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

[Gentry2004]

That’s your perception.

Oh I stand corrected. I thought you were wholeheartedly in favor of the change.

 

[Angel Ariel]

BUT - blue sky thinking...
What if they used the ability to add things to personalize the disabled person's accommodations profile to match their needs. Sort of like a digital version of the GAC stamps.
Maybe one person has 'traditional DAS' that works the same as presently.
Maybe someone else gets a certain number of 'DAS entries' per day
Someone else has a Disability Rider Swap that can be arranged at every attraction - not just the ones with height requirements that are presently on the list

I feel like they've somewhat started doing this with the pre-registration, as it's been clear that they can see notes from prior year requests. So it doesn't seem like this would be a huge stretch

 

[OurBigTrip]

Oh I stand corrected. I thought you were wholeheartedly in favor of the change.

I’m wholeheartedly in favor of cutting back on issuing DAS, absolutely.

 

[Tatebeck]

Thinking of what a better system might look like that meets needs and discourages bad actors, I wonder if the following would work:

1.) Allow guests to choose from all available timeslots when selecting Genie+ slots, not just the soonest available.

2. All guests gets 1 Genie+ per day FOR FREE they can select up to 7 days in advance of their trip. During their trip they can select another after the first is used or after a 2 hour cool down, whichever comes first. (If this clogs things too much, you could change it to on-property hotel guests only and/or extend the cooldown.)

3. Guests also have the option to pay for A Macdaddy $$$ option (think what Universal charges or more) where you can pre-select 3 in advance and when the first one is used you can select another, but you can't have more than three active at once. Possibly include ILLs with this version. (Yes this is pay to play and no I personally don't like that aspect, but I'm trying to think like the Mouse while still letting non-premium paying guests get something.)

4. All ILL rides move to a virtual queue system for standby when the standby line becomes over 45 minutes. Or it's active 1 hour after park open to one hour before park close. Either/or. This way ropedroppers and end of nighters can still do their thing but you're not having people on 4 hour lines.

4. DAS remains as is in function, without being limited to developmental disorders, BUT you can't double-dip with the free Genie+, it's one or the other. You can of course add the Macdaddy version because Disney likes money.

Do people feel like this hypothetical would work for them? I'm curious as to why or why not.

I think both that Disney won't offer the freebie for everyone when they can charge for it, and I think that would put too many people INTO the LL when we are trying to get some people OUT of the LL if DAS is going to use it as it has to have a short wait for that reason

 

[Jdavidm]

I’m curious if Disney does have more saved in their system than they lead us to believe. They’ve always implied they could only see if you were previously registered for DAS but it would certainly help avoid abuse if they could see your reasoning for applying in the past and compare that to what you tell them after the changes take place.

Even a simple way to mark a case as physical vs cognitive/developmental. I’m in no way implying someone couldn’t have both types of disability but that a system to track reasoning for accommodation would certainly help them out.

 

[MediumSizedMermaid]

I think both that Disney won't offer the freebie for everyone when they can charge for it, and I think that would put too many people INTO the LL when we are trying to get some people OUT of the LL if DAS is going to use it as it has to have a short wait for that reason

My thinking was eliminating the 'double-dipping' might provide some relief. I'm also very in favor of increased-screening so long as it's not prioritizing one kind of disability over the other, so that might also eliminate some of the bad actors. I realize I didn't explicitly say that part.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Anyone get the feeling that Disney deliberately let this system get totally out of hand just so it would be easier for them to justify getting rid of?

I worry about this. But I really hope that's not the case!

Here's the bottom line, for me..... I would do almost anything if my adult son did NOT qualify for DAS, but he does. Because he does, we are able to go to WDW where we would not be able to without DAS. Therefore, I am very grateful for DAS on my son's behalf. He is unwelcome in many parts of the world at-large. But he loves his Mouse, Duck and Princesses and this gives him a joy that he doesn't have anywhere else. This will always be a difficult system to monitor. However, to those who are faking or embellishing a disability in order to ride a ride in a theme park, you are a kind of un-evolved creature who may, someday, need the sincere care of others for your daily living. I hope you haven't stored up all that karma until then.

THIS. There are so many places we can't go (and I know it will get even harder as he ages.) So I am incredibly thankful that we have DAS (and I hope we still will even after the new rules.)

