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

[Disneylover99]

That's a really nice thought, but it's just that, a thought. And in reality, he grew up in a time very different from us with very different morals.

He was a smart business man and showman. I doubt any of us know what he was really like. I whole heartily believe that we know and remember him exactly as the persona he and the company want us to remember.

That’s the point. He’d have to get with the times, even if he didn’t believe it or buy into it.

 

[Bearval]

So are other accommodations not an option? Only the paid? DAS was never intended to allow a full day’s worth of attractions in a short window of time. It’s intended to allow the DAS-holder as close to the same amount a non-DAS family might do in the same time, with time outside the queue to take care of needs. A non-DAS family of 8 has the same financial outlay, and they may be limited on time as well.

You hit the nail on the head, DAS was/is intended to give the individuals who need this service a similar as possible park experience as all other guests. Unfortunately Disney found out that " no good deed goes unpunished" by previously allowing just about everyone who asked for a DAS pass to get it and is now suffering a backlash from individuals who were approved in the past that didn't really need it. It got severely taken advantage of and was causing the system problems for the people who genuinely need it. I can remember being at Epcot last year where a family of six all had scooters .

 

[Disneylover99]

If a detective shows up at your door, you should be shown a badge, just sayin'......

Of course! Nobody should trust any stranger showing up unexpectedly at their door.

Applying for DAS is different. You’re contacting them, already knowing you’ll be speaking with a CM and possibly a medical professional.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

i'm sad for him
i know he's having a hard time even contemplating the flight.
It usually takes him at least a day to recover from the flight.
His issue is intense pain - he broke his back and neck - actually broke them in a terrible accident when he was 18 years old.
only by a miracle was his spinal cord not severed.
He was in surgery for 20 hours to put his spine and neck back together.
at the time, the surgeon said he would never walk again, even if his spinal cord itself wasn't severed.
He spent the next year and a half in hospital, 12 months of it flat on his back in a full body cast.
and then another 2 years after that in intensive physical therapy.

he's a miracle, he's alive and he can walk
for his mom and dad, he was reborn that day..
the surgeon actually took part in his wedding ceremony as it was such a miracle that he even got to that day
but he suffers from horrifying pain, not all the time, but much of the time and without predictability.
even just walking over uneven ground can result in him being bedridden the following day the pain is so intense.
The flight is a total nightmare for him.
but he knows at the end of the flight he'll experience disney magic...
or not...

What a miracle! It really puts into perspective all of the trivial day to day concerns.

I really hope that everything works out for your family.

 

[KrzyKtty101]

That’s the point. He’d have to get with the times, even if he didn’t believe it or buy into it.

I'm not even convinced of that. Iger is having to backpeddle the company's "getting with the times" a lot due to the complex political landscape.

 

[Karin1984]

I am not against "shopping CMs", for those who need it and are denied. Because the request process is very subjective and there can be a bit of luck involved in getting approved.

You have to be able to communicate your needs clearly. Some are better at it than others. Certain words or tone of voice might help or hinder.

And then there is the CM, some are better at understanding or willing to understand than others.

You or the CM can have a bad day what might influence the final decision.

If you think you were unable to communicate your needs properly or the CM didn't understand it, should you only get one chance of getting approved?

 

[Liquidice]

I am not against "shopping CMs", for those who need it and are denied. Because the request process is very subjective and there can be a bit of luck involved in getting approved.

You have to be able to communicate your needs clearly. Some are better at it than others. Certain words or tone of voice might help or hinder.

And then there is the CM, some are better at understanding or willing to understand than others.

You or the CM can have a bad day what might influence the final decision.

If you think you were unable to communicate your needs properly or the CM didn't understand it, should you only get one chance of getting approved?

Unfortunately, it seems the latest changes do in fact track if you've been denied by the CM already and then you must talk to an Inspire Health employee.

The CMs are looking at the chat history now and seeing that you have already applied for DAS and taking notes in the chat as well so the next CM can refer to it. There is nothing medical or symptom related put into the chat, just enough information so the next CM knows you were not granted the DAS accommodation.

I'm not quite sure exactly how this is working, but I've read if an Inspire Health employee has denied you, then it seems like a permanent denial - I assume it is a time limited denial maybe for that particular trip and hopefully they allow for you to re-apply if you've tried the accommodation they recommend (like AQR) and it isn't working for you.

