DAS for RA

[eeyoreandtink]

I think the OP is so emotional over this she isn’t hearing anything other than she can’t do the trip the way she wants to. I get it, I’ve been there with other things.

Disney World is not the same destination it was 20 years ago. It is constantly crowded and there are few places to sit. There are so many people visiting with such a variety of disabilities that they have had to come up with policies that follow accessibility laws without impacting operations.

I think you are right. I was VERY resistant to the ECV the first time I had to use it. I had zero choice in the matter though because i was injured 4 weeks before a planned trip and couldn't walk more than across a lobby without needing to sit. I knew going in how big Disney is and that I could never function without an ECV.

Fast forward 16 months and I am much better. It was a tough journey and hard fought, but I no longer need assistance in my daily life. I am however renting and ECV for Disney because I know I cannot walk the distances required or stand in line for more than about 30 min. My back just wont take it. It stings a little to know I still need it but I don't want my pride to limit what my family can do.

 

[LuvOrlando]

You're welcome to be upset, or outraged, or any other emotion. I'm not sure where you're getting any idea that the policy will change, ever. DAS plus mobility aids plus FastPass seem to work, and have for several years.

Nobody is saying you or anyone has to use a scooter. As for the "spend thousands" comment - why? Ask questions here. Read the FAQs (WDW in general, especially). Plan ahead.

I'm completely confused now you think a mobility device won't help you enjoy the parks, but a DAS which requires getting the return time, going somewhere else (doing or not doing other things), returning to the attraction and still having to wait in the FP line, would better alleviate physical discomfort.

It's ok you are confused, I go to the best hospital in the country to have very smart people help me so I'm not surprised a regular person is confused. At no point has anyone ever suggested I use a chair, even at my worst when it takes 10 minutes to get across a room from the pain, not even then has anyone even said to use a chair, I am encouraged to move as much as I can and rest as much as I need. This is what my Dr's and I think are in my best interest, no regular everyday people need to agree with it at all and that is precisely what disabled people are being subjected to by having some random vote on what is best for me in line with a ton of other people at a park. It isn't reasonable to think that even have a clue

 

[LuvOrlando]

This.

This is the hardest thing for folks to accept, believe it or not - how much different Disney World is now. And the people who have never visited are *always* shocked at how busy/crowded it was... because in the COMMERCIALS ON TV there's no crowds! Your children can dance in front of the Castle all by themselves, and run right up to Cinderella for a hug! Mickey is everywhere, and the sun is always shining!

So, we have this unrealistic set of expectations - whether it's someone who hasn't been for 20 years, or someone who has never been. It's *not* going to be like the commercials. It *is* going to be crowded, and hot, and humid and there will never be a place to sit when you need one. You will stand in line for EVERYTHING, and no matter how perfectly you plan your vacation, *something* will happen that will be outside your control and things won't go the way you want them to. (The remedy for that is to grab a Mickey Bar and a spot in the shade, and chill out - literally & figuratively)

Welcome to Disney World today. You can still have fun - you can still find the Magic. I know - because I was just there, with my personal mobility device, and my family, and (what seems like) about a million other people! Just go with a realistic set of expectations, and the mindset that you are at *Disney World* - the place where thousands and thousands of people want to be, every day!

Thats not the point, the point is I am supposed to be accommodated in a reasonable way and having this process that is selectively granted to some but not me, that I is worded in a way to single me out to is not accommodating me. Its not like it doesn't exist so there is some degree of recognition some issues deserve this accommodation, it's just that somewhere a deliberate choice was made to exclude certain people and plainly, I am one of them.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I've already made a comment, but it sounds like you want to go back to not having to wait in a line, at all. You are free to ask for a DAS, we are saying it doesn't mean you qualify.

I've used an ecv since my travel companion was 6 years old. We traveled by ourselves, and honestly that was hard! I still remember going to the front desk in tears, saying you had no problem taking my money, but you never told me how hard this was going to b e! But Disney helped even at the hotel, there was a "runner housekeeper" named Linda. She showed the 6 year old how to properly use the phone to call for help, how to lock the door securely and for some reason, we would seem to "always" pass her in the resort (near our rooms).

It's your choice not to use a mobility device, but it sure makes travel at Disney easier. Does it handle all issues, absolutely not. I have RA in my wrists that I even have trouble holding utensils to eat with. My wrists have become totally useless making it nearly impossible to drive a scooter. My daughter has helped by walking on the side of the scooter and actually powering it. When getting on and off the bus, the drive r or her do all the work. (I purchased special silverware to accommodate my needs and bring to Disney). I can't sit too long, my knees lock. I know when I need to "stretch" and do so.

Since there aren't many benches to sit, a mobility device is recommended. Yes, it's an additional expense, but it's automatically get s added as "we need to budget for room, tickets, food, flight and one scoot er!

