We’ve had mixed responses on Disney’s decision to change the Guest Assistance Card system. We reported Autism Hippie’s experiences on October 11.
Disney implemented a change in their guest assistance cards for children and adults with special needs on October 9 after reports that people were flagrantly abusing the old system. Cards called Disability Access Service cards are in place since this date.
Autism Daily Newscast appealed for experiences both positive and negative of people who had visited since the implementation in the system and we would like to thank those who came forward.
Temporary tourist, better known as Aunesty Janssen is mother to Carson, who is on the Autistic Spectrum. She is a regular visitor to the Disney parks, and blogged about a visit to the Magic Kingdom on October 9. The visit to the Magical Kingdom could not have been further removed from the experience of Autism Hippie.
She writes:
“After arriving inside the the gates, we immediately headed over to Guest Relations, inside of City Hall. The line was really no different than most days at guest relations. I would say it was a 5 to 10 minute wait.”
She found Disney staff, cast members helpful and polite, but there were some drawbacks in how specific she had to be regarding her son’s diagnosis. She writes:
“I like the respect and kindness she showed, but it took me by surprise as I felt that I had disclose his diagnosis, even though she didn’t ask. (Truth be told, I don’t think I have ever had to mention his diagnosis as much as I did today. Seemed like every ride required some sort of explanation for something. I felt like I had to keep telling CM’s my son is on the spectrum….). My recommendation to others would be to come prepared to explain what your specific needs are.”
As most of us are aware, children with Autism will want to ride their favourite rides repetitively, which can be a problem with the new system, but employees are sympathetic, as Ms Janssen explains:
“Carson had all ready selected the “car ride” to drive as what he wanted to do. So I knew our first stop to ride was going to be the Speedway. So we headed over there with our stroller and walked up to the CM who standing near the wheelchair entrance and asked how it was going to work. He asked for my DAS card to write a time on it, but I told him we can’t do that as we all ready have Buzz Lightyear on there. So I pulled out the 4 fast passes that guest relations gave me, as there was no way we could walk away from this ride, Carson would have melted down and he was all ready on thin ice. The CM manager that was standing there beside the CM we were speaking with, spoke up and said on no, you don’t want to use those here. There will be worse lines in the park today. I told him we don’t have a choice, that our son is on the spectrum and he chose to drive cars as his ride, so walking away from it would be disastrous for us. He then told me to put away the fastpasses and had the other CM use a different white card (which we learned more about later) and fill it out for a return time of then. So he handed it to us and told us to go ahead and continue on in.”
Disney’s parks also have an allotted number of quiet spaces for children and adults with SEN. As Ms Janssen wasn’t on her fist visit, she was aware of these spaces and where they were.
She surmises:
“Things I noticed or my takeaways from today:
- ALL cast members were very attentive and willing to provide personalized assistance to meet my sons needs
- It is a learning curve, but the CMs are all ready doing a great job
- I don’t think today worked as a true test, as every ride was at 20 minutes for standby…. so we will let everyone know as we test this system with “real” wait times
“For those in Wheelchairs – you will not need a DAS if you don’t have any other issues other than mobility. You will go to the alternate entrances and receive the white cards with a time to return or be let in immediately, based upon stand by time.”
We would like to thank Ms Janssen for sharing her experiences with us.
**Disclaimer**
We embrace our readership and your varied opinions, but would ask our readers and commenter’s to appreciate that these are people’s real experiences and not to attack the contributors of the posts. We appreciate feedback and your opinion, but comments that are negative and attacking in nature will be deleted. We thank you for your cooperation. Comments on Autism Hippie’s experiences are now closed and comments on Temporary Tourist’s experiences will be closed on October 15.
I just saw the online article about ‘Autism Hippie’ now and, as I perused some of the comments there, I was stunned by many of the sentiments expressed coming from people who carry all the hallmarks of embittered malcontents.
