DAS AND AN OSTOMY need help!

[mindy327]

Hi there! Weve been to disneyland over 600 times and WDW 15 times and very familiar with DAS as my husband utilized it with his disability.

With the new DAS rules to get one that came out I am very concerned for our upcoming WDW vacation that we booked! My husband of 25 years has a life threatening illness that caused him to become fully and legally disabled and also now has a permanent ostomy.
His stomach tore open and now also has a basketball sized hernia (his small intestine is only being kept inside from a thin layer of skin) and now his ostomy doesn’t stick very well. Add the Florida humidity and he has to change his ostomy 3-4 times a day. He visits first aid often and they let him keep a change of clothing there as well for accidents can happen for him.
We booked this trip before the new rules came out and he has always gotten a DAS. If he is in line, we would hate for his ostomy to leak and fall off, and cause a biohazard. AND IT HAS! it’s not fun and extremely embarrassing. No you can’t SEE his disability because it’s a hidden disability but not neurological. It’s physical but more PROSTHETIC issues. A ECV dos nothing because he’s still IN THE QUEUE lane. The R2Q isn’t an option being he can’t wait in the physical queue line
so DAS is extremely needed for him and his condition. Are we just SOL with it BEING ONLY for autism or they help people still like my husband who need real QUEUE line accommodations?.
What do we do? We booked this vacation because my husband is literally fighting every day for his life. The doctors don’t know how much longer he will be alive and we wanted to take our kids to WDW to have a family trip together and make memories before it may be too late and he were to lose his battle to this horrible autoimmune disease.

I am heartbroken if disney can’t accommodate his needs. If they can great! But how? I tried to ask them and they would not respond with an answer. I was just told need to buy tickets first before they will answer my questions.

If by chance we can’t get proper accommodations for him, we want to cancel our trip and not have to spend $1300 for WDW tickets to be told “we can’t help you.”

Is DAS really only for AUTISM? Or in his situation he would fit the criteria? I’m so confused.

Also, my son is autistic… he’s 18 but mentally 10. He’s non verbal and would/could get DAS but that also put my husband in the queue line so my husband needs the DAS.

Without being mean and nasty (we realize some people have ostomys and live a normal lifestyle unfortunately he does not) please any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you

 

[lanejudy]

Based on the reports I've seen online, I would not count on your husband receiving a DAS. I know that's not what you want to hear. Also the autism diagnosis is not an automatic approval for DAS, your son (or you on his behalf) would have to explain that his needs require avoiding the standby queue entirely.

For your husband -- can he enter the queue and leave to deal with his ostomy? Then he would rejoin your party via the LL. When you are outside the queue, how does he become aware of needing to change it if you aren't right at the restrooms? He should think through those situations and on the DAS call explain how he manages at other times.

Tickets are required to be granted DAS approval. I'm not familiar with DLR booking terms but if similar to WDW a room-only can be cancelled up to 7 days prior to check-in date. There are some third-party vendors who offer refundable tickets. Someone on the Disneyland forum may know which vendor(s).

 

[Hippomom]

I haven’t seen one ostomy approved. He maybe approved for other aspects of his condition. You would have to explain why he can’t stay in line. If your son is approved you get 4 people total so that may be your best route. Is your party bigger than 4? if not id try your son 1st. Good luck hope you have a great trip.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Mentally the best- and really the only- thing you can do is have a plan for denial. Accept you’ll be denied in your head and formulate your plan. Maybe you aren’t denied, great! But, if you are you can pivot immediately. For me that’s Multi-pass and Single Pass so I have to budget that into trips going forward. It also includes planning to hit near rope drop and late nights where crowds are quieter so attraction lines are shorter.

Tickets
-Already bought? They won’t lose their value and can be applied toward future tickets. If you bought from Disney you can try to ask for a refund on them if denied for DAS and canceling your trip but don’t expect to get one.
-Haven’t bought? Undercover Tourist offers refunds for a 5% restocking fee before your date of travel on some DLR tickets. Disney packages can be cancelled for a $200 fee within 30 days, if cancelling because of no DAS I would request it be waived due to that but I would not count on it.

 

[SueM in MN]

Also, my son is autistic… he’s 18 but mentally 10. He’s non verbal and would/could get DAS but that also put my husband in the queue line so my husband needs the DAS.

I agree with the other posters on this thread - the safest assumption is that he won't get approved for DAS, but other suggestions will be made for handing the issues he has. I have heard of a few people approved for DAS with only physical disabilities, but most tried the suggestions and then contacted Disney back with very specific concerns about their experiences. Even if you do that, I'd assume he may not be approved for DAS.
I don't know if he has seen a Wound Ostomy & Continence Nurse Specialist (WOCN) , but I would rcommend doing so. As an RN, I've worked with WOCNs and they often have a lot of tricks for making an ostomy work, especially in tricky situations like his sounds to be.

I don't understand the bolded part - specifically "that also put my husband in the queue line".

Your son might be approved for DAS based on whether/how his autism affects waiting in the lines. If your son is approved for DAS, he could have 3 people linked to his DAS. The group would be doing the majority of the wait outside of the lines and enter the Lightning Lane once the wait is over. So, I'm not sure what you mean by the bolded.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Hi there! Weve been to disneyland over 600 times and WDW 15 times and very familiar with DAS as my husband utilized it with his disability.

