DAS Changes

[wutisgood]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2024/04/11/disney-disability-access-service-das/

I did not see this posted here but thought it right to post the article to the forum as Len Testa was referenced as data and often is the authority on these changes and what they mean. Hopefully Len can comment as I think he has at times in the past.

 

[IzzyB]

Honestly this is needed. People abuse the system, they always have and it seems like Genie+ made it worse. I know the times we have used it for real reasons we overheard many conversations and yes, people abuse it. I personally knew a family that didn't need the pass that used it. He had surgery once for something and uses that as an excuse, yet he lives a perfectly normal life where he walks and plays with his kids with no issues. It always made me mad because it is there for real reasons. I also discovered the people who abused it were rude too. The employees would be trying to help us get to ramps and stuff and they would just be rude about "well they have a DAS pass too". Those employees would be so patient with them too and nicely explain we needed to get to the wheelchair ramp and they didn't need a wheelchair ramp. It seemed like the abusers were the most entitled of them all.

We 100% could have kept using our DAS passes in all the parks past when we needed them since they would just switch them out with new dates no questions asked, but we didn't. We didn't need them anymore and I wasn't going to be part of the problem.

 

[GAcoaster]

I heard that currently it's not unusual for DAS to be 50-60% of Lightning Lane. That's revenue Disney is losing, so they finally feel the need to do something about it. Never come between the Mouse and their money...

 

[IzzyB]

I heard that currently it's not unusual for DAS to be 50-60% of Lightning Lane. That's revenue Disney is losing, so they finally feel the need to do something about it. Never come between the Mouse and their money...

I agree it is about money, but also it is hard to predict DAS and so I noticed when there was a lot of abuse Fast Pass lanes were longer. So it also slows things down for all guests when people abuse the system. It makes stand by longer because there are so many DAS people in the lightning lanes making lightning longer which means less standby guests get on. Universal has always been more strict in a way as they have had paid express lanes forever it seems. I know getting their pass was harder and they did the return times for 95% of the guests really early on. I know people complain when Disney makes changes, but honestly they are only making them more like other theme parks. I know Dollywood has made a lot of changes to DAS in the off season too. As more people try to cheat the system more changes will be needed for the good of all rule following guests.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I think simply doing a system like USH does would be better for everyone but we will see soon

I tried to get more info but basically the current CM's are being replaced and so they have no info on what the new program really looks like

Some rumors of if you have bathroom issues they want you to use child switch but...how would that work with single people?

I hope in the end it works out for everyone

 

[wutisgood]

I would bet more than half of guests with DAS at Disney would get denied at Universal. If Disney is in fact not moving to use the same 3rd party as universal, I wonder how many people screaming at CMs that they have had access for years are really going to get revoked. I sure wouldn't want that job.

I also suspect more people than one might think decided that they either get DAS or it's not worth going to Disney anymore so they are going to roll the dice and see if Disney will approve the pass for something minor.

I know people complain about abuse but it is ultimately Disney's decision to approve or deny people. I'm not surprised that people see what a joke the system is and how Disney is squeezing them for paid skip the line access now and give up on taking the high road.

Of course straight up making up a disability is wrong but I think a lot of access comes from people who technically can qualify but could get through a day fine enough without DAS. The reward for having to integrity is hours more in line and more money going towards the mouse. It would get a lot of people on the fence to ask for a pass.

 

[IzzyB]

I would bet more than half of guests with DAS at Disney would get denied at Universal. If Disney is in fact not moving to use the same 3rd party as universal, I wonder how many people screaming at CMs that they have had access for years are really going to get revoked. I sure wouldn't want that job.

I also suspect more people than one might think decided that they either get DAS or it's not worth going to Disney anymore so they are going to roll the dice and see if Disney will approve the pass for something minor.

I know people complain about abuse but it is ultimately Disney's decision to approve or deny people. I'm not surprised that people see what a joke the system is and how Disney is squeezing them for paid skip the line access now and give up on taking the high road.

Of course straight up making up a disability is wrong but I think a lot of access comes from people who technically can qualify but could get through a day fine enough without DAS. The reward for having to integrity is hours more in line and more money going towards the mouse. It would get a lot of people on the fence to ask for a pass.

