DAS representative asking to interview child

[eandt]

Yep, that’s why I said my “guess”. Neither you nor I know what their conversation was, unless they told you. The reason I guessed that is because I have a sun allergy that it is due to other medical conditions AND I have other non physical medical issues. Now I don’t apply for DAS, but given my own circumstances with having multiple medical conditions I could see someone else having more than one as well.

Right … I have talked to them, sun allergy isn’t the issue but my point was they,especially the football coach, played the system and it needs to be tightened …. Nobody likes to wait in line but some scam to avoid it which hurts those that need as well as those that don’t

 

[elvispursley]

Right … I have talked to them, sun allergy isn’t the issue but my point was they,especially the football coach, played the system and it needs to be tightened …. Nobody likes to wait in line but some scam to avoid it which hurts those that need as well as those that don’t

Unfortunately, the reality is there are always people who are going to cheat the system, no matter how tight Disney makes it. The more rigid Disney makes it, the more people who truly need it will be affected. Not sure how much tighter you want the system to be? Sadly, there are likely still incidents where people are approved for DAS who could be better accommodated with something else.

 

[eandt]

Unfortunately, the reality is there are always people who are going to cheat the system, no matter how tight Disney makes it. The more rigid Disney makes it, the more people who truly need it will be affected. Not sure how much tighter you want the system to be? Sadly, there are likely still incidents where people are approved for DAS who could be better accommodated with something else.

Yeah I don’t know what the answer is

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

Unfortunately, the reality is there are always people who are going to cheat the system, no matter how tight Disney makes it. The more rigid Disney makes it, the more people who truly need it will be affected. Not sure how much tighter you want the system to be? Sadly, there are likely still incidents where people are approved for DAS who could be better accommodated with something else.

Exactly. Both are bad, but is it preferable for those who don’t “deserve” accommodations to get them or those who do “deserve” them to not be granted accommodations? It probably depends on whether or not you are a DAS 2.0 user or not.

If I were inclined to lie - and to be clear I am not - there is already enough info available to know what to say to have a pretty high probability of being accommodated. Obviously I’m not going to test this supposition.

 

[eandt]

Exactly. Both are bad, but is it preferable for those who don’t “deserve” accommodations to get them or those who do “deserve” them to not be granted accommodations? It probably depends on whether or not you are a DAS 2.0 user or not.

If I were inclined to lie - and to be clear I am not - there is already enough info available to know what to say to have a pretty high probability of being accommodated. Obviously I’m not going to test this supposition.

Those that use DAS should want the scammers totally eliminated just as much as those that don’t use DAS, so questioning and interviews should not bother anyone if it helps eliminate the fraud, imo they need to go further … frankly Disney has given everyone a back door around both the DAS process and the stand by line, it’s called LL I personally rarely buy it but when I want to ride without the standby wait we do. Hate paying it but when considering the cost of a Disney vacation it’s basically the cost of a sit down meal per person for 4 days of LL

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

I’m not saying that the elimination of DAS “cheats” shouldn’t the the goal for everyone. Given that there is no way to completely/accurately categorize people’s needs perfectly (see comments above about cheating even in the new system), my question was which type of error is less bad - being too generous and letting in more cheats, or being too strict and preventing some who should legitimately be accommodated from receiving DAS.

 

[eandt]

I’m not saying that the elimination of DAS “cheats” shouldn’t the the goal for everyone. Given that there is no way to completely/accurately categorize people’s needs perfectly (see comments above about cheating even in the new system), my question was which type of error is less bad - being too generous and letting in more cheats, or being too strict and preventing some who should legitimately be accommodated from receiving DAS.

Given that being the only two choices in this question and that there is a paid solution to DAS refusal and standby line issue I would be more strict … allowing more ‘cheats’ only makes the DAS line worse for them … I am still for striving to eliminate ALL of the cheats and don’t find that goal to be at all an error.

 

[Evita_W]

Right … I have talked to them, sun allergy isn’t the issue but my point was they,especially the football coach, played the system and it needs to be tightened …. Nobody likes to wait in line but some scam to avoid it which hurts those that need as well as those that don’t

Honestly, it is too tight at the moment in many ways, the more you tighten it, the harder it becomes for those who legitimately need the service and no matter how much you tighten it, there will always be people cheating the system.

Short of completely eliminating standby lines and making everyone (disabled or not) get in a queue from their phone with only a short 5 to 10 minute wait when you return, there is no system that would be foolproof. And of course that would cause crowding issues, as the parks are designed with the thought that a certain percentage of guests will be in a queue at any given time.

 

[Evita_W]

Given that being the only two choices in this question and that there is a paid solution to DAS refusal and standby line issue I would be more strict … allowing more ‘cheats’ only makes the DAS line worse for them … I am still for striving to eliminate ALL of the cheats and don’t find that goal to be at all an error.

