New DAS System at Walt Disney World 2024

[Fido Chuckwagon]

No, the front line CM is the waiter or QS Cashier. The chef is knowledgeable about allergies, the ingredients, and the options of preparation they can offer.

No business needs to employ a medical professional to evaluate ADA accommodation requests. That is ludicrous.

 

[ditzee]

There is a fundamental misunderstanding, pervasive in this thread, that the ADA requires Disney to "determine the needs" of the people who self-report disabilities. The ADA requires no such thing, and certainly does not require that a business hire a medical professional. All the ADA requires is that the business engages in a conversation or meaningful dialog with the person about what that person's needs are, and then that the business make a reasonable accommodation for that person so long as that reasonable accommodation does not fundamentally interfere with the business or alter the nature of the business. Disney does not need to hire licensed medical doctors to review your records to make a determination. That is not a thing.

Disney is hiring Inspire Health Alliance so I guess maybe it is becoming "a thing".

 

[Chi84]

Which is the point people keep missing when calling this a money grab. It’s hard to replace $5K - $10K per family with increased $30 Genie+ purchases, because the family canceled their trip rather than risk the party member with a disability won’t be able to participate in the same way. Pre-Covid, it was easier to think that, if that family left, Disney would find it easy to replace them with another one. Now, that is the billion dollar question.

Which is why, if people find this policy too restrictive to serve their, or their family member’s needs, the more effective path is probably to cancel their trip. Rather that try to deal with various non-decision making, front level CMs. Contact Disney and make it clear; the lack of disability accommodations are the reason for the cancellation. This is also the type of thing that will make its way into travel press, lawsuits, and potentially the main press. The more people with legitimate needs running into issues and sharing their stories, puts Disney under the microscope.

Many people will twist themselves into knots to try and overcome Disney’s barriers to their desired Disney vacation. Usually regarding cost, but I can see people struggling with it here. “If we do X, Y, Z maybe it will work out.” Disney is calling guests’ bluff, that they didn’t really need that level of accommodation, and can keep that money flowing to them. If you do need those accommodations, don’t help them make the case that you don’t.

Have a good cry, research alternative vacations in the short term, call Disney’s bluff that they’ve gone too far and their reputation of ranking well in terms of disability accommodation is at risk as well as their profits. Either Disney will alter course or demonstrate they don’t want a wide variety of people with disabilities as customers.

That is a very sensible suggestion. But I think many of the people who are denied will choose to keep the Disney vacation and just add another Genie+ to the cost (provided they don’t need more than that, such as multiple rides).

 

[Chi84]

Disney is hiring Inspire Health Alliance so I guess maybe it is becoming "a thing".

Disney has always done more than was necessary. That’s what led it to the current situation.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Disney is hiring Inspire Health Alliance so I guess maybe it is becoming "a thing".

They're hiring Inspire Health Alliance to help their castmembers. That is them going above and beyond. They are not required to do this, and the fact that the job posting is for those with specialties in psychology only does not mean they are falling short in their obligations under the ADA. You are criticizing Disney for going above and beyond what they are required to do.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

No business needs to employ a medical professional to evaluate ADA accommodation requests. That is ludicrous.

I never suggested that - but no business should leave it up to College interns to evaluate them either.

 

[Writerwolf]

I am a disabled and use the das pass. So is my husband as he only has one leg. My issue with this is that by ada rules they cant say who has a disablity and who doesnt. They are essentially juging if you really have one or not. Im find with bring documention i always do anyway. I also have a service dog. What bothers me is them tellinf people that their disability matters/ counts or doesnt to get a dsa pass.
I realize that the people lying to get a das pass need to be stopped but those of us who need one shouldnt be punished in the process.
Maybe if they and people who complain about the mobility scooters or das people "cutting in line" had to spend a day in a disabled person's shoes they would shut up and see what its like for disabled people. If they knew what it was like maybe they wouldnt do thinhs to make things harddr for disabled people.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I never suggested that - but no business should leave it up to College interns to evaluate them either.

I get that it's really hip to criticize Disney right now, but calling their DAS CM's "College Interns" is ridiculous. These are trained employees of the Walt Disney Company who have been specifically trained for this task and are being backed up by health employees of Inspire Alliance.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

Someone in my party has allergies, and I would never expect a chef or CM to understand the medical side of the allergic reactions and allergies in general. They just need to be able to understand what needs to happen in the kitchen regarding ingredients and food handling. The procedure is so much more important than the why.

This is kind of what Disney is doing here with the accommodations. All that the CMs need to understand is the need to avoid the queue, return to queue, etc. They don’t require medical backgrounds to be able to understand the intricacies of each diagnosis.

 

[ditzee]

They're hiring Inspire Health Alliance to help their castmembers. That is them going above and beyond. They are not required to do this, and the fact that the job posting is for those with specialties in psychology only does not mean they are falling short in their obligations under the ADA. You are criticizing Disney for going above and beyond what they are required to do.

I didn't mean it was required. Also, the Disney people in charge of disabilities are not stupid. Inspire Health Alliance becomes the fall guy.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I get that it's really hip to criticize Disney right now, but calling their DAS CM's "College Interns" is ridiculous. These are trained employees of the Walt Disney Company who have been specifically trained for this task and are being backed up by health employees of Inspire Alliance.

