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

[ClaraOswald]

If a Non-DAS holder scans in first, they also get a blue light but the CM does not approve it - they say that <Insert DAS holder's name here> must be the first one to scan in.

For anxiety and claustraphobia they already have said in that Disneyland Accessibility Planning guide that Rider Switch will be their solution. There maybe some exceptions (maybe for smaller parties) but it sounds like Rider Switch is their answer. The person with anxiety waits outside of the line while the rest of the family uses the standby queue and then when they finish their ride, the person with anxiety maybe plus the another person get to ride using the Lightning Lane.

I'm also DVC - agree here it is hard to entirely stop going, unless you maybe sell your DVC contracts.

For Disneyland, I know we usually try to rope drop and can get most of the fantasyland rides done within the first hour of park opening. I know that may not work for everyone, but its an option if it can work for you. We tried not to use DAS on rides w/o a lightning lane.

I'm still curious what the Genie+ changes will be, maybe they will be enough to make it work for some people. I again will say I wish there was an option to pay for DAS for those that feel it works better for them as an accommodation but may no longer qualify for it. That seems like it could be legal - you offer a free accommodation, but then offer a paid accommodation that works better? Obviously you could buy Genie+ but we know there are some issues with that such as only being able to ride a ride 1 time with Genie+ and the 1-hour return time.

Ah, so that rider switch option for anxiety issues may help weed out the cheaters who really don't need any accommodations and were just trying to get DAS. That sounds promising.

My son will hopefully still qualify since he actually does have what some would call "severe" autism (we don't care for that label.) But now I am very hesitant to assume that he will always qualify because now I know that they could change the rules a lot of completely get rid of DAS. If that happens, we'd have a lot of re-thinking to do, for sure.

Not sure we'd want to sell DVC anytime soon since we literally just bought our first contract last year and waiting on another in ROFR now. Ha!

I'm nervous about the accommodation being 'wait outside of line' for the DAS holder who has claustrophobia. My wife has Autism and ADHD and does have panic attacks when 'trapped' in line for long periods of time, due to contact aversion, overstimulation, and claustrophobia. A rider swap situation could help her EXCEPT for the fact that we have a 3 year old who is also presupposed (pending diagnosis) to be on the spectrum and has his own challenges. It's nice for her to be able to 'peace out' but that leaves me as his sole caregiver while in the line, and she is significantly younger and stronger than me, and can wrangle him in a way that I cannot now that he's 40+ lbs. Even if she took him with her, that still leaves her as his sole caregiver during that time, and since we can't attest to what her mental state will be, and whether that could be more than she's capable of in those moments.

If we didn't have a kid, it might work for us to have her join me when we get to the front of the line, but with a kid, esp a neurodivergent one, I don't think that would work. I guess we'll see what we're told when we try to sign up later this year.

Sounds like there's a good chance your child may end up qualifying so that would help you as well.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

What might work is get the DAS for your 3 year old. You don't need the diagnosis, since medical paperwork is not required, you just need to describe the need and since it is a developmental disability, she mayqualify for DAS.

Purely my opinion but I think that falls into the territory of "Telling anyone what to say to try to obtain DAS"

The PP's concern primarily lies (and this is basing off their comment) in their possible inability to caretake for their 3 yr old if their spouse is out of line (with the spouse being the one primarily having needs). For the DAS pass to be applicable to the 3 yr old it would be based on the behaviors/situations as it pertains to just the 3 yr old not their parent.

That doesn't mean Disney doesn't have some sort of policy or discretion to use but the pass is for the individual in question not for other people.

 

[Liquidice]

Ah, so that rider switch option for anxiety issues may help weed out the cheaters who really don't need any accommodations and were just trying to get DAS. That sounds promising.

My son will hopefully still qualify since he actually does have what some would call "severe" autism (we don't care for that label.) But now I am very hesitant to assume that he will always qualify because now I know that they could change the rules a lot of completely get rid of DAS. If that happens, we'd have a lot of re-thinking to do, for sure.

Not sure we'd want to sell DVC anytime soon since we literally just bought our first contract last year and waiting on another in ROFR now. Ha!

DVC is definitely addicting, points are fun!

I definitely do not want to sell my contracts either, I am still taking a wait and see approach to see if anything else gets announced or how Disney implements things in practice.

 

[EEPETEZ]

I’m curious how rider switch will work with 2 people. My mom cannot wait in the traditional line. So do I leave her by herself with her wheelchair; then I HAVE to ride by myself to allow me to be able to ride with her? That is crazy-I do not need to ride by myself and then again. Do I wait until I’m I get to the point where I’m allowed to ride with her. I do not need to ride twice. I’m also concerned about leaving her alone.

 

[Liquidice]

Purely my opinion but I think that falls into the territory of "Telling anyone what to say to try to obtain DAS"

The PP's concern primarily lies (and this is basing off their comment) in their possible inability to caretake for their 3 yr old if their spouse is out of line (with the spouse being the one primarily having needs). For the DAS pass to be applicable to the 3 yr old it would be based on the behaviors/situations as it pertains to just the 3 yr old not their parent.