Is there any chance that they may soften the blow a tiny bit by doing something like allowing G+ for free to the disabled guest as long as the rest of the party purchases it? Or extending return times to 2 hours instead of 1 if you have a disability exception? Or maybe even both

For the first idea they wouldn't have to split up for G+ rides, it would save the guest at least a tiny bit of money, and Disney would retain the line control (and they wouldn't technically be charging for an accomodation)

For the second it would allow disabled guests more flexibility with their needs, without giving them a real advantage as far a squeezing in more rides per day, just more flexibility to ride the rides they already reserved

I wouldn't like this at all, simply because my son has his favorite rides and we often go on them more than once a day. Plus, at Disneyland specifically, there are a lot of rides that aren't on G+ so we wouldn't be able to go on them at all.

2 reasons

1. The families of autistic families were who sued them last time

2. It stands to reason that kids with developmental disabilities will have the hardest time handling their party being separated. If they can’t handle the lines AND they can’t handle the separation, just do the DAS

YEP! There have been times when I purchased an individual LL for a ride that I know my son wouldn't go on (like the mine train) and I know it sounds bad, but we lied and told our son I was in the bathroom so he wouldn't get meltdown. The line ended up taking longer than I would have liked but thankfully it worked out okay. But I can't imagine having to do that all day for every ride. It just wouldn't work.

My own opinion - Disney put the word Autism in because when Guest Assistance Card was changed to DAS, a number of families with Autistic family members started protesting it wouldn't work for them before it even rolled out. Many autistic influencers went to the parks on the day it rolled out to livestream, expecting it to cause chaos. They started planning the lawsuit (which they ultimately lost) before it fully rolled out

What about the GAC pass did they like so much compared to DAS? GAC was from before my son was even born so I know nothing about it.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

I agree. This seems different from the prior lawsuit that Disney won. …

This time is different. Disney is not saying that they can't provide DAS. They can and still are providing DAS. Now instead they are saying that DAS is only reasonable for "certain" classes of disabilities. Its not the same as the previous lawsuit at all. We'll see if anyone sues. It certainly won't be me. My kids are almost grown and my DH (the one likely losing the DAS) was never as into Disney as the rest of us. We are theoretically going this fall, but if its a disaster I imagine that will be it for DH.

This may be different but Disney also won on this very similar issue (they can pick and choose which conditions require DAS and exclude certain ones) in a different case quoted in A.L. I saved the image I shared before and I’ll post it again here:

 

[KCO5988]

I feel like they've somewhat started doing this with the pre-registration, as it's been clear that they can see notes from prior year requests. So it doesn't seem like this would be a huge stretch

If they do have notes from previous visits it would be very easy to see the red flags of fakers. If hundreds of people who had claimed IBS in the past (because tik tok) now suddenly claimed autism that’s pretty incriminating on them.

 

[OurBigTrip]

I think both that Disney won't offer the freebie for everyone when they can charge for it, and I think that would put too many people INTO the LL when we are trying to get some people OUT of the LL if DAS is going to use it as it has to have a short wait for that reason

I think Disney recognizes that there are two issues - overuse and abuse - and they’re taking preliminary steps to address both.

They’re addressing the latter by trying to make the DAS less attractive by cutting back on party size, eliminating the automatic pre-selects for pre-registration, and making DAS users wait 10 minutes after redemption to choose another attraction. They’re approving the former by being more stringent about who gets DAS, and attempting to limit it to a group that can’t be accommodated any other way.

 

[Gentry2004]

What about the GAC pass did they like so much compared to DAS? GAC was from before my son was even born so I know nothing about it.

Immediate access to the front of the line. No waiting at all, in or out of the queue.

 

[Angel Ariel]

If they do have notes from previous visits it would be very easy to see the red flags of fakers. If hundreds of people who had claimed IBS in the past (because tik tok) now suddenly claimed autism that’s pretty incriminating on them.

And theoretically it should also keep from making things more difficult for those who truly do need it.

 

[Gentry2004]

And theoretically it should also keep from making things more difficult for those who truly do need it.

If only that were true.

 

[OurBigTrip]

I worry about this. But I really hope that's not the case!



THIS. There are so many places we can't go (and I know it will get even harder as he ages.) So I am incredibly thankful that we have DAS (and I hope we still will even after the new rules.)



I wouldn't like this at all, simply because my son has his favorite rides and we often go on them more than once a day. Plus, at Disneyland specifically, there are a lot of rides that aren't on G+ so we wouldn't be able to go on them at all.



