News New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[jennab55]

I'll have you know Red Lobster had perfectly mediocre steak.

Nobody has to prove a disability to get the RTQ either which should cover most people.

I laughed at your steak comment! I was just trying to think of easy examples

 

[Chi84]

At Disney nobody has to prove an allergy, or otherwise be “approved” in order to talk to a chef and have something made just for them in the allergy free kitchen.

I’m sure that it’s a “hardship” for Disney to pay to have that allergy free kitchen at almost every location, and I’m also sure it slows down the efficiency of the kitchen to have one of the chefs busy talking to customers and answering questions.

Disney does a great job when it comes to accommodating people. Food allergies are just one example.

They were also ahead of the game with accommodating dietary preferences like vegetarianism/veganism.

They really do have a wide variety of disability accommodations listed on their website.

I know you refuse to accept it but skipping the physical line on all of their attractions is different simply because of the sheer numbers of people requesting that accommodation.

It isn’t because they don’t care about the disabled and it’s not because they don’t believe people need that accommodation.

It’s just a matter of overburdening a system that needs to work for everyone. GAC and then DAS overuse was a problem even before Disney started charging for LLs.

But constantly trying to compare all the ways Disney goes above and beyond in their accommodations (like allergy-free kitchens) to DAS is not helpful.

DAS is in a category of its own because of the sheer numbers of people requesting it. I know you don’t like this, but it’s reality.

 

[flynnibus]

At Disney nobody has to prove an allergy, or otherwise be “approved” in order to talk to a chef and have something made just for them in the allergy free kitchen.

I’m sure that it’s a “hardship” for Disney to pay to have that allergy free kitchen at almost every location, and I’m also sure it slows down the efficiency of the kitchen to have one of the chefs busy talking to customers and answering questions.

And eventually if every table started asking for custom meals in a way that screwed up the whole system.. I'm sure Disney would eventually change their processes to cope.

Reality is today, they don't need to. So, this whatAboutIsm falls flat.

 

[Chi84]

And eventually if every table started asking for custom meals in a way that screwed up the whole system.. I'm sure Disney would eventually change their processes to cope.

Reality is today, they don't need to. So, this whatAboutIsm falls flat.

And it's whataboutism with everything - wheelchairs, food allergies, audio tours, etc. It's completely unproductive.

 

[Angel Ariel]

That's pretty shocking to me. PreCheck line has lower standards on prem because everyone has been, well, pre-checked! It's not something agents are supposed to sprinkle around to make themselves feel magnanimous.

flying this time the standards weren't lower.I flew by myself later in October and had to take less out of my bag in a regular line than I had to take out at pre check on that trip mere weeks earlier. Can't explain it - don't know why. Just was .

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I know you refuse to accept it but skipping the physical line on all of their attractions is different simply because of the sheer numbers of people requesting that accommodation.

Not at all - I’m not exactly sure what the easiest solution is. Hence the discussion!

 

[DisneyHead123]

I haven't seen anyone saying "stay home." Please don't exaggerate to that degree; it's not productive.

It has in a sense - it’s been framed as “If it’s so miserable for you / your child just go somewhere else.” Assume the mods don’t want this discussed, just mentioning it to be fair to jaklgreen as I see how those comments could in good faith be perceived as unwelcoming.

 

[DisneyHead123]

And it's whataboutism with everything - wheelchairs, food allergies, audio tours, etc. It's completely unproductive.

Since I brought up audio tours, I want to say this isn’t Whataboutism, it’s just the way I think. I want to extract the underlying axiom and see how it holds up when carried to its logical extreme in various scenarios. Maybe I spent too much of my young adulthood on philosophy forums, lol, but here I am. I just feel like this is the best approach to things and if your first principles aren’t solid then nothing holds up over the long term. I get that there are many detail oriented, inductive thinkers here who focus on individual facts and not overarching principles, and my way of thinking won’t make a lot of sense to them - and that’s cool too, just explaining why I approach things the way I do.

 

[jennab55]

It has in a sense - it’s been framed as “If it’s so miserable for you / your child just go somewhere else.” Assume the mods don’t want this discussed, just mentioning it to be fair to jaklgreen as I see how those comments could in good faith be perceived as unwelcoming.

I can see that. I think most are trying to just say, if you feel jt wont work for you or is causing too much anxiety, maybe it’s time to look elsewhere. Not that Disney shouldn’t give accommodations, just that it seems to be causing stress and maybe not worth going anymore. Heck we had issues on our last Disney trip and I chose to take a few year break because of it.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I want to extract the underlying axiom and see how it holds up when carried to its logical extreme in various scenarios.

My mind works the same way. It’s odd that some members want to dictate what is a “valid” comparison.

Even with the food allergy comparison - I’m quite certain that a lot more guests ask to speak to a chef about allergy concerns than 10-20 years ago. So yes, it’s costing Disney more money and slowing things down. It’s a pretty valid comparison in my book.

 

[Chi84]

The valid comparison is to look at other disability accommodations that Disney is identifying as causing them issues or costing too much.

The only one I can think of was a woman who was using the parks to train service dogs for her business. Even then, the issue was with the commercial nature of what she was doing; Disney did not identify an issue regarding the service dogs.

