Disney recently cracked down on the popular Disability Access Service at Walt Disney World and now is implementing the same changes at Disneyland. The new stricter criteria already went into effect at Walt Disney World and the first hand reports reflected a large increase in guests being denied for the service to manage standard attraction queues.
Starting June 18th, the new changes to the eligibility criteria went into affect at Disneyland including changes to how guests will apply for DAS in the theme parks. You can read more about these DAS policy changes here.
We have been monitoring these changes very closely since the announcement and have gathered first hand reports on how these new changes at Disneyland are affecting guest experiences along with the first reports on the new attraction re-entry is being handled in the parks.
Disney Disability Pass Program Changes
The new changes to DAS at Walt Disney World went into effect as of May 20th. You can read all about these new changes and first hand reports in our earlier coverage. Now these new changes are officially in place at Disneyland as of June 18th.
The criteria for DAS has been shifted to reflect a change in language which states that DAS is to “accommodate those Guests who, due to a developmental disability like autism or similar disorder” that cannot manage standard attraction queues.
These changes are a result of the extensive overuse of the program along with rumored abuse with multiple “social media hacks” to get DAS going viral. The use of DAS has skyrocketed in the last four years which has resulted in long Lightning Lane queues which has negatively impacted the park experience for all guests.
The other change for Disneyland is that in-park guest services will no longer handle any registrations or interviews for DAS. Only specific ticket booths in the esplanade, on the east side near Harbor, will handle any of these conversations. Online pre-visit registrations are still available.
👉Click here for ALL the details and reasoning behind the new DAS changes!
Disneyland Starts Pushing Attraction Queue Re-Entry as DAS Alternative
The most common scenario we've seen play out at Walt Disney World is that many guests that used to be eligible for DAS are now being offered Attraction Queue Re-Entry as an alternative. This same method is also being utilized at Disneyland with many guests already offered this as an accommodation instead of DAS even prior to the official date for the new rules.
The language from the Disney website clarifies how Attraction Queue Re-Entry works:
How to Use Queue Re-entry
Speak to a Cast member at the location for directions on how to re-enter the queue.
- A Cast Member will provide details about how to exit the queue and how to navigate back to your party.
- While the Guest who must leave the line is briefly away, the rest of the party will remain in line.
- The Guest reunites with their party to ride the attraction.
The website states that each ride location will have a defined process to support this option based on a person’s disability while the rest of the party remains in line.” Queue Re-Entry is being described as a solution for guests that need to suddenly leave the attraction queue.
Reports on this new system has been slow going coming in but we've finally seen some first hand reports of this new system in action at Walt Disney World. PrincessV on Disboards reported their firsthand experience using Attraction Queue Re-Entry (AQR) on Peter Pan's Flight
“What ride? Peter Pan
Where in the queue were you when you left? About 15 minutes into the SB queue – the room with the shadow wall.
How hard was it to find a CM? Impossible in the line – I had to backtrack through all of the queue I’d already walked through and find a CM at the entrance. (I did ask after exiting if there was an easier way, and exit in the queue I should have used – CM said no: only way to get out is to walk back through.)
Are you or someone in your party that had to leave the queue in a mobility aid like ECV/wheelchair/stroller as wheelchair/M1 Abrams/etc ? No.
How many adults/children (besides you) in your party, and age of kids? Just me, an adult.
How long were you gone? Around 15 minutes.
How hard was it to get back to your party? No party as I was solo – I asked when I left the line what to do and the CM said just come back to find them. They weren’t there when I returned, so I explained to the new-to-me CM who was at the SB entrance and they did something in MDE, had me tap in at the LL entrance, and sent me through the LL.
Did any guests give you flack? No… but I’ll note that 90% of Guests were looking at their phones, so I had to do a LOT of “excuse me!” And “so sorry, I need to exit” and “pardon me – thank you!” ing to make me way out. People were pleasant and friendly, so no issues there – it’s just difficult in such a small space.
How did the whole thing go? Okay – in the future, I would NOT get in line first; rather, I’d ask a CM before getting in line.”
They shared another report of using AQR on another ride where they went straight to the cast member for Pirates of the Caribbean and were just issued a return time to use the Lightning Lane. This could be because they are a solo guest but the firsthand experience using this system gives us a good idea of what to expect as we start seeing this implemented on the ground at Disneyland. Solo riders may be directed into the Lighting Lane while those in groups will likely be led back to find their party.
What is most concerning to me about this system is how this could be potentially be perceived as “line cutting” by other guests in the queue when it's simply guests with disabilities following this new program which has largely replaced DAS as an accommodation for a larger number of people. For guests returning to their party, they will most often have to walk directly through the queue, asking to pass by other groups, or in some queues they may be led back by a cast member. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds and hopefully it does not cause any unnecessarily escalation in ride queues if this becomes perceived negatively by other guests.
👉Read about the surprising new language on class action lawsuits in Disney's DAS terms!
First Hand Reports Roll in for Disneyland DAS Change
While the official start date for these changes wasn't said to go into effect until June 18th, there have been many first hand reports that this new eligibility criteria was already quietly being rolled out during online pre-registration videos.
AwesomeExhaustion on Reddit shared their experience with the new criteria,
“We chose not to renew our magic keys because of this change.
They have been quietly using the new rules and my daughter who has been using the DAS system and its earlier versions for 20 years was told she no longer qualifies. She uses a personal wheelchair and has a large medical alert service dog. She was told she could use return to line if she needed to leave. How they expect her to backtrack a line in a wheelchair with a dog I will never understand, especially if she’s having a medical episode.
It’s disappointing to say the least.”
I imagine since the criteria mirrors what has already been rolled out at Walt Disney World, we will see similar first hand reports across both parks. Disney appears to be presenting an uniform approach to how DAS eligibility is now handled.
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This headline is digusting and misrepresenting what’s really going on. Disabled people who truly need the pass to go at all are being excluded in large numbers and being treated horribly and demaned. We’re being told to leave our kids alone in line, to simply leave the line to have a seizure, that veterans with PTSD don’t qualify, former Make a Wish kids with terminal illness don’t qualify, cancer doesn’t qualify. It’s absolute discrimination and you all have a responsibility with such a big platform to call out Disney for the albeist discrimination that this is.
Disabled veterans are being turned away from DAS. it is horrible. Many of us came back injured and with invisible and visible injuries. Neither qualify us for DAS. Disney has turned their back on the disabled community.
The actual number of “abusers” is small but very visible. Turning disabled people away, offering “accommodations” that don’t work (seriously, how do people in wheelchairs leave a line and return?), being borderline abusive to people who call – this is not what Disney should be about. Disney is saying that in recent years (since the pandemic) the number of people using DAS has gone up. Did they ever consider that having DAS available made it possible for more disabled people to enjoy the park? This program was rolled out with no actual planning, no training, no real standardization. CMs aren’t trained medical professionals and shouldn’t be asked to evaluate people’s conditions. Different people give different answers. So-called medical professionals (what kind of schooling and training do they have?) have been heard to belittle people at WDW who had to use the teleconference. Disney has made great strides in recent years to be more inclusive – until this. Shame on Disney and shame on the writer of this headline and article.
This article is extremely ableist, and your headline and subsequent accusations are based on the lies to by Disney, to justify their discrimination against disabled individuals, who prior to this change, were deemed eligible. Maybe you should trade places with a disabled individual for a day, see how it feels! Instead of discriminating against a large group of individuals, they can just implement the IBCCES system and allow us to submit medical documents! This is about Disney making money through Genie+!! These articles are disgusting. Do better Be better!