The Disability Access Service Pass at Disney World is a program designed for those with developmental disabilities that make them unable to wait in lines for extended periods.
Magic Kingdom
Earlier this year, Disney made several changes to its DAS program, and many people with disabilities (or parents of those with disabilities) have noted that other accommodations are being offered instead of the DAS pass in many cases where the DAS Pass would have been offered in the past. Now another change has quietly come to the DAS program.
Disney has extended the amount of time that a DAS pass is valid. It was previously the date that your Disney World ticket expired or 120 days, whichever came sooner. Now it is the date that your ticket expires or 240 days. This will primarily assist Disney World annual passholders who use the system, but could also help those who use promotional tickets that may be valid for a certain number of days over several months, rather than most Disney World tickets that are valid for a shorter period of time.
EPCOT
Disney World has updated its Disability Access Service page to reflect the change.
Disney World has lengthened the amount of days that DAS passes are valid.
Because acquiring a DAS Pass requires a live video chat interview, this extension should help those who have Annual Passes by reducing the frequency with which they need to go through the process.
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Forget extending the validation time limit. Let every disabled person receive the DAS benefits, PERIOD!!!
I still can’t fathom why DAS even expires. Do they think my disability is going to get better with time? It should be something that’s just on my profile or, at worst, something I have to reapply in the app when I book a new trip, like activating an inactive magic band. It makes no sense, and the stress leading up to the call is enough of a barrier that I made the decision for myself that this upcoming trip? It’s my last one to the parks until they figure this out in a way that doesn’t actively bar disabled guests from using these services. I would have cancelled THIS trip but because they don’t let you apply until 30 days before, it’s past the point where I could do that. And they’re obviously not going to refund my party tickets. This whole thing is a mess and how there isn’t a class action lawsuit yet I have no idea.
Won’t help me. I need to use a scooter as I have multiple neuro-muscular issues and travel to Disney at least once a year alone. Anyone want to send in front of me on Pirates while I try to take myself down in a wheelchair with hands that don’t hold onto the wheels very well? I am not eligible for the program as a mobility impaired person, even if I request to only use it when alone and only in the MK which is the least accessible park. I haven’t been on Peter Pan, or Pooh in several years and it was 6 yers for Pirates until my husband took me in. I agree the mobility issues are cared for EXCEPT if you travel alone in MK.
Oh, and please don’t tell me all people I’m scooters are lazy…here that one every trip!
I got excited when I saw this hoping it would change. I have severe anxiety and panic disorders which make me feel very overwhelmed in tight spaces and certain lines. I was denied the DAS pass for the first time in years. At the Halloween party all i wanted to do was meet jack and Sally. I watched all the DAS pass people pass in front of me and i had to wait over two hours. i ended up in the floor hyperventilating because i was so overwhelmed. a cast member had to assist me in getting out of the line where i waited the rest of the time to meet them. It was embarrassing and humiliating not to mention awful. how could disney stand by and let this happen?
Thank you 😊 someone who really cares 🤷🏼♀️ why question every person with a disability & make them feel like they are a fraud when the answer is NO! Being told to leave the line & return is not an option for most conditions & causes embarrassment when then having to ask a cast member can you leave the line due to a disability!!! Stop taking away Disney & start giving back ! These holidays are not cheap & we in the UK wait a full year for out vacation 😬
This isn’t the change that is needed. People with disabilities are still being denied the accommodations that are needed! That is the real story with this.
Hear, hear, Rachel! I am shocked that a lawsuit hasn’t been filed over this.
Absolutely! I find myself dreading speaking to the DAS people, since, without it, I will have to cancel my upcoming (already planned) trips in December and January. 🙁
Definitely better than what they had before. I usually rotate buying an annual pass for Universal one year, then Disney the following year. Last year bought it for my son’s 19th B-day in Sept and we had to register the first time at the Gate at Guest Services because the video chat service was down the entire week before we went. We took an extra trip last year for our 20 year wedding Anniversary in Oct. and it was still good, but when we went for my Wife’s Bday in Jan, we had to do the Video Chat. When we went for Mothers Day, we AGAIN had to do the video chat and when we went in Sept a week before my son’s 20th Bday we AGAIN had to do the video chat. I wish they would make it for the length of the ticket or 240 whichever is LONGER instead of whichever is shorter. Either that or have different classificationsm P for Permanent and T for Temporary. Someone like my son, who has the mind of a 3 year old (he’s still into Elmo and Barney) …. It’s not like he’s going to grow out of it.
I’d be very interested to hear from anyone who knows if the live video chat is available to international guests.
This change doesn’t help our family. The system change discriminates again so many people with legitimate disabilities other than autism. My veteran husband verified with disability due to war injuries, including Traumatic brain injury and spinal injuries no longer qualifies as in years past.offered a wheel chair or scooter. Paraplegic & worse, Vet friends also don’t qualify. Seems a money grab from WDW to force purchase of lightning lane to shorten line experience for disabled attendees.
Does this change apply to ALL DAS users previous and new or only to brand new users?? My daughter is a current DAS holder well within the 240 day window.
Are existing DAS (currently good for 120) grandfathered into the new 240 days?
