Changes to Disney's Disability Passes? What Does That Mean? - Confessions of a Theme Park Worker
Вставка
- Опубліковано 11 кві 2024
- Disney has just announced that they are making changes to their Disability Access Service passes (DAS). What changes are they making? Why? What will it mean for previous users, and to the rest of us in the parks?
A behind the scenes look at what a former worker at Disney World, Silver Dollar City, and Busch Gardens Florida experienced in his time working at the parks. From driving large safari trucks around live wild animals while cracking one silly joke after another, to spending 5 years as a #PhotoPass photographer at #WaltDisneyWorld and seeing and experiencing all sorts of things, to being a conductor and #trainrobber on the famous Frisco Silver Dollar Line at #SilverDollarCity. With 10 years of working in the parks, there's lots of stories to tell. Here is some of them...
Not only did I work in theme parks for 10 years, I've visited a whole lot of them as well. Here's some stories of great visits, not so great visits, favorites, reviews, and much more.
If you would like to support me, you can do so on Patreon, Paypal, or UA-cam memberships
www.paypal.me/SirWillow
/ sirwillow
/ @sirwillow
Fan info:
Website: www.sirwillow.com
Facebook Fan Group: / 196612161053366
My Facebook page: / thesirwillow
Subreddit: / sirwillow
Discord: / discord
IdeaBoard ideaboardz.com/for/Sir%20Will...
Where I've been so far (ScribbleMap) www.scribblemaps.com/maps/view...
T-shirts, hats, and more available in my merch store!!
shop.spreadshirt.com/SirWillow
Send me stuff! I love mail!
SirWillow
c/o George Burnash
PO Box 1720
Forsyth, MO 65653
The Amazon Wish List www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls...
My Gear is listed on my Amazon Affiliates store. Using this link to shop will help support me.
amzn.to/44TnbBA
sound recorded in Audacity
editing Vegas Movie Studio Platinum
Be sure to check out these awesome channels from my patrons
Hollywood Studios HQ: hollywoodstudioshq.com/
Crazy Chill SB (spina bifida) Vlogs: / @spoonieette
Huge thanks to Steve Williams for the logo. For more info on using his graphic design services, please contact me.
Special Thanks to my Patrons for their ongoing support!!
Special thanks to Anna Simpson for the Park Tales intro and Daniel Higgins (Goofy809) for the outro. Copyright and TM issues have been cleared through Joanne Choi of Disney legal and fall under parody/ satire provisions of law.
When I took my mother, nephew and niece to WDW for Christmas week, I got my 82-year-old mother a motorized three-wheel scooter and we went to do the rides. We never asked for special treatment. But attendants always told us come to a separate line that essentially had us jump the line but it was essentially a handicap lane. You were almost always hidden from view, which was great as it didn't cause any embarrassment. If the ride was a always-moving ride, they would actually stop the line so my mom could get on and off so she wouldn't fall. I cannot tell you how much I loved Disney for this!😊
It was the last vacation trip she went on before dying.😢
Some of the abusers will cry foul and loudly proclaim "We'll just take our business elsewhere!"
To that I say "Bye, Felicia."
My wife had cancer, beat it, God bless her, but had her lymph nodes removed which screwed up her legs. We used DAS once year, and not a lot, once was on Slinky Dog and we had to wait an hour or so to return. The same amount of time we would have spent in line. The next time we went to WDW they were being sued and the program was discontinued. I hope they don't make this another Disney pain when we return next year. It will certainly be interesting. In any event, we did not find it a "hack" to avoid the lines as you had to wait the length of time anyway.
Overall I like the change, but my concern is that there seems to be no appeal system for that ban hammer. Nor is there any explanation on what it would take to be considered cheating. The problem with many disabilities is that they aren't always super visible, that doesn't make them any less valid. As you pointed out, the cast members had no training in how to identify disabilities. Who is deciding that someone lied? If some random cast member decides someone lied about their DAS application is there a way to appeal the lifetime ban?