Universal is also squeezing out money for skip a line access. I agree they need to move towards Universal, but I will say Universal has always been more strict. Disney makes a change and it seems Universal makes it even harder. But I agree it is Disney's issue they need to solve and it looks like they are taking one step closer to trying to solve it. In all fairness to Disney the paid skip a line is new to them, so Universal probably went thru these growing pains when they added Express.

It sounds like only in person people will be in Disneyland, so there won't be cast members to scream at seems a 3rd party not located in Orlando.

I don't think just because you can lie to get something, most would lie. I only personally know one family who lies to get a pass. Most all locals I know do not use DAS. I was one of the few in my circle of friends with experience with it other than the ones that lied. Which I don't even see them anymore. I still put blame on the people lying or misusing the pass.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I heard that currently it's not unusual for DAS to be 50-60% of Lightning Lane. That's revenue Disney is losing, so they finally feel the need to do something about it. Never come between the Mouse and their money...

It's not about pushing people to buy things, it's about rampant abuse of a system designed for those who need accommodations. See when DLR banned "renting" disabled people by rich people. Honestly, I think the biggest and best change is threatening to ban people trying to abuse the system - Len in the Disney Dish noted a time a group of CP-aged men walked up to a ride for DAS and the CM asked "And which one of you is *insert woman's name here*". It worked for scalpers (remember THOSE) should work here.

 

[Jerroddragon]

It's not about pushing people to buy things, it's about rampant abuse of a system designed for those who need accommodations. See when DLR banned "renting" disabled people by rich people. Honestly, I think the biggest and best change is threatening to ban people trying to abuse the system - Len in the Disney Dish noted a time a group of CP-aged men walked up to a ride for DAS and the CM asked "And which one of you is *insert woman's name here*". It worked for scalpers (remember THOSE) should work here.

Freshbaked talked about how the abuse now has gone up right around the time they added only paid ways to skip the line

The lines for Genie Plus and how they give them out do need an update

FP used to be 50/50 and now Genie Plus has times where say a ride goes down then that line gets wayyyy backed up and they let people keep getting times when a ride is down. Happened when I went for Hyper Space Mountain, they let me get a Genie Plus the ride was down and when it went back up took 45 mins to get on the ride with genie plus and normal people were just stuck in one place

For sure Disney is doing this because of abuse but its also to push people to pay

 

[GAcoaster]

It’s about reserving that capacity to sell instead of giving it away to DAS, but it’s also because people have specifically bragging that they didn’t have to buy LL because they claimed their kid needed DAS.

 

[HandsomePete]

It’s about reserving that capacity to sell instead of giving it away to DAS, but it’s also because people have specifically bragging that they didn’t have to buy LL because they claimed their kid needed DAS.

It’s not the money, it’s not to cut down on “bragging” - it’s that they’re trying to provide a legitimate service that, after 3-5 years, gets gummed up with so many exploiters that they have to hit the reset button to flush the system.

For example… if I were to break my foot (knock on wood), my accommodation from Disney should not be DAS. It should be a free wheelchair for the day because I have a short-term disability and I don’t actually need to buy a wheelchair for day-to-day use but spending a day at a theme park is a lot of walking. Queues are ADA accessible, I can wait in my wheelchair with everyone else.

 

[GAcoaster]

It’s not the money

No, for Disney to act it's money they're losing on Lightning Lane that is overwhelmed by DAS abuse. With Disney it's always about money.

 

[IzzyB]

Freshbaked talked about how the abuse now has gone up right around the time they added only paid ways to skip the line

The lines for Genie Plus and how they give them out do need an update

FP used to be 50/50 and now Genie Plus has times where say a ride goes down then that line gets wayyyy backed up and they let people keep getting times when a ride is down. Happened when I went for Hyper Space Mountain, they let me get a Genie Plus the ride was down and when it went back up took 45 mins to get on the ride with genie plus and normal people were just stuck in one place

For sure Disney is doing this because of abuse but its also to push people to pay

100% Genie needs looked at too and how they do it. But the DAS pass is not limited by time. Unless it has changed since I last went, you can book a single ride at any time. So if 100 people book Thunder mountain all within 5 minutes via DAS and the genie plus is already sold out for that return time, then they now have 100 extra people in that line. Which not only slows paid people down but the standby line as they will need to do more coasters as LL only. FP had breakdown issues too, but there wasn't as much abuse of DAS.

