I’ve never used DAS as I make do with my
ECV and a bit of parking/walking…however…we’re hoping to bring our daughter, her husband, and our 2 little GrandGirls in 2024…and now I’m nervous…because the little one will need DAS…and I’m not sure what we’d do if she’s denied.
She has severe cerebral palsy and is microcephalic - which means quadriplegic and non-verbal. We plan on bringing her special stroller and having it designated as a wheelchair so that will help - BUT - if she’s not moving or being held, she has a real tendency to scream bloody murder!! And then the only way to calm her down is either her mother or my husband has to hold her…so the plan was to use DAS to either find a seat and hold her or keep moving with the stroller until the DAS ride time comes up. I know it could still be a bit of a wait time even with DAS, but hopefully better than the standard queue…anyone have any recent experience with a severely handicapped toddler?
As others have written, it’s based on needs not diagnosis.
only mention needs that are related to waiting in line - for example, microcephaly and non- verbal don‘t relate to waiting in line.
using a stroller as a wheelchair is separate from DAS. Some children have only stroller as wheelchair. Some have that along with DAS.
I know that - the question is - will the possibility of her screaming like crazy suffice?
one of her parents/guardians will need to do the DAS registration. The question they need to be ready to discuss is:
What are your concerns with waiting in the traditional (regular) lines? What about the lines causes issue for her?
I think she can sit on a lap of an adult, on any ride that dose not have a hight requirement. Someone can correct me if I am wrong.
This is a very short list. Anything with a lap belt requires the kid to sit up. That eliminates most tame rides, all shooting rides, Nemo, Dumbo, Little Mermaid, Pooh.
You could do Figment, Living with the Land, Small World and Remy (if they take a stroller as a wheelchair?), Tres Caballeros. Kilimanjaro has a wheelchair car. You could hold her on the carousel. I think Pirates and Navi would actually meet this criteria because it doesn't have a lap belt. Tales with Belle should also work, at least it would have before Covid when I last saw it.
You could also hold her on your lap at the shows, like Nemo or Lion King.
Yeah - I don’t see us riding many rides at all - especially at HS and AK…which is fine since my husband and I don’t ride any coasters or spinning rides or any of the new stuff - as an example AK, we’d use DAS for Na’vi and Safari - while waiting for our return time, we’ll hold or walk around with the little one while my daughter, her husband and older girl can ride the bigger rides - then when they’re done - we’ll all ride our ‘DAS’ ride…
For attractions without a height requirement and restraint, someone should be able to hold her on their lap. You could ask on the Family Board to see which ones parents hold children on. My youngest daughter has CP; when she was a toddler, we either held her on our laps for many rides or she sat between my husband and me, with one of us supporting her with an arm around her since she could not sit unsupported.
With using a stroller as a wheelchair, it will be able to be brought all the boarding area. If the boarding area and unload area are in different spots, CMs will move it from the loading area to the unload area. ALL shows have accessible spots that she would be able to use, but in some, she may sit too low in her stroller and might need to be held.
For attractions that have a wheelchair accessible vehicle, whether or not she will be able to use it will depend on the specific attraction/setup and her specific special needs stroller
MK attractions with wheelchair vehicles:
Magic Carpet - should fit, but she will be sitting in the rear spot of the carpet with other members of your party seated in front of her.
Jungle Cruise - should not be an issue, but be aware that she will get on using a lift and will be on a lift platform in the middle of the boat with the rest of your party out of reach
Small World - not an issue; the boat has a central ramp with seats on each side
Carrousel - it has several benches which guests can sit on. A bench space can also be folded up to make a mobility device space
Winnie the Pooh - should not be an issue. There is one spot for a mobility device with space for one companion to sit beside it. The ’hunny pots’ have bouncing and ’floating’ motion. The motions can be turned on or off for the wheelchair accessible one
Journey of the Little Mermaid - special needs stroller may sit too low to use the wheelchair car.
Buzz Lightyear - special needs stroller may sit too low