Why can't DAS return times be booked through My Disney Experience?

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But DAS users already get the advantage of doing whatever they wanted to while others are waiting in line. You can sit and eat a Mickey bar, go on a ride or see a show that has a short wait time, use the restroom, watch a parade, etc. All while everyone else is just standing in line. This sounds very much like a "you give an inch and they want a mile" situation. And they do have some guest assistance areas set up around some of the parks to set up a DAS so that you don't have to walk to the ride. You also don't have to walk to the ride twice, as you said. You can wait close to the ride entrance for your turn. Nobody is making you go halfway across the park to do something else while you are waiting.

Exactly what I (and someone else) mentioned above. There's already that advantage. The system is never going to be completely perfect and I get that, but I don't really see how not having to walk directly to the ride to get a return time is a huge advantage compared to a typical guest. You're going up once instead of twice. A regular guest goes up once as well. I don't see how you would consider this "giving an inch and wanting a mile", not really asking for anything major.

And when you say: "You also don't have to walk to the ride twice, as you said. You can wait close to the ride entrance for your turn. Nobody is making you go halfway across the park to do something else while you are waiting."

Did you read my original post? I'm not saying this is the case for every single ride. Magic Kingdom for the most part is not an issue at all. Epcot on the other hand, especially with all the construction going on right now, is especially hard for people like me. There are certain rides that don't have a building/store/restaurant/anywhere indoors where I can just get a return time and sit inside while waiting. You have to walk to the ride and walk to a whole other section of the park just to wait and then walk all the way back to the ride to get in the FP line when time comes. Is this really that big of a deal/advantage? Of course I'm not going to "go halfway across the park to do something else while waiting" if there is actually somewhere to wait at by the ride.

Also, the guest assistance areas are not to get DAS set-up. If this were the case and they had at least one close to the entrance to different "lands" this would be awesome (like I've already mentioned in other replies). Those guest assistance umbrella areas right now are not designated for DAS, and not every castmember working them will give you a return time. It really depends on the castmembers, some tell you to go get one at the ride.
 
like @siren0119 said , it would function as a 4th FP.

also... if any of your symptoms are well-served by a mobility device, that is why it is highly highly suggested by Disney themselves to rent or bring a mobility device! The queues and other access points have, for the most part, been modified to accommodate various devices throughout the Parks. All this difficulty you are speaking of, is all about walking back and forth because there is no seating and the Parks are large. Well, if you are using a mobility device, you now have your own place to "sit down ". It's a tool to get you through the asphalt marathon of heat and endurance, just like glasses help you read and keep you from falling in the lagoon :) Cover up with hat, umbrella, rashguard clothes, fans, cooling packs, whatever... but the DAS is not supposed to be a way to address a physical condition that a mobility device cannot . does that make sense?

anyway, this forum has some awesome members who have specs and recommendations and reviews of all the different types of devices there are. Prepare with tools and info and you can be more flexible with your options and problem solving in the moment, which always means a better Disney trip :)

I really appreciate your suggestion. Unfortunately a mobility device would not help with my condition. Even if I used one I'd have the same problems. If I'm at the parks with someone I can wait and they can get the return time and come back to me to wait together, but if I am alone that's where I have a harder time, and a mobility device unfortunately won't fix it because of the way my illness works/presents itself.

In the end, it was just a thought I've had for some time that I've always thought would be a good idea for others who have the same needs as me. If nothing ever changes I would still be grateful that Disney even has the system currently in place at all. It is extremely helpful and I know I would not be able to do Disney without it, and I couldn't ever imagine my life without being able to visit my happy place so even if they never change anything I would never be mad. When I go alone I make it work, sometimes it means having to skip certain rides, other times I can push through even if it'll take a toll or become a trigger (which happens whether I'm sitting in a wheelchair or standing). I don't want to come across as ungrateful or complaining at all because I love Disney and I love DAS, but it's just a thought and possible suggestion that I've always thought could help some people.
 
That would be a mobility issue, wouldn't it? Not what a DAS is for?



