New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[Tigger&Pooh]

Question: You are required to have an admission ticket before you can apply for DAS online. If you are denied a DAS, and you feel it is too onerous to go without one, can you get a refund? Can you find out of you qualify before you purchase a ticket.

Sorry if this has been discussed already but I can't read the entire thread. Thanks in advance.

You do need to have a ticket in MDE before you can request DAS.

There have been reports of people getting refunds because DAS was denied. I can't say whether everyone who has requested a refund has received it or if anyone was denied. It may depend on circumstances.

However one thing to keep in mind is that you cannot request DAS until you are within 30 days of arrival. At that point, are you really going to cancel? Maybe. For many of us it means we have time off from work approved, airfare purchased, plans and expectations of the vacation, etc. so it's not just the tickets and hotel costs to be refunded. I don't recommend anybody purchase tickets in the "hope" that they will be approved or refunded; consider the larger picture.

 

[pdude81]

I suspect if approved they would need to attach this to actual tickets linked to the individual who requires accommodation.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I suspect if approved they would need to attach this to actual tickets linked to the individual who requires accommodation.

Are they approving the ticket or the individual? Meaning, do you have to apply every time you buy a ticket, or once approved it stays linked to your account?

 

[pdude81]

Are they approving the ticket or the individual? Meaning, do you have to apply every time you buy a ticket, or once approved it stays linked to your account?

I believe they approve the individual, but then attach that "service" to the ticket. Similar to not being able to purchase G+/LLMP without valid tickets. It's only valid for length of ticket, or 120 days if AP.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I believe they approve the individual, but then attach that "service" to the ticket. Similar to not being able to purchase G+/LLMP without valid tickets. It's only valid for length of ticket, or 120 days if AP.

Oh it doesn’t even last the length of an AP?

 

[pdude81]

Oh it doesn’t even last the length of an AP?

Nope. Length of ticket or 120 days, whichever is less. IIRC the 120 is actually longer than it was before the change. I'm not clear on that timeframe though.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

They have the power to not require tickets to be purchased in order to apply for DAS.

Why would they want to do that?

Reasonable accommodations are being granted to visitors/customers, not potential visitors/customers.

Why would Disney want to set up a system and pay people to conduct the interviews/investigations for someone who hasn't committed to going to the park?

And also, the determination for if accommodations are warranted, and if so to what level (which might be less than DAS) should be based on need and need alone. Doing it before tickets are purchased leaves open a way too easy avenue of "well if you don't give me what I want, I guess I won't be buying tickets" which can lead to abuse and incentivizes over using DAS as to not lose customers.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Why would they want to do that?

Reasonable accommodations are being granted to visitors/customers, not potential visitors/customers.

Why would Disney want to set up a system and pay people to conduct the interviews/investigations for someone who hasn't committed to going to the park?

And also, the determination for if accommodations are warranted, and if so to what level (which might be less than DAS) should be based on need and need alone. Doing it before tickets are purchased leaves open a way too easy avenue of "well if you don't give me what I want, I guess I won't be buying tickets" which can lead to abuse and incentivizes over using DAS as to not lose customers.

So there's concern of abuse so as not to lose customers, and concerns that there would be abuse by people receiving refunds after the fact. And yet, people with disabilities should absolutely have the ability to decide if the accommodations they've been given are enough for them to be able to go to the parks, and not be required to pay for tickets they can't use - but they can't know what accommodation they have without going through the DAS interview (because it's not just DAS or AQR- there are individuals being told very individualized accommodations, some of which are very odd).

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

So there's concern of abuse so as not to lose customers, and concerns that there would be abuse by people receiving refunds after the fact. And yet, people with disabilities should absolutely have the ability to decide if the accommodations they've been given are enough for them to be able to go to the parks, and not be required to pay for tickets they can't use - but they can't know what accommodation they have without going through the DAS interview (because it's not just DAS or AQR- there are individuals being told very individualized accommodations, some of which are very odd).

The entire change that was enacted into the system was started because the data WDW had showed overuse/abuse of the system, which was effecting wait times and lines.

And of course there is going to be a concern on abuse on attempts to link ticket sales to accommodations. First, the company doesn't want to lose money, either through people refusing to buy tickets if not given what they want, or threatening to return tickets if they don't get what they want. Second, the system shouldn't have any financial incentive behind the determination on what accommodation should be given. It should be money blind. Any link to the accommodation having an effect on profits/sales inherently bias the decision and the system, and would result in overuse...which is what the entire purpose of the change in the system in the first place.

