Sorry in advance for the length of this post.
I was in DLR this last week (6/23-6/27). The first morning we were there before rope drop (maybe 7:45-ish?) and I was the next in line at the Accessibility windows. They actually sent me almost immediately to a cast member.
I explained why I was looking for an alternative waiting area, my physical issues, and why I couldn't use a mobility device. Essentially, I have axial psoriatic arthritis in my feet all the way up to my neck. If I can keep moving, I'm fine. If I have to stop for more than a few minutes, my joints start getting uncomfortable, start swelling, and then tightening up. I've been using a
DAS for 2 or so years now, and it has been so helpful-- I can wait somewhere I can walk around, and return to the ride when I will have much less "hurry up and wait." Can't really use an ECV where I'd be constantly sitting and not moving my joints, and can't really do yoga/stretching while driving an ECV. Can't we all just see that now, LOL?!
The cast member asked me lots of questions about how I manage day-to-day life. How do I deal with the lines anywhere else, like at the grocery store? I do self check-out so I have a short line to get through, no matter how many items I have and I go at off-hours. She looked skeptical. What about if I go to the movies? I tried explaining that I *don't* go to the movies more than once a year because it's so painful to be sitting in one spot, but so rude to constantly be walking up and down the aisle and distract everyone else. She looked skeptical again, like everyone goes to the movies frequently and everyone with a health impairment is walking up and down the aisles to avoid discomfort. I didn't even attempt to point out that stairs would aggravate my typical hip arthritis. I told her I really only go places where I can keep moving around while I wait so that I'm not in pain. She looked skeptical. What about other theme parks, since everyone does that? She couldn't comprehend that I live in a rural area without other theme parks. Clearly, she didn't understand that there could be anywhere in the USA without a nearby theme park.
She told me I don't qualify under the new guidelines because I don't require any outside assistance, and maybe I could use the alternative ways to get around, like an ECV (ummm, lady, we just discussed that issue!), or having my 7yo grandson and Hubs keep people away from me in line so that I could keep moving around (thereby making it impossible for my husband, grandson and I to chat or play the games we brought to keep entertained in whatever lines we would be in), or I could do the merge points. I was there for my grandson's first trip (only trip with me and Hubs that we ever plan to finance), and I was being told that I should ignore that time with him because of my physical issues. I was seeing red at that point, thanked her for her time, and walked off with the clear impression that she thought only visible disabilities counted, so I must be lying. I probably should have attempted it again on our second day, but I was still so upset at her insinuation that I wouldn't have been able to deal with what felt like such rudeness.
In the end, we only went in short, fast moving lines, and, of course, paid an additional $90/day for G+, and $57 for RSR one day. We didn't get to do all the rides, even after 4 days of being in the parks from rope-drop to 10-11:00pm, because they didn't have G+ and could never manage to get there when there was a short-ish line. While we loved the time we spent with our grandson one-on-one, we were disappointed that he didn't get to ride all the rides that were open. With the previous DAS, this wouldn't have been a problem since I would have had an alternative waiting area.
I'll be going when my pass reopens in August, and will try the video chat ahead of time and see how that goes, unless more info comes out before then.