YEP! There have been times when I purchased an individual LL for a ride that I know my son wouldn't go on (like the mine train) and I know it sounds bad, but we lied and told our son I was in the bathroom so he wouldn't get meltdown. The line ended up taking longer than I would have liked but thankfully it worked out okay. But I can't imagine having to do that all day for every ride. It just wouldn't work.



What about the GAC pass did they like so much compared to DAS? GAC was from before my son was even born so I know nothing about it.

With a GAC, if you had the green arrow stamp, you could go directly into the FastPass line immediately with no return time.

 

[Tatebeck]

I wouldn't like this at all, simply because my son has his favorite rides and we often go on them more than once a day. Plus, at Disneyland specifically, there are a lot of rides that aren't on G+ so we wouldn't be able to go on them at all.

In my example I am meaning the LL could be included on top of at least the rider swap/part of the group waiting in standby new accommodations. That would help them get a ride or two with short waits before reverting to whatever they are going to require with the standby lines in order to re-ride. Not as good as current DAS but it could be at least a little helpful?

 

[GoingSince1990]

If they do have notes from previous visits it would be very easy to see the red flags of fakers. If hundreds of people who had claimed IBS in the past (because tik tok) now suddenly claimed autism that’s pretty incriminating on them.

“So…. you had IBS for five years, which has now completely gone away, but you’ve recently been diagnosed with autism?” Awkward!

 

[Jdavidm]

And theoretically it should also keep from making things more difficult for those who truly do need it.

We can only hope this is true! I’ve only applied in person at Disneyland when we had Magic Keys so I don’t know if the process of note keeping would’ve been different since it wasn’t virtual.

I know I don’t have as much reason to be worried as those that don’t have the “listed disability” and it makes me feel kind of guilty for still worrying but the fact that I’m an autistic ADULT worries me. Will they expect me to be able to somehow “manage” my disability better because I’m an adult? It’s only ever my partner & I at the parks though and there are situations where I would need him in a carer role (I won’t go into that because I would consider that reasoning for needing DAS) so I imagine they wouldn’t be able to force rider switch on us because of that.

 

[nalababybear]

What about the GAC pass did they like so much compared to DAS? GAC was from before my son was even born so I know nothing about it.

GAC for many ASD got front of the line access via the exit gate. No line. We tried to minimize the usage of it as we felt the weight of using it impacting all those who waited, regardless of our own daily strife with our DS.

We were actually quite happy when DAS came out and a fair time of virtual queueing was introduced. G+ upset that balance by quite a bit more than FPmax ever did. Now the LL times can easily pass 30min and the same line issues come up. Luckily DS is much older now and able to distract and deploy his coping mechanisms and tolerating a noisecanceling headphone has helped tremendously. Alas, put a screaming toddler next to him --- we exit the line.

 

[Liquidice]

I was within my 30 days today so I did the video chat for DAS. The wait from start to finishing everything was 2 1/2 hours. The focus was still on why you cannot wait in line like I had answered before. There were more specific questions and I did feel like they were carefully considering my answers. I am autistic so my difficulties and problems are associated mostly with that and my comorbid disabilities. I obviously won’t go into detail on here. I had written down ahead of time what I wanted to cover as I do have some verbal difficulties communicating just off the cuff.
He did say that DAS changes were coming and that I should keep my written communication sheet as he said it was good information, I’d need it to help me next time, and good information helps them determine my eligibility.
My pass is good beyond the May 20 change date, up till in June actually. So 30 days from our first day.

Thank you for sharing - this sounds like you won't have to register twice if your trip overlaps the change over date of 5/20 for WDW and 6/18 for DLR.

 

[RamblinWreck]

This may be different but Disney also won on this very similar issue (they can pick and choose which conditions require DAS and exclude certain ones) in a different case quoted in A.L. I saved the image I shared before and I’ll post it again here:

Irrrespective of the shocking data they no doubt have on the rise in DAS usage and what portion of the LL for certain rides were occupied by DAS users, I think just about anyone with a disability that isn’t developmental in nature is going to have a hard time making an argument that Disney’s new policies aren’t accommodating them adequately.

It remains to be seen how parties of 1 or 2 are handled with certain disabilities though.

I think anyone who wants to successfully receive a DAS pass is going to have to make a compelling case that they can’t handle lines AND they can’t handle being separated from their party.