Disney with Child with a disability

[WinnieAndMinnie17]

Hi all, not sure if this has been answered before but figured I'd ask. My son has a seizure disorder and cannot wait in line for long period of times, so we are doing the Disney disability program when we travel in November. Has anyone done this before and what should my expectations be? I have heard great things so just hoping for a lot of responses with this as well. My son is 2 so he cannot ride the big rides yet, but our party still wants to do it, will the disability pass let us ride those rides while someone in our party waits with him on the side? I know the pass doesn't let us skip the rides, just return when the time is ready for our turn to ride. But any notes and tips and anything you can help with is greatly appreciated. We have been to Disney a bunch of times but never had to deal with this, he was just recently diagnosed so this is all new to us with navigating the parks!

 

[SirDuff]

No, the DAS is only for when the user of the pass is riding. You can use rider switch, but will have to use the normal options (e.g. stand-by, lightening lane).

 

[lanejudy]

You might want to post on the disABILITIES Forum if looking for actual experiences. The first post of the WDW Summary of New DAS thread may also be helpful, as well as the disABILITIES FAQs thread.

PP is correct that the DAS is for the DAS-holder's benefit, not the family's benefit. It is intended to allow the person with a disability the opportunity to access an attraction that otherwise is inaccessible due to their disability. If the family wants to do some of the "big" rides, you can use Rider Swap and may want to consider purchasing Genie+ or ILL$ for those family members.

When requesting the DAS be sure you are prepared to explain WHY waiting in a standard queue environment is a problem for your child. Not the diagnosis, but his needs. For your situation that translates to what about the queue would trigger his seizures. Not everyone with a seizure disorder qualifies for DAS, it depends on how each individual's disability manifests within a queue environment.

 

[HopperFan]

You have answer above, no one rides with DAS if passholder doesn't ride.

Also I see your posts on dining about being a party of 8. DAS is for the passholder plus 5 = 6. You might have to have people trade off who is riding or purchase Genie+ and try to coordinate.

 

[WinnieAndMinnie17]

Party of 8 yeah but 3 of them are under 2 and one doesn’t ride rides at all so thats not an issue. I have a call scheduled with Disney to see if my son qualifies. If he doesn’t then we have another plan anyway and we plan on buying genie plus anyway so I am not worried about that. Was just seeing if anyone had any experience with using DAS. The only park I worry about is DHS because just about every ride there is usually a 30+ minute wait but hopefully during the time we go it will be quiet. Also hope this didn’t come across as me trying to skip lines, we have no issues waiting its just my son has epilepsy and we wanted to see the best options for us.

 

[Mirabell Rose]

I used DAS when my child was younger. At the time it often just meant you bypassed the line and got right on if you had a wheelchair. However, we then would check what the que said the wait time was, and we told our child we couldn’t go to another ride until that many minutes passed because we didn’t want her thinking she was any different.

Newer rides came along and they more often had lines we could go through with her in her chair, and many of them had things to look at and do while you were going through the line. You miss all that if you don’t go through the lines. And the DAS pass would only apply if the line can’t accommodate a wheelchair.

As another person pointed out, there has to be a reason why the regular line presents an issue with your child’s medical condition and the way the ride wait/line to go through/ride seating needs to be different to accommodate your child’s medical condition to qualify to use it for a ride.

 

[SirDuff]

I guess I wonder why you would think that you could use it without your son or want to use it (as you say that you aren't looking to skip lines it's just that he cannot wait in one). If he's not riding, he's not waiting in a line, no matter how you access the ride so what would be the point of the rest of you using it, other than to skip the line?

As a PP said, suggest you check out the DISabilities forum for detailed information.

 

[WinnieAndMinnie17]

I guess I wonder why you would think that you could use it without your son or want to use it (as you say that you aren't looking to skip lines it's just that he cannot wait in one). If he's not riding, he's not waiting in a line, no matter how you access the ride so what would be the point of the rest of you using it, other than to skip the line?

As a PP said, suggest you check out the DISabilities forum for detailed information.

