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

[sprem96]

Indeed the response was similar, but it doesn't really answer the question. Why do folks expect theme parks to be on another lvl of communications than other tourist destinations?

The Eiffel Tower certainly doesn't give their elevator refurbishment calendar 6 months in advance. Nor the CN Tower, or the Statue of Liberty. Just to name a few random but popular ones. So why are theme parks expected to ??? I don't get it tbh.

I agree with Mackenzie as well that a longer rollout would lead to more uncertainty and anxiety. With 1.5 months in advance everyone is panicking, imagine 4 months??

Rip the bandaid and be be done with it IMO.

a longer rollout would be able to give more customers, that are already booked way in advance, a chance to enjoy their current trips.

For example, if they announced this new system when they did, but said it comes into effect at the end of November, do you know how many more people that would be far more content knowing their current trip will not be affected and then they would have the CHOICE next time to decide how they want to handle the trip if they no longer qualify for DAS. They are not giving many customers a chance to adapt or adjust as you like to think we can all do at a drop of a hat.

What is the rush to do this within 2 months, I'm sure another month or 2 with the same rules wouldn't have been detrimental to them. They are a famous world wide brand and destination spot, customers come from all over the world and most of those people take months if not a year ahead to plan a trip. It's called understanding your clientele. They had the ability to announce Test Track reimagining 3 months in advance, and will be announcing Halloween info about 4 months in advance

 

[rastuso]

And the general consensus from the disability community was that their roll out of IBCCES was a disaster.

Yeah, people adapted - as they will with this change. And they were also loudly vocal about the issues they were experiencing (long wait times with ibcces, not hearing back on their application, long waits on the phone with universal, etc). That's no different than what's happening here.

What “disability community”? These parks pretty much ignore physical disabilities that are obvious, and cater to those with unseeable mental issues.

If you have a foot boot on, and are there with a 6 year old, they expect you to wheel yourself around, or have the 6 year old push you. What does the “disability community “ think of that?

 

[sprem96]

Disney created these expectations themselves when they began requiring that people plan their dining 180 days before their trip (SO thankful it's a shorter window now), and FP+ 60 days out, etc etc etc. This wasn't something guests wanted - it's what Disney wanted to make their staffing "more efficient." They created a culture of telling their guests they needed to plan their vacations at least 6 months out over MANY years. Disney has no one to blame but themselves for those expectations existing.

And let's be clear, it's not just about how little time they gave - it's about the lack of clarity in what information they did provide. They are changing websites frequently with rider switch, this return to queue thing that hasn't been fully explained, etc. Clear and timely communication helps prevent/alleviate anxiety.

well said

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Disney created these expectations themselves when they began requiring that people plan their dining 180 days before their trip (SO thankful it's a shorter window now), and FP+ 60 days out, etc etc etc. This wasn't something guests wanted - it's what Disney wanted to make their staffing "more efficient." They created a culture of telling their guests they needed to plan their vacations at least 6 months out over MANY years. Disney has no one to blame but themselves for those expectations existing.

And let's be clear, it's not just about how little time they gave - it's about the lack of clarity in what information they did provide. They are changing websites frequently with rider switch, this return to queue thing that hasn't been fully explained, etc. Clear and timely communication helps prevent/alleviate anxiety.

It is true that there were/are things that Disney laid out over time for advanced planning but if we're talking about advanced notice of changes, prices increases, etc majority of that is not normally many months in advance. People have been rolling on changes like this for a long time. More often than not the guests get limited notice.

 

[Disneychick75]

Isn't that what guests want tho?? How many folks here haven't been hoping to be able to reserve LLs with Genie+ in advance?

Personally I hate the idea of having to plan even where to eat 60 days in advance tbh.

I do agree that the over planning is part of the Disney trip culture, but I hesitate to blame only Disney for that. It's not like folks don't plan their Paris or Toronto or New York or "insert international destination here" visits 6 months out.

At one time, you had to plan your dining reservations in advance unless you wanted quick service. On our next trip in a month, I'm shocked at the numbers of table service reservations still available - even CRT.

We used to plan which attractions we'd ride in which order and, in fact, I'm doing that for this trip as well. This is because I can't cross and recross the parks anymore. Not crazy about advance planning but it is what it is.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Isn't that what guests want tho?? How many folks here haven't been hoping to be able to reserve LLs with Genie+ in advance?

Personally I hate the idea of having to plan even where to eat 60 days in advance tbh.

I do agree that the over planning is part of the Disney trip culture, but I hesitate to blame only Disney for that. It's not like folks don't plan their Paris or Toronto or New York or "insert international destination here" visits 6 months out.

