Disney World Cracking Down on DAS Abuse
Walt Disney World has seen an increase in abuse of its Disability Access Service, and is starting to crack down on improper DAS use as a result. This post covers how they’re accomplishing that, along with rumors about Lightning Lane utilization and our commentary about what’s happening.
This revelation actually comes thanks to a story about Walt Disney World suddenly trespassing third-party tour guides from the parks. Walt Disney World has reportedly been banning these unaffiliated tour guides who secure dining and resort reservations, design itineraries, and help their clients navigate the parks–often by acting as an in-person escort.
These guides have reportedly been pulled out of line by Walt Disney World managers, issued trespass notices by Orange County police, and indefinitely banned from all of Walt Disney World property. These trespass notices are not unprecedented–they’re issued whenever guests engage in fisticuffs, have a really bad adult meltdown, or sneak around backstage. A few years ago, there was a dude who went on a tirade about masks and compared himself to the hero in A Bug’s Life, misquoted the movie, and got trespassed. (Note: he was trespassed for the tirade, not misquoting A Bug’s Life. Although that should be a bannable offense.)
According to Insider, which reported on the third-party tour guide ban, there are nine third-party business owners and tour guides impacted by a crackdown on their services, five of whom who have received the trespass notices themselves. Several of these guides have been operating for years and indicate that they’ve never before had an issue.
The reason for this is pretty simple and straightforward. Walt Disney World’s official park rules website has a lengthy list of prohibited activities. Among them is that “unauthorized solicitations of any kind, whether commercial, religious, educational, or otherwise, or conducting any unauthorized commercial activities, including solicitations of money or other contributions or donations.”
Conducting a tour on Walt Disney World property is very clearly an unauthorized commercial activity. This isn’t the first time that Disney has trespassed tour guides. Way back in the nascent days of the internet, they did the same with high-profile park history and inside secrets tours that indirectly competed with things like Keys to the Kingdom.
About a decade ago, Disney also cracked down on disabled tour guides who advertised the ability for their guests/customers to bypass lines in the California and Florida parks. The company started by revoking Guest Assistance Cards of the guides, but that story exploded into nationwide headlines and resulted in the overhaul of GAC and creation of DAS.
Third party tour guides are clearly operating in violation of park rules, and their businesses are built on Disney electing against enforcing those rules–and the risk of the company choosing to do so in the future. This was always a possible outcome. With that said, the market for these tour guides only exists because they provide a service between the extremes of Genie+ and VIP tours. Walt Disney World could easily indirectly kill the market for these tours by filling the void with an official service.
Even if they didn’t want to do that for whatever reason, they could’ve used a more delicate touch here. It sounds like several of these tour guides had guests with them when they were trespassed, and those people are all collateral damage. Given that even these third party tours cost over $100 per hour, those guests are presumably a big-spending demo that Disney wants, and putting them in the middle of this is not great.
On a tangentially related note, we’ve been hearing for months that this type of crackdown was on the horizon. However, we heard that it would occur with web services that circumvent Walt Disney World’s policies and systems for various reservations. Disney managed to briefly cause some of those to go offline over the summer, but to my knowledge, they all returned. I was under the impression that more would be done, but perhaps not? Anyway, none of that is the point of this article.
What caught our attention about this story is that a spokesperson for Walt Disney World said “there has been an uptick in abuses of the Disability Access Service and other services, which impede park operations. The spokesperson declined to provide any documentation of this increase.”
According to Insider, several third-party tour guides and business owners agreed that not everyone in their industry behaves ethically. One experienced third-party tour guide said there are several companies that are “widely known” to abuse Disney’s rules. “For instance, these companies might tell guides to tell guest services they have Irritable Bowel Syndrome to get a disability pass for themselves,” the business owner told Insider.
Other tour guides indicated that they had witnessed unethical behavior in the industry, with some even leaving certain companies because “their owner was involved in some of those unethical practices, and I didn’t want to be associated with that any longer.”
