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

[Tatebeck]

I disagree. I think adding the punishment for getting DAS under false pretenses (permanent bans) should help with the liars.

How are they going to prove someone is lying without requiring proof? This seems to be a toothless scare tactic.

Exactly. Unless they require proof, they have no way of knowing if someone is lying...

 

[Evita_W]

I know that. I was illustrating one specific instance of a specific disability that directly seems to contradict the values Disney portrays itself as having.

Fair, I just have to mention it for those that don't think that

 

[TwoMisfits]

Everyone is assuming TikTok fakers will get DAS for claiming autism. I'm pretty sure that for 18+, there will be enormous scrutiny for DAS for all developmental disorders (just like with all the physical disorders now), and those folks without severe cases will also be offered "leave the line" for when they can't wait in line.

I'm pretty sure Disney is planning an adult crackdown, no matter the disability issue. And then they'll see where their lines for standby and LL are this summer, and how guest satisfaction changes.

 

[WonderlandisReality]

Good lord you can probably get it on a Teledoc I bet these days. Or you can write it yourself for this- it’s not like anyone can call up the Dr and ask if it’s real, they can’t be giving out that info. Which is the problem with Universal’s approach. A doctors note is a cute idea until you realize in 5 mins you can write your own because they can’t verify them.

Disney’s approach may make more sense in this manner as you may actually have to talk to a medical professional/ have your case analyzed by a medical professional who you are not paying.

If a provider has written a note and someone calls our office, it is not against any HIPAA to confirm or not confirm if it was written by our office. I have been on the receiving end of the calls, and I can confirm MOST offices will respond, "Yes, I can confirm that letter was written by Dr so-and-so" or "No, that is not consistent with any documentation we have provided the patient"

 

[Liquidice]

Wow, when Universal announced their change there was worry from some (myself included) that Disney would follow suit and require paperwork to get DAS because so many disabilities are difficult or can cost thousands to diagnose and if you're able to manage it day to day, why spend the money and time going to the doctors office?

Now however, I feel like most of us wish Disney would have followed Universal and required the IBCCES IAC instead. Preventing abuse makes sense, but excluding all disabilities except developmental ones seems too extreme.

This sounds like Disney has made things way worse for anyone with a non-developmental disability.

I'm not sure how they will be able to explain how a reasonable accommodation is only being offered to certain types of disabilities though. How can they justify that the same reasonable accommodation does not apply to someone with a different type of disability? This seems like discrimination against certain types of disabilities and while I'm sure Disney lawyers reviewed this - it seems like a class action lawsuit is coming as they are discriminating (picking and choosing which disabilities to offer an accommodation to).

I also wonder how the "return to queue" will work - what if you had a bathroom emergency and could not make it out of the queue in time? Some queues are exceptionally long, not even counting battling people trying to walk the wrong way through a queue.

It wouldn't surprise me if Disney revises this again shortly as they realize that there are many situations where this will not work for people.

For many years Disney has been known to be very welcoming for those with disabilities and worked with anyone needing assistance - if they move towards limiting DAS to only those with developmental disabilities and the "return to queue" is as bad as it sounds, it seems like it would be the end of that.

To be honest, it surprises me that Disney would publish this information in such a way that excludes so many people after their push to be more inclusive in recent years. They didn't release enough information for all that are no longer covered by DAS to reassure them that their disability will be accommodated in some way.

 

[Evita_W]

The same way Disney can, with a few keystrokes, bring up what tix/AP one had years ago…

had thot Disney likely keeps a file on those who have utilized DAS previously???

or not, might violate HIPPA

If so, my point is, think they just might look very closely at those who suddenly backtrack on their disabilities

Considering they could only ask about the need, not the cause, they couldn't really.

 

[gottalovepluto]

If a provider has written a note and someone calls our office, it is not against any HIPAA to confirm or not confirm if it was written by our office. I have been on the receiving end of the calls, and I can confirm MOST offices will respond, "Yes, I can confirm that letter was written by Dr so-and-so" or "No, that is not consistent with any documentation we have provided the patient"

Wow! I’m surprise you can confirm anything!

 

[Evita_W]

If a provider has written a note and someone calls our office, it is not against any HIPAA to confirm or not confirm if it was written by our office. I have been on the receiving end of the calls, and I can confirm MOST offices will respond, "Yes, I can confirm that letter was written by Dr so-and-so" or "No, that is not consistent with any documentation we have provided the patient"

Yeah, but there are plenty of online doctors offices that will write it and verify

 

[Tatebeck]

If all they continue to ask is re: accommodations, not a problem. But if they ask about diagnosis, when there's less than 1,000 people in the world with a condition the likelihood the "medical professionals" at Inspire Allied Health know what it is, when doctors in renowned hospitals in major metropolitan areas don't, is slim to none.

