Disneyland's Disability Access Pass (“DAS” for short) is a skip the line service offered to qualifying guests with disabilities that cannot navigate regular queues. But due to a amount of overuse and abuse, the eligibility of the program was modified to be far more strict as to who qualified.
Many prior users of the program are now being denied under the new criteria and being offered new accommodations instead. One of these new accommodations includes the Return to Queue option which is something that has caused a lot of confusion among guests.
Keep scrolling to see how this new Return to Queue system works and the bizarre advice being given to guests to prevent worries about line cutting.
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DAS Criteria Modifications Result in Program Denials
Disneyland's DAS program was changed on June 18th to modify the criteria for approval for only guests with a “developmental disability like autism or similar.” We've already covered all the reports of past users of the program being denied under these new rules along with language being added to the interview process to clear Disney of any potential lawsuits.
The changes were made as a result of too many guests using the program which was making it ineffective for all users and clogging up the Lightning Lanes which was making Genie+ (soon to be Lightning Lane Multi Pass) ineffective for all the other guests. There has also been reports of rampant DAS abuse with many “hacks” going viral on TikTok spreading information on how to easily apply for the program.
READ MORE – ALL the details and reasoning behind Disney's BIG changes to disability Pass!
Return to Queue Option Offered as Alternative
Return to Queue now seems to be the standard alternative being offered to guests instead of DAS. This service allows guests to leave the line for any reason that may arise and return to their same spot in line.
When a guest needs to leave a line suddenly they need to seek out a cast member and ask how to exit the queue. For guests in a larger party, that one person can be the only person to leave while everyone else remains in line. Then the guest must then find their party when they return to ride together.
However, what about smaller groups like solo guests or guests traveling alone with children? Cast members have been giving strange advice on how to navigate this process.
Guests Told to Take a Photo of Spot in Line
A member of our team recently applied for DAS and when they were denied, they were offered Return to Queue as an alternative option. But since they are only traveling with one other person, the cast member recommended they take a picture of where they were in line before exiting the queue.
They were instructed to then show that same picture to the attraction cast member who would then escort them back to their spot in line based on that picture.
This is one of the strangest things we've heard come out of the new DAS process at Disneyland and seems to be a way of getting ahead of other guests claiming a guest is cutting the line when they return to the queue. This way the guest that needed to leave the line has some type of proof of where they were in line previously which also acts as proof for the cast member as well.
The way Return to Queue works at Disneyland appears to be changing fast as cast members try to adapt to this service which has now essentially replaced DAS for a majority of visitors. I would not be surprised if we continue to hear new changes about how this accommodation works.
READ MORE – Denied For Disneyland Disability Pass After 6 Hr Wait & Lengthy Interrogation
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If my blood sugar is crashing, the last thing I’m going to be thinking about is taking a picture of where I was in the line. o-O
Correction, the old DAS was NEVER a “skip the line” option. It was a ‘wait the length of the posted standby line (even if reality is shorter), check in and then wait the additional time in the return line’. That usually made the wait time LONGER than those in the line. This constant misunderstanding and mislabeling of how it worked is part of the reason behind the abuse of the DAS and hard feelings against people with invisible disabilities that make it difficult or health-endangering to stand in line.
“Disneyland’s Disability Access Pass (“DAS” for short) is a skip the line service”
IT IS MOST DEFINITELY NOT!!
We wait a time that is in line with the current standby minus about 10 mins to compensate for our time in the LL which could definitely be longer than 10 mins so that means we actually wait longer. The only difference was we did not have to STAND IN LINE, but we most definitely did “WAIT OUR TURN”!!! Disabilities can make it extremely difficult to stand in a queue for an hour. There are all kinds of problems a disabled person manages, even if they are not apparent to others. The service was a good until the abuse started. So instead of targeting abuse Disney decided to cut the service down and tell the rest of us to pay for a wheelchair or pay for LL. Funny how that seems to mean more $$$ in their pockets…