I thoroughly enjoy our trips to Disney. We don't talk about how hard it will be. We focus more on creating as many magical, life time memories that we can, while we can.

If you are still following along, I sincerely hope you consider continuing to make memories with your family!! It truly is ok.

No, I know there are lines. I am ok with some, I am not ok with being excluded from an accommodation that does exist, just not for me due to a policy that seems designed to exclude me.

 

[maxiesmom]

Thats not the point, the point is I am supposed to be accommodated in a reasonable way and having this process that is selectively granted to some but not me, that I is worded in a way to single me out to is not accommodating me. Its not like it doesn't exist so there is some degree of recognition some issues deserve this accommodation, it's just that somewhere a deliberate choice was made to exclude certain people and plainly, I am one of them.

You are not being excluded. You simply need to be able to tell Disney how the DAS would help you.

What you seem to be missing is that the DAS will only give you a different place to wait for the ride. You will still have to go thru the Fast Pass line at some point in order to board, and even those lines can be long. That is the only accommodation Disney makes, the skip the line go to the front thing does not exist.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

It's ok you are confused, I go to the best hospital in the country to have very smart people help me so I'm not surprised a regular person is confused. At no point has anyone ever suggested I use a chair, even at my worst when it takes 10 minutes to get across a room from the pain, not even then has anyone even said to use a chair, I am encouraged to move as much as I can and rest as much as I need. This is what my Dr's and I think are in my best interest, no regular everyday people need to agree with it at all and that is precisely what disabled people are being subjected to by having some random vote on what is best for me in line with a ton of other people at a park. It isn't reasonable to think that even have a clue

has your doctor been since Disney removed a lot of benches? how would you find a place to rest without benches? not doubting you just asking a question. Disney parks are huge with very few places to sit and rest esp while waiting for transportation. I would ask your doctor what you should do if there is no place to sit and rest what would he have you do. I have done the walk and push a wheelchair granted different reason so I could have a place to sit and rest as I needed. and that included ride lines. if you have as much trouble walking how would you mange a trip to the store if were having a bad day if you had no choice but to go? again just asking

 

[LuvOrlando]

Its not ok to have a policy designed to single out one group for anything ever and no argument on earth is going to make this ok, I can't even believe people are trying to advocate for it especially since accommodating physical handicap was once the actual reason any of the accommodations even exist. This is an issue where a preexisting policy was ended to exclude the very group it was intended to help.

Also I think it's short sited of the company to miss that people like me are moving into the realm where buying DVC for our growing families is a thing we would like to do as our kids have families of their own. The papers are full of the limitations on this younger generation - if my age group doesn't foot the bill who will, and why exactly would someone like me buy? I won't even go until the policy changes never mind sent up a recurring stress. The whole policy seems badly thought out

 

[OurBigTrip]

The OP still hasn’t said how she thinks the DAS would help her, just says she wants it.

 

[redberyl]

The biggest problem i see for you with DAS is that having a DAS will require you to walk more. You have to walk to the ride to get the return time, then walk away to go find something else to do while you wait for your return time (and as others have said, there arent benches anymore so sitting to rest while you wait isnt an option) and then you have to walk back to the ride and walk through the fastpass line. We use both das and wheelchair for my daughter. As the person pushing the wheelchair, i can tell you that using DAS adds sooooo many extra steps. You can ask at disney for the DAS, but even if you get it, it wont help you as much as getting a wheelchair or scooter will.

 

[DisneyOma]

The DAS will not help you get from the bus stop or the parking lot to the front of the parks, or the wait in the queues to get in, or get you the 4-6 miles you will have to walk to get around the parks. How are you going to manage all that without a mobility device?

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Its not ok to have a policy designed to single out one group for anything ever and no argument on earth is going to make this ok, I can't even believe people are trying to advocate for it especially since accommodating physical handicap was once the actual reason any of the accommodations even exist. This is an issue where a preexisting policy was ended to exclude the very group it was intended to help.

Huh? They aren't singling out any one group. They are tailoring the accommodations to the needs. As mentioned by @redberyl, the DAS increases the amount of walking, and it will not help at all with anything outside the attraction lines. That won't help your situation. What will help your situation is a mobility device. If you can have bad days where it takes 10 minutes to walk across a room, then how do you think you will walk 6-8 miles a day in a theme park? Or increase that amount of walking by demanding an accomoodation that will necessitate backtracking to get return times? You are thinking about this emotionally rather than logically.

If you don't want an ECV or wheelchair, then try a rollator. But the DAS is not designed to help your situation and will make it worse.

 

[SteveMouse]

Disney is not “singling you out.” A matrix of accommodations is available, based on your needs (not wants), and not every possible solution needs to be provided for every problem type.