That doesn't mean Disney doesn't have some sort of policy or discretion to use but the pass is for the individual in question not for other people.

Apologies, my intention wasn't to try to tell someone how to cheat the system - but rather make sure the poster realized that they could ask for accommodations for their child.

I was not suggesting that they get DAS for their child so the parent could use it - rather I was trying to address the idea that Rider Switch may not work for them because their child can be difficult in queues and having just 1 adult with them might be too much for them.

I'll see if I can go back and amend my post so it makes more sense.

@Mackenzie Click-Mickelson I edited my post, hopefully it falls less into the territory you're suggesting. If you don't mind editing your post to remove my quote, that would make sure no information on obtaining DAS is still in there.

 

[hulagirl87]

I'm feeling so overwhelmed by all of this right now. I have a condition that is not very well known and having to explain it can be difficult for me. I have been fortunate to qualify for the DAS pass which has encouraged me to travel on my own and even get the annual pass. I have been very proud of myself being able to travel and leave my kids for a few days (talk about stress! leaving DH in charge! ) My concerns can't be helped by leaving a line and coming back, and even if they could, if I'm a solo traveler, there is no one holding my spot.

I am taking DD next month and our dates overlap the change. We arrive May 18 and leave the 21. She has type 1 diabetes and we did use the DAS pass for her on our last family trip. It was so helpful as her blood sugar can be affected by excitement, heat, etc. I'm not sure how the call will go next week when we can register. I don't know if I should try to get the pass for her or for me, I don't know how much I'm going to have to defend her condition or mine. Stress doesn't help anyone, but can really exacerbate my symptoms, as well as a lot of others here. On previous calls, it's always, "why do you think you need the pass" and I answer as simply as possible and it has always been "ok, no problem". So now we wait for next week, for my registration date.

Perhaps I'm being a bit overdramatic, but I just want some Disney joy and this is really putting a damper on things.

 

[lanejudy]

Purely my opinion but I think that falls into the territory of "Telling anyone what to say to try to obtain DAS"

No script in what the PP posted. We routinely inform posters they will have to explain the individual's needs related to waiting in a standard queue environment, not the disability. You'll probably find pretty much that exact quote by me all over the disABILITIES Forum. A script would be "tell WDW that your child does X, Y, and Z when in a line."

But your point about the accommodations being for the child vs the adult may be important. If the child is too little for any attraction, the DAS cannot be used for the adults if the child isn't riding.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I’m curious how rider switch will work with 2 people. My mom cannot wait in the traditional line. So do I leave her by herself with her wheelchair; then I HAVE to ride by myself to allow me to be able to ride with her? That is crazy-I do not need to ride by myself and then again. Do I wait until I’m I get to the point where I’m allowed to ride with her. I do not need or want to ride twice.

You would got through the line and then ride. It will probably be your option whether you ride with your mom again or not.

Tons of families with kids 2 and under do this every day at Disney. Individual parents ride solo while swapping their kid(s).

 

[EEPETEZ]

You would got through the line and then ride. It will probably be your option whether you ride with your mom again or not.

Tons of families with kids 2 and under do this every day at Disney. Individual parents ride solo while swapping their kid(s).

I literally would never ride these rides by myself-I’ve been to Disney about 100 times. I literally only need to ride with my mom.

 

[SueM in MN]

I don’t know, but it would not surprise me at all if they decided to make an example of a few people to ensure that the “lifetime ban” threat is taken seriously. Like if someone asks for a DAS claiming “I can’t do long lines”, is turned down, and nevertheless ends up waiting in multiple long lines that day with seemingly no ill-effects.

Disney DID have that type of information in the lawsuit where some families with autistic children claimed that their children needed to do attractions in a certain order and only immediate access to whatever attraction they wanted would meet their needs.
Disney was able to show that they visited the parks on particular dates, which attractions they went on, what times and order. It was in lawsuit evidence documents

14+ has always been the age Disney will allow to ride with a younger guest - that isn't new to this DAS update. I don't think it can be assumed this means that teens with developmental disabilities will be prevented access to DAS.

Agree. Nothing can be assumed from that.
14+ has always been the age where American Disney parks allowed riding with a younger guest

You’d think most of this would be second nature to people. Thanks for sharing and I hope this makes the thread a little more pleasant.

On an unrelated note, I just saw you have been around on here since 1999 when I was only just born! Crazy to think this forum has been around that long and even more crazy to see how dedicated you must be to still be around on here and moderating - kudos to you.

Thank you.
You would think so.
That makes me feel OLD. I'll just say experienced

It really blows my mind that one single comma could have really altered this discussion. If Disney had either written “Guests who, due to a developmental disability, like autism or similar,” or “Guests who, due to a developmental disability like autism, or similar” we would have more clarification on what they’re actually pairing the “or similar” with.

Kind of like:
Let's eat, kids vs Let's eat kids

 

[Baytothemax]

The Disneyland attraction guide I posted suggests single rider line. I wonder what they’ll do for the other rides.

WDW does too but then also states that you can’t pick your seats and must take what is assigned so that eliminates that possibility from anyone needing the accessible vehicle/seat from using it. Like test track has the single riders line but I access the vehicle from the second platform and need what you’d consider the drivers seat for the transfer booster. So really me using single rider is not the proper use of the line so it blocks that from being an option.

