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

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

I called to get a DAS pass for my neurodivergent daughter and for many reasons has difficulty with crowds and lines. We’ve used it since she was 6, she’s 13 now. I buy the MLL pass and use the DAS when needed. The cast member was abusive asking her question after question as I trying to tell the cast member she can’t express herself well. Then she denied my daughter and was so rudely dismissive. We head to the parks next week and I’m not looking forward to it at all.

I’m sorry that you had such a bad experience. Did they talk to you about other accommodations for your daughter?

While it is generally not recommended to call back BEFORE your trip to try to get a different answer (so as not to get flagged as someone who is trying to abuse the system), if you find that the accommodations are not working while in the park you can try to call again, particularly if you felt like you weren’t able to properly express your needs.

 

[delilah30]

The cast member didn’t even offer other accommodations, it was so belittling. Thank you for the advice, very much appreciated

 

[TioAdis78]

I’ve been wondering lately how much, if at all, being international visitors who are fluent in English had an effect on our approved call. When you learn a second language you learn a heightened version of it, and when you are fluent you can be prone to embellish and flourish your speech, and I usually can’t be stopped once I get going, being ND myself, my children and their needs is one of my special interests. That way the children themselves are free from answering any questions, other than very basic pleasantries.
I knew, as the rules changed, that my kids could be the poster children for the visitor profile that they seem to mostly (only?) grant the service to, but I knew that I’d have to very clearly and very specifically let them see it. Luckily, we got accepted for both, spoke to a very nice and kind young man who listened to us, and we just got back from a great trip, that as anyone with our challenges know, is never 100% smooth, but pretty close.

Another thing I meant to ask was if anyone knows why they changed the color of the tag for the strollers from red to purple?

 

[KPeterso]

Another thing I meant to ask was if anyone knows why they changed the color of the tag for the strollers from red to purple?

There are about 5-6 colors now (red, purple, lime green, orange, dark pink, and maybe one more). They did it first at Disneyland because people were wiping off the dates on their older tags or creating fake ones. By rotating the color, it is harder to fake it. CMs know what colors they should see for around what dates.

 

[TioAdis78]

There are about 5-6 colors now (red, purple, lime green, orange, dark pink, and maybe one more). They did it first at Disneyland because people were wiping off the dates on their older tags or creating fake ones. By rotating the color, it is harder to fake it. CMs know what colors they should see for around what dates.

Well, that makes sense! I now wish we’d gotten a lime green one! How often do they rotate colors? We were there for ten days and I didn’t see any other than purple and the light blue they give to the wagons

 

[Deebee_7]

I’ve been wondering lately how much, if at all, being international visitors who are fluent in English had an effect on our approved call. When you learn a second language you learn a heightened version of it, and when you are fluent you can be prone to embellish and flourish your speech, and I usually can’t be stopped once I get going, being ND myself, my children and their needs is one of my special interests. That way the children themselves are free from answering any questions, other than very basic pleasantries.
I knew, as the rules changed, that my kids could be the poster children for the visitor profile that they seem to mostly (only?) grant the service to, but I knew that I’d have to very clearly and very specifically let them see it. Luckily, we got accepted for both, spoke to a very nice and kind young man who listened to us, and we just got back from a great trip, that as anyone with our challenges know, is never 100% smooth, but pretty close.

Another thing I meant to ask was if anyone knows why they changed the color of the tag for the strollers from red to purple?

Well I found being a non native English speaker to be a hurdle rather than any help. English is not even my second language. Where I live (Europe) you only start learning English halfway through high school and for the rest you pick it up from TV and as you go along. I can certainly put my point across but feel that the fluency you have as a native speaker is a great advantage in these type of calls. When I made the DAS call for my daughter (neurodivergent) I started off by saying I was not a native English speaker. CM asked me some questions and by question 3 she kept repeating the same question. She said she was not hearing 'the right wording'. I also struggled to really understand the question. Lukily she did not end the call there but called in a health care professional. She also announced to the health care professional that English was not my mother tongue. It went OK from there and my daughter got approved.
But I think if you were to ask all native English speakers to now do the DAS call in (let's say) French they would also struggle.

 

[TioAdis78]

Well I found being a non native English speaker to be a hurdle rather than any help. English is not even my second language. Where I live (Europe) you only start learning English halfway through high school and for the rest you pick it up from TV and as you go along. I can certainly put my point across but feel that the fluency you have as a native speaker is a great advantage in these type of calls. When I made the DAS call for my daughter (neurodivergent) I started off by saying I was not a native English speaker. CM asked me some questions and by question 3 she kept repeating the same question. She said she was not hearing 'the right wording'. I also struggled to really understand the question. Lukily she did not end the call there but called in a health care professional. She also announced to the health care professional that English was not my mother tongue. It went OK from there and my daughter got approved.
But I think if you were to ask all native English speakers to now do the DAS call in (let's say) French they would also struggle.

