My son and I were supposed to go to #DisneyWorld the first week of June. He is autistic and in the past has easily qualified for their disability pass. His symptoms are severe enough that going by what is stated on their new policy he should easily be eligible for their DAS.
So yesterday we get up at 9 AM to do the Zoom call with a CM. I explain to her his issues and why he would need a DAS. My son is on the call as well. After about a minute on the call he is denied a DAS. Confused I ask questions about why he wouldn’t be eligible but she starts giving me suggestions on how to deal with waiting in lines. I try to explain to her why those won’t work and she gives me a sarcastic “have a magical day” and ends the video chat.
After the chat I have to explain to my son that he might have to wait in long lines during our trip and he then has a meltdown. It took a while to get him through it. I decide that we should just see about getting a refund, even though we are only a little over a week away from leaving.
So I call customer service and explain that I wanted to see about getting a refund without penalty because he was denied a DAS. After talking with her supervisor they agree and give me a refund. Considering the length of stay and hotel we were staying at it was a considerable amount of money.
So if you are neurodivergent and have used a DAS in the past good luck. Maybe you’ll have better luck than I did when you have your chat with a CM. But for us our Disney days are over.
@tantramar I understand them trying to limit abuse but there are a lot of families out there that should be eligible that will end up being denied. And judging by their response I’m thinking they don’t care. Just less people in the parks using DAS.
@tantramar Indeed. I can honestly say they used to do an outstanding job dealing with him. The CMs would see him with his headphones on and fidget toys in hand and take time to make him feel special and welcome. The old Disney was always super accommodating to the neurodivergent community. Now it’s all about filling up rooms and nickel and diming customers to death.
@hankg Thanks I'm only a couple of months back after recovering from injury but progress seems to be coming fairly easily. Got to resist the urge to push it too much. Don't want to re-injure myself.