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

[tiggspring]

I'm not asking for better access merely for a better option for me to wait my turn. There are several mobility impairments for which a wheelchair and/or being stationary are the worst things you can do for them. I move fairly constantly in my daily life and require special accomodations for every day life. I'm not sure how an "accomodation" that will exacerbate my condition is a fair solution. The dirty looks and comments are the least of my concerns. Standing up and falling on someone and/or their child is a much bigger issue. I guess people forget the "fill in all available space" line that is word vomited constantly by CMs. I don't want anything better than anyone else has. No problem waiting my 90 minutes for TSM walking laps.

Nijagirl,

I totally get what your saying. My fibromyalgia, migraines triggered by fatigue and heat, and chronic fatigue syndrome make sitting in a wheel chair a no go. I lose feeling in my legs, feet, hips etc when I sit for too long. I totally crash when I walk too long and standing too long causes same symptoms as sitting only throw in dizzy spells and headaches for good measure . Standing in the heat is also a big nono. Being bumped in line can be excruciating, Exhausting myself or "going off pace" triggers migraines that cause me to lose part of my vision and sometimes impact my speech or cause me to drag my right leg behind me. For those of you that dont understand the issues of an invisible disability these are just a few and a wheel chair fixes none of them. On our three trips to WDW I have always gotten a GAC but because of good planning and some luck have never used it because I believe I should only use it when I have to. By the looks of it the new passes will be useless to many of us with invisible mobility/exhaustion issues. The new FP+ with tier system looks like it will hurt us too. How I got around my issues was planning the time of my trip in May week after Mother's Day when weather was good and crowds were low. Stayed in monorail resort so I could rush back for a migraine and used ridmax (online computer planning program)..It was my secret weapon. It helped me keep a pace of 5 min walk, 5min wait, ride most of day and really let me see what parts of my day needed to be tweeked to avoid doing anything for too long. We went for the taping of the Christmas parade with dd8 and found it to be a fantastic time to go. It was cool and crowds were a 2-3 most of the time no real planning needed. Tapping is always week after thanksgiving. I really cant say enough about ridemax. (there are others but I cant speak to their effectiveness) I think it is a must for anyone trying to manage a disability or just young kids in the park. I do hope they get these passes tweeked a bit so they would be a good fall back for people like us. I cannot imagine going in the summer or during Christmas ect without some of the old accommodations. They will see an increase of visitors to the aid stations for those who try but fail to manage WDW and their disability. I can guarantee it. Those cheaters who used their passes to make money really ruined it for the rest of us WDW was a fantastic place for accommodating those of us with invisible disabilities. Nijagirl consider using ridmax. I think it will be quite helpful.

 

[Tink575]

Yesterday I went to GR in Magic Kingdom to renew my DAS that had expired in Oct. I'd had a bad experience getting one and was hesitant to go ask, but I shored up my courage since we had just renewed our APs. We are PT local residents with no FP+. The cast member scanned my DAS took my pic and we were on our way. I was SO happy,

At first the CM directed me down the stairs again, to another CM, and I called to my dh to help me down, and he said no, no and called someone over with the mini iPad. They were so considerate and nice it was a real 180 from my first experience. I can't tell you how I stressed over this.

 

[aaarcher86]

Nijagirl,

I totally get what your saying. My fibromyalgia, migraines triggered by fatigue and heat, and chronic fatigue syndrome make sitting in a wheel chair a no go. I lose feeling in my legs, feet, hips etc when I sit for too long. I totally crash when I walk too long and standing too long causes same symptoms as sitting only throw in dizzy spells and headaches for good measure . Standing in the heat is also a big nono. Being bumped in line can be excruciating, Exhausting myself or "going off pace" triggers migraines that cause me to lose part of my vision and sometimes impact my speech or cause me to drag my right leg behind me. For those of you that dont understand the issues of an invisible disability these are just a few and a wheel chair fixes none of them. On our three trips to WDW I have always gotten a GAC but because of good planning and some luck have never used it because I believe I should only use it when I have to. By the looks of it the new passes will be useless to many of us with invisible mobility/exhaustion issues. The new FP+ with tier system looks like it will hurt us too. How I got around my issues was planning the time of my trip in May week after Mother's Day when weather was good and crowds were low. Stayed in monorail resort so I could rush back for a migraine and used ridmax (online computer planning program)..It was my secret weapon. It helped me keep a pace of 5 min walk, 5min wait, ride most of day and really let me see what parts of my day needed to be tweeked to avoid doing anything for too long. We went for the taping of the Christmas parade with dd8 and found it to be a fantastic time to go. It was cool and crowds were a 2-3 most of the time no real planning needed. Tapping is always week after thanksgiving. I really cant say enough about ridemax. (there are others but I cant speak to their effectiveness) I think it is a must for anyone trying to manage a disability or just young kids in the park. I do hope they get these passes tweeked a bit so they would be a good fall back for people like us. I cannot imagine going in the summer or during Christmas ect without some of the old accommodations. They will see an increase of visitors to the aid stations for those who try but fail to manage WDW and their disability. I can guarantee it. Those cheaters who used their passes to make money really ruined it for the rest of us WDW was a fantastic place for accommodating those of us with invisible disabilities. Nijagirl consider using ridmax. I think it will be quite helpful.