In our view, this is the most interesting aspect of the Insider story and the one that has the most material impact on the guest experience for everyone at Walt Disney World. We’ve heard rumblings about this issue prior to now, have observed it ourselves, and think the current crackdown might portend more sweeping changes to DAS at Walt Disney World.
You might notice a lack of DAS coverage on this website, aside from our Guide to Disability Access Service at Walt Disney World, which covers our experience using it with my dad and was last updated when the Lightning Lane-era changes rolled out. The lack of DAS resources here are not an oversight; it’s deliberate.
This blog offers commentary about any and everything, while also soliciting reader feedback via an active comments section. That’s a powder keg for something like DAS, which is one of the most controversial and charged issues at Walt Disney World. Unlike topics like oversized strollers, price increases, parking fees, refillable mug ethics, etc., this has real stakes. DAS users are real people with real feelings, and often, are all to used to judgmental stares in real life. Compounding that with metaphorical ones online is rough, and I don’t want this platform to be a party to that.
With that in mind, I’ll start out with a simple statement. Two things can be true at the same time. First, that reasonable disability accommodations are very necessary for many Walt Disney World guests to have an enjoyable experience, including those with invisible disabilities. Second, DAS abuse is widespread and needs addressing. The first point does not invalidate the second, and the second point does not grant random guests the authority to be arbiters of who “needs” DAS.
Since the controversy several years ago about the Guest Assistance Card, there’s a lot more scrutiny concerning guests using and abusing DAS, along with a belief among some other guests that they are being ‘disadvantaged’ by the system. This manifests itself in visible and audible disdain towards other guests using DAS. I’ve witnessed it repeatedly in-person and in reading online discussions.
I would implore you to err on the side of courtesy. There are myriad invisible disabilities from which other guests could suffer, and the rude words or judgmental gaze of guests ‘scanning’ a person using DAS to ‘make sure’ they really have a disability are awful. I can only imagine how it’d make me feel if I were on the receiving end of that. Anyone using DAS out of necessity would trade places with you in a second and stand in long lines if it meant not being disabled.
I also can’t imagine being on the giving end of that. Okay, you’ve made yourself judge, jury, and executioner…now what? There is absolutely zero upside. Not only is the weight of your eyes or words unfairly falling on someone with an invisible disability at least half the time when you do this, but you’re upsetting yourself with something that’s entirely outside of your control and that you cannot change. Life is too short for that, and it’s far better to be happy at Walt Disney World and focus on your own family.
Look, my apologies for the preachy soapbox with very obvious ‘advice’ that 99.5% of you absolutely did not need to hear. But you know that saying about one bad apple? I’ll err on the side of a long lecture if it might cause even half of that .5% to rethink their behavior. Sorry not sorry, I guess.
To the second point that DAS abuse is widespread and needs addressing, we’ve been hearing ‘rumors’ of this for a while. Not really so much rumors–more unsubstantiated reports from those within the company. The Lightning Lane percentages from those were downright shocking to me. This is the first time I’ve actually seen Walt Disney World publicly admit that there’s an issue and that it needs addressing.
Intuitively, it makes complete sense. Those of you who visited during the phased reopening after FastPass+ had been suspended but before Genie+ rolled out likely saw usage of the FastPass queues. We certainly did! It started out occurring fairly infrequently, and increased (not so coincidentally) as crowds and wait times went up.
There were plausible explanations aside from DAS use. Club 33 members, Golden Oak residents, and other VIPs all had some degree of access to the FastPass lines. However, there were maybe 200 guests fitting the above profile in any park at any given time. They represented a small fraction of all FastPass users–probably a low single-digit number on most days.
As noted above, use of the FastPass lines started slow and got progressively busier during the phased reopening. This makes sense, as there’s a greater incentive to use a line-skipping service when there’s a longer line. If a posted wait time is 15 minutes, even those with the ability or privilege to skip might simply opt for standby. If that same attraction has a 60 minute posted wait time, it’s a very different story.
