The Downfall of DAS and the rise of Fastpass+.... coincidence?

[mistysue]

Odd, I feel the exact opposite, I think Lightning Lane should be strictly first come, first served after scanning to enter the gate, prescheduling does not work for DH’s needs nor really for mine as we learned with the prescheduled DAS times.

Yes, and then we get back to "but what about people who can't get up and be there at rope drop, and it's unfair to penalize them for their differences in ability, and we cycle around in circles.

 

[Ollivier]

Of course these changes are connected.
They need more LL capacity for group 1 attraction to be able to sell more passes.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Hope the new system works for people! I think a lot of people didn't like having to get up at 7am on vacation. It's great that Disney provides DAS for free, but I don't think we need to expect Disney to accommodate all of our needs for free. I have to plan very expensive scooter rentals into my trip, and that's way more than a paid Lightning Lane service!

As has been covered in multiple threads - personal equipment such as scooters is different under the law than accommodations like ramps, or DAS. We rent special needs strollers for our visits (that then get tagged as a wheelchair)- I don't expect Disney to provide these strollers for rent or to pay for them either.

I am happy for the people for whom it will work. I think it's also important to acknowledge that people exist for whom preplanning to this extent makes visits less accessible.

 

[DVCjj]

Thanks for the explanation. Not sure why the whole thing is so confusing to me, as I don't feel myself to be stupid, but it definitely is. I appreciate you taking the time to clarify the new policy.

I actually dread going in September.
(And I’m a ‘Lifer’ at Disney World.)
It literally all makes my head spin and puts a damper on future trips. I had less stress at my job of 40 years.

 

[lanejudy]

I am happy for the people for whom it will work. I think it's also important to acknowledge that people exist for whom preplanning to this extent makes visits less accessible.

I’m not sure how the new paid offerings makes anything “less accessible” to those who don’t want to or aren’t able to pre-plan. That doesn’t mean others shouldn’t have the ability to use whatever services work for them. You’ve made it clear that G+/ILL$ don’t work for your family either. I certainly hope your DD continues to qualify for DAS. Not all of us are in that situation and having new options may help some.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I’m not sure how the new paid offerings makes anything “less accessible” to those who don’t want to or aren’t able to pre-plan. That doesn’t mean others shouldn’t have the ability to use whatever services work for them. You’ve made it clear that G+/ILL$ don’t work for your family either. I certainly hope your DD continues to qualify for DAS. Not all of us are in that situation and having new options may help some.

As I said - I'm happy for those for whom it will help, truly. I would hope the flip side could get the same acknowledgement - that's all

 

[sunburnin]

Yes, and then we get back to "but what about people who can't get up and be there at rope drop, and it's unfair to penalize them for their differences in ability, and we cycle around in circles.

Yes!

It's impossible for Disney or any company to meet every single person's wants and lifestyles. Companies work to find the right balance of customer demand, customer satisfaction, price points, and expenses and must continually make adjustments. There's no situation where all wants are met, nor is it Disney's responsibility to appease everyone.

The new LL options have pros and cons, but I'm already thinking of strategies to make it work for our family.

 

[OurBigTrip]

I am happy for the people for whom it will work. I think it's also important to acknowledge that people exist for whom preplanning to this extent makes visits less accessible.

I get that you need the DAS for your DD (and I hope you get it), but I don't understand how the new LL rules make Disney less accessible for you.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I get that you need the DAS for your DD (and I hope you get it), but I don't understand how the new LL rules make Disney less accessible for you.

The reason I've shared genie+ doesn't work for us is because of the need to make a short return window and the difficulty we have with that given DD's needs, and that's preplanning day of. Going back to preplanning days ahead takes the preplanning issues and multiplies them by a lot. The free DAS pre books didn't work either for the same reason (they also expired after an hour), and that was also preplanning 30 days ahead.

We've done fp+ and know how it didn't work well for us. Again - happy for those for whom this is an improvement.

 

[Evita_W]

Yes, and then we get back to "but what about people who can't get up and be there at rope drop, and it's unfair to penalize them for their differences in ability, and we cycle around in circles.

Done the way I suggest, Lightning Lane Times would last well into the evening for most attractions.

