WDW -Disability Access Service (DAS) - ARCHIVED THREAD; no longer vslid

[cmwade77]

I agree with you and this was one of my frustrations from our last trip. On one attraction I had to explain my visual need to 4 CMs and was still literally left in the dark in a mob of people entering an attraction to get seats. I felt that the treatment I received was humiliating to me and extremely rude to other guests around me!

I am working on some wording to place on my own GAC like card. It needs to be very simple wording and only a sentence or two explaining my vision needs. I just can not keep explaining my needs multiple times on attractions. It gets VERY old!

If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear your wording. I do not need front row seating just near enough to see and I am mostly blind in dark or low light places. Flashlights only help so much as my eyes also have trouble adjusting to light changes and using a bright light only prolongs this adjustment time.

In addition to the wording, I would try to find a picture or clip art similar to the old stamp for visual disabilities and put it above the words.

I would probably word it like this:
Needs:
1. Enter through as well lit of a path as possible

2. Enter with as small of a group as possible

3. Seating within the first three rows (adjust this to the number of rows you are Ok with)

Yes, I would number the needs and have a graphical representation. Both will help with making it easy to understand.

 

[SueM in MN]

I agree with you and this was one of my frustrations from our last trip. On one attraction I had to explain my visual need to 4 CMs and was still literally left in the dark in a mob of people entering an attraction to get seats. I felt that the treatment I received was humiliating to me and extremely rude to other guests around me!

I am working on some wording to place on my own GAC like card. It needs to be very simple wording and only a sentence or two explaining my vision needs. I just can not keep explaining my needs multiple times on attractions. It gets VERY old!

If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear your wording. I do not need front row seating just near enough to see and I am mostly blind in dark or low light places. Flashlights only help so much as my eyes also have trouble adjusting to light changes and using a bright light only prolongs this adjustment time.

My suggestion would be to think of each attract you normally go on and what would help for each.
Then look at what you listed and come up with the most frequent one that would cover the most circumstances.

Each person's list is probably going to be pretty different, so just the GAC saying "front row seating" still meant a lot of explaining for people and as you noted, first row wasn't necessarily what fit your needs anyway.

It's not true that guests with other needs don't get asked.
Our DD uses a wheelchair because she can't walk. We are asked at every ride whether she can walk xxxx number of feet. When we get to the boarding area, we are asked again if she can walk xxxx and if she can transfer.
We have to ask to use the wheelchair accessible ride car or ADA car with a wider opening.
We also have to explain what we need in order to transfer - wheelchair brought up to the ride car, how slow to make the moving walkway, etc.

That was how it was with the GAC; I can't see how the DAS would be any different.

 

[Objectivity]

Why must someone with that specific need have to repeatedly explain themselves? Those with wheelchairs don't. Those who qualify for the DAS don't. Why not just make a card that says you are visually impaired if you don't want to explain verbally to each cm

And a handmade card bears what weight with CMs? I can see writing down needs to communicate needs for a DAS, but to use to justify your disability constantly, is impractical. If they take that, why not a homemade card saying whatever you want.

 

[Objectivity]

It's not true that guests with other needs don't get asked. Our DD uses a wheelchair because she can't walk. We are asked at every ride whether she can walk xxxx number of feet. When we get to the boarding area, we are asked again if she can walk xxxx and if she can transfer. We have to ask to use the wheelchair accessible ride car or ADA car with a wider opening. We also have to explain what we need in order to transfer - wheelchair brought up to the ride car, how slow to make the moving walkway, etc. That was how it was with the GAC; I can't see how the DAS would be any different.

There is a big difference between "What can you do within the scope of your disability" and "I'm sorry, if you're not in a wheelchair you're not truly handicapped."

That's why getting a GAC would make sense. It only takes one person with that attitude to ruin a day. What makes it worse is that it's an instance that could be easily avoided.

 

[lovethattink]

There is a big difference between "What can you do within the scope of your disability" and "I'm sorry, if you're not in a wheelchair you're not truly handicapped."

That's why getting a GAC would make sense. It only takes one person with that attitude to ruin a day. What makes it worse is that it's an instance that could be easily avoided.

The DAS lumps everything together trying to make it a once size fits all accommodation of not being able to use a standby line. With no differentiation, a person still has to mention something to an attraction cm if they need further accommodations.

