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

[Karin1984]

This is correct.

Obtaining documentation is not an easy process. It took us a year with multiple visits to specialists, tests and they came to school to observe. The easier part is rather the cost of all this.

To me the way Disney did and does it does not feel good. Before the change I knew that onsite we would be approved. But it was easy to fake. Now it feels like a lottery, and people that need it get denied. In my opinion, Disney is going from allowing to much to disallowing to much.
And I only speak about cognitive disability.

Exactly, currently in the process to get an official diagnosis, working on it for almost a year now and the end is in sight.

I will add: DLP has 2 types of DAS, one that requieres documentation you can hand in, in advance. This includes an autism card, but if you have a handicap parking card you can use this as well (also this is not easy to get).

For this type DLP has a list per country which documentation qualifies, not just most European countries, the US also has a list.

And there is a second that requires a doctor's note, for this there is a list of diseases, you doctor has to declare that you have #29, sign it. Valid for 3 months. You cannot hand this in advance, but you will not get rejected with the note. You hand it in, the CM takes your picture, prints your pass and documents and sends you on your way.
This sounds an easy one to get, I am using this one till I have an official diagnosis, and it is an ordeal to get my doctor to sign it, every time. It is not handed out like candy.

It is easy to say "go there then!", but it is not about that. It is hard to understand for some (myself included) that a country as developed as the US falls behind when it comes to health care and everything that is attached to it.
And as an extension of this, hard to understand some parks in the US apparently do not have the same problems Disney has, and seem to have better working solutions.

But in the end, it does not matter. Disney has chosen to change the system in this way, and no matter what we do (except file complaints), it is not going to change.
Then again, even when the situation won't change you can still be frustrated about the situation and process.

 

[Bearval]

I'm sure they are monitoring their requests, I just don't know that I quite believe it will be in such numbers (meaning number of people who had never been applying for universal at all now suddenly deciding to because of Disney's changes. I think it's more likely there are people who've applied for both consistently who will just stop going to Disney). The accessibility of attractions at universal (O/H) is significantly different than WDW/DLR, which I would expect to play a part in what any of those numbers would look like also. I don't think it'll be a 1:1 shift.

If Universal begins to experience the same abuse of the system they will just like Disney be "forced" to follow the ADA guidelines.

 

[TwoMisfits]

You were allowed to bring food in with you. Did they allow you to have it reheated or did you have to keep it hot until you were ready to eat it

No, I could not have it reheated. It was solely my job to make it work for me. But I could bring it in, assuming I followed other rules (no glass, fit in X-size clear bag, etc)...edit to add - and I printed my approval letter and stuck it in the separated food bag, so security could see it (Capitol wanted to and did, stadium just believed me when they saw the folded paper)...

So, (since both were in winter weather, so keeping things hot would be hard anyway) sandwiches and fruit (which is a norm meal for me anyway) played a large role in my meal. I could have been more complicated, but I took the easy route.

 

[lanejudy]

Before the change I knew that onsite we would be approved. ...
Now it feels like a lottery, and people that need it get denied.

See, that is where you made an assumption that wasn't necessarily correct. DAS has never been guaranteed, even for those who had it previously. Recent years (past 2-3 or so) they seem to have really loosened, but prior to covid it wasn't a guarantee to get one either. Maybe it seemed easy, or maybe you already have the request phrased well explaining needs vs diagnosis. But it was never a guarantee even for someone who had one previously.

And what most are forgetting here is that accommodations are not being denied. One specific accommodation is being limited, but other accommodations are available.

Obtaining documentation is not an easy process. It took us a year with multiple visits to specialists, tests and they came to school to observe.

Exactly, currently in the process to get an official diagnosis, working on it for almost a year now and the end is in sight.

You are both explaining the process of getting a diagnosis. It can be a long process in the US as well, depending on the specific diagnosis. Once you have that diagnosis, your respective countries have official documentation of said diagnosis which then is the requirement for much of the accommodations offered in Europe. But what you are both missing is that in the US disability accommodations are not based on diagnosis; accommodations here are based on need. So even after one has gone through considerable processes for a formal diagnosis, there is still no "officially recognized" documentation. And US law does not permit documentation to be required for most public accommodations. Parking, sometimes accommodations for employment, school, maybe housing. Not much else unless attempting to get government benefits -- which the vast majority of individuals with a disability do not qualify for government benefits in the US.