I'm very concerned that people with real disabilities might end up banned because someone decided they lied.
I love theme parks, but I'm also autistic. This is not always a fun combination. I use the disability pass for every park we go to because it makes our trips that much easier. My family and I do not mind waiting the wait time, but it hard for me to wait in the physical line. We usually just end up eating and chilling away from people, which helps make the day go by much better. I hope this crackdown will help Disney be able to keep helping the right people.
As someone with CP and anxiety, this could make any Disney trip more challenging. However, I agree with the need for extra steps to eliminate abusers of the system. I wish public health would do something similar to stop abusers.
According to what I read, this now is only for people with developmental disabilities, which is restricted in California (per the Lantern Act) to Mental Retardation, Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, and Autism. There are other conditions however that truly need the assistance so it is a mixed thing. Yes indeed it has been abused greatly. Maybe there are a few conditions that should be included that can't be defined as developmental in nature. Thanks for the video!
There's been a lot of hand wringing over the issue. I think that until the program actually rolls out, it's going to be hard to really know what's going to happen. Personally, I'm autistic and for me personally, standing around in the heat is a massive problem, but it's one that's easily solved by just not going to these resorts during the summer. I throw in some ear plugs and put on some sunglasses and that covers most of the worst of it. But, I'm well aware that that makes me one of the lucky folks as many aren't so lucky.
I'm personally waiting to see how they're handling this, especially the bans for folks that are caught lying. Many autistic people, especially those over the age of 30 don't have a diagnosis because how we present wasn't diagnosable when we were in school.
I'm taking the wait and see approach also but i think autism can and has been easily faked and i don't anticipate that stopping. The people who abused it on the past will suddenly have a autistic member and the people who truly need it won't be eligible.
As always the people scamming the system will ruin it for everyone
We use the DAS pass because my sister is a little more autistic than me. We have a genetic disorder that is on the autism spectrum.
Fortunately, we have never used it ourselves. But we often looked at those lines and wondered why some did (now you don't see all the reasons), but I certainly also heard people who had such a pass for something small. And they now make it more difficult for the people who really need it. This is not only in amusement parks, but in many other locations.
Love your videos, Sir Willow
George. We had the das pass on our last trip. We still had to pay for the new rides. There are rides that das pass does not work on. Like guardians of the galaxy in Epcot.
Thanks for the clarification/ correction on that. :-)
You can use DAS on Guardians/TRON but still need a virtual queue for it, just talk to one of the rider swap cast members once your VQ is called and they’ll help you out.
The problem is it is going to leave a lot of people who do need it out of being able to use it. For example, there has been no mention of how issues like those with PTSD that have panic attacks in a crowded queue that aren't developmental disabilities, but still truly need a DAS or similar accommodations.
The problem is that once someone cries "PTSD" as a disability (with no proof from a clinical physician), EVERYBODY "has PTSD" when standing in a line at Disneyland. Understand the problem?? If a "crowded line" gives you crippling disability, the park itself will also be crowded. The line is no different than the park. Enough of ANYONE and EVERYONE "self-diagnosing" themselves to get special privileges.
As someone who has a real disability, and is on full social security disability I was shocked when I went to Disney with a friend, and they got a DAS pass for her husband who they told Disney had PTSD! I was around them a good bit, and he never had signs of it or a reason to have it. They were cheating their way through a lot of things. I am longer friends with them. It’s crazy how dishonest people can be!
I'd wait until the actual policy is rolled out, I doubt that there's going to be no provisions for other types of disabilities that prevent folks from waiting in lines.
@@vicdog4440 The difference is that if you are in a crowded line you are stuck in the line. If you are in crowds in the general park, you can always walk a short ways to get away from the pressing crowds and not be shoulder-to-shoulder.
The difference here is that you dont want to pay to be able to not stand in the line. You can get Genie+ or Individual Lightening Lane and not have to worry about any of it.