I wonder how this will work if you have multiple family members who might need an accommodation? Is it going to be frowned upon if lets say a parent tries to apply for themselves, gets denied and then tries to apply for their child? I know a lot of people have mentioned that they were previously always approved for DAS, so they never tried for their child since the child would always ride with them.

Hopefully they will understand if you were denied once for yourself and then in the chat state you are now applying for a different person even though it might be under the same MDE.

 

[PrincessV]

But this decision seems again like Disney is just assuming everyone is trying to cheat and game the system and not really stepping back and understanding that there is a lot of anxiety associated with these video chats and some people may not do the best job at advocating for themselves in the right way.

Thank you for mentioning this (as some others have at various points, too.) I am a terrible advocate for myself; I’m so much better at advocating for my son. My condition is still fairly new to me and I struggle to accept and acknowledge how it impacts my life - I wake up every day expecting to be “normal” and it’s still a surprise every time it’s triggered. Some may notice I don’t even like calling it a disability. I’m very guilty of downplaying the severity simply because I don’t want to recognize it myself. Talking about the particulars of it with a seasoned professional that I’ve known a long time now and trust is already hard - doing the same with not only a stranger, but with the weight of knowing the stranger holds all of the “power” vis-a-vis approving or denying DAS? Extraordinarily hard.

My guess is that Disney heard “multiple adults who can wait in the SB line plus one DAS adult without a developmental disability.” So even if your SIL explained everything perfectly and had a legitimate need, there was little they could do at that point given Disney’s desire to reduce the number of people in the LLs.

This is really sticking out to me, too - not just in disneyholic family’s case, but across the board. If there are other members of the party who can do the waiting, Disney sure seems to see the AQR accommodation being the best fit. I can see its limitations in a theoretical sense - in disneyholic family’s SIL’s case, if the rest of the party waits in SB but he’s not feeling able to ride at the time they’re ready to board, AQR won’t have worked. BUT, I’d like to think if that situation arises that a conversation with either the CM at the attraction or GS could come up with a work-around to allow him to return later - maybe not with the entire party, but with at least one other family member. Ditto for using G+ if he’s unable to ride within the window. Probably not multiple times a day, but if it’s just one ride out of 3 or 4 that he needed some extra time? Maybe I’m giving Disney too much credit, but I think if asked nicely they might be willing to help.

(ETA: fixing typos bc the Bluetooth keyboard is acting up again)

 

[Disneylover99]

Unfortunately, it seems the latest changes do in fact track if you've been denied by the CM already and then you must talk to an Inspire Health employee.

The CMs are looking at the chat history now and seeing that you have already applied for DAS and taking notes in the chat as well so the next CM can refer to it. There is nothing medical or symptom related put into the chat, just enough information so the next CM knows you were not granted the DAS accommodation.

I'm not quite sure exactly how this is working, but I've read if an Inspire Health employee has denied you, then it seems like a permanent denial - I assume it is a time limited denial maybe for that particular trip and hopefully they allow for you to re-apply if you've tried the accommodation they recommend (like AQR) and it isn't working for you.

I wonder how this will work if you have multiple family members who might need an accommodation? Is it going to be frowned upon if lets say a parent tries to apply for themselves, gets denied and then tries to apply for their child? I know a lot of people have mentioned that they were previously always approved for DAS, so they never tried for their child since the child would always ride with them.

Hopefully they will understand if you were denied once for yourself and then in the chat state you are now applying for a different person even though it might be under the same MDE.

I think at this point, all you can do is ask for accommodation and try not to worry or concern yourself with your chat history or how you may be perceived. Just advocate for yourself/others as you feel necessary and see what happens.

 

[nalababybear]

I don't know, I kinda agree with Liquidice on this one.

If a detective shows up at your door, you should be shown a badge, just sayin'......

Sure. CM can show you their name tag. Are you going to demand that the detective talk about their shooting and exercise qualifications and academy records?

 

[TwoHeartsBeat]

Im not sure how to respond to this. To equate people who like to be naked to my family wanted to stay together on a family vacation seems like a bit of a stretch. Bottom line, for MY family, if we cannot all be together, we would rather not go. That's all I am saying.

I also agree that my families hardships are not other guests problems, and other guest should not suffer because of my families situation. For MY family, if we cannot stay together on vacation, it doesnt seem worth it. Our time together is limited and precious. I know this is true for everyone. I am not saying my family is more deserving than yours. I am just saying that without the accommodations DAS afforded out family, we will miss out on family time we treasured. Again, I appreciate reading everyones take on this. It is therapeutic in a way to voice my thoughts. Thanks for listening.

