WDW -Disability Access Service (DAS) - ARCHIVED THREAD; no longer vslid

[andrews_dad]

No this is all wrong. Sorry

You are issued a GAC like card with blank lines on the back. You go to a ride you want to ride and look at the standby time. Say TSM says 90min wait. So they write on the first line of your card toy story mania 90min wait, come back in 75mins (they will give you an actual time to come back). When you come back in 75mins or anytime by the end of the day, they will cross it off and you will enter the FP lane. After that ride you will be able to go to another attraction and get a new time written in based off the current standby time posted at the attraction.

It has nothing to do with FP times. You cannot get a new time until you use the first time or give up the first attraction (a CM can cross it off and issue a time at a new attraction).

OK. Thanks. It relates to standby wait times, not FP times. I never stay on site, so a FP plus is not available to me, right?

 

[1 DISNEY FAN]

Reviewed first post, but am overwhelmed by the next 1000! Can someone confirm I have this correct?

The new GAC type system gets you esentially an extra fastpass if needed, minus 10-15 minutes? You can use your entry ticketsto get another ticket.

Say TSM has a windown for dastpass districution at 5 PM and it is 10 AM. You'd like to ride twice. You use the new GAC and it will list return time of 4:45. Your regular fastpass says 5 pm. Now, you can get a new regular fastpass after like noonish when a 2 hour window expires. You can't get a new GAC type pass til you ride it at 4:45?

H no the dac will give you a time to return which is the time of the standby queue mins 10mins.eg if the standby is 1 hour long at 10am then you can return to he ride at 10.50am and then get your next time for another ride.

 

[keishashadow]

I would not count on that. We are on our 3rd renewal of the DAS card and I got it renewed at AK on Sunday and was more than a bit put off that the CM there was asking me to declare why we needed the card and then in a very odd whisper asked if my DD needed it for social issues. It was rude and I was very annoyed and we already went through the process to justify her need and was told we wouldn't have to go through it again. The CM said that they were told they needed to verify why you were getting the card but it really makes me uncomfortable and I wasn't prepared to discuss her needs especially since we were running late for a FP+ time and I was expecting them to be able to simply renew the pass without another discussion.

I won't renew it again at AK but if this is the new process I will have to put her needs in writing and just carry it with me.

our party picked ours up on day #1 of system in AK, the CM was very helpful. Would like to think training will be 'even' across the board for the CMs

This is just a guess, but my guess is that the additional scrutiny had little to do with where you were and more to do with the number of times the DAS is being renewed/filled up in the 30+ days since the new DAS rolled out.

I would not be surprised to find out they are doing extra questioning of people filling up all 36 Return Time slots on the card or getting it renewed more than the average.
So, I would expect extra questioning if needing to renew or replace it often.

my thoughts too

Honestly, I'd question it too. I had heard from a CM that they were catching people writing in their own times to avoid waits and going to kiosks, so I can see where they'd be looking at this and wondering how it was possible. They're tracking this stuff for a reason and soon the codes will be enabled to help further track use age.

(Not accusing that poster of doing this)

seriously?

I agree. I don't think it's anything to be concerned about and I think it will be a lot easier when the codes are activated and this is electronic.

we had to sign a release permitting 'tracking' and had no problem doing so since it was explained that the QR code would speed things up the next visit...scan, quick check that nothing had changed as to 'needs' and off we'd go.

Actually this is likely to encourage people to hop. People can tour one park for a few hours in the morning starting at RD, maybe even the park with morning EMH, then take a nice break and go to another park for the evening where they already have FPs waiting for them...

also for AP holders who tend to visit frequently

Disney does not demand any personal or intimate info from anyone.

All they want to know is what you need to make the rides accessible for you or for the person you are requesting the DAS for. They don't want to know what you diagnosis is, they will not read notes and they will not ask for medical information. Giving them a note is going against what Disney asks for and the CMs will just refuse to read it.