The overall purpose is to treat all people equally (both disabled and non-disabled) with respect to wait times for

1. If you physically cannot stand in line due to a physical limitation or endurance issue, a wheelchair/ECV/rollator is the provided tool.
2. If you can cannot wait in line for other reasons (behavioral or biological) the DAS may be utilized.
3. if the same individual has needs from both 1 and 2, they may receive the DAS.


It sounds like the OP has conditions that align with option 2.

 

[gap2368]

OP I think you have it wrong the DAS is not like the old pass that had stamped on it. would you be asking for a DAS if they told you to go wait in a room with nowhere to sit? I think you would need a place to sit this is way Disney is telling you to rent your own set. It sounds like you have not been to Disney for a number of years and they have been taking away place to sit left and right no one is telling you that you have to sit in whatever you get all the time. It sounds like a wheelchair or roller that you push so that you are walking as much as you can and then have a place to sit when need be. You say at the worst it takes you 10 minutes to get across a room what will you do at Disney if you start to feel bad ( and trust me with the walking at Disney without a mobility device I can see you getting bad with in the first day if you are really as bad as you sound). Others have said you just want the front of a line pass and just to be able to get in the FP line without waiting. ( like with the old passes) but the old pass is gone there was and still might be a big law sute with Disney on the new pass because people with autism want Front of the line access and they have not given them to them. Disney is not single you out I am sure if you went somewhere and they said oh your handicap you must go in the back door down a dark alley by the dumpster down a cold dripping hallway then wait for someone to open a door that could take 20 minutes but if your not then you get to come right inside where it is warm and not wet or smelly. You see Disney made the lines wide enough for you to get to see all that they put in you get to see the themeing that they did the storyline for the ride Disney made it so more people get to go in the front door and not miss the story the theming that they put in they made things more equal they made it so people with disability do not have to go in the back door they get to be treated just like everyone without differentiability and this is what people were fighting for they have been fighting for equal access not better now Disney is giving you equal access but this is not good for you because in the old day it was better access where you went right in the FP or alterative entrance so now it is not good enough for you. I am sorry you are so closed-minded maybe Disney is not the place for you because it has changed and you need to remember it where you got better access.

 

[maxiesmom]

Its not ok to have a policy designed to single out one group for anything ever and no argument on earth is going to make this ok, I can't even believe people are trying to advocate for it especially since accommodating physical handicap was once the actual reason any of the accommodations even exist. This is an issue where a preexisting policy was ended to exclude the very group it was intended to help.

How are you being singled out? You won't say how you expect DAS to help you. Will waiting outside of the line help you, because that is all DAS does.

If that doesn't help you, then welcome. You will be like many of us who have ailments of our own who find a way to make it work at WDW.

Honestly, it is starting to sound like you want to be offended.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Thats not the point, the point is I am supposed to be accommodated in a reasonable way and having this process that is selectively granted to some but not me,

But we don't get to dictate the "reasonable way". Disney, in this case, does.

No, I know there are lines. I am ok with some, I am not ok with being excluded from an accommodation that does exist, just not for me due to a policy that seems designed to exclude me.

It is designed to include you and the tens of thousands of visitors every year who visit with mobility or stamina issues.

If you can have bad days where it takes 10 minutes to walk across a room, then how do you think you will walk 6-8 miles a day in a theme park?

Oh, boy, you got me thinking. Let's say the room is a generous 20 feet across.
5280÷20=264
264*10=2,640
264÷60=4.4 hours to walk one mile.
Does anybody know the distance from any park entrance to the closest ride?

 

[eeyoreandtink]

It's ok you are confused, I go to the best hospital in the country to have very smart people help me so I'm not surprised a regular person is confused. At no point has anyone ever suggested I use a chair, even at my worst when it takes 10 minutes to get across a room from the pain, not even then has anyone even said to use a chair, I am encouraged to move as much as I can and rest as much as I need. This is what my Dr's and I think are in my best interest, no regular everyday people need to agree with it at all and that is precisely what disabled people are being subjected to by having some random vote on what is best for me in line with a ton of other people at a park. It isn't reasonable to think that even have a clue

I really don’t think you get how your doctors recommendations for everyday life to slow disease progression differ from a special circumstance like Disney. I don’t use an ECV day to day and am encouraged to do as much as possible. That isn’t feasible at Disney though, and an ECV lets me enjoy the parks. Have you really had an HONEST conversation with your doctor about the fact that Disney is 6 miles or more of walking a day with little opportunity to sit and still been told you need to do it without an ECV or wheelchair? A DAS isn’t going to do anything to change any of that, and I cannot imagine any doctor telling you that you need to endure that.