 

[SteveMouse]

And what legal restrictions would those be? Other parks that offer advanced registration, such as Universal allows those from other countries to go through the entire process and know in advance. Now granted, Universal is trying to get away with this third party verification nonsense, but even so, if there were legal restrictions preventing Disney from preregistering those in other countries, then Universal wouldn’t be able to do so either.

There are a bunch of complexities when dealing with international issues including privacy rights such as Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). which applies to business activities throughout the EU. Sometimes, regulations between countries conflict with each other, making for a tangled web.

 

[mistysue]

<snip>
And what most are forgetting here is that accommodations are not being denied. One specific accommodation is being limited, but other accommodations are available.<snip>

Giving people a chance to read that again.

Also randomly state that we are 13 years past "this person will not be leaving the hospital alive" and still trying to put a name towards a diagnosis on that one. And the absurd number of rounds of various types of testing and specialists was more being pushed by the doctors than by us. We have been seriously burned by systems that use diagnosis rather than need as a criteria, So I'm more than happy to see a system that actually considers what a person is dealing with rather than what it is called.

 

[Ollivier]

See, that is where you made an assumption that wasn't necessarily correct. DAS has never been guaranteed, even for those who had it previously. Recent years (past 2-3 or so) they seem to have really loosened, but prior to covid it wasn't a guarantee to get one either. Maybe it seemed easy, or maybe you already have the request phrased well explaining needs vs diagnosis. But it was never a guarantee even for someone who had one previously.

In our individual case I was 99.9% sure my daugther would be approved.
Now I'm not sure at all, because I read that "understanding the concept of a line" makes it verry difficult to get approved, especiale when you are +18.

But understanding the concept does not mean that you can handle a line of e.g. 20 minutes. The need is still there.
I have +10 years of experience waiting in line with my daughter and how it effects her, us and the people around us in line.
I will not go into details because it could be used by people with bad intentions.
So I understand the difference between need vs diagnosis.

 

[BingoJoe]

But what you are both missing is that in the US disability accommodations are not based on diagnosis; accommodations here are based on need.

Thats the same in the UK, accomodations are based on needs, NOT diagnosis. The difference is that there is an assumption of possible fraud so it is usual to ask for some external proof of disability before any significant accommodation is given.

I would go so far as to say that for a large part of the British working class (of which I am a disapproving member), a lack of any form of check is a sign that a company doesn't care and a free for all is fair game.

 

[mistysue]

Thats the same in the UK, accomodations are based on needs, NOT diagnosis. The difference is that there is an assumption of possible fraud so it is usual to ask for some external proof of disability before any significant accommodation is given.

I would go so far as to say that for a large part of the British working class (of which I am a disapproving member), a lack of any form of check is a sign that a company doesn't care and a free for all is fair game.

Proof of disability means you are granting accommodation based on diagnosis.

 

[KrzyKtty101]

I do think it's weird that people keep bringing up universal like it's this hallmark to follow. I get that compared to the current DAS, It might seem like it for those with disabilities, but there express pass lines are also really long. Universal just doesn't seem to really care. But every time i've been to universal I've used express pass. And almost every time the lines for them can be a decent wait.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

I find it frustrating that people keep coming back to “but why can’t we just show proof?” or “but look at what Universal is doing.” If you are still asking that question, I’d suggest reading back over the last 384 pages. Somewhere - or 100 times - you’ll find the answer. It’s just not the answer that you are looking for.

 

[KrzyKtty101]

I find it frustrating that people keep coming back to “but why can’t we just show proof?” or “but look at what Universal is doing.” If you are still asking that question, I’d suggest reading back over the last 384 pages. Somewhere - or 100 times - you’ll find the answer. It’s just not the answer that you are looking for.

