disabilities – Doing Disney with Disabilities

Technology is the pits!!

I was super excited about the recent changes to the DAS – Disability Access System = at Walt Disney World.

But after hours, and hours, and hours waiting to get through to a LIVE cast member, I’m not so sure this was a good idea.

I know Mickey and Disney thought this was a great innovation and would make the DAS process more accessible . But I don’t think they thought it through. They obviously didn’t expect the numbers of guests trying to access the system accurately.

On paper it sounded great.

You can pre-register for the DAS pass before you leave home. Great!
No taking time out frrom your first day in the Magic waiting in a line at Guest Services to register for DAS.
You can do it all on your phone or computer 30 to 2 days beffore you arrive.
And you get a bonus of 2 DAS’s set before you get there. This is the perk that drew me in.

But it doesn’t work!

For those of you who don’t know

DAS stands for Disability Access Services. It is an accommodation Disney has made for Guests with Disabilities that make it difficult or impossibile to tolerate or manage long waits in the stand-by queues for one reeason or other.

It is not just a mobility thing. It is not a way to skip the line. It is a way to make rides and attractions with long, diffiult queues accessible to everyone.

The way it works

An eligible guest or their represientative must register for DAS.
Until last fall this had to be done in person at Guest Services in one of the Parks on their first Park Day.
Now we can do it online, supposedly.
The process is simple. No doctors note or medical documentation needed.
Just a series of questions about why standing in a long line or navigating a queue is a hardsship for the individual.

Who is Elliginle

Those with Mental Health issues (AD/HD, Anxiety Disprders, Autism) who find the close quarters, crowds, noise, bright lights, stimuli and the long waits intolerable.

2. Those guests with physical disabilities that require frequent/routine treatment/medications, meals. or trips to the rest rooms necassary.

3. Those with vision or other sensory issues that make it difficult to manuever, manage, or tolerate the enviornment/atmosphere of the ques. (This is why I request DAS. My vision is such that I can not adjustt to sudden or frquent changes in light/dark. I become blinded for minutes when moving from bright light to darkness and vice versa and become disoriented.)

The use of a mobility device alone does not necessarily make one eligible.

So how do you use it?

I repeat DAS is not just a means of skipping the often long wait times in the Stand-By line. It is a way to wait outside the queue itself for those of us who can’t manage the queue.

Step 1. The individual with a DAS, requests a return time for an attraction. In the past this had to be done in person at the ride entrance. Now thanks to recent changes in the system you can do this on the My Disney Experience App.
Step 2. You are given a return time EQUAL to the current wait time in the Stand-By line.
Step 3. You can wait anywhere.
Step 4. The PWD (Person with Disability) returns at the appointed timewith all those in their party. They return to the Lightening Lane or disability entrance to access the ride without going through the regular queues.

So everyone waits the same amount of time, just not in the queue. Got It?

The major changes then are:
- You can pre-register online 30 to 2 days before your arrival.
- You can access your DAS passes on your phone or computer via the My Disney Experience App.

Now back to the pre-registration fiasco.

It sounded great. I could do it all on my computer before leaving home. And I could get 2 bonus DAS passes in the bargin. This is really why I decided to pre-register. And I’m sure this is why many people decided to also.

But after trying repeatedly. Four days so far. For 4+ hours each day. A total of 20+ hours of my time waiting for someone: a live cast member or MIckey or anyone to answer, I’n about to give up!!

Twenty+ hours of waiting and never getting through is enough. Another glitch in the process. My system keept timing out every hour or so. I had to login again. It indicates that I reenter the queue in the same place in line. But I’m not so sure.

Bottom line I haven’t gotten through yet. I’m beginning to think Mickey and all his friends just aren’t answering the phone anymore.

Is anyone else out there having the same problem? Has anyone had better luck or are we all still waiting?

By the way, ever the optimist, while writing this post I am curently waiting in line once more. Got on at 7 AM. It is now 10:32 and I’m still waiting.

This is absolutely the last time!!

Pat

P.S. Before posting this I finally got through to Winifred at 12:23. The procedure from there was quick, seamless, and enjoyable. The cast member was able to register me, answer all my questions, and set up my 2 bonus DAS passes per day. A big shout out and THANKS to Winifred.

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