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]

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]

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.

 

[caketalks]

Declined today. Our party’s “unique” size (2 adults) was mentioned numerous times and my husband has been approved before (asd and a few other things). They team we spoke to were cold, curt and the medical professional dropped the call as soon as he said no so we had no chance to ask questions or provide further information.

 

[lanejudy]

several discussion posts have been moved to the other thread to try and keep this one as Approval/Denial reports
https://www.disboards.com/threads/das-changes-coming-wdw-may-20-dl-june-18-2024.3943880/

 

[pecanp13]

I finally had my call today and was denied right away, after qualifying for DAS since 2018. I was only asked one question - why I can’t wait in line and what problems arise. I went into full detail. I have as several cardiac conditions - including heart failure and autonomic dysfunctions.

At the end of the call she told me conditions like mine no longer qualify for DAS and it’s only for people with autism. I’ve read conflicting things about that, so a part of me wonders if it’s just the CM you speak to or not.

She talked about RTQ but didn’t explain it, she just sent me a link in the chat. I asked how does that work if I have to leave the park because usually when I have an episode, I go back to the hotel and rest. She said “try to have your party stay in line and speak to a CM at the attraction”. Not sure how that’ll work, but I guess I can give it a try.

 

[jennab]

I finally had my call today and was denied right away, after qualifying for DAS since 2018. I was only asked one question - why I can’t wait in line and what problems arise. I went into full detail. I have as several cardiac conditions - including heart failure and autonomic dysfunctions.

At the end of the call she told me conditions like mine no longer qualify for DAS and it’s only for people with autism. I’ve read conflicting things about that, so a part of me wonders if it’s just the CM you speak to or not.

She talked about RTQ but didn’t explain it, she just sent me a link in the chat. I asked how does that work if I have to leave the park because usually when I have an episode, I go back to the hotel and rest. She said “try to have your party stay in line and speak to a CM at the attraction”. Not sure how that’ll work, but I guess I can give it a try.

The new DAS approvals are for developmental disabilities, like autism or similar. Sure, some other physical disabilities are getting approved, but they are few and far between.

Talk to the CM before entering thr queue and ask what the process is if you need to leave the line. Also, you can wait outside the queue while your party waits in standby. Then they can contact you once they are to the merge point and you can go through LL to meet up with them. Talk to CM before they enter the line if you want to do this.

 

[JoJoGirl]

This morning my adult son was approved for DAS for our upcoming trip. He is considered profoundly developmentally disabled with autism, and this is the first time he has applied for DAS. All his previous trips were pre-pandemic, and he was able to make do with FastPass back then.

I logged on and requested the video chat at around 7:45 am. There was no wait for the video chat, and he was approved quickly by the first agent. Including pictures, which we had to wake him up to take, the chat took maybe 10 minutes. The agent asked general questions about his day to day life and how we handle certain situations, and I answered honestly.

I was a bit nervous. He most certainly qualifies, but with him being an adult I was still worried about him getting approved under the new DAS guidelines. Having this done is a load off my mind. It’s still a challenge to get him through a ten minute queue, at least it’s possible most of the time.

 

[T-i-double-guh-er]

I was approved in May under the new rules for issues from combat PTSD. Just did the video chat to request it for an upcoming trip and was denied. Discussed all the same issues/concerns, but this cast member said that the policy only allows her to approve people who don't understand the concept of waiting in line.

 

[disneydad7281231]

I was approved in May under the new rules for issues from combat PTSD. Just did the video chat to request it for an upcoming trip and was denied. Discussed all the same issues/concerns, but this cast member said that the policy only allows her to approve people who don't understand the concept of waiting in line.

Seems like it is all dependent on the CM. DW was denied Christmas Day after speak with someone for months that is in the same boat as her but was approved multiple times under new rules. DW was shut down pretty quickly and was told "this is just for people with autism" with no mention of developmental disabilities or anything else.

 

[ellemichelle]

Autistic adult, applied for Disneyland and was approved. I had DAS on my previous trip to DL in March 2023. I had also Genie+ on my previous trip and have purchased Lightning Lane Multipass for this trip; I mentioned that I had purchased LLMP during my interview.

