Universal now requiring documentation be sent to a third party for accessibility

[herdtoDisney]

THIS.

Amazingly, some autistic people can "mask" their stims and appear neurotypical for periods of time. It does not suddenly make them not autistic, or not in need of a DAS

Thank you, and others, for saying this (and similar). I've been stressed for two days about this thread, I have to chime in.

Yes, my dd with ASD is likely to be calm and happy in the DAS line. It's outside, she can compare leaves or chase birds or whatever. If the DAS line was enclosed, dark, noisy and had a preshow-you'd see exactly why we get a DAS!

It's distressing to know that people judge my sweet, amazing little girl based on stuff like this.

 

[kathyk2]

My grandson struggles to make to the DAS CM. Between the long line and the noise from the train, it’s rough. Last trip, we had to leave the line and go to another DAS location. It’s so strange to me majority of people in the long dedicated DAS line dont show any discomfort? I’m getting tired of the rampant rule breaking in society.

I used to do disability awareness talks. I used to say that disabled people are like snowflakes no two people are the same. Some people might not believe that I'm disabled because I speak well if they saw me using mobility aids they would have a different opinion. Just because others don't act like your grandson doesn't mean they aren't disabled.

 

[DLgal]

Our reasons for getting the DAS pass have NOTHING to do with "behavior".

Nor do ours. My autistic kids don't have "behaviors". Unless you consider the actual meltdowns. They don't look any sort of way. People can't tell they are autistic until they talk to them. Then it becomes very clear.

When my boys were little, one would flick his ears and toe walk a bit. But that faded away on its own. He uses fidget toys now and has kind of a bouncy walk, but it's not really something that makes him stand out.

 

[ttintagel]

And this also brings up the point that many people don't disclose that they have a disability in the workplace because of the discrimination they face here in the US. And yes, discrimination is illegal. But acting like just because it's illegal it doesn't happen is burying our heads in the sand.

I can't begin to tell you the number of times I've been accused of lying about being denied accommodations at work and university. "That can't have happened; it's against the ADA."

It's not like there are Disability Cops you can call on your boss or your department chair. The ADA is only as strong as your employer's belief in your ability to successfully bring a major lawsuit with a significant financial penalty.

 

[ttintagel]

Secondly, and I may get flamed for this, but everyone has a decision to make. If your disability or circumstances can no longer be accommodated, then you have a decision. A theme park isn’t a life need.

I'm a bit confused as to why you think everyone here doesn't already know this. There are things that no reasonable accommodation can make accessible for me. So I know those are out of reach and I don't worry about them. What we're all discussing here are things that we CAN do as long as we're not denied a reasonable accommodation.

 

[DawnM]

We have a son with some disabilities and it is severe enough that standing in line is an issue for everyone.
I honestly would prefer this system. It is good for a whole year. We have APs and are currently on our 4th trip to Disney this year. We have to re-do the pass every trip because it is only good for a certain amount of time. I would love to have it good for a full year!
Every time we have to verify, we are on hold on the Disney site for 45 min to 1.5 hours.

 

[ArielRae]

I know the IBCCES pass says good for one year once you have been officially accepted. Has anyone confirmed that the new disability pass Universal will give you will also be good for a year?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

The idea of putting a kid having a seizure in a wheelchair (like that's some sort of solution)

As a former epileptic, I would have loved to see someone put my unconscious body having a grand mal seizure into a wheelchair.

That is not what the original post was saying. The idea was that standing too long could precipitate a seizure, so having the child in a wheelchair from the start could be a means to prevent that.

 

[bambialways4ever]

That is not what the original post was saying. The idea was that standing too long could precipitate a seizure, so having the child in a wheelchair from the start could be a means to prevent that.

OP did not say the ability to sit would prevent a seizure.

 

[ToxicRoyalty]

I know the IBCCES pass says good for one year once you have been officially accepted. Has anyone confirmed that the new disability pass Universal will give you will also be good for a year?

It's still those 2 weeks. Once you go through the initial hoops, they should just go by your case number in the system and issue a new AAP when you visit to renew, but you're only getting the AAP up to two weeks at a time.