As to not knowing what accommodation a person will get without going through the process...that is inherent in the entire system. Reasonable accommodations are not meant, and the law doesn't require, there being a one size fits all approach. Its supposed to be a reasonable accommodation such that it provides just enough accommodation to the person seeking it, while having minimal impact on business operations and other customers/employees, ect. As a general rule, it is the business that is going to decide what accommodation is necessary. The company is not going to pay of the costs of people to conduct interviews, make determinations, for people who haven't already purchased tickets, either to avoid the increased volume of people who will be tying up the system for "lets just see" calls, or "we want to go someday" type calls, or again people who are going to try and leverage what they think they want, vs what WDW thinks they need for purchasing tickets.

 

[NotTheOne]

So there's concern of abuse so as not to lose customers, and concerns that there would be abuse by people receiving refunds after the fact. And yet, people with disabilities should absolutely have the ability to decide if the accommodations they've been given are enough for them to be able to go to the parks, and not be required to pay for tickets they can't use - but they can't know what accommodation they have without going through the DAS interview (because it's not just DAS or AQR- there are individuals being told very individualized accommodations, some of which are very odd).

I agree that if someone has a ticket and is denied, the ticket should be refunded...I don't agree they should consider people for DAS who don't have a ticket.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I’ve called the customer service line many times over the years with questions, often before buying tickets or booking hotels, why should DAS questions be any different?

My guess is they make you buy tickets first because they’re banking on you getting excited and deciding to go anyway, they know if they deny people first most won’t buy tickets, if they deny you after you’ve already spent the money and gotten excited many will still go. It’s not good customer service but it’ll prop up the numbers for another quarter or 2 and that’s a bigger priority than amazing customer service now.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I’ve called the customer service line many times over the years with questions, often before buying tickets or booking hotels, why should DAS questions be any different?

Good point, when you call to book a hotel you ask if handicap rooms are available with the accommodations you need. You don’t book the hotel and then call 30 days out and see if you qualify.

Which kinda points to how silly this is - imagine a hotel saying “I’m sorry, you don’t qualify for a hotel room with support bars in the restroom, we suggest you practice at home by bracing against a wall.”

 

[Vacationeer]

the system shouldn't have any financial incentive behind the determination on what accommodation should be given. It should be money blind.

Any link to the accommodation having an effect on profits/sales inherently bias the decision and the system, and would result in overuse...which is what the entire purpose of the change in the system in the first place.

Your entire post is well said. These concepts aren’t easy to put to words.

 

[Vacationeer]

I think DAS toward the end became a method for finding value going to WDW. My experience being part of a DAS party last year took me by surprise. The was a huge increase in ease to explore the parks. On different trips we had bought Genie+ and that was not as pleasant, didn’t work as well as the DAS trip. WDW needed to close the gap in experiences. The parks are challenging in many ways and it was dysfunctional having people paying the same high prices but with very different results depending on what those challenges were.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I agree that if someone has a ticket and is denied, the ticket should be refunded...I don't agree they should consider people for DAS who don't have a ticket.

And I would agree with you on the bolded if giving refunds was a given. I was responding to someone who said that would never happen. So if putting a refund in writing is never going to happen, then i went to what other options could there be.

But I don't agree with this idea that neither refunds nor allowing the conversation before having tickets is ok. Something should give so people aren't stuck paying for a ticket they can't use.

And I'm not going back to quote the other poster who responded to me - but I have not said accommodations are one size fit all, and I agree they should not be. But people shouldn't be trapped into spending hundreds of dollars and then find they can't use the tickets and have no recourse.

Accommodations for my child to attend a Broadway show aren't one size fits all, and I don't need to have purchased a ticket in order to have that conversation with the theatre.

Accommodations to attend a sporting event aren't necessarily one size fits al, but every stadium we've gone to posts their accessibility options online and, again, I can call and have a personalized discussion with their accessibility office before putting hundreds of dollars down on tickets.

We went to an amusement park near us over Labor Day. Their accessibility office is before the ticket turnstiles, so no ticket necessary to find out if Dd qualified for their DAS-equivalent.

accessibility information needs to be widely available and transparent so people know what supports they will have available to them to be able to know whether they will be able to access that place/event.

