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

[EveDallas]

To my knowledge, parents/guardians are allowed to handle the call for any child under age 18 or adults with legal guardianship in place.

Some posters refer to their "kids" who may be young adult age.

I answered for my adult son. Talking on the phone is almost impossible for him on a good day - no way would he have been able to answer the questions coherently.

 

[Ollivier]

I hate everything about this.
I often decline accommodations because the process is so invasive.
Also, how do you apply as a non US resident.

I had no issues to get the needed accommodation from belgium. The document I submitted are in dutch. It was stressfull to wait for the call from universal but we al have this issue.
The gold aap gives you an escort to boarding area. We had almost no wait for the escort.

In Belgium it is normaal to share medical information to receive accommodations. It takes out most “fakers”. For me this is a possitive change.
Universal could have implemented this change a lot better. They made It extra stressfull, but once you get your case number the stress is over for as long as you keep the card active.

 

[Jdavidm]

For adults that may struggle with the call process:

They allowed my partner to make the call on my behalf without having to speak to me at all.

I’m grateful for this as phone calls are next to impossible for me and he was definitely able to express the difficulties I face at the parks much better than I would’ve been able to, especially over the phone.

There are levels of accommodation, but there’s really no need to discuss what those are since they will only offer what they feel you/the person needing the accommodation qualify for. They will explain exactly how the accommodation they set up for you will work. We already visited the parks multiple times since having this set up with the new process and it has worked exactly how described over the phone.

It’s good to remember that while a certain type of accommodation might not make sense for you, it might be the best plan of action for certain types of challenges someone faces while at the parks.

 

[gottalovepluto]

The employee seemed irritated, but did grant the AAP. …At this point, I'm glad we have the pass as my son would like to go to Uni at Christmas for a planned trip then. It's a hard pass for us for our next three trips, as this was such a sucky experience, and we'd already needed to pivot to Disney to take advantage of resort, dining, and park reservations. So we're basically wasting six months of Annual Passes and I have a terrible taste in my mouth after this experience. No excuse for this level of rudeness.

I really hope others have a better experience. As I've said before, I feel we were sold a product (Annual Pass) with a process that went with it. I didn't need this kind of stress and time investment; and I don't like to beg and grovel. Instead of the 6-10 trips to Uni we were planning (and the $$ they could have made as we always stay and eat onsite) we'll shift somewhere else and not renew those passes.

I hope everyone has a much better experience!

I definitely don’t get abandoning the APs on principle in favor of Disney’s system that will force your child to interview every 60 days and already resulted in a situation even after approval. Take a step back and look at the big picture- You got a rude employee, life happens. They’re everywhere- even at Disney. Complain to UOR and move on with your life without burning your plans to the ground and setting yourself up for extra accommodation interviews.

 

[starlite_]

I definitely don’t get abandoning the APs on principle in favor of Disney’s system that will force your child to interview every 60 days and already resulted in a situation even after approval. Take a step back and look at the big picture- You got a rude employee, life happens. They’re everywhere- even at Disney. Complain to UOR and move on with your life without burning your plans to the ground and setting yourself up for extra accommodation interviews.

Sometimes when a company makes you feel terrible you simply want nothing to do with it.

 

[frankalexandre]

Arriving in Orlando next 22 from Brazil. I am a bit nervous because my daughter have sickle cell disease and Orlando is very hot atm. Received the IBCCES card and email from Universal, but no phone call yet. Hope they didnt call during the airplane time. And still theres the language barrier, i can read english well but not talk. It must be a international call too. Hopefully it can be sorted.

 

[kps7795]

Arriving in Orlando next 22 from Brazil. I am a bit nervous because my daughter have sickle cell disease and Orlando is very hot atm. Received the IBCCES card and email from Universal, but no phone call yet. Hope they didnt call during the airplane time. And still theres the language barrier, i can read english well but not talk. It must be a international call too. Hopefully it can be sorted.

Good luck!

 

[EveDallas]

We arrived at Universal today and went to guest services in IOA. The process was so easy - we had our pass in less than a minute. We were issued the gold pass. It works like the orange pass did - under 30 minutes is ride now, 30 or over gets a time to return. The difference is we have the option of either going into the Express line or being escorted directly to the ride vehicle. So far we've just used the Express line - my son really doesn't like calling attention to himself and can generally handle waits up to 20 minutes. If he chooses the escort option I'll update again to describe how it goes.

 

[EveDallas]

 

[EveDallas]

 

[frankalexandre]

We arrived at Universal today and went to guest services in IOA. The process was so easy - we had our pass in less than a minute. We were issued the gold pass. It works like the orange pass did - under 30 minutes is ride now, 30 or over gets a time to return. The difference is we have the option of either going into the Express line or being escorted directly to the ride vehicle. So far we've just used the Express line - my son really doesn't like calling attention to himself and can generally handle waits up to 20 minutes. If he chooses the escort option I'll update again to describe how it goes.

How are you dealing with the heat? I have a cooling towell and neck fan for my daughter, hope its fine for the hotter hours. Renting a scooter too, but i am not sure it will be a good choice because there's no option to protect from the sun with the scooter.

 

[EveDallas]

How are you dealing with the heat? I have a cooling towell and neck fan for my daughter, hope its fine for the hotter hours. Renting a scooter too, but i am not sure it will be a good choice because there's no option to protect from the sun with the scooter.

Well we're from Texas so it's actually not as hot here as it is at home.

 

[notatallmagic]

I definitely don’t get abandoning the APs on principle in favor of Disney’s system that will force your child to interview every 60 days and already resulted in a situation even after approval. Take a step back and look at the big picture- You got a rude employee, life happens. They’re everywhere- even at Disney. Complain to UOR and move on with your life without burning your plans to the ground and setting yourself up for extra accommodation interviews.

