With Universal’s recent decision to stop requiring disabled guests to apply for an IBCCES Accessibility Card (IAC), we must wonder if Disney will also change their controversial disability access policies.

Universal Stops Accessibility Card Requirement

We learned this week that Universal Orlando Resort no longer requires the IAC to receive accommodations at the parks. They first partnered with the third-party program last summer. Since then, guests have had to register with IBCCES online at least 48 hours before their visit. This involved providing some kind of documentation like a doctor’s note, although they were not required to disclose their diagnosis or condition. Guests then waited to be contacted by a Universal Team Member to discuss appropriate accommodations. Receiving an IAC was not a guarantee that they would receive Universal’s Attractions Access Pass (AAP).

With an AAP, guests “whose disability prevents them from waiting for extended periods in a conventional attraction queue environment” can get return times for attractions. As of last year, an AAP is valid for one year. Previously, Universal only offered accessibility passes for one day at a time.

Guests can still choose to apply for the IBCCES Accessibility Card, which is also used at other theme parks.

Disney’s DAS Updates

When Disney updated their Disability Access Service (DAS) this summer, they opted not to use a third-party program like IBCCES. They also still don’t require documentation. However, they have faced significant backlash for limiting the service to only 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.”

Many guests who previously qualified for DAS no longer can no longer use the service. Eligibility has also been murky as many guests with autism and similar conditions have been denied. The updates were due to overuse of the service. According to Disney officials, the use of DAS has tripled in the past five years, beyond its original intended capacity. Guests found lying in order to obtain DAS will be permanently banned.

The changes also require Walt Disney World guests hoping to obtain DAS to do a video call as soon as 30 days before their trip — which is after Disney allows vacation cancellations with refunds. Some guests have reported waiting in the virtual queue for hours. At Disneyland, there is now only one in-person location for DAS registration.

DAS also now limits the party size that can use the service. A registered DAS guest may only bring 3 additional party members with them to a queue, for a total of 4 people.

DAS Backlash

Disney introduced the changes at Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort this summer. Since then, disability advocates have petitioned Disney to stop excluding guests with certain disabilities. The DAS Defenders group organized Disability Visibility Day events on both coasts. They sent a mobile billboard protesting the changes driving around Anaheim during D23.

DAS Defenders noted in a letter to Disney that “the limits on family size can pose an additional burden on families that rely on the assistance of family members to care for a disabled child and can create distress for a disabled child who may not understand why certain family members are excluded.”

Disabled guests have shared their stories about being denied DAS, including Cast Members being rude, misunderstanding the guest’s disability, or misrepresenting the DAS policies (some cast have told adults that the service is only for children).

DAS Defenders said that these comments included “being told Lupus is not a disability, that they should not go to theme parks at all, or that they should buy the paid Genie+ pass instead of receiving any disability accommodation.”

Many have pointed out that Disney suggesting disabled guests purchase Lightning Lane Multi Pass (formerly Genie+) is unfair considering those with disabilities are often less fortunate due to the financial burden of disability. One disabled guest whose video about DAS changes went viral suggested a discounted Lightning Lane option for disabled guests. Others have suggested Disney should require medical documentation or allow it as an option.

DAS Defenders said allowing guests to submit documentation “would better assist those with multiple, rare, and complex conditions in getting needed accommodations while also deterring fraudulent claims.”

Cast Members have also told disabled guests to practice waiting in line at home and ask for callback times at individual attractions. Some who have tried the latter have reported mixed results, with attractions Cast Members not always knowing how to issue callback times. Guests have been told to return to the line, but this only works if they are traveling with able-bodied guests who can wait in the queue for them — and means the disabled guest is excluded from time with their family and friends.

DAS Defenders wrote in their letter, “Requiring guests with medical conditions to leave and return to the line could lead to discriminatory hate, harassment, potentially violent situations, and unnecessary negative attention from fellow park-goers who are not aware of, and shouldn’t have to be aware of, one’s personal condition. This will add even more unnecessary and humiliating challenges for those with disabilities.”

A guest with narcolepsy shared a video about how no longer being eligible for DAS makes a day in the park significantly more draining for her and she likely won’t be returning any time soon. Most recently, a guest shared that her father with terminal cancer was denied DAS and the Cast Member suggested they use the return-to-queue option, with her father waiting outside of the attraction while the rest of the party is in line.

Could Disney Change Their Mind About DAS?

Disney has held the line in terms of these changes for the past several months, although this week they did make one more update to DAS. Before this year’s changes, a DAS pass was valid for 60 days. With the summer updates, it became valid for 120 days. Disney has doubled that to 240 days (or the length of a ticket), getting closer to Universal’s one-year allowance.

Disney extending the DAS validity period around the same time that Universal stopped requiring the IAC might be a coincidence. But it also might be a sign that Disney is willing to budge concerning their disability accommodations.

Disney’s recent changes to the Lightning Lane system could also indicate future changes to DAS are not out of the question. In an attempt to simplify the paid “line skip” service, Disney renamed Genie+ to Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Individual Lightning Lane to Lightning Lane Single Pass. At Walt Disney World, both are now available to purchase in advance, with a system similar to that of FastPass+, although the former system was free. Read our guide to Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World.

In the past few years, Disney has also used virtual queues for their newest and most popular attractions. While DAS and Lightning Lane are essentially virtual queues, this third version of the system doesn’t require payment or registration. For select attractions (currently Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind), a virtual queue opens twice daily and guests can attempt to enter via the My Disney Experience app. Space is limited so not every guest will get to join the virtual queue. TRON Lightcycle / Run used a virtual queue until recently.

The queueing options for Disney seem to only be getting more complicated and expensive. Whatever Disney decides to do next with DAS, it likely won’t be a return to the former system — just like they won’t bring back free FastPasses.

Disney will also keep watching Universal closely to see how guests react to the rival theme park’s accommodations. There was some initial backlash to Universal requiring the IBCCES card and consequently documentation, but that died down much quicker than the outrage about the DAS updates. That being said, Disney has a much better reputation when it comes to customer service and a much larger fan base worldwide than Universal, so it often sparks and maintains more widespread online discourse than any other tourist destination in the world.

No accommodation service will be perfect for every single disability. Needs vary from one person to the next. And there will always be people who take advantage of these systems. Disney and other corporations are still figuring out how to find a balance between different accommodations and their bottom line that will please the most people.

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