It doesn’t require a vivid imagination to game out how much worse that might become if a paid line-skipping service is introduced, replacing what was once free and causing standby lines to come to a crawl at times as guests are pulled (very) disproportionately from the Lightning Lane.
Not only would there be more of an incentive to (properly) use the Lightning Lane, but there’d be more of an incentive to abuse it. This occurred even when there was a free FastPass+ option; DAS was a way to skip the lines more often and not be so constrained by “only” having 3 selections.
None of this is speculative. During a DAS lawsuit a few years ago, Disney revealed in testimony and discovery that users of its disability passes experience several more attractions over the course of a day on average as compared to non-users.
The company argued that any expansion of the current system would cause wait times to explode, with Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (for example) increasing by 39 minutes from an average wait time of 69 minutes to 108 minutes. Disney has now prevailed in several such lawsuits.
Now, regular line-skipping costs money but there’s an alternative that’s still free. Again, it doesn’t require much imagination to envision a scenario where some guests justifying abusing the system to themselves. “I’m just taking what Walt Disney World used to offer for free and still should.” “Everyone does it, I’m just leveling the playing field.” “I spend a lot of money and have always been loyal to Disney, it’s the least they can do.” And so on, and so on.
In fact, you can still see this play out in the parks. If you attend Extended Evening Hours, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, or other events outside standard operating hours when Genie+ is not offered, you’ll still see people using the Lightning Lanes. In some cases, you will see a lot of people.
Totally anecdotal, but I’ve noticed it more this year–in particular at the busier Extended Evening Hours that I’ve attended. There were a couple of ExEH nights at Magic Kingdom where I saw the overflow Lightning Lane queues in use at Peter Pan’s Flight, Space Mountain, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Again, it’s probably not a coincidence that usage increases as posted wait times increase.
To be abundantly clear, I’m not suggesting that all of even a majority of these people are abusing DAS. I truly have no clue.
What I have heard, though, is that usage of DAS has increased dramatically in the last few years. It’s possible that this is coincidental, and it’s happening because the percentage of disabled guests visiting Walt Disney World has increased. If the comparison were to 2020-2021, I’d believe that. A unique form of pent-up demand would make sense, especially among more vulnerable populations.
But my understanding is that DAS usage is up significantly as compared to 2019. Other explanations are conceivable, but I think they strain credulity. You can likely draw a straight line between Genie+ (and then higher prices for Genie+) and a rise in use for DAS as the free “alternative” to it.
Now that we’ve established that DAS abuse is almost certainly occurring (again, along with plenty of completely proper use!) what’s Walt Disney World to do about it? Well, this crackdown on third-party tour groups is one step. It’s only a first step, and a small one at that. These tour groups are incredibly small scale, and it’s hard to conceive of them accounting for more than a low single-digit percentage of all abuse.
Most of it is likely happening among individuals–and that’s more difficult to police without running afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Ironically enough, changing DAS is also its own powder keg, and a potential lightning rod for controversy. There are a lot of people with a vested interest in DAS, including both the legit users and the abusers.
You might be inclined to think that legitimate users would want to see DAS crackdowns occur. Many of them probably do. But it’s not quite so simple. For one thing, any change brings with it uncertainty until it has been implemented, and many of the families who need DAS most also (very understandably!) crave consistency and stability.
Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t. Which is to say that change can be intimidating and unsettling; many rightful DAS users might prefer keeping the stable but imperfect product rather than rolling the dice on a replacement. I can certainly empathize with that perspective.
Compounding matters is the small but vocal minority of abusers who would complain in bad faith and muddy the waters of any discourse around DAS changes. Knowing that their loophole would be closed, some of these individuals would have a strong incentive to voice outrage, even if it’s baseless and insincere.
Bad faith outrage around DAS might sound shocking…if you haven’t lived through the last several years of social media, in which case, it would be more surprising if this didn’t happen. Either way, it complicates matters and makes an explosive issue even more fraught for Walt Disney World.