Love yurrr content 😌
I want to say "Thank You!" for this video. I, like you, have some disabilities like heart issues and nerve damage in my foot. I would never think about using DAS. This topic has interested me and I have watched many videos on it and you did a fantastic job THOUROUGHLY explaining everything. A lot of the videos convieniently leave stuff out.
Last year I was issued the DAS pass for social anxiety and PTSD. I am autistic but function pretty well on my own. I had a stroke a few years back so it’s not really the best thing for me to be standing in lines in one place too long,then I can’t walk very well, I really appreciate the pass because I knew a cast member would watch out for me if I had a problem. Last year someone yelling caused me to have an anxiety attack. A cast member helped me out. Maybe Disney could give us a lower fee for fast pass or free for the person and a reasonable flat rate for family members. I would gladly just be there even if I couldn’t go on any of the attractions. I can’t deal with the long noisy sometimes rowdy wait times. Also I wish they would have more easy to find cool places to chill out where I don’t feel embarrassed
It's been many years since I visited Disneyland. The past couple of years, I have developed what I would call mobility issues, making it painful to walk long distances and to stand for a length of time. I recently checked out what Disney parks has available to help with this. I have decided that I would rent a scooter for the day. If I can use my scooter to sit while I wait in the general line, I am good with that, as I don't feel that I need more accommodation. I work with people who experience developmental disabilities and, you are correct that many folks on the autism spectrum would benefit from the shorter wait. It makes me angry that some perfectly abled cheaters have ruined it for those who really need the help. Having to go through a medical assessment is a loss of privacy. And I, frankly, think my privacy is more valuable than a shorter line for free.
I am worried about those who will pay a doctor just to write a note who aren’t disabled to cheat the system and there’s no way of truly knowing.
Yes, not hard to do.
Taking the girlfriend for the first time to Disneyland at the end of August. She has a long list of medical problems we are hoping to still get das to help and hopefully make her first trip special.
My family mostly consists of those with just mobility issues. We're fine waiting in line, but I am curious if DAS is required to use the wheelchair accessible vehicles, on some rides like Jungle Cruise, for example.
Not at all. If you're confined to a chair, then they'll make those vehicles available to you. When I used a scooter at the parks I was routinely asked if I was able to transfer or if I wanted to stay in the chair to get on the ride.
@SirWillow Tysm!
30-50% disabled is a sad fall of humanity in this country. Something is in the food
I have an issue with one thing having to pay my doctor for note .. I would rather print out my Epic doctors visit with my diagnosis and it sucks if an annual passholder you have to one see the doctor and pay especially if your have an auto immune disease. Or if you’re in a wheelchair or have pots your diagnosis and disabilities isn’t gonna change.
You only need a doctor’s note for universal studios, not Disney.
This is like what Universal did but still not as intense as Universal. My oldest and youngest are both autistic so I get passes for them and it is a little bit of a pain to get but shouldn't be too bad. I hope they are good about going above the four since we are a family of six and six was the total allowed before not 8.
Realistically I don’t know if this will affect me because flying 6-8 hours and affording disney is very much not possible for me in the forseeable future but the fact that the new guidlines say its only for developmental disabilities and not physical worries me. I would have to be through the queue and ride within max 40 mins (more realistically 30 mins to be safe) and that wouldn't be possible on most rides using the normal queue. It'll be interesting to see how it all works out. If people that need it can still get it and those who don't can't and 'fakers' are punished then hopefully it'll be a good thing, an extra step isn't a bad thing.
