WDW Summary of NEW DAS changes and Disney Genie - Post ONE is an updated summary

[CJK]

1. You can get all 9 linked, but only a max of 6 will be allowed for each DAS Return Time. You will need to split unless you have party members who might not ride a given attraction anyway (too short, doesn't like coasters, etc.). You might want to buy Genie+; trying to align with DAS Return Times will take a little work but it is (usually) do-able.

2. You cannot book DAS Return Times until the DAS-holder and all guests riders have tapped in to the park that day.

Thank you! If Magic Kingdom doesn't officially open until 9am, but we scan in by 8:30am, you're saying we can book our first ride at 8:30am? I wasn't sure if that was possible, of if we'd need to wait until 9am.

 

[lanejudy]

Thank you! If Magic Kingdom doesn't officially open until 9am, but we scan in by 8:30am, you're saying we can book our first ride at 8:30am? I wasn't sure if that was possible, of if we'd need to wait until 9am.

As long as there is a posted standby time. If the attraction doesn't open until 9am you cannot book a DAS Return Time until it opens. Also it may take a few minutes for the system to recognize you are in the park, so it may not be immediately through the turnstiles but fairly soon after.

 

[Keladry84]

As long as there is a posted standby time. If the attraction doesn't open until 9am you cannot book a DAS Return Time until it opens. Also it may take a few minutes for the system to recognize you are in the park, so it may not be immediately through the turnstiles but fairly soon after.

Thank you as well! By reading this answer, it seems that DAS would work during early entry as long as all parties are scanned into the park??

Also, how does DAS work at the end of the day? I've read about inflated standby wait times for many rides close to park close - does DAS have the posted inflated wait time too, or a more accurate time?

 

[lanejudy]

By reading this answer, it seems that DAS would work during early entry as long as all parties are scanned into the park??

As long as all members of the party are scanned into the park and the attraction has a posted standby time.

Also, how does DAS work at the end of the day?

I'm rarely in the park that late but reports seem to vary. You probably cannot make a Return Time through the app if the posted standby is later than park close, but you should be able to request one at the attraction. They'll either issue it for just before close or may allow you into the LL queue right then. However, some folks report being denied a DAS Return Time once the standby wait pushes past close so YMMV.

 

[gap2368]

Thank you as well! By reading this answer, it seems that DAS would work during early entry as long as all parties are scanned into the park??

Also, how does DAS work at the end of the day? I've read about inflated standby wait times for many rides close to park close - does DAS have the posted inflated wait time too, or a more accurate time?

you need to have early entry in order to use the DAS for that time of day. if you are not staying at a hotel that qualify you for this you will need to wait till the park opens for everyone. also all member need to be checked in (for the MK you have to scan in for a second time close to the castle to the right as you are looking at it). like the PP said the rides have to be open and a wait time has to be posted sometime this takes a minute or two for the app to see it, if it has been for then 5 minutes see a CM at the ride and they can help you.

 

[keishashadow]

Sorry if this has already been addressed, in part or whole; likely overthinking things.

(Background:

my party’s current DAS was issued end of November, now expired

possibly, we may be able to sneak in a day @ WDW in March as day guests.

We do have an onsite stay booked for a week in April.)

assume we could go thru the renewal DAS process a month before the potential March date, even tho not onsite guests. We do have APs

if the March day falls thru & we aren’t able to visit then, what happens to the DAS?

As in…

would the DAS still be valid for April trip or would it become entirely null, since not used as originally indicated in March?

If it’s still usable, would the 60 days period start to tick from the possibly cancelled March date or would it start on actual first day of usage in April?

 

[PolyRob]

Sorry if this has already been addressed, in part or whole; likely overthinking things.

(Background:

my party’s current DAS was issued end of November, now expired

possibly, we may be able to sneak in a day @ WDW in March as day guests.

We do have an onsite stay booked for a week in April.)

assume we could go thru the renewal DAS process a month before the potential March date, even tho not onsite guests. We do have APs

if the March day falls thru & we aren’t able to visit then, what happens to the DAS?

As in…

would the DAS still be valid for April trip or would it become entirely null, since not used as originally indicated in March?

If it’s still usable, would the 60 days period start to tick from the possibly cancelled March date or would it start on actual first day of usage in April?