I disagree, if even a single person is denied that shouldn't be denied, that is too many people being denied.

 

[eandt]

I disagree, if even a single person is denied that shouldn't be denied, that is too many people being denied.

That’s fine I believe if an even a single person is allowed to cheat it only encourages more and doesn’t help DAS at all …I have no issue with Disney trying to eliminate this … LL is available to all whom can’t get DAS or don’t want to wait what is more fair than that?

 

[mistysue]

I did and will call out those that when someone posts for help, they post a response that is no help and insinuates the person who posted must be lying if she is upset by Disney’s ask.

DAS at this point is equivalent to lightning lane, but without the cost. So there is no ‘made up conspiracy theory’. I am honest and so is the original poster.

And you are absolutely incorrect stating ‘everyone with every possible need gets the same gold pass.’ No where near ‘everyone’ nor ‘every possible’ received DAS. You are dishonest with this statement

Half the park? This is no where close to being true. We can explain it over and over, but we can’t understand it for you when you aren’t even truthful about the prior DAS situation.

DAS is an improvement over LL as it has unlimited and on-demand use. You are, in fact, making up the explanation that they tightened DAS for cost alone. Disney has not given that as a reason, and there are clear and obvious other reasons to tighten access.

Prior to the changes, if you had a disability need and they were going to offer ANY accommodation, they were giving people a DAS pass. That included people with severe neurological conditions or serious physical needs, all the way down to kids with a peanut allergy, anyone with ADD, people were getting passes for visual disabilities, hearing disabilities, diabetes, etc. Pretty much anything that can be considered a disability (and we do not need to argue about how each of these things can have individuals more or less in need of accommodations, the fact is that even those whose needs weren't that great, if they had a named diagnosis, could call in)

All you have to do is some quick addition to figure out that's the majority of the US population. Regardless of which of these disabilities a person has, the answer was the same pass. Do you realize that Dyslexia is commonly diagnosed (and often misdiagnosed) as ADD and that this in itself is 20% of the US? Then you have estimates as high as 13% for food allergies, 11% for diabetes, there are estimates as high as 43% of the population has some neurological disorder... Yes, there are going to be overlaps, but when you consider how many people have SOMETHING that they can explain to qualify, and most of these people don't travel alone, you can't give every person with any possible disability a special pass for everything even when it's not needed or the park stops being accessible to anyone at all.

We were in a situation where we needed DAS for a very few specific circumstances. We had two options a year ago- get a DAS which gave us special access EVERYWHERE, or do not access those rides, at all. If we tried to speak to the CMs at the rides they directed us to guest services to discuss a DAS but would do nothing if we didn't have it. Now, we can explain our situation at those few rides and they will give us an alternative (we either split or get a return, depending on current conditions) This means our access issues are solved, but we do not (and honestly should not) get a special pass for everything in every park. As it should be. I even complained at the time that the DAS didn't make sense but it was what they did.

I fully understand what you are saying, I am saying you are making an excuse, likely out of anger, that does not fit the situation.

 

[Evita_W]

That’s fine I believe if an even a single person is allowed to cheat it only encourages more and doesn’t help DAS at all …I have no issue with Disney trying to eliminate this … LL is available to all whom can’t get DAS or don’t want to wait what is more fair than that?

No, it is better to let a small minority cheat than to discriminate against those who are disabled and yes, forcing them to pay extra just to be accommodated IS discrimination.

 

[eandt]

No, it is better to let a small minority cheat than to discriminate against those who are disabled and yes, forcing them to pay extra just to be accommodated IS discrimination.

I couldn’t disagree more … but that is fine have a magical day

 

[lanejudy]

I couldn’t disagree more … but that is fine have a magical day

How would you feel if you were told “just because you are ‘eandt’ your ticket costs $30 more than everyone else and you cannot use standby queues.”

 

[eandt]

How would you feel if you were told “just because you are ‘eandt’ your ticket costs $30 more than everyone else and you cannot use standby queues.”

I have no idea what that even means … nobody is being denied the access to Disney attractions nor being forced to pay more for them … it may not be as convenient for some as they would hope but saying anyone is being denied access to the attractions is bs ….

 

[lanejudy]

I have no idea what that even means … nobody is being denied the access to Disney attractions nor being forced to pay more for them … it may not be as convenient for some as they would hope but saying anyone is being denied access to the attractions is bs ….

You said you believe that a making the accommodation harder to obtain *to eliminate all cheaters* is preferable even if some disabled are denied accommodation. That essentially means the disabled individual has to buy their accommodation (LL) because they are unable to use standby. More expensive and less access. That’s what you want to avoid a cheater getting through.