Just sayin~

our experience was the CM was agreeable to hearing our explanation 'why' the DAS was needed. She did have me repeat to her that the information was being divulged voluntarily and we received a 'thank you' for making the process easier.

Isn't it in the computer now for them to know your DAS history?

we were told it was (actually would be by the time we returned in January)

interesting. Maybe they will tie it to the MagicBand.

certainly would be a convenience.

 

[sharadoc]

Wouldn't it be great if Magic Bands for your party could be "approved" for the DAS, then a separate kiosk/scanner could be available at a ride or attraction. You would scan your bands (all of them) and the screen would tell you your return time.

Then the bands could be scanned at the FP entrance, the DAS holders picture would show up on the iPad and matched, and we would all be allowed to go in. For as much as they have figured out on these, this added functionality should be easy

 

[aaarcher86]

Wouldn't it be great if Magic Bands for your party could be "approved" for the DAS, then a separate kiosk/scanner could be available at a ride or attraction. You would scan your bands (all of them) and the screen would tell you your return time. Then the bands could be scanned at the FP entrance, the DAS holders picture would show up on the iPad and matched, and we would all be allowed to go in. For as much as they have figured out on these, this added functionality should be easy

I think this is the goal. Does Universal do something like this? I think that was referenced.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Wouldn't it be great if Magic Bands for your party could be "approved" for the DAS, then a separate kiosk/scanner could be available at a ride or attraction. You would scan your bands (all of them) and the screen would tell you your return time. Then the bands could be scanned at the FP entrance, the DAS holders picture would show up on the iPad and matched, and we would all be allowed to go in. For as much as they have figured out on these, this added functionality should be easy

now that would be ideal!

 

[delmar411]

OK. Thanks. It relates to standby wait times, not FP times. I never stay on site, so a FP plus is not available to me, right?

Correct. FP+ has not been rolled out to offsite guests yet. You can (and are encouraged) to use the DAS card as well as the FP system.

It seems like it is hard to figure out but it is a lot easier once you can see the card in person. Makes more sense of the system.

 

[cmwade77]

Wouldn't it be great if Magic Bands for your party could be "approved" for the DAS, then a separate kiosk/scanner could be available at a ride or attraction. You would scan your bands (all of them) and the screen would tell you your return time.

Then the bands could be scanned at the FP entrance, the DAS holders picture would show up on the iPad and matched, and we would all be allowed to go in. For as much as they have figured out on these, this added functionality should be easy

Actually, what would be even better is to eliminate going to the ride or attraction to get the return time and using the App or any of the existing kiosks to obtain a return time.

 

[lovethattink]

I think this is the goal. Does Universal do something like this? I think that was referenced.

I haven't been to Universal since July 7th. Each time we went to an attraction the barcode was scanned. Even if a time wasn't written because it was less than a 30 minute wait, they scanned the card as we entered the line. Then someone else checked to see it later on in the queue.

Right now at WDW when an attraction was less than 10 minutes we were sent through and nothing was written. Only check and balance system in place was showing the DAS twice, at the entrance and further down the queue.

I'm all for doing what it takes to weed out any abuse. I don't mind a park knowing where we've been.

The other thing about Universal. Not sure if it's always like this or not, but they used my ID and my info instead of DS's on the card even though it was for him.

At WDW, I just had to sign for him, and his info was used.

 

[disney david]

Actually, what would be even better is to eliminate going to the ride or attraction to get the return time and using the App or any of the existing kiosks to obtain a return time.

Thy wont do das with the app they will do it with the kiosks and maybe even the self help ones but not the app At least not anytime soon.

 

[LvsTnk]

I am here now and had no problem getting the DAS card at Epcot IG the girl was as sweet as could be. I have only used it 4 times the past 8 days with the FP+ haven't pulled reg FP at all. Actually one of the 4 was immediately crossed off as soon as the CM realized the wait was 15 min.