Actually shocked that no media outlets are actually reporting the shocking changes they have made. Instead they skirt around the topic, talking about an extension that most children and adults are very unlikely to every receive. And it’s not ‘shaking up the system’, it’s causing harm to those who are forced to use these “alternative accommodations”. And no it’s not as simple as don’t go to Disney then, as you don’t know if you’ll be accepted until within the 30 day window time frame… I.e. no refunds.
Yes! I agree with Rachel above. Disney has made it so difficult now to get approved for DAS. Our son is autistic and up until last year, we had no problems qualifying for DAS. This past time, they actually denied us because I said my son can be distracted. Well the distractions don’t last for a long wait in line! My husband had to call back and he must have said the right buzz words to get the pass. Absolutely ridiculous. We legitimately need the pass.
That is a smart decision but this DAS policy is horrible!!! They are rude and disrespectful when they interview people who are already nervous and may have disabilities themselves. My child who was approved twice before will now NOT get approved for his extreme ADHD with Intermittent Explosive Disorder. It is disgraceful that Disney is so discriminating to people with disabilities now, especially Veterans!!
There would not need to be any changes to the DAS program if people didn’t fudge on their or their family members “disability”. They just made it harder on those that really need it. On our last visit I saw so many people using wheel chairs and it was very questionable if it was needed (teenagers taking turns sitting in it, a grandparent using one and then getting out of it to stand in line while the kids took turns, a child run across the floor prior to the start of Festival of the Lion King and plop down into a wheel chair. Those that truly have a disability I am all for them having the access/accommodations that they need. Those that are just using the system irritate me to no end.
I’m 82 with multiple medical conditions, COPD, walking disability with my own personal scooter, high blood press, many more but didn’t qualify because they said I didn’t have autism and that was the only qualification. I’ve had the disability pass for over 20 years. I even brought recent doctor papers. When I tried to wait in an outside line I was on the verge of passing out. I only ride one or two attractions a visit but can’t anymore.
What other accommodations are. Being offered instead of the DAS pass program?
I thought maybe this would be something helpful for persons who have exceptional needs beyond autism. But nope. Some things are OK under the new system but you are automatically excluded if you aren’t willing to lie and say the magic “a” word. There were also promises made that all cast members would be trained to assist persons with other needs. We figured this was basically a joke and we were right. My daughter is wheelchair bound and incontinent. The first time she asked a CM about the procedure if she suddenly needed to leave a line—how to attract attention, be escorted out and then returned to her original place in line, and the CM was absolutely flummoxed. Disney should stop saying how much it cares about people with disabilities because that is an extremely limited truth.
Big deal, they made it so hardly anyone who deserves it can get one, all about pushing that genie+ fee
Hi Karen! You will have to reach out to Disability Access Services directly as we were not provided with that information. It is my understanding, however, that you would need to re-register for the 240 day window, but I have not yet been able to confirm that.
Hi William! You will need to reach out to Disability Access Services directly to get confirmation, but it is my understanding that if you were approved under the 120-day time period, you will need to re-register for the 240 day time period once your DAS pass expires.
In response to a comment above, while I think there were definitely some bad actors taking advantage of the system, I would be shocked if they were anything but the extreme minority. I think the real push was the amount of complaints coming from Lightning Lane users that their waits were too long. Disney doesn’t want to sell fewer Lightning Lanes, so the only thing to do is make there be less disabled guests in the line.
Does everyone with a scooter need to be interviewed by a CM? My husband has balance issues and cannot stand for more then a minute or two. We have already ordered a scooter from a company in Orlando for our trip in November. We are meeting up with his siblings for a week.
Thank you!
My daughter has Crohn’s disease which means she has to go #2 all of the time with hardly a warning. This disease has also made her very weak and she has muscle deterioration We can no longer take her to Disney because she cannot stand in line for long periods nor risk waiting and then have to get off the line. Disney should rethink the changes they have made to the disability pass .
If you are in a wheelchair or scooter, you don’t qualify for DAS because you are capable of waiting in line in a wheelchair/scooter. The DAS is for those who are incapable of waiting in line without a scooter or mobility device. I had to use a wheelchair one time due to an injury and still had to wait in line. Just because you are in a mobility device does not mean you CANNOT wait in line. It’s only for those who can’t.
Hi Barb! You’re allowed to bring a scooter in without speaking to a CM. The only times you will need to speak with a CM about the scooter is if they stop you because the scooter can’t go through the line. As an example, Pirates of the Caribbean doesn’t have scooter access and they will ask you to transfer into a wheelchair if you’re able to do so.
Hi Barb,
As someone who is in a scooter, your most difficult park will be MK. In that park, because of its age, your husband will be requested to transfer to a wheelchair provided at the attraction. The cast member usually moves your scooter to the exit for you. My issue is I travel alone and can’t navigate the wheelchair on my own. The rest of the Parks are pretty good with having the scooters go through the lines. At the safari at AK, you can bring a wheelchair into the truck, but I am not sure if they have wheelchair on the platform but they are very helpful. Good Luck!
Disney is still discriminating against so many guests. It’s so obvious that they wanted to just funnel more people into paying to wait in the LL line instead of allowing people to wait there turn outside of the line to go into LL. It’s crazy that a team of attorneys hasn’t found out about this by now.