I can't speak to all guests, but anecdotally I personally hate it (and hated the advance planning for fp+ too), and most of the "non-Disney fan" friends I have who are planning trips think it's utterly ridiculous to have to plan meals so far out (and that reaction was even stronger when it became individual rides under fp+).

There's a huge difference between booking a flight and hotel room 6 months out and planning "I'm going to be at this specific place during this specific 1 hr window" months in advance. Disney made it clear numerous times that they made that change (the original change to fp+ from original fp) for staffing reasons more so than guest demand to do so.

 

[starlite_]

a longer rollout would be able to give more customers, that are already booked way in advance, a chance to enjoy their current trips.

For example, if they announced this new system when they did, but said it comes into effect at the end of November, do you know how many more people that would be far more content knowing their current trip will not be affected and then they would have the CHOICE next time to decide how they want to handle the trip if they no longer qualify for DAS. They are not giving many customers a chance to adapt or adjust as you like to think we can all do at a drop of a hat.

Sooo, as long as it happened to people after then it was ok? Weird take.

What is the rush to do this within 2 months, I'm sure another month or 2 with the same rules wouldn't have been detrimental to them. They are a famous world wide brand and destination spot, customers come from all over the world and most of those people take months if not a year ahead to plan a trip.

I can answer that, Tiana's is coming up soon. An word on the street is that Disney was scared that DAS would end up taking close to 100% capacity for it.

It's called understanding your clientele. They had the ability to announce Test Track reimagining 3 months in advance, and will be announcing Halloween info about 4 months in advance

It's not like tickets for after hours events and parties are available 4 months out. At least al DLR tickets go on sale like 2ish months before the event.

 

[lanejudy]

a longer rollout would be able to give more customers, that are already booked way in advance, a chance to enjoy their current trips.

So... if you are thinking more details would come out in the interim, I would not expect that. The truth of the matter is that until the changes are put into place there will continue to be questions swirling. If Disney had announced in February that they would be making changes in May/June -- I doubt we would have any more information at this moment than we do. It would have been a miserable 3+ months of questions and uncertainty just to be at the same knowledge point that we are now.

I get what you are saying, and no matter the vacation destination it's always cruddy when changes are set to take place right around your plans. But it will always be at the time of someone's vacation.

 

[traveler9]

Sooo, as long as it happened to people after then it was ok? Weird take.



I can answer that, Tiana's is coming up soon. An word on the street is that Disney was scared that DAS would end up taking close to 100% capacity for it.



It's not like tickets for after hours events and parties are available 4 months out. At least al DLR tickets go on sale like 2ish months before the event.

I imagine Tiana will be on VQ when it first opens so it’s hard to imagine DAS using that much of the LL

 

[Just_another_figment]

• Registration will be 30 days before visit (not within 30 to 2 days). Registration will be by video call with Disney CMs either in advance or in park

Help me, because I’m struggling today. Does this mean that registration is ONLY 30 days in advance of the trip? Surely I’m misunderstanding?

 

[SueM in MN]

Help me, because I’m struggling today. Does this mean that registration is ONLY 30 days in advance of the trip? Surely I’m misunderstanding?

No. I deleted a word. It should be WITHIN 30 days.
Thanks for asking. I will fix my mistake

 

[dnw25]

I just spent a chunk of time on another forum where Len posted. Several gut/immediate responses.

1. I want to cancel our June trip. This is too much for me. We presumably will still qualify under the old system, but now the anxiety for the call is way too much. While I know we don't know the new system, I feel guilty for even asking for DAS (family of all ADHD, varieties and degrees)
2. the comments and judgements on the other forum can be interpreted as very hostile towards DAS users
3. again, extreme guilt (and some shame) that we ever qualified for any DAS service v. other Nero diversities.
4. I am terrified of the judgement - Disney DAS CM, the ride lines. other people in line
5. that forum seems to have determined that ADHD will not be included under the new DAS and again 1-4.


I realize futile but going to email Disney regarding qualifying for DAS and park tickets. I don't want to spend $$$ on tickets (for the two of them) if we don't qualify and DH cancels the trip. I have an AP, our resort stay is booked, I would love to qualify for length of stay DAS and then buy tickets.

 

[Just_another_figment]

No. I deleted a word. It should be WITHIN 30 days.
Thanks for asking. I will fix my mistake

Thanks! I was worried that I was clearing our schedule for a day.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I can answer that, Tiana's is coming up soon. A word on the street is that Disney was scared that DAS would end up taking close to 100% capacity for it.

I could maybe believe that is the reason they did this quickly, if it wasn't clearly evident they've had this information for a very long time (which is why GOTG is still a VQ). They didn't just figure this out recently. They knew this before TRON opened, they've known for sometime.

It was a fully informed choice a long time ago.