I sincerely hope you can find a way to make it work.

I do, personally, wish people would stop blaming the cheaters for this change. They're such a small portion of users.

 

[tiggspring]

I sincerely hope you can find a way to make it work. I do, personally, wish people would stop blaming the cheaters for this change. They're such a small portion of users.

The change happened within a week of NBC's report on major cheating. That is not a coincidence. I don't blame Disney they absolutely had to do something or everyone who saw that show and was so inclined was going to abuse the system some more. It has just hurt a lot of people.

 

[SueM in MN]

The change happened within a week of NBC's report on major cheating. That is not a coincidence. I don't blame Disney they absolutely had to do something or everyone who saw that show and was so inclined was going to abuse the system some more. It has just hurt a lot of people.

I know they have been working on it for at least 2 years, so it was not just in response to the abuse reports.

There were also situations where the issue was the sheer number of guests with special needs overwhelming the system.
There is more information in post 2 of this thread.

We are asking there not to be discussion or complaints about the new DAS program. We wanted this thread to be helpful.

 

[OurBigTrip]

The change happened within a week of NBC's report on major cheating. That is not a coincidence. I don't blame Disney they absolutely had to do something or everyone who saw that show and was so inclined was going to abuse the system some more. It has just hurt a lot of people.

The "Today Show" report on NBC was in May, the changes announced in September, and the DAS went into effect in October.

 

[lovethattink]

We were there over Thanksgiving week and got return time cards for:

Magic Kingdom
It's a Small World (weren't doing it at the beginning of the week for IASW but by end were so it's definitely crowd related)
Big Thunder Mountain
Jungle Cruise

Hollywood Studios
Star Tours

We were on all of those except Big Thunder Mountain during our trip and none of them had return time tickets in use.
It was not that bust though, so my guess is that they may not use the return time tickets when waits are short (all were short when we went).

Our experience echoes Sue's. We go to a park every Monday and one day every other weekend and have yet to see one of those return time tickets.

 

[Robbi]

The change happened within a week of NBC's report on major cheating. That is not a coincidence. I don't blame Disney they absolutely had to do something or everyone who saw that show and was so inclined was going to abuse the system some more. It has just hurt a lot of people.

This is not new. There has been talk about changing the GAC for at least a few years. The Today Show may have pushed it up a bit. The change is also tied into FP+ being implemented.

 

[buffettgirl]

Nijagirl,

I totally get what your saying. My fibromyalgia, migraines triggered by fatigue and heat, and chronic fatigue syndrome make sitting in a wheel chair a no go. I lose feeling in my legs, feet, hips etc when I sit for too long. I totally crash when I walk too long and standing too long causes same symptoms as sitting only throw in dizzy spells and headaches for good measure . Standing in the heat is also a big nono. Being bumped in line can be excruciating, Exhausting myself or "going off pace" triggers migraines that cause me to lose part of my vision and sometimes impact my speech or cause me to drag my right leg behind me. For those of you that dont understand the issues of an invisible disability these are just a few and a wheel chair fixes none of them. On our three trips to WDW I have always gotten a GAC but because of good planning and some luck have never used it because I believe I should only use it when I have to. By the looks of it the new passes will be useless to many of us with invisible mobility/exhaustion issues. The new FP+ with tier system looks like it will hurt us too. How I got around my issues was planning the time of my trip in May week after Mother's Day when weather was good and crowds were low. Stayed in monorail resort so I could rush back for a migraine and used ridmax (online computer planning program)..It was my secret weapon. It helped me keep a pace of 5 min walk, 5min wait, ride most of day and really let me see what parts of my day needed to be tweeked to avoid doing anything for too long. We went for the taping of the Christmas parade with dd8 and found it to be a fantastic time to go. It was cool and crowds were a 2-3 most of the time no real planning needed. Tapping is always week after thanksgiving. I really cant say enough about ridemax. (there are others but I cant speak to their effectiveness) I think it is a must for anyone trying to manage a disability or just young kids in the park. I do hope they get these passes tweeked a bit so they would be a good fall back for people like us. I cannot imagine going in the summer or during Christmas ect without some of the old accommodations. They will see an increase of visitors to the aid stations for those who try but fail to manage WDW and their disability. I can guarantee it. Those cheaters who used their passes to make money really ruined it for the rest of us WDW was a fantastic place for accommodating those of us with invisible disabilities. Nijagirl consider using ridmax. I think it will be quite helpful.

