DAS Approval/Denial with New DAS Guidelines START 5/20 WDW & 6/18 DL

[SueM in MN]

Anyone know via anecdote or word of mouth whether they’re still approving DAS for epilepsy and seizure disorders?

I haven’t seeone approved including children with the condition

We are asking people NOT to include medical information, the reasons they requested DAS or what to say.

Also, keep in mind that NO specific condition or diagnosis is automatically approved for DAS. Whatever the condition or diagnosis, how it affects each person is different. Some may need/qualify for DAS and others don't. It depends on how THEIR condition affects THEIR needs.

 

[gap2368]

I can’t speak for others, but I am capable of walking for about 20 minutes without a problem. When I walk through the parks, I can control my pace, avoid bottlenecks, and sit on a bench to rest if needed.

A long line is a whole different ballgame. It’s a lot of starting and stopping. It is a lot of standing still for a few minutes here and there. Most lines do not have benches where you can take a rest.

Walking from point A to point B is a lot different than standing in a slow moving line for 60-120 minutes.

would a roller help with the lines where you could sit when needed and walk when able

 

[DisneyDar]

I can’t speak for others, but I am capable of walking for about 20 minutes without a problem. When I walk through the parks, I can control my pace, avoid bottlenecks, and sit on a bench to rest if needed.

A long line is a whole different ballgame. It’s a lot of starting and stopping. It is a lot of standing still for a few minutes here and there. Most lines do not have benches where you can take a rest.

Walking from point A to point B is a lot different than standing in a slow moving line for 60-120 minutes.

Absolutely true. And especially of your spine cannot hold you up for too long.

 

[coastermom]

I am Currently still under the old DAS that will expire for me in June . We don’t have another trip to WDW until August.. we however are going to Disney Land in July . I am A breast cancer survivor with many side effects from treatments. I will Not list my issues here but it seems that I will Now loose my DAS .. we have decided to cut our AP at WDW from incrediapass to the DVC one ( we own 600 PTS ) and to cut our California trip to 2 park days with us doing other parks that use the IBCESS Program. Already approved and it works for a year. I’ve never been dissatisfied with Disney and am a fan but this is not the way they should have cracked down on DAS . They should have followed universal and six flags with the IBCESS program because having a CM tell me I’m no longer disabled enough while I am Everywhere else is very sad for people who truly have a need and will have issues in the parks .

I believe Disney is in big financial trouble and with parks in FL building family coasters and whole new parks it’s every dollar now that counts .. and lots of dollars are going to go to other parks as Disney redoes old rides with nothing new coming

 

[Genie+]

would a roller help with the lines where you could sit when needed and walk when able

Do we know for sure if WDW is now allowing cane chair? This would be a huge benefit for many visitors.

I was reading over the ADA site today and saw a few mentions of when businesses implement reasonable accommodations, it’s good when a change for certain disabilities allows help for other customers as well. That is encouraged.

A cane chair could be a helpful tool for some disabilities, but also issues faced by the public at large. We’d like to bring my 80yo father to WDW and a cane chair would make the single biggest difference. My sister broke a vertebra a couple years ago, a cane chair would be an immense help.

 

[figmentfan423]

Do we know for sure if WDW is now allowing cane chair? This would be a huge benefit for many visitors.

I was reading over the ADA site today and saw a few mentions of when businesses implement reasonable accommodations, it’s good when a change for certain disabilities allows help for other customers as well. That is encouraged.

A cane chair could be a helpful tool for some disabilities, but also issues faced by the public at large. We’d like to bring my 80yo father to WDW and a cane chair would make the single biggest difference. My sister broke a vertebra a couple years ago, a cane chair would be an immense help.

I believe so as it's a mobility device

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

I believe so as it's a mobility device

Deleting my original post here because @Evita_W is correct. But I haven’t seen any success reports yet.

 

[Evita_W]

Here it specifically says they can be used and this is on Disney's Site
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/accessing-attractions-queues/

But considering they used to be on the list of banned items and security was super strict about it, I do wonder how this will play out.

 

[Todd H]

Wow. After years of my severely autistic son being eligible they denied him this morning. Immediately after the call he had a meltodown and is now terrified of our trip. If I had time to cancel without penalty I would but at this point its too late.

 

[jo-jo]

Sorry to hear that. Did they just say no, or did they say you can do this or that instead of DAS?

Wow. After years of my severely autistic son being eligible they denied him this morning. Immediately after the call he had a meltodown and is now terrified of our trip. If I had time to cancel without penalty I would but at this point its too late.

 

[jennab]

Wow. After years of my severely autistic son being eligible they denied him this morning. Immediately after the call he had a meltodown and is now terrified of our trip. If I had time to cancel without penalty I would but at this point its too late.