 

[Evita_W]

I’m not sure how the new paid offerings makes anything “less accessible” to those who don’t want to or aren’t able to pre-plan. That doesn’t mean others shouldn’t have the ability to use whatever services work for them. You’ve made it clear that G+/ILL$ don’t work for your family either. I certainly hope your DD continues to qualify for DAS. Not all of us are in that situation and having new options may help some.

Actually, I can explain this (assuming one does not qualify for DAS under the new rules, but did under the old rules):

• Under old DAS rules
  • Use online chat to obtain a DAS
  • Preregister for three return times per day with a one hour window
    • This sounds great, but in reality once in the park, many find that the one hour return window simply doesn’t work for their schedule.
      • Under the old rules, not an issue, as you can just get a regular DAS return time
• New Rules (Again, no DAS)
  • Have to pay $$ to get Lightning Lane
  • Book 3 attractions per day in advance
    • Return window doesn’t work out, you can attempt to modify, as long as you know before the start of the return window, if that doesn’t work or you don’t know until after the start of your return window, you are now locked out of that attraction for the entire day if you can’t handle the standby wait time.
      • Chances of additional return windows are minimal.
  • This also means coordinating with your entire party for attraction times
  • And for many from the west coast getting up extremely early (in some cases on more than one day) to book Lightning Lanes, which can be prohibitive due to needs as well.
• Old Genie+ rules (Disneyland)
  • Enter the park
  • Purchase Genie+ if not already included in your ticket
  • Pick an attraction, get a return time window
  • Go on attraction, get next return time window
  • Super easy to modify if need be as well.

That is how it makes it less accessible.

 

[lanejudy]

Actually, I can explain this (assuming one does not qualify for DAS under the new rules, but did under the old rules):

Except the PP wasn’t commenting on the new service in regards to not having DAS. And PP has often commented that hat Genie+ didn’t work for them. I agree the new paid LL offerings are not a replacement for DAS but may be a helpful tool for some, and as such the ability for others to preplan should not impact accessibility for those who choose not to preplan. Not being a good alternative does not mean the service “impacts accessibility” in general.

 

[SueM in MN]

Except the PP wasn’t commenting on the new service in regards to not having DAS. And PP has often commented that hat Genie+ didn’t work for them. I agree the new paid LL offerings are not a replacement for DAS but may be a helpful tool for some, and as such the ability for others to preplan should not impact accessibility for those who choose not to preplan. Not being a good alternative does not mean the service “impacts accessibility” in general.

I agree

I can't see how it would affect someone who is using DAS one way or another - they will still be able to get DAS Return Times.
I can see it being helpful for the rest of the group being able to go on attractions the DAS registered person is not able to. That was how we usually used our 3 Free Fastpasses during Fastpass + era. We'd use them to book things either DD couldn't or didn't want to go on. Using them that way allowed DH and I to go on an attraction while the other waited outside with DD (like Rider Switch).

 

[Angel Ariel]

Except the PP wasn’t commenting on the new service in regards to not having DAS. And PP has often commented that hat Genie+ didn’t work for them. I agree the new paid LL offerings are not a replacement for DAS but may be a helpful tool for some, and as such the ability for others to preplan should not impact accessibility for those who choose not to preplan. Not being a good alternative does not mean the service “impacts accessibility” in general.

My fault for using the word accessible, since that appears to be the hang up here.

Should DD not qualify for DAS, LLMP works even less as a potential replacement for us than Genie+ does. Which, for *our family* would impact the accessibility of the parks overall.

I hope that clarifies my intent. I wasn't speaking on a global accessibility scale.

 

[voxparse]

This is going to sound very “old man yells at clouds” but if I’ve learned one thing from all these DAS threads it is that nothing short of Disney taking aside each individual family and designing a perfect trip for them with completely bonkers accommodations and/or just VIP front of line access guided by Josh D’Amaro himself will ever be good enough. Nothing announced will be greeted with anything less than absolute disgust because it doesn’t solve all possible accessibility issues.

Edit to add that accessibility is not a zero sum game. It’s an iterative process that all sides have to participate in and I worry for families that give up because the wider world is so much more brutal than a Disney trip.