 

[NotTheOne]

I think DAS toward the end became a method for finding value going to WDW. My experience being part of a DAS party last year took me by surprise. The was a huge increase in ease to explore the parks. On different trips we had bought Genie+ and that was not as pleasant, didn’t work as well as the DAS trip. WDW needed to close the gap in experiences. The parks are challenging in many ways and it was dysfunctional having people paying the same high prices but with very different results depending on what those challenges were.

Yes, I don't think it's unreasonable, either for Disney or for the people paying for (at that time, Genie+) that a paid experience should be superior to an unpaid one.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

The parks are challenging in many ways and it was dysfunctional having people paying the same high prices but with very different results depending on what those challenges were.

It’s the same exact situation now, it’s just a different set of people getting very different results.

My GFs heart condition issues are compounded by heat, we did DL last week and it was insanely hot, we averaged about 3-4 hours a day in the morning and about 3-4 hours at night in the park, one night she was so sick we didn’t even go back though, so while most people were getting up to 14 hours a day of park time we averaged about 6 a day for the same exact price, is that fair? Over our 4 days we managed about 25 hours of park time total, and probably 25 rides total. In the past with DAS we’d have had similar park time but probably averaged 35-40 rides.

We were fortunate the lines were short in the mornings this week so we got more done than I expected but we still don’t know if we’ll be back, between the tickets, hotel, food, etc we figured it cost us about $100 an hour for every hour we were actually in the park (or $100 per ride depending on how you want to look at it), that’s horrible value. DAS didn’t give us an advantage, it just made it so we could accomplish something similar in our short time to what the normal guest would get in a full day.

 

[NotTheOne]

We were fortunate the lines were short in the mornings this week so we got more done than I expected but we still don’t know if we’ll be back, between the tickets, hotel, food, etc we figured it cost us about $100 an hour for every hour we were actually in the park (or $100 per ride depending on how you want to look at it), that’s horrible value. DAS didn’t give us an advantage, it just made it so we could accomplish something similar in our short time to what the normal guest would get in a full day.

If you're able to do the same number of things in a significantly shorter day than a non-DAS guest in a full day, then DAS most definitely did give you an advantage.

The point of DAS was never supposed to be to make up for park time that was shorter due to disability, it was to provide, as closely as possible, the same experience as those in standby.

 

[Chi84]

It’s the same exact situation now, it’s just a different set of people getting very different results.

My GFs heart condition issues are compounded by heat, we did DL last week and it was insanely hot, we averaged about 3-4 hours a day in the morning and about 3-4 hours at night in the park, one night she was so sick we didn’t even go back though, so while most people were getting up to 14 hours a day of park time we averaged about 6 a day for the same exact price, is that fair? Over our 4 days we managed about 25 hours of park time total, and probably 25 rides total. In the past with DAS we’d have had similar park time but probably averaged 35-40 rides.

We were fortunate the lines were short in the mornings this week so we got more done than I expected but we still don’t know if we’ll be back, between the tickets, hotel, food, etc we figured it cost us about $100 an hour for every hour we were actually in the park (or $100 per ride depending on how you want to look at it), that’s horrible value. DAS didn’t give us an advantage, it just made it so we could accomplish something similar in our short time to what the normal guest would get in a full day.

I completely understand what you’re saying, but Disney is supposed to provide reasonable accommodations to allow similar access to their rides and the theme park experience.

I’m not sure how they can reasonably or equitably handle situations where a person’s disability requires them to leave the parks or to take frequent breaks to deal with the actual disability.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I completely understand what you’re saying, but Disney is supposed to provide reasonable accommodations to allow similar access to their rides and the theme park experience.

I’m not sure how they can reasonably or equitably handle situations where a person’s disability requires them to leave the parks or to take frequent breaks to deal with the actual disability.

They probably can’t, but the flip side of that is the parks aren’t worth the money for a lot of people who have disabilities without DAS either, it’s a lose/lose situation no matter what they do, you can’t please everyone.

I feel fortunate my GF and I had so many amazing Disney trips as healthy individuals and also so many amazing trips with DAS after her health issues made normal trips impossible, hopefully Disney finds a happy medium that allows more people in the future the same memories.

Until then we’ll cherish our memories while we enjoy cruising and other vacation destinations.