I think if you call and explain that your son got denied for DAS so you need to cancel your trip they may waive the penalty.

 

[Todd H]

Sorry to hear that. Did they just say no, or did they say you can do this or that instead of DAS?

Gave some generic tips about waiting in line. Honestly the cast member was kinda rude and hung up on me at the end while I was talking. Weird part is she said that she was going to bring in a specialist and never did.

Good luck to everyone trying to get a DAS. If my son, who is severely autistic, eligible then I'm not sure who is.

 

[SueM in MN]

A reminder if you hear someone is told to use Genie.
When people hear "Genie" they automatically go to "Genie+".

There is a FREE portion of GENIE is a free planning tool. It includes things like projected wait times to go on an attraction with the shortest wait. It's also possible to make a 'wish list' of attractions and it will come up with an itinerary to do those.
CMs have mentioned using Genie to me.
Because I knew about GENIE, I knew they were talking about the free one, not saying I needed to pay for it. I'm sure a lot of people don't know about the free planning version, so would think they were being told to purchase Genie +

If Genie is mentioned to people, they need to clarify what is meant.

 

[Todd H]

A reminder if you hear someone is told to use Genie.
When people hear "Genie" they automatically go to "Genie+".

There is a FREE portion of GENIE is a free planning tool. It includes things like projected wait times to go on an attraction with the shortest wait. It's also possible to make a 'wish list' of attractions and it will come up with an itinerary to do those.
CMs have mentioned using Genie to me.
Because I knew about GENIE, I knew they were talking about the free one, not saying I needed to pay for it. I'm sure a lot of people don't know about the free planning version, so would think they were being told to purchase Genie +

If Genie is mentioned to people, they need to clarify what is meant.

Weirdly enough Genie and Genie+ weren't even mentioned. It's apparent that Disney, a company that used to pride itself in being neurodivergent friendly has decided that population of guests is no longer as welcome. And that's fine. We have other vacation options.

 

[Evita_W]

A reminder if you hear someone is told to use Genie.
When people hear "Genie" they automatically go to "Genie+".

There is a FREE portion of GENIE is a free planning tool. It includes things like projected wait times to go on an attraction with the shortest wait. It's also possible to make a 'wish list' of attractions and it will come up with an itinerary to do those.
CMs have mentioned using Genie to me.
Because I knew about GENIE, I knew they were talking about the free one, not saying I needed to pay for it. I'm sure a lot of people don't know about the free planning version, so would think they were being told to purchase Genie +

If Genie is mentioned to people, they need to clarify what is meant.

Except if you follow the recommendations for Genie, you will end up in a lot longer lines, it really doesn't actually work, sadly Disney did a poor job implementing it.

 

[BingoJoe]

If this small poll is representative a 60% reduction in successful applications will make a noticeable difference to the parks and Disney must be pleased with that result.

 

[Evita_W]

If this small poll is representative a 60% reduction in successful applications will make a noticeable difference to the parks and Disney must be pleased with that result.

Except we don't know for sure what percentage of lightning lane guests are DAS holders. I mean if only 10% were DAS holders and the rest were people who bought Genie+, had guest recovery passes, were Club 33 Members, on VIP Tours, etc. then a 60% reduction of that 10% is relatively meaningless, if on the other hand it was say 50% DAS holders, a 60% reduction of that 50% would be quite significant. Numbers matter in the end and we don't know the true numbers, only Disney does.

I honestly think they should have done this in a step by step approach, first reduce the max party size, then make other adjustments, not try an all at once approach. This would have been more balanced, but that isn't what we have been dealt.

 

[lanejudy]

Please stick to reports of recent (since May 20th) DAS video chats. Any other discussion about the DAS changes should be taken to the other thread.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Honestly the cast member was kinda rude and hung up on me at the end while I was talking. Weird part is she said that she was going to bring in a specialist and never did.

If your son can even handle another call I’d try under the reasoning your conversation got cut off mid-call. Maybe they accidentally killed the conversation when trying to bring in the specialist? They have lots of new people working right now.

(although you’re not the first to report rudeness, so after the dust settles considering writing Disney. The CM’s call center name will be in your chat history and Disney does not allow the same screen name to be used by CMs in call centers so they will know exactly who you were talking to).

 

[Bearval]

If your son can even handle another call I’d try under the reasoning your conversation got cut off mid-call. Maybe they accidentally killed the conversation when trying to bring in the specialist? They have lots of new people working right now.

(although you’re not the first to report rudeness, so after the dust settles considering writing Disney. The CM’s call center name will be in your chat history and Disney does not allow the same screen name to be used by CMs in call centers so they will know exactly who you were talking to).

I am pretty sure if the child is a minor they are only required to be present for a photo if approved. We didn't have our daughter present during the conversation with the cast member so she would not get upset when discussing her needs.