Rumor New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[Happyday]

I think they put that wording in there so if they catch a tour guide or whatever abusing DAS they can ban them, and add a general discouragement overall. But that wording has been in there for years and i haven’t ever heard of anyone getting banned for this so

Exactly let's hope they start enforcing this. Like you said the wording has been in there as long as I have known about DAS.

 

[dolbyman]

The whole scenario was almost unbearable, and then they brought out bananas for everyone so it was unbearable AND it smelled, which was way over the line.

I showed this post to my GF and this is going to her Disney BurnBook FB Group (no user name/picture/source attached).. She hates bananas as well

 

[lazyboy97o]

Rather than put the onus on Disney, this is why I suggested the law be changed. That's something people with a disability could advocate for. I'm in favour of slightly advantageous accommodations because it offsets challenges many people face.

However, the world we lives in makes that impossible. It creates an incentive to cheat the system and that's why DAS is always being tweaked to be less "advantageous".

Someone said, and I don't know to what degree it's true, that companies could limit disability access if it becomes unmanageable. If the wait times for other guests become excessive, Disney could argue that they can only accommodate X number of people with DAS in any given day.

Kind of like attractions that have wheelchair accessible ride vehicles. There's only so many and those people might wait longer than others as a result. There's no requirement to make every ride vehicle accessible.

What you are effectively proposing is less accessibility. Plenty of businesses still rather actively try to avoid providing accessible accommodations, even in regards to ubiquitous things like ramps or elevators. Even Disney, who does so much and knows they attract disabled customers, only tends to build to meet minimum requirements of things like parking spaces and hotel rooms.

 

[Trauma]

I wonder what their expectation is for this number. I think a single digit number sounds too low, but I suck at math. Didn't someone try to crunch the (estimated) numbers here earlier in the thread? I can't seem to track that comment down.

I don’t see the number changing much. It will go lower since Disney is now discriminating against all disabilities that are not “developmental” and are limiting group size to 4 people.

However that just means the “cheaters” will change their reason for needing DAS and will be clogging the LL in no time.

Now that I think about it this is even better for the cheaters. The LL will move faster and they can get on more rides.

I guess this encourages more abuse.

Great plan Disney!!

 

[Grantwil93]

I hear you and totally believe that. I would like to clarify a point, sometimes a person with DD or autism may also require a wheelchair in fact there are more than you may think as it is not uncommon for the reason they are in a wheelchair is a condition that involves the brain which also causes DD or autism. I am not saying you were implying it isn't but some may interpret it that way. I don't understand the ECV's unless there is one of the medical issues that they will find another option for.

I appreciate it. And yes, I'm in full agreement with you and didn't mean to imply otherwise. Wording is hard

 

[DryerLintFan]

I showed this post to my GF and this is going to her Disney BurnBook FB Group (no user name/picture/source attached).. She hates bananas as well

I hate them so much. Like they couldn’t have picked a worse snack for people around me. On the bright side everyone else seemed really happy to have the bananas, and they did give us water too! The CMs were really sweet. The smell was just awful though.

 

[DryerLintFan]

I don’t see the number changing much. It will go lower since Disney is now discriminating against all disabilities that are not “developmental” and are limiting group size to 4 people.

However that just means the “cheaters” will change their reason for needing DAS and will be clogging the LL in no time.

Now that I think about it this is even better for the cheaters. The LL will move faster and they can get on more rides.

I guess this encourages more abuse.

Great plan Disney!!

I have been thinking about this…. I wonder if someone who qualified in the past under something else would be red flagged if they not suddenly applied with autism.

Like they have all our previous visits in the computer. They pull them up every time you apply again for DAS. I wonder if you’ve been receiving DAS for let’s say diabetes, and then suddenly you’re asking for it for autism, if they can THEN ask for documentation?

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

What you are effectively proposing is less accessibility. Plenty of businesses still rather actively try to avoid providing accessible accommodations, even in regards to ubiquitous things like ramps or elevators. Even Disney, who does so much and knows they attract disabled customers, only tends to build to meet minimum requirements of things like parking spaces and hotel rooms.

Not my intent at all.

I'm just pointing out that the level of abuse, and laws that impede an ability to address it, makes it difficult or impossible to provide appropriate accessibility.

 

[DeadyRoosevelt]

I don’t see the number changing much.

Yeah, I have no idea how much these changes will affect the number, especially until we see this new plan in action. I just meant from the previous numbers we've seen thrown around in the thread. So if Disney is saying 60ish% of LL users are DAS, what is a "reasonable" number to them? Should it be 10%? 25%? 40%? Is this number factored into operations? What's the tipping point, etc. I know we won't get real data. It was more a thought exercise.

And yes, the devil on my shoulder is whispering that they don't care about the number, they just want to sell more Genie+. But it would still be interesting.

 

[Chi84]

I have been thinking about this…. I wonder if someone who qualified in the past under something else would be red flagged if they not suddenly applied with autism.

Like they have all our previous visits in the computer. They pull them up every time you apply again for DAS. I wonder if you’ve been receiving DAS for let’s say diabetes, and then suddenly you’re asking for it for autism, if they can THEN ask for documentation?

My feeling - and it's only that - is that if Disney wanted to ask for documentation it would have followed the Six Flags/Universal model.

I have a feeling they really want to get most people with disabilities back into the regular lines, albeit with increased accommodations in the form of some kind of line return system.

I think they want to limit DAS to people who have conditions like autism, where standing in the line itself may be the problem.

 

[haveyoumetmark]

I have been thinking about this…. I wonder if someone who qualified in the past under something else would be red flagged if they not suddenly applied with autism.

