DAS on High School Senior Trip?

[jbcheerchick93]

Hello Everyone

I am in the process of getting some of my high school students ready for their senior trip to Walt Disney World at the end of May. We have one student who will need a DAS pass while we are there. We don't make trip reservations as a group, but we let the students decide what their day will look like (except for an EPCOT day and tour). Will one of the teachers need to be in the DAS call/go to town hall with him even though he is 18? He typically has a group aide in class but will not have access to that during the trip.

If anyone has done this while on a school trip before please let me know!!
TIA

 

[DLgal]

If he is 18, recommend he do the call from home with his parents support. He will need his own MDE account with his ticket linked in there.

Who will be accompanying him at the park? Anyone he is with will also need to be on his DAS and he will need their tickets linked to his account, otherwise he will be riding everything alone.

 

[jbcheerchick93]

If he is 18, recommend he do the call from home with his parents support. He will need his own MDE account with his ticket linked in there.

Who will be accompanying him at the park? Anyone he is with will also need to be on his DAS and he will need their tickets linked to his account, otherwise he will be riding everything alone.

There isn't much structure for the trip. They can choose to spend time with different people each day they are there, but there are two or three students I expect him to spend the most time with. Thanks for the advice!

 

[lanejudy]

With loose plans, it may be easier to just use day-of DAS and skip the Advanced Selections. He will still need an MDE account and be linked with anyone who may ride with him, but decisions like WHO and WHAT ride can be made each day in the park.

Are all the students creating their own MDE accounts? Will at least some be able to link (Friends & Family) to this student? Will they receive their tickets in advance? All students (and adults) will need to make theme park reservations for each day, a ticket in-hand isn't enough anymore.

 

[jbcheerchick93]

With loose plans, it may be easier to just use day-of DAS and skip the Advanced Selections. He will still need an MDE account and be linked with anyone who may ride with him, but decisions like WHO and WHAT ride can be made each day in the park.

Are all the students creating their own MDE accounts? Will at least some be able to link (Friends & Family) to this student? Will they receive their tickets in advance? All students (and adults) will need to make theme park reservations for each day, a ticket in-hand isn't enough anymore.

Each student will have their own MDE account. They should be able to link to this student, at minimum his roommate for the trip. The trip is being planned through a travel agent - I am not sure how familiar the main chaperone is with the changes that have been made over the last few years. They did not go on the trip in 2020 or 2021 and it is my first year at the school. I'm hoping to be more involved with this next year!

I am planning on recommending a few things to the main chaperone in regards to the new requirements for reservations for park days and advance FP planning. She does have an info sheet on FP+, Genie+, LL, etc. She was unaware of what a DAS pass was or that one existed until I approached her about the student in question. So I'm hoping that I can help her out a bit more going into the future!

 

[HopperFan]

Each student will have their own MDE account. They should be able to link to this student, at minimum his roommate for the trip. The trip is being planned through a travel agent - I am not sure how familiar the main chaperone is with the changes that have been made over the last few years. They did not go on the trip in 2020 or 2021 and it is my first year at the school. I'm hoping to be more involved with this next year!

I am planning on recommending a few things to the main chaperone in regards to the new requirements for reservations for park days and advance FP planning. She does have an info sheet on FP+, Genie+, LL, etc. She was unaware of what a DAS pass was or that one existed until I approached her about the student in question. So I'm hoping that I can help her out a bit more going into the future!

There is no FP+ anymore and no advance booking.

 

[jbcheerchick93]

There is no FP+ anymore and no advance booking.

Thanks!! I haven't caught up to the changes since they announced Genie+, so I appreciate the correction!

 

[josiekiera97]

If he isn't linked to someone on family and friends that day of decided to join his group and want to ride with him its super easy to add somebody, he would just need to go to guest relations or a blue guest experience team umbrella and say can you add *name* to my DAS please and they will do it no problem.

 

[lanejudy]

We have one student who will need a DAS pass while we are there. ... He typically has a group aide in class but will not have access to that during the trip.

I keep circling back to this, maybe because I have a child very close in age and schooling.

Whether he "will need a DAS pass" depends on his needs -- it's not based on diagnosis or test level or need for an aide at school but rather on his ability to handle a standard queue environment. The student, or a parent or teacher on his behalf, will have to be able to explain his needs to request DAS. If the family is able to be involved, I suggest having him do that from home with his parents, maybe practicing a bit in advance if he isn't used to advocating for himself.

And the lack of an aide or some form of adult assistance while on the trip... again, this will depend on his needs and abilities. But capable of getting himself to school, around a familiar building, following a routine schedule, etc. can be VERY different than traveling to an unfamiliar place, loose schedule, crowds, etc. Is his aide in class strictly for academics (i.e., assisting with note taking, etc.) or more direct help to keep him on task, etc. I hope the special educator has been involved in determining his level of ability to manage this trip without assistance. I have a very high-functioning child who knows her school inside and out and manages there quite well with minimal assistance; but I would never trust that she'd be that capable on such a loosely scheduled overnight trip without some check-ins with an adult who is specifically tasked with helping her. No matter how much I prepped her, the crowds, which friends to tag along with, the need to keep track of her own schedule (when to meet the group again, etc.) -- it wouldn't work out well. I can picture it now -- excited for the trip, then completely overwhelmed within the first hour, then lost. And that has nothing to do with whether or not she qualifies for a DAS. Executive functioning at that level is a very different task than for normal everyday life. Please consider what his needs will be in such a setting.

