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 adjustments at the moment are in impact on each coasts as of February 2025. This covers particulars of the extension, plus our commentary concerning the motivations for making this variation and what else may 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 adjustments 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 concerning the specifics of the overhauled DAS, see Incapacity Entry Service (DAS) Adjustments at Walt Disney World FAQ.
We’ve been following this saga intently for the final a number of months, receiving studies from readers and listening to accounts of different company making use of for lodging at Walt Disney World. It’s a extremely delicate topic that could be very private since it’s, fairly actually, make or break for some company attempting to expertise Walt Disney World. There have been widespread studies of company who beforehand had DAS being denied and suggested to make use of various lodging, a few of that are new–or are revised and highlighted extra prominently.
The make or break nature of the DAS adjustments and ensuing denials are probably 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 earlier than 30 days previous to your go to. Right here’s the brand new language:
“Friends can meet just about with a Forged Member utilizing dwell video chat to find out what companies could also be acceptable to assist their go to to the theme parks, together with DAS. You might have a pre-arrival dialog as quickly as 60 days prematurely 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 most effective of our data, no language has modified except for Disney swapping out situations of “30 days” with “60 days.” You in all probability get the concept with out us going web page by web page to comb via the precise adjustments. It’s a reasonably simple doubling of the appliance window.
The motivation for this variation can be probably pretty simple: visitor satisfaction.
The opposite current DAS verbiage change to take away “solely” from the eligibility standards probably 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 certain what prompted the “solely” change or what end result 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 finest guess is that Disney desires to melt the perceived limitations within the coverage amongst potential candidates. To make it seem much less harsh or stringent, to encourage company aside from these with developmental disabilities to use for DAS. It could possibly be a means of unofficially increasing the scope of eligibility with out making any substantive adjustments to the coverage or overhauling this system but once more.
In contrast, that is merely about making issues simpler for company to plan round DAS and doubtlessly cancel or modify their holidays if they don’t obtain DAS as an lodging. Going from 30 to 60 days may end in a negligible improve in DAS purposes, however it doesn’t materially change the equation on approvals. It’s all about lowering friction for company 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 will not be sufficient time given Walt Disney World’s trip package deal cancellation insurance policies. There and elsewhere, we’ve heard requests for a minimum of 60 days and as much as 180 days.
With the extension of DAS purposes to 60 days, company ought to be capable to make an knowledgeable determination about their standing and cancel in the event that they’re denied and really feel visiting Walt Disney World won’t be possible or fascinating with out the DAS lodging. Friends who booked trip packages who apply for DAS sufficiently early will be capable to obtain full refunds as a matter of coverage.
In fact, this doesn’t change something with the cancellation insurance policies of third events. Friends who guide airfare, off-site resorts, rental vehicles, and so forth with out versatile cancellation or modification insurance policies within 60 days will nonetheless encounter the identical points. Given this, and the probability that trip planners are largely reserving journey greater than two months prematurely, this gained’t be considered as an ideal resolution by some DAS candidates.
Nonetheless, as we’ve talked about beforehand, there’s a push-pull with all of those coverage adjustments. If Disney have been to increase the window to 180 days or supply extra versatile cancellation insurance policies to DAS candidates, this could create a better burden on Forged Members and pressure the system. It might induce extra DAS purposes, 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 end result could be many extra individuals 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 like to course of refunds than develop purposes in such a fashion.
It’s straightforward for company 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 finest for us. Disney has to investigate how all of its insurance policies work in live performance, and never introduce loopholes that company may exploit. As a result of if there’s something followers ought to perceive at this level, it’s that even the smallest loophole can be discovered and abused.
This is the reason we beforehand talked about that we strongly suspected Walt Disney World would concern 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 it’s the revealed coverage is crucial, in any other case it will 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.
Typically, Forged Members have a number of discretion over cancellations and refunds, even when the official coverage says in any other case. Even outdoors of DAS, you possibly can typically obtain a refund as long as you’ve got an excellent purpose and don’t have a monitor document of abusing the system in your visitor file.
Suffice to say, the DAS software window being prolonged from 30 to 60 days is sweet information.
It seems that Disney is beginning to pay attention. If there have been a giant dial on DAS coverage depth, Disney cranked it from the minimal to the utmost final 12 months. The probably purpose of ping-ponging from one excessive to the opposite was eradicating abuse, making it clear that the corporate was critical about DAS and would solely grant it in essentially the most excessive situations–and scammers needn’t even hassle.
Now that phrase has gotten out that DAS is a critical coverage and never only a rubber-stamp formality, it seems that Disney is taking that large DAS dial and lowering the depth of the method. Our greatest guess is that this software extension and the “solely” removing usually are not the one adjustments 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 adjustments within the span of per 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 adjustments, and assessing the impression earlier than additional changes is the savvy method.
On the one hand, there have been heartbreaking tales of DAS denials, a lot of which have gone viral for good purpose. These have made it actually appear to be a extra versatile and humane method providing better discretion to Forged Members is important. All of this strongly steered that Disney went too far with the DAS overhaul, and wanted some extent of stress-free its insurance policies.
Alternatively, 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 vastly common 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 by way of Lightning Lanes.
It’s a very tough for Disney to steadiness this, however it must occur. The pendulum swung from one excessive to a different, and there was a number of collateral harm amongst disabled company who wanted DAS and have been denied underneath the overly-stringent system. Cranking the DAS dial to its most setting hasn’t simply eradicated the scammers, it has harm company who’re truly disabled.
With that mentioned, it’s truthful to level out that there was a constructive impression on the visitor expertise for everybody: better-flowing strains and decrease wait instances. We mentioned this at size in Right here’s Why Standby Strains and Lightning Lanes Are Shifting Sooner at Walt Disney World.
The underside line is that the DAS adjustments and, to a lesser extent, swap from Genie+ to Lightning Lane Multi-Cross are having a big impression. It ought to go with out saying that there are controversies, downsides, and unlucky realities to the above. However the enchancment to the circulate of strains–standby and Lightning Lanes–in addition to decrease wait instances can be simple.
For my part, 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 purpose why Premier Cross hasn’t been a priority to us, and likewise why we expect 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 adjustments Walt Disney World makes to DAS. As talked about above, a giant reader request was an extended software window–that’s now been granted. So what different tweaks could be significant to you with out unduly disturbing the steadiness of issues?
From the skin wanting in, the massive change we’d wish 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 respect how nerve-racking this course of is for Forged Members and the verbal abuse they take for disgruntled company, there’s a greater means of dealing with the method that feels much less adversarial.
This wouldn’t be an precise public-facing coverage change, as it will be nearly inconceivable 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 a substitute of a scene from Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance prefer it was the final ~8 months.” In some way I don’t see the Disney Authorized staff approving that verbiage. Disney has an exemplary status for visitor service and lodging. It might 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 adjustments can be made that end in elevated approvals for individuals who really want DAS whereas maintaining abuse low? Agree or disagree with our evaluation of the adjustments or coverage as a complete? Please attempt to keep on subject–we’ve seen a few of these DAS feedback sections get heated and private. Focus on the coverage itself, not others’ use (or lack thereof) of it.