Maybe because we dont want the kid to wait around without us? You people on this site are so judgemental its crazy. And first of all you dont skip the lines, you come back when the time is ready no one said anything about skipping lines. How about you have some compassion for me trying to do whats best for my son rather than come at me for line skipping. Done with this post

 

[katyjeka]

The pass is very helpful and in some cases can make a trip possible for someone who otherwise could never go. We took my mom who was 83 and unable to stand for any amount of time. She enjoyed the trip and now that she's gone we look back and are so thankful Disney helped make the trip possible. If your son does not want to ride, or is not tall enough they will not allow you to use the pass, no questions asked. We had a party of nine on our last trip with mom. We would switch off and send a couple of people with her and the rest of our group would go to the regular line. I don't believe your intention is to take advantage of the system but you may be surprised at the number of people using the pass. Your come back times may be longer or as long as the posted wait times. I understand you are unable to stand in the line and this prevents that but it by no means gets you on a choice ride with little wait.There was a huge difference between a trip we took with my father in law years ago and our recent trip with my mom. Years ago you rode almost instantly, not anymore. The return times can be long and often were doing our trip with her. I'm not complaining but think you should be aware that you will not be able to go from one ride to the next with no wait. In our case we found ourselves waiting around a lot for the next time to open for mom. I will say Disney should give classes to the rest of the world on how to care for people in wheelchairs. My eyes were open when I had to take mom to stores(Target was the worst)and push her around aisles crammed with stuff. It open my eyes to the everyday challenges people face. Disney seems to have figured it out. Have a great trip.

 

[lanejudy]

You people on this site are so judgemental its crazy. And first of all you dont skip the lines, you come back when the time is ready no one said anything about skipping lines. How about you have some compassion for me trying to do whats best for my son rather than come at me for line skipping. Done with this post

Tone can be very hard to discern on a written message board. Based on the posters responding -- I think you are preaching to the choir as these folks are very familiar with DAS. There can be a lot of misunderstanding about what DAS will do and who can use it; some posters are trying to pro-actively answer some of that. As a parent of a child with special needs, I feel your frustration -- life has likely been in upheaval since a critical diagnosis of a very young child, and you are simply trying to plan a vacation and learn how to navigate with this added challenge. Try not to be defensive - folks are trying to be helpful. Check out the disABILITIES Forum. LOTS of information about DAS and vacationing with a disability in general and I know there are families there who deal with epilepsy and other seizure disorders.

 

[lanejudy]

Party of 8 yeah but 3 of them are under 2 and one doesn’t ride rides at all so thats not an issue.

Anyone under age 3 will not have a ticket. Without a ticket, they don't really count in the DAS-holder + 5. So your party should be fine. Since the DAS-holder does not have a ticket, either, I believe Guest Relations will issue a hard plastic card for his DAS; though it's possible the DAS will be added to a parent - in which case be sure you have thought through which adult will always ride with the boy and who may need to do Rider Swap with any other little ones who don't ride. Be aware that official Rider Swap is only available at attractions with a height restriction, so if you have a little one who won't ride anything, you'll be doing a lot of either a) making the child wait through the queue for a swap at/near boarding, b) swapping on your own (double waiting time) or c) someone skipping rides.

I have a call scheduled with Disney to see if my son qualifies.

The DAS video chat can only be done no more than 30 days in advance of the first park day. To my knowledge it cannot be scheduled. There are reports of long waits (5+ hours) and the boy will need to be with you. Any other call with Guest Relations or Disability Services will not actually approve/grant the DAS.

Was just seeing if anyone had any experience with using DAS.

LOTS of experience on the disABILITIES Forum, as mentioned previously.

 

[RoseGold]

The only park I worry about is DHS because just about every ride there is usually a 30+ minute wait but hopefully during the time we go it will be quiet.

DAS won't help you much at HS.

There's pretty much nothing for a 2 year old at DHS. He will be too small for almost everything, he won't be able to ride those 30+ rides for a while. I guess you could skip the line to meet the characters, if he cares about that.

Frozen and Muppets and Cars rarely have any kind of line, even when the rest of the park is packed. But these shows are like extended lines, I guess, as they corral people in to the theaters. If you think he can't do that, then he really won't be able to do much.

 

[WinnieAndMinnie17]

DAS won't help you much at HS.

There's pretty much nothing for a 2 year old at DHS. He will be too small for almost everything, he won't be able to ride those 30+ rides for a while. I guess you could skip the line to meet the characters, if he cares about that.

Frozen and Muppets and Cars rarely have any kind of line, even when the rest of the park is packed. But these shows are like extended lines, I guess, as they corral people in to the theaters. If you think he can't do that, then he really won't be able to do much.