I was at Universal Tues was not asked for any ID just name. We used it for a return time once the entire day. They allow you in the express line if the wait is 30min or less. Sometimes they looked at the card sometimes they just waved us through. Again everyone was very nice and accommodating.

 

[Tink575]

Honestly, I'd question it too. I had heard from a CM that they were catching people writing in their own times to avoid waits and going to kiosks, so I can see where they'd be looking at this and wondering how it was possible. They're tracking this stuff for a reason and soon the codes will be enabled to help further track use age.

(Not accusing that poster of doing this)

People are already cheating and making it harder on the rest of us. This is just vile. I had my card 2 weeks and had 4 attractions on it, the last one not crossed off because I didn't have the steam to walk back and ride it. If we get 5 hrs in the park including an hour for lunch it is a banner day.

We are FL resident PAP holders and had no FP+ and can't do the parks every day. We did use a few regular FPs where we could find them. One of the FPs was for Buzz, which is a total riot because I don't have vision to aim either there or in TSMM. I got 20,000 on Buzz by just pointing the gun around and shooting and made the day for a little boy behind me who was so proud he beat my score LOL. It literally made my day.

I used the DAS for TSMM and Soaring once each during that 2 week period. We are down here several months each year and there were years when we didn't get to go on those rides once.

I understand folks with little kids and those there for a week or two want to max their experience, but if cheaters are thrown into the mix, or those who are being "piggy" about it, we'll all suffer the consequences. I can't imagine anyone filling a whole card!

 

[OurBigTrip]

I'm not sure how they could not foresee this happening, I overheard a 5 year (or so) old ask their mom what would prevent this from happening and I can't believe that a 5 year old is smarter than all of the Disney executives, lawyers, etc. combined.

Even for those of us trying to work within the rules, we have had occasion to both have gotten a return time when one came into the park later than the other, not knowing the other one had gotten one already. We simply didn't use my return time, but I could easily see how this could be abused if someone were to try abusing the system.

I am honestly not sure how tying the QR Codes to a pass will prevent this. For example, there are many times that DW (who needs a DAS for her own needs) goes without me and many times that I (who also need a DAS) go without her or that one of us will want to ride something that the other doesn't. So, you can't say that there can only be one DAS per party. But then how do you prevent both from getting a return time when both that have a DAS are riding while not stopping both from getting return times when both are not riding the same attraction? For example, I want to go on Space Mountain and DW wants to go on Star Tours. I don't want to do Star Tours and she doesn't want to do Space Mountain. So, we would each get a return time for each attraction.

But if we both wanted to do both attraction, there is nothing that would currently stop us from getting return times for both attractions. This obviously is not in line with the spirit of these new cards. But how do you prevent this without preventing the above scenario.

Some will say you would need to divide your group into two cards, but this doesn't work, because if you have a party of 6, there may be times where 4 will want to ride one ride and two another. Then others where it would be 3 and 3 or 5 and 1, etc. And this may not always involve both people with the DAS, so that doesn't work.

Then the fact that they are valid for two weeks at a time means that many people's party size will vary throughout the two weeks. This is more at DL than at WDW, due to the nature of who tends to visit the parks, but it is still an issue. And yes, sometimes that group will include multiple people who need a DAS. In our case, there is the potential that we would have 5 people who all truly NEED a DAS, for varying reasons. And in all of these cases, these people would all show up at different times and would also be going on other days that the others would not. If 5 people in one party needing a DAS seems like a large number, it's not at DL. Keep in mind that many people at DL meet in line while waiting for attractions and end up becoming friends. In this case, since we all had GACs or the equivalent of the time, it's natural that we would have multiple people that have need of a DAS and yet not all show up all of the time, as we would be waiting together, which means that we would naturally meet others that need assistance.

Another example is that one of the people who is frequently in our party cannot ride Tower of Terror due to her needs, but others will wish to do so, including others that need a DAS. So, how would they all go together if say their pass only was valid for 3 people and 4 of the party wished to ride. Then she wants to go on another ride with herself and another person, but couldn't if only one person could have a DAS.