It's also discounting the fact that Universal Xpress pass lines are known to have decent waits as well. They always have. Universal just doesn't seem to care, and obviously disney did. I won't speak on what disney lineshave been like recently because I haven't been there in two years.

 

[Jrb1979]

It's also discounting the fact that Universal Xpress pass lines are known to have decent waits as well. They always have. Universal just doesn't seem to care, and obviously disney did. I won't speak on what disney lineshave been like recently because I haven't been there in two years.

Express Pass is advertised to skip half the wait of the normal queue.

 

[PrincessV]

read that "understanding the concept of a line" makes it verry difficult to get approved, especiale when you are +18.

I’m not singling you out, @Ollivier, just wanted to snip this from your post because I’ve seen it mentioned a number of times.

I keep seeing people on various platforms say their DAS CM told them DAS is for people who can’t understand the concept of waiting in a line, or some variation of that language. At first, I thought it was just the same poster spreading it around various places, and that may be happening. But I’m also starting to wonder if it’s a single DAS CM who keeps saying it. It’s just really odd that it keeps popping up in seemingly unrelated posts by different posters, using nearly identical language. And doubly odd that it’s only occasional enough to suggest that it’s not an official line that all or even most DAS CMs are using.

I have no idea how much truth is behind the reports of it, but I’ve seen plenty of other denial reports with no mention of such language, and plenty of approval reports of people who clearly understand the concept of a line and/or are over 18 years old. So I’m filing this one under Probably Fabricated But Could Be The Words of a Rogue CM for now.

(ETA: typo correction)

 

[starlite_]

I mean, I can't think of many destinations outside of theme parks where we've had to apply for disability accommodations at all. . Haven't needed to for NFL games, musical at equivalent of a Broadway theatre, historical sites...we have to do research to see what the accommodations are, and sometimes (for ex, the musical) it requires communication with the venue ahead of time - but it's not been an application process where we have to get someone to approve of the need for the accommodations outside of theme parks. It's just straight up communication of here's what we always have available and/or discussion of what else might we need and how can the venue work with us to meet that need.

Interesting. I remember you recently posted about your daughters trip to a school field trip and how complicated it was because of lack of certain accommodations and how much it fell on your shoulders to accommodate her, would you say this is how it normal goes on place like the ones you mentioned? NFL games, musical, historical sites??

I know I'm just making a guess here but I can't imagine a musical show has the need to accommodate 8% of the individuals at the theater at any given time. (taking the 8% figure calculated of how many DAS guests Disney had per day).

Still, I'm really glad that most venues are able to accommodate your daughter and are willing to work on an individualized basis with you<3

 

[KrzyKtty101]

Express Pass is advertised to skip half the wait of the normal queue.

I understand that and my problem isn't with that. My point is everybody pointing out that disney should do Universal System without considering that It doesn't actually solve Disney's perceived problem of to many eople in the LL line. Basically what I was pointing out is we see how many people are already in the express line

 

[Angel Ariel]

Interesting. I remember you recently posted about your daughters trip to a school field trip and how complicated it was because of lack of certain accommodations and how much it fell on your shoulders to accommodate her, would you say this is how it normal goes on place like the ones you mentioned? NFL games, musical, historical sites??

I know I'm just making a guess here but I can't imagine a musical show has the need to accommodate 8% of the individuals at the theater at any given time. (taking the 8% figure calculated of how many DAS guests Disney had per day).

Still, I'm really glad that most venues are able to accommodate your daughter and are willing to work on an individualized basis with you<3

Yes, we had a difficult field trip because there was a lack of accommodations. A lack of accommodations exists in a lot of places, that is not uncommon.

A lack of accommodations is a significantly different thing, however, than there being accommodations available that you have to apply for and someone decides whether or not you fit certain criteria to qualify for that accommodation.

As for the NFL game - other than bringing headphones, the venue took care of the accessibility accommodations. We followed their procedures and received accessible seating with a fantastic view of the game in an area that was accessible and comfortable for DD where she could actually see. Historical sites we haven't needed to do anything other than just typical pre-trip research. There's no applying for accommodations the way you apply for DAS.