 

[Twende]

And a handmade card bears what weight with CMs? I can see writing down needs to communicate needs for a DAS, but to use to justify your disability constantly, is impractical. If they take that, why not a homemade card saying whatever you want.

A homemade card bears no weight but neither does having repeated conversations with several CMs at attractions.

After this recent trip and my bad experiences with being refused a DAS, I think that having something in writing might help with CMs and would definitely help me.

I was embarrassed to be constantly making my problems known to the public around me. That was one advantage of a GAC in that invisible needs were addressed and brought to the attention of the CMs discretely. I try to keep all my medical problems quiet and now I need to profess them to multiple CMs on attractions. And even once I do this I am left to wonder what the outcome will be. There is no standard for how anything is handled right now.

I am working on a letter to Guest Services about being refused a DAS and instead being told leave lines and then to push my way back into them.

Sue you are right about you having to speak up about your DDs needs even with a DAS. I never thought about it that way. I guess I was thinking that some visible needs require less directions to CMs but that may not normally be the case. Sorry!

 

[PlainJane]

A homemade card bears no weight but neither does having repeated conversations with several CMs at attractions.

After this recent trip and my bad experiences with being refused a DAS, I think that having something in writing might help with CMs and would definitely help me.

I was embarrassed to be constantly making my problems known to the public around me. That was one advantage of a GAC in that invisible needs were addressed and brought to the attention of the CMs discretely. I try to keep all my medical problems quiet and now I need to profess them to multiple CMs on attractions. And even once I do this I am left to wonder what the outcome will be. There is no standard for how anything is handled right now.

I am working on a letter to Guest Services about being refused a DAS and instead being told leave lines and then to push my way back into them.

Sue you are right about you having to speak up about your DDs needs even with a DAS. I never thought about it that way. I guess I was thinking that some visible needs require less directions to CMs but that may not normally be the case. Sorry!

Is it possible to say something like, "I'm visually impaired, who should I speak to?" Instead of having to do the whole spiel for each CM? Even for the CM that someone is sent to, starting with "I'm visually disabled I was told to speak to you?"

I can see where some CMs would make you do the whole litany of needs because they don't know who to send to you to otherwise, but it might cut down on how often it is necessary.

While using the card I would suggest starting with "I'm visually disabled, I've written down my needs here." I don't know how well just handing a card without a verbal introduction would be, especially since some CMs might think that you tried to make a fake DAS.

I really do feel for you. I know from experience traveling with my mother that it can get annoying to explain your needs so frequently.

 

[Objectivity]

The DAS lumps everything together trying to make it a once size fits all accommodation of not being able to use a standby line. With no differentiation, a person still has to mention something to an attraction cm if they need further accommodations.

If by "lumps everything together" you mean "gives the perception some disabilities are more worthy of equal accommodation that others" then you are correct.

If you have a wheelchair, you don't need a DAS, you have clearly marked locations to go and paths to use. If you are on the autism spectrum, you get a DAS and a return time without explaining you're on the autism spectrum each and every time you ask for a return time. If you are legally blind or have another non-DAS disability you have to explain your need repeatedly and unnecessarily compared to other disabilities.

Why should someone legally blind have to have their disability questioned every time they need accommodation when someone with a DAS-qualifying disability does not?

 

[Objectivity]

Is it possible to say something like, "I'm visually impaired, who should I speak to?" Instead of having to do the whole spiel for each CM? Even for the CM that someone is sent to, starting with "I'm visually disabled I was told to speak to you?"

I can see where some CMs would make you do the whole litany of needs because they don't know who to send to you to otherwise, but it might cut down on how often it is necessary.

While using the card I would suggest starting with "I'm visually disabled, I've written down my needs here." I don't know how well just handing a card without a verbal introduction would be, especially since some CMs might think that you tried to make a fake DAS.

I really do feel for you. I know from experience traveling with my mother that it can get annoying to explain your needs so frequently.

If you're visually impaired, you don't qualify for a GAC. The policy is that you have to give a litany of needs every time you want accommodation. That ok for the first CM but on the 15th of the day it's beyond frustrating, especially when Disney doesn't require that for other disabilities.

 

[PlainJane]

If you're visually impaired, you don't qualify for a GAC. The policy is that you have to give a litany of needs every time you want accommodation. That ok for the first CM but on the 15th of the day it's beyond frustrating, especially when Disney doesn't require that for other disabilities.