Here's a little secret. When a healthcare professional doesn't know the exact diagnosis or details of what you are talking about, we google it. Good healthcare professionals usually have enough knowledge to look at something for just a few seconds or minutes and understand it fairly well. If the diagnosis is documented online (so pretty much anything that isn't 1 of 1 completely unique), I think they would be able to see how it would or would not affect your ability to wait in line fairly reasonably. Once you provide medical records for the diagnosis hopefully.

 

[keishashadow]

I'm not sure what value there'd be in noting who backtracked as it appears the new DAS will be for much more limited developmental issues so plenty of people with real disabiltities likely won't be reapplying if their disability isn't developmental related.

I wasn’t clear, was musing how many will “abandon” their initial disability & claim they now have a developmental related issue instead.

Maybe enough to trigger a review by the outside company before granting the accommodation automatically.

It’s disheartening to read so many people are worried sick their very real issues will no longer be accommodated

 

[OurBigTrip]

The same way Disney can, with a few keystrokes, bring up what tix/AP one had years ago…

had thot Disney likely keeps a file on those who have utilized DAS previously???

or not, might violate HIPPA

If so, my point is, think they just might look very closely at those who suddenly backtrack on their disabilities

HIPAA doesn’t apply to Disney .

 

[gottalovepluto]

Ok. Time to take my own advise and ignore this thread.

My heart breaks for all those in fear for their happy vacation times tonight. Remember there is still hope as we don’t really know what is what yet! Disney may have a system ready to debut we never even thought of. Hugs to all

 

[WonderlandisReality]

Here's a little secret. When a healthcare professional doesn't know the exact diagnosis or details of what you are talking about, we google it. Good healthcare professionals usually have enough knowledge to look at something for just a few seconds or minutes and understand it fairly well. If the diagnosis is documented online (so pretty much anything that isn't 1 of 1 completely unique), I think they would be able to see how it would or would not affect your ability to wait in line fairly reasonably. Once you provide medical records for the diagnosis hopefully.

This is why I favor the involvement.

 

[honeymo78]

I wasn’t clear, was musing how many will “abandon” their initial disability & claim they now have a developmental related issue instead.

Maybe enough to trigger a review by the outside company before granting the accommodation automatically.

That makes sense. I never used my claustrophobia and anxiety in crowds/tight spaces as the basis for DAS, although aspects of that would come up in my explanation. It doesn't seem like that would qualify now either so I won't be reapplying based on anxiety. Hopefully Genie+ will work well enough in combination with a leave the line pass or I'll just be going on fewer rides.

 

[Disneylvr]

TLDR. Got to page six and I got too sad.

Some of Tom Bricker's comments in his DAS blog post really resonated with me. I will gladly wait in line 5 or 10 minutes longer to allow people with life altering disabilities to have the same access I have to rides, shows, and fireworks. During that extra wait I will practice gratitude that we don't need those accommodations right now.

I am sorry for those that do need accomodations they might no longer get. I am hopeful this adjusts again soon for all of you.

Thank you for saying this.

 

[Evita_W]

Wow, when Universal announced their change there was worry from some (myself included) that Disney would follow suit and require paperwork to get DAS because so many disabilities are difficult or can cost thousands to diagnose and if you're able to manage it day to day, why spend the money and time going to the doctors office?

Now however, I feel like most of us wish Disney would have followed Universal and required the IBCCES IAC instead. Preventing abuse makes sense, but excluding all disabilities except developmental ones seems too extreme.

This sounds like Disney has made things way worse for anyone with a non-developmental disability.

I'm not sure how they will be able to explain how a reasonable accommodation is only being offered to certain types of disabilities though. How can they justify that the same reasonable accommodation does not apply to someone with a different type of disability? This seems like discrimination against certain types of disabilities and while I'm sure Disney lawyers reviewed this - it seems like a class action lawsuit is coming as they are discriminating (picking and choosing which disabilities to offer an accommodation to).

I also wonder how the "return to queue" will work - what if you had a bathroom emergency and could not make it out of the queue in time? Some queues are exceptionally long, not even counting battling people trying to walk the wrong way through a queue.

It wouldn't surprise me if Disney revises this again shortly as they realize that there are many situations where this will not work for people.

For many years Disney has been known to be very welcoming for those with disabilities and worked with anyone needing assistance - if they move towards limiting DAS to only those with developmental disabilities and the "return to queue" is as bad as it sounds, it seems like it would be the end of that.

To be honest, it surprises me that Disney would publish this information in such a way that excludes so many people after their push to be more inclusive in recent years. They didn't release enough information for all that are no longer covered by DAS to reassure them that their disability will be accommodated in some way.

