Disney's Self-Inflicted DAS Problem

The Walt Disney Company has announced new changes to their existing Disability Access System (DAS), a program which aims to foster a more inclusive and enjoyable experience for guests with disabilities at Disney parks. The adjustments in the DAS are expected to be enforced beginning May 20th, in about six weeks as of the day of the announcement.

As of today, the current version of DAS involves guests with disabilities being given the opportunity to ride attractions in an "invisible queue," which means that if a guest wants to ride Space Mountain with a posted standby wait time of 60 minutes, the DAS pass will allow that guest and their party to receive a return time for the attraction after at least 60 minutes. Once those 60 minutes are completed, the party can come back to Space Mountain, show their DAS pass, and enter the Lightning Lane queue. While this queue could still have a wait, the Disney parks prioritize this line, resulting in a lower wait time compared to the standby line.

The big changes coming to the new version of the DAS include:

1. Disney will work with Inspire Health Alliance's health professionals to help Cast Members determine a guest's DAS eligibility

2. DAS registration can only be requested via virtual chat (in-person option at Guest Services no longer allowed)

3. DAS party size limited to 4 guests (exceptions for immediate family members)

4. All current DAS users must reapply to the program

Alterations to the DAS were inevitable, as Disney officials stated that usage of this program has tripled over the past five years. These exponential results are noted to be caused by wrongdoers and misusers of the system, which in turn has led to the opposite of what DAS was intended to do.

However, we shouldn't place all of the blame on the actual DAS passes themselves, rather, we should look at one of Disney's biggest challenges in recent memory: Disney Genie+.

Adopted in 2021, Disney Genie+ sought to maximize the spending of park guests, charging between $20-30 a day per park for a service that used to be free prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shutdown of the parks in 2020. Under a different name, FastPass allowed for park guests to reserve times for different attractions and be able to join the FastPass line, a similar concept to the current Lightning Lane. This system was designed in a way to maximize the park experience for guests and allow all guests to have the same opportunities to visit their most anticipated attractions.

Since the rollout of Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane, the park experience has dwindled. Now that people are being forced to pay for a "skip the line" perk, Disney has now made it so the practice of having a shorter wait time is a right, not a privilege, resulting in long wait times for the standby queue. Before, FastPass would still result in a shorter wait for those utilizing the perk, but it wouldn't be framed as an entitlement due to the free accessibility.

So what does the implementation of Genie+ have to do with DAS?

Since guests are now either forced to pay up to 30 dollars or be stuck in inflated wait times, there has been an influx in people resorting to the DAS pass as a way to cheat the system. People see DAS as the old FastPass system, because in practice they are very identical to each other. Thus, we've reached a point where DAS users who genuinely need the service are being put at a disadvantage for the visitors that could potentially make up excuses for needing DAS just to ensure that they can experience their favorite attractions with a shorter wait time, all without spending a dime.

Should Disney be blamed for the entirety of this situation? No, I think it's up to individuals to not take advantage of the system and understand the purpose of it. However, it does not help that a lot of Disney park's visitors come from out of state or even the country, and are looking for the "best" experience possible. Disney charging up to $30 per guest per park with Genie+ has led to people taking advantage of DAS, which is now being seen as the perpetrator for the issues we've discussed.

Changes to the Disability Access System will not even remotely fix the current issues that the Disney parks are facing, and will only hurt the people who truly need the service in order to visit the resort. Disney will try their hardest to limit the use of a free system and shift guests into being forced to cough up more money for their paid system.