I have had the good fortune of knowing ‘Autism Hippie’ – personally – and so have many others – from Hillary Clinton on one side, to Michelle Bachmann on the other – and a variety of notables in between – all familiar with her excellent advocacy work for well over a decade. In this regard, Autism Hippie’s commitment and passion has been unrivaled and, up to the twisted comment section below the article, unquestioned. And it still is – at least to those who actually matter, and who are truly actively involved in the autism community.
Beyond meeting with legislators – along with anyone else who would listen, she has also worked tirelessly for those with special needs “closer to home”, placing iPads in classrooms – as well as providing them for non-verbal children living in group homes. Autism Hippie has also routinely fund-raised for Christmas presents, and has additionally hosted parties for up to 60 disabled children at a time. And, beyond the needs of her own son – has personally advocated for another child with autism who still has no true home. In fact, she has been an outspoken advocate for ALL people with special needs – not just autism. She IS interviewed by news outlets for a reason, after all – none of them for the sentiments expressed by the rather warped ensemble of people who have congregated at the article’s posting, seemingly with nothing else to do. What ignorant and wholly ill-informed fools.
I was amazed at the amount of nasty, mean, ignorant and rude comments.
Shows the ignorance of those who know very little about ASD’s.
Shows the crazy divide between autism mamas. Especially the ones with HFA kiddos. I was surprised how cruel some of the aspie mothers were.
Also, shocked at how personal people took her review. Really got people riled up for no reason whatsoever. It was amazing.
Personally, both my HFA and moderate classic ASD children would not do well at all with this new way they are doing things.
As annual pass holders to Disney world, and the mom of a 6 year old with autism and 13 with aspergers we have not been to the park since the changes.
Disney was a place where we had a sense of normalcy, no stress, just a happy 6 year old. My 13 year old still couldn’t tolerate the sensory stuff with the gac, so the new pass is definitely out for him.
we are very sad about the changes, and will most likely not renew our annual passes in the spring. Our weekly visits, that were less than 2 hours in the park at a time, using the gac, were NOT hurting anybody. Sad.
Autism Hippie is spot on. There is a disconnect between some workers at facitlites and our families with special needs. It doesn’t have to be that way. It saddens me that not only the park wouldn’t insist on a correction in their obvioius policy flaws, but that they don’t offer an apology with some serious reflection on how they will continue to improve their relationship with families like us who have had children with special needs.
I am happy that the new DAS is working for some families and know that Disney needs to work on the implementation. However, it is unrealistic to think that it will work for all disabilities or even all those with autism. I love the saying, “If you met one person with autism, you met one person with autism.” We have been vacationing at Disney for 8 1/2 years and our experiences and planning have changed as my son got older (bigger & stronger). Comparing a family with a young child in a stroller to a mother with an almost 18 year old son’s experience is almost absurd. Just because both children may have an autism diagnosis there are no similarities to their park days.
We have a trip planned over the Thanksgiving holiday that we planned 11 months ago, before there was any talk of changing the GAC. My son is almost 13 and has limited language. I have enjoyed Autism Hippie’s videos of her son because I could see my son acting the same way in 5 years. He is determined and fast and difficult to keep up with in the parks. He will continue to repeat the same thing a million times either to be reassured or to hopefully change the outcome.
I am hopeful that our family can still have an enjoyable visit in November. Please don’t tell me that I shouldn’t schedule a vacation during one of the busiest weeks. I have other children that I need to accommodate too that can’t afford to miss a week of school. Disney has always been a lot of upfront planning, scheduling meals, scheduling days, anticipating my son’s needs. I have never minded since the actual vacation was something our family could enjoy and make pleasant memories. I anticipate this next trip to be more stressful requiring additional on the spot planning and adjustments. This will cause additional anxiety for my son with autism and also his siblings.
