BREAKING! Disney Cracking Down on Disability Pass Use With Stricter Rules

Disability Access Service (also known as DAS) is a service at Disneyland and Walt Disney World that provides guests with disabilities access to attractions that cannot wait in conventional standby queues. DAS allows guests to access the Lightning Lane for attractions.

The use of DAS has drastically increased which has caused a notable increase in Lightning Lane lines for popular attractions. This has led to a strain on Genie+ as this has begun to create a large increase in waits in the Lightning Lane queues which decreases the effectiveness of the service.

In response to this, Disney has announced a huge change to the criteria for those applying for DAS along with a number of new accommodations to provide a better experience for guests at the Disney Resorts. This is a BIG change to the program and one we were NOT expecting!

How Does Disney's Disability DAS Work Now?

DAS works by allowing guests to schedule a return time on the Disney app that is comparable to the current queue wait time for the attraction. It does not provide immediate attraction access which is a common misconception. For example, if the wait for Haunted Mansion is 45 minutes, DAS users will be given a 45-minute return time.

Guests can only hold one return time at once and cannot book another until they redeem their current one or cancel it. Unlike Genie+, these return times do not expire and can be utilized anytime after they become valid in the same day.

Essentially, guests utilizing the disability pass wait virtually and can enjoy other areas of the theme park while they wait or simply use this time to rest.

HUGE Changes to DAS Criteria at Disneyland and Walt Disney World

The eligible criteria for DAS at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World will be changing to only accommodate guests who, due to a developmental disability like autism or similar, are unable to wait in a conventional queue for an extended period of time.

This is a huge shift from previous criteria which before focused on the guest response to what prevented a guest from standing in a conventional line and what Disney could do to help. A cast member would then make the determination based on the answers given if the guest applying would qualify for DAS. While this new designation does provide a disclaimer of how the service is now meant to be used by those with developmental disabilities, the process will still focus on the experience of the guest with the disability and how it impacts their day to day lives and not just the diagnosis itself. But it is unclear if anyone without a developmental disability would qualify under this new criteria.

Other notable changes coming to the DAS program that impact eligibility is that the party size for those using DAS will be restricted to only immediate family members or a total party number of four guests. If the DAS user's immediate family is bigger than four than they will be accommodated. For example, an immediate family of five could be accommodated but a family of four plus two grandparents would not be as those grandparents are not considered immediate family.

In response to this change, Disney shared this quote, “Disney is dedicated to providing a great experience for all Guests, including those with disabilities, which is why we are so committed to delivering a wide range of innovative support services aimed at helping our Guests with disabilities have a wonderful time when visiting our theme parks.”

This is a huge change for the eligibility requirements for DAS that will likely result in a large decrease in the number of guests utilizing DAS. Disney is known for their amazing accommodations for guests with disabilities so this leads us to the question, why is Disney changing DAS?

Why is Disney Changing DAS?

There are a number of reasons why I think Disney is changing DAS. The first reason comes from Disney themselves. Disney officials told us the number of DAS users has “tripled over five years” which is a considerable increase for those utilizing the service. Disney's prior method to determining eligibility provided a wider net to which disabilities would qualify which is part of what led to this drastic increase in DAS use the past five years.

So why are more people applying for DAS?

There was a major shift in operations at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World within the past five years and that was the removal of free FastPass. FastPass was retired and replaced by Genie+ at both parks which is a paid only service that guests pay to access the Lightning Lanes (formerly known as FastPass lines) with costs varying depending on the day. Disney has also seen increased attendance at both parks as travel resumed after COVID-19 which naturally led to an increase in lines. All of this provides an incentive for guests to consider other options.

Plus DAS is not the only accommodation service that has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic. Accommodations in a number of settings have seen an increase in demand as disabilities become less stigmatized and barriers to access are removed. COVID-19 brought a lot of conversations about disability access forward and this has led to an increase of accommodation use across multiple industries. That change, combined with the shifts of higher wait times and paid Genie+ at the parks, also contributes to an increase in DAS users.

@alexandraemma9 Thank you @sophiphi4 ♬ original sound – Filmmuseum

There have also been a number of viral TikToks over the past few years, like the one above, that have highlighted the benefit of using DAS which has only led to more awareness of this service and the realization that a wider range of medical conditions could qualify. In response to this TikTok demonstrating guests utilizing the service for IBS (Irritable Bowl Syndrome,) many commenters accused the poster of abusing the system. However, one shrewd commenter pointed out, “y'all blaming people for “abusing the pass” but disney is the one who decides who to give them to… don't hate the player hate the game.”

The more eligible medical conditions qualify for DAS, the more use it will see. And with so many videos like this being shared on social media, this may have also contributed to the increase in use as it spread awareness of the service.