 

[EveDallas]

Nor do ours. My autistic kids don't have "behaviors". Unless you consider the actual meltdowns. They don't look any sort of way. People can't tell they are autistic until they talk to them. Then it becomes very clear.

When my boys were little, one would flick his ears and toe walk a bit. But that faded away on its own. He uses fidget toys now and has kind of a bouncy walk, but it's not really something that makes him stand out.

Same. My son doesn't have any obvious behaviors when you glance at him, but a conversation makes his autism very clear.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

OP did not say the ability to sit would prevent a seizure.

What OP said was:
"I elaborated on why he can't stand for long periods of time."
"I asked her what if my son has a seizure from standing too long (because that can happen)? She said, if you think that's a possibility, he can use a wheelchair in the queues."
"So you expect a child who never uses a wheelchair in daily life to sit through the queues in a chair that *might* be available if needed??"

The implication is clearly that standing causes an issue, hence the wheelchair suggestion. The OP seemed more upset at having the kid in a wheelchair in line because he doesn't normally use one, and that wheelchairs are "sometimes" available. OP didn't apparently dispute that a wheelchair could potentially solve the issue as presented.

 

[DLgal]

I know the IBCCES pass says good for one year once you have been officially accepted. Has anyone confirmed that the new disability pass Universal will give you will also be good for a year?

It is not. It is good for one day. That's what I was told and I mentioned we are annual passholders. We have to stop by Guest Relations every visit to pick up the pass. But they will keep a record with the IBCCES card number and our case number so it will be a very quick process with no discussion required.

He did mention something about it being good for the length of a multi day ticket, but not sure if you would have to use it on consecutive days.

 

[ArielRae]

It is not. It is good for one day. That's what I was told and I mentioned we are annual passholders. We have to stop by Guest Relations every visit to pick up the pass. But they will keep a record with the IBCCES card number and our case number so it will be a very quick process with no discussion required.

He did mention something about it being good for the length of a multi day ticket, but not sure if you would have to use it on consecutive days.

Thanks for the update.

 

[notatallmagic]

I know the IBCCES pass says good for one year once you have been officially accepted. Has anyone confirmed that the new disability pass Universal will give you will also be good for a year?

I made a phone call to Universal yesterday. My kiddo has filled out the online portion, submitted her doctor's letter, and received the temporary "card". I believe the next step is waiting for the call from a Universal person to complete the process.

What I was told was that they could see her prior approvals in the system (at least 3 for three trips this past year; I was given a reference number for our conversation; and was told that once the card was approved and that conversation was completed, that both would be good for one year. Our Uni Annual Passes are good through December, so that covers our remaining visits, both scheduled and (potentially) random/pop up visits. The young lady I talked to was very professional, and competent; I did let her know that our concern as AP holders was that the "rules" were changing in the middle of the game and that I had been very happy with Uni's process before, so this was an inconvenience/time issue/stress issue for us. Hoping the rest of the process goes well; but in the past with Uni, the "renewal" has taken less than 5 minutes on the phone, so pretty easy in any event.

As a side note, we have a pop up Disney trip planned for August, and we called today for that DAS. Since we were there for 2 days in June, the chat CM said that he could see we already had a current DAS, so it was seamless to renew it. Waited maybe 60 minutes to get to the CM, but that process was less than 5 minutes.

In talking to my DAS holder kid, her comment on these issues was that the old FastPass would have worked almost better for her than even the DAS. She's a super planner, so we were always able to schedule those for ideal times of day, and then add more throughout the day. For what it's worth (and I get it's over and not likely to return) I wonder how much of this mess was created when they started charging for LL/Genie. For those who had a diagnosis/need BEFORE when free FastPasses were available - how did that work for you?

 

[ohdewer33]

I made a phone call to Universal yesterday. My kiddo has filled out the online portion, submitted her doctor's letter, and received the temporary "card". I believe the next step is waiting for the call from a Universal person to complete the process.

