DAS changes coming WDW May 20/ DL June 18, 2024

[Disneychick75]

Yes some guests bring one and offer it, but unless it’s new procedure — CMs will refuse to look at notes.

K, I thought this meant for phone chats. Oh well, I'll get the note from my doc anyway. Never know when I might need it.

 

[otg]

Has what is considered immediate family been clarified any? Disney tourists blog is reporting Disney confirmed no grandparents? Florida law includes grandparents as immediate family. I have emailed Disney but only received the generic response

 

[Kgrace1989]

I'm calling my doc's office on Monday for an appt to get a note because my DAS call is next Saturday by first day in the park.
Things with Disney, as we all know, can be fluid. What they say one day is not necessarily what they will say the next. I'm just dotting my i's and crossing my t's. If I get DAS, yippee, if I don't, I'll have my mac and I can read in the room while my crew goes to the parks. Won't be ideal but it is what it is until it isn't, lol.

That is a great way to look at it!
and I do think that it might be helpful to keep in mind that just because you might not get DAS it doesn’t mean that they won’t give you something that works for you…
please know I’m not trying to be condescending or anything just that while they seem to be saying “DAS” is for this one group or set of needs…
I still think they are going to try to do the best they can to make everyone with different needs as comfortable as possible in the parks .

 

[Angel Ariel]

Yes some guests bring one and offer it, but unless it’s new procedure — CMs will refuse to look at notes.

Yes, if they're looking at them all now that would be a change in policy. They've always been very clear in the past they do not want them and do not look at them. i never got this impression that this was an area where CMs lacked clarity from their training.

 

[Kgrace1989]

Has what is considered immediate family been clarified any? Disney tourists blog is reporting Disney confirmed no grandparents? Florida law includes grandparents as immediate family. I have emailed Disney but only received the generic response

My understanding from someone who works there is that grandparents are not included… the only “allowable” exceptions are other minor children part of the family .
I also heard from others with access to CMs in the family that the 4 person cap is a hard limit. But they could be wrong, so I would still ask if your party size is larger… perhaps they are telling people 4 is a hard limit but maybe in some instances more could be allowed

 

[lentesta]

Has what is considered immediate family been clarified any? Disney tourists blog is reporting Disney confirmed no grandparents? Florida law includes grandparents as immediate family. I have emailed Disney but only received the generic response

I was told "parents, siblings, spouse, and children." Essentially anyone on the family tree you can draw a direct line to without going through someone else.

There are several sections of Florida's laws that define "immediate family" differently. For example,

• Financial disclosures defines it as "As used in this paragraph, the term “immediate family” means a parent, spouse, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, or father-in-law."
  
  So aunts and uncles wouldn't count, as an example.
  
  
• The section on Credit Unions is more expansive: "'Immediate family' means parents, children, spouse, or surviving spouse of the member, or any other relative by blood, marriage, or adoption."
  
  Aunts and uncles would count here.
  
  
• The definition as used for lobbying is "'Immediate family' means any parent, spouse, child, or sibling."
  
  Grandparents, aunts, and uncles would not count here. This is the definition I was given.

 

[Marrila]

It's likely the DAS CM's have had guests occasionally try to present medical notes all along.
Personally, I can't see Disney jumping into the reading notes from whomever business. They haven't done it in the past, and there is no upside to start now.
It's not helpful to them in making accommodation decisions.
All they want to know is what is the guests concern about waiting in line.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think the GR not being able to modify is interesting. Although if they are saying no registering either it means they want to offload that entire portion of guests (DAS) from those CMs and make it more specialized. That would probably make quality control better, make the GR CMs less overloaded, etc.

 

[Kgrace1989]

Yes, if they're looking at them all now that would be a change in policy. They've always been very clear in the past they do not want them and do not look at them. i never got this impression that this was an area where CMs lacked clarity from their training.

Agreed. Everything I’ve heard is they do not want to look at medical notes.. it gets into a grey area then . Some people will have them and some won’t..
and if those without a note are denied accommodations but someone with the same condition/symptoms were approved then they could accuse Disney of requiring medical documentation to get accommodations.

 

[Kgrace1989]

I think the GR not being able to modify is interesting. Although if they are saying no registering either it means they want to offload that entire portion of guests (DAS) from those CMs and make it more specialized. That would probably make quality control better, make the GR CMs less overloaded, etc.

I wonder if that is to avoid people getting the DAS approved by saying they are a party of 1 or 2 and then getting to the park with a family of 5 and then going to have it modified?

 

[Disneychick75]

Has what is considered immediate family been clarified any? Disney tourists blog is reporting Disney confirmed no grandparents? Florida law includes grandparents as immediate family. I have emailed Disney but only received the generic response

Maybe call (Disability Services (407) 560-2547) after May 20th when Disney might have better information and you can get an answer???

That is a great way to look at it!
and I do think that it might be helpful to keep in mind that just because you might not get DAS it doesn’t mean that they won’t give you something that works for you…
please know I’m not trying to be condescending or anything just that while they seem to be saying “DAS” is for this one group or set of needs…
I still think they are going to try to do the best they can to make everyone with different needs as comfortable as possible in the parks .

Might as well look at it this way, lol - got over my tantrum.
I meant if I get no DAS accommodations - I can order room service and read- not the vacation I planned but at least my grandchildren will have a blast with their Papa!

 

[Disneychick75]

It's likely the DAS CM's have had guests occasionally try to present medical notes all along.
Personally, I can't see Disney jumping into the reading notes from whomever business. They haven't done it in the past, and there is no upside to start now.
It's not helpful to them in making accommodation decisions.
All they want to know is what is the guests concern about waiting in line.

Which is kind of crazy because while Disney refuses medical documentation, they will take Joe or Jane Cheater's word for their disabilities.