Basically, apart from theme parks, our experience has been that accommodations are either present or they aren't. That venues will either work with you, or they don't. But they don't have a list of varying accommodations and have you go through any kind of application process to have their workers determine which accommodations you're allowed to use.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It's also discounting the fact that Universal Xpress pass lines are known to have decent waits as well. They always have. Universal just doesn't seem to care, and obviously disney did. I won't speak on what disney lineshave been like recently because I haven't been there in two years.

Universal has never promised super fast waits. It's a huge difference in the expectation you have at Universal compared to Disney. We experienced a better ratio of Standby guests to EP guests at Universal both as a Standby guest and as an EP guest. At Disney people expect very short waits through a mixture of Disney's marketing and past and present ways of handling their get ahead of the line.

For example when we rode Flight of the Hippogriff we noticed that during slow times they would do 1 train for Standby 1 for EP, during busy times it would be 1 trains for Standby, 2 trains for EP. At Disney you'd be more inclined to see as a baseline 1 train for Standby 2 trains for LL, they don't tend to shift the ratio and it leads to Standby lines crawling at a glacial pace even when crowds don't support this move to prioritize LL. But this is hardly new. I wrote about this type of issue back in 2019 when I was at DLR with MaxPass. I do think there may be room for adjustment if they are shifting more guests to Standby more IMO based on Disney having more control over who is in the LL by means of this adjustment in DAS in both numbers and who qualifies for straight up DAS.

I understand that and my problem isn't with that. My point is everybody pointing out that disney should do Universal System without considering that It doesn't actually solve Disney's perceived problem of to many eople in the LL line. Basically what I was pointing out is we see how many people are already in the express line

Universal caps their Express Pass lane in two ways, it caps the number of rooms that get it and it caps the number of separately purchased Express Pass. At Disney it's not at all this way. While Disney has now capped Genie+ sales unless they reduce the expectation of very fast wait time in the LL they will be pressured to have a more uneven ratio compared to Universal. So I agree with your point but it's more because I have much better realistic expectations of my time spent in lines at Universal.

 

[KrzyKtty101]

Universal has never promised super fast waits. It's a huge difference in the expectation you have at Universal compared to Disney. We experienced a better ratio of Standby guests to EP guests at Universal both as a Standby guest and as an EP guest. At Disney people expect very short waits through a mixture of Disney's marketing and past and present ways of handling their get ahead of the line.

For example when we rode Flight of the Hippogriff we noticed that during slow times they would do 1 train for Standby 1 for EP, during busy times it would be 1 trains for Standby, 2 trains for EP. At Disney you'd be more inclined to see as a baseline 1 train for Standby 2 trains for LL, they don't tend to shift the ratio and it leads to Standby lines crawling at a glacial pace even when crowds don't support this move to prioritize LL. But this is hardly new. I wrote about this type of issue back in 2019 when I was at DLR with MaxPass. I do think there may be room for adjustment if they are shifting more guests to Standby more IMO based on Disney having more control over who is in the LL by means of this adjustment in DAS in both numbers and who qualifies for straight up DAS.


Universal caps their Express Pass lane in two ways, it caps the number of rooms that get it and it caps the number of separately purchased Express Pass. At Disney it's not at all this way. While Disney has now capped Genie+ sales unless they reduce the expectation of very fast wait time in the LL they will be pressured to have a more uneven ratio compared to Universal. So I agree with your point but it's more because I have much better realistic expectations of my time spent in lines at Universal.

I agree, but really your post ends up helping my post. My point simply was that the two systems are really not that comparable so constantly stating that disney should just treat the system like Universal's doesn't work.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I agree, but really your post ends up helping my post. My point simply was that the two systems are really not that comparable so constantly stating that disney should just treat the system like Universal's doesn't work.

I've always said you can't compare the two products as they function differently (I've said it in this thread as well) but I think people are just pointing out that they feel more relief using Universal's system because they can and are will to provide proof. As I stated a page or two back outside of people comfortable with providing documentation most posts seem to come from international guests who are more used to that. I can relate to that "whew it's over here take my document and now I can go plan the trip" type thinking without agreeing that it would work the same at Disney (because I don't think it would work the same).