New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[Dranth]

Do you really believe people who if true abused it now are gonna no longer find a way to abuse it again?!?

Over time they will find a way but last time they changed from GAC to DAS abuse dropped and then started building back up again as people figured out how to work the system.

I imagine the same will happen here until they are forced to change it again.

 

[Surferboy567]

Whenever I travel in a large group (typically with family) my group has gotten a DAS. Someone in my group has a bowel disease and uses the bathroom often impairing their ability to stand in long lines.

This person never had a problem getting a DAS before and I’m wondering if under this new system they will. I believe this is a “legitimate” physical disability.

Not as often, but I have travelled with a person who would get a DAS because they had a double knee surgery and has difficulty with mobility. I wonder how that would work under this new system. Maybe they would see a scooter is a “appropriate” accommodation?

 

[Happyday]

Wow. Some of what they announced is quite surprising, like the 4 guest limit. And this:

"If it is determined that any of the statements a Guest made in the process of obtaining DAS are not true, the Guest will be permanently barred from entering Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Resort, and any previously purchased Annual Passes, Magic Key passes, tickets and other park products and services will be forfeited and not refunded."

It will be interesting to see how statements would be checked.

Actually the second part has been on the site for a while now. I remember reading this when we first had to check into DAS.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Thank you.

It's so tiring when discussion of accommodations in general always jumps to the extreme examples.

It may be extreme but people have sued asking for such extreme accommodations. They're presumably a small minority, but the question I'm getting at is, where and how is the line drawn?

Disney considers a wheelchair a suitable accommodation for someone who can't stand in a queue. Some people don't agree because they don't want to have a wheelchair with them all day or want to wait somewhere where they can sit as well as stand and stretch or what not.

Some would argue that the Disney rule there is reasonable, some would argue getting a return time instead of using a wheelchair is an extreme request.

It's a complex issue.

 

[Dranth]

The problem with the question is this.

Person A has a physical disability preventing them from waiting in line.

Person B has autism.

So if both conditions are 100% legitimate with documentation, what makes person B more important ?

So unless your suggesting that autistic people shouldn’t go to Disney, it seems like a troubling question to ask.

The answer is they both need help and I don't think anyone wants to take that away.

What it looks like Disney is doing is:

Person A is accommodated using whatever Disney is rolling out for the return to line system and that needs to include a full blown DAS level for those that need it.

Person B is accommodated on something similar to DAS.

My guess is they separated them because the vast majority of abuse is in the person B category.

In the end it will all boil down to how the line return is handled. If they make things too difficult on people that need it, it will need to be replaced/tweaked.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

we are talking about attraction access at a privately owned park.

As far as the ADA is concerned it is a place of public accommodation.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Lawsuits have been filed asking for unlimited front of line access.

While they lost, it's a fact that some people do have unrealistic expectations and in some cases, should consider if visiting a theme park is appropriate.

I've said several times that I'm absolutely in favour of disability accommodations, but it's a complex issue and a theme park just isn't realistically going to be for everyone.

No one here is promoting what you're referring to.

People are discussing accommodations they've already received that allow them to "realistically" experience a theme park, and concerns that experience may change if existing accommodations - which the courts have already ruled are reasonable - are no longer available.

No one here is advocating for unreasonable accommodations.

 

[Hockey89]

As always, this started out as a great program but was ruined by selfish lazy people that wanted to screw the system. The amount of people that have used this program that are 1000% fine to wait in line is incredible. Hope Disney makes it really really had to use and only truly people that need it.... long past

 

[DryerLintFan]

But DAS DID work for the most amount of people. It was fair and gave those who would not be able to enjoy the parks otherwise, the ability to do so. People with medical issues/disabilities just want to feel normal at times and shouldn't have to go through this stress and hassle just because there are those that lie and cheat.
I think a better approach would have been for Disney to start a better monitoring system and crack down on the abusers.

But you’re wrong. It DID work for the most amount of disabled people, but not the most amount of people. The current system impacted operations and guest satisfaction enough for them to drill into it again, because it didn’t work for the majority of Disney guests. If it did, there’d be no problem.

There will always be those that lie and chest, no matter what system they have in place. Always. The current system makes it so easy though.

I think a better system would be to require documentation. Not just a doctors letter but actual documentation of the disability. I had to provide that for school accommodations, job accommodations, why not this?

 

[Splash4eva]

Over time they will find a way but last time they changed from GAC to DAS abuse dropped and then started building back up again as people figured out how to work the system.

I imagine the same will happen here until they are forced to change it again.

So basically they are doing nothing to really solve the problem but fool people into thinking they are and somehow make more money off it. They are fixing this just as good as how they are fixing capacity and entertainment issues.

 

[Brian]

In the general sense no, but we are talking about attraction access at a privately owned park.

In that case Disney is allowed to determine what they think is reasonable based on someone's needs and existing laws for their operations. The parents are irrelevant outside of providing the needed information. No where does it say they have to accept whatever a parent says. You child has to be front of line no matter what for the entire day? Disney does not have to accommodate that as it has crossed the line to unreasonable even though that may be a legit issue for some.

When it comes to whether an accommodation is "reasonable" or not, that is up to the business owner, but they must be prepared to defend denying a requested accommodation should the requestor choose to file a lawsuit, as the burden of proof would be on the business owner to show why the requested accommodation would pose an undue hardship. The plaintiff (requestor) would also have to show that the defendant could have provided the accommodation, but chose not to. Source.

When it comes to whether or not visiting WDW is appropriate for a special needs child, the decision-maker there should always be the parent, not Disney, and certainly not random users on a forum such as this.