Walt Disney World knows this, which is likely why there has been minimal movement on DAS abuse, aside from indirect acts like banning third-party tour guides. This won’t be enough, though. Something’s gotta give–just like it was too big to ignore back when the change was made from GAC to DAS, the same will soon be true. Perhaps they’re starting with low-hanging fruit like tour guides and waiting for an individual system until the new system that allows for the advance booking of Lightning Lanes at some point in 2024.
I’m somewhat surprised that Walt Disney World hasn’t used the protective veil of a theme park association to make industry wide changes. Sort of like how the California Attractions and Parks Association was the face of pushing for reopening a few years ago, which allowed Disneyland to mostly avoid controversy. (Well, to the extent they wanted. Disney still issued some sharp statements, but some of those were very justified.)
Frankly, I don’t know why Disney doesn’t use TEA or some organization like that for creating uniform standards and protocol for any potentially sticky issue. It’d be suitable for everything from security checkpoints to smoking rules, and would give Disney plausible deniability as to their involvement in the crafting of such rules. When it comes to ADA accommodations, standardization could also streamline things for those guests with actual disabilities by outsourcing the process. It wouldn’t just be about sidestepping controversy–it could truly make visiting easier for those with disabilities. Win-win!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Thoughts on Walt Disney World cracking down on DAS abuse? If you’ve used Disability Access Service at Walt Disney World, what do you think of the experience? Have you noticed high Lightning Lane usage at times when Genie+ was not being offered? Please feel free to share your personal anecdotes about DAS and other thoughts in the comments below! Just be sure to err on the side of kindness and empathy and don’t engage in personal attacks, antagonism, or trolling. Comments that cross any lines will be deleted.
I already replied, but felt I should share our recent experience. Life is not maybe as easy as the parent of a child with down syndrome and a second child who is autistic. I certainly get why people hate that we skip some lines. The reality is we spend most of that time sitting in various places or just not being in the stress of a long line. I’ll also say Disney is one of the few places my family has ever encountered where my daughter is lifted up as a child with downs. Characters are patient with her. Other people tire of her chattiness. When we visit Disney a tiny bit of weight is lifted off us. The reason we love going so much is that she is welcomed with open arms. We are flying back home from a trip to Kennedy space center, universal and Disney. Kennedy is frustrating because she is othered. It is a pain to get accommodations or they see her and she’s smiling and brimming with energy but don’t get that she really struggles with certain structures and the way things are done. Universal was frustrating because it seemed that none of their employees received training. Nobody offered help or assistance. I had to constantly pull out a card to prove that she had a stroller pass. We would get in a ride line and they would say…nope she has to wait in it, then at the end of the line they would say she’s eligible for an escort. So often at universal you use back doors, or unthemed areas. That almost never happens at Disney. She is celebrated. So yea I agree people abuse DAS. But kids and adults who truly have a special need deserve a place where they should feel loved and lofted up. Other than the children’s hospitals…
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this matter. It’s clear that you’ve given it a lot of thought. You’re right, the issue of accessibility at theme parks like Disney is a complex one that requires a delicate balance. The Disability Access Service (DAS) pass system is indeed a generous policy, but as you pointed out, it can be open to exploitation.
The idea of requiring documentation of accessibility need, similar to what Universal and Six Flags do, could be a potential solution. It’s interesting to note that the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES) process does not violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which could make it a viable option.
Your insights highlight the importance of fairness and practicality in addition to accessibility. Hopefully, theme parks will continue to refine their systems to better serve all guests. It’s a challenging issue, but with thoughtful discussion and careful planning, improvements can be made. Thank you again for your thoughtful input on this matter. It’s always good to have these discussions.
I have no issue with DAS for those who truly need it. The problem is that those who don’t are clogging up the queues and increasing waits for the rest of us, and that’s not fair. I think most people have no problem allowing someone with a disability to go in front of them, etc. But people who are just abusing the system, that’s a whole different story and I hope they do crack down on it.