Completely agree with you. My husband and I go on vacation to be together. Going to the park is just what we are doing together. Sure we separate for a short time, bathroom breaks, or when I go on Tower of Terror. But even when I do go on ToT I pick a time with a short wait, so he isn't waiting on me long, and he spends some time in the shade taking a nap. To expect us to spend the day with me standing in line and him joining me at the end of the line would be 100% ridiculous. We will try the Genie+ and Lightning Lane only, plus rope dropping early entry, and of course the extended evening hours, but foresee a lot more trips to Universal in the future.

 

[Bearval]

It makes sense, but at the same time there seems to have been some inconsistency from both CMs and the "medical professionals". Its very possible the inconsistency is on the guest's part but I wouldn't be surprised if there's a little bit of both going on. There have been reports of really great CMs who take the time to understand and ask the right questions and make sure people are providing enough information to help that CM make a decision and some reports of CMs who are very short and cut off people and even hang up on them while the person is trying to explain.

I realize this can be emotional and perhaps some people are exaggerating or simply not hearing things or recalling things correctly, but I think it'd be remiss to simply assume Disney and their CMs are always doing everything perfectly and the people are always just being emotional.

But this decision seems again like Disney is just assuming everyone is trying to cheat and game the system and not really stepping back and understanding that there is a lot of anxiety associated with these video chats and some people may not do the best job at advocating for themselves in the right way. So now these people may have a "red flag" put on them simply because they want to try to better advocate for themselves. Sure talking to the "medical professional" is not an automatic denial, but it certainly feels like there would be extra scrutiny on the person and extra stress now if their second try they immediately have to talk to the "medical professional".

I don't think Disney is just assuming everyone is trying to cheat the system. When we had our video chat we were asked a total of three questions before our daughter was approved ( we were asked more than that after we were told we were approved but these were more about how DAS works and what else was available for us). I am not going to say what the questions were but it is clear now that how we responded to the first two questions lead to what were we asked for question number three. I am sure that everyone who has a child with a developmental condition are all asked the same first two questions. It is how you respond to the second one that determines what you are asked next.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

To expect us to spend the day with me standing in line and him joining me at the end of the line would be 100% ridiculous.

Well I wouldn't find it ridiculous considering I spent the majority of my day at Universal for instance sitting out waiting for my husband to ride rides and we're just 2 people touring the parks and that's with me not being able to even ride many of those rides. For as much comments people have about this splitting up (which sometimes is just assumptions on how it would go prior to the DAS interview and other times it is the advice recommended after the DAS interview) it's honestly getting to the point of borderline rude to talk about it the way some are.

It's not because no one understands that many would like to be in line with their families but it's the adjectives used such as ridiculous, going on vacation to be together, family time, etc. Those of us who do it already are now aren't being ridiculous, aren't taking away our family time, etc even if we would love to always be in line with our traveling party.

I have been to WDW in 2011, 2017 and 2022, DL in 2019 twice, USO in 2011, 2017 and 2022 with my husband (I've been to the parks prior to these years too but it was before I met my husband) and we're about to do Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea in a few months. Never have I felt like we were not able to get time together, never have I felt like we weren't having family time. When I went to Silver Dollar City with my DISer friends in 2022 I sat out on quite a few rides but I never felt like we weren't having our time together or that it was ridiculous. Interesting that you speak of Universal because I can only ride a few rides there and yet I have just as much fun there at WDW. Give me MIB or E.T. or Seuess High in the Sky and I'm a happy person (P.S. if you go to Universal and can handle sit down theater shows with some loud noises check out Bourne Stuntacular I personally wear my noise reduction headphones for that due to sudden loud noises but the show we really liked).

It's 1000% understandable if someone does feel that way for themselves but there's also extending that understanding to those of us who do this on the regular that we're not somehow not enjoying ourselves, that it's a ridiculous expectation, that we're not having family time on a trip. And this is all with the difference that I'm not actually riding these rides with my husband and what is being talked about is still riding the rides with your traveling party. I think I'm spending even less time with my husband while touring the parks than many people here talking about loss of family time (just based on the comments) and it's drastically different how I look at our vacation.