Did you have a DAS for Living with the Land? But no, you can't be in two places at once, so it's a really nice perk for DAS holders that they get to go on other rides while they wait for their return time, isn't it? Disney could have people wait in a room instead, like the rider swap spaces they have (had?) at Universal. DAS is a good tool - it works like a 4th FP, even for attractions that have their FP snapped up in minutes, if not seconds, on the 1st day of availability. Queue for FOP is 120 minutes? FP was gone 5 minutes into the morning? No problem, you can still get a DAS return time for 110 minutes from now. No need for the DAS holder to worry they won't get to ride. No need to plan around whatever time you were able to grab a FP if you were able. To be able to book that return time without even having to go to the attraction? That seems very over the top to me. The DAS is for non-mobility issues that keep someone from being able to access the attraction they have arrived to ride. To do more makes it very close the the GAC, which was a huge problem.
I just want to say that I get a DAS for my severely disabled daughter Who is total care, age 22 who uses a wheelchair that I push( not easy pushing up hills and in the heat and I am not young) . It is very exhausting!!She has so many issues that she deals with - deafblind, g tube and J tube , on so many medications that take me over an hour to prepare,non verbal, has had over 40 surgeries, has endured so much pain and she is so strong and resilient!! And she never complains!! I think a lot of people don’t realize the life we live!!! A little pixie dust wouldn’t hurt! I feel she actually deserves it!! I am a planner and we get to the parks at rope drop so we can get more done in the first few hours. She loves all the fast rides! Actually, even though she gets the DAS , she still waits and sometimes longer because we have to wait for the accessible ride cars or boats. And sometime we wait a long time! Besides getting the DAS , we would get fast passes ( when we could) and use these in between. We usually stay the morning and leave after lunch so she can have a break and go in the pool and come back in the evening.we are DVC members and usually go to Disney twice a year.
 
I just want to say that I get a DAS for my severely disabled daughter Who is total care, age 22 who uses a wheelchair that I push( not easy pushing up hills and in the heat and I am not young) . It is very exhausting!!She has so many issues that she deals with - deafblind, g tube and J tube , on so many medications that take me over an hour to prepare,non verbal, has had over 40 surgeries, has endured so much pain and she is so strong and resilient!! And she never complains!! I think a lot of people don’t realize the life we live!!! A little pixie dust wouldn’t hurt! I feel she actually deserves it!! I am a planner and we get to the parks at rope drop so we can get more done in the first few hours. She loves all the fast rides! Actually, even though she gets the DAS , she still waits and sometimes longer because we have to wait for the accessible ride cars or boats. And sometime we wait a long time! Besides getting the DAS , we would get fast passes ( when we could) and use these in between. We usually stay the morning and leave after lunch so she can have a break and go in the pool and come back in the evening.we are DVC members and usually go to Disney twice a year.

There are way too many people on this section of the boards who are overly concerned with what they perceive to be unfair “perks” of being disabled or having a disabled family member. They are always quick to jump on here and try to drag those of us who actually live this life down and remind us how very “unfair” it is. Very few of them are actually disabled or caring for disabled individuals - working with disabled individuals does not give you the same insight as being one or caring for one. Ignore them!
 
I have not read every post on this thread so sorry if someone said this or similar to this.

I go to Disney alone a good bit of the time so no one to go grab a DAS return time for me and some rides are just too hard to get a return time at like 7DMT when you have a group of people with one seeing if their kid is tall enough to ride someone else with an FP that is too early ( you get the picture) that there have been times it has taken an hour just to get a return time. Then there is peter pan trying to get anywhere close to that ride can be just impossible for me my last trip like I said earlier was the first time with the guest experience team ( the blue umbrella) and getting my return time there was a game-changer for me I had much fewer meltdowns was able to enjoy things more do rides I had not done in a long time.

With that sad, I hear people talking about equal access and if you did not have a DAS card then you would have to go get in line and wait so we as DAS holder should too but equally might not be what the DAS holder needs are equality might be what a DAS holder needs are ( if I know how to post a picture of equal and equality I would but if you do not know google it and see)

One thing I did after my last trip I email Disney to let them know how much better my trip was with the guest's experienced team. I got a phone call from someone at Disney he never said if there were to give out DAS return times or not but he said at the time they were a temp position and that he would share my email with his team ( he was one of the manager for the guest experience team)

If anyone is having a hard time with access at Disney I would encourage you to Email Disney and let them know what is not working and why

I hope this helps anyone that is having a hard time getting return times and maybe Disney will come up with a way to help us all ( wether that be being able to get a return time at GIB or thought the app or what every way Disney comes up with
 
There are way too many people on this section of the boards who are overly concerned with what they perceive to be unfair “perks” of being disabled or having a disabled family member. They are always quick to jump on here and try to drag those of us who actually live this life down and remind us how very “unfair” it is. Very few of them are actually disabled or caring for disabled individuals - working with disabled individuals does not give you the same insight as being one or caring for one. Ignore them!

