DAS changes coming WDW May 20/ DL June 18, 2024

[Gentry2004]

Reducing the number of people in the LL benefits everyone.

It isn't going to do that.

 

[Unity]

Being able to control when people return would absolutely help control this, unless they move to a model where standby is ALWAYS expected to be getting pulled at a 90/10 ratio, and as greedy as Disney can be, I don't see them going to that as their default lol

After seeing the D23 prices for this year, you certainly have more faith in them than me lol.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We’ve been to Disney with her 5 times (we paid for Genie+ except this past trip where we used DAS for the first time; we still purchase ILL$). She was in a carrier so couldn’t run. We go to local zoos and parks every year. She has taken 2 cruises (Fantasy).

Apologies that specific advice wasn't aimed at you personally. I say that for all traveling parties but mostly aimed at ones where they may experience difficulty through a myriad of reasons from weather adjustments (especially heat and humidty), to stroller usage (from navigation to how well a child tolerates longer periods of time in it), to line queuing, to crowds. Because all of what you describe can be something that happens to any traveling party. Going to Disney cold turkey when you suspect issues is what I was more going for. Not everyone has an amusement or other theme park to go to but if they do it can certainly help before making that try at WDW.

Quite frankly while I love my mother-in-law she would not tolerate WDW (again levity attempt here but being honest) as well as my cousin's child with a cognitive disorder and anxiety who has used DAS (and has had times where she had to be done for the day at WDW and anxiety attacks while in a queue). Luckily we have a local amusement park and my cousin's child was able to go there enough times.

The skyliner, food, bathroom break, rush to make it in time for the grace period, personal item left somewhere, etc all of that exists outside of any DAS user. I was attempting to say if I read your comment on another thread I would have assumed it was just like so many situations many hear and experience personally rather than a DAS discussion.

 

[CarouselofColor]

After seeing the D23 prices for this year, you certainly have more faith in them than me lol.

Touche haha

 

[OurBigTrip]

Honestly? Not convinced this will change very much, even with their ability to control things.

I wonder how much of this is on DAS and how much of this is on 'Disney wants to sell more Genie+ than anything else.'

It's mind-boggingly how even when paying for such an experience, the overall system is just worse than FastPass+. Were there times that a lot of FP+ people got to go ahead of others? Yeah most definitely!

But it also wasn't at this level. And I think that's on Disney more than anything for being bad at balancing.

But how does Disney effectively balance when DAS use has tripled and they really don’t know when DAS users will redeem their return time? I mean, they can data model and get a decent idea, but the more DAS users, the more difficult it becomes to balance effectively.

 

[nighttowll]

It isn't going to do that.

Especially if we are now telling everyone else to just use rider swipe instead. Doesn't that just dump you back into the LL? Although, I will admit that does reduce the number of people as they are splitting your party up.

 

[OurBigTrip]

It isn't going to do that.

And you know that how?

 

[voxparse]

I didn’t even bring her convertible diaper/booster bag that has a 3 point harness to the parks because I’ve read of people being told to throw them out at security check because they’re banned as a foldable seat. The booster with harness made a huge difference in our dining on the cruise. Does security accept a speech therapist’s note (or pediatrician) or would they just deny as banned? If would help immensely at TS ADRs as we’ve either had to force her into a tight high chair (unsafe) or hold her on our lap (dangerous with steak knives and glass).

I go through security every single time with a bag on the back of my chair that contains zip ties, duct tape, assorted spare parts, etc for on the spot wheelchair repairs. Most of those items are theoretically "banned" from the park but the one time I was even asked about it, I explained why I had them and was sent along my way.

 

[Gentry2004]

Curious why you don’t think it will reduce abuse? Imagine a group of 6 healthy young people who have seen on TikTok that if one of them pretends to have IBS they can get LL return times for all 6 of them for the whole day. Don’t you think they would be much less tempted to do this if the accommodation was a rider swap system where 4 of them had to do the standby line for each ride after which the fake IBS person and one other could use the LL?

