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

[mercuryvenus]

I think the history of GAC and DAS has confused people about what level of accommodation is legally necessary. I seriously doubt that the state of FL would force Disney to develop a system so that all people who can’t wait in line for more than 20 minutes don’t have to and can ride all the rides they want each day. Disney tried to do it anyway but they built a system that was so generous and attractive that it’s started collapsing under its own weight (between the people who need it, their families/guests, the scammers and the guests of scammers). Regrettably, they haven’t increased ride capacity to keep up with the number of people who rely on it while also ensuring it works to deliver short lines. They need to come up with alternative systems to allocate a limited resource and no solution is going to make everybody happy— trying to determine which disabilities can be accommodated in other ways appears to be their current plan.

I read a lawsuit that said DAS provided reasonable accommodation. So that is the legal precedent.

 

[only hope]

It's unfortunate they are doing all these changes. I can Disney's side of it. They have the data and they see the uptick in DAS usage since Genie+ started.

In their view Genie+ is the answer for those who physically can't wait in long lines.

Requiring disabled people to use Genie+ for their accommodation is illegal. You can’t require people to pay for their accommodation.

Exactly. Genie+ is not an accommodation, it’s an upcharge. I already have to spend money that healthy people don’t, and as a fairly newly disabled person, I am frustrated by this. Medical care is not free. The equipment and things I’ve had to buy to make life less difficult are not free nor covered by insurance. Etc etc. But businesses can’t charge for needed accommodations. You can’t be charged for needing assistance in a grocery store for example, or using a handicap parking space, handicap tickets at events can’t cost more than rest of the seats in that section, etc etc.

 

[Ash10]

LL wait timws has clearly become an issue and DAS abuse being a leading contributor. Understandably Disney wants to address this.

We've used GAC. DAS 1.0 AND DAS 2.0. The core essence has always been this....without this accommodation, visiting most of the park would simply not be possible.

Each change had its adjustment period for everyone for sure. We all managed to adjust, as did the abusers. Mind you, some of the worst abusers took.full on advantage of their disability and even sold access. Todays TikTok videos aren't much different.

So changes are being instituted, and they will be adjusted as implementations all need to be tweeked at rollout.

LL wait times of over 40minutes simply is a nonstarter for all stakeholders that use it. G+ and DAS and VIP tours.

Disney may lose some folk over changes, it always does as a leader of change. However, by not revising DAS, the intent of it for users will fail everyone.

Perhaps the issue is not DAS but the entire LL/Genie+ system that needs revisiting.

 

[Tatebeck]

ADA states very clearly that reasonable accommodations have to be made that allow people with qualifying disabilities to experience public places in the same way as non-disabled people.

Asking people to exit a line and then return clearly does not accomplish that.

It kinda does. You end up waiting the same amount of time in the same line as everyone else... Currently DAS gives people a way that they can actually experience more than non-disabled people if used in an efficient way. Which is why people are incentivized to fake it

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

I read a lawsuit that said DAS provided reasonable accommodation. So that is the legal precedent.

Disney does not have to keep providing the same service as long as whatever else it offers is also a reasonable accommodation for legally protected disabilities. I think some people have pushed the threats/entitlement too far and Disney has decided it will take its chances denying DAS to large groups of individuals who believed they were entitled to skipping the lines.

I’m sure people will try suing, but I don’t think a federal court will rule that people are entitled to short lines as long as they can come and go as they need.

 

[nalababybear]

This .

The clearly added.language of enforcement of bans will be a significant one.

Disney can track a lot of media and correlate them to their products.

I wouldnt put it past Disney to chase down tiktok makers, link them to holders and deliver a ban very publicly. After a few of those, people will think twice to earn quick buck over losing lifetime access to Disney's private properties .

Disney has done this to resellers on eBay so its not an unreasonable jump either.

I think the history of GAC and DAS has confused people about what level of accommodation is legally necessary. I seriously doubt that the state of FL would force Disney to develop a system so that all people who can’t wait in line for more than 20 minutes don’t have to and can ride all the rides they want each day. Disney tried to do it anyway but they built a system that was so generous and attractive that it’s started collapsing under its own weight (between the people who need it, their families/guests, the scammers and the guests of scammers). Regrettably, they haven’t increased ride capacity to keep up with the number of people who rely on it while also ensuring it works to deliver short lines. They need to come up with alternative systems to allocate a limited resource and no solution is going to make everybody happy— trying to determine which disabilities can be accommodated in other ways appears to be their current plan.

 

[mercuryvenus]

It kinda does. You end up waiting the same amount of time in the same line as everyone else... Currently DAS actually gives people a way that they can actually experience more than non-disabled people if used in an efficient way. Which is why people are incentivized to fake it

Being asked to leave a line if you’re having trouble and then going back isn’t the answer. That’s what I meant.

Because let’s say my husband is waiting in line and has an MS flare up. He can’t just go somewhere for a few minutes and then feel better. He will be unable to see properly or use his hands for at least the rest of the day. So his day at the park is over.

 

[mercuryvenus]

Disney does not have to keep providing the same service as long as whatever else it offers is also a reasonable accommodation for legally protected disabilities. I think some people have pushed the threats/entitlement too far and Disney has decided it will take its chances denying DAS to large groups of individuals who believed they were entitled to skipping the lines.

