After the awful rollout of the DAS changes at Walt Disney World in Orlando last month, there’s been a continuous evolution of the system. There’s still not much continuity in how the new “accommodation” systems are applied, and disabled guests are still being negatively affected by these changes.
I apologize for it taking so long for me to make this next post. Unfortunately, around the time my last post went up, my wife had a major flare up of her Crohn’s disease and was unable to work for a few weeks. I had to increase my hours at my “day job” to make up as much of her lost income as I could so bills could be paid. That took a lot out of me, as my disabilities impact my ability to work, and so between trying to make up for lost income and juggling the kids, I had zero energy for anything else. The blog, the activism, and Disney all had to be paused, even though all of it mean a lot to me. Thankfully, she is back to work at this point, but we are still sort of scrambling to catch up on things that fell behind, so I’m not operating at full capacity right now.
So, here’s a quick recap of everything going on with the Disability Access Service changes at the U.S. Disney Parks. (As always, I’m not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company, nor am I part of any legal actions being planned. I’m just here to report on the issues as I see them. I’m not a legal expert, just a fat, disabled Disney Parks nerd who is trying to help inform other guests who are often excluded. And maybe help bring some awareness to those in charge of making these policies of the harm they are causing.)
- Mainstream news outlets are finally starting to pick up the story. Yahoo News, FOX, and NBC have all either published articles or reached out to disabled guests for interviews.
- Still no real continuity between attractions and approval is still at the whims of whoever you get on the call. If denied for DAS and told to ask at each ride, Cast Members are still giving different explanations for how the system works. There is still no published info or guide from Disney on how to access these “alternate accommodations” other than to ask the CM at each individual ride.
- Disney has apparently realized that instructing people to buy Genie+ is a problem and could be a legal issue for them. For the last few weeks, they are just telling people denied for DAS to use the free Genie planning tool in the app. This is not something designed to give access to alternate waiting areas, but suggests attractions with shorter wait times. There are a few problems with this – Genie is known to send people all across the park, so for guests with limited stamina, this won’t work out well. Your app may tell you Pirates of the Caribbean has a 15 minute queue, but by the time you get over there from Tomorrowland, the standby wait may have doubled. In addition, this essentially excludes disabled guests from riding the more popular attractions entirely. Not cool, and not accessible or inclusive.
- Cast Member Training has continued, but generally not much is known about it. On 6/20/24, a Cast Member in a Facebook group for Disney Parks enthusiasts left a comment under a post talking about ways Cast Members ask guests to move up and “fill in all available space” that as of recent training, they are no longer allowed to say this. When I asked if this was specifically training related to disability policy and had to do with the “bubble” guests were being told to form around their disabled party members in the queue, this person confirmed that it was part of that training.
- We are seeing a small number of “exception” approvals coming through for solo travelers. The denials are still much more common than -any- form of approval, but it seems as though they are more willing to make exceptions for visitors without family or friends included than to approve groups. This lends more credibility to the concept that they may be operating off a quota system. These “exception” DAS holders were told that if they tried to add other guests to their DAS party, the DAS would be revoked.
- We are also seeing a deviation from the early days of the policy change at Walt Disney World when it comes to previous denials. The first week or so, there were no issues with calling back if you were denied. Guests were being encouraged to call back and explain again to another Cast Member or request a coordinator if they felt they were unfairly denied. However, after that first week, reports started coming out that the number of times the user had called was being noted, and the outcome of that previous call. One guest reported that when they tried to get DAS two days after a previous denial, the Cast Member in the chat said “I see you called [previously]. Would you like to discuss the accommodations that were recommended then or something new?”. Then when they stated it was something new they were told that “Because you have already spoken to cast members previously we need to refer you to a medical professional and if you refuse I need to terminate this call.” We have also been seeing numerous people who have been told that once a “medical professional” issues a denial, it is final. Coordinators do not seem to have the authority to reverse this type of denial.
- Some guests who have been visiting the Orlando parks over the last month have commented on what appears to be an uptick of medical issues in the parks requiring Reedy Creek EMS to come out. One guest shared that there had reportedly been people fainting in the queue for the Annual Passholder previews of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which is slated to fully open to the public next month.