So, I really don't see any way to properly control this that doesn't prevent legitimate uses of the DAS.

A possible solution to the multiple DAS issue would be to not only link the tickets to the DAS, but to also link the DASs together. The default would be to not allow the second or subsequent DASs in the party to have a return time assigned if one DAS in the party already has a return time assigned to it.

An exception would kick in if the party wanted to split up. At that point, when seeking to obtain a return time for the second DAS, no more than half of the number in the party would be permitted to ride at the return time.

 

[mmbl]

Well it's about making things fair and giving equal access...and it's not fair that people with medical issues have them now is it?? I stated my opinion and am entitled to it. You don't have to agree with it, but it doesn't make me wrong.

I agree with you.

 

[cmwade77]

A possible solution to the multiple DAS issue would be to not only link the tickets to the DAS, but to also link the DASs together. The default would be to not allow the second or subsequent DASs in the party to have a return time assigned if one DAS in the party already has a return time assigned to it.

An exception would kick in if the party wanted to split up. At that point, when seeking to obtain a return time for the second DAS, no more than half of the number in the party would be permitted to ride at the return time.

This doesn't work either. You have a party of six. 4 want to ride one attraction and 2 want to ride the other. Or what about if one of the people with the DAS doesn't want to ride one particular attraction, but all 5 of the others do. They would get a return time for another attraction, but why should they have to ride alone? Now, add in Disneyland into the mix and that person that would normally be alone may very well run into some other friends on their way to the attraction and want them to come along so that they aren't alone.

Like I said, I don't know of any good answer to the issue, but I do so problems with any potential solution that I can think of.

For example, I though of what if they could put two pictures on one DAS and either person on it could use it. But then what about the parties that want to split up for a portion of the time?

Although, I could see a potential fix for this. If they did want to split up briefly for say one or two attractions, they could tell the attraction host at one of them and be given a return time card for the other attraction based on the current wait time. This of course would require an iPad or something similar at every attraction though. Or perhaps issue a time limited DAS for the other person.

But that could get very complicated and we have already seen the mess that they have made of the current system, so many holdes could be poked into this as well.

Like I said, no real answers, just lots of problems with any of the ideas.

 

[mmbl]

People are already cheating and making it harder on the rest of us. This is just vile. I had my card 2 weeks and had 4 attractions on it, the last one not crossed off because I didn't have the steam to walk back and ride it. If we get 5 hrs in the park including an hour for lunch it is a banner day. We are FL resident PAP holders and had no FP+ and can't do the parks every day. We did use a few regular FPs where we could find them. One of the FPs was for Buzz, which is a total riot because I don't have vision to aim either there or in TSMM. I got 20,000 on Buzz by just pointing the gun around and shooting and made the day for a little boy behind me who was so proud he beat my score LOL. It literally made my day. I used the DAS for TSMM and Soaring once each during that 2 week period. We are down here several months each year and there were years when we didn't get to go on those rides once. I understand folks with little kids and those there for a week or two want to max their experience, but if cheaters are thrown into the mix, or those who are being "piggy" about it, we'll all suffer the consequences. I can't imagine anyone filling a whole card!

Agreed. We were just there a week and had 5 lines, total, filled in.

 

[OurBigTrip]

Well it's about making things fair and giving equal access...and it's not fair that people with medical issues have them now is it??
I stated my opinion and am entitled to it. You don't have to agree with it, but it doesn't make me wrong.

When it comes to fairness, Disney's only concern should be about inside the park, period.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

So am I reading correctly? Are people seriously filling in their own cards with times? Omg whatever next! I am truly shocked. The only way then to avoid this I can see is that they hold the DAS card at the ride till you return or some kind of electronic system. Or a receipt like ticket issue like the old FP that they give you and you show on return. Or people could just be honest...wishful thinking right

As they always say people will always try sad but true. But the majority don't. It didn't even cross my mind.

