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

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Disney DID have that type of information in the lawsuit where some families with autistic children claimed that their children needed to do attractions in a certain order and only immediate access to whatever attraction they wanted would meet their needs.
Disney was able to show that they visited the parks on particular dates, which attractions they went on, what times and order. It was in lawsuit evidence documents

And considering MDE and MagicBands (and now +) have been used for long enough I'm sure they have quite a lot of data to reflect things. If it's a small world can say goodbye to me specifically using my name on a screen I'm sure Disney is able to track attractions and shows this way for other purposes.

 

[SueM in MN]

WDW does too but then also states that you can’t pick your seats and must take what is assigned so that eliminates that possibility from anyone needing the accessible vehicle/seat from using it. Like test track has the single riders line but I access the vehicle from the second platform and need what you’d consider the drivers seat for the transfer booster. So really me using single rider is not the proper use of the line so it blocks that from being an option.

But outside of an extremely small # of rides, they haven’t had some of the single rider lines open in years. Probably early 2000s was when I last saw space mountain use theirs.

We don't know what the single rider line accessibility would be.
They DO make a big point of 'you ride where we tell you to go', but that is to prevent people from getting into the line with family or friends and expecting to ride all together. If you need accessibility to ride, they would be able to force you to ride somewhere you can't.

I was in the Single Rider line at Test Track once and a family of 6 were ahead of me. They were arguing with the CM that they needed to all ride together. The CM didn't budge and finally left without riding. The group right in front of me was a dad and 2 kids. They told the CM they understood they would not be riding together. I got to sit with their delightful 10 yr old boy.

 

[Liquidice]

Haven’t kept up with the last page or so, but one slight problem I’ve just thought of with Rider Switch.

Say there’s a group of 6 so 4 go in standby and when they get off, the other two (so person requiring accommodations and their accompanier) get to ride using LL. As a party, the wait time until everyone has then done the ride would be longer than the actual standby length. I think it would make more sense for the 2 doing the ‘swap’ to be able to enter say 10 mins before the advertised standby wait is finished. No so they can meet up in the queue (a logistical nightmare), but just so they haven’t, as a party, had to wait a lot longer than a typical standby party before they have all ridden.

It makes sense, except in those circumstances where the person who is waiting outside is waiting alone and now has to ride alone.

I don't recall with Rider Switch if there is a specific return time set on the Lightning Lane - the original intention of Rider Switch is that 1 person has to wait outside with someone who cannot ride (often due to height restrictions). So I don't believe the Lightning Lane has a time restriction. If I'm right, in theory, the person waiting outside could ride the attraction first and then wait outside for the rest of their party. Also, if I remember correctly the Lightning Lane issued works like a recovery pass and doesn't have a time restriction on when you use it - so it has the flexibility for the person needing accommodations to return later if they cannot ride at that time.

I recall a time when we used rider switch and then the 2nd person decided not to ride and that pass did not disappear off of MDE until the next day. This was a long time ago back in the FP+ days so its very possible they have changed how the process works.

I don't necessarily think this is cheating either since the majority of your party is going through the standby line and you couldn't really go on another ride until your party has completed their ride. I suppose anyone waiting outside could get on another attraction using the normal standby line but it would be limited to 2 people, not more than that.

 

[lanejudy]

Then you could go through the line, and step out at the load area, letting the CM know you prefer to head to the exit and re-enter LL with your mom.

But again, she's leaving mom alone while in the queue. You wouldn't leave a 5-yr-old alone, there are senior adults who should not be left alone either. (I don't know PP's mom's situation, but that is a very real situation.)

 

[lanejudy]

I don't recall with Rider Switch if there is a specific return time set on the Lightning Lane - the original intention of Rider Switch is that 1 person has to wait outside with someone who cannot ride (often due to height restrictions). So I don't believe the Lightning Lane has a time restriction.

Regular Rider Swap (or Baby Swap as it used to be called) supposedly has a 1-hour return window for the 2nd party to ride. I haven't used it myself in recent years, but supposedly that window has not been enforced. However another Swap cannot be obtained until the prior one is used.

 

[Liquidice]

Regular Rider Swap (or Baby Swap as it used to be called) supposedly has a 1-hour return window for the 2nd party to ride. I haven't used it myself in recent years, but supposedly that window has not been enforced. However another Swap cannot be obtained until the prior one is used.

Makes sense you can only hold 1 swap at a time, sort of like DAS. I hope Disney will allow for flexibility on the Lightning Lane pass's time, especially if they know it is for a disability. That at least in theory seems like it would help to address some concerns that have been brought up throughout the thread. Small party size is still an unknown.

 

[Princesca]

It sounds like your 3 year old may need DAS.