Their push to be more inclusive has excluded those with disabilities and larger guests more and more though. Look at Flights of Passage, it would have been easy to have a couple of alternative seats, yes it would be a slightly different experience, but doable. Look at Navi River Journey where they didn't put in an accessible boat, which would have been easy to do. Look at Tron where the queue was designed in a way that prevents ECVs from going through the queue and the fact that they only have one row that can accommodate guests that can ot do the other rows, that isn't good. The restraints on Cosmic Rewind exclude a fair amount of people, even though they could be safely redesigned to accommodate more body types. Even the new bus design is limiting for those with disabilities, as it makes transferring from a mobility device (which is always the safest if you can) extremely difficult, many times impossible. The list goes on and on, they are all little things, but they add up to be the exact opposite of what Disney claims on their website.

 

[OurBigTrip]

Wow, when Universal announced their change there was worry from some (myself included) that Disney would follow suit and require paperwork to get DAS because so many disabilities are difficult or can cost thousands to diagnose and if you're able to manage it day to day, why spend the money and time going to the doctors office?

Now however, I feel like most of us wish Disney would have followed Universal and required the IBCCES IAC instead. Preventing abuse makes sense, but excluding all disabilities except developmental ones seems too extreme.

This sounds like Disney has made things way worse for anyone with a non-developmental disability.

I'm not sure how they will be able to explain how a reasonable accommodation is only being offered to certain types of disabilities though. How can they justify that the same reasonable accommodation does not apply to someone with a different type of disability? This seems like discrimination against certain types of disabilities and while I'm sure Disney lawyers reviewed this - it seems like a class action lawsuit is coming as they are discriminating (picking and choosing which disabilities to offer an accommodation to).

I also wonder how the "return to queue" will work - what if you had a bathroom emergency and could not make it out of the queue in time? Some queues are exceptionally long, not even counting battling people trying to walk the wrong way through a queue.

It wouldn't surprise me if Disney revises this again shortly as they realize that there are many situations where this will not work for people.

For many years Disney has been known to be very welcoming for those with disabilities and worked with anyone needing assistance - if they move towards limiting DAS to only those with developmental disabilities and the "return to queue" is as bad as it sounds, it seems like it would be the end of that.

To be honest, it surprises me that Disney would publish this information in such a way that excludes so many people after their push to be more inclusive in recent years. They didn't release enough information for all that are no longer covered by DAS to reassure them that their disability will be accommodated in some way.

They aren’t picking and choosing which disabilities will get accommodations - they’re picking and choosing which specific needs will get this specific accommodation.

No one is entitled to their preferred accommodation, it just need to be an accommodation.

 

[fatmanatee]

Maybe I'm too cynical but I think it also has to do with wanting to sell more Genie+ to those that previously qualified for DAS.

We'll see what happens but something that has struck me recently is the vids of LL getting WAY backed up. There are definitely a few factors here (spring break crowds, maybe rides going down and impacting what's open, etc) but my read on the situation is that with long LL lines, everyone is getting screwed. G+ buyers aren't getting the expected wait times, legit DAS users are being forced to wait in longer lines than expected, and meanwhile everyone in standby is stuck because LL takes priority. I'm not sure how much more G+ they'll want to sell, because they currently have a customer satisfaction problem with *both* G+ and DAS. I think there's a sweet spot to G+ and they risk creating another problem if they sell too many additional spots.

 

[Liquidice]

Ok. Time to take my own advise and ignore this thread.

My heart breaks for all those in fear for their happy vacation times tonight. Remember there is still hope as we don’t really know what is what yet! Disney may have a system ready to debut we never even thought of. Hugs to all

For those of us with anxiety - it would have been great if they didn't add to the anxiety and make all of their plans fully known now, rather than give us half of the information about how they will now exclude most disabilities from DAS now.

I understand Disney thought this through fully on what they wanted to accomplish, but as a company that claims to care about their guests, you would think they would have asked themselves what is the impact on their guests before they half-announce something.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Here's a little secret. When a healthcare professional doesn't know the exact diagnosis or details of what you are talking about, we google it. Good healthcare professionals usually have enough knowledge to look at something for just a few seconds or minutes and understand it fairly well. If the diagnosis is documented online (so pretty much anything that isn't 1 of 1 completely unique), I think they would be able to see how it would or would not affect your ability to wait in line fairly reasonably. Once you provide medical records for the diagnosis hopefully.

The statements about these changes have made it pretty clear Disney is still not requiring documentation for DAS. So not sure what your final statement is about.

And yes, medical professionals can use google. Medical professionals also weaponize that against families, as they did against us when our child had surgery last summer.

So, having experienced such weaponization of internet medical information from a well-respected major hospital, I have very little faith in medical professionals needing to google my child's diagnosis and believing me. Because there's a long history of them not doing so.