I have read in Disney letters to families that during the wait time, we can walk around, sit in a quiet place or shop during our wait time. I can’t imagine my son sitting down quietly or perusing around shops. Unfortunately, my son does not make any of those options possible. I am optimistic that we will be able to make this trip enjoyable for our family, but I am sad to think that this may be our last visit to Disney. It is a very expensive vacation and may not be worth the added planning and stresses anymore.
This won’t work for us. It shows you searching around for the return time. With a small child in a stroller that might work. Think of the older children who no longer fit in strollers. My kid also can’t decisions. So if he decided space mountain and I did get the pass, I did make him wait chances are he will change his mind before that time is up. At 9 when frustrated and on the floor I will have a bigger issue then a child in a stroller. Ever situation is different and this one size fits all sucks. It does not fit us. This new system also takes away me and my sons independence. Noway can I drag him all over collecting wait times. The old way was challenging enough for my son. This new way requires me to hire someone to come with me and even then going to he extremely challenging. This is a spectrum and I feel its irresponsible for a parent of a very young child in a stroller to report how it works for an “autistic child”!
I have a total of 6 children (5 steps and 1 biological). All of them are special needs. The old GAC was a Gos-send. I truly feel it is the only way our family would be able to enjoy the Disney parks and give our children a magical vacation. The focus seems to be on autism. So, I will start there. My 8 year old stepson has autism. He is verbal. He stims. We experienced the cruel nature of some people this past March when we last visited Disney. While we were waiting for the backstage tour ride at Hollywood Studios, he started swimming, flapping, fidgeting and making his noises. The looks were bad enough. The comments we overheard were worse! My oldest step daughter overheard the lady behind her tell her companion how children “like that” shouldn’t be allowed in society. Should anyone ever have to hear that or endure that about their child or sibling? Of course, I explained that he has autism and like it or not we were there. Not only do we have autism in the family, my daughter has severe anxiety. She can’t even go to school because it is so bad. With the old GAC, we were able to avoid the major closed in feeling of the line queues, most of the time and what little bit of time we were in a line, she was able to manage it. I am now scared of taking my kids to Disney. I am afraid for the two kids I already mentioned. I am afraid for the others that are Intellectually disabled that won’t understand having to come back a little later when they want to ride that ride NOW. Having to go through the Fastpass+ app to schedule things won’t always work for us, as we never know what the kids are going to want to ride next. This new system is only going to add tons more stress to a vacation that my husband and I want to enjoy and watch the magic through our children’s eyes. I hope and pray that Disney wakes up and sees how these changes will impact the families. It deeply saddens me that because of a few bad apples and a little bad press, Disney ends up hurting those kids that actually benefit from their old system.
For me it’s just heartbreaking. My son has ASD and is 7 years old. A Disney vacation for our family of 5 has been wonderful. We have been 3 times with him (most recent visit was August this year). Travelling from Canada. Honestly, it is the ONLY vacation we look forward to. Having the peace that Disney has the heart for our kids and their siblings to visit and enjoy the Happiest Place on Earth exactly how Walt Disney envisioned it. Magical for the WHOLE family. We have used the GAC on each visit but do not abuse it. My son can tolerate short waits and therefore we only use it on rides were the waits are longer or given his behaviour at the time. Our experience has always been fantastic. Honestly, I have never seen anyone abusing the system. The new system will NOT work for him. It is the unpredictability of Autism that makes it difficult under the new system. The frustration of returning to get new wait times may work once or twice for him but then it will be a cause for a major meltdown, not because of bad parenting or a naughty child – it’s the anxiety and frustration that is going to be the problem – their systems just can’t handle it. Plain and simple. There is no way he is going to understand the changes now in place and our Disney vacations will come to an end. Disney is an experience that EVERY child and family should be able to experience and enjoy. Now so many families are being excluded. While I know this is not the intent of Disney under the new system it is, unfortunately, the reality 🙁
If the videos posted by Autism Hippie weren’t so “snarkastic” she would have more credibility. Probably the reason she has removed them all, and deleted all comments from Facebook that don’t agree with hers. I know from experience how difficult it is to deal with children that don’t have outward signs of a disability, and there are some so very sad it breaks my heart. However, going to Disney on the first day of a new system and expecting a smooth transition is unrealistic at best. I believe the videos that were removed showed she was not there for her son, but to show flaws in a new system without suggestions as to how to improve other than go back to the old way. The Disability act guarantees access, not special treatment. There are parents of young children that save and go to the parks that lack the same cognitive skills as some on the Spectrum. Should they also be given special treatment? Unfortunately life is not fair, and parents of small children who melt down leave the park or direct their children elsewhere. As a parent you do what is best for your child, and not use them to make a name for yourself.