Also DAS is generally based on need, not on diagnosis.

It would be worth talking to the disability team about your concerns and see if they can find a solution for your family.

Yes, we've already talked about that together and that, while last year, she qualified on her own and we didn't feel the need to bring him into it, this year we may need to shift and get it for both of them.

 

[Disturbia]

If this is the case - I wonder what is stopping someone from getting the rider switch for both parties, never entering the standby queue (or asking to leave the standby queue), waiting the appropriate amount of time required and then both riding through the Lightning Lane - it essentially would work just like DAS but perhaps with a little extra effort.

You can only hold 1 RS at a time.

When we had a ILL$ RS for ROTR, it had to be cancelled to book TOT RS (ROTR had gone down multiple times and no one wanted to go back there; waiting adult had a nightmarish few hours with the child with disabilities; we paid for that one waiting adult which we got refunded the $20 later via chat). We only did 2 rides, lunch and left the park.

 

[Dulcee]

Regular Rider Swap (or Baby Swap as it used to be called) supposedly has a 1-hour return window for the 2nd party to ride. I haven't used it myself in recent years, but supposedly that window has not been enforced. However another Swap cannot be obtained until the prior one is used.

As of late last year when we used it you can only hold one at a time. They are very forgiving with the swap time. We dealt with puking kid episode and a diaper episode and both times the castmember had no issues letting us use the swap outside of the original time.

 

[Princesca]

Purely my opinion but I think that falls into the territory of "Telling anyone what to say to try to obtain DAS"

I don't think so - in our case, it's more of a 'be sure to explain your whole situation to the CM' where we did not necessarily have to spell ALL that out before. WIth this change, we now need to get DAS for our son, simple as that. We didn't have to before, getting it for my wife was enough to cover our needs.

ETA: Our son would likely have qualified last year as well, just to clarify, but since getting it just for my wife met our family's needs, we didn't see the need to involve him. He was only 2.5 then so he wouldn't be interested in riding anything my wife couldn't ride (if that makes sense). With these changes, I think it's pretty obvious that we need to get it for both of them, so that we can manage best as a family unit.

 

[Baytothemax]

We don't know what the single rider line accessibility would be.
They DO make a big point of 'you ride where we tell you to go', but that is to prevent people from getting into the line with family or friends and expecting to ride all together. If you need accessibility to ride, they would be able to force you to ride somewhere you can't.

I was in the Single Rider line at Test Track once and a family of 6 were ahead of me. They were arguing with the CM that they needed to all ride together. The CM didn't budge and finally left without riding. The group right in front of me was a dad and 2 kids. They told the CM they understood they would not be riding together. I got to sit with their delightful 10 yr old boy.

yeah I don’t think they would turn me away but I’d definitely end up being a pain for the cast member and really I know I’m breaking the spirit of single rider line, which i absolutely loved when I was not disabled so i definitely want that benefit to remain for everyone else. It’s just not an option for me personally now, which is sad.

 

[PrincessV]

Just to add a bit of levity to the discourse… all the talk about how much detailed data Disney collects - I’m just saying: they have 3 decades of data for me and still every other time I log in to MDE, Disney acts like we’ve never even met. Meanwhile, I took an 8-year hiatus from Universal, including offloading its app from my phone - re-upped recently and downloaded the app: it had me logged in automatically, welcomed me back, and started showing me all the cool new things I’ve missed. I have serious doubts about Disney’s ability to store and interpret data on an individual basis.

 

[CarouselofColor]

Just to add a bit of levity to the discourse… all the talk about how much detailed data Disney collects - I’m just saying: they have 3 decades of data for me and still every other time I log in to MDE, Disney acts like we’ve never even met. Meanwhile, I took an 8-year hiatus from Universal, including offloading its app from my phone - re-upped recently and downloaded the app: it had me logged in automatically, welcomed me back, and started showing me all the cool new things I’ve missed. I have serious doubts about Disney’s ability to store and interpret data on an individual basis.

I would LOVE to see Disney's data on me- I want to know how many times I've ridden things, the amount of time I've spent in queues...everything except how much $$$ I've spent collectively over the years lmao

 

[smartlabelprint]

It makes sense, except in those circumstances where the person who is waiting outside is waiting alone and now has to ride alone.

I don't recall with Rider Switch if there is a specific return time set on the Lightning Lane - the original intention of Rider Switch is that 1 person has to wait outside with someone who cannot ride (often due to height restrictions). So I don't believe the Lightning Lane has a time restriction. If I'm right, in theory, the person waiting outside could ride the attraction first and then wait outside for the rest of their party. Also, if I remember correctly the Lightning Lane issued works like a recovery pass and doesn't have a time restriction on when you use it - so it has the flexibility for the person needing accommodations to return later if they cannot ride at that time.