 

[jbcheerchick93]

I keep circling back to this, maybe because I have a child very close in age and schooling.

Whether he "will need a DAS pass" depends on his needs -- it's not based on diagnosis or test level or need for an aide at school but rather on his ability to handle a standard queue environment. The student, or a parent or teacher on his behalf, will have to be able to explain his needs to request DAS. If the family is able to be involved, I suggest having him do that from home with his parents, maybe practicing a bit in advance if he isn't used to advocating for himself.

And the lack of an aide or some form of adult assistance while on the trip... again, this will depend on his needs and abilities. But capable of getting himself to school, around a familiar building, following a routine schedule, etc. can be VERY different than traveling to an unfamiliar place, loose schedule, crowds, etc. Is his aide in class strictly for academics (i.e., assisting with note taking, etc.) or more direct help to keep him on task, etc. I hope the special educator has been involved in determining his level of ability to manage this trip without assistance. I have a very high-functioning child who knows her school inside and out and manages there quite well with minimal assistance; but I would never trust that she'd be that capable on such a loosely scheduled overnight trip without some check-ins with an adult who is specifically tasked with helping her. No matter how much I prepped her, the crowds, which friends to tag along with, the need to keep track of her own schedule (when to meet the group again, etc.) -- it wouldn't work out well. I can picture it now -- excited for the trip, then completely overwhelmed within the first hour, then lost. And that has nothing to do with whether or not she qualifies for a DAS. Executive functioning at that level is a very different task than for normal everyday life. Please consider what his needs will be in such a setting.

Haven't been on for a bit, but to answer a few of your musings-

His aide is for behavior and outbursts related to frustration. Also for redirecting to stay on task. She and I work very closely since my class is the only one she is not present for. We are planning on having the DAS call with him and mom two weeks outside of our trip time.

He travels to Disney and Universal frequently with dad, usually off-season, and dad plans their days when they are there. His aide is very involved with the planning for this in addition to his case manager, and mom. While Disney is definitely a different and overwhelming environment, he has a level of familiarity already (albeit with a different adult/group - friends can certainly change this!).

I will be providing a "scheduled/planned" option for the group while the other chaperone is providing a "go with the flow" approach. We have about two weeks worth of meetings, including one night time meeting with parents, to prep before we go. I anticipate that he will be in my group, for a few reasons, but mostly on mom's request.

This is an ongoing conversation for all of us so I appreciate all of the things to think about!! If you think of more things/points/potential issues, I am all ears.

 

[DisneyOma]

Haven't been on for a bit, but to answer a few of your musings-

His aide is for behavior and outbursts related to frustration. Also for redirecting to stay on task. She and I work very closely since my class is the only one she is not present for. We are planning on having the DAS call with him and mom two weeks outside of our trip time.

He travels to Disney and Universal frequently with dad, usually off-season, and dad plans their days when they are there. His aide is very involved with the planning for this in addition to his case manager, and mom. While Disney is definitely a different and overwhelming environment, he has a level of familiarity already (albeit with a different adult/group - friends can certainly change this!).

I will be providing a "scheduled/planned" option for the group? while the other chaperone is providing a "go with the flow" approach. We have about two weeks worth of meetings, including one night time meeting with parents, to prep before we go. I anticipate that he will be in my group, for a few reasons, but mostly on mom's request.

This is an ongoing conversation for all of us so I appreciate all of the things to think about!! If you think of more things/points/potential issues, I am all ears.

If he goes frequently with his dad, wouldn't he have an active DAS already in the system? He would just need to add his friend group at GS, and can request return times on his MDE phone app. Or is he in his dad's MDE?

 

[jbcheerchick93]

If he goes frequently with his dad, wouldn't he have an active DAS already in the system? He would just need to add his friend group at GS, and can request return times on his MDE phone app. Or is he in his dad's MDE?

He is in his dads, he has been under 18 until this trip, would he be able to transfer it to his own MDE or would he need a new one?

 

[AprilsZoo]

He is in his dads, he has been under 18 until this trip, would he be able to transfer it to his own MDE or would he need a new one?

Not transfer it, per se. But if he has had one in the past, going into the conversation from the direction of “I need to renew my DAS” rather than completely starting from scratch has worked well for many others.

Of course, it’s also a good idea to be ready to explain “why does [student] need to wait outside of the regular queue” just in case guest services is unable to find his previous DAS in the system. Writing down this explanation ahead of time so that it’s ready and easy to refer to has been helpful for others, especially for those who get easily flustered, aggravated, or overly anxious or stressed.

And it won’t be necessary to explain any diagnoses, because the CMs are unable to make determination based on that. That’s because each person with a particular condition is affected differently… there are as many ways a person could be affected as there are people with a given condition.
Literally, the only thing that would need to be answered is why they would need to wait away from the queue.

Good luck!

 

[lanejudy]

He is in his dads, he has been under 18 until this trip, would he be able to transfer it to his own MDE or would he need a new one?

Assuming Dad will share the log-on credentials, the student can access his profile in his Dad's account and use that DAS assuming it is from within the past 60 days. If Dad does not want to share the log-on credentials to his account, or it's easier to have his own MDE account (because he will need to link with his school friends), he can create a new MDE. He may need to get Disney IT to connect his profiles to be the same person (the profile in Dad's account and his own account). If they do that, any DAS from within the past 60 days should remain attached to him. If he simply creates his own MDE account and doesn't attempt to pull the history from his older profile, he will need to request DAS again.