I'm just trying to clarify this because it doesn't make sense. If you've never used your GAC before, how do you think anything will change for you? Just do what you've always done.

 

[Rowanonfire]

I've been worrying about not getting a DAS for a while. However, things are looking good for me health-wise and I think with a combination of FP and good timing I'll be fine after all!

The only park I think I'll struggle with is MK. I know some attractions give return times though - As a person with a wheelchair, with no DAS, what attractions have a seperate entrance/return times? Makes sense for me not to bother making FP reservations for those but I can't find a definite answer. I know for some lines, the FP line is accessible while the SB isn't and this is where I'm getting confused...

 

[SueM in MN]

I've been worrying about not getting a DAS for a while. However, things are looking good for me health-wise and I think with a combination of FP and good timing I'll be fine after all!

The only park I think I'll struggle with is MK. I know some attractions give return times though - As a person with a wheelchair, with no DAS, what attractions have a seperate entrance/return times? Makes sense for me not to bother making FP reservations for those but I can't find a definite answer. I know for some lines, the FP line is accessible while the SB isn't and this is where I'm getting confused...

I posted this in another place...

Most attractions at WDW have Mainstream Lines, so are accessible and don't have a line up of guests with wheelchairs, ECV.

This is the list of attractions that WDW gives different instructions than just "enter the standard queue". We were at WDW for over 2 weeks in October/November 2013. It was not busy, and we saw no return time cards for any attractions. I expect that they will possibly only give return times when it is busy.

I put the ones in blue that I expect could likely give return times. Most of the others are shows that can hold multiple wheelchairs and the specific entry location is to put guests with mobility devices in the area they will need to be to get to the correct door into the show.

MK

WDW Railroad:Enter using ramp on the RIGHT on Main Street

WDW Railroad:Enter using wheelchair ramp on RIGHT at Frontierland

WDW Railroad: Enter using wheelchair ramp at Fairytale Circus

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: Obtain Fastpass or see Host for options. If FASTPASS is not available, enter thru access on RIGHT
note: people have reported getting return time cards for BTMRR before the DAS was introduced.

Country Bear Jamboree:Enter thru door on LEFT

Hall of Presidents:Enter through door on RIGHT

Liberty Square Riverboat:Enter through exit on RIGHT or LEFT

it's a small world:Follow directional signs to designated load area

Peter Pan's Flight:Obtain FASTPASS or see host for options. If Fastpass is not available, see a host for options.
Note: we don't know if the recent line renovation changed/will change this, but they had a small area for waiting.

Prince Charming Regal Carrousel:Enter through exit on RIGHTNote: there is a small area for waiting, but because if difficult transfer, I have never seen more then one waiting.

Tea Party:Enter through exit on RIGHTNote: there is a small area for waiting, but because if difficult transfer, I have never seen more then one waiting.

Space Mountain:Obtain a FASTPASS or see a host for options. If FASTPASS not available, enter through queue on RIGHTNote: small area for waiting

Epcot

Spaceship Earth:Enter through the exit on the RIGHT or LEFT.
Note: this attraction already had a system set up for guests traveling with mobility devices where the guests checked in with a CM at the handicapped access point. They were placed into a waiting area in order of arrival.
At some points in the past, when waits were long, the CM was writing names on a clipboard and verbally gave the guest a return time.
This could be adapted to giving return times and because of the way the waiting area is set in, they could give priority to DAS holders.

Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the 3 Caballeros: Follow directional signs to designated load area.
Note: the waiting area is very small, but this attraction usually has short waits. They could give return times and have guests wait outside of the line.
No matter when we have gone, we have not seen large numbers of guests with mobility devices, so doubt they would give return times.

American Adventure:See a host or hostess for access to second floor

Impressions de France:Enter through LEFT side of entrance hallway

Studio

Great Movie Ride:Enter through the Standard queue. A host will provide directions in the pre-show area

Studio Backlot Tour:Enter through the standard queue and stay to the RIGHT

Fantasmic:Enter through the standard queue and stay to the RIGHT

Animal Kingdom

Wildlife Express Trainroceed through standard queue. A host will direct boarding

 

[babyberger]

Here at WDW for the first since the change from GAC to DAS with our DS who is on the autism spectrum. Because we got to the park latter than expected and had already scheduled FP+ we went straight to the attractions and decided to deal with GR after rides and dinner. I figured that would work our well and GR should be pretty slow. It was perfect, we entered Epcot GR a little after 8:15pm and walked right up to a CM. I barely had 2 sentences out of mouth as she was grabbing her ipad to snap a picture of DS. I had walked through the process with him, so he knew to expect it. She made sure I understood the new process and was absolutely delightful and cheery! We will test it out tomorrow and see how it goes. I am hoping that with our FP+ selections, we can alternate those with the DAS and make the new system work.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Wendydagny]

Sue-- specific question. For btmrr and pp, your instructions say to obtain fp and only see comfort alternate entrance of fp is not available. Does this mean that the fp lines for these attractions are accessible, even though standby is not? We have always just gone to the wheelchair entrance for pp, and never ridden btmrr.

Thanks!

 

[clanmcculloch]

Has anybody been to Turtle Talk with Crush since they implemented FP+? Do people in wheelchairs with FP+ or a DAS return time go in the regular way or is there still an alternate entrance or wheelchairs? I'm just trying to figure out if I should use a FP+ selection or get a DAS return time for Turtle Talk or not since it'll be wasted if wheelchairs can't use FP+ or DAS (we'll have a DAS for our DD who's not going to be in a wheelchair).

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Has anybody been to Turtle Talk with Crush since they implemented FP+? Do people in wheelchairs with FP+ or a DAS return time go in the regular way or is there still an alternate entrance or wheelchairs? I'm just trying to figure out if I should use a FP+ selection or get a DAS return time for Turtle Talk or not since it'll be wasted if wheelchairs can't use FP+ or DAS (we'll have a DAS for our DD who's not going to be in a wheelchair).

when I went in September Turtle Talk was on FP+ but the DAS wasn't live then. But I would imagine TT is still on FP+ So I would book it with that. I was thrilled that ETWB was FP+ as the GAC card never worked for that and I could never wait in line. FP+ can def work for us!

 

[clanmcculloch]

when I went in September Turtle Talk was on FP+ but the DAS wasn't live then. But I would imagine TT is still on FP+ So I would book it with that. I was thrilled that ETWB was FP+ as the GAC card never worked for that and I could never wait in line. FP+ can def work for us!

Did wheelchairs go through the regular entrance? Was FP+ taken into consideration for wheelchairs? I just don't want to waste a FP+ selection if it can't be used with a wheelchair. There used to be a different entrance for wheelchairs and I haven't heard if anything's changed.

 

[stitchlovestink]

when I went in September Turtle Talk was on FP+ but the DAS wasn't live then. But I would imagine TT is still on FP+ So I would book it with that. I was thrilled that ETWB was FP+ as the GAC card never worked for that and I could never wait in line. FP+ can def work for us!

ETWB??
I am pretty good at the acronyms but this one is escaping me....

 

[clanmcculloch]

ETWB is Enchanted Tales With Belle. Both ETWB and Turtle Talk now have FP+ so I assume also DAS return times. I believe PP was trying to demonstrate how beneficial FP+ can be somewhere that as GAC didn't help.

 

[stitchlovestink]

ETWB is Enchanted Tales With Belle. Both ETWB and Turtle Talk now have FP+ so I assume also DAS return times. I believe PP was trying to demonstrate how beneficial FP+ can be somewhere that as GAC didn't help.

Aahhhh..... I was thinking Epcot! LoL.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

ETWB?? I am pretty good at the acronyms but this one is escaping me....

enchanted tales with Belle