- The Florida Commission on Human Relations and the Florida Attorney General’s Office are looking into complaints being filed regarding the East Coast parks with their office. Thus far the US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has declined to take action but is still accepting reports.
- One guest earlier this month on the West Coast noticed a training packet on a clipboard help by a CM over at Disneyland. The clipboard appears to say that the current procedures are temporary and are in effect from June 18 through December 20, 2024. Again, this is specific to Disneyland Resort, and suggests that this is a trial period and more changes are coming. Walt Disney World probably has a similar trial period, ending 6 months after the start on May 20, but that’s completely speculation. This means that it’s super important to speak up about any issues and concerns you run into during this time. We’ve heard that Disney IS listening and taking notes about the impacts.
- Other companies are watching these changes roll out at the Disney Parks and are taking notes. Less than a week after the change took place at Walt Disney World, Frontier Airlines’ CEO was quoted as saying “There is massive, rampant abuse of special services. There are people using wheelchair assistance who don’t need it at all.” He claimed to have seen a flight where 20 guests had boarded with wheelchair assistance, but only 3 needed the wheelchair assistance upon arrival to the destination. My only comment here is that that’s an interesting take in an industry where over 11,000 mobility devices were broken by airlines in 2023, according to the US Department of Transportation.
- Many former DAS holders are discussing going to other theme parks, such as Universal Studios, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and Six Flags (among others). I think I need to reiterate here that many of these other parks are not accessible for guests with larger bodies, and many of them are also not accessible for guests who are amputees. I scoured the accessibility guides for many parks last summer, and most have requirements about a specific number of limbs. I want to strongly urge as many people as possible to continue to push for policy change here, not just run to whatever park works for you today. And please, consider allying with the plus-size community to push for more inclusive rides for everyone at other theme parks.
- All Disney websites and apps now include an arbitration clause with a class action waiver as of 5/24/24, whereas was previously only in the terms of the DAS chat. You only have 30 days to opt out, which must be done in writing.
Disneyland Resort “New DAS” Now In Effect
And now, the BIG news: We are 3 days into the rollout on the West Coast. Policies at Disneyland Resort are similar to Walt Disney World, but there have been a couple notable exceptions.
One person who self-identified as a lawyer pointed out a last-minute change in the wording for the DAS policy on the Disneyland DAS website. When the changes were announced in April, it was stated that “DAS is intended to accommodate only those Guests who, due to a developmental disability like autism or similar, are unable to wait in a conventional queue for an extended period of time.” This wording is still used on the Walt Disney World DAS page, with the addition of one word (“disorder” inserted after “like autism or similar”). As of the day of the California rollout, the DAS page for Disneyland Resort instead reads “DAS is one of the programs offered at the Disneyland Resort theme parks to accommodate only those Guests who, due to a developmental disability such as autism or a similar disorder, are unable to wait in a conventional queue for an extended period of time.” The significance of this wording change is unclear, but it’s unlikely that it was done for no reason.
In person registration is available for Disneyland Resort at specific booths in the esplanade, however the line on “opening day” was LONG. This was likely due to a combination of lots of guests trying to get initial approvals under the new system and the fact the Disney limited the number of Cast Members able to provide DAS interviews in person. It’s unclear how long we can expect this to be in the future, but there’s concern that this long line could be used as an example of why guests “don’t need DAS”. The idea is that Disney could say that the guest waited in a long line to get the DAS approval and therefore can handle an extended queue.
Wheelchair Access in lines is a bit more complicated on the West Coast as the park is older and fewer queues were made with accessibility in mind. This isn’t new, but will impact how some guests will be told to access rides without DAS accommodations they have received in the past. I’m going to do my best to get a breakdown for all the US parks specifically focused on alternate entry points for mobility devices in the near future, because so many guests are now being told to get a wheelchair for the queues.
Now, I’m definitely more of an East Coast Disney nerd. I’m not as well-versed on the California parks, though it’s on the list for a future trip. I know a lot, but I’m not an expert. A lot of my Disneyland Resort info on the DAS changes is coming from a couple content creators local to those parks. In particular, I recommend checking out GothicRosie’s page if you’re looking for up to date info about the West Coast parks.
Access the Mouse 