My son has ADHD so I am planning to pre-register him before our week-long trip in August. If he is accepted, I have read that I need to do this 30 days out from the LAST day of my trip so that I can make advance selections for all days in one go.
However, I have also read that the slots go quite quickly so doing it ASAP is really important. Doing it all in one go from the last day of my trip would mean I had already lost 7 days worth of booking time on the first days - if that makes sense - because by then day one will only be 21 days out.
I wondered, if I registered him 30 days out from the FIRST day of my trip, then booked each day’s DAS advanced reservations one by one over seven days, would I be able to do this to maximise my chances of getting the rides and slots that will work best for him?
Apologies if I sound like I’m overthinking/engineering this - I’m really nervous about needing to queue with him at all because he gets very anxious and it’s likely he will be too anxious to ride anything if I don’t get this right. I also know he is much better in the morning, so he will cope better if I can front load the days.
I’d rather spend seven mornings at home booking consecutive days and get a good selection, than just one morning booking things that aren’t quite right for him, especially as they can’t be modified by anyone but an onsite cast member once they are done. But I’m not at all clear from my reading online whether my suggested day-by-day approach would even be possible.
Do you do the pre-booking online or with the actual CM? For some reason I thought it was through the CM and that’s why all at once. Maybe someone who’s actually done it has better insight but I’m following along to know the answer myself.
Yes, that’s what I’ve seen too and I think it’s because it’s hard to get something that actually fits into your plans, so people just get whatever they can, then it’s not actually useful on the day. It was hearing that which made me wonder if doing it this way might be better - i.e. a bit of upfront work in the beginning that will pay off on the day. Yes, as I understand, you register with one cast member then if they think you are eligible they put you through to a second who does the bookings. So my thinking was could I go on the live chat seven consecutive days and just book one day at a time so that each day gets the benefit of the full 30 days. As the DAS stays on your account for 60 days, there must be people who do multiple trips under one DAS, so there must be a way of going straight to someone who does advance bookings without going through the interview? I’m glad they have this service but I am finding it a bit stressful trying to figure it out to get the best outcome for my son. Life is hard enough when you’re neurodiverse!
Agreed, in my experience we almost never use these advanced DAS bookings. The times are never good and almost never end up working out of where we are in our day or where we are in the parks. Just my experience
You wouldn’t need to do the interview more than once. IIRC, the chat stays open for booking. Once you’re approved, it will be in your profile. I don’t think it’s worth it that much to go through the hassle each day of booking. It’s not like you won’t get DAS rides if you don’t book those. They are also very easy to work with if you get to your reserved ones late. It’s nice to go in with a plan, but once you are in the park, you can choose your first ride immediately. The extra ahead of time are just the icing on the cake.
Are you staying offsite? I always stay on sight and have always been able to make all advance picks for the entire trip when I call thirty days from the first day of the trip. Maybe it has recently changed?
I will agree that the times aren’t usually great. If you are in the park the whole day, it will work out but in our case, if we have later ones, we often don’t make it that long. For us, the only park that is really tricky is HS because the wait times are long and my son struggles to stay there for a long time waiting to return for a ride. The other parks are much easier especially if you plan the longer waits to occur during a meal.
As for the approval process, be prepared to give a detailed description of what will happen if he has to wait in lines. They will not be interested in a diagnosis but rather the impact lines have on him. Don’t just say he is anxious or impatient. Be prepared to give more information than that. Maybe it was just the CM that I got last time, but I had the impression that they are being more discriminating in who they approve for DAS. They could see that we were previously approved but that did not make a difference. I actually thought we might not get approved. If that had happened, I would have tried again in person. Generally once people see him pacing about like a caged lion, they understand our issues!
Best of luck to you! I hope you are able to put together all that is needed to have a fabulous trip!
This is so helpful, thank you - it sounds like we have similar boys!! We are staying on site. It’s so helpful to know you’ve managed to make all the advanced ones from 30 days - I’ll have a go and if I can too. That’s just a couple of days away now. I’m planning to be ready to hit the chat button as soon as it opens. I’ve got an itinerary planned but know I’ll need to flex too for unforeseens etc. It’s our first ever time at Disney so this is a whole new experience. I’ve been researching a lot/listening to podcasts and watching YouTube channels to help me understand it all and that’s where people have said about it needing to be 30 days from the last day. Have also read the unofficial guide cover to cover. Am really pleased I asked on here. I’ll keep you all posted on how we get on in a couple of days.
Here’s my experience and you can take it for what it’s worth. It used to be tough to get through the process because it took so long. But the last several times, I have gotten right through. And they send you a form with your top 3 selections for advanced DAS selections for each park and what timeframe you are looking for (morning, midday, evening). Two weeks ago, we used all of our advanced selections but one (because I thought we would get to the park earlier). It allowed us to use those DAS for slightly less popular ride and allow us to use the day of for more popular (like ROTR and Remy). We have found them very helpful.
Not sure if this was mentioned above, but I was going to point out that not all rides are eligible for advance selection anyway, but you’ll be able to get them day-of on site (e.g., Remy). And you’ll still need a VQ for DAS at the rides that use a VQ (Tron, GotG). So no advance selection there either.
This is something I think Len said they are working on, but it has not yet been implemented. Different people do different things with the time away from the queue. Some will go to a different ride, some will go sit and relax, or find a snack or shop.
Do you mean the DAS you get while in the park on the run? No…but if you know the order you’d like to do things, you can put in the notes of each step what you’ll be doing instead of being in the line. For example, I might have Pirates in my plan at 10:08 am, with a 25 minute wait. So I’d grab the DAS from my phone around 10:08 and then put in the notes “bathroom break” or “grab spring rolls before entering Adventureland” or even “ride Magic Carpets.”
Any recent experience applying for DAS? I’m trying not to count on it, but will seriously change our plans if we are declined. The first time we applied (2019 in person), they didn’t even ask any questions about why we wanted the accommodation, just gave it to us. I’m afraid I won’t answer the questions well.
If you’ve had it before they can see that which means they are more likely to give it again (no promises). Just be honest and depend why you need it focus on why waiting in a traditional line is not possible. Remember it is not for mobility/standing issues so don’t imply that at all even if you do have those in addition to your DAS qualifying issue.
Example: I have IBS (my DH could get it for sensory issues with his fibromyalgia) but we also use ECVs in the parks. I only talk about my IBS when doing the interview.
