In case you missed it, the Disney DAS Pass has undergone some recent changes that have not been super well received by many visitors with disabilities. What are the Disney DAS Pass Changes and how do they affect a potential visit to a Walt Disney World Park?
What Is the Disney DAS Pass (Disability Access Service)?
The Disney DAS Pass was designed to accommodate guests who, due to a disability, cannot wait in conventional lines for attractions. This service allows these guests and their party to receive a return time for attractions based on the current wait time. The guest can then return to the attraction at or after the designated time, bypassing the main queue.
Application was relatively simple: Schedule a video call with a Wald Disney cast member, during which you would briefly discuss your condition and, if approved, be granted a DAS tag on your reservation. Within the WDW app, you could then reserve time slots rides (one at a time), in which you would return to a much shorter, express line.
Similar to Lightening Lane (or more recently Genie +) the DAS Pass has some key differentiators. Most notably, you are not bound to return within an hour of the allotted time – you are free to return any time after the allotted time, allowing a bit more freedom.
Overall, and speaking as a person living with Crohn’s Disease who would have trouble standing in line for over an hour, the Disney DAS Pass was a crucial part of our trips to the parks. So much so, that I intended to make it the focus of the follow-up to our popular Disney World on a Budget guide from last year. Alas, all good things come to an end.
Changes To The Disney DAS Pass
The biggest change to the Disney DAS Pass, in its current form is this: As listed on the benefit’s website, DAS is currently only available for sufferers of developmental conditions (ie Autism, etc) and no longer supports those guests with physical conditions, that make it difficult to wait in line for extended periods of time.
…supports Guests who, due to a developmental disability like autism or similar, are unable to wait in a conventional queue for an extended period of time.
– DAS Website
This is disappointing, to say the least, however not entirely unexpected. The Disney DAS Pass system had been abused for years according to the park, and I believe it.
This does feel a bit like punishing the wrong people, however, and will certainly be a factor in any future plans we have to go to the parks.
As a note, Disney is a bit unclear about the entire list of conditions supported, explicitly mentioning autism only, so I am a bit curious as to whether or not we see the verbiage change in the near future. I will update this post as soon as I hear that they do. It is also worth noting, that this is a very new change (I believe Disney World in Orlando updated the policy in May 2024, and Disney World in California is updating in June. The change, so far, seems to only affect US Disney Parks, as Japan’s Disney Sea still lists physical conditions being supported.
The second change listed, is that the pass will now be good for 120 days after pre-registration. This is quite a bit longer than the previous validity, which was 30 days.
Impacts of the Disney DAS Pass Changes
I am very interested to see how this affects life at the park, for both visitors with and without disabilities. I am sure it will reduce the express lines a bit, but will certainly also make things difficult for those who depend on the benefit.
Being such a new change and with such vague language, I would love to hear stories from Disney guests as they occur.
Overall, the changes to the DAS system seem to go against Disney’s supposed commitment to inclusivity. By discriminately deciding which disabilities to support vs. which not to, the updated system is in danger of alienating quire a few potential guests. Here’s hoping they sort it out in a better way.
Do you have any thoughts on these changes? Have you attempted to register for the new system? We’d love to hear about it below!