Yeah, for the other 2 they are too small, for the 2-year-old he is somehow already 39 inches lol so he can technically ride most of the rides there, we have been going back and forth about going to DHS but in the end, we will just have the adults ride the rides and my wife and I will just take the kids to the shows and stuff. I will be posting probably later about what cool things we can do with children during our stay during Christmas, we have been numerous times during Christmas but never with kids, so this is all new to us. And with the kid's epilepsy we were just worried. TBH after these posts we probably won't even do the DAS and just skip the rides with long waits or half of us do them and other half walk around thanks for your input!

 

[SteveMouse]

Individuals not meeting a ride's height requirements are not allowed in the lines for that attraction at all, so someone will need to stay with anyone not meeting requirements (assuming the short individuals are infants/toddlers/very young).

If your 2 year old has a medical need for a wheelchair, you can request a "stroller as wheelchair" tag from Guest Services once on property. That would allow you to take the stroller in line queues, as you would a wheelchair. SAW and DAS DO NOT apply to Disney transportation..

 

[tjmw2727]

There is a good chance your son will qualify for DAS and if so why not give him the most options available?

Only WDW can determine if he qualifies, and it will be based on the issues you foresee with him waiting in standby. The chat is easy, but the wait time can be long, and your son has to be present. Take a minute and jot down your concerns prior to the call and then express them to the CM during the video chat.

Alternately if you run into issues during your trip, you can visit GR and talk with them at that point to request a DAS.
I second (or third) the suggestion to visit the DisAbilities section here, lots of folks with experience including those with seizure disorders and very helpful suggestions.

There are other options as well - including a sticker that allows the stroller through the line and in pavilions where a stroller would otherwise be prohibited. If this is something that would help your son avoid issues you can talk to GR when you arrive about the stroller as a wheelchair option.

 

[katyjeka]

Yeah, for the other 2 they are too small, for the 2-year-old he is somehow already 39 inches lol so he can technically ride most of the rides there, we have been going back and forth about going to DHS but in the end, we will just have the adults ride the rides and my wife and I will just take the kids to the shows and stuff. I will be posting probably later about what cool things we can do with children during our stay during Christmas, we have been numerous times during Christmas but never with kids, so this is all new to us. And with the kid's epilepsy we were just worried. TBH after these posts we probably won't even do the DAS and just skip the rides with long waits or half of us do them and other half walk around thanks for your input!

Please don't skip the DAS. It will make your sons trips so much more enjoyable. It will be a huge help in MK.

 

[WinnieAndMinnie17]

Please don't skip the DAS. It will make your sons trips so much more enjoyable. It will be a huge help in MK.

For MK we are only doing the Christmas party so lines shouldn't be unbearable for him, we are scheduling a call or chat with Disney to see if he qualifies or not so if he does, we will be sure taking advantage of it. Just so stressful dealing with it all since usually we are a go go go Disney family but now my planning will need to change. On the bright side we have gotten all of the dining reservations he wanted so thats a plus!

 

[katyjeka]

We were go, go, go Disney until we had kids. Our girls forced us to slow down and enjoy WDW. Running from ride to ride became less important and stopping to enjoy a "talking garbage can" took priority. The dis boards are a group of Disney loving people who truly care about making everyone's trip enjoyable. Sometimes what someone is trying to say can come across the wrong way as its hard to convey a thought. I'm sure everyone agrees that DAS is a great tool and as I said it made my moms trip enjoyable. I'm glad you were able to get your dining reservations. Hope you trip is fantastic.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Maybe because we dont want the kid to wait around without us? You people on this site are so judgemental its crazy. And first of all you dont skip the lines, you come back when the time is ready no one said anything about skipping lines. How about you have some compassion for me trying to do whats best for my son rather than come at me for line skipping. Done with this post

please check the Disability part of this site. the main thing with DAS if your son is not or not able to ride rest of party can not use his DAS. when using DAS your son will need to check in first which with younger kids can be hard first few times until they get used to it. not being judgemental just stating the rules

 

[piccolopat]

For MK we are only doing the Christmas party so lines shouldn't be unbearable for him, we are scheduling a call or chat with Disney to see if he qualifies or not so if he does, we will be sure taking advantage of it. Just so stressful dealing with it all since usually we are a go go go Disney family but now my planning will need to change. On the bright side we have gotten all of the dining reservations he wanted so thats a plus!

Just in case you don't know, everyone in your party has to be included in your dining reservations, including infants and toddlers.