I could be wrong, but I think you misunderstood what I said.

I was talking on a per attraction basis. Someone earlier had expressed their frustration of having to say the litany to multiple CMs at the same attraction even though they kept being told it was the next CM that would help them. So, I suggested to hold your breath when you approach the first CMs and subsequent CMs by instead saying "I'm visually impaired, who do I need to speak to?" Maybe it wouldn't work every time, but even some of the time would save some unnecessary explanation.

Also, my mother uses a mobility device in the parks. She has to explain her needs at many of the attractions that she goes on. She also gets to deal with CMs taking her cane and almost never giving it back. I generally have to go fetch it myself, even though we're assured by the loading CM that it will be returned to her when we disembark. So, it's not just the visually impaired that deal with this.

I BTW do not like Disney's current system of handling this, but I was just offering a suggestion that might help in the current reality.

 

[lovethattink]

If by "lumps everything together" you mean "gives the perception some disabilities are more worthy of equal accommodation that others" then you are correct.

If you have a wheelchair, you don't need a DAS, you have clearly marked locations to go and paths to use. If you are on the autism spectrum, you get a DAS and a return time without explaining you're on the autism spectrum each and every time you ask for a return time. If you are legally blind or have another non-DAS disability you have to explain your need repeatedly and unnecessarily compared to other disabilities.

Why should someone legally blind have to have their disability questioned every time they need accommodation when someone with a DAS-qualifying disability does not?

I do understand your frustration of someone's attitude ruining your whole experience. That happened to us recently. I wrote about our experience and disability services contacted me. I hope you get the answers for the accommodation you need for any future visits.

No, I meant that the old system had stamps alerting CM of the need, but DAS doesn't.

 

[Objectivity]

I was talking on a per attraction basis. Someone earlier had expressed their frustration of having to say the litany to multiple CMs at the same attraction even though they kept being told it was the next CM that would help them. So, I suggested to hold your breath when you approach the first CMs and subsequent CMs by instead saying "I'm visually impaired, who do I need to speak to?" Maybe it wouldn't work every time, but even some of the time would save some unnecessary explanation.

That's what we will do. The "complaint" is that Disney now requires someone who is visually impaired to justify themselves in exactly that manner multiple times a day. Someone with a wheelchair may need to say if thy can transfer or not, but they don't have to explain why they need a wheelchair in the first place at every ride.

 

[Objectivity]

So, it's not just the visually impaired that deal with this.

Absolutely, that's just the perspective I'm coming from. It's pretty clear that Disney has created the DAS to handle those who need line accommodation. That they've chosen to treat other disabilities with less consideration is concerning.

 

[AndreaA]

Absolutely, that's just the perspective I'm coming from. It's pretty clear that Disney has created the DAS to handle those who need line accommodation. That they've chosen to treat other disabilities with less consideration is concerning.

Agreed. I've seen it stated multiple times that part of the reason to get rid of the GAC was because there were "too many stamps" and the CMs weren't consistent in how they handled things.

Well, now we are seeing all over the place that the CMs are even LESS consistent than they once were. I don't understand how anyone thought that this change would make the CMs' jobs easier or more straightforward. The very SECOND they decided that the DAS was only going to be for people who couldn't wait in line was the same second they condemned everyone else to days of explaining themselves and never getting the same help twice.

The multiple stamps were a GOOD thing. They are what told the CMs what they needed to do. Now it seems like they're basically pulling the answers from thin air. I really don't see how this can be a training issue or due to the newness of the system, because certainly those same CMs had dealt with people who had vision impairment, hearing loss, etc., in the past, and they knew what to do with them at that point. The accommodations for those people HAS NOT CHANGED, only the fact that they are no longer carrying a card to get it.

Hopefully Disney will grab a clue somewhere and either start giving out different types of DAS cards or posting the "rules" at each attraction so that both the public and the workers can see them.

 

[StacyMarie]

Agreed. I've seen it stated multiple times that part of the reason to get rid of the GAC was because there were "too many stamps" and the CMs weren't consistent in how they handled things.

Well, now we are seeing all over the place that the CMs are even LESS consistent than they once were. I don't understand how anyone thought that this change would make the CMs' jobs easier or more straightforward. The very SECOND they decided that the DAS was only going to be for people who couldn't wait in line was the same second they condemned everyone else to days of explaining themselves and never getting the same help twice.

