Rider switch is entirely optional and ultimately rooted in safety. That’s a lot different than splitting up families where the root reason is a disability. A family using rider switch made that choice, but a family being told to split up in order to receive an accommodation is not being provided with a choice. Even with rider switch now being opened up for just personal choice, it is personal choice that the split revolves around, not a disability.
True, but I'm not sure it would be considered unreasonable as it pertains to ADA.
I don’t know, Disney literally will not let you in the line with a child that is too small. I get that it’s for safety, but you either split up or don’t ride at all. The child didn’t choose to be too small, so it’s not really a choice. Even a family with a disability could still - in theory, depending on the line and severity of the disability - choose to wait in the standby together.
Can't you say that about just about everything in an amusement park? No rides are required - it is entirely a choice to ride or not if the rider meets the safety requirements. From a safety standpoint, if someone argues that they absolutely cannot wait in the queue then it is not unreasonable to say, "OK, if you wait - and have the option of doing something else like eat, use the restroom, ride something else, shop, etc. - then you and 1 other member of your party can use the LL when the other members of your party return." There is no logical reason why a party of 8, for example, needs to all be granted LL access to 7DMT because 1 person might have to use the bathroom or needs to use a wheelchair (assuming we're not talking about a situation such as a single parent with several children, of course). If it is a reasonable accommodation to provide DAS with a limit on the number of people granted LL access then the same would logically any to situations where Rider Swap is an otherwise reasonable accommodation. Splitting a party is sitting a party any way you slice it.
Really? Being a childless Disney adult I didn’t realize this was the case.
I agree. I have a good friend who asked me if her 53 y/o daughter (who is at a 4 or 5 y/o level emotionally) and can't stand crowds and being close to people, loud noises, would be okay to go to disney. I told her that there is a lot of exposure to loud noises, crowds and crowding, close contact with people and it's a constant thing that we even find difficult to take after a while. We just have to get out of the parks for a while. She decided that her daughter could not tolerate that situation at all, but she takes her to other places and experiences that she can tolerate. The constant noise, crowds bother me after about 4 days, and I am ready to stay at the resort or even leave by then, but that's just me. I don't have any medical conditions that would cause that, just the extent of the confusion and being at a theme park.
Yes, that way it’s harder for kids who are too short to be snuck on the ride. It helps the loading stations be more efficient too since they don’t have to measure EVERY little kid who comes through the line. Just the ones who look super close (because once in a blue moon a little one sneaks in).
Yes I feel like the last time we went to Disney (about 2yrs ago) I was shocked at how long the LL lines had gotten. Sometimes we got to the attraction, saw how long the LL line was, and left for something else because it just wasn’t going to work out for us.
Things changed when Iger took over.
Thank you for continuing to do this.
Just curious, have you used the new accommodations? I was under the impression that your current visit was under the old or am I misremembering?
Do you think DAS is driving these wait times?
I think not since they fixed DAS. I think its simply the totally broken Genie+ system
We were at AK today & I thought it was pretty crowded - not Spring Break crowded but still lots of people - more like Thanksgiving Week crowded.
The other major difference is families using RS because a child is too short are still able to experience all of the non-height requirement attractions with their full family (and it's not like that's a small number of attractions). Whereas a family using RS due to disability accommodation may be needed on any/all attractions depending on line lengths, not just a small number of height required rides.I don’t know, Disney literally will not let you in the line with a child that is too small. I get that it’s for safety, but you either split up or don’t ride at all. The child didn’t choose to be too small, so it’s not really a choice. Even a family with a disability could still - in theory, depending on the line and severity of the disability - choose to wait in the standby together.
(I can see it being a choice for a kid who just doesn’t want to ride but is otherwise tall enough, but I think in that situation most of the time the family sticks together and then the kid just waits 90 seconds at the exit by himself. That was always my experience anyway.)
Fwiw, I can see your point too, but I’m just trying to imagine what can be considered “reasonable.” I know this is a grey area and I’m not at all trying to argue with you.
Sorry to hear you got denied. Im now certain that our son will get denied too for Disneyland this August
Im going to look into this actually. I do not want to spend every attraction explaining to the CM. I have a generic UK DiD card it's called and to get one, I had to prove that we receive state benefits for our sons Autism and needs but that's going to be completely lost on US cast members
Prepare to receive a form letter as a response. That’s what I got. In the old days someone would have contacted me personally to discuss my issues but it appears those days are long gone.
What do other parks do for accommodation. I am curious how they handle it vs Disney.
Hershey and UNI it works like DAS, except now it involves 3rd party. You go to GR with proof and get access based on need