That would be me, right? My point was that the DAS as given out now meets the needs of most people with the inability to wait in a standard queue. That's what it is for. That's all. Disney could make the waiting guests stay in a certain area. They don't. There are perks that come with it, and as I said, that's nice. Not all people with disabilities are given a DAS though, so I'm not sure what you are talking about with the rest of your post. I'm not going to list my issues here, as I have put them in other posts, but let's say that one ride I never want to go on again is the one in the ambulance to the ER., although the EMT drawing my blood as we zoomed in was really good (and cute).

I believe people with disabilities should be given the ability to access things on a level playing field, no pun intended.
 
Ok, I see your point. That is true.

At the same time though, when you get your DAS return time and you return to ride, you're not getting straight into the ride vehicle, you're waiting in the FP line, which can sometimes be 20 minutes + (talking about when the parks were normally operating not right now necessarily), so if you think about it, we could normally have to wait more than a typical person who gets in line and stays the entire time. And considering how the parks are now, the posted wait time could be 50 minutes but the actual wait time could be 30 minutes (since they aren't using the red cards to actually measure), so our return times could be 20 minutes or more (depending on how quick they get us on once we get in the FP line) over what a typical guest would have waited. This doesn't bother me but it's a point to bring up if we're talking about advantages.

Again, I'm grateful for DAS and the ability to enjoy a place I love and I know no system is ever going to be 100% perfect, but it's just a thought and something that could help certain guests. Maybe if the being able to get times though the app can't be a thing, at least maybe have a station at the entrance of each land where we can get a time for an attraction in that area to make it a little bit more accessible for those have a hard time going back and forth from one extreme to another (and don't have mobility issues), especially at Epcot right now.
While there were, indeed, 20 minute waits in some Fastpass lines (Peter Pan on a busy afternoon), there are others where you essentially get right on, so in the end I think 10 minutes is a pretty fair estimate of the average. And in the case where the actual wait time is shorter than the posted time and that lengthens your wait for to return, you can do additional things in that interval (ride a ride AND get a snack, etc).
 


Oh - another reason why you have to go to the attraction to get the return time - sometimes the wait time is so short, they send you right through the FP queue! If you don't go there, then that doesn't happen.
 
I think that the logic behind having to physically go to a tent near the entrance is that they're trying to make it mimic a stand-by wait as much as possible, and keep your ride and lap production to a similar level to one that you'd get without it. If you could just book your next ride when you jump in the Fast Pass line, you'd practically kill 20-30% of that wait just in that Fast Pass line and riding the ride. Having to get off the ride, and make the walk helps mimic a day of production that you might get stand-by only more closely.
 
I think there’s an alternative approach here. Perhaps: more guest experience people overall but especially for situations like Epcot’s current maze. Give all guest experience the ability to issue return times for specific rides in their designated land or immediate area to reduce walk times by a large chunk. Give all guest experience members the ability to issue return times for any ride in each park under specific circumstances: lone traveler or lone caretaker.
I have also always thought that CMs should have the power to pull people into the fast pass line immediately to a certain extent under certain circumstances. Like the commenter with the 22 year old daughter. She’s clearly not abusing the system, it’s only the two of them, and let’s say the regular like is under a certain wait time and the fast pass line is under a certain capacity? When they arrive to get a return time, just offer to let them go. I worked at a retail place once they gave every employee the ability to offer immediate exchanges for anything under $20 by simply taking the item and giving them the new one after a quick scan and code typed in. It greatly improved customer service to empower employees to make decisions within set parameters. It benefits everyone.
 
Yes but that already kind of exists because I can go ride other rides while I'm "waiting in line" for my DAS time, so if we're okay with one I think the distinction you're trying to draw is kind of artificial. Is there a difference between booking a DAS time for Soarin while I'm standing in line for Living with the Land, or booking a DAS time for Soarin and then getting in line for Living with the Land?

I think OP's main complaint - and mine as well - about the way it's administered at Disney World is that you have to go all the way to the ride itself and then find somewhere to wait, which isn't always possible. At Disneyland, you still (ok, when it's open) get reservations from the guest services umbrellas, which means you can wait somewhere appropriate and don't need to criss-cross the park additional times to do it. Especially in EPCOT, with how torn up it is, there aren't a lot of places to kill time in all areas of the park, certainly not with air conditioning or shade if that's a concern (which it is for me). Same thing at DHS, only with less distance but additional crowds to fight through.