It’s not the money, it’s not to cut down on “bragging” - it’s that they’re trying to provide a legitimate service that, after 3-5 years, gets gummed up with so many exploiters that they have to hit the reset button to flush the system.

For example… if I were to break my foot (knock on wood), my accommodation from Disney should not be DAS. It should be a free wheelchair for the day because I have a short-term disability and I don’t actually need to buy a wheelchair for day-to-day use but spending a day at a theme park is a lot of walking. Queues are ADA accessible, I can wait in my wheelchair with everyone else.

It used to be if you could use a wheelchair you waited in line. I have gone with my mom in a wheelchair and outside of rides that the standby line didn't accommodate a wheelchair (Jungle Cruise, Small World, etc) we had to wait in the regular line. Broken foot was buy a wheelchair in the past. Not sure if that changed. The DAS was meant for people who physically couldn't wait in that long of a line.

No, for Disney to act it's money they're losing on Lightning Lane that is overwhelmed by DAS abuse. With Disney it's always about money.

Yes and no. I think most who abuse it won't shell out the money. But what it will do is give the people who are paying a better experience.

 

[Brian G.]

It's a little column A and B. Seems like the system was being abused, but also was hitting Disney in the pockets. One of those "Both things true" times.

Unfortunately, the bad apples make it worse for everyone. If you have a legitimate need for DAS, there should be no cause for concern. The doctor's note clears you.

Though I do believe Disney hasn't clarified (Or I haven't seen it) about their policy when it comes to physical disabilities vs invisible - so that's a little odd.

 

[GAcoaster]

I think most who abuse it won't shell out the money. But what it will do is give the people who are paying a better experience.

It's not even a case of people not being willing to spend the money as much as Disney haven't been able to sell as much as they want to because the system is overwhelmed with DAS. Eliminate the DAS abuse and they can sell hundreds or thousands more LLs a day that they cant now because the system is so overwhelmed.

 

[IzzyB]

It's a little column A and B. Seems like the system was being abused, but also was hitting Disney in the pockets. One of those "Both things true" times.

Unfortunately, the bad apples make it worse for everyone. If you have a legitimate need for DAS, there should be no cause for concern. The doctor's note clears you.

Though I do believe Disney hasn't clarified (Or I haven't seen it) about their policy when it comes to physical disabilities vs invisible - so that's a little odd.

Agreed. I think most people who complain about these changes are ones abusing it. The ones that aren't tend to welcome these changes because they see how the abuse slows everything down.

I am not saying this is not about money at all. But I think 75% is to fix a problem Universal had to deal with pre-Comcast which is abuse, and 25% is to make more money. Disney is new to the pay for faster lines business and therefore learning the stuff other parks learned ages ago.

 

[Jake S]

Eliminate the DAS abuse and they can sell hundreds or thousands more LLs a day that they cant now because the system is so overwhelmed.

I mean, isn’t this a good thing for customers, whether they be the people paying for Genie+ or those who rely on the DAS system? I guess I don’t really get why it matters that Disney will likely benefit from this financially.

 

[GA-MBIT]

With the lack of clarity on what the new system will entail and who will exactly be cut out, I worry about the potential for some to be left behind or needing to jump through even more strenuous hoops to get the help they need. It's always good to cut out the abusers, but I am waiting to hear the new plan before I call this a purely positive move.

I won't budge from the position that Disney should still be providing a free Fastpass service. DAS Abuse was still a thing then, of course, but I think it would definitely cut out the incentive for a solid chunk of the tourist base. I refuse to accept the new normal of nickel and diming guests as how it always has to be.

 

[wutisgood]

With the lack of clarity on what the new system will entail and who will exactly be cut out, I worry about the potential for some to be left behind or needing to jump through even more strenuous hoops to get the help they need. It's always good to cut out the abusers, but I am waiting to hear the new plan before I call this a purely positive move.

I won't budge from the position that Disney should still be providing a free Fastpass service. DAS Abuse was still a thing then, of course, but I think it would definitely cut out the incentive for a solid chunk of the tourist base. I refuse to accept the new normal of nickel and diming guests as how it always has to be.

Presumably Disney will give people plenty of warning time to get approved and I assume the clock starts when you first visit a park.