 

[sprem96]

DISCLAIMER: These are results from another park I received today, but I wanted to share with everyone that not all is lost if not directly mentioned on the website. Tell your story, and Disney, with their history, I'm sure will take the time to analyze your case and see what will work for you best

• Which park? -- Canada's Wonderland
• Does your trip start before or after the 'new rules' date? If before, are all the days of your trip before?-- New rules of Line Pass (return to queue for non DDs) kicked in November 2023. Trip is AFTER
• What kind of tickets? Did your ticket type require park reservations? Only date based tickets don't require reservations -- Season's Pass (like Annual Pass)
• Does the person you did registration for fit into the category of developmental disability (autism or similar) that is listed on the website or some other issues/concerns with waiting in the regular lines? -- OTHER
• REMINDER: don't post specific diagnosis, symptoms or conditions, just 'yes' or 'other'
• Did the person end up registered for DAS or other accommodations? If other accommodations, do they sound like they will meet the needs? -- Boarding Pass (Standard DAS equivalent)

Other notes to mention:
* Had to give A LOT of extra details and explanations
* Had to go through multiple levels of employees and ultimately a supervisor was brought in
* Approved for the 2024 season for up to only 4 guests (including myself) per visit

I know this is not Disney, exactly, but it shows even though parks around the world seem to be moving towards DDs as the primary focus of their disability accommodations programs, they will still look at individual cases and determine if they qualify too. This result today has given me a lot of hope for my Disney registration in July and I literally cannot stop tearing from the emotions, the stress I had all winter/spring I had with that park rule change in the winter with the compounded stress of the new changes with Disney. Sorry if this bothers anyone, but I wanted to give some glimmer of hope to everyone out their stressing over their upcoming trips to Disney.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I just spent a chunk of time on another forum where Len posted. Several gut/immediate responses.

1. I want to cancel our June trip. This is too much for me. We presumably will still qualify under the old system, but now the anxiety for the call is way too much. While I know we don't know the new system, I feel guilty for even asking for DAS (family of all ADHD, varieties and degrees)
2. the comments and judgements on the other forum can be interpreted as very hostile towards DAS users
3. again, extreme guilt (and some shame) that we ever qualified for any DAS service v. other Nero diversities.
4. I am terrified of the judgement - Disney DAS CM, the ride lines. other people in line
5. that forum seems to have determined that ADHD will not be included under the new DAS and again 1-4.


I realize futile but going to email Disney regarding qualifying for DAS and park tickets. I don't want to spend $$$ on tickets (for the two of them) if we don't qualify and DH cancels the trip. I have an AP, our resort stay is booked, I would love to qualify for length of stay DAS and then buy tickets.

And this is why I'm glad this forum insisted on stopping such speculation.

I would suggest emailing Disney about their refund policy on tickets. People should not be dinged financially (especially given how expensive tickets are) if they are denied accommodations or don't believe the accommodations will meet their need.

 

[sprem96]

So... if you are thinking more details would come out in the interim, I would not expect that. The truth of the matter is that until the changes are put into place there will continue to be questions swirling. If Disney had announced in February that they would be making changes in May/June -- I doubt we would have any more information at this moment than we do. It would have been a miserable 3+ months of questions and uncertainty just to be at the same knowledge point that we are now.

I get what you are saying, and no matter the vacation destination it's always cruddy when changes are set to take place right around your plans. But it will always be at the time of someone's vacation.

well the hope is that when Disney makes a massive change like this, that they announce it with 100% clarification regardless how far out they announce it, sad reality is that didn't happen

 

[DisneyOma]

What “disability community”? These parks pretty much ignore physical disabilities that are obvious, and cater to those with unseeable mental issues.

If you have a foot boot on, and are there with a 6 year old, they expect you to wheel yourself around, or have the 6 year old push you. What does the “disability community “ think of that?

How did the person with a boot on get from home to the parks in the first place?

 

[Angel Ariel]

It's not like tickets for after hours events and parties are available 4 months out. At least al DLR tickets go on sale like 2ish months before the event.

At WDW, MNSSHP tickets typically (in recent years) have been going on sale in May. They just announced the Food and Wine Festival Dates for Epcot today (starts end of August).

IME, DLR and WDW are quite different in the advance planning aspects of the trip - which isn't really surprising, since DLR is catering to a far more local population than WDW.

 

[Angel Ariel]

What “disability community”? These parks pretty much ignore physical disabilities that are obvious, and cater to those with unseeable mental issues.

If you have a foot boot on, and are there with a 6 year old, they expect you to wheel yourself around, or have the 6 year old push you. What does the “disability community “ think of that?

#1 - Developmental disabilities are not "mental issues."

#2 - I do believe the mods asked specifically for posters to not pit disabilities against other disabilities.