I understand the idea of "equal experience" behind the policy - e.g. everyone else has to physically go to the ride to stand in line, so we should have to go to the ride to get a time and start the clock - but as a practical matter there are times that the requirement to get times at each attraction almost negate the accommodation. Particularly when everything official about the DAS pass talks about being able to rest somewhere, shop, or eat while waiting for the return time. For Test Track, it trades waiting in a noisy line for waiting in a crazy-hot plaza because there's nowhere to kill time on that side of the park anymore. If you could still use the guest services umbrella kiosks to add a DAS time, you could get a reservation for Test Track wherever you were already, kill time in a more convenient/useful place, and use part of the time to work your way over to Test Track - particularly for families that have more than one challenge.
There are a couple of benches inside Test Track and you can kill time looking at the new cars on display and the other exhibits there. You may need to wait a few minutes to sit but it is in the air conditioning and might help you while you wait for your DAS return time.
 
I think there’s an alternative approach here. Perhaps: more guest experience people overall but especially for situations like Epcot’s current maze. Give all guest experience the ability to issue return times for specific rides in their designated land or immediate area to reduce walk times by a large chunk. Give all guest experience members the ability to issue return times for any ride in each park under specific circumstances: lone traveler or lone caretaker.
I have also always thought that CMs should have the power to pull people into the fast pass line immediately to a certain extent under certain circumstances. Like the commenter with the 22 year old daughter. She’s clearly not abusing the system, it’s only the two of them, and let’s say the regular like is under a certain wait time and the fast pass line is under a certain capacity? When they arrive to get a return time, just offer to let them go. I worked at a retail place once they gave every employee the ability to offer immediate exchanges for anything under $20 by simply taking the item and giving them the new one after a quick scan and code typed in. It greatly improved customer service to empower employees to make decisions within set parameters. It benefits everyone.
The abuse the poor cm would take if they decided not to issue the return time for whatever reason. What I think we collectively learned from the GAC is that people will do a lot to gain an advantage- perceived or actual. Our last trip we were able to use the blue umbrella guest services in some parks. That helped us but we were sometimes turned down. Our usual approach was can you issue a return time here for X ride or should we go there? Most of the times yes sometimes please go to the ride and off we would go.
 
I think there’s an alternative approach here. Perhaps: more guest experience people overall but especially for situations like Epcot’s current maze. Give all guest experience the ability to issue return times for specific rides in their designated land or immediate area to reduce walk times by a large chunk. Give all guest experience members the ability to issue return times for any ride in each park under specific circumstances: lone traveler or lone caretaker.
I have also always thought that CMs should have the power to pull people into the fast pass line immediately to a certain extent under certain circumstances. Like the commenter with the 22 year old daughter. She’s clearly not abusing the system, it’s only the two of them, and let’s say the regular like is under a certain wait time and the fast pass line is under a certain capacity? When they arrive to get a return time, just offer to let them go. I worked at a retail place once they gave every employee the ability to offer immediate exchanges for anything under $20 by simply taking the item and giving them the new one after a quick scan and code typed in. It greatly improved customer service to empower employees to make decisions within set parameters. It benefits everyone.

Why would a lone traveler need special access to attractions? You lost me on that - could you explain more, please?

And as a PP mentioned, the anger and havoc caused when that perk is not allowed due to the ascribed parameters, ugh, I wouldn't wish that on any CM!
 
<<< Why would a lone traveler need special access to attractions? >>>

We are touching on this philosophical question: probably pondered by (a) a solo guest in a wheelchair, (b) a guest in a wheelchair with one adult accompanying, and (c) the family with the autistic child the plaintiff in one pending lawsuit against Disney regarding Disability Access Service.

Should there be extra pixie dust (taken from the finite pool of pixie dust afforded by DAS) to make up for the large amount of time during the park day that the caregiver spends giving care and the large amount of time that the person requiring care spends receiving care as opposed to enjoying attractions?
 
Folks - this discussion really isn't helping anybody plan for their trip.

DAS is need-based, not diagnosis based. If an individual has a challenge traversing the parks, WDW recommends an ECV or wheelchair.

Why can’t DAS be obtained elsewhere at WDW other than a ride? The short-answer: Because that’s how the program was set-up at WDW. They had their reason(s) which was not made public.
 
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