Credit: Disneyland ParisWalt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort offer multiple resources to disabled Guests for the best possible experience, including wheelchair-accessible ride queues, wheelchair and electric conveyance vehicle (ECV) rentals, and the Disability Access Service (DAS) for Guests unable to wait in line. Guests can preregister or go to Guests Services on the day of their visit to sign up for the DAS pass, which permits Guests to use the My Disney Experience app to virtually queue for rides by receiving a return time equivalent to the standby wait time. At that time, the Guests enter through Lightning Lane for the shortest wait possible.
Still, some doctors and activists have critiqued the Disney Parks for “punishing” disabled visitors. One future Walt Disney World Resort Guest took to Reddit to complain about wasting three hours preregistering their brother for a DAS pass, only to find that they needed to start over.
“DAS pre-registration needs better instructions,” said Reddit user u/Consistent-Fee-6085. “My mom is currently very upset after spending almost 3 hours trying to register our party for DAS due to my brother’s disabilities, because she was unable to have it added for my brother since his account is managed’ by my dad’s account and not hers. But nowhere on their website can I find anything that indicates the management of the account matters, only that you are linked by Family & Friends.”
In another comment, the Guest explained that they understood these rules but wished they were better displayed. “When it’s a 3 hour wait (hopefully… that seems quick from what I’ve read), it’s frustrating that they can’t give this info up front,” they wrote. “Just weird they’ve put together a system that they clearly don’t care about if they’re putting so few resources towards it. Just setup an online reservation system.”
Other Guests reported similar frustrating experiences obtaining the Disney DAS pass. “I spend over three hours waiting and over all it took four hours to complete, it’s ridiculous,” u/Rattt333 said.
“We got such a go around with the same thing,” u/slothysloths13 recalled. “We were told separate things from separate CMs, and it was an absolute nightmare. I stressed over it for days.”
Is Disability Access Service easy to use? Share your experience with Inside the Magic in the comments.
Please note that the story outlined in this article is based on a personal Disney Parks Guest experience. No two Guest experiences are alike, and this article does not necessarily align with Inside the Magic’s personal views on Disney Park operations.