I’m sure people will try suing, but I don’t think a federal court will rule that people are entitled to short lines as long as they can come and go as they need.

Disney has to provide the same experience to disabled and non-disabled guests. Whether that’s through DAS or some other accommodation. That’s the legal requirement.

Leaving the line and coming back isn’t going to work for many people. Thus, it doesn’t fulfill the ADA requirement.

 

[Tatebeck]

Being asked to leave a line if you’re having trouble and then going back isn’t the answer. That’s what I meant.

Because let’s say my husband is waiting in line and has an MS flare up. He can’t just go somewhere for a few minutes and then feel better. He will be unable to see properly or use his hands for at least the rest of the day. So his day at the park is over.

If they are that bad then there is no saving that ride for him that day unfortunately. If he was using current DAS and had the same flare in the lighting lane, then it would be the same it seems/

 

[Tatebeck]

Disney has to provide the same experience to disabled and non-disabled guests. Whether that’s through DAS or some other accommodation. That’s the legal requirement.

The problem is a big part of the experience that all non-disabled guests HAVE to experience at Disney is waiting in lines... lol. So making it so more people have to wait actually hits the letter of the law pretty well

 

[mercuryvenus]

If they are that bad then there is no saving that ride for him that day unfortunately. If he was using current DAS and had the same flare in the lighting lane, then it would be the same it seems/

No. The flare up happens with extended exposure to heat. DAS allows him to spend his wait time indoors and limit his exposure to the heat.

 

[mercuryvenus]

The problem is a big part of the experience that all non-disabled guests HAVE to experience at Disney is waiting in lines... lol. So making it so more people have to wait actually hits the letter of the law pretty well

But the entire point is that these folks can’t wait in the lines without becoming extremely sick or having mental breakdowns.

 

[Tatebeck]

But the entire point is that these folks can’t wait in the lines without becoming extremely sick or having mental breakdowns.

When the lines are super long I feel like I'll have a mental breakdown sometimes too lol. But if that is the experience at Disney, they have to make sure everyone can experience it I guess

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Disney has to provide the same experience to disabled and non-disabled guests. Whether that’s through DAS or some other accommodation. That’s the legal requirement.

Leaving the line and coming back isn’t going to work for many people. Thus, it doesn’t fulfill the ADA requirement.

I’ve never heard any court articulate an ADA standard that way. Where are you drawing this legal conclusion from?

 

[mercuryvenus]

I’ve never heard any court articulate an ADA standard that way. Where are you drawing this legal conclusion from?

Here it is: https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/disney-autism-2016-ruling.pdf

 

[mercuryvenus]

I’ve never heard any court articulate an ADA standard that way. Where are you drawing this legal conclusion from?

And here is the ADA applied to theme parks: The federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires places of public accommodation to provide patrons with reasonable opportunities for the “equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation.”

https://www.theregreview.org/2019/01/31/gale-amusement-park-accommodations-disabled/

 

[Ash10]

It kinda does. You end up waiting the same amount of time in the same line as everyone else... Currently DAS gives people a way that they can actually experience more than non-disabled people if used in an efficient way. Which is why people are incentivized to fake it

Not reasonable for many. DAS waits as long or longer to ride, just not in line, which is the accommodation for those unable to stay in a long, hot, and/or confined line. And it works for efficiency for those with disabilities who are unable to access what a non-disabled person may access. But I understand your point of scammers using it for the wrong reasons. No easy fix. And I have only seen a rise in diagnosed disabilities in my field so not sure disabilities are going to go down. But I believe revamping Genie+/LL system should be looked in to. Hopefully they will reconsider the benefits of the old system(s) for guest satisfaction.

 

[SirDuff]

Disney has to provide the same experience to disabled and non-disabled guests. Whether that’s through DAS or some other accommodation. That’s the legal requirement.

Leaving the line and coming back isn’t going to work for many people. Thus, it doesn’t fulfill the ADA requirement.

No it doesn't. It has to provide the equivalent ability to access to the ride which may not mean the experience is the same. If it had to be the same experience, those of us waiting for our return DAS time wouldn't be able to do anything but sit somewhere (no getting food, no using the restroom, no riding something else) because that would be a different experience to other guests.

 

[Tatebeck]

Equal enjoyment would mean waiting the same amount of time in the same line. I know I would enjoy the rides more if I could have a shorter line than everyone else or go get some snacks instead of waiting in the line.

 

[elvispursley]

Sounds like he can bring food in the line or step out of line, address his issues, then return to the line .

Sorry, unless you’ve experienced a severe hypoglycemic episode, just stepping out of line does not just give you a “quick fix”…many diabetics often require a long recovery phase and are most likely riding the “roller coaster” of “I’m extremely low so I’m going to eat carbs but I still feel like crap so I’ll eat more…oh crap! Now my blood sugar is near.y 400 so I’ll take some insulin. And all that walking in the heat we did just made me crash again”. That’s not even considering if you’re too low you can have a serious emergency! I’ve blacked out and had was unresponsive and was lucky not to have had a seizure when I dropped my blood sugar to below 20. I had to be hospitalized to regulate my blood sugar.