 

[OurBigTrip]

This doesn't work either. You have a party of six. 4 want to ride one attraction and 2 want to ride the other. Or what about if one of the people with the DAS doesn't want to ride one particular attraction, but all 5 of the others do. They would get a return time for another attraction, but why should they have to ride alone? Now, add in Disneyland into the mix and that person that would normally be alone may very well run into some other friends on their way to the attraction and want them to come along so that they aren't alone.

Like I said, I don't know of any good answer to the issue, but I do so problems with any potential solution that I can think of.

For example, I though of what if they could put two pictures on one DAS and either person on it could use it. But then what about the parties that want to split up for a portion of the time?

Although, I could see a potential fix for this. If they did want to split up briefly for say one or two attractions, they could tell the attraction host at one of them and be given a return time card for the other attraction based on the current wait time. This of course would require an iPad or something similar at every attraction though. Or perhaps issue a time limited DAS for the other person.

But that could get very complicated and we have already seen the mess that they have made of the current system, so many holdes could be poked into this as well.

Like I said, no real answers, just lots of problems with any of the ideas.

My earlier suggestion was based on the idea of no CMs being involved in issuing return times. If CMs are going to do it, then it's farily easy, IMO.

First DAS holder gets a return time,and tells how many people are riding (say 4 out of 6). Second DAS holder can then get a return time for the remaining 2 people.

With the tickets being linked to DAS, and the DASs being linked together, no matter how many DASs are involved, it's not to difficult to write the code such that a single ticket can't be "waiting" on more than one DAS at a time.

Or what about if one of the people with the DAS doesn't want to ride one particular attraction, but all 5 of the others do. They would get a return time for another attraction, but why should they have to ride alone?

I'm kind of confused by this one, so just trying to understand...you have 6 guests, 2 with a DAS. 1 DAS rider and 4 guests want to ride Splash, but the other DAS rider doesn't, and wants to ride BTMRR instead. 3 other guests want to ride BTMRR as well. Is that right?

If so, then the second DAS rider (BTMRR) should not be permitted to get a return time that includes any guest that is on the first DAS (Splash Mountain) until the non-DAS guests have actually ridden Splash. The second DAS holder doesn't have to ride alone, but they shouldn't be able to add guests that are already on another DAS.

The key to cutting down on the abuse is making sure that no ticket that has one or more DASs associated with it should be permitted to have more than one active return time simultaneously.

 

[delmar411]

My earlier suggestion was based on the idea of no CMs being involved in issuing return times. If CMs are going to do it, then it's farily easy, IMO.

First DAS holder gets a return time,and tells how many people are riding (say 4 out of 6). Second DAS holder can then get a return time for the remaining 2 people.

With the tickets being linked to DAS, and the DASs being linked together, no matter how many DASs are involved, it's not to difficult to write the code such that a single ticket can't be "waiting" on more than one DAS at a time.

I'm kind of confused by this one, so just trying to understand...you have 6 guests, 2 with a DAS. 1 DAS rider and 4 guests want to ride Splash, but the other DAS rider doesn't, and wants to ride BTMRR instead. 3 other guests want to ride BTMRR as well. Is that right?

If so, then the second DAS rider (BTMRR) should not be permitted to get a return time that includes any guest that is on the first DAS (Splash Mountain) until the non-DAS guests have actually ridden Splash. The second DAS holder doesn't have to ride alone, but they shouldn't be able to add guests that are already on another DAS.

The key to cutting down on the abuse is making sure that no ticket that has one or more DASs associated with it should be permitted to have more than one active return time simultaneously.

This is way too complicated and overboard and disney simply does not have this type of IT service available. And it makes no sense as in many families the adults are constantly switching around to who rides what with whom. So it would be useless for me to be linked to one ride when it may end up being my DH who rides it depending on my YDD's mood/attitude.

The easiest way to cut down on certain abuses is for them to stamp the rides or use special pens to write them in. That would cut that abuse off right away.