It would still be valid for 60 days from the original March date even if you don't use it. If your entire April trip falls within that 60 day period you will not need to register again for April. You can just log on 30 days prior to the first day in April and book advanced selections with the CM.

 

[Tbiafore]

We have a party of 15 people with multiple AKL rooms, yet there are 3 people that have the disabilities that qualify for the DAS program are all staying in one of the rooms. Two of the DAS-holders would be mother and son. I realize only 6 per DAS-holder is allowed.

In order to navigate this situation, are we going to have to split the reservations up into three groups to make this work? Can we do that even though they are in the same room? Sorry, first time using this system and still learning.

 

[lanejudy]

Your in-park "party" does not have to align with your resort/hotel room. It can include guests in a different hotel, different room, or off-site accommodations.

You may have difficulty assigning all 15 to each DAS during the online advanced registration. If so, you should be able to get that worked out once in the park, either at a Guest Relations location or a blue umbrella. You are correct that each DAS Return Time will only accommodate the DAS-holder + 5 others; each individual may only have 1 DAS Return Time assigned at any given point. So if your party may split up at times for different attractions, you'll need to balance that.

Managing a party of 15 sounds like a lot of work. I suggest having a couple of attractions you want to do together, plus maybe one meal. Then let smaller groups do as they wish for most of the day.

 

[Tbiafore]

Your in-park "party" does not have to align with your resort/hotel room. It can include guests in a different hotel, different room, or off-site accommodations.

You may have difficulty assigning all 15 to each DAS during the online advanced registration. If so, you should be able to get that worked out once in the park, either at a Guest Relations location or a blue umbrella. You are correct that each DAS Return Time will only accommodate the DAS-holder + 5 others; each individual may only have 1 DAS Return Time assigned at any given point. So if your party may split up at times for different attractions, you'll need to balance that.

Managing a party of 15 sounds like a lot of work. I suggest having a couple of attractions you want to do together, plus maybe one meal. Then let smaller groups do as they wish for most of the day.

Thank you for the help. Can you elaborate on this part?

"You may have difficulty assigning all 15 to each DAS during the online advanced registration"

What is the difficulty that I may have? I am familiar with the process for doing this when you have 6 or less, just not clear how that works with a large group.

Thank you,

 

[lanejudy]

What is the difficulty that I may have? I am familiar with the process for doing this when you have 6 or less, just not clear how that works with a large group.

Some folks have reported they were only allowed to link an initial 5 to DAS during online registration; additional family/party members could then be linked at the park. A few posters have reported linking large parties (more than 6) but having to choose the 5 for Advanced Selections.

 

[Tbiafore]

Some folks have reported they were only allowed to link an initial 5 to DAS during online registration; additional family/party members could then be linked at the park. A few posters have reported linking large parties (more than 6) but having to choose the 5 for Advanced Selections.

Thank you for the info. Very helpful!

 

[jlundeen]

Next Friday I will be -re-registering for DAS for our April trip, and wondering if those here who have done this recently have noticed any differences in the process over the last 6 months or so.

I did it most recently in Noverber last fall, and after FINALLY getting into the process, it went very smoothly. The only difference that I noticed then was that the same agent that originally picked up went through all three phases, ( I had connected right away as soon as it was available so maybe they weren't too busy yet), and that instead of asking what advanced experiences we wanted to reserve, instead, sent a list of what was available with times for one day at a time. I kind of liked it that way as I could try to schedule a little better with what fit into our plans. This agent also was very very nice and chatted a few minutes about questions I had concerning any future changes to the process.

Just looking for any new wrinkles that others may have experienced lately.

Thanks in advance!

Jeanne

 

[Keladry84]

Next Friday I will be -re-registering for DAS for our April trip, and wondering if those here who have done this recently have noticed any differences in the process over the last 6 months or so.

I did it most recently in Noverber last fall, and after FINALLY getting into the process, it went very smoothly. The only difference that I noticed then was that the same agent that originally picked up went through all three phases, ( I had connected right away as soon as it was available so maybe they weren't too busy yet), and that instead of asking what advanced experiences we wanted to reserve, instead, sent a list of what was available with times for one day at a time. I kind of liked it that way as I could try to schedule a little better with what fit into our plans. This agent also was very very nice and chatted a few minutes about questions I had concerning any future changes to the process.