I appreciate your comment; I'm just REALLY still angry.

After our past issues with Disney, I did write a letter, and got a call from Disney wanting to hear all about what happened. According to the Cast Member (it was apparently assigned to a specific group), the conversations we had were used to directly impact the training of DAS cast members. I also was offered the chance to contact them regarding future park experiences. I know it's not perfect (nor do I expect it to be) but our experiences since then have been A++. I was also told to continue to renew our DAS before it expired (we have multiple trips planned) as that seems to make the process easier.

So, in summary for us, Disney will get our vacation dollars with the exception of one day in December. I really hope things work out better for others - we did enjoy our first three trips to Uni very much. This just was handled very poorly for our family.

 

[Monykalyn]

This may be an unpopular opinion, but it seems unlikely that a person who really needs this pass would have no medical documentation of any kind to prove said disability.

Once they are finally diagnosed. That can be a struggle however the issues they are having should be well documented

I'm very unhappy that the Annual Passes we invested in are worthless to us. I'

So sorry you’ve had a rough experience. I get it must be frustrating. Once you’ve had a good Disney trip done perhaps try again? You still need a pass for one other child? I also encourage you to reach out to GS again and explain your frustration. Just my anecdotal experience but they’ve been very good. Yes the APs are not cheap!

Following this thread cuz my adult daughter finally gave into doctors urging for handicap placard. She used DAS at Disney for first time a year ago and it did make a difference for her-although she used it very sparingly. She’s a kid who never complained unless really bad so took until we found a half sister with same condition that we knew what was going on (her ped cardiologist just diagnosed her as “idiopathic”- we just kinda accepted during teen years she’d have pain after standing too long and the random dizziness/passing out). Planning a family grad trip next year for son and if she wants to come to UO with us she’ll need to go thru this process.

 

[Trrya]

So I received a call from universal following submission of my documentation for predominantly restroom related issues on august 8th. (Not IBS, FWIW) They said it was all approved and gave me a case number to share with GS when I arrive. No reading these boards it sounds like I may expect to have an issue?

 

[bsmcneil]

I waste a lot of my time on TikTok and I have seen more people on there than ever before the past two years talking about requesting DAS for bathroom issues. Many went viral and were followed by tons of comments saying, oh cool I'll just say this too! Not that TikTok is all to blame but knowledge does spread fast on there.

Interestingly enough, I was at a meeting today at the university I work at about student disabilities and the accommodations office showed us statistics of how the number of students applying for accommodations has been increasing significantly each semester. It actually doubled since COVID and this is a large university. They attribute a lot of it to the knowledge/awareness on disabilities that was available during covid so more people know how to ask what they need and also how the stigma continues to decrease on identifying your own needs. I'm sure that also applies too with the increase in guests requesting accommodations at theme parks. Sure, I bet there's a chunk out there lying to try and use it as a TikTok hack but my bet is the majority of increases is due to the awareness/lessening stigma. There's just more info now for people to know what they need and how they should ask for it.

All that to say, I think the knee jerk reaction to seeing increases in accommodations requests is to assume falsehoods (I see this happen at my work with some colleagues, sadly) and perhaps theme parks are having a similar reaction. Or maybe those viral videos on bathroom needs=theme park accommodations ended up on Universals radar. Such a specific thing to focus on...

I was thinking about this as I read this thread. When I took my kids to WDW last year (single dad, 2 kids - roughly 6 and 9 when we went), we left two ride lines we really wanted to do (and weren't able to get back to) because of last minute bathroom needs (not the general - just about every time we planned to get in line, I checked to see if the kids needed the bathroom but I have ulcerative colitis and occasionally there's a last minute issue). I didn't know to talk to a CM (even though I'm on these boards more than Goofy says Gawrsh).

So, this thread has made me think about - if we go back (hopefully when but man money is tight), what can I do differently. It's not a question of now I'm going to say some magical phrase (like the strawberry dream reference many pages back) but about knowing that there are possibilities that might align with the needs that were present (but that I didn't know might be accommodated). All that is to say that an increase in usage of things like a DAS, etc isn't the same as people using it unnecessarily or trying to game the system (obviously that happens). But making things more accessible for more people should be the goal (as someone with a disability that falls under the muscular dystrophy umbrella - as do the kids - I'm aware that disability work often tries to point out that many folks are temporarily able-bodied and that many people end up with a disabling experience at one point or another).

 

[notatallmagic]

Literally just had a Disney CM approach my kiddo very kindly to ask if we were aware of the DAS, and offered to help us obtain one. She was in the process of managing her condition (which is often unpredictable). It was handled with such kindness and with genuine concern. I wish this was what we could all experience at whatever park we choose to visit. My is so happy.

 

[frankalexandre]

Missed the Univetsal phone call but i was able to call quest relations (option 2 than 5) . Thanks God there was someone speaking portuguese there and he was very helpful. We are set now. It was a challenge to speak english with first agent though.

 

[gottalovepluto]

So I received a call from universal following submission of my documentation for predominantly restroom related issues on august 8th. (Not IBS, FWIW) They said it was all approved and gave me a case number to share with GS when I arrive. No reading these boards it sounds like I may expect to have an issue?

No, you’re in the clear. Once you pass the phone convo that’s it for interviewing, just gotta go pick up the pass from Guest Relations.

People get the denials during the phone call.

 

[prettypatchesmsu]

So I applied using the IBCCES app today. Seemed pretty straightforward with the questions. Now I wait I guess. I’m interested in how all this is going to work with HHN.