Efficient instantly, Disney has expanded the period of its Incapacity Entry Service registration window for each Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World. The most recent DAS modifications are actually in impact on each coasts as of February 2025. This covers particulars of the extension, plus our commentary in regards to the motivations for making this modification and what else is likely to be on the horizon.
As fast background, Disney overhauled DAS at Walt Disney World and Disneyland previous to the beginning of final summer time. Based on the corporate, the modifications have been due largely to abuse, misuse, and proliferation of this system’s use–with issuances of DAS tripling from 2019 to final 12 months. For extra in regards to the specifics of the overhauled DAS, see Incapacity Entry Service (DAS) Modifications at Walt Disney World FAQ.
We’ve been following this saga intently for the final a number of months, receiving reviews from readers and listening to accounts of different friends making use of for lodging at Walt Disney World. It’s a extremely delicate topic that may be very private since it’s, fairly actually, make or break for some friends making an attempt to expertise Walt Disney World. There have been widespread reviews of friends who beforehand had DAS being denied and suggested to make use of different lodging, a few of that are new–or are revised and highlighted extra prominently.
The make or break nature of the DAS modifications and ensuing denials are seemingly what led to the most recent DAS coverage change by Disney. As of February 1, 2025, each Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort have prolonged the DAS registration window to 60 days previous to their park go to. Beforehand, the method may start no before 30 days previous to your go to. Right here’s the brand new language:
“Visitors can meet nearly with a Solid Member utilizing stay video chat to find out what companies could also be applicable to assist their go to to the theme parks, together with DAS. You might have a pre-arrival dialog as quickly as 60 days upfront of a park go to.”
The exact verbiage differs from web page to web page, however that’s the final gist of it. To the perfect of our data, no language has modified other than Disney swapping out cases of “30 days” with “60 days.” You in all probability get the thought with out us going web page by web page to comb by means of the precise modifications. It’s a reasonably simple doubling of the appliance window.
The motivation for this modification can be seemingly pretty simple: visitor satisfaction.
The opposite current DAS verbiage change to take away “solely” from the eligibility standards seemingly concerned involvement from a military of attorneys, and even then, its motivations and outcomes are open to interpretation and debate. Whereas we’ll by no means know for positive what prompted the “solely” change or what consequence it’ll have on the ratio of approvals to denials, our view is that it’s pretty consequential within the amount of DAS issued regardless of being solely a single phrase.
With that, my greatest guess is that Disney needs to melt the perceived limitations within the coverage amongst potential candidates. To make it seem much less harsh or stringent, to encourage friends apart from these with developmental disabilities to use for DAS. It may very well be a approach of unofficially increasing the scope of eligibility with out making any substantive modifications to the coverage or overhauling this system but once more.
Against this, that is merely about making issues simpler for friends to plan round DAS and probably cancel or modify their holidays if they don’t obtain DAS as an lodging. Going from 30 to 60 days may lead to a negligible enhance in DAS functions, however it doesn’t materially change the equation on approvals. It’s all about lowering friction for friends who apply and are denied DAS.
One factor that repeatedly got here up within the feedback to the “solely” change is that 30 days merely just isn’t sufficient time given Walt Disney World’s trip package deal cancellation insurance policies. There and elsewhere, we’ve heard requests for not less than 60 days and as much as 180 days.
With the extension of DAS functions to 60 days, friends ought to be capable to make an knowledgeable choice about their standing and cancel in the event that they’re denied and really feel visiting Walt Disney World is not going to be possible or fascinating with out the DAS lodging. Visitors who booked trip packages who apply for DAS sufficiently early will be capable to obtain full refunds as a matter of coverage.
After all, this doesn’t change something with the cancellation insurance policies of third events. Visitors who ebook airfare, off-site motels, rental automobiles, and so forth with out versatile cancellation or modification insurance policies within 60 days will nonetheless encounter the identical points. Given this, and the chance that trip planners are largely reserving journey greater than two months upfront, this received’t be considered as an ideal answer by some DAS candidates.
Nevertheless, as we’ve talked about beforehand, there’s a push-pull with all of those coverage modifications. If Disney have been to increase the window to 180 days or provide extra versatile cancellation insurance policies to DAS candidates, this may create a higher burden on Solid Members and pressure the system. It will induce extra DAS functions, together with these made in dangerous religion.
That is exactly why I doubt Disney will take away this step of the registration course of: “Hyperlink legitimate theme park admission for every member of your social gathering.” Whereas some readers additionally requested that Disney not require the acquisition of admission previous to making use of for DAS, I’m skeptical that’ll ever occur. The consequence can be many extra folks testing the waters, seeing in the event that they’re eligible for DAS with none precise dedication or intention to go to. I strongly suspect Disney would favor to course of refunds than increase functions in such a way.
It’s simple for friends to say that an optimum coverage is X or Y, as a result of we’re issues within the vacuum of that one coverage and what’s greatest for us. Disney has to research how all of its insurance policies work in live performance, and never introduce loopholes that friends may exploit. As a result of if there’s something followers ought to perceive at this level, it’s that even the smallest loophole might be discovered and abused.