 

[mistysue]

Completely agree with you. My husband and I go on vacation to be together. Going to the park is just what we are doing together. Sure we separate for a short time, bathroom breaks, or when I go on Tower of Terror. But even when I do go on ToT I pick a time with a short wait, so he isn't waiting on me long, and he spends some time in the shade taking a nap. To expect us to spend the day with me standing in line and him joining me at the end of the line would be 100% ridiculous. We will try the Genie+ and Lightning Lane only, plus rope dropping early entry, and of course the extended evening hours, but foresee a lot more trips to Universal in the future.

If you are using G+, LL, and not popping into the parks for a couple hours at the peak of crowds, it's unlikely there are going to be many times where the only options are lines beyond a typical G+ line. There is not a rule that if a person ever might need to leave the line that they always must wait outside. It's certainly not typical, even among DAS users, that the person literally needs to have the LL line for every single ride. This implies a situation where even DAS wouldn't be enough because those lines do back up on occasion, and if it's impossible to wait for 10 minute lines because you needed LL, DAS still wouldn't meet the needs of that person.
I could see it if the family insists on visiting on days where the park may hit capacity, but that's definitely a personal choice to go at a terrible time. It seems like focusing on worst case scenario to imagine you are going to be split up on every single line.

 

[SueM in MN]

Unfortunately, it seems the latest changes do in fact track if you've been denied by the CM already and then you must talk to an Inspire Health employee.

The CMs are looking at the chat history now and seeing that you have already applied for DAS and taking notes in the chat as well so the next CM can refer to it. There is nothing medical or symptom related put into the chat, just enough information so the next CM knows you were not granted the DAS accommodation.

I'm not quite sure exactly how this is working, but I've read if an Inspire Health employee has denied you, then it seems like a permanent denial - I assume it is a time limited denial maybe for that particular trip and hopefully they allow for you to re-apply if you've tried the accommodation they recommend (like AQR) and it isn't working for you.

I wonder how this will work if you have multiple family members who might need an accommodation? Is it going to be frowned upon if lets say a parent tries to apply for themselves, gets denied and then tries to apply for their child? I know a lot of people have mentioned that they were previously always approved for DAS, so they never tried for their child since the child would always ride with them.

Hopefully they will understand if you were denied once for yourself and then in the chat state you are now applying for a different person even though it might be under the same MDE.

Have you applied for or used DAS?

CMs have always had notes to refer to in the guest’s record.
They have always started the conversation with, “Let me take a moment to familiarize myself with/review your record”
If someone is applying for DAS for another person on the account, I assume the CM would be able to access that

I have read things on line/Facebook where people have used the same words - “it APPEARS if an Inspire Health employee has denied you, then it SEEMS like a PERMANENT denial” (My CAPS)

That isn’t fact, it’s rumor, repeated.
In fact, I have seen posts where a guest was denied with the Inspire Health Professional, called back with more information and was approved. Often, it was after trying the suggested strategies, but sometimes not.

It also would make sense that if someone was denied with or without the Health Professional and contacts again, the Health Professional would be involved because it’s over the ‘CM level’

My daughter has had DAS since it began and also had GAC (the previous program before that). We always were aware that having been approved in the past did not guarantee approval in the future. I was always nervous calling because of that and will be nervous again next time. I don’t know whether or not she will be approved in the future. Hope so, but not counting it as a given

 

[mistysue]

Well I wouldn't find it ridiculous considering I spent the majority of my day at Universal for instance sitting out waiting for my husband to ride rides and we're just 2 people touring the parks and that's with me not being able to even ride many of those rides. For as much comments people have about this splitting up (which sometimes is just assumptions on how it would go prior to the DAS interview and other times it is the advice recommended after the DAS interview) it's honestly getting to the point of borderline rude to talk about it the way some are.

It's not because no one understands that many would like to be in line with their families but it's the adjectives used such as ridiculous, going on vacation to be together, family time, etc. Those of us who do it already are now aren't being ridiculous, aren't taking away our family time, etc even if we would love to always be in line with our traveling party.

I have been to WDW in 2011, 2017 and 2022, DL in 2019 twice, USO in 2011, 2017 and 2022 with my husband (I've been to the parks prior to these years too but it was before I met my husband) and we're about to do Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea in a few months. Never have I felt like we were not able to get time together, never have I felt like we weren't having family time. When I went to Silver Dollar City with my DISer friends in 2022 I sat out on quite a few rides but I never felt like we weren't having our time together or that it was ridiculous. Interesting that you speak of Universal because I can only ride a few rides there and yet I have just as much fun there at WDW. Give me MIB or E.T. or Seuess High in the Sky and I'm a happy person (P.S. if you go to Universal and can handle sit down theater shows with some loud noises check out Bourne Stuntacular I personally wear my noise reduction headphones for that due to sudden loud noises but the show we really liked).