 

[jeepwreck]

My son was approved over the weekend for our upcoming trip in January for his sensor issues. My wife knows all the details and stuff about his condition,

But she was on the video chat for about 20 mins before he was approved and they asked to see him to take his photo and that was it. We were very pleased on how it all happened because my wife has read some bad stories about the wait time and not being approved

he has been approved the last 3 trips we did with the old system

 

[2tinkerbell]

My DD was approved for our upcoming Disneyland trip. My DD and I were sitting together on the video chat. The CM asked my DD a question and she answered. The CM asked a couple of other questions. On the second question, my DD kind of froze. The CM welcomed me into the conversation. My DD was approved with no problems. We each had a couple of other questions and the CM was most helpful.

I have been so worried about this. I have been wondering how the 2 of us could make it work without the DAS.

I guess we could be considered an over user. We mentioned we had park hoppers and lightning lane. The CM emphasized that we could utilize both Lightning Lane and DAS. My DD clarified that by using both, she could go on her favorite ride twice.

 

[Princesca]

I have a preschooler with ASD and SPD. He actually never had DAS before - I had forgotten last time we got it for my wife, not him. The chat picked up in seriously like 5 minutes, he didn't ask us anything except to tell him our concerns for our son. I was shocked at how brief and easy it was; it makes me feel horrible for the people who have been put through the wringer because it really does seem it's down a lot to just luck of the draw. I did volunteer his diagnosis and I talked about specific instances in amusement parks in the past that have not gone well. I told him I'd researched ways to make our visit easier and had looked into return to line but with two people needing DAS who are likely to be struggling at the same time, I didn't know how that would work. I can't send him with her if they are both having challenges, and I can't keep him in line and have him be pinballing all over the place into other guests, etc. The whole thing was in and out in five. I forgot that my wife has to apply for her own, though, so we still have to do that part and I'm less confident that she will be given DAS as an adult. But I'm just so relieved we got it even for my son. That means we have it on most everything we'd consider riding, and the few we'd rider swap we will just have to hope for the best.

 

[PrincessV]

I was approved in May under the new rules for issues from combat PTSD. Just did the video chat to request it for an upcoming trip and was denied. Discussed all the same issues/concerns, but this cast member said that the policy only allows her to approve people who don't understand the concept of waiting in line.

Seems like it is all dependent on the CM. DW was denied Christmas Day after speak with someone for months that is in the same boat as her but was approved multiple times under new rules. DW was shut down pretty quickly and was told "this is just for people with autism" with no mention of developmental disabilities or anything else.

I went into detail on the other thread, but add me as one who had DAS approved previously, had it approved again under the new rules, but was denied recently when I tried to renew. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but seeing your posts I’ll add that all 3 people with whom I spoke - CM, supervisor, medical professional - insisted on reading to me the part on the website about autism. The word autism was mentioned on their end repeatedly, despite also telling me repeatedly I did not need to provide a diagnosis. In retrospect, that was strange.

 

[StarGirl11]

Wanted to add this because this was new for me in the four times I’ve been through the system. I renewed my DAS for DL. And they synced my last DAS date for WDW with DL.

Had no issue with getting DAS at DL. Since they honor the FL DAS in CA. Both times it’s just been a matter of seeing me in the system and getting me enrolled

 

[StarGirl11]

Also wanted to add had a friend who was approved under new rules and denied when she went to renew. Got told since she tried twice and was denied twice she has to wait 120 days. Hoping for her that if she comes armed with examples on why the non DAS options didn’t work for her. It will go better once she can try again

 

[TioAdis78]

Got approved on Sunday for our upcoming trip in late January for both of my kids in the spectrum. I’m shocked at seeing some people took only 10 minutes or less to get through the whole process, as we ended up talking for close to an hour, probably about 25 minutes or so per kid, since their needs are similar but not the same. The thing is, we never felt we were being grilled, the very nice CM didn’t ask many questions, possibly because our long winded explanations covered everything he needed to hear. It was definitely longer than under the old rules at Guest Services, but we felt more… seen? Maybe it was just our experience, but the zoom call CM was more than glad to hear us go on and on about our children He said we were approved for both our kids, asked if they could come over to take their picture, we exchanged some pleasantries and that was it! Pretty painless all in all, if long.