Like they have all our previous visits in the computer. They pull them up every time you apply again for DAS. I wonder if you’ve been receiving DAS for let’s say diabetes, and then suddenly you’re asking for it for autism, if they can THEN ask for documentation?

Right. And that is not abuse, but I feel like it’s being characterized as abuse in this thread because it’s not a “developmental disability like autism or similar.”

Disney is making an enormous pivot in the program, but that doesn’t mean that a large number of people haven’t been using it as intended until now. My hunch is that a large number of people have been honest with Disney, and have been approved in the past for things like digestive or spinal issues etc, and now they no longer will be. That doesn’t sound like mitigating abuse to me. It comes across more like dropping support. If anything, it’s Disney’s fault for setting these expectations and approving people from the get-go. It’s not necessarily guests’ faults for being approved. What an uncomfortable about-face they’ve made.

 

[DeadyRoosevelt]

My hunch is too that a large number of people have been honest with Disney, and have been approved in the past for things like digestive or spinal issues etc, and now they no longer will be. That doesn’t sound like mitigating abuse to me. It comes across more like dropping support.

This is my fear. They will stop some of the casual cheaters, but the hardcore cheaters will still cheat. Meanwhile, a large chunk of guests who relied on the service will be negatively affected. Some might be taken care of if the "return to queue" system works. But not all.

 

[Purduevian]

Yeah, I have no idea how much these changes will affect the number, especially until we see this new plan in action. I just meant from the previous numbers we've seen thrown around in the thread. So if Disney is saying 60ish% of LL users are DAS, what is a "reasonable" number to them? Should it be 10%? 25%? 40%? Is this number factored into operations? What's the tipping point, etc. I know we won't get real data. It was more a thought exercise.

And yes, the devil on my shoulder is whispering that they don't care about the number, they just want to sell more Genie+. But it would still be interesting.

I don't have a %, but IMHO the daily ride capacity utilized by a group utilizing DAS should be approximately the same as a group not utilizing DAS (they should get the same quantity and quality of attractions in during the same time period).
Those utilizing G+ should get a few more on average than non G+ (regardless of DAS status).

The current system gives the opportunity for those on DAS to utilize more of the capacity (not that all do, but it is certainly possible). The current rule set encourages people to lie about requiring DAS in order to gain this opportunity.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I wonder what their expectation is for this number. I think a single digit number sounds too low, but I suck at math. Didn't someone try to crunch the (estimated) numbers here earlier in the thread? I can't seem to track that comment down.

A single digit number easily becomes a two digit number when they’re, on average, part of a party of four. Then they become an even higher percentage when they all get pushed together into only a fraction of the overall visitors.

Not my intent at all.

I'm just pointing out that the level of abuse, and laws that impede an ability to address it, makes it difficult or impossible to provide appropriate accessibility.

I don’t say it was your intent. It would be the unintended consequence.

 

[RamblinWreck]

I was going to like your comment but then it got really ignorant at the end there. Autism is a developmental disability, NOT a mental illness

I apologize!

You are absolutely correct. I am ignorant about it.

 

[shambolicdefending]

I have two kids that have qualified for DAS both in Anaheim and Orlando due to diagnosed genetic developmental disabilities. They're the "invisible" type that wouldn't be noticeable to the casual or untrained observer. I'm grateful that Disney has the program and I'm grateful for the cast members who help administer it. It's been my experience that those working with DAS have a very warm and genuine desire to help people like my kids, who just want to experience Disney like "normal" kids as much as possible.

That gratitude and appreciation is equaled by my disgust at people who game the system. It's been an obvious problem for a long time, and I'm very happy to see Disney taking steps to address it. People just trying to get something for nothing out of the program aren't commiting a victimless crime. I hope the steps being taken now help eliminate at least a good chunk of them.

If anything, I'd like to see Disney go even further in the future. Every family I know with a legitimate need for disability access would have no problem with a strict system that required extensive documentation and vetting.

 

[Doberge]

I have been thinking about this…. I wonder if someone who qualified in the past under something else would be red flagged if they not suddenly applied with autism.

Like they have all our previous visits in the computer. They pull them up every time you apply again for DAS. I wonder if you’ve been receiving DAS for let’s say diabetes, and then suddenly you’re asking for it for autism, if they can THEN ask for documentation?

No, this is unlikely even information they keep because it would be protected health information (the reported condition) linkd to a specific individual. That's exactly the kind of information they don't want to store. But Disney might have aggregate data, like X people reported autism, Z people reported a bowel condition, etc.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I think they want to limit DAS to people who have conditions like autism, where standing in the line itself may be the problem.

That I’m Sure is the goal: An access system that only minimally impacts the operation as a whole.

It’s just hard. People want to scam
Disney…they’re hard to discourage.

And I think the “need” is highly questionable. Like I would question diabetes 99% of the time and ADHD probably like 85%

 

[flynnibus]

Every family I know with a legitimate need for disability access would have no problem with a strict system that required extensive documentation and vetting

Unfortunately this is everyone's view as long as they are informed and not excluded.

Many of those same people would want to flip tables if they got there, and were excluded, because they were excluded for some criteria they failed to complete... due to changes or simple lack of awareness.

It's not that people don't want to comply - but they equally don't want to be excluded either... and the reasoning for not being able to meet the screening criteria can be quite innocent too.

 

[Ayla]

I guess you must be a lawyer?

Let me guess you are a lawyer? If not then go become one because you seem to KNOW EVERYTHING.

(I can't wait to keep reading to see who tells him... )