 

[Happyday]

Serious question, not trying to be rude or snarky. For people who are saying if they are denied DAS they will not go anymore, why not just purchase Genie+ and ILL? Wouldn’t that be a better solution than just choosing not to go?

I can't speak for others but Genie + would not work for us. A lot of the time we wait longer to get on the rides we have under DAS because the individual that needs it may be having difficulty or need assistance with something before going to the ride. This individual is fine while on rides but is unable to transfer themselves so has to be 'ready' for the transfer. Genie + only gives you 1 hour to return.

 

[Angel Ariel]

When it comes to whether or not visiting WDW is appropriate for a special needs child, the decision-maker there should always be the parent, not Disney, and certainly not random users on a forum such as this.

this.

 

[Dranth]

As far as the ADA is concerned it is a place of public accommodation.

Of course, but there are limits set by Disney, not the guests. The guests can push back but reasonable is the key word that should allow Disney to make these changes as long as the return to line system isn't a complete joke. If it is, they will have issues.

 

[jaklgreen]

But you’re wrong. It DID work for the most amount of disabled people, but not the most amount of people. The current system impacted operations and guest satisfaction enough for them to drill into it again, because it didn’t work for the majority of Disney guests. If it did, there’d be no problem.

There will always be those that lie and chest, no matter what system they have in place. Always. The current system makes it so easy though.

I think a better system would be to require documentation. Not just a doctors letter but actual documentation of the disability. I had to provide that for school accommodations, job accommodations, why not this?

I think that the problem is that DAS people are in the same line as Genie+ and that they oversell Genie+. We didn't have these issues with DAS before they went to selling Genie+.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

But this is where the law and it's application applies. The law isn't that Disney only provide one form that a customer MUST accept - It's the inverse, the company must accept a reasonable accommodation.

Example: if I need to test and have supplies for my Type II diabetes, Disney can't say "we have first aid centers, you must use those - you can not bring in your own needles or food" if the guest is simply requesting to be able to carry their supplies in bring in necessary supplements.... because a court can rule the request is reasonable. Disney can provide an alternative, but they must consider reasonable accommodations.

Same way that Disney really can't dictate the only accommodation is use a wheelchair. For instance, they should allow sitting canes, or other mechanisms too.. and they do.

And "but isn't fun" isn't a binary thing... I think everyone can acknowledge without much fuss how much burden an ECV is, and Disney wouldn't have a ton of success arguing a customer should take on that burden and financial burden as a sole alternative if the guest really didn't need it. Reasonable alternatives will be easy to argue for.

It would be a dream... it's one of those things that you don't notice at first unless you're looking.. and this push for space and other reasons to eliminate them has been a real determinant to me visiting. You see sitting walls are much more common in a lot of the newer landscape designs.. but they only go so far.

Just look around the hub or most walkways... it feels like a death march when your back is failing you and you can't find anywhere to sit.

I agree with much of what you say. Wheelchairs and EXVs are just the obvious examples for a general guest with mobility issues. But as you acknowledge, they allow sitting canes, walkers with seats, etc. Does that not satisfy the reasonable accommodation requirement? My hope is that this leafs to more benches and seating throughout the parks and I think it eventually will, either due to guest feedback or a threat of a class-action lawsuit. Even if a lawsuit is unlikely to succeed, it would be in Disney's best interests to provide more seating rather than have negative news stories pointing out the fact that they have removed a good amount of seating over the years.

 

[Disneydad1012]

The problem with the question is this.

Person A has a physical disability preventing them from waiting in line.

Person B has autism.

So if both conditions are 100% legitimate with documentation, what makes person B more important ?

So unless your suggesting that autistic people shouldn’t go to Disney, it seems like a troubling question to ask.

It's quite simple....Person A can sit in a wheelchair and be fine...Person B doesn't have that same accommodation. The physical issues have always been weird to me...So if I'm missing a leg(and can't hop down a full queue) and "refuse" to use a provided wheelchair then I can just get DAS and skip the line?

 

[AdventurersClub]

Saw this today, wasn't sure if it's been discussed here yet. Sorry if I'm late to the party.

View attachment 778402

With everything that's been announced/discussed I suppose my question would be: if we have individuals in our party with lung transplants, fibrosis and who are immunodeficient (thus, unable to go very far for very long), would they now be excluded from DAS and told to simply buy/bring a wheelchair? They don't have any sort of neurological disorder but given their conditions, experiencing the parks can be a little bit rough.

They can start by firing and banning all those cast members who they have evidence abused the DAS program as well as the Vloggers who need a DAS for the parks but are able to do other things like attending Taylor Swift concerts just fine. Everyone would take this warning more seriously if they actually saw it used in practice to emphasize that this program is intended for people who need it and not those who wish to scam their way into a free version of Genie+.

 

[dreamfinder912]

But DAS DID work for the most amount of people. It was fair and gave those who would not be able to enjoy the parks otherwise, the ability to do so. People with medical issues/disabilities just want to feel normal at times and shouldn't have to go through this stress and hassle just because there are those that lie and cheat.
I think a better approach would have been for Disney to start a better monitoring system and crack down on the abusers.

Yes, exactly. It's not like they don't have the data. How hard is it for them to see hm this das user has a different party of 5 with them every day, or hmm this person is advertising tour guiding with das. Publicly cracking down the way they did with the "free tee shirts" would be effective in removing abusers and wouldn't add another burden to folks who need das.

 

[DryerLintFan]

This is the correct response. Just don’t go.

They only care about rich families that are 100% healthy.

The rest of the undesirables should stay away.

We don’t even know any details yet and you’re already considering us undesirables. Breathe, my guy. Go touch grass or whatever it is they say.