 

[sjberg79]

It threw me off when I called a few weeks ago and spoke to a woman who wanted to interview my 11 year old son for his DAS pass. She asked him what accommodations were in his IEP/504 plan? I almost laughed at that, like he even knows he has one let alone what is in it. I just answered for him. She asked some other questions he struggled to answer. She did approve him but yeah... it feels uncomfortable asking someone who can't articulate very well very pointed questions. I guess this is just the new normal so we will roll with it.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

You said you believe that a making the accommodation harder to obtain *to eliminate all cheaters* is preferable even if some disabled are denied accommodation. That essentially means the disabled individual has to buy their accommodation (LL) because they are unable to use standby. More expensive and less access. That’s what you want to avoid a cheater getting through.

My interpretation of this is that unlike a physical disability, where the remedy is often quite obvious (e.g. sign language interpreters, ramps, braille instructions, etc) and do not provide an “advantage” to one guest over another, the interpretation of “unable to” for a developmental disability is much more subjective and can lead to the perception of someone getting an (unfair) advantage over other guests. So if one is predisposed to believe that developmental disabilities are an insurmountable barriers to waiting in line then one might be more willing to let cheaters pass to ensure that everyone with a perceived need gets a DAS accommodation, whereas if one is predisposed to believe that a guest might prefer to have DAS but would not suffer material harm when waiting in line, then that person might want Disney to be more strict about how DDs are accommodated even if it pushes more guests toward paid options.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Last night my daughter was up until 4am with belly pain, nausea and diarrhea. Today the gastroenterologist asked her how she's been, and she responded with "I'm fine." Same response no matter what doctor we see, no matter how sick shes been. "Im fine." Guarantee you if a cm asked her how she does waiting in lines she will say "fine" even though that is far from the truth. You appear able to articulate yourself before strangers, jolly good for you. Our neurodivergent kids often cant

My son is minimally verbal. When given a question with a couple choices, he almost always picks the last thing said. And with yes or no answer, he typically says yes. It's very scary when he isn't feeling well since we have no idea what is going on.

So if the CM was to ask a simple question like "do you have a hard time waiting in line?" He would say "yes." And if they were to ask "do you like waiting in long lines?" He would also say yes.

This doesn't make him a "faker" or whatever that previous poster implied. It's so frustrating.

Sorry, but no. This is a pet peeve of mine. People vastly misunderstand HIPAA. HIPAA only pertains to healthcare providers, health plans, healthcare clearing houses, and other business associates who perform related functions for such entities that might bring them into contact with PHI. WDW is not bound by HIPAA regulations. HIPAA does not pertain to requesting accommodations from a public business. It simply doesn't.



True, you only need to share as much or as little as you feel comfortable sharing. If the business doesn't feel you made your case for accommodation and you don't wish to share more, that's your choice; if you feel they are asking for too much, that's an entirely different matter and you can file a complaint with the ADA -- it is not a HIPAA violation though. There is no legal definition of "receiving too much information" because it's entirely up to you to share or not. Your consent is implied when they ask to speak to the child and you allow the child to be in front of the CM (camera or in person).




Disney doesn't want you to write such information in the chat because they don't keep the chat files in a manner consistent with storing PHI. But verbally it can be shared, by child or adult. Whether you want that information shared is a different argument. Again not a HIPAA matter; a matter of personal preference.



I agree with you. Again, though, it has nothing to do with HIPAA; it's more a preference or maybe a morality factor than any matter of legality. I do believe the OP's situation was one of misunderstanding on her part. In 15+ years I am not aware of any regular situation of a CM asking a child about disability accommodations or medical matters.

Thank you! This is a pet peeve of mine as well.

Those that use DAS should want the scammers totally eliminated just as much as those that don’t use DAS, so questioning and interviews should not bother anyone if it helps eliminate the fraud, imo they need to go further … frankly Disney has given everyone a back door around both the DAS process and the stand by line, it’s called LL I personally rarely buy it but when I want to ride without the standby wait we do. Hate paying it but when considering the cost of a Disney vacation it’s basically the cost of a sit down meal per person for 4 days of LL

Given that being the only two choices in this question and that there is a paid solution to DAS refusal and standby line issue I would be more strict … allowing more ‘cheats’ only makes the DAS line worse for them … I am still for striving to eliminate ALL of the cheats and don’t find that goal to be at all an error.

LL wouldn't be a good substitute for us if my son ever gets denied. I won't go into the specifics because I wouldn't want ACTUAL fakers to try to use them. But trust me, it's not a good system for some people. If my son ever does get denied, I'm not sure what we'll do. It's very stressful. Especially since we are DVC members who book our vacations 11 months in advance.

 

[jennab]

I disagree, if even a single person is denied that shouldn't be denied, that is too many people being denied.

But who “shouldn’t be denied”? That is up to Disney, not you and I.