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

[Disneychick13]

I wouldn’t go so far as to say they allowed it to get this bad; more along the lines of while they did their due diligence of gathering data on how bad it was, it continued to get even worse.

It will be interesting to see the actual data they have collected when there is the inevitable court case. I’m sure it will be eye-opening.

 

[RamblinWreck]

But then the question becomes why isn't this also the accommodation for developmental disabilities, as long as the party has at least 3 total guests?

2 reasons

1. The families of autistic families were who sued them last time

2. It stands to reason that kids with developmental disabilities will have the hardest time handling their party being separated. If they can’t handle the lines AND they can’t handle the separation, just do the DAS

 

[Angel Ariel]

Sure they do - parents with a baby are routinely in a queue alone, and then rider-swapping. Disney won't let the 2 parents just jump ahead together b/c they have a 6 month old.

That's only for attractions where the child is too short to ride. They are not forced to separate to experience most attractions, as so many attractions do not have a height requirement

 

[Tatebeck]

I like the idea of extending an hour - that would work for us. I do take exception to the fact that DAS is a real advantage - most who qualify don't get as much done as a typical guest, let alone more rides per day.

For an actual disabled user, it's not that they usually get more done. They probably don't. It's that the system, if used my non disabled people can be better even than genie+ which is a paid service. That's too much incentive to abuse it.

And playing devil's advocate here, they don't have to ensure that everyone can go on the same amount of rides per day, just that you have the ability to try and ride it. Otherwise slow walkers should get benefits that fast walkers dont

 

[Disneychick13]

if used my non disabled people can be better even than genie+ which is a paid service. That's too much incentive to abuse it.

Bingo. DAS (if fraudulently used) is hands down a better system than genie+.

 

[SueM in MN]

I wonder why Disney didn't just go the same route as Universal to get rid of the fakers. Then this would be more fairly applied.
Instead, they just bunched people into groups and made blanket proclamations about who would get DAS and who wouldn't, regardless of need.
I feel like, and this is just me, its not about need as much as it is about reducing G+/LL use by DAS so they are not ticking off the paying G+/LL customers. If it were about getting rid of the fakers, then moving more towards what Universal does would have made more sense.

Nothing Disney has publicized points to just giving DAS to people in certain categories regardless of need. They will still be going thru the video chat process to determine needs.

I have 2 extended family members who are autistic. One works in a demanding and very technical, independent professional job. The other is quite independent, but works in a more supported position. They are both autistic, but wouldn't have the same needs or accommodations.

The process Universal is using still has a lot of room for faking.
People can fake the letters themselves.
There are doctors who would write letters claiming the person is disabled. According to ads on TV are already "doctors standing by on our 800 number. Answer a few questions and our doctor will write you a prescription for the little blue pill."
I would not be surprised to find out there is an underground network doing the same thing for disability letters.
Some people are very careful to get a letter from their doctor or school that lists the issues and concerns about travel to a theme park, but many of the items that are accepted don't say anything about need for accommodation - handicapped parking permit, National Park Access Pass, letter that only says "my patient is disabled"

Because the third party used by Universal and Sea World is just rubber stamping those documents. They are not verifying.

That is certainly how it appears. People have posted submitting their papers on a Friday evening, gotten temporary approval in a few hours and permanent approval by the next morning. So, really sounds like not a very robust system. I've only read one account of someone not being approved - he wrote they wanted a more up to date letter. He got it and was approved

The group is a marketing group, not a medical group. They started out doing certification for ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) practitioners for Autism programs. They branched out into certifying businesses, parks and other public accommodations as Certified Autism Specialty Centers. Along with that, they have their Access Card, which is the service Universal is using.

Some of the things I read last Fall pointed toward them being "not ready for prime time"

• requiring people to submit an email address as part of the contact information for the doctor. Email is not HIPAA compliant, so I saw lots of posts on social media where people made up an email (not on Disboards)
• People who contacted them and Universal and were told they would need to apply and be approved for a card for a blind person to use their white cane, a blind person to use their guide dog, a deaf person to use ASL interpreter, a person who can't walk to use their wheelchair - it's against the law to require proof for any of those.

 

[LSUmiss]

The most frustrating part is this is neither going to reduce LL wait times (Disney will sell the slots as G+) nor will it reduce abuse. So it will achieve neither of the stated goals. But hey, at least people can feel happy that they stuck it to the "tiktok fakers."

Exactly. They aren’t trying to reduce LL wait times. They’re trying to sell more genie plus. If this was the problem, then genie plus would be sold out on days the we observe long LL wait times. I was just there in last week & LL wait times were long AND genie plus was still available!

 

[OurBigTrip]

It will be interesting to see the actual data they have collected when there is the inevitable court case. I’m sure it will be eye-opening.

IF they are going to offer the rider switch (as described), for those who used to get DAS but no longer qualify, I don’t even see on what grounds they would sue.