Luckily you got approved! I think that in both our cases, English not being our first language worked in our favor.
In our call the CM didn’t have to call in the health professional, and I thought they were *always* called in to make the decision. In what cases is the health professional called in to ask further questions then?
And oh yeah, I’d be shaking in my boots if I had to explain my case in French!

 

[KPeterso]

Well, that makes sense! I now wish we’d gotten a lime green one! How often do they rotate colors? We were there for ten days and I didn’t see any other than purple and the light blue they give to the wagons

I honestly am not quite sure. Maybe monthly or bi-monthly. Hard to tell since Magic key holders can get their strollers tagged for 60 days at a time, so I often see more than 1 color tag. No idea how the cast members keep straight that it is a current color.

 

[krismom345]

Worst fear realized yesterday after entering Disneyland park~
wanted to give an update as this was a weird and unexpected experience. We were approved for DAS two weeks prior to trip and told the DAS tile would show up upon entering park. I even posted here about being anxious I had no “proof” of the approval.
We went to guest services and the very kind CM said he could see the DAS attached to my daughters ticket but “it wasn’t completed.” He spent a lot of time talking to a lead and calling the DAS team and said that unfortunately we’d have to redo the call. At the guest services counter! In the old days this was fine, but I knew the interview was more specific and I was worried this would set off a huge meltdown for my daughter.
I did my best and eventually stepped out onto Main Street while not hearing much of the interviewer - but it was AWFUL. Im not sure why the tech issue happened- but the CM said “he’s never seen this happen before” and they had the notes on the account but wouldn’t just approve it based on that.
It all worked out and the CM’s were very kind and trying to help- but it took 90min and caused so much stress and strife.
The interviewer gave us our first ride pick (Alice in wonderland!) as a courtesy, but man, it was such an unexpected experience.
Gotta say, I love Disneyland, but WDW has it beat with the app and all things flowing more smoothly.
Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that not everything goes to plan, no matter how much we try. Here’s hoping the next two days are easier!

 

[jennab]

I wanted to share here (also shared on approval thread) that my child got approved this morning. I did the chat about 7:15am CST and got connected immediately to someone and on the video visit. She asked me questions for probably 5ish min, said we were approved, and took a pic of my child and asked his favorite ride. She explained some of the changes to DAS since we haven’t been in 2.5yrs.

The CM was very nice and reassuring. Asked the questions in a non threatening way. I even told her that I had some notes as I get anxious and tend to forget what I want to say, so may look over at them. She smiled and said she understood. She asked what my child’s issues are in line, how he acts, and what we do to accommodate him during travel or other areas like school.

Overall I thought it was very similar to the previous process for us.

 

[AnneK]

Interesting that all Cedar Fair parks as well as Knotts Berry Farm have added themselves to the eligible IBCCES card list, along with all Six Flags Parks and Universal Orlando & Hollywood. Glad to see it expanding, IBCCES has made life at parks outside of Disney so much more manageable.

 

[HopperFan]

Interesting that all Cedar Fair parks as well as Knotts Berry Farm have added themselves to the eligible IBCCES card list, along with all Six Flags Parks and Universal Orlando & Hollywood. Glad to see it expanding, IBCCES has made life at parks outside of Disney so much more manageable.

Cedar Fair and Six Flags merged - and owns Knotts so they are all one company.

Glad Disney is not using IBCCES.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Cedar Fair and Six Flags merged - and owns Knotts so they are all one company.

Glad Disney is not using IBCCES.

And presumably if there are issues with it on the side of the Six Flags lawsuit because Six Flags is now the parent company that card would be removed from acceptability with the parks now under the Six Flags umbrella.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

Interesting that all Cedar Fair parks as well as Knotts Berry Farm have added themselves to the eligible IBCCES card list, along with all Six Flags Parks and Universal Orlando & Hollywood. Glad to see it expanding, IBCCES has made life at parks outside of Disney so much more manageable.

If one still must discuss their accommodation needs how has having IBCCES made life more manageable for you outside of Disney? Do you feel like it guarantees that something will be available? Has it raised awareness of accommodations that you weren’t previously familiar with?

I have yet to see any explanation of how something like this would help at Disney, so I’m curious if hear from someone who has benefitted from the IBCCES requirement.

 

[Philsfan77]

If one still must discuss their accommodation needs how has having IBCCES made life more manageable for you outside of Disney? Do you feel like it guarantees that something will be available? Has it raised awareness of accommodations that you weren’t previously familiar with?

I have yet to see any explanation of how something like this would help at Disney, so I’m curious if hear from someone who has benefitted from the IBCCES requirement.

I was thinking the same thing. IBCCES itself is not a rubber stamp to a one size fits all accommodation like DAS was. Its an acceptance to have a conversation about what your needs are in a Theme park. People still get denied accommodations after getting the IBCCES rubber stamp at those parks. Some people get higher level accommodations at those parks than others. Overall the process isn't much different, but it does cut out having to explain your needs to a potential medical professional, as IBCCES serves that role when you submit your documentation.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

I was thinking the same thing. IBCCES itself is not a rubber stamp to a one size fits all accommodation like DAS was. Its an acceptance to have a conversation about what your needs are in a Theme park. People still get denied accommodations after getting the IBCCES rubber stamp at those parks. Some people get higher level accommodations at those parks than others. Overall the process isn't much different, but it does cut out having to explain your needs to a potential medical professional, as IBCCES serves that role when you submit your documentation.