What I was told was that they could see her prior approvals in the system (at least 3 for three trips this past year; I was given a reference number for our conversation; and was told that once the card was approved and that conversation was completed, that both would be good for one year. Our Uni Annual Passes are good through December, so that covers our remaining visits, both scheduled and (potentially) random/pop up visits. The young lady I talked to was very professional, and competent; I did let her know that our concern as AP holders was that the "rules" were changing in the middle of the game and that I had been very happy with Uni's process before, so this was an inconvenience/time issue/stress issue for us. Hoping the rest of the process goes well; but in the past with Uni, the "renewal" has taken less than 5 minutes on the phone, so pretty easy in any event.

As a side note, we have a pop up Disney trip planned for August, and we called today for that DAS. Since we were there for 2 days in June, the chat CM said that he could see we already had a current DAS, so it was seamless to renew it. Waited maybe 60 minutes to get to the CM, but that process was less than 5 minutes.

In talking to my DAS holder kid, her comment on these issues was that the old FastPass would have worked almost better for her than even the DAS. She's a super planner, so we were always able to schedule those for ideal times of day, and then add more throughout the day. For what it's worth (and I get it's over and not likely to return) I wonder how much of this mess was created when they started charging for LL/Genie. For those who had a diagnosis/need BEFORE when free FastPasses were available - how did that work for you?

If you did the online DAS with Disney, you have the option of picking two DAS attractions per day before you get to the parks. This is exactly like to old Fast Pass system.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/f...lities/attractions-available-for-das-advance/

In addition, Disney has announced that they are bringing back advanced booking for Lightning Lane and Genie+. Were some changes made the caused some inconvenience, yes, but Disney always listens to their guests and though it may take some time, usually things are changed for the better.

 

[agassizsmile]

I applied on the website 7/17 and have my digital card. it says I am current and that it is temporary status. We leave 7/27 for Univ. Hoping they call me soon for next steps. I have no idea if this card is all I need or what …it’s very unclear. If they don’t call me by 7/27 I will have to go yo Guest relations I guess?

 

[notatallmagic]

If you did the online DAS with Disney, you have the option of picking two DAS attractions per day before you get to the parks. This is exactly like to old Fast Pass system.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/f...lities/attractions-available-for-das-advance/

In addition, Disney has announced that they are bringing back advanced booking for Lightning Lane and Genie+. Were some changes made the caused some inconvenience, yes, but Disney always listens to their guests and though it may take some time, usually things are changed for the better.

I agree there have been some changes for the better, but DAS is not "exactly" like the old FastPass system. You could log on and have your selections scheduled in minutes (we always did early in the day) and then continue to add passes after those were used. With the online DAS pre-registration, depending on the CM, they will tell you what they have available, and unless you have dining or flight conflicts, it's been (with only one exception) pretty "take it or leave it". And I believe FP was 3 attractions, not 2. In any event, my point was that the OLD system (FastPass) would have worked as well or better for our situation as the new, much more cumbersome and stressful situation. Today was a rarity in our short wait - we've waitied many times over 8 hours to sign up for DAS in advance. We need the advance option since we are flying in from out of state, and cannot do the parks effectively without DAS. No DAS pre-trip, no trip for us.

 

[Lilsia]

We have a son with some disabilities and it is severe enough that standing in line is an issue for everyone.
I honestly would prefer this system. It is good for a whole year. We have APs and are currently on our 4th trip to Disney this year. We have to re-do the pass every trip because it is only good for a certain amount of time. I would love to have it good for a full year!
Every time we have to verify, we are on hold on the Disney site for 45 min to 1.5 hours.

DAS is good for 60 days. I have found that going to one of the blue umbrellas in the park to renew is so much faster and easier than any other method. It usually takes them less than 2 minutes to set it back up. I wouldn't waste my time on the video chats.

 

[ohdewer33]

DAS is good for 60 days. I have found that going to one of the blue umbrellas in the park to renew is so much faster and easier than any other method. It usually takes them less than 2 minutes to set it back up. I wouldn't waste my time on the video chats.

We've done the online registration 3 times, twice for Disney World and once for Disneyland and never had to wait more than an hour. If you call Disney at their busiest times you wait will be longer. We are lucky enough to live in California so the 3 hour time difference helps in the evening. I still prefer the online way vice having hoping our daughter does not have a behavior while waiting in line at Guest Services anywhere.