No, I’m referring to literal college interns who work at the attractions.

I’m not sure if CP’s are being trained to handle the zoom call evaluations or not.

 

[Chi84]

I never suggested that - but no business should leave it up to College interns to evaluate them either.

This is exactly why the type of accommodation being requested here has a serious impact on Disney’s fundamental business model - which is having thousands of people stand in lines each day or pay to avoid them.

The ADA says nothing about line accommodations. Disney is doing its best but not at the expense of its business model.

 

[pigglewiggle]

Not discounting anyone's experience on this thread, but I think I would wait a bit to judge how successful this new system is going to be. Emotions running too high right now and even something that wouldn't normally be a big deal is going to be a huge dealbreaker at the moment. People are ready to be angry, justified or not.

Curious to see in a few months time how well everyone has adjusted, including what Disney may do.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

No, I’m referring to literal college interns who work at the attractions.

I’m not sure if CP’s are being trained to handle the zoom call evaluations or not.

A lot of what was initially posted in this thread turned out to be false and the idea that the front of line attractions CM's have some sort of DAS-granting power seems to be one of them. It now sounds like the front of line CM's will have the ability to give you a return to line pass to meet your party in the LL Queue if you have to leave (which isn't going to take a whole lot of discretion) and *maybe* they will also have the ability to give you a return time if you have to leave the queue and are travelling solo, or in a party of 2 with one caregiver. Neither of those requires much discretion or training, so I fail to see your point.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

Is there any truth to the rumor people getting denied are getting 2 pre booked rides instead as a way to ease the pain?

I hope not. That would just encourage people to keep cheating the system, even if it is just temporary. The new "Disney hack" will be to call with some phony issue, get rejected, and get 2 free LL selections before your trip anyway.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I am a disabled and use the das pass. So is my husband as he only has one leg. My issue with this is that by ada rules they cant say who has a disablity and who doesnt. They are essentially juging if you really have one or not. Im find with bring documention i always do anyway. I also have a service dog. What bothers me is them tellinf people that their disability matters/ counts or doesnt to get a dsa pass.
I realize that the people lying to get a das pass need to be stopped but those of us who need one shouldnt be punished in the process.
Maybe if they and people who complain about the mobility scooters or das people "cutting in line" had to spend a day in a disabled person's shoes they would shut up and see what its like for disabled people. If they knew what it was like maybe they wouldnt do thinhs to make things harddr for disabled people.

The unfortunate truth is that we can no longer, as a society, simply trust people when they say, “I have a disability and need X”. This is creating issues in many industries.

I don’t understand this claim that a company has no right to determine if a person actually needs a specific accommodation. Of course, they can do that. I work in a college and they do that for students, faculty, and staff. And it’s not doctors making that determination.

As far as I can tell, they are still offering an accommodation, but some don’t like what they’re offering (without actually trying it). They are under no obligation to offer your preferred accommodation.

 

[Comped]

Not discounting anyone's experience on this thread, but I think I would wait a bit to judge how successful this new system is going to be. Emotions running too high right now and even something that wouldn't normally be a big deal is going to be a huge dealbreaker at the moment. People are ready to be angry, justified or not.

Curious to see in a few months time how well everyone has adjusted, including what Disney may do.

The biggest reason why I'm thinking I might wait a week or so before applying is that I think we might see a little easing up on denials for legitimate disabilities as Disney figures it all out.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I hope not. That would just encourage people to keep cheating the system, even if it is just temporary. The new "Disney hack" will be to call with some phony issue, get rejected, and get 2 free LL selections before your trip anyway.

When Disney changed over from GAC to DAS additional guest recovery was somewhat common while people got used to the new system. The person who was the lead plaintiff in the GAC lawsuit was given something like 10 anytime fastpasses in addition to the new DAS system (but still sued). I wouldn't be surprised at all if some (angry) customers were getting this as a form of recovery for trips they already booked. I wouldn't expect it to last long, but it seems like a good idea to me, and another example where WDW continues to go above and beyond.

 

[Patcheslee]

From an attraction CM, where there is an LL option the “return to line” process will use the LL line to the merge point. Parties either meet there or are held at that point.

The really important thing is to remember to tell the CM at the entrance when you leave the line.

What if were already in a LL and have to leave?

 

[TrojanUSC]

I am a disabled and use the das pass. So is my husband as he only has one leg. My issue with this is that by ada rules they cant say who has a disablity and who doesnt. They are essentially juging if you really have one or not. Im find with bring documention i always do anyway. I also have a service dog. What bothers me is them tellinf people that their disability matters/ counts or doesnt to get a dsa pass.
I realize that the people lying to get a das pass need to be stopped but those of us who need one shouldnt be punished in the process.
Maybe if they and people who complain about the mobility scooters or das people "cutting in line" had to spend a day in a disabled person's shoes they would shut up and see what its like for disabled people. If they knew what it was like maybe they wouldnt do thinhs to make things harddr for disabled people.

They're not telling you whether you have a disability or not. They're simply trying to provide a reasonable accommodation to you based on your specific needs. Skipping the queues is, more of than than not, not a reasonable accommodation.