I wish Disney would ask for some
Kind of proof ! Universal recently now uses a third party that you send disability documentarian to and get a card to bring with you to universal. Disney can do this too.
We come with my autistic son and he needs this service so much. I am willing to show whatever proof we need. Even if someone doesn’t have a official disability, a letter from their doctor why they can’t wait in line (Disney Paris does this too)
The abuse of the accessibility line is DISGUSTING! My family and I took my little brother who has non-verbal autism to the park for the first time this summer. Many people do not realize that children and adults that suffer from autism (especially non-verbal) do not understand the concept of waiting or being patient. I thought it was so terribly that the DAS lanes at every single ride were nothing shorter than a half hour long wait. My brother had multiple melt downs and it made it much harder for all of us to have a better experience. This needs to be changed immediately and if not people need to wake up and realize that those “lightning lanes” are supposed to be for people who have REAL disabilities.
Totally get this ! My son with autism is also like this in lines. That being said however, the lightning lanes are for paying Disney customers as well not just disability users. These lines depend on park crowd levels and how many have bought genie +
i think while there is some abuse, there are also a lot more legitimately disabled Americans that qualify for DAS than ever before. If you look at the rates for autism (3%), ptsd (7%) and ibs (15% of Americans) you start to see it add up. If all of these guests realize (due to awareness from TikTok etc) that they do in fact qualify for something free that is significantly better than the paid version, then they are going to use it. Yes I do think there are liars/abusers but I think you’d be surprised at the number of park guests that do truly qualify. Disney has become known as a safe and happy place for families who need these services and as more people in that category visit and recommend it, every year a higher percentage of guests will actually qualify for DAS. What no one wants to talk about is that Genie+ is an awful product. If I could pay $29/day for a DAS service (or more, consider how much express is at universal) I would. My son unfortunately does have a qualifying illness, although we don’t always use DAS. I’m okay buying Genie. But for my son (and I’m sure others) Genie is really difficult bc the return times are so random. I think the more people who technically qualify try to get by on Genie the more they realize it’s so hard, and give up, and go ask for DAS just to get through the day. We are that family that pays for what we can to make things easier, but there is no paid product other than a VIP tour that you can buy at Disney to help you, other than DAS. I hate that some people abuse it; and that tour guides abuse it is worse. Think of all the guests who could use an extra hand with the kids, to help with the app, help with lunch, etc and can’t afford $9000 a day. That’s where the non-abusing tour guides came in (I knew a few and they were great ppl). It’s just a tough situation. I’m hoping none of the ppl that were just using their Disney skills to help bewildered families navigate the parks got caught up in the bans. I mean, Nannie’s are still allowed. Right??
I’m Autistic with sensory processing disorders and ADHD, and like a LOT of neurodivergent people, I have a number of other comorbidities: generalized anxiety disorder, migraines, irritable bowel syndrome, problems with temperature regulation, C-PTSD, and a hypermobility disorder that has brought me decades of severe joint pain, among others. But I don’t “look disabled” at all.
Most people who whine about others not “looking” disabled wouldn’t last a day in my body just sitting on the couch, let alone trying to navigate Disney.
Not seeing a disability is so true. Even my closest friends are shocked when I say I have a DAS pass. I’ve chosen not to share why I have PTSD as it was so traumatic and life altering that I cannot talk about it except with therapist. However it’s frustrating because I get Very disapproving looks.
Thank you for this post. Not all disabilities are visible. I have MS and I am in remission. I still have good and bad days. When you look at at me you would not be able to tell I have a disability. I have a shirt that says, ” I will trade my handicap spot with you for my disability.” I’m sure others feel the same. When someone doesn’t have a true disability they do not understand how important a DAS pass can help.