Just looking for any new wrinkles that others may have experienced lately.

Thanks in advance!

Jeanne

I registered three weeks ago. Logged in right at 7am but had about a 45 min. wait. Mine did get transferred to a different person for the pre-selects. I registered exactly 30 days from my first park day, so was expecting to only be able to pre-select for the first day and have to come back another day for the others, but the CM let me do mine for all 5 days of my trip. From what I've read of the standard process, I don't think that was the norm.

 

[jlundeen]

I registered three weeks ago. Logged in right at 7am but had about a 45 min. wait. Mine did get transferred to a different person for the pre-selects. I registered exactly 30 days from my first park day, so was expecting to only be able to pre-select for the first day and have to come back another day for the others, but the CM let me do mine for all 5 days of my trip. From what I've read of the standard process, I don't think that was the norm.

I seem to remember doing all days of our trips in the past... and we are there usually 7 or 8 days. Is 5 days the new limit?

 

[Keladry84]

I seem to remember doing all days of our trips in the past... and we are there usually 7 or 8 days. Is 5 days the new limit?

7 is still the limit. What I was surprised about was that 4 of the days they let me schedule were more than 30 days out (31-34 days away).

 

[jlundeen]

I believe it's 30 days from your FIRST park entrance day... wording is a bit confusing though, I admit. But my past trips, originally we were able to do all 8 park days, but for last fall's trip, was for only 7 days (and they were not consecutive days), and she said I could connect again to do the last of our 8 days once we had used the 1st of the 7.

 

[lanejudy]

I believe it's 30 days from your FIRST park entrance day...

You may pre-register for DAS 30 days ahead of your 1st park day. Technically for the Advanced Reservations all dates should be within the 30-day window. However experiences vary so YMMV.

 

[MinnieMSue]

Next Friday I will be -re-registering for DAS for our April trip, and wondering if those here who have done this recently have noticed any differences in the process over the last 6 months or so.

I did it most recently in Noverber last fall, and after FINALLY getting into the process, it went very smoothly. The only difference that I noticed then was that the same agent that originally picked up went through all three phases, ( I had connected right away as soon as it was available so maybe they weren't too busy yet), and that instead of asking what advanced experiences we wanted to reserve, instead, sent a list of what was available with times for one day at a time. I kind of liked it that way as I could try to schedule a little better with what fit into our plans. This agent also was very very nice and chatted a few minutes about questions I had concerning any future changes to the process.

Just looking for any new wrinkles that others may have experienced lately.

Thanks in advance!

Jeanne

I did it a couple weeks ago. I called in right at 7 and did have to wait almost an hour. I got a message from the agent making sure I was ready and that I was next. The person came on and said I can see you have had it in the past. Can you tell me what your current needs are that prevents you from waiting in line? He then said he was approving the das and asked me if I had any questions. I asked one which he answered and then he told me he was putting me back into the chat and someone would come do my pre selections. That person came on a bit later via chat and sent me a form to complete (previously the same person did my pre selections tho they had me give 3 choices per park and then told me what was available). The form was for 4 days at a time and you could use 2 forms to do up to 7 days. It asked for the date and the time of day (morning afternoon or evening) and 3 rides. I was 30 days from my first day. I filled out the form and submitted it but oddly the chat timed out at the exact time I submitted it and the chat person did not get the form. She sent it to me again and I completed it again and then she sent me a second form for the last 2 days Then after it was submitted she came back into the chat and told me what rides and at what time. Asked if everything looked good and told me I could see them in my plans. It was much harder for me to fill out the forms but worked fine.

 

[jlundeen]

I have a dumb, silly question..... anyone know how they calculate the "30 days from first park entrance?"

According to the MDE app, the resort countdown says I am "31 days" from arrival (apr 7), and we plan to enter the park that first day.

Yet when I do a "calculate days between today and Apr 7" google search, it comes back as "32" and indicates Friday, March 8 as 30 days. I know it makes a difference if you include today in the count, but what does Disney do?

Silly, I know, but I don't want to hang out on the DAS chat if I am a day early, but really, timing wise, tomorrow would be a better day than Friday for my anyway....

So... which is it? Anyone have experience?