Disney Announces Changes to Disability Access Service

Disney World’s Disability Access Service (DAS), designed for guests who find it challenging to wait in long queues due to a disability, is undergoing some changes. Disney announced stricter qualification criteria, mandatory pre-registration via video call, and limitations on group size that can benefit from DAS. Starting May 20, Disney is partnering with Inspire Health Alliance to enhance the service quality and ensure that only those who genuinely need accommodation have access to it. We now have a hint of what these changes will look like.

Starting May 20, the group size will be reduced from six to “immediate family” or a maximum of four people. The new rule also limits the ability to select a queue for a new attraction with DAS until ten minutes have passed since the last use. The rules for DAS Advance, which allowed pre-selection of two attractions, will be limited to those who genuinely need it. However, the validity period for DAS will be extended from 60 to 120 days, and there will be a new process for rejoining the queue for those who temporarily leave it. These changes aim to improve the efficiency and fairness of the DAS system.

The change for DAS will apply to both Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California. Disneyland has now updated the wording on its website regarding how to use the “Rider Switch” service. Rider Switch is a service that allows a group or family to take turns riding an attraction without having to queue twice if one or more in the group cannot or do not want to ride. The first part of the group waits in the regular queue, and when they are done, the next group can use the fast queue (Lightning Lane) to ride.

The update suggests that Disney may want more of those who currently use DAS to instead use Rider Switch. The Rider Switch service will thus be expanded so that more guests will be able to use the service. It is unclear whether guests must apply for this, or if all guests will be able to use it.

The following can be read on Disneyland’s website, and it is natural to believe that Disney World will also change the wording accordingly over time:

Rider Switch will be available to a guest who:

• Does not meet the requirements to board
• Has a service dog that cannot board the attraction or does not want to use an offered dog kennel
• Cannot wait for the duration of the queue and needs another member of the party to wait for them
• Cannot wait outside the queue alone and chooses not to ride
• Needs access to the toilet for frequent or unexpected use
• Elements in the regular queue can trigger anxiety or feelings of claustrophobia or similar
• Prefers to sit and wait outside the queue due to mobility concerns and prefers not to use a mobility aid

This appears to be offered as a solution instead of DAS to handle conditions that require frequent toilet use, anxiety, or similar. The other guests in the party will wait in the queue, be issued a Rider Switch pass, and then the guest with disabilities can go through Lightning Lane.

The new text especially highlights guests who may struggle with anxiety, claustrophobia, and frequent toilet use, suggesting that these probably will no longer qualify for DAS, as they have done previously. Possibly these are some of the conditions that may have overloaded the current system.

This may possibly be a good alternative for many guests, but perhaps not for everyone and it can also become complicated with smaller groups or guests traveling alone.