I think the only way to crack down on DAS abuse would for each person to be required to give proof of their disability. If you truly have a disability and you are wanting a Disney DAS pass this should not be an issue for anyone.
I wish you would look into the abuse of Disney Florida annual pass holders of the Canadians who own property here in Florida. I know for a fact of lots of residents who own property here and they are getting by not showing drivers licenses (because they don’t have one here in the United States) and just showing there Deed and getting and Florida discount annual pass. They are cheating the system. Not cool!
Disney allows seasonal residents who own property in Florida to legitimately purchase “Florida Resident” tickets without a drivers license. They specify on the Disney website what documentation is acceptable. Your complaint isn’t with the individuals but with Disney policy.
This isn’t cheating the system. You’re allowed to get a annual pass by having a Florida address…… Disney is aware of this otherwise they would I request Florida driver licence
Thank you for publishing such a data-driven, thoughtful, balanced post. I know firsthand of the DAS-abusive techniques used by third-party tour companies. My boss was boasting about how “easy” it was for his family during a recent WDW trip because they “just skipped all the lines for 10% of the cost of a VIP tour!”. I explained to him – unashamedly in front of several other people – how his tour guide was able to actually make so much “easy” line skipping happen for his group. He didn’t care until I brought up the fact that he was using this at the expense of people who actually need to skip for DAS or paid for LLs and followed the rules. He was basically ruining something that people legitimately need.
I have no idea if I made a dent, but I’m secretly glad I embarrassed him a bit and maybe helped a few other people at the table think twice before taking advantage of the same scheme.
I would be curious to know which company that was. The companies I’ve dealt with do things legitimately and still are able to avoid lines. Lightning lanes and genie plus is Al that is needed.
I would be very happy if Disney went the way of Universal and used the same system. I think part of the uptick and abuse is that Disney had no way of verifying if someone has a disability. In the US, a lot of people are now claiming “I have a disability” but have never been to a doctor to receive any sort of diagnosis. There is a ridiculous amount of self-diagnosis going on, and this has been seen with with uptick in “emotional support animals”, Switching to a third-party verifier would take the burden off of Disney and give it (appropriately) to a group that has been doing this for a while now.
I know in other countries, it can be hard to get a diagnosis. In the US, though, if you have a disability, you would’ve seen a medical professional at some point to get a diagnosis so you can get SSDI. I’m very much of the opinion that if you don’t qualify for SSDI, you most likely don’t have a disability that should get you DAS.
This I have to disagree with. There are plenty of people with ongoing illnesses or disabilities that require Reasonable Accommodation, but who maintain productive careers. The problem is the number of people who are willing to lie that they have an illness, because they know the lie will not be challenged. I would gladly forego DAS, if I could be cancer free.
I totally agree with you, but I also think some of the fault is on Disney here. As a former travel agent, I had a client last year that was giddy with excitement when he found out his daughter in law broke her toe because they could get das. I explained that was a mobility issue and he wouldn’t qualify…..Disney made me look like the liar and gave it to them. I have a hold who legitimately uses DAS for epilepsy and autism. as you said, there’s a need, but a broken toe? enforcement needs to be better and if that means showing documentation, I’m all for it.
As a parent of a young adult with autism and various other developmental/mental issues, we would not have been able to enjoy Disney without utilizing DAS. The problem is that she doesn’t “look” like she has any issues so whenever we do the video interview prior to our park visit, I’m anxious about whether or not she will be approved. We would GLADLY submit documentation attesting to her disabilities- as I’m sure most families would. I believe it’s the only way to cut down on the abuse of the pass – even though there will be individuals who figure out how to bypass that – there are always going to be cheaters. Sad but true
I honestly don’t know how Universal Studios was able to bypass ADA which requires you to have to give proof of disability, but they did. My son has ASD and I gladly filled out paperwork and provided his doctor’s diagnosis letter. It was my son’s first time at HHN and I knew he desperately needed accommodations for this event. It was very easy to complete the application. He was immediately approved and then we had to talk to someone on the phone about a week later to verify everything. I thought it was well worth the extra effort to help weed out people who don’t really deserve a pass.
