Disney World Extends DAS Window

Efficient instantly, Disney has expanded the length of its Incapacity Entry Service registration window for each Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World. The newest DAS adjustments at the moment are in impact on each coasts as of February 2025. This covers particulars of the extension, plus our commentary in regards to the motivations for making this variation and what else is perhaps on the horizon.

As fast background, Disney overhauled DAS at Walt Disney World and Disneyland previous to the beginning of final summer season. In keeping with the corporate, the adjustments had been due largely to abuse, misuse, and proliferation of this system’s use–with issuances of DAS tripling from 2019 to final 12 months. For extra in regards to the specifics of the overhauled DAS, see Incapacity Entry Service (DAS) Modifications at Walt Disney World FAQ.

We’ve been following this saga carefully for the final a number of months, receiving stories from readers and listening to accounts of different visitors making use of for lodging at Walt Disney World. It’s a extremely delicate topic that may be very private since it’s, fairly actually, make or break for some visitors making an attempt to expertise Walt Disney World. There have been widespread stories of visitors who beforehand had DAS being denied and suggested to make use of different lodging, a few of that are new–or are revised and highlighted extra prominently.

The make or break nature of the DAS adjustments and ensuing denials are doubtless what led to the most recent DAS coverage change by Disney. As of February 1, 2025, each Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort have prolonged the DAS registration window to 60 days previous to their park go to. Beforehand, the method may start no before 30 days previous to your go to. Right here’s the brand new language:

“Company can meet just about with a Solid Member utilizing dwell video chat to find out what companies could also be acceptable to help their go to to the theme parks, together with DAS. You will have a pre-arrival dialog as quickly as 60 days upfront of a park go to.”

The exact verbiage differs from web page to web page, however that’s the final gist of it. To the very best of our information, no language has modified apart from Disney swapping out cases of “30 days” with “60 days.” You most likely get the thought with out us going web page by web page to comb by means of the precise adjustments. It’s a reasonably easy doubling of the appliance window.

The motivation for this variation can also be doubtless pretty easy: visitor satisfaction.

The opposite latest DAS verbiage change to take away “solely” from the eligibility standards doubtless concerned involvement from a military of attorneys, and even then, its motivations and outcomes are open to interpretation and debate. Whereas we’ll by no means know for positive what prompted the “solely” change or what end result it’ll have on the ratio of approvals to denials, our view is that it’s pretty consequential within the amount of DAS issued regardless of being solely a single phrase.

With that, my greatest guess is that Disney needs to melt the perceived limitations within the coverage amongst potential candidates. To make it seem much less harsh or stringent, to encourage visitors aside from these with developmental disabilities to use for DAS. It could possibly be a approach of unofficially increasing the scope of eligibility with out making any substantive adjustments to the coverage or overhauling this system but once more.

In contrast, that is merely about making issues simpler for visitors to plan round DAS and probably cancel or modify their holidays if they don’t obtain DAS as an lodging. Going from 30 to 60 days may lead to a negligible improve in DAS functions, but it surely doesn’t materially change the equation on approvals. It’s all about lowering friction for visitors who apply and are denied DAS.

One factor that repeatedly got here up within the feedback to the “solely” change is that 30 days merely will not be sufficient time given Walt Disney World’s trip package deal cancellation insurance policies. There and elsewhere, we’ve heard requests for at the very least 60 days and as much as 180 days.

With the extension of DAS functions to 60 days, visitors ought to have the ability to make an knowledgeable determination about their standing and cancel in the event that they’re denied and really feel visiting Walt Disney World won’t be possible or fascinating with out the DAS lodging. Company who booked trip packages who apply for DAS sufficiently early will have the ability to obtain full refunds as a matter of coverage.

In fact, this doesn’t change something with the cancellation insurance policies of third events. Company who e book airfare, off-site resorts, rental vehicles, and so forth with out versatile cancellation or modification insurance policies within 60 days will nonetheless encounter the identical points. Given this, and the chance that trip planners are largely reserving journey greater than two months upfront, this received’t be considered as an ideal answer by some DAS candidates.

Nonetheless, as we’ve talked about beforehand, there’s a push-pull with all of those coverage adjustments. If Disney had been to increase the window to 180 days or supply extra versatile cancellation insurance policies to DAS candidates, this could create a higher burden on Solid Members and pressure the system. It might induce extra DAS functions, together with these made in dangerous religion.

That is exactly why I doubt Disney will take away this step of the registration course of: “Hyperlink legitimate theme park admission for every member of your occasion.” Whereas some readers additionally requested that Disney not require the acquisition of admission previous to making use of for DAS, I’m skeptical that’ll ever occur. The end result could be many extra individuals testing the waters, seeing in the event that they’re eligible for DAS with none precise dedication or intention to go to. I strongly suspect Disney would favor to course of refunds than develop functions in such a fashion.

It’s straightforward for visitors to say that an optimum coverage is X or Y, as a result of we’re issues within the vacuum of that one coverage and what’s greatest for us. Disney has to research how all of its insurance policies work in live performance, and never introduce loopholes that visitors may exploit. As a result of if there’s something followers ought to perceive at this level, it’s that even the smallest loophole will likely be discovered and abused.

