Disney's DAS versus GAC and Why We Really Didn't Notice (Too Much!)

This summer, we decided to put together an impromptu trip to Disney World for 4 days. We started planning the trip in July and our departure date was August 2.  Normally, this would not work for me because I like to have all of my ducks in a row at least 6 months in advance but with the help of Rebecca at Wishes Family Travel, we were able to put the trip together relatively quickly and still got to do most of the things we really wanted to do. (No Be Our Guest or Cinderella's Table--book those 6 months out as suggested!)
We had taken the girls to Disney about a year-and-a-half ago and we used the Guest Assistance Card with Imma. We loved it. She was able to get on just about any ride she wanted to with limited wait time, which is perfect for a child with her disabilities who has trouble understanding why she has to wait and who struggles to leaves others alone while standing in a line. (Really, it's just as much for the other people in line as it is for us! Who wants to listen to a child screaming for an hour while they wait to get on It's a Small World?) Since that time, Disney has changed the way they assist those who are differently-abled.  They now call the system Disability Access Services. It works differently in that your child is given a paper card, sort of like a passport, and he or she can get a wait time for one attraction at a time.  So, Imma had her paper and Daddy could run to whichever ride she wanted to ride next, get a time, and we could go do something else. We were skeptical that this would work for us, but it did, and I'll explain why.

Our plane ride to Orlando

It seemed like a long flight!

 

The first time we went to Disney with the girls, it was also before Fast Pass +.  We didn't use the old Fast Pass system with the GAC, we didn't need to. This time, however, we were able to use our Fast Pass + rides in conjunction with the DAS and, for the most part, Imma didn't have to wait in line to ride anything. She may not have been able to ride exactly what she wanted to when she wanted to but there were not a lot of meltdowns waiting, as I had imagined there might be.  I will give you a run down of our first day at Magic Kingdom so you can get an idea of how it worked.
First of all, we got there at "rope drop," which happened to be at 9:00. The girls loved watching the opening ceremony, even though Imma is still pretty afraid of people in costumes and of fireworks and there were both, but she was okay. We found out on the way to Orlando that Imma really wanted to ride the  new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Ride.  We did not have a Fast Pass + (from now on I will just say FP) for this ride because I didn't think she'd like it. Our plan was to go straight to that ride and ride it first. However, by the time we got there, the wait was already 75 minutes and that was not happening. So, Brian and Imma went to get Imma's DAS while I started riding rides with Lucy. That early in the morning, there really weren't a lot of people there yet (except for the hundreds in line waiting to see Dopey!), so we were able to walk right on most rides, including Dumbo, Mad Hatter Tea Party, and Prince Charming's Carousel, with just a few minutes wait at Winnie the Pooh. Then, I took Lucy to meet Cinderella and Rapunzel at Fairy Tale Hall with a FP while Brian took Imma on Winnie the Pooh with FP. By the time we were done, we were able to walk right over to Seven Dwarfs and get in the FP line with the DAS.  There was just a short wait. Imma loved it so we knew we would be doing that again.

Lucy's new favorite--Small World. That song won't get stuck in your head!

Riding Dumbo with Lu

And Winnie the Pooh--she was scared

We love the horsies!

Cinderella was so sweet!

We went to get a DAS time for Peter Pan and then wen to It's a Small World and used the regular line because the wait was only 15 minutes.  Then, we rode Peter Pan and used a FP for Dumbo.  We got another wait time on the DAS for Seven Dwarfs and rode the Mad Hatter Tea Party together. After some ice cream, it was time to ride Seven Dwarfs again. Since Lucy didn't like it, we did Ride Swap and Imma got to ride it twice, once with Mommy and once with Daddy.
Next, we ate lunch at Tomorrowland and then headed out to find a spot for the parade. This was definitely the worst part of the day for us because it was so hot and we just couldn't find a shady spot. This is also where we encountered the rudest people of our trip. Imma was walking around with her head phones on, a clear indicator that something isn't quite typical about her, complaining that she can't see and yet an almost seven-foot tall man comes and stands directly in front of her, right on the edge of the sidewalk.  She got very upset and he just gave her dirty looks instead of realizing he was a giant standing in front of a group of children who were trying to see a parade designed for them. I really hate it when people are inconsiderate, regardless of whether or not it's obvious my daughter has special needs. But, we made it through the parade, despite the people in costumes, the loud noises, and the dragon. Then, we went to take a nap  the Hall of Presidents to cool off.  Lucy ended up falling asleep and it began to rain outside, making it cooler but also incredibly humid.
We used Imma's DAS to ride Haunted Mansion, which the girls hated. They liked it last time but it had some changes so not quite sure if that's why.  Imma and Daddy used FP to ride Splash Mountain, which Imma loved, so they got it on her DAS to ride again. Lucy and I went to ride Aladdin's Magic Carpet and get Tiana and Naveen to sign her hat. (We decided to do a hat this time instead of a book.) Then, we all met up for dinner at The Plaza. Our reservations were originally scheduled for 8:30 but we didn't think we would make it that long so we asked them to get us in as quickly as they could and we ended up getting in at 7:00 or so.