But does it even do that? Because there have been reports that just say that all you have to submit is a note that says “my client is disabled” or a copy of your handicap parking pass. I would imagine that if a conversation gets escalated to a medical professional they aren’t looking to see if someone is in a wheelchair (for example), but rather if there is something in their needs explanation that the “normal” CM doesn’t understand, or doesn’t understand well enough that they would think that a medical professional might be able to provide additional insight to. The IBCCES designation wouldn’t remove the need to have that conversation.

Of course the caveat here is that this assumes that the park (e.g. Disney) is still trying to redirect many guests into alternative accommodations and narrow the scope of what DAS 2.0 is appropriate for.

To me IBCCES just feels like unnecessary gate keeping and an extra step in the process, but if someone has had a different experience I’d be happy to gain a different perspective.

 

[Philsfan77]

But does it even do that? Because there have been reports that just say that all you have to submit is a note that says “my client is disabled” or a copy of your handicap parking pass. I would imagine that if a conversation gets escalated to a medical professional they aren’t looking to see if someone is in a wheelchair (for example), but rather if there is something in their needs explanation that the “normal” CM doesn’t understand, or doesn’t understand well enough that they would think that a medical professional might be able to provide additional insight to. The IBCCES designation wouldn’t remove the need to have that conversation.

Of course the caveat here is that this assumes that the park (e.g. Disney) is still trying to redirect many guests into alternative accommodations and narrow the scope of what DAS 2.0 is appropriate for.

To me IBCCES just feels like unnecessary gate keeping and an extra step in the process, but if someone has had a different experience I’d be happy to gain a different perspective.

That is why I said IBCCES is just a rubber stamping process. I don't know that anyone gets denied at that stage. People absolutely do still get denied at Universal though when they get to the conversation stage of accommodations. To your point, it's probably an unnecessary step, but I do imagine it weeds out some people before they get to the conversation stage. I will come off as ableist here, but I have quite a few friends who are self-diagnosed with "anxiety". They wouldn't be able to generate even a note from a doctor saying my client is disabled, but they can definitely just jump on a call with Disney and try and sell it to the DAS team. IBCCES in theory would eliminate people like that.

 

[Keladry84]

But does it even do that? Because there have been reports that just say that all you have to submit is a note that says “my client is disabled” or a copy of your handicap parking pass. I would imagine that if a conversation gets escalated to a medical professional they aren’t looking to see if someone is in a wheelchair (for example), but rather if there is something in their needs explanation that the “normal” CM doesn’t understand, or doesn’t understand well enough that they would think that a medical professional might be able to provide additional insight to. The IBCCES designation wouldn’t remove the need to have that conversation.

Of course the caveat here is that this assumes that the park (e.g. Disney) is still trying to redirect many guests into alternative accommodations and narrow the scope of what DAS 2.0 is appropriate for.

To me IBCCES just feels like unnecessary gate keeping and an extra step in the process, but if someone has had a different experience I’d be happy to gain a different perspective.

For me, at least as regards Universal and parks that use it, it gives certainty and security in requesting the accommodations. At universal, I have a case number to present, I get the card for the trip, and then go on my way. There's no anxiety when requesting. I haven't tried it at a 6 flags or other park that uses it, but I would feel a lot less anxiety requesting an accommodation there as I can show them the app than at parks that don't use it.

It is not necessarily IBCCES that gives me the security - it's the process adopted by the park. Likewise, if I go to Disneyland Paris I know exactly what to bring/show and know how I will be accommodated as they give specific USA available documents. Tokyo Disney however is confusing and anxiety inducing as they say to show a "Japanese government disability certificate" which no one outside of Japan will have...... My local park, World's of Fun, was also intimidating for me to request because the process/requirements aren't very clear in the information online. Having the IBCCES (or specifically laid out documents to provide) really help me at least because I know what to expect and how the process works.

 

[AnneK]

The "lawsuit" that everyone keeps talking about was brought forth by a guy rather notorious in my Six Flags groups for being entitled, rude and quick to anger. It's been well over a year since it was filed and nothing has happened from it. Also it was against the park, not IBCCES. Details are important.

I prefer IBCCES because I can provide proof of a medical need and be set for the entire year. Six Flags did not require any further discussion, I just pick up my pass at the beginning of every visit. I am pretty much forever set at Universal as well as long as my card is kept current, which is easy to do. Universal actually upgraded my disability pass once they introduced IBCCES and it has improved my park experience tremendously.

Disney is literally the only theme park which has decided I am not disabled enough.

 

[jennab]

Disney is literally the only theme park which has decided I am not disabled enough.

Disney is offering you accommodations, you might not like them, but accommodations are available.