DAS for senior citizens

[Someone28624]

I will be traveling to WDW with my 92 year old grandmother in January. She walks okay, but not well. I will obviously be getting a wheelchair for her. She also has mild dementia and gets overwhelmed somewhat easily. Further, she has toileting urgency. I plan on getting a DAS pass for her. Will she need to go with me to get the pass?

 

[SirDuff]

Yes. She doesn't need to be there when you get the return times (though she does need to go on the ride), but she needs to be there to get the DAS.

 

[gap2368]

You can talk for her when asking for the DAS just think of your concerns for her that she will have while waiting in line that is not mobility and they do not need DX if the CM think the DAS is right for her they will take her picture ( this is why she needs to be there) all so it is a good idea to have everyone in your group there so that all magic bands or cards can be scanned to link with the DAS getting a return time anyone linked to the DAS can do this

 

[SueM in MN]

As others posted, she will need to be present, although you can speak for her.
Be prepared to briefly discuss the needs she has in addition to mobility that prevent her from waiting in the regular line.
Her Magicband will be scanned and there is a possibility she may need to remove it to so the number on the back can be read.
She will need to have her picture taken; it‘s taken using an iPad, so she may not even be aware it’s being taken.
The other members of your group will need to be present to get their Magicbands or tickets scanned In order to be added to DAS. Some people have reported being able to add guests with their Magicbands/tickets without them being present. We asked at our Oct/Nov 2019 trip and were told no.

DAS doesn’t avoid waiting or provide immediate access to attractions. You will still wait, but it will be outside of the regular line. When you return to the attraction, the wait in the Fastpass line may still be 15-20 minutes or more. DAS can and should be used with the 3 prearranged Fastpasses that every guest gets.

If you need to leave the line, talk to a CM as you are leaving, if possible. They may be able to expedite your return to the line (this is not part of DAS).
This is a link to a thread about DAS stuck toward the top of this board. Only the first post is up to date; the rest is discussion from just before and just after DAS became active.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/w...15-digital-das-on-tickets-magicbands.3178976/

 

[Lilsia]

Please don't think that I am trying to be rude but, my grandmother is also 92 with dementia. She lives in a care facility and I know that she would never be comfortable in a place like WDW. It has too much stimulation, noise, people, etc. She would have trouble sleeping in someplace other then her bed. She gets confused easy. Her fragile bones would not be able to go on any rides because it would just be too much for her, even just getting on and off of them. Obviously everyone is at different levels, it is just something to really think about. I would also ask her doctor.

 

[Someone28624]

Please don't think that I am trying to be rude but, my grandmother is also 92 with dementia. She lives in a care facility and I know that she would never be comfortable in a place like WDW. It has too much stimulation, noise, people, etc. She would have trouble sleeping in someplace other then her bed. She gets confused easy. Her fragile bones would not be able to go on any rides because it would just be too much for her, even just getting on and off of them. Obviously everyone is at different levels, it is just something to really think about. I would also ask her doctor.

Definitely not taking that as rude at all! My grandmother still lives at home with her husband. Every time I talk to her about going to Disney she tells me how she wishes she could go. I am not planning on her doing many rides at all, most very tame ones like Living with the Land and Small World. I think we'll mostly be walking around enjoying the sites. And if it gets to be too much, driving back to the hotel.

 

[DisneyOma]

Definitely not taking that as rude at all! My grandmother still lives at home with her husband. Every time I talk to her about going to Disney she tells me how she wishes she could go. I am not planning on her doing many rides at all, most very tame ones like Living with the Land and Small World. I think we'll mostly be walking around enjoying the sites. And if it gets to be too much, driving back to the hotel.

I hope I have someone to do this for me when I'm 92 and frail! You are an awesome grandchild!

 

[kirstenb1]

OP, you mentioned Small World. I think that is one of those rides that your knees are really bent, because the bench seating is low. I think rides like Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, the Little Mermaid ride at MK might be a smoother transition for her to step into. Kind of like it would be harder for her to step down into a compact sports car, but a taller car like a compact SUV would be easier on the knees and hips.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Small World has a wheelchair accessible boat. Just one, so there could be a relatively long wait.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

OP, you mentioned Small World. I think that is one of those rides that your knees are really bent, because the bench seating is low. I think rides like Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, the Little Mermaid ride at MK might be a smoother transition for her to step into. Kind of like it would be harder for her to step down into a compact sports car, but a taller car like a compact SUV would be easier on the knees and hips.

