DAS Approval/Denial with New DAS Guidelines START 5/20 WDW & 6/18 DL

[ElCray]

They were sitting with me yes. And everyone was very pleasant - i was just surprised by the 3 levels.

Interesting. I’m surprised they would ask questions directly to the minor, or was he/she sitting with you from the beginning? If we apply, I’m hoping to keep my son out of the conversation all together as to not cause more issues for him.

 

[steve456]

Actually, the point of this thread is simply to report whether or not someone was approved for DAS under the new rules.

That doesn't seem right to me. The OP shared their experience with the DAS evaluation, with commentary, just like many other people in this thread.

I think the objection to their sharing basically comes down to that the OP might have seen the LL passes as a policy of accommodation and you probably see them as (arbitrary) pixie dust. Both views seem valid to me. The company gave the cast member the LL passes with the intent that they are handed out to DAS applicants. It's probably closer to policy than arbitrary IMHO but who knows.

 

[DiznyDiva]

Just reapplied for the second time under the new rules for DD14. The CM was very pleasant even Identified as mother of AUADHD and said one child got it while one did not. We talked about the struggles parents have. She asked few questions but told me this for a reapplying and really asked me to just confirm what I said the first time was still current. She asked to take her picture, but never asked to talk to her, but could see her offscreen sitting there with her earphones on. Took about five minutes and we are approved for 8 months. This is for Disneyland and took about 5 minutes to get through online.

Also I know several families who just tried to apply for their ADHD. Autistic children and they were not offered any LL passes for anything, just denied. So it really not policy but a particular CM trying to be nice.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I am really shocked at the varying experiences. How are some people only getting asked 1 or 2 questions by the first cast member and getting approved so quickly? I obviously don't want anyone to state exactly what they said because I don't want people to "steal" that or something. But I am truly curious what types of people are getting approved quickly vs. the ones that have to go through several CMs and medical professionals on the call.

 

[ClaraOswald]

We applied today for the first time post-new rules. My son is 11 and autistic and has used DAS several times before. We WERE approved today for our January WDW trip. But it was a long process. I talked with the first CM for quite a while and he asked a lot of questions. Then he transferred me to a medical professional and he asked me a lot of the same questions and several new ones. He asked if my son was in the room and I said yes and called him over. The only question he asked him was how old he is. (My son is very minimally verbal and mostly just scripts words/phrases.)

I'm happy we were approved but it almost seemed like he wasn't going to be approved....which is honestly crazy to me since he is autistic, minimally verbal, and has an intellectual disability. I mean, that's the EXACT type of person DAS is meant for. I'm worried I didn't sound "credible" since I was so nervous about the whole thing and likely talking fast and whatnot. And now I'm even more nervous to apply again in the future. (We will going to Disneyland in December 2025. Will they see that we were approved for DAS at WDW or not?)

The first CM who ended up getting the medical person to speak to us was actually super nice and helpful....even about some things not related to our son's DAS. So that was really nice of him. The medical professional was much more serious and made me nervous to speak with. So yeah...I'm already dreading having to apply again before our next trip.

 

[lanejudy]

How are some people only getting asked 1 or 2 questions by the first cast member and getting approved so quickly?

Just my theory… but possibly those getting asked more questions are focusing the request and some answers on the diagnosis more so than the needs, reactions, consequences, etc.

 

[lanejudy]

he is autistic, minimally verbal, and has an intellectual disability. I mean, that's the EXACT type of person DAS is meant for.

Actually, without further explanation none of those things specifically are why DAS is approved. A person may have any/all those diagnoses and still be able to wait in a standard queue.

 

[jennab]

We applied today for the first time post-new rules. My son is 11 and autistic and has used DAS several times before. We WERE approved today for our January WDW trip. But it was a long process. I talked with the first CM for quite a while and he asked a lot of questions. Then he transferred me to a medical professional and he asked me a lot of the same questions and several new ones. He asked if my son was in the room and I said yes and called him over. The only question he asked him was how old he is. (My son is very minimally verbal and mostly just scripts words/phrases.)

I'm happy we were approved but it almost seemed like he wasn't going to be approved....which is honestly crazy to me since he is autistic, minimally verbal, and has an intellectual disability. I mean, that's the EXACT type of person DAS is meant for. I'm worried I didn't sound "credible" since I was so nervous about the whole thing and likely talking fast and whatnot. And now I'm even more nervous to apply again in the future. (We will going to Disneyland in December 2025. Will they see that we were approved for DAS at WDW or not?)

The first CM who ended up getting the medical person to speak to us was actually super nice and helpful....even about some things not related to our son's DAS. So that was really nice of him. The medical professional was much more serious and made me nervous to speak with. So yeah...I'm already dreading having to apply again before our next trip.