 

[Marrila]

Which is kind of crazy because while Disney refuses medical documentation, they will take Joe or Jane Cheater's word for their disabilities.

It seems to me Disney is working hard to change the norm. Now the DAS will be offered in specific limited circumstances. Other guests will possibly get some sort of accommodation (but not the old DAS.)
Keeping the decisionmaking in one area only may go a long way to making things more consistent overall.
I'm sure there will be a few months of adjustment as they roll the new plans out.

 

[Kgrace1989]

Which is kind of crazy because while Disney refuses medical documentation, they will take Joe or Jane Cheater's word for their disabilities.

I’m not sure it’s that they want to take people at their word… Ive been told it’s because of the wording of the ADA where it specifies people can’t be forced to prove a disability… because Disney parks in other countries do require/accept documentation for accommodations.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I wonder if that is to avoid people getting the DAS approved by saying they are a party of 1 or 2 and then getting to the park with a family of 5 and then going to have it modified?

Could be yeah. I also know how it feels to be on a specialized team (as well as having to send stuff off to other specialized teams) and it can make things easier when a particularly tricky subject matter is handled only by a certain amount of people. When I was on my specialized team (which had people in 3 different locations in the U.S.) we would have meetings where we would collectively decide on how to do xyz including how many decimal places we would go out to and that we would input our calculations for it to be tracked for the purposes of an audit, etc. It just made things more the same with only little things here and there left up to individual people. That could go a long way for guest experience for the Disney parks over time, initially it'll be some growing pains if they do do this.

 

[Kgrace1989]

Could be yeah. I also know how it feels to be on a specialized team (as well as having to send stuff off to other specialized teams) and it can make things easier when a particularly tricky subject matter is handled only by a certain amount of people. When I was on my specialized team (which had people in 3 different locations in the U.S.) we would have meetings where we would collectively decide on how to do xyz including how many decimal places we would go out to and that we would input our calculations for it to be tracked for the purposes of an audit, etc. It just made things more the same with only little things here and there left up to individual people. That could go a long way for guest experience for the Disney parks over time, initially it'll be some growing pains if they do do this.

Absolutely, the only way any of these changes are going to have a positive affect is if everyone is on the same page. If just a few deviate from the decided actions they will find things unraveling quickly and they will be in the same scenario a few years from now

 

[otg]

Im super concerned about the family limit for us. We are a family five. Me, my husband, my son Das holder. And my parents. My son would have to have his grandparents. They live with us because he cant be separated. I could always leave my self off and just not ride anything. Or possibly by genie+ and try to use it on some of the rides? Honestly i have no clue how that works or even if you gould get a return time the same time as the das. Anyone with any experience on using genie to ride with party.

 

[diablodancer]

Len Testa posted this today so as usual, we're getting differing info:

"Some WDW CMs got briefed today on the new rules. The take-aways that I heard (which could be wrong, so grain of salt) (Just thought it was important to highlight this)

• DAS Advance is going away
• There'll be a 10-minutes-between-rides enforced break before signing up for a new ride
• Guest Relations will no longer have the ability to register or modify anything DAS-related. That's being taken away.
• It's going to be restricted to developmental needs like autism and Down's. Mild cases may not qualify.
• Guests claiming IBS/gastrointestinal issues, or diabetes, will be instructed on how to use the new exit-and-return lines.
• A doctor's note saying you can't wait in lines will not be an automatic yes. Instead, you'll be transferred to speak to a registered healthcare professional about why you can't wait in line. Disney may not even read your documentation.
• The party-size limits will be strictly enforced.

Guest-facing CMs were also told:

• The job is going to suck for a while
• You can remind guests:
  • It's well-known that theme park vacations involve long waits in line
  • The new policy is designed for the small percent of the population that has developmental disabilities; it's not for everyone with any medical condition.
  • Disney provided ample notification of the policy change.

In talking about this, I got the sense that Disney was already overwhelmed with questions along the lines of "Why does this qualify now but not after May 20?" And their point is that if everything that counted now counted on May 20, we'd have the same system and the same problems."


My takeaways:

Doctor's note????
Also, ample time has not been given to those whose triups fall w/in days of the rule implementation. IMO, Disney should have given people at least a 3 months heads up.

So very glad my trip to DL falls before the changes - spending thousands travelling from the U.K. and like many people travelling internationally book months in advance. This is even more true for WDW where they actively encourage people to book a year out so it’s wild that they think this is ample notice.

Nothing really to add beyond what’s already been said about the changes if Len Testa’s understanding is correct. Will keep an eye out for info on the exit and return lines but I’m dubious this will address all non-developmental disability needs. Also find the suggested comms of ‘theme park vacations include long waits’ to be a really idiotic way of wording things when their international parks manage to be accessible and work around this. It feels like telling people who can’t manage that Disney isn’t for them anymore.

 

[nalababybear]

Notes is along the line of. 'No notes! No capes!' I'd be surprised if they move off this stance.

I would think they'd use the word 'nuclear family ' to define DAS holder to lineage.

Immediate family has very different connotations. They did make Encanto

 

[GoingSince1990]

Im super concerned about the family limit for us. We are a family five. Me, my husband, my son Das holder. And my parents. My son would have to have his grandparents. They live with us because he cant be separated. I could always leave my self off and just not ride anything. Or possibly by genie+ and try to use it on some of the rides? Honestly i have no clue how that works or even if you gould get a return time the same time as the das. Anyone with any experience on using genie to ride with party.

I expect that the suggestion would be for the grownups to take turns being the ones to go through the LL with your son. Most families spend years taking turns in this manner with child swap for the rides where one child is too short to ride. You don’t need the entire party to ride together to have a good time.