It's 1000% understandable if someone does feel that way for themselves but there's also extending that understanding to those of us who do this on the regular that we're not somehow not enjoying ourselves, that it's a ridiculous expectation, that we're not having family time on a trip. And this is all with the difference that I'm not actually riding these rides with my husband and what is being talked about is still riding the rides with your traveling party. I think I'm spending even less time with my husband while touring the parks than many people here talking about loss of family time (just based on the comments) and it's drastically different how I look at our vacation.

I think you hit on why the comments are bothering me, which I hadn't figured out for myself yet. Thank you for being such a good communicator!

 

[Grim Grinning Ghostie]

True, but my point was that just because someone is denied doesn’t mean the medical professional isn’t competent, which seems to be a theme

That being said, it absolutely is not their place to tell someone how severe their Autism is, or whether or not they believe the person has it at all. That's highly inappropriate. Their job is to either approve the DAS request or offer alternate accommodations, not to assess the validity of someone's diagnosis.

I say that as someone who was approved under the new rules, so it doesn't come from a place of bitterness at not getting my way.

 

[Liquidice]

Have you applied for or used DAS?

CMs have always had notes to refer to in the guest’s record.
They have always started the conversation with, “Let me take a moment to familiarize myself with/review your record”
If someone is applying for DAS for another person on the account, I assume the CM would be able to access that

I have read things on line/Facebook where people have used the same words - “it APPEARS if an Inspire Health employee has denied you, then it SEEMS like a PERMANENT denial” (My CAPS)

That isn’t fact, it’s rumor, repeated.
In fact, I have seen posts where a guest was denied with the Inspire Health Professional, called back with more information and was approved. Often, it was after trying the suggested strategies, but sometimes not.

It also would make sense that if someone was denied with or without the Health Professional and contacts again, the Health Professional would be involved because it’s over the ‘CM level’

My daughter has had DAS since it began and also had GAC (the previous program before that). We always were aware that having been approved in the past did not guarantee approval in the future. I was always nervous calling because of that and will be nervous again next time. I don’t know whether or not she will be approved in the future. Hope so, but not counting it as a given

Yes, I have used DAS in the past but have not yet applied under the new rules (Not in the 30 day window yet). I have applied via the video chat multiple times since 2021.

Understand and agree the chat has always had history, as I can see my own chat history when I scroll back up. But I have never had a CM previously reference chat history with me before or say that they were referencing or reviewing my record. They do say that they are looking at my MDE to verify my park reservations and ticket status. They have said to me before that they can see I have applied for and had DAS too. Previously it was mentioned that Disney cannot store anything other than that you have had DAS in the past.

I agree too that how permanent is permanent is not well defined at this point - it could simply be that you are not able to re-apply for this particular trip. But it did seem to be a recent change.

I also have read about people who called a 2nd or 3rd time and got approved after they provided more information, but not so much recently. This change on denial if they have already applied seems to be something new that I have read only in the past few days.

I'm only trying to share what I am reading / hearing. I have tried my best to caveat that this is what other people are indicating and it isn't absolutely 100% fact since nobody can truly say it is fact except Disney and they are not going to share publicly their internal policies.

As things seem to be changing all the time, I was trying to share to make this group aware of what others are experiencing.

Please let me know if this isn't helpful and I can stop sharing though - my post was simply in the interest of sharing with the group. I did add my opinion in there, and maybe thats what isn't welcome.

 

[RamblinWreck]

So in the new system, do the CM’s ever approve the DAS without looping in the medical professionals?

Or are the medical professionals only looped in for denials that are still advocating, or for people the CM’s don’t know what to do with?

 

[Liquidice]

So in the new system, do the CM’s ever approve the DAS without looping in the medical professionals?

Or are the medical professionals only looped in for denials that are still advocating, or for people the CM’s don’t know what to do with?

Generally speaking if the CM cannot make a decision, they bring in the Inspire Health person to assist. Its possible they may do it for other reasons as well.

I don't think it is due to continued advocating that would cause them to bring in someone from Inspire Health.

It does sound like if you were denied by the CM and try again, they will bring in a person from Inspire Health, but again this is not fact, it is just based on a few people's experiences that have shared in other groups and I guess its possible that multiple people are lying about this part as well, so take it with a grain of salt.