But outside of an extremely small # of rides, they haven’t had some of the single rider lines open in years. Probably early 2000s was when I last saw space mountain use theirs.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I literally would never ride these rides by myself-I’ve been to Disney about 100 times. I literally only need to ride with my mom.

Then you could go through the line, and step out at the load area, letting the CM know you prefer to head to the exit and re-enter LL with your mom.

 

[EEPETEZ]

That is a completely different situation. The person waiting is with a kid that cannot ride.

 

[audrey2580]

You would got through the line and then ride. It will probably be your option whether you ride with your mom again or not.

Tons of families with kids 2 and under do this every day at Disney. Individual parents ride solo while swapping their kid(

You would got through the line and then ride. It will probably be your option whether you ride with your mom again or not.

Tons of families with kids 2 and under do this every day at Disney. Individual parents ride solo while swapping their kid(s).

I don't think a party of 2 is the same as what you are suggesting above. If the individual parent rode solo that would still assume the other parent is waiting with the child. The child (assuming just not tall enough) was not left alone. With the party of 2, the person that needs accomodation is being left alone.

 

[EEPETEZ]

I don't think a party of 2 is the same as what you are suggesting above. If the individual parent rode solo that would still assume the other parent is waiting with the child. The child (assuming just not tall enough) was not left alone. With the party of 2, the person that needs accomodation is being left alone.

Exactly, with rider swap-which I used when my kids were little, it meant both parents could ride. In the case I’m describing, above, I have just left my medically fragile mother alone for much of the day. That is concerning.

 

[ryang25]

Haven’t kept up with the last page or so, but one slight problem I’ve just thought of with Rider Switch.

Say there’s a group of 6 so 4 go in standby and when they get off, the other two (so person requiring accommodations and their accompanier) get to ride using LL. As a party, the wait time until everyone has then done the ride would be longer than the actual standby length. I think it would make more sense for the 2 doing the ‘swap’ to be able to enter say 10 mins before the advertised standby wait is finished. No so they can meet up in the queue (a logistical nightmare), but just so they haven’t, as a party, had to wait a lot longer than a typical standby party before they have all ridden.

 

[MediumSizedMermaid]

I think rider swap would probably meet our needs with my Dad...except next trip we're a party of three. So if me and my brother wait standby and then do a 'swap' where my Dad and one of us ride together, we're now taking up four seats on the ride instead of three. So one less person going through the lightning lane but one 'more' person actually on the ride. IDK which efficiency counts for more for Disney's decision-making.

If there were four of us, obviously we'd have two wait standby and ride and then my Dad and the fourth person ride via the swap, so there'd be no 'extra person'.

We'll go with whatever Disney tells us is appropriate (and we were leaning toward buying Genie+ anyway) but it does make for interesting math.

 

[EEPETEZ]

Honestly, asking a party of 2 to leave a person that needs accommodation alone, feels cruel and like a punishment for being disabled. Honestly also dangerous. This would be different if there were 3 or more. I hope that it works differently for solo and parties of 2.

 

[Dulcee]

Haven’t kept up with the last page or so, but one slight problem I’ve just thought of with Rider Switch.

Say there’s a group of 6 so 4 go in standby and when they get off, the other two (so person requiring accommodations and their accompanier) get to ride using LL. As a party, the wait time until everyone has then done the ride would be longer than the actual standby length. I think it would make more sense for the 2 doing the ‘swap’ to be able to enter say 10 mins before the advertised standby wait is finished. No so they can meet up in the queue (a logistical nightmare), but just so they haven’t, as a party, had to wait a lot longer than a typical standby party before they have all ridden.

Parents/Guardians of small kids have been dealing with the extra wait time for rider swap all along. I understand comparing traveling with small kids is not a 100% equitable comparison to someone who has a life long disability but accommodations do their best to meet needs in a reasonable fashion. It is unlikely to 100% replicate the "traditional" experience so to speak.

 

[SteveMouse]

The wheelchair/scooter would help with the waiting in line part for me for sure, however I am physically able to walk at an average pace for 20-30 minutes. It is only when standing still or walking in a slow moving line for an extended period of time that I have issues.

It would be detrimental to my health to be in a wheelchair or scooter to get around the parks just so I can have it for the lines. The walking is a good thing for me. If I am in a scooter it would have to move with me from place to place.

Plus I have other conditions that could require me to exit the line unexpectedly if the return to queue pass is instituted. This will be more challenging with a scooter.

There are far too many scooters in the park these days. More than there ever has been I don’t think adding more scooters users into the park is going to make the experience better for everyone. It’s just gonna create more bottlenecks and longer lines for everybody

The ADA is about providing AN accommodation, not necessarily the person's PREFERRED accommodation. Life can certainly be more complicated when managing different and sometimes competing challenges.

With respect solely to wheelchair use, if you have mobility, you do not have to occupy the wheelchair full-time (or even use a wheelchair- a rollator might be a viable alternative). You could push the wheelchair when not occupying it.