Here in the UK the themeparks and many other attractions require you to have an Access Card (for free carer tickets and virtual lines)- to qualify for it you have to fill in forms and there's specific forms of accepted proof you have to provide with option that cover all disabilities. If it ends up similar to that then hopefully nothing will go too wrong
As of now, my disability doesn't make it so I would require a DAS Pass. However, I think the system would be streamlined if you had to provide documentation from a licensed health professional stating your diagnosis and why you'd need the pass. While having a zoom call with a health care provider sounds like a good idea, it creates something "more" for that person with a disability (or their parent/caregiver) to have to worry about before their trip. Also, it doesn't make much sense to me as to why you can only be in one line queue at a time? Hopefully the return times would be less than a hour (thinking about how the old fastness system was, as DAS seems like a modified version of that)
I'm honestly quite scared I won't qualify, but we wouldn't have booked a trip if it wasn't for DAS :/ it's a bit upsetting and I hope I will qualify. It's for our honeymoon in October/November and we booked it over a year in advance.
Okay, what about those with Hidden Disabilities? They should do a lanyard system(sunflower) Pretty much similar to that of what the Airports are using now.
My Experience with DAS before all these changes were great Expect when I rode Frozen at Epcot. They showed me how to do it. I can do it...but, I'm not In a wheelchair. I have balance & somewhat of a visual issue. Had the hardest time explaining that to the Cast Members. I can do steps. But, the lighting in the loading/unloading is what got Me. It was really lit up enough much like Small World for Example (which I can do.) I'm pretty good at the Moving sidewalk/track on the other rides. This one was different. And so, next time I'll stick with the meet & greet at Epcot.
problem with that is anyone can buy a lanyard... my uncle has a sunflower lanyard despite having zero disabilities, he odes it to try and get free entrances at places, and often it works. this is the whole reason places are rightfully clamping down.
I have autism and generally have used it for many years now. however the abuse people are doing toward it hurts so much. I get Genie+ is a pain in the ass for many and it’s paid but still. People should NOT use it if they don’t need it, unlike me.
You need a theme song for your bloopers section ... in part for those of us who are only listening to know what we are about to hear are bloopers. 😉
How can there be lawsuits? WED is a private company and is entitled to do as it wishes.
Yeah, people try this Hershey park as well.
I won't be back there I promise you I actually had an epileptic seizure on the Haunted Mansion when one of the cast members put me and I stand by line so about the time I was in my right vehicle I started seizing
I think this will affect me personally because it’s gonna make a little hard of me to go see a doctor to write a note without having to pay for it. I have had alpha team called numerous times because of my disability. I think has a file me as is. It’s bad enough when security leaders ask how your felling today lol
If all it means is have to do is upload my VA file, along with my providers diagnosis from my combat PTSD then great. I have been thankful for the opportunity to use DAS in the past at DW. I understand this is a privilege not a right and DW is just trying to help everyone have a magical time in there own way.
Das abuse was rampant for at least 20 years. It needed to be changed completely. Hate to say it if you had to pay for it then it would have not been abused just being honest here.
I used it once I have autism and can’t stand in long lines that long
I think if your on SS Disability, there shouldn't be a problem gettg DAS. All these people can provide proof of Disability. But no doubt there should be a base by case basis. And banning lairs is a great idea.
I have primary progressive muscle sclerosis, I’m unable to walk and I have bladder issues as well as my cognitive memory which is really bad. How does it effect me?
We also have people faking and lying about disabilities. That is the problem! It's sick.
I doubt I’ll ever get to go to Disney anyway for financial reasons but I have skin lupus. I can’t be in the sun for long due to meds I’m on, I break out in a terrible rash. I’d have to wear tons of sunscreen and maybe UPF clothing. That said, a health professional can’t see a breakout that hasn’t happened yet. What do I do, get a doctor’s note?
It really depends. If the Inspire health rep deems it a disability than you will qualify but from interpretation of the new rules, it's only mental. So most of us are kind of out.
I have one trip left in Sept and may be my last. I def won't qualify das under the new rules.
Majority of line ques are not in the sun. Under the new rules you could talk to the cast member outside the attraction and work out a solution for the few rides with exposed lines. This could include joining your party in the line once they are past the sunny sections.
How will HIPPA affect there new regulations?