 

[cat4hurricane]

It’s been a long time since I’ve used FP+ (essentially what this is, just paid) but I think with a trip or two being under my belt that I’ll get used to it again. My only issue is going to be the times where the only rides I want have afternoon times (sort of mitigated by allowing us to look at the schedule and then book in which case I just maybe won’t grab it), that’s going to determine it for me. The other issue is going to be if I can modify times or not, like G+ allowed, or if I’m locked into the slot I picked like old FP+(?? It’s been so long).

If I can modify times then that’s perfect, and I can already look at the schedule for the day and pick what I want, assuming they have some E ticket ride inventory for those not staying at resorts (it’s a great resort perk and I’m glad they’re getting that, because they needed it, but I don’t usually stay on property). If not, that’s fine, I’ll use it for whatever’s available. The only hitch, assuming those are both yesses is going to be how many people get FP+ Paid (sorry, not changing it to LLMP, it’s the same system, so I’m calling it the same thing) and what that does for the lines. If it’s not a pick for a lot of people, that means SB lines won’t suffer, if it’s a lot of people, we might still have the same LL line issues as before, just a little less.

Either way, I’m sort of excited? FP+ was an accommodation that worked for me, so I’m glad that’s back, it’s really going to be the specifics of how this version is done that might be a hang up for me, I’m hoping that they’ll cover my worries closer to when roll-out is, so I can go in reassured. Glad we don’t have to do the mad scramble at 7AM (VQ non-withstanding) anymore, and being able to look before you book is sweet. Definitely wondering if the old FP+ strategies still work, considering it’s the same Use One Pick One system as before.

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

I think not.

Had they left FP+ alone or even made it paid but remain the same system influencers would not have made the GP aware of the "hack" of saying little Jimmy can't wait in line or Grandpa's heart is failing so all 15 of us are in need of DAS to have a good time together.
Now those of us that have legitimate physical and/or mental needs are being denied left and right.
I almost wonder if now DAS policies will be a bit less strict knowing that people will be more willing to pay for LLMP and have it work like FP+.
Personally I'll be purchasing it whether I'm approved for DAS or not. It was the combo of DAS and FP+ that made my day less stressful with having both a mental and physical developmental disability.
G+ and ILL were not that easy for me to navigate successfully which meant I heavily relied on DAS so that I did not have to feel stressed out waiting in the physical line for long periods of time.

 

[mistysue]

My fault for using the word accessible, since that appears to be the hang up here.

Should DD not qualify for DAS, LLMP works even less as a potential replacement for us than Genie+ does. Which, for *our family* would impact the accessibility of the parks overall.

I hope that clarifies my intent. I wasn't speaking on a global accessibility scale.

I would think, especially with the pre-booking, this will also put LLMP back to where you could pick a period of the day to get times for. Then you get three. Are you sure being able to say "I think I would like to try for three things in the AM, or just after lunch, or in the evening... and getting to review the times" is worse than "AHH, quick, I think I want THIS one so whenever you randomly want to assign me is what I get!"

 

[steve456]

I think not.

Had they left FP+ alone or even made it paid but remain the same system influencers would not have made the GP aware of the "hack" of saying little Jimmy can't wait in line or Grandpa's heart is failing so all 15 of us are in need of DAS to have a good time together.
Now those of us that have legitimate physical and/or mental needs are being denied left and right.
I almost wonder if now DAS policies will be a bit less strict knowing that people will be more willing to pay for LLMP and have it work like FP+.
Personally I'll be purchasing it whether I'm approved for DAS or not. It was the combo of DAS and FP+ that made my day less stressful with having both a mental and physical developmental disability.
G+ and ILL were not that easy for me to navigate successfully which meant I heavily relied on DAS so that I did not have to feel stressed out waiting in the physical line for long periods of time.

DAS applications would have continued to increase no matter what they did. Most families have at least one member who struggles with long lines in the Florida heat. I think there is this wishful thinking meme that most DAS users were teenagers who heard about it on TikTok.

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

DAS applications would have continued to increase no matter what they did. Most families have at least one member who struggles with long lines in the Florida heat. I think there is this wishful thinking meme that most DAS users were teenagers who heard about it on TikTok.

Actually most of the queues in Florida or mostly or completely indoors so not sure what that has to do with people not being able to wait in the standby line.
And I definitely have not seen where its teens taking advantage of the system but rather "Karens" that feel entitled and manipulate the situation so that their family can wait in line for this ride while holding a DAS for that ride to hop on right after.