I am super worried they will want to ask my child questions. He honestly isn’t even aware of how he acts in situations so I fear he will be like “oh I’m good waiting in line” and they will think I’m lying

 

[ClaraOswald]

Just my theory… but possibly those getting asked more questions are focusing the request and some answers on the diagnosis more so than the needs, reactions, consequences, etc.

Well, I started out by saying how he historically has acted in long lines and why DAS helped us in the past. I explained how he acts in public spaces in our day to day life and at school as well. The problem is that they always seem to want to know WHY or something. And I don't know why he is the way he is.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Actually, without further explanation none of those things specifically are why DAS is approved. A person may have any/all those diagnoses and still be able to wait in a standard queue.

Right...which is why I immediately told them how my son reacts in long lines and answered their questions accordingly. I'm just beginning to think some CMs are more thoroughly in trying to weed out fakers than others.

I would actually love it if my child didn't need DAS. Our lives and vacations would be much easier if that were the case. Instead, I have to worry myself sick before each vacation because of this whole process. It honestly sucks and puts a black cloud over the months leading up to the trip.

 

[eticketplease]

We will going to Disneyland in December 2025. Will they see that we were approved for DAS at WDW or not?

I’m not sure about the new system but in the past they could not see the information that far apart trip to trip.

I figured we will have to apply twice in April for WDW and June for DL.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I’m not sure about the new system but in the past they could not see the information that far apart trip to trip.

I figured we will have to apply twice in April for WDW and June for DL.

Interesting. The guy today did say "I see you've used DAS before." But maybe he saw when we used it at Disneyland in June this year.

 

[eticketplease]

Interesting. The guy today did say "I see you've used DAS before." But maybe he saw when we used it at Disneyland in June this year.

Yea I’m not sure if they can see it but every time I would say I would like to renew the DAS they stated they couldn’t see anything. I always thought that was funny but it was consistent cast member to cast member.

 

[ElCray]

Just my theory… but possibly those getting asked more questions are focusing the request and some answers on the diagnosis more so than the needs, reactions, consequences, etc.

Just fyi when we made our request, I ONLY spoke of the "needs, reactions, consequences, etc." I'm accustomed to requesting accommodations for my family member (school, extracurriculars, camps, etc) and understand that it's about limitations and accommodations, and not the diagnosis. In fact I prefer not to share diagnoses unless absolutely necessary.

For our request, I gave the same explanation for the 1st and 2nd levels of review, and answered their follow up questions. With the 3rd level of review I said the same thing, and added the multiple diagnoses because it was with the neuropsychologist and they would know specifically what I was talking about.

This is only our experience though... I just wanted you to know that at least in our case, we weren't focused on the diagnoses at all.

 

[Keladry84]

Well, I started out by saying how he historically has acted in long lines and why DAS helped us in the past. I explained how he acts in public spaces in our day to day life and at school as well. The problem is that they always seem to want to know WHY or something. And I don't know why he is the way he is.

I was recently approved with only minimal questions. I started with the why (what’s causing the problem), followed by the internal reactions and process, ending with specific examples of lines at Disney and what happened. I was very careful to stay with explanation geared toward only what someone actually experiencing the situation would know, rather than common buzzwords or outward descriptions of behavior that someone could look up on the internet.

I know in your case, that’s not possible as your son can’t share with you the why.

I’m guessing those who are getting further questions might fall under a couple of different areas: not mentioning something that is part of the checklist, therefore getting questions designed to elicit it, and/or describing the situation in a way that parallels what someone could look up, therefore getting more questions to confirm consistency and validity of the request, and/or having a reason or need that doesn’t quite fit the requirements and looking to see if it can be approved by further examination.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I was recently approved with only minimal questions. I started with the why (what’s causing the problem), followed by the internal reactions and process, ending with specific examples of lines at Disney and what happened. I was very careful to stay with explanation geared toward only what someone actually experiencing the situation would know, rather than common buzzwords or outward descriptions of behavior that someone could look up on the internet.

I know in your case, that’s not possible as your son can’t share with you the why.

I’m guessing those who are getting further questions might fall under a couple of different areas: not mentioning something that is part of the checklist, therefore getting questions designed to elicit it, and/or describing the situation in a way that parallels what someone could look up, therefore getting more questions to confirm consistency and validity of the request, and/or having a reason or need that doesn’t quite fit the requirements and looking to see if it can be approved by further examination.

Yeah, that's one thing that sucks as the parent who has to try to explain it....it is the same type of stuff a liar would try to say. It just made me so uncomfortable because I don't want to be seen as one of those people. I was hoping my son would have come over and wanted to be on camera more because seeing him for any amount of time, I'm sure it would have been more obvious. But he is not a fan of zoom calls at all. When he did end up coming over he said "doctor" in an annoyed voice because he assumed it was one of his telehealth appointments.