Any other comparison doesn’t hold water because every type of accommodation has costs in terms of money and effort.

Disney has always shown itself in the lead as far as disability accommodations are concerned.

 

[DisneyHead123]

I can see that. I think most are trying to just say, if you feel jt wont work for you or is causing too much anxiety, maybe it’s time to look elsewhere. Not that Disney shouldn’t give accommodations, just that it seems to be causing stress and maybe not worth going anymore. Heck we had issues on our last Disney trip and I chose to take a few year break because of it.

I definitely wasn’t referring to any recent comments, this is older stuff that has most likely been deleted.

 

[Chi84]

My mind works the same way. It’s odd that some members want to dictate what is a “valid” comparison.

Even with the food allergy comparison - I’m quite certain that a lot more guests ask to speak to a chef about allergy concerns than 10-20 years ago. So yes, it’s costing Disney more money and slowing things down. It’s a pretty valid comparison in my book.

Disney is apparently okay with those impacts on its business. Disney was not okay with the impact of DAS prior to the changes.

Too many people skipping the physical lines has a greater impact on Disney’s business than allergy issues.

The way we know this is Disney limited DAS.

 

[DisneyHead123]

My mind works the same way. It’s odd that some members want to dictate what is a “valid” comparison.

Even with the food allergy comparison - I’m quite certain that a lot more guests ask to speak to a chef about allergy concerns than 10-20 years ago. So yes, it’s costing Disney more money and slowing things down. It’s a pretty valid comparison in my book.

Yeah I think people have particularly strong feelings about lines, especially now that they are monetized. Even though guests may have to wait longer for food, I think LLs have made lines feel like a zero sum competition to park goers and there’s a certain competitiveness around them.

 

[Chi84]

Since I brought up audio tours, I want to say this isn’t Whataboutism, it’s just the way I think. I want to extract the underlying axiom and see how it holds up when carried to its logical extreme in various scenarios. Maybe I spent too much of my young adulthood on philosophy forums, lol, but here I am. I just feel like this is the best approach to things and if your first principles aren’t solid then nothing holds up over the long term. I get that there are many detail oriented, inductive thinkers here who focus on individual facts and not overarching principles, and my way of thinking won’t make a lot of sense to them - and that’s cool too, just explaining why I approach things the way I do.

Don’t you think Disney’s principle is to reasonably accommodate all disabilities?

The only accommodation Disney is limiting is DAS and that’s because it was hurting the business.

 

[DisneyHead123]

Don’t you think Disney’s principle is to reasonably accommodate all disabilities?

The only accommodation Disney is limiting is DAS and that’s because it was hurting the business.

Honestly my first conclusion in looking at how accommodations are applied is that overall (everywhere, not just at Disney,) it seems extremely pell mell and haphazard. It’s hard to identify consistent underlying principles for what gets accommodated, what doesn’t, how, and what qualifies as a disability. As a general question I’m curious to see if the topic arises more and more in the coming years.

When compared to the current standard of what other companies are doing, I do think Disney has historically been very accommodating. I’m reserving judgment on the new accommodations because not many people are posting real life experiences with them, but I am worried that they sound very inconsistent, with some CMs still not aware that they exist.

 

[Chi84]

Honestly my first conclusion in looking at how accommodations are applied is that overall (everywhere, not just at Disney,) it seems extremely pell mell and haphazard. It’s hard to identify consistent underlying principles for what gets accommodated, what doesn’t, how, and what qualifies as a disability. As a general question I’m curious to see if the topic arises more and more in the coming years.

When compared to the current standard of what other companies are doing, I do think Disney has historically been very accommodating. I’m reserving judgment on the new accommodations because not many people are posting real life experiences with them, but I am worried that they sound very inconsistent, with some CMs still not aware that they exist.

I’m not sure I understand what you mean. Other than the DOJ guidelines the only direction for businesses is to offer reasonable accommodation. Clearly there will be inconsistencies.

The consistent underlying principle is that people with disabilities should be included and businesses should offer reasonable accommodations toward that end.

The DOJ guidelines do caution businesses against inquiring into the nature and extent of a person’s disability, which can cause uncertainty in what accommodation is appropriate.

 

[Joel]

Even with the food allergy comparison - I’m quite certain that a lot more guests ask to speak to a chef about allergy concerns than 10-20 years ago.

To an extent that the people on the front lines of dealing with it have said it's "out of control". Going above and beyond to accommodate every allergy under the sun may not be much longer for this world than "DAS for everyone who asked for it" was.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

To an extent that the people on the front lines of dealing with it have said it's "out of control". Going above and beyond to accommodate every allergy under the sun may not be much longer for this world than "DAS for everyone who asked for it" was.

Automatic 20% tip? ok. Haha.

 

[Angel Ariel]

To an extent that the people on the front lines of dealing with it have said it's "out of control". Going above and beyond to accommodate every allergy under the sun may not be much longer for this world than "DAS for everyone who asked for it" was.

I read the article - the out of control is not at all in relation to the number of people requesting allergy accommodations, but rather the lack of clear and consistent policy for CMs on how to respond. Nothing in the article or the letter indicates that the problem is too many people asking for accommodations.