Need to wait outside the line? Here you go .

 

[Gentry2004]

IF they are going to offer the rider switch (as described), for those who used to get DAS but no longer qualify, I don’t even see on what grounds they would sue.

Need to wait outside the line? Here you go .

Exactly my point about the developmentally disabled. There wouldn't be any grounds to sue as long as the disabled person and a necessary caregiver can wait outside the line. And this would certainly reduce the desire for others to fake it.

 

[Tatebeck]

Exactly. They aren’t trying to reduce LL wait times. They’re trying to sell more genie plus. If this was the problem, then genie plus would be sold out on days the we observe long LL wait times. I was just there in last week & LL wait times were long AND genie plus was still available!

That situation would point to DAS being the problem that day. If those were all genie plus users the slots would have sold out or pushed them to later times

 

[LSUmiss]

But how does Disney effectively balance when DAS use has tripled and they really don’t know when DAS users will redeem their return time? I mean, they can data model and get a decent idea, but the more DAS users, the more difficult it becomes to balance effectively.

Perhaps that’s a solution. Instead of DAS being opened-ended where it’s good til park close after a certain time, make it a 2 hour return window. That wont work for everyone but likely a quick visit to a blue umbrella can extend this if needed or you can likely just rebook another 2 hour window if needed.

 

[Angel Ariel]

2. It stands to reason that kids with developmental disabilities will have the hardest time handling their party being separated. If they can’t handle the lines AND they can’t handle the separation, just do the DAS

Yeah, forcing the family to separate would cause issues for DD now that weren't really a problem when she was younger. Won't explain why so any abusers can't use it, but it would cause problems not accommodate them.

 

[SueM in MN]

^This. In all of my experiences, there are very specific questions and answers used to make determination. It hasn’t ever been “I have Autism” and BAM - DAS approved. In fact, my son never even mentioned that he was Autistic. Because Autism is a diagnosis and tells nothing about WHY an attraction’s line may be problematic for someone. This is the part I think so many are tripping on, and understandably - because Disney went and specified a DIAGNOSIS in the new verbiage, after telling us all for so long they aren’t interested in the diagnosis!

My own opinion - Disney put the word Autism in because when Guest Assistance Card was changed to DAS, a number of families with Autistic family members started protesting it wouldn't work for them before it even rolled out. Many autistic influencers went to the parks on the day it rolled out to livestream, expecting it to cause chaos. They started planning the lawsuit (which they ultimately lost) before it fully rolled out

 

[Gentry2004]

Yeah, forcing the family to separate would cause issues for DD now that weren't really a problem when she was younger. Won't explain why so any abusers can't use it, but it would cause problems not accommodate them.

But as we are repeatedly reminded on here, the question is specifically why someone can't wait in a traditional queue.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Perhaps that’s a solution. Instead of DAS being opened-ended where it’s good til park close after a certain time, make it a 2 hour return window. That wont work for everyone but likely a quick visit to a blue umbrella can extend this if needed or you can likely just rebook another 2 hour window if needed.

open ended returns actually makes it less likely to be abused as you can't book another until you've used the one you have. So if you keep one for say 4 hrs, that's 4 hrs you aren't booking a DAS for any other attractions.

 

[Angel Ariel]

But as we are repeatedly reminded on here, the question is specifically why someone can't wait in a traditional queue.

And my DD has those reasons too. Again not sharing why to not feed abuse. My point is a rider switch pass isn't an automatic fix for that, as that particular accommodation would make things worse for her and others.

 

[Smugpugmug]

At Disneyland this past January they told us they were now alternating the colors of the Stroller as a Wheelchair tag because people were faking them on Etsy.

People suck.

Every time I think people couldn't get any lower, I'm proven wrong by statements like this. Just.....wow. People are horrible lol

 

[Gentry2004]

And my DD has those reasons too. Again not sharing why to not feed abuse. My point is a rider switch pass isn't an automatic fix for that, as that particular accommodation would make things worse for her and others.

I don't think there is any rule or legal precedent that states that in addition to being able to wait outside the queue, they have to allow ALL of your party to wait with you. There was already a limit. And there is no reason Disney can't lower the limit even further.

 

[Tatebeck]

open ended returns actually makes it less likely to be abused as you can't book another until you've used the one you have. So if you keep one for say 4 hrs, that's 4 hrs you aren't booking a DAS for any other attractions.

But you can choose a ride with a 4 hour wait (God forbid!) , go ride other stuff with shorter waits all day, then come back and you just saved 3 hours and 45 minutes of line time! That type of time savings is hard to do on any day any other way

 

[Angel Ariel]

I don't think there is any rule or legal precedent that states that in addition to being able to wait outside the queue, they have to allow ALL of your party to wait with you. There was already a limit. And there is no reason Disney can't lower the limit even further.

My party size is 3. Well within the previous limit and current limit they're changing to.