I recall a time when we used rider switch and then the 2nd person decided not to ride and that pass did not disappear off of MDE until the next day. This was a long time ago back in the FP+ days so its very possible they have changed how the process works.

I don't necessarily think this is cheating either since the majority of your party is going through the standby line and you couldn't really go on another ride until your party has completed their ride. I suppose anyone waiting outside could get on another attraction using the normal standby line but it would be limited to 2 people, not more than that.

Rider switch allows 2 people to go through the lightening lane.

 

[SueM in MN]

Regular Rider Swap (or Baby Swap as it used to be called) supposedly has a 1-hour return window for the 2nd party to ride. I haven't used it myself in recent years, but supposedly that window has not been enforced. However another Swap cannot be obtained until the prior one is used.

We have purchased Individual Lightning Lane for Avatar Flight of Passage because it's not one my daughter can ride. DH rode alone, then I rode alone. I WAS allowed to wait inside with my daughter since she can't wait alone and it was very hot.
I'm pretty sure the window was 1 hour

 

[Disneychick75]

I don’t believe it’s a certainty that you need to wait until May 20 to call. We will know that for sure next week when the May 20 people are in their 30 day window. I can’t imagine their staff or phones will be able to handle what would be 30 days worth of people calling at once. They will need to be pushing same day people through first and that alone could take all resources. It’s not like we’re getting through immediately now

In the reply I received, the following was stated:

"If your visit begins May 20, 2024 or later:
Beginning May 20 at the Walt Disney World Resort, there will be an updated process for Accessibility Services conversations. Guests can learn more on our website for Guests with disabilities. In this video discussion, health care professionals may be available, if needed, to help determine appropriate accommodations. Guests will not be asked for medical documentation.

Please know we will not determine any Guest’s future eligibility until our processes are updated on May 20."

"Guests will not be asked for medical documentation." Wonder if we can volunteer to supply the info. Would not be against ADA because the person with the disability wants to provide the info.

"Please know we will not determine any Guest’s future eligibility until our processes are updated on May 20." Our trip is set to begin May 26. So, say even if I can speak to someone on April 27th, does this mean I will get no answer regarding me getting DAS until May 20th OR does this mean we have to wait to speak to someone until May 20? Disney, as usual, is as clear as swamp water.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Just to add a bit of levity to the discourse… all the talk about how much detailed data Disney collects - I’m just saying: they have 3 decades of data for me and still every other time I log in to MDE, Disney acts like we’ve never even met. Meanwhile, I took an 8-year hiatus from Universal, including offloading its app from my phone - re-upped recently and downloaded the app: it had me logged in automatically, welcomed me back, and started showing me all the cool new things I’ve missed. I have serious doubts about Disney’s ability to store and interpret data on an individual basis.

I feel like that has a lot to do with Disney's insanely bad IT. MDE is one of the worst apps I've used.

 

[CarouselofColor]

In the reply I received, the following was stated:

"Guests will not be asked for medical documentation." Wonder if we can volunteer to supply the info. Would not be against ADA because the person with the disability wants to provide the info.

They will refuse to see it- looking at it and making a determination puts liability on the company. Cast Members aren't trained to interpret medical documents.

 

[SueM in MN]

In the reply I received, the following was stated:

"If your visit begins May 20, 2024 or later:
Beginning May 20 at the Walt Disney World Resort, there will be an updated process for Accessibility Services conversations. Guests can learn more on our website for Guests with disabilities. In this video discussion, health care professionals may be available, if needed, to help determine appropriate accommodations. Guests will not be asked for medical documentation.

Please know we will not determine any Guest’s future eligibility until our processes are updated on May 20."

"Guests will not be asked for medical documentation." Wonder if we can volunteer to supply the info. Would not be against ADA because the person with the disability wants to provide the info.

"Please know we will not determine any Guest’s future eligibility until our processes are updated on May 20." Our trip is set to begin May 26. So, say even if I can speak to someone on April 27th, does this mean I will get no answer regarding me getting DAS until May 20th OR does this mean we have to wait to speak to someone until May 20? Disney, as usual, is as clear as swamp water.

They have previously politely refused to look at documentation or proof of disability. It put the CM into a grey territory previously, so I think they will continue to refuse.
And, really, the diagnosis or condition is not the important thing. It's the issues/concern the guest expects to encounter

 

[Baytothemax]

I would LOVE to see Disney's data on me- I want to know how many times I've ridden things, the amount of time I've spent in queues...everything except how much $$$ I've spent collectively over the years lmao

I want my first aid records. I’ve got to have a giant file there for bandaids alone