So why is this a problem? Why can't Disney keep providing DAS for everyone who qualified under the prior criteria?

This causes a measurable strain on Lightning Lanes which are then being used by both guests using Genie+ and those utilizing DAS. It has been a common scene to see Lightning Lanes spilling out into walkways at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Reducing the number of DAS users will greatly improve the effectiveness of Genie+ by making Lightning Lanes shorter while also opening up the possibility to make more ride reservations available if there is not such a large strain on the lines. This is something we've seen as a huge problem at Walt Disney World with many Lightning Lanes for attractions consistently having long waits. The capacity of the attractions is fixed so Disney wants to get as many people through these attractions as possible to improve the guest experience.

Once this change is implemented, we will likely see a reduction in the number of guests using the Lightning Lanes which may also lead to a better experience utilizing Genie+ in the parks.

Other Changes to the DAS Service

Disney is also implementing some modifications to how guests apply to the program along with providing additional services for guests that may no longer qualify for DAS under this new criteria.

The first change is how guests will apply for the service.

Health professionals from Inspire Health Alliance will now be a part of the process and were also an integral part of the team that helped redesign the service. They will assist with support virtually and in person at Disneyland when guests apply for the service. Cast members are also receiving new training and a hiring request will go out with a focus on those ready to assist families navigate accommodations moving forward.

At Walt Disney World guests will be able to speak with this team virtually in advance or on the day of their visit. At Disneyland, conversations about accommodations will be moved from Guest Relations to new designated windows at the ticket booths in the Esplanade. This move is meant to free up Guest Relations and to give enough room for the teams handling these conversations to all be together.

Disney is also extending the eligibility for guests from 60 days to 120 days which primarily impacts Annual Passholders/Magic Key Holders. This is a nice benefit for those who utilize the service frequently.

Disney is also highlighting the use of Rider Switch so that way a member of the party that might struggle with lines can have someone else in their party do the waiting for them. There will also be a new “return to queue” process rolling out that will allow guests to easily return to the line if they need to leave the queue suddenly. This is likely in response to the increase of guests with IBS or similar restroom concerns using DAS. This new “return to queue” process will go into effect when the new changes to DAS are implemented.

These are a lot of major changes to go along with the DAS eligibility criteria but this is all to ensure this new rollout goes smoothly and that guests denied DAS under this new criteria still have resources to enjoy the parks.

When Does NEW DAS Change Start?

This new change to the DAS program will start at May 20th at Walt Disney World and June 18th at Disneyland.

Up until that point, everything with DAS will remain the same. If you apply for DAS prior to these dates and are approved under the prior criteria, that approval is valid until it expires.

Disney has released new web pages focused on these changes to help guests to plan their trips. See pages for Disneyland here and Walt Disney World here.

History of DAS Abuse at Disneyland and Walt Disney World

This is not the first time that Disney has changed the program for guests with disabilities to crack down on reports of abuse. In fact, DAS was originally created to primarily serve guests with developmental disabilities back when it was called the Guest Assistance Card. It was then officially changed to the Disability Assistance Pass in 2013. Many rumors at the time stated this was in response to a large number of guests abusing the program including reports that disabled guests would act as tour guides for families, at a cost, to provide access to the program.

At this time, the Guest Assistance Card did provide guests front of the line access. Guests would show up to the attraction, show the card, and be given immediate access to the FastPass line. It is more likely to me that Disney changed the program to make it equitable to all guests, while also making it less appealing to those that would abuse it.

The biggest change that DAS brought is that guests were required to wait the time equal to the posted standby line rather than going straight to the front of the line. Guests utilizing DAS still wait, they just can do so in a separate area rather than in the queue. When the DAS return time is ready to be redeemed, guests then access the Lightning Lane to ride.

When Genie+ was implemented, DAS was changed again to give guests the ability to book their return times on the mobile app rather than going to Guest Services each time they needed a new time. Genie+ changes also allowed guests to book DAS return times for attractions in advance if they applied for the program remotely up to 30 days before their visit. DAS users can book up to two attractions per day from an approved list which notably does not include the most in demand rides.

Disneyland and Walt Disney World are not the only theme park to provide accommodations to those with disabilities that impact their ability to wait in traditional lines. Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando have a similar system called the Attractions Assistance Pass.

Recently Universal switched their system to require guests to provide medical documentation to a third party provider before they are qualified to apply for the Attractions Assistance Pass.

Looking back at the history of line accommodations at the Disney Parks, the language Disney is using for this new criteria seems to be a return to methodology back when the system was first created to primarily serve guests with developmental disabilities. And based on the data Disney has provided, the overuse of DAS in the parks is starting to impact all guest experiences which is going to be a big factor in why this change is being made.

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