I’m autistic, but I don’t act like the stereotype. I have problems with freezing up in long lines and having panic attacks and sometimes even small meltdowns. I literally can’t stand in a long line for even 2 minutes without completely freaking out. But I am very scared that they’re not going to believe me cause I’m nothing like the stereotype.
Im very nervous about these changes as someone who has legitimately utilized DAS in the past. I love Disney but I have multiple conditions which make the parks harder to tolerate. I would probably still qualify for DAS due to my autism, but as an female presenting adult i fear i wont be taken seriously because i mask so well.
Additionally, the phrasing of "developmental disabilities" being what may qualify covers some individuals disabilities, but doesnt take into account those with physical conditions which cant just be taken care of by utilizing a wheelchair or scooter in the park.
I think its good theyre trying to do something about the abuse of the system, but am worried many people who do need it are going to be unfairly discriminated against if they cant present their case "just right"
If you can get paperwork from your clinical physician, you should have no problem qualifying.
@@vicdog4440 That's a massive problem when it comes to autism in particular. There's a massive number of folks in our 30s and up that weren't ever evaluated under the more modern understanding of developmental disability. The condition didn't become so much more common in the last couple decades, it just became more common to be diagnosed. There's been just as many autistic people over the centuries, it's just that there's now more of an understanding of what we're like and more effort to target help. But, a good chunk of us missed the boat by being born too early.
@@SmallSpoonBrigade , Physicians didn't disappear off the face of the Earth in some kind of rapture, did they???
If you feel you need a disability pass at these places, you should have absolutely NO PROBLEM going to get OFFICIALLY diagnosed by a certified physician.
EVERYBODY has issues, we're human. I have bad knees, a bad back, anxiety, and many foods give me "cramps and the runs" as many like to describe their self-diagnosed bathroom issues.
But I dont feel like it's any different than 90% of other adults, nor do I feel I should pack the fast-lanes because I'm human with common issues.
Leave the DISABILITY service to ACTUALLY officially diagnosed and recognized disabilities, instead of EVERYBODY and their dog "self-diagnosing" themselves with disabilities!
If you don't need DAS, you should get down on your knees and thank God that you don't. And while you're down there, pray for the people who do need it.
Nothing fraudulent with me I was born with disabilities on my left side and having seizure
I have no problem using my disability letter like I used for IBCESS. I’m hoping Disney or the new Health Alliance will accept such documentation. I have a rare liver disorder, and have really benefited from DAS.
I have IBCESS card for my kid. They do ask intrusive questions, but glad I did it.
But that’s the thing we DONT skip the lines. We wait our turns outside the lines! That why people abuse DAS because they think they are “skipping” the lines
Their new protocol violates the ADA act
No it doesn't. The ADA act protects people with DISABILITIES. Not anyone and everyone who self-diagnosed themselves as "hyper-color sensitive" because someone on Tik-Tok told them to, to get special privileges.
If you can get paperwork from a clinical professional for your LEGITIMATE disability, this isn't an issue. All other fakers can wait in line along with the rest of us who have a line of conditions otherwise known as LIFE.
We'll see, I doubt that what we know about it now is the full policy that they'll put int place for that very reason. The biggest issue is dealing with neurodevelopmental disorders that are harder to diagnose and when diagnosed can be harder for 3rd parties to verify.
No it doesn't. The ADA act protects Americans with certified diagnosed disabilities. Not "self-diagnosed" hyper-color sensitivity or Hangryness from lack of coffee.
How?
@@vicdog4440the self diagnosed people are a definite issue.
So I had the das pass on my last trip to dw. I have severe adhd. The head psychologist (who also has adhd), at the hospital diagnosed it. One of the problems adhd brings is I can’t wait in long lines. The adhd kicks in and makes it really hard if not impossible to wait in long lines, so much so that my brain will not allow it. ADHD is also seen as a form of autism now.
ADHD is not considered to be a form of autism. Not even close.
What you are getting charged for dictionary time around makes me want to throw up