For this reason we beforehand talked about that we strongly suspected Walt Disney World would situation refunds on lodging, tickets, and different journey parts–even these explicitly being ineligible for refunds–as a visitor courtesy to those that had utilized for DAS in good religion and been denied. Doing this with out having or not it’s the printed coverage is important, in any other case it might be abused. Anybody who wished a refund for something would merely apply for DAS with the expectation they’d be denied, after which they’d request a refund.
On the whole, Solid Members have a variety of discretion over cancellations and refunds, even when the official coverage says in any other case. Even exterior of DAS, you’ll be able to typically obtain a refund as long as you might have motive and don’t have a observe report of abusing the system in your visitor file.
Suffice to say, the DAS utility window being prolonged from 30 to 60 days is sweet information.
It seems that Disney is beginning to pay attention. If there have been an enormous dial on DAS coverage depth, Disney cranked it from the minimal to the utmost final 12 months. The seemingly aim of ping-ponging from one excessive to the opposite was eradicating abuse, making it clear that the corporate was severe about DAS and would solely grant it in essentially the most excessive eventualities–and scammers needn’t even hassle.
Now that phrase has gotten out that DAS is a severe coverage and never only a rubber-stamp formality, it seems that Disney is taking that huge DAS dial and lowering the depth of the method. Our greatest guess is that this utility extension and the “solely” removing usually are not the one modifications within the pipeline, and Walt Disney World is looking to search out extra of a center floor. Not less than, that’s our hope. It doesn’t appear coincidental to have two modifications within the span of every week after completely nothing for over 8 months.
As we’ve mentioned beforehand, Disney wants to search out this center floor. Making measured and cautious modifications, and assessing the affect earlier than additional changes is the savvy strategy.
On the one hand, there have been heartbreaking tales of DAS denials, a lot of which have gone viral for good motive. These have made it actually look like a extra versatile and humane strategy providing higher discretion to Solid Members is important. All of this strongly prompt that Disney went too far with the DAS overhaul, and wanted some extent of stress-free its insurance policies.
Then again, Disney must keep away from stress-free its guidelines an excessive amount of, or else threat a return to the rampant abuse that was fostered by massively widespread TikToks and influential social media teams. This has been exacerbated by a way of entitlement, lack of disgrace, and Disney creating an incentive for DAS scammers by monetizing line-skipping through Lightning Lanes.
It’s a very troublesome for Disney to steadiness this, however it must occur. The pendulum swung from one excessive to a different, and there was a variety of collateral harm amongst disabled friends who wanted DAS and have been denied beneath the overly-stringent system. Cranking the DAS dial to its most setting hasn’t simply eradicated the scammers, it has harm friends who’re really disabled.
With that stated, it’s truthful to level out that there was a constructive affect on the visitor expertise for everybody: better-flowing traces and decrease wait instances. We mentioned this at size in Right here’s Why Standby Traces and Lightning Lanes Are Transferring Quicker at Walt Disney World.
The underside line is that the DAS modifications and, to a lesser extent, swap from Genie+ to Lightning Lane Multi-Move are having a big affect. It ought to go with out saying that there are controversies, downsides, and unlucky realities to the above. However the enchancment to the circulation of traces–standby and Lightning Lanes–in addition to decrease wait instances can be simple.
In my opinion, this has been achieved very nicely–to the extent that there’s now extra ‘bandwidth’ within the system earlier than it begins negatively impacting the standby line or Lightning Lanes (once more). That’s one motive why Premier Move hasn’t been a priority to us, and likewise why we predict Walt Disney World can go a bit additional in lowering the depth on that proverbial DAS dial.
Assuming that capability or bandwidth exists within the Lightning Lanes, it’ll be fascinating to see what different coverage modifications Walt Disney World makes to DAS. As talked about above, an enormous reader request was an extended utility window–that’s now been granted. So what different tweaks can be significant to you with out unduly disturbing the steadiness of issues?
From the skin trying in, the large change we’d prefer to see is a “recalibration” of the interview course of. We’ve heard from numerous readers who’ve been denied, and there’s a phrase that has been used repeatedly to explain the method: interrogation. Whereas we will admire how hectic this course of is for Solid Members and the verbal abuse they take for disgruntled friends, there’s a greater approach of dealing with the method that feels much less adversarial.
This wouldn’t be an precise public-facing coverage change, as it might be virtually not possible for the corporate to convey. Disney in all probability isn’t going to write down in its FAQ that “the interview is now an interview, as an alternative of a scene from Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance prefer it was the final ~8 months.” Someway I don’t see the Disney Authorized workforce approving that verbiage. Disney has an exemplary popularity for visitor service and lodging. It will be a disgrace to lose that as much more collateral harm to the DAS overhaul.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Ideas on the most recent change to DAS insurance policies at Walt Disney World and Disneyland? Suppose that is about bettering visitor satisfaction, making DAS work higher with cancellation insurance policies, and lowering friction for DAS denials? Suppose that Disney is adjusting the DAS dial, lowering the depth setting? Hopeful that additional modifications might be made that lead to elevated approvals for many who really want DAS whereas preserving abuse low? Agree or disagree with our evaluation of the modifications or coverage as an entire? Please attempt to keep on subject–we’ve seen a few of these DAS feedback sections get heated and private. Talk about the coverage itself, not others’ use (or lack thereof) of it.