Because now they will just have "Autism" instead of "IBS". You don't think they will figure it out? People who were willing to lie before are not going to be suddenly moral. Yes it will go from 6 down to 4, but we've already heard from all the people insisting why they still need 6+ people on their pass.

 

[Gentry2004]

And you know that how?

Disney doesn't make lines shorter, or leave money on the table.

 

[notatallmagic]

This would only work if the DAS passes are purely electronic (do they have paper DAS passes anymore?)

But they could allow the 1-2 people who cannot wait in the standby line or solo/duo groups to wander the park and return after a wait like the current DAS system, but not allow them to enter any other attraction queues. If using the app, it could require GPS use like the map section. If you wander into a ride queue area, it could warn you to return to the approved spaces within 5 or so minutes, or your DAS reservation would be cancelled. This would allow use of restrooms, shops, quick service, etc to those who cannot wait in long lines while waiting their turn, but would reduce the appeal of applying for DAS for those looking to abuse it just for rides.

They could even do this for the entirety of the groups, but that may put too many people out in the park and increase congestion.

Please consider that riding other rides may be something folks do for shade and cool temps. Think Magic Kingdom, we almost always go to Philharmagic and/or Small World if lines are short while waiting for 7 Dwarves. We do that for the shade, cool, and space. Where else can you find that at most parks? Same reason we might ride the Railroad or People Mover. Or Bugs Life (which I hate), or attractions at the Land in Epcot. Lots of parks don't have shaded seating options.

It's not our intent to cheat anything. We've actually sat on the ground before too.

 

[DisFanDad]

It isn't going to do that.

I mean - it is going to do that - especially if the intention is to reduce the number of people using DAS (which it very apparently is) - is it going to reduce it enough that it actually makes my trip any better ? Probably not. Is it going to make a bunch of people's trips a lot worse ? Probably. And that's the crappy truth about it.

 

[Tatebeck]

Please consider that riding other rides may be something folks do for shade and cool temps. Think Magic Kingdom, we almost always go to Philharmagic and/or Small World if lines are short while waiting for 7 Dwarves. We do that for the shade, cool, and space. Where else can you find that at most parks? Same reason we might ride the Railroad or People Mover. Or Bugs Life (which I hate), or attractions at the Land in Epcot. Lots of parks don't have shaded seating options.

It's not our intent to cheat anything. We've actually sat on the ground before too.

Sure, the proposal could be modified a bit. Maybe allow lower tier rides or shows, but not the most popular rides for example. But limiting the ability to effectively wait in 2 different popular ride lines could go pretty far in reducing the number of fake/unneeded applications for DAS. Also with my original plan, restaurants, shops, etc would still be available to escape the sun or heat

 

[ryang25]

In the meantime there are over 30 more pages since yesterday. So no idea if someone else already answered this.

But why wouldn't you use a VPN? I'm from the Netherlands and I have used it to do my DAS call when visiting WDW and I will use my VPN again tomorrow when calling to get a DAS pass for my upcoming DL visit.

They do not ask you if you are using a VPN or where you are located. For all they know you are already in the US. They have no say in this. A VPN is a legal tool to protect your privacy. That it also geoblocks, that's an additional benefit, but still not illegal.

Yes, it is unfair that they don't put all the DAS information on the international websites, that you have to pay for a VPN, and take the time difference into account. But we do have to deal wwith it.

Just use a VPN, there are often offers or monthly subscriptions available.

I have a VPN already and use it regularly. I think Disney explicitly say that only guests who reside in North America can use it, so you’re therefore going against Disney’s policy.

Not that I think anything would happen even if they did find out, plus last time you could see it was dark outside from my room but it was the middle of the day in Florida lol.

But officially, not allowed (so I learnt on this thread).