I think you are dead set against any kind of mobility aid because you think that using it is admitting that your disease has progressed to that point. You look at it as admitting defeat and are looking to avoid it at all costs. I get it. I have been there. I fought it tooth and nail, but my new reality is that I will never walk 6 miles unaided. Sometimes we have to accept the reality. It’s hard.

If it takes you 10 min to cross a room on a bad day, a DAS will do zero to help you. An ECV will allow you to tour. It will let you move as much as you can and rest when needed. With a DAS you will be left with nowhere to rest while in lines that could still easily be 30 min and a lot of walking. I think you get that, but don’t want to admit it. You can continue to rant about how unfair it it is and deflect the blame into Disney, or accept that and go have fun.

 

[SueM in MN]

The accommodation supplied by DAS is the ability to wait outside of the regular lines. It doesn’t shorten the wait, provide a place to sit inside or outside of lines or (in most cases) shorten the distance walked in the line.
Since DAS is for guests whose disabilities prevent them from waiting in the regular lines, that is what needs to be discussed with Guest Relations.
DAS is not needed to use a mobility device in lines/attractions.

My FIL and MIL came with us every year to WDW until the year he died. He had bad osteoarthritis in both knees and hips. Over the years, we saw his world at WDW shrink as his ability to move easily and without pain decreased.
Our daughter has cerebral palsy (with other non-mobility related disabilities) and used GAC (Guest Assistance Card - the accommodation before DAS), so he could come with us and get in attractions in the easiest way. His last few trips to MK, he used the trolley car to get from the Main St hub to the Castle hub, then walked to Small World and Haunted Mansion. The rest of the day, he sat on a bench while the rest of us did things. He said he enjoyed sitting on benches and people watching, but we knew it was because that was all he was able to do. His day ended early, with pain killers and ice back at the resort from early evening until bed.
He tried to hide it, but we could all see his pain and it hurt us to know he was in pain and was not able to enjoy WDW with his family. We suggested an ECV and even rented one from an offsite company one year that he refused to use because he ‘didn‘t need it’.

A couple years before he died, he finally rented one at the park at Epcot.
Previously, he had walked in from the bus, then sat and rested, then walked thru Future World with a rest whenever he saw a bench, walked to the first Friendship boat dock in World Showcase (WS) and took the boat to the other part of WS and walked the area between the Italy dock (closed now?) and the dock near Morocco.

That trip when he finally rented an ECV was the first in years where he got all around WS and got to see everything he wanted to see. It was also the first time in years he had been able to stay at the park late enough to watch Illuminations.
He told us that night it was the first night in years that he had not ended exhausted and in pain by supper time. And, he said he could not believe how silly he had been to refuse to use one. He said wished he had used one the first time we had suggested, but since he didn’t use one every day, he hadn’t thought he was ‘disabled enough’.
After that, he rented an ECV at every park except MK (he felt there it was too busy and congested for him to feel comfortable driving there).

 

[Starwind]

But we don't get to dictate the "reasonable way". Disney, in this case, does.

It is designed to include you and the tens of thousands of visitors every year who visit with mobility or stamina issues.

Oh, boy, you got me thinking. Let's say the room is a generous 20 feet across.
5280÷20=264
264*10=2,640
264÷60=4.4 hours to walk one mile.
Does anybody know the distance from any park entrance to the closest ride?

So, using Google maps' "measure distance feature", the distance from the MK gates where they scan your magic band to the entrance to Jungle Cruise is Total distance: 532.11 m (1,745.76 ft).

if we do a generous 10 min / 50 feet @ 1745 feet = 5.8 hours

See image



The loop around the lake at Epcot is about 1 mile *without walking into any of the country pavilions or attractions* [note below has you starting at near the Skyliner/friendship boats at the International Entrance]:

 

[camper06]

The policy is available to read online in regards to the DAS and states clearly that mobility issues do not qualify.

Could you please provide the link for this policy? I have looked for it a few times and was never able to find it. Thank you!

 

[lanejudy]

The policy is available to read online in regards to the DAS and states clearly that mobility issues do not qualify

Could you please provide the link for this policy? I have looked for it a few times and was never able to find it. Thank you!

Disney does not name specific disabilities that may “qualify” for DAS because it is not diagnosis-based but rather need-based. However they do state this:
“A Guest whose disability is based solely on the necessity to use a wheelchair or scooter does not need DAS.”
From here:
https://secure.cdn1.wdpromedia.com/.../wdw-disability-access-service_2015-04-30.pdfWhich is linked to from here on WDW’s website by clicking on Disability Access Service: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/guests-with-disabilities/

The OP - and anyone else - is welcome to stop at Guest Relations to discuss your concerns for disability access. I suggest discussing needs unrelated to mobility or stamina concerns. However, I always recommend having a “Plan B” if DAS is not granted. Planning a whole vacation to be dependent on this one item that cannot be guaranteed would be poor planning.

Enjoy your vacation!