the majority of the rides are less than 5 minutes long, you're looking at less than a 5 minute "extra" wait, although that's sometimes offset by "skipping" the remainder of the line and jumping on the accessible car. However, since it sounds like your daughter doesn't have to remain in the chair to experience the ride, this won't apply to you. Yes, some rides will have a split off shortly before the loading platform because it's easier for the CMs to get the chair through there and to the unload platform, but at that point you'd be within 5 min or so of loading anyway, so you could just hand off the stroller to the CM and board with everyone else.

 

[lanejudy]

I'm sorry, but I don't understand the difference between the two? I read the sticky, but this is all new to me.

The FAQ sticky still mentions that a GAC is required along with the stroller-as-wheelchair tag. Sue hasn't had time yet to update that thread. However the most up-to-date information is in the DAS stickies - one for WDW and another for DLR/DCA. The new rules do not require a DAS for the stroller -- and it sounds like the stroller tag is exactly what you need. It will allow her to remain in the stroller through all queues. You get the tag at Guest Relations.
Enjoy your vacation!

 

[sarabguerra]

The only place we experienced a "long" load time was at Toy Story at HS. That's because the chair loading cars have to be pulled off the main track to a separate area. Every other time, since the kids could walk, we actually had quicker load times. We used both the stroller=wheelchair tag & DAS during this past Christmas week. Our children are autistic & one needed to be away from the closeness of other guests typical of SB lines. We needed the strollers #1 to prevent our son from running off & #2 for our daughter to rest in. She also has low tone & can't stand for more than 10-15 minutes without pain. I found the stroller tag got us very fast access to rides, especially early in the day.

 

[SueM in MN]

There are hidden hallways that they can use to take the stroller to the exit. The only problem is that when they're really really busy, or they have a lot of chairs in the line, it can get a little backed up bringing them to the exit, so you might have to wait for it to get there. I'd take any valuables out of it, just like you would if you left it sitting out on the curb before entering the ride. I seriously doubt the employees would take anything, but you can't be sure other guests won't have access to it while you're on the ride.

I would not leave anything of value, but most of the time the wheelchair/stroller as wheelchair will either be right where you left it or will be brought to the exit most guests will not even 'see' it as they are getting off.

Does a "stroller are a wheelchair" person have to load through the wheelchair line? I know most lines are accessible, but toward the end don't they usually route the wheelchair users off to a different load area? The reason I ask is I am wondering if the OP will find that taking the stroller in the line might cause a dramatic increase in wait time on some rides, possibly creating a situation annoying enough to outweigh the benefit of not carrying the child through the last few minutes of some queues if they are able.
My youngest is also a hypotonia child, who has barely learned to walk on our last trip so we weighed the extra time it would add to our wait (thinking we would have to go through the alternate loading) and realized the ability to set DS down was not worth the waiting. If it doesn't work that way, I would love to be able to set him down next year- it's too hot in August to walk around with a portable heat generator on your hip.

I agree with the other posters. With a few exceptions (Toy Story Mania, Safari and Small World being the main ones), guests using wheelchairs who can transfer to a ride car won't usually be waiting longer. For those 3, the wait can sometimes be considerably longer, even for guests who cAn transfer.
For others, it will depend how many other guests with wheelchairs/mobility devices are ahead of you.

The FAQ sticky still mentions that a GAC is required along with the stroller-as-wheelchair tag. Sue hasn't had time yet to update that thread. However the most up-to-date information is in the DAS stickies - one for WDW and another for DLR/DCA. The new rules do not require a DAS for the stroller -- and it sounds like the stroller tag is exactly what you need. It will allow her to remain in the stroller through all queues. You get the tag at Guest Relations.
Enjoy your vacation!

Thanks for the reminder to people.

I did change the font to be really tiny for the GAC information in the AfaqS thread. I had also added information pointing people toward the WDW and Disneyland DAS threads.
Hopefully now since our WDW trip and the holidays are behind us, I can do some updating.