The multiple stamps were a GOOD thing. They are what told the CMs what they needed to do. Now it seems like they're basically pulling the answers from thin air. I really don't see how this can be a training issue or due to the newness of the system, because certainly those same CMs had dealt with people who had vision impairment, hearing loss, etc., in the past, and they knew what to do with them at that point. The accommodations for those people HAS NOT CHANGED, only the fact that they are no longer carrying a card to get it.

Hopefully Disney will grab a clue somewhere and either start giving out different types of DAS cards or posting the "rules" at each attraction so that both the public and the workers can see them.

Or possibly utilizing the stamp system from the old GAC on the DAS, which would eliminate the need for explanation to the CM at each ride.

 

[Robbi]

Agreed. I've seen it stated multiple times that part of the reason to get rid of the GAC was because there were "too many stamps" and the CMs weren't consistent in how they handled things.

Well, now we are seeing all over the place that the CMs are even LESS consistent than they once were. I don't understand how anyone thought that this change would make the CMs' jobs easier or more straightforward. The very SECOND they decided that the DAS was only going to be for people who couldn't wait in line was the same second they condemned everyone else to days of explaining themselves and never getting the same help twice.

The multiple stamps were a GOOD thing. They are what told the CMs what they needed to do. Now it seems like they're basically pulling the answers from thin air. I really don't see how this can be a training issue or due to the newness of the system, because certainly those same CMs had dealt with people who had vision impairment, hearing loss, etc., in the past, and they knew what to do with them at that point. The accommodations for those people HAS NOT CHANGED, only the fact that they are no longer carrying a card to get it.

Hopefully Disney will grab a clue somewhere and either start giving out different types of DAS cards or posting the "rules" at each attraction so that both the public and the workers can see them.

I've read in several places that this is not the reason for the GAC elimination. It was because Disney was worried that GACs would interfere with FP+. It cracks me up because 1 article stated that GAC non abusers were the reason for the change and a lot of the pro change people have jumped all over it. Conversations with with a few CMs "convinced" the author that use and not abuse was the answer. Good research

 

[PlainJane]

Agreed. I've seen it stated multiple times that part of the reason to get rid of the GAC was because there were "too many stamps" and the CMs weren't consistent in how they handled things.

Well, now we are seeing all over the place that the CMs are even LESS consistent than they once were. I don't understand how anyone thought that this change would make the CMs' jobs easier or more straightforward. The very SECOND they decided that the DAS was only going to be for people who couldn't wait in line was the same second they condemned everyone else to days of explaining themselves and never getting the same help twice.

The multiple stamps were a GOOD thing. They are what told the CMs what they needed to do. Now it seems like they're basically pulling the answers from thin air. I really don't see how this can be a training issue or due to the newness of the system, because certainly those same CMs had dealt with people who had vision impairment, hearing loss, etc., in the past, and they knew what to do with them at that point. The accommodations for those people HAS NOT CHANGED, only the fact that they are no longer carrying a card to get it.

Hopefully Disney will grab a clue somewhere and either start giving out different types of DAS cards or posting the "rules" at each attraction so that both the public and the workers can see them.

It is odd that when there was a card CMs were trained on how to react if a visually impaired person needed assistance, and now they suddenly don't know. I guess, the card had a stamp for each individual accommodation? Was there a low lighting symbol, a close seating symbol, etc?

It is frustrating the card was so much more than the alternate entrance stamp, but that seems to be the only stamp that's being addressed anymore, at least formally.

 

[PlainJane]

That's what we will do. The "complaint" is that Disney now requires someone who is visually impaired to justify themselves in exactly that manner multiple times a day. Someone with a wheelchair may need to say if thy can transfer or not, but they don't have to explain why they need a wheelchair in the first place at every ride.

Do they have you justify the need, or explain the accommodations needed? Either would be frustrating, but the first would be awful.

 

[SueM in MN]

Closing temporarily to cool off.

Too much arguing.

 

[SueM in MN]

Re-opening.
The reason the thread was closed was that there was arguing going on about 'which disability is worse' and 'some disabilities are treated better'.

This thread is to share information on how the DAS currently works.

If you have suggestions about how you think Disney could improve DAS, there is a thread discussing that.