For this reason we beforehand talked about that we strongly suspected Walt Disney World would difficulty refunds on lodging, tickets, and different journey elements–even these explicitly being ineligible for refunds–as a visitor courtesy to those that had utilized for DAS in good religion and been denied. Doing this with out having it’s the revealed coverage is crucial, in any other case it might be abused. Anybody who wished a refund for something would merely apply for DAS with the expectation they’d be denied, after which they’d request a refund.

Usually, Solid Members have lots of discretion over cancellations and refunds, even when the official coverage says in any other case. Even exterior of DAS, you’ll be able to usually obtain a refund as long as you’ve gotten purpose and don’t have a observe document of abusing the system in your visitor file.

Suffice to say, the DAS utility window being prolonged from 30 to 60 days is nice information.

It seems that Disney is beginning to pay attention. If there have been an enormous dial on DAS coverage depth, Disney cranked it from the minimal to the utmost final 12 months. The doubtless aim of ping-ponging from one excessive to the opposite was eradicating abuse, making it clear that the corporate was severe about DAS and would solely grant it in probably the most excessive situations–and scammers needn’t even hassle.

Now that phrase has gotten out that DAS is a severe coverage and never only a rubber-stamp formality, it seems that Disney is taking that large DAS dial and lowering the depth of the method. Our greatest guess is that this utility extension and the “solely” elimination will not be the one adjustments within the pipeline, and Walt Disney World is looking out to search out extra of a center floor. A minimum of, that’s our hope. It doesn’t appear coincidental to have two adjustments within the span of per week after completely nothing for over 8 months.

As we’ve mentioned beforehand, Disney wants to search out this center floor. Making measured and cautious adjustments, and assessing the impression earlier than additional changes is the savvy method.

On the one hand, there have been heartbreaking tales of DAS denials, a lot of which have gone viral for good purpose. These have made it actually seem to be a extra versatile and humane method providing higher discretion to Solid Members is important. All of this strongly steered that Disney went too far with the DAS overhaul, and wanted some extent of enjoyable its insurance policies.

Alternatively, Disney must keep away from enjoyable its guidelines an excessive amount of, or else danger a return to the rampant abuse that was fostered by massively well-liked TikToks and influential social media teams. This has been exacerbated by a way of entitlement, lack of disgrace, and Disney creating an incentive for DAS scammers by monetizing line-skipping by way of Lightning Lanes.

It’s a extremely tough for Disney to stability this, but it surely must occur. The pendulum swung from one excessive to a different, and there was lots of collateral injury amongst disabled visitors who wanted DAS and have been denied beneath the overly-stringent system. Cranking the DAS dial to its most setting hasn’t simply eradicated the scammers, it has harm visitors who’re really disabled.

With that stated, it’s honest to level out that there was a optimistic impression on the visitor expertise for everybody: better-flowing traces and decrease wait instances. We mentioned this at size in Right here’s Why Standby Strains and Lightning Lanes Are Transferring Sooner at Walt Disney World.

The underside line is that the DAS adjustments and, to a lesser extent, change from Genie+ to Lightning Lane Multi-Move are having a big impression. It ought to go with out saying that there are controversies, downsides, and unlucky realities to the above. However the enchancment to the circulation of traces–standby and Lightning Lanes–in addition to decrease wait instances can also be simple.

For my part, this has been achieved very properly–to the extent that there’s now extra ‘bandwidth’ within the system earlier than it begins negatively impacting the standby line or Lightning Lanes (once more). That’s one purpose why Premier Move hasn’t been a priority to us, and likewise why we expect Walt Disney World can go a bit additional in lowering the depth on that proverbial DAS dial.

Assuming that capability or bandwidth exists within the Lightning Lanes, it’ll be fascinating to see what different coverage adjustments Walt Disney World makes to DAS. As talked about above, an enormous reader request was an extended utility window–that’s now been granted. So what different tweaks could be significant to you with out unduly disturbing the stability of issues?

From the surface trying in, the large change we’d prefer to see is a “recalibration” of the interview course of. We’ve heard from numerous readers who’ve been denied, and there’s a phrase that has been used repeatedly to explain the method: interrogation. Whereas we are able to admire how disturbing this course of is for Solid Members and the verbal abuse they take for disgruntled visitors, there’s a greater approach of dealing with the method that feels much less adversarial.

This wouldn’t be an precise public-facing coverage change, as it might be virtually not possible for the corporate to convey. Disney most likely isn’t going to jot down in its FAQ that “the interview is now an interview, as an alternative of a scene from Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance prefer it was the final ~8 months.” By some means I don’t see the Disney Authorized crew approving that verbiage. Disney has an exemplary fame for visitor service and lodging. It might be a disgrace to lose that as much more collateral injury to the DAS overhaul.

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YOUR THOUGHTS

Ideas on the most recent change to DAS insurance policies at Walt Disney World and Disneyland? Suppose that is about enhancing visitor satisfaction, making DAS work higher with cancellation insurance policies, and lowering friction for DAS denials? Suppose that Disney is adjusting the DAS dial, lowering the depth setting? Hopeful that additional adjustments will likely be made that lead to elevated approvals for individuals who really want DAS whereas preserving abuse low? Agree or disagree with our evaluation of the adjustments or coverage as a complete? Please attempt to keep on subject–we’ve observed a few of these DAS feedback sections get heated and private. Talk about the coverage itself, not others’ use (or lack thereof) of it.