Disney DAS changes criticized by the disabled

The unfortunate thing is that they had a solution to this. It was called FastPass. It was fair, it reduced wait times in queues and it couldn't be gamed. Unfortunately, they'll never part with Lightning Lane revenue, so that's not coming back.

I think a lot of the complaints are legitimate. We use the system for Simon, as there are a few attractions where he can't deal with the queue. Even then, sometimes it's a struggle. He bailed on Guardians on what would have been his third ride, and that was in the pre-show after coming in on DAS. Something about the situation caused him to panic. Most rides, he's fine, but some are too much [something] for him to tolerate. I remember at Universal a couple of years ago, he melted into a puddle on the floor with his arms over his ears in the Hagrid queue because it was so loud (I had my fingers in my ears too).

We were initially denied the first time we did it. First off, it was a pain because we couldn't connect to the video call via our phones. So we went to guest services and they gave us an iPad to use. The "agent" suggested first we could do "return to queue," which basically means we'd leave him out on the midway while we waited in line. Generally, he's pretty independent, but the prospect of him being alone just wrecked him. And that makes sense, the point is to do stuff as a family. Then they suggested parent swap, but again, the point of going to theme parks as a family is to be a family. He had a meltdown right there in guest services. Worse yet, he kept apologizing to me, which pokes the Papa Bear in me, because I don't want him to apologize for who he is. It felt like an attack on his dignity.

Of course, the guest services folks are not empowered to do anything, so that's nor fair to them. Fortunately, Diana, who works in guest services in the theater, asked if she could call again, and she did. This time, she asked to speak to a doctor, and they were added to the call. The doctor talked to Simon directly for about two minutes and told the agent to grant the access. So this is the real problem with the program, that they don't have qualified professionals making assessments, they have people following scripts that can't replace expertise.

I don't want this for him. I don't want to put him through things like that. I'm confident that he'll develop the coping skills to roll with whatever, but he's not there yet. It makes me realize though, that the reason things were so easy pre-pandemic was FastPass. We didn't really know the sensory impact of some queues because we never had to use them. So while I appreciate the abuse of the system that they're trying to correct for, right now they're not getting it right.

I have two friends at the parks this week (coincidentally) who both have kids dealing with the negative impacts of the changes. I don't know enough about it to have an opinion, but the fact that this is being universally criticized by the affected communities should be enough for Disney to take action.

Is there any option to "pre-screen" individuals/kids so that the decision can be made BEFORE someone is arriving at the front gates?

Yes, you can do it from home. However, the "secret" is that if you're inside the geofence, you skip to the front of the line. From home, you might wait for hours.

Jeff:

He had a meltdown right there in guest services. Worse yet, he kept apologizing to me, which pokes the Papa Bear in me, because I don't want him to apologize for who he is. It felt like an attack on his dignity.

This broke my heart to read. I've always tried to teach my kids that you should apologize when you have wronged someone but you should never apologize for things outside of your control or for who you are. But that hasn't always worked out. I'm sorry that you, Diana, and more importantly, Simon were put in that situation.

Disney is in a sticky situation. The previous iteration was clearly ripe for abuse. But reading through the article, and your experience, a reasonable person would consider these situations that should have been approved. Disney seems to constantly be under the microscope for their DAS policies, which begs the question, why aren't we hearing about issues with other chains? Do they have better policies? Or are they so much smaller in comparison that it just isn't an interesting story?

I think it is just because they are Not Disney. The online ecosystem around Disney is absolutely bonkers, and no other operator has even 10% of that attention.

Mulfinator:

I've always tried to teach my kids that you should apologize when you have wronged someone but you should never apologize for things outside of your control or for who you are.

There are a million apologies at my house that I would like to have back.

This entire situation makes me sad. The Happiest Place on Earth is hurting the people who least deserved to be hurt.

Jeff:

The doctor talked to Simon directly for about two minutes and told the agent to grant the access.

I don't have a horse in this race and I don't know anything about the old versus the new system. If the issue with the old system was the potential for abuse due to the ease of getting access, is it believed that the new system's requirement that you have to talk to someone to get access will serve as a deterrent to keep people from abusing it?

Before, you just had to tell a guest services member about a "concern" and there was little questioning beyond that. The same is true, but now it's with someone on a video call. And it's weird, because they tell you not to disclose medical information, but how do you even do that and still have them make a determination? The agent suggests other accommodations (swap, return to queue), and sometimes they do make sense. If you have trouble standing for long periods, for example, they might get you a wheel chair. It solves the problem.

The other thing is that they flat out tell you that if you lie or fake it, and they catch you, you'll be banned for life. Again, I get the abuse of the system, but that seems really hostile.

My hope is that after a year or two of dealing with high school, Simon will have the coping skills. This makes already difficult parenting even more stressful.

I think most people know that I got diagnosed a few years ago, and it changed my perspective on my entire childhood, divorce, career... everything. I have different sensory things than Simon, including sensitivity to bright light and sounds. Everything was an Arrow lift then, so it may explain my coaster avoidance until I was 15. Now I can mostly deal with those because of practice. But even today, I realize that I unconsciously cope with things that make me uncomfortable, like crowds and excessive eye contact. I love to throw a party, but I need breaks from it. Concert crowds have always been hard even though I love live music.

But as they say, if you know one person with autism, you know one person with autism. That's why you can't easily apply a one-size strategy to something like this. I imagine the nuance for disabilities is just as staggering.

Jeff:

The other thing is that they flat out tell you that if you lie or fake it, and they catch you, you'll be banned for life. Again, I get the abuse of the system, but that seems really hostile.

I've heard this too and I just keep wondering how would something like this even be monitored and enforced? Does the Cast Member at Space Mountain merge point call Guest Relations and tattle because they think the guest using DAS was acting too neurotypical for their liking? Does the Slinky Dog Dash Cast Member catch me limping on the wrong foot? And who has the power to make the decision to ban someone?

I don't know how to embed video on this site, but that reminded me of a Seinfeld episode.

I was thinking of George at Play Now as I typed my last post out but didn't even bother mentioning it since I figured no one else would know the reference.