Small World has one wheelchair boat which usually means a wait

 

[mamabunny]

I will be traveling to WDW with my 92 year old grandmother in January. She walks okay, but not well. I will obviously be getting a wheelchair for her. She also has mild dementia and gets overwhelmed somewhat easily. Further, she has toileting urgency. I plan on getting a DAS pass for her. Will she need to go with me to get the pass?

My mom had incontinence issues related to her stroke-related dementia.

Whenever traveling, we would set up "bathroom kits" that I would create in a gallon zip-lock bag. It would have:
- a fresh pair of briefs
- a pair of nitrile* gloves
- a small supply of wipes in a sandwich size zip-lock bag.
- a fresh, clean damp washcloth folded in a separate ziplock bag. (You could also substitute a clean cotton bandana if you prefer)

Because Mom sometimes got emotional during toileting (side effect of her strokes) I always popped in another sandwich bag with a few tissues folded up, but that's optional.

In two separate 2-gallon zip-lock bags I would put one pair each of the soft knit pants she preferred to wear in case we needed a wardrobe change. As the day progressed, I would keep/consolidate any "extras" from the toileting kits that we didn't use, and place soiled briefs, wipes, etc. into a ziplock to dispose of. Soiled washclothes went back into a ziplock bag for laundry. By packing everything "flat" in ziploc bags and squishing all the air out, it makes it super easy at Security/Bag check as well; they can see all the contents of every bag, and so won't have to go rooting around through everything.

Typically, everything fit nicely into a backpack that we hung off the back of her wheelchair.

*we only carry nitrile gloves so we don't accidentally expose someone with a Latex allergy to a trigger.

It sounds like a lot - and the first few times we made the "kits" and put everything together, it was kind of overwhelming to try and figure out what we would need. We also would change the kits based on our location and destination; for trips to the doctors office, I would bring along some toilet paper from home because she hated the paper provided in the restrooms there.

Bring what you need - and especially what *she* needs - to feel comfortable.

 

[Someone28624]

My mom had incontinence issues related to her stroke-related dementia.

Whenever traveling, we would set up "bathroom kits" that I would create in a gallon zip-lock bag. It would have:
- a fresh pair of briefs
- a pair of nitrile* gloves
- a small supply of wipes in a sandwich size zip-lock bag.
- a fresh, clean damp washcloth folded in a separate ziplock bag. (You could also substitute a clean cotton bandana if you prefer)

Because Mom sometimes got emotional during toileting (side effect of her strokes) I always popped in another sandwich bag with a few tissues folded up, but that's optional.

In two separate 2-gallon zip-lock bags I would put one pair each of the soft knit pants she preferred to wear in case we needed a wardrobe change. As the day progressed, I would keep/consolidate any "extras" from the toileting kits that we didn't use, and place soiled briefs, wipes, etc. into a ziplock to dispose of. Soiled washclothes went back into a ziplock bag for laundry. By packing everything "flat" in ziploc bags and squishing all the air out, it makes it super easy at Security/Bag check as well; they can see all the contents of every bag, and so won't have to go rooting around through everything.

Typically, everything fit nicely into a backpack that we hung off the back of her wheelchair.

*we only carry nitrile gloves so we don't accidentally expose someone with a Latex allergy to a trigger.

It sounds like a lot - and the first few times we made the "kits" and put everything together, it was kind of overwhelming to try and figure out what we would need. We also would change the kits based on our location and destination; for trips to the doctors office, I would bring along some toilet paper from home because she hated the paper provided in the restrooms there.

Bring what you need - and especially what *she* needs - to feel comfortable.

Fantastic idea! Thank you!

 

[philharmagic fan]

Small World has one wheelchair boat which usually means a wait

We were told there are actually 2 boats, usually about 6-7 minutes apart. Even if you aren't in a wheelchair, they will sometimes let you use one of those boats if available, since you walk on the level into the boat and don't have to step down to get in (but you still need to be able to sit down on one of the rather low seats)

 

[SueM in MN]

We were told there are actually 2 boats, usually about 6-7 minutes apart. Even if you aren't in a wheelchair, they will sometimes let you use one of those boats if available, since you walk on the level into the boat and don't have to step down to get in (but you still need to be able to sit down on one of the rather low seats)

I can verify there are at least 2.
Although It’s possible that only one might be operating on any given day, when we’ve ridden, there have always been more than one.
Either we’ve seen the accessible boat leave before we got to the boarding area and another accessible boat came in a shorter time than it would take that boat to get thru the ride
or we saw people ahead of us get onto the accessible boat and the accessible boat that we loaded onto was empty or had different people.