With the new DAS rules to get one that came out I am very concerned for our upcoming WDW vacation that we booked! My husband of 25 years has a life threatening illness that caused him to become fully and legally disabled and also now has a permanent ostomy.
His stomach tore open and now also has a basketball sized hernia (his small intestine is only being kept inside from a thin layer of skin) and now his ostomy doesn’t stick very well. Add the Florida humidity and he has to change his ostomy 3-4 times a day. He visits first aid often and they let him keep a change of clothing there as well for accidents can happen for him.
We booked this trip before the new rules came out and he has always gotten a DAS. If he is in line, we would hate for his ostomy to leak and fall off, and cause a biohazard. AND IT HAS! it’s not fun and extremely embarrassing. No you can’t SEE his disability because it’s a hidden disability but not neurological. It’s physical but more PROSTHETIC issues. A ECV dos nothing because he’s still IN THE QUEUE lane. The R2Q isn’t an option being he can’t wait in the physical queue line
so DAS is extremely needed for him and his condition. Are we just SOL with it BEING ONLY for autism or they help people still like my husband who need real QUEUE line accommodations?.
What do we do? We booked this vacation because my husband is literally fighting every day for his life. The doctors don’t know how much longer he will be alive and we wanted to take our kids to WDW to have a family trip together and make memories before it may be too late and he were to lose his battle to this horrible autoimmune disease.

I am heartbroken if disney can’t accommodate his needs. If they can great! But how? I tried to ask them and they would not respond with an answer. I was just told need to buy tickets first before they will answer my questions.

If by chance we can’t get proper accommodations for him, we want to cancel our trip and not have to spend $1300 for WDW tickets to be told “we can’t help you.”

Is DAS really only for AUTISM? Or in his situation he would fit the criteria? I’m so confused.

Also, my son is autistic… he’s 18 but mentally 10. He’s non verbal and would/could get DAS but that also put my husband in the queue line so my husband needs the DAS.

Without being mean and nasty (we realize some people have ostomys and live a normal lifestyle unfortunately he does not) please any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you

If the Florida humidity causes extra issues, you may want to consider winter trips to Disney when it would be much less of an issue than a Florida summer.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Honest question - why is he more at risk of leaking in line for an attraction than on an attraction or walking to the attraction or walking around a store? No one can guarantee he will get one, but there is a good chance the CM will need to understand why a line poses more risk than other activities. Because there are many situations on a Disney trip where you might need a restroom or first aid urgently but have difficulty getting there because of crowds or distance.

 

[Selket]

If by chance we can’t get proper accommodations for him, we want to cancel our trip and not have to spend $1300 for WDW tickets to be told “we can’t help you.”

When is your trip? The new Genie+ goes into effect in a week where you can prebook 3 attractions for each day of your trip in advance - farther in advance if you're staying on site. Seems like Genie+ could help guarantee that you get onto many or most of the attractions you want.

@gottalovepluto also mentioned the undercover tourist tickets that offer a refund for most of the purchase price. I've bought theme park tickets from them in the past and never had issues.

I'd buy the tickets (probably just from Disney), schedule the DAS phone call and see what happens. If you're denied the DAS I think the backup plan would be to buy Genie+ for your party so you can make this trip since (and I'm so sorry for this) your husband sounds quite ill. Yes it will cost more money if you have to buy Genie+ but that plan would give you some peace of mind you can make the trip.

I've also used other strategies like rope dropping the parks or buying tickets for after hours events when it's cooler out and fewer people on the rides. If you stay in a deluxe resort, there are special after hours times when some parks are only open for deluxe resort guests. Our trips have always been more costly because of the medical needs of my traveling party (including lots of sit down meals so we had access to a chef regarding food allergies back before Disney had allergy menus more streamlined), and it's just what we have to do if we want to go.

Another option is going to US/IOA which offers a different kind of approval process for their disability accommodations that you can apply for before you go so you'd know if you have it or not. Seems like your husband could qualify for their program based on what you've said. Maybe less days at Disney and more at US/IOA?

 

[ellindea]

Honest question - why is he more at risk of leaking in line for an attraction than on an attraction or walking to the attraction or walking around a store? No one can guarantee he will get one, but there is a good chance the CM will need to understand why a line poses more risk than other activities. Because there are many situations on a Disney trip where you might need a restroom or first aid urgently but have difficulty getting there because of crowds or distance.

I think the difference is that you can easily make a beeline for a restroom when you're not in a queue, especially if he is a wheelchair user (I was paying attention to the queues at my recent Disneyland/DCA trip, and in my electric wheelchair there's no way I could turn around in the queue except possibly where it turns, but I'm really not sure if I'd be able to get through all the people back to the front of the line) and there's also less risk of a real biohazard issue since people aren't packed around you and having to step through where the ostomy and contents spilled out when you're not in line. That's what I would bring up if OP decides to try a DAS first for her husband instead of her son.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I think the difference is that you can easily make a beeline for a restroom when you're not in a queue, especially if he is a wheelchair user (I was paying attention to the queues at my recent Disneyland/DCA trip, and in my electric wheelchair there's no way I could turn around in the queue except possibly where it turns, but I'm really not sure if I'd be able to get through all the people back to the front of the line) and there's also less risk of a real biohazard issue since people aren't packed around you and having to step through where the ostomy and contents spilled out when you're not in line. That's what I would bring up if OP decides to try a DAS first for her husband instead of her son.

I’m not sure if OP’s spouse is in a wheelchair, but it is a valid point. However there are other situations (during fireworks, parades, rope drop, waiting for transportation) when it can be just as hard to maneuver around people and make a beeline for anything, wheelchair or not.

OP, also keep in mind that September is one of the worst time of the year for heat and humidity in Florida. Even the clean clothes you put on in the morning feel damp. Someone suggested talking to a wound care specialist for tactics to keep the bag on in the humidity and that is a good idea.