Riding Dumbo with Imma

Tiana is Lucy's favorite princess. Naveen was the only prince we met and he signed her hat.

Mickeyoldeon's for desert at The Plaza

So, here are my thoughts regarding the change from the GAC to the DAS. Is it the same? No. Does it work? Yes.  Will your child understand the differences at first? Probably not. I had to keep telling Imma, "Daddy has to get it on your paper first and when your paper say it's time to go, we can." She constantly wanted to know what time it was and what time the paper said. But we were able to keep her busy with other rides most of the time, especially when we had our FP to use.  I will say we had a lot less trouble with other guests giving us dirty looks for "cutting."  They all just assumed we were using a FP.  And we had a lot less trouble with cast members as well.  Before, we had some that would roll their eyes or give us dirty looks when we tried to use the GAC. I didn't see that at all this time and, in fact, a few of them were so accommodating, they just let her go ahead and get in the FP line if it was long. The way it is supposed to work is, the cast member looks at the wait time, subtracts ten minutes and then writes the new time on the card. However, a couple of them said, "I'm really bad at math," and just wrote down a time about 15 or so minutes from the time we had arrived. This was especially true at Animal Kingdom where the big rides, like Expedition Everest (which Imma loved) and Kali River Rapids have long wait times in their FP lines as well. Did the DAS prevent meltdowns completely?  No, but even our typically developing daughter had some of those.  It was hot and we were all cranky, that's when meltdowns are mostly likely to occur in my experience. But Imma got to ride a lot of rides and she was very happy at the end of the day, and that's what matters most.
I read a lot of reviews of the DAS before we decided to go and I that included  a lot of really nasty comments from people who do not have kids with disabilities.  The biggest argument I read was that Disney isn't the righter-of-all-wrongs and that they don't have to accommodate our children with special needs at all.  And I agree with that--they really don't have to. However, when parents start saying, "it isn't fair that your kid gets to go on 20 rides while mine only gets to go on 10," I would like to say, your kid is probably going to last a lot longer at the parks than mine will so, what you can stretch out over the 15 hours the park is open, I have to cram into usually about 7 hours, though on this particular day she made it a lot longer. You can probably work in all of those rides if your child will last longer.  Mine won't. She can't handle all of the sensory overload--the noises, the "threats" of being snuck-up-on by a cast member in costume, the bright lights, the crowds--and the fireworks. She is terrified of those and there's not explaining that away. No, Disney does not have to do anything for us but, the fact that they do, is one of the reasons why they can maintain their status as the Happiest Place on Earth. My best advice to those who do not have special needs children--if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. If you didn't like the GAC because you felt like we were "cutting" in line, then make the argument from your own perspective, not ours. For example, "I don't feel my child should have to wait so long while it appears other children are not waiting at all."Not, "Your kid gets to skip the whole line just because there's something wrong with her." Believe me, I would stand in a line a thousand times longer not to need the DAS or the GAC or the therapy or all of the other things that we have to endure!
Honestly, I am hopeful that this new card is more fair to everyone and that those who complained before will accept it as a compromise that works in their favor.  And, Disney is dissuading a lot of people from getting the new card in the first place. They asked my husband several times if he was sure it would help when he went to get it because they don't want to hand out so many.  We knew it would help--and it did--so we got it. But it won't work the same way for everyone and it won't work the same way as the GAC. I did hear one parent ranting at a cast member for an extensive amount of time about how horrible the DAS is. She tried to draw another mother and I in to the conversation saying, "It's a waste of time, isn't it?" I calmly said, "Honestly, you're the one wasting my time right now. I've been waiting for five minutes to let this lady fill out my card while you're talking to her." Sorry, lady,  but I disagree. DAS saved us time over other theme parks who have no accommodations (like Silver Dollar City, where we visited in July) and I am not going to knock it.  It worked for us.
Now, I would love to hear your experiences with both the GAC and/or the DAS.  What do you think? And, what did your kiddos think of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train? We are still singing, "Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it's home from work we go. . . ."