 

[starlite_]

Especially if we are now telling everyone else to just use rider swipe instead. Doesn't that just dump you back into the LL? Although, I will admit that does reduce the number of people as they are splitting your party up.

I think you answered your own question. The changes are being made to reduce the amount of people entering the LL for "free". The people with disabilities (plus one companion) will still be able to access the LL after waiting outside the stand-by line which is what most people here seem to agree is what they need. They'll be able to hang out by the bathroom, or eat a snack, or check their sugar blood lvls, or stretch, or any other activities that they might need to do for their health. Their parties however won't get access to the LL anymore, so instead of 4 or 6 or 8 people entering the LL for "free", only the person that needs accommodations plus their companion will (2 people).

 

[OurBigTrip]

Please consider that riding other rides may be something folks do for shade and cool temps. Think Magic Kingdom, we almost always go to Philharmagic and/or Small World if lines are short while waiting for 7 Dwarves. We do that for the shade, cool, and space. Where else can you find that at most parks? Same reason we might ride the Railroad or People Mover. Or Bugs Life (which I hate), or attractions at the Land in Epcot. Lots of parks don't have shaded seating options.

It's not our intent to cheat anything. We've actually sat on the ground before too.

To be clear, I don’t believe that any legitimate DAS user who rides something else is cheating or doing anything wrong - Disney suggests that as option.

But I do believe that the ability to ride something else while waiting for a DAS return time does make it more attractive to the fakers, which is obviously a bad thing.

 

[Gentry2004]

I mean - it is going to do that - especially if the intention is to reduce the number of people using DAS (which it very apparently is) - is it going to reduce it enough that it actually makes my trip any better ? Probably not. Is it going to make a bunch of people's trips a lot worse ? Probably. And that's the crappy truth about it.

All the prior DAS users will now attempt to use some combination of Rider Swap/Return to Line (whatever that ends up meaning)/Genie+, and Disney will also sell additional G+ due to the reduction in DAS granted, so there is no hope of this actually reducing people in the LL.

 

[PainInIL]

Although it would never happen without a serious increase in shops, walkways and shows, how would people feel if every ride was a virtual queue? So that you scanned in and they told you when to come back? What if that meant the average guest rode one ride every 90 minutes? For those that are only able to be at the park for short periods of time (4 hours or less), would you be OK with only getting to ride 2 or 3 rides?

This would be the most equitable solution since everyone is on equal footing. Remember, the old Fast Pass system only worked as well as it did since a lot of guests did not understand how it worked and didn't take full advantage of it. There is simply not enough ride capacity in the park to not have long wait times when park crowds are above a certain level. The old Fast Pass system used smoke and mirrors to disguise what was really going on at the expense of uneducated guests.

When parks are crowded and a fairly sizable percentage of those people are DAS holders, the current system breaks down and you get the 90-10 standby to lightening lane ratio since there is no way to limit the number and return times of DAS users.

So Disney is left to either try to rebalance the ratio by restricting DAS access, thnk about a radical change to their queues where everyone is treated the same, or make Genie+ and LL so cost prohibitive (think $150+ per person) where a much smaller percentage of users buy it.

As others have said, the real answer is to either increase ride inventory at the park, or put a hard cap on visitors that is much smaller than today (maybe a 50% decrease with a 100% increase in ticket prices).

 

[Tatebeck]

But that would still mean more use of the regular line, less use of the LL line, and more control over the LL (when booked as G+ instead of DAS) which would make at least some difference

 

[SteveMouse]

I don't think a party of 2 is the same as what you are suggesting above. If the individual parent rode solo that would still assume the other parent is waiting with the child. The child (assuming just not tall enough) was not left alone. With the party of 2, the person that needs accomodation is being left alone.

Being left alone and being fully physically and mentally capable is one thing. However, if the person (actually, either person! is medically codependent on the other, such as requiring assistance for an ADL that one would normally engage in in the park, there's a problem.