How Disability Access Service and Rider Switch Work Right Now in Disneyland

We’ve been bringing you all the updates from Disneyland’s BIG reopening!

Disneyland is OPEN Again!

After getting ready with details about tickets, Park Passes, and more, we FINALLY got the chance to go in the park and now Disneyland has officially reopened! So far, we’ve shared a look at how Disneyland is handling their lines and their churros (VERY important), and we’ve given you a look at the crowds. Now we’re bringing you an important update on some other parts of the Disneyland parks’ operations.

Disability Access Service

Guests with certain disabilities may be unable to tolerate long lines. In that case, they may be able to use the Disability Access Service (DAS) when they visit Disneyland to get a return time for attractions. As one Disneyland publication explains, “this service allows Guests to schedule a return time that is comparable to the current queue wait for the given attraction.” Guests can then enjoy other theme park offerings and return back to the ride when their return time starts.

We saw Disney World resume pretty normal operations of DAS after its closure, and now, the same appears to be generally true on the west coast.

Indiana Jones Adventure Line

Once a guest’s DAS is set up, the guest will need to go up to a Guest Services Kiosk in the park to get a return time for an attraction.

Today we did see guests going up to a Guest Services kiosk to request their return times, so it does look like that is generally operating in the same way that it was before.

Entering Disneyland

Be sure to reach out to Disneyland for any questions that might be specific to your needs.

Rider Switch

As far as Rider Switch goes — that is still an option in Disneyland! What is rider switch? If one guest doesn’t meet the boarding requirements for a ride or doesn’t want to ride, one adult (or guest 14 years old or older) can wait with the non-rider while the rest of the group goes to enjoy the ride. Then, they can switch roles and allow the supervising guest to ride the attraction without waiting in the regular line.

Pirates of the Caribbean

Rider switch is available in Disneyland but the process will depend on each attraction. When we spoke to a Guest Relations Cast Member, they noted that they haven’t received any official update on how the system will operate, but that it is essentially up to each attraction to come up with how to accommodate rider switch within the new guidelines.

Throughout our day, we asked some Cast Members at specific attractions about their rider switch policies. At Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Cast Member said that for rider swap, they are utilizing the exit to let the guests enter the ride when they switch.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Queue

The Cast Member there did note that each ride is handling it differently though, because their queues are all different. The Cast Member also said that later in the day they aren’t anticipating as much of a line, so in those cases it might be just as easy to hop back in the standby line.

Strollers and Wheelchairs

As before, you’ll be able to rent strollers, wheelchairs, and ECV vehicles for your Disneyland visit as well. We found the strollers and other items available to rent inside the Pixar Pals Parking structure. The Disneyland website also notes that they should be available outside the Disneyland Park Main Entrance.