In the wake of changes to Disney’s Disability Access Service (DAS), the DAS Defenders group is organizing disability visibility events at Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort this month.

Disability Visibility Day with DAS Defenders at Disney Parks

DAS Defenders are a group of disability advocates who started the petition “Stop excluding disabled people from Disneyland and Disney World with new policy” to protest the changes to DAS that went into effect in May at Walt Disney World and June at Disneyland Resort. The petition has garnered over 27,000 signatures as of writing.

To honor the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), members of the DAS Defenders Facebook group will gather at Disneyland and EPCOT on July 26. Guests are asked to wear blue to increase visibility, in the same vein as guests wearing red for Gay Days.

The event is not considered a protest but a meet-up. Members of the Facebook group can also make plans and talk through a virtual chat.

At Disneyland, there will be a meet-up at 10 a.m. at the picnic tables in front of the park. A group photo is scheduled in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle at noon. An evening meet-up on Main Street, U.S.A. will be at 7 p.m.

The first meet-up at EPCOT will be at Connections Café at 10 a.m. A second meet-up in the same location will be at 7 p.m. Guests can RSVP via a Facebook event.

The changes to DAS limit the service to those who “due to a developmental disability like autism or similar disorder, are unable to wait in a conventional queue for an extended period of time.” Walt Disney World now requires guests to do a virtual call to sign up for DAS instead of having an in-person meeting. Disneyland Resort offers in-person sign-up at a station outside the parks. A group using one DAS is now limited to four (i.e. the person with a disability and three guests), with exceptions for children. No medical records are required but guests found lying to obtain the service will be permanently banned from Disney Parks.

Several disabled guests and advocates have spoken out against the controversial changes. Many have reported being told to talk to ask Cast Members at each attraction for a return time, practice waiting in line at home, and purchase Genie+/Lightning Lane. Charisma Mangahas, who uses a wheelchair and needs a ventilator to help her breathe, went viral for a video suggesting Disney offer a discounted Lightning Lane service to disabled guests.

Read more details of DAS at Walt Disney World and DAS at Disneyland on their official websites.

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