It seems like they could make first step in getting DAS submitting an online form, to which you could choose to attach any documentation you wished, without requiring documentation. That way, those who have documentation of their disability and who can articulate in writing how it affects them in terms of the parks (I know a lot of people with disabilities, and most (including us) would be happy to attach that) get approved quickly with maybe a fast video chat to get the photo and any ID of the person, to confirm it is the same person whose documentation was submitted, and those who choose not to provide any such documentation of their disability get scrutinized harder. That way, the documentation is not mandatory, but makes the process easier for those who legitimately have a disability and are willing to share proof of such.
I believe that most people using DAS have legitimate reasons, but there are people that abuse the system. I mean we see this everyday in regular life – it’s called the Welfare system. What I don’t understand is Disney’s discrimination between the types of disabilities – physical disabilities must wait in regular lines, but if you have slight anxiety you get a fast-pass. I believe have to stand in line with a physical disability is way harder than a person with two good legs having a little anxiety. I do agree that Disney should adopt the same system that Universal just put into place – that being said, Disney needs to broaden their disability reasons to match that of the Government Disability Rules.
I would also agree that there are even BIGGER issues that Disney should be addressing, such as scooter use and cast member dress code. But the most disheartening and inhumane thing Disney is doing now, is allowing ESA’s into the parks. There is complete abuse on every level of this topic – guests should ONLY be allowed to have Government issued Support Animals in the parks. These poor dogs are walking on extremely hot pavement, burning their litter paws. I rarely see owners providing water to these dogs, and Disney doesn’t accommodate this.
Anyway, Disney has fallen short on many levels in the past few years (Passholder appreciation), and they don’t truly care as long as everyone keeps spending their money there!
What is a “Government Issued Service Animal”? My husband is a 100% permanently disabled Vietnam veteran who trained his own service dog. Rusty has been to all of the parks at WDW as well as the Orlando Universal parks. He is offered water frequently throughout the day and wears shoes when the pavement is hot. Since my husband is his “person” he’s happy to be there doing his job.
Disney does this because someone with purely a mobility issue can sit ina. Wheelchair or scooter. Most people don’t use DAS for “a little anxiety” my son has severe panic attacks in line, crying screaming and getting aggressive where we sometimes have to hold
Him down.
It’s not fair to say it’s easier for someone with another disability. Every disability matters
Just a funny story here. My son when he was about 8 flew off the bus at EPCOT and landed on both knees. It was a bad fall so he was wisked off to the First Aid station. After getting cleaned up and bandaged he was ready to go. But Disney nurses said he needed to be in a wheelchair to limit his walking around. He didn’t want it at first but he started to like it. He was taken right in to every ride, no lines. However I saw both cast members watching us (I think to make sure we didn’t call an attorney) and guests looking at this energetic little boy who jumped out of the chair and onto the rides. We told several cast members that we didn’t need a chair but they insisted. Eventually we just started parking it before we got on a ride and then eventually abandoned it. They were so sweet at Disney but it was embarrassing!
I have 3 disabled, adopted children. One on the spectrum, one with CP, and one with developmental/mental disabilities from early childhood in an orphanage. We have done a lot of Disney vacations because it was something we COULD do, thanks to these modifications. When everyday life is so hard, it is a respite to have something made easier. It has meant the world to us and I hope it doesn’t disappear or get modified too much.
Thank you for this post. Like many other here, I know of many people personally who abuse this system and it literally makes me so sad for those individuals that actually need it. My son is autistic and has sensory issues. He absolutely LOVES Disney and it is a places that truly brings him so much joy! I 100% believe that there should be some sort of verification process to use the DAS. I understand HIPAA and PHI but I truly feel like most people who need the DAS would have no problem at all with giving Disney the documents required to have a better day at the park. Just my own personal thoughts!