As a side note in her removed videos she states she is a season pass holder, but in a post yesterday she says: “I am local and we visit multiple times a month (when the weather is cooler). I have family members that work there and they share a couple of the *few* free passes they get with us.” When asked if she was not truthful in the videos my comment was deleted. She also had the nerve to bash Temporary Tourist as an employee, but has family that works for Disney and gets her free passes?! I simply believe she has taken a hard wrong turn to try to prove a valid problem without providing constructive criticism as to how to fairly change what was a flawed system.
A suggestion I have read on other pages is to provide a three hour fastpass so you can ride all you want. Sounds fair to me, however I feel it would be best for non peak times to be fair to all park attendees. Plus, unfortunately I think parents would have to provide some proof since some diagnosis’s are not as obvious as others. In this world the ones who scam the system are making it harder for the ones who truly need assistance.
Do you have anything constructive to add to the conversation, or ar you just here to trash Autism Hippie?
I have in fact offered something to the conversation in the form of a suggestion to add to the system in place. What solution has she offered besides snark, crying, and belittling CM’s at Disney while filming them without them knowing. What would that accomplish other than pushing their buttons hard enough to get them in trouble with video evidence? Mission not accomplished, because they were in fact trying to accommodate her with the new system. Give it a chance, or give effective suggestions that will work for everyone. After all isn’t that what she wants?
If you read the entire message you would have seen I thought her intent started out good, but took a hard turn to bad. It was just about her approach. Have you evere heard you draw more flies with honey than vinegar?
P.S. If all she wants is noodle salad, why not share the recipe to make it better for all instead of trashing, and blocking those who have had a good experience at Disney?
Just to be fair, to everyone who keeps slamming Autism Hippie for deleting comments on her own facebook page: I had a comment deleted from Temporary Tourist. After I viewed Autism Hippie’s FIRST video, I commented on another post that mentioned there were others out there not having such a positive experience. In my comment I referenced Autism Hippie. After the back and forth started between the pages, my comment was deleted by Temporary Tourist. You know what my response to that is…SO WHAT!! If someone wants to delete something from a facebook page they created than that is their right to do so. My opinion is that in this specific situation neither one is completely right or completely wrong.
I am honestly surprised to see all the negativity about the new system from people who have not yet tried it and have maybe only seen one bad experience written about – an experience where the mom didn’t actually use the system. Granted I have not used the system myself, but it should work fine for my family with possibly a couple of exceptions which I believe Guest Services would work with me to accommodate.
I have read about a lot of experiences, some negative, some positive, some neutral. Some people are saying that it won’t be as carefree as it used to be, but it will work fine for them. I’m not sure there is anyone out there having a “carefree” trip to Disney! It’s a very planning-intensive type of vacation, whether you have a disabled child or not. Unless you make rope-drop and pick the right park to visit, then you cannot expect to ride ten rides in the middle of July or Christmas week. But a family without a disabled child would not be able to do that either, so why should we?
I’ve also seen “a one size solution won’t work for everyone!” repeated a number of times by people who have not yet experienced the new system. From what I have read of actual experiences, the new system is actually the OPPOSITE of “one size fits all”. If your child needs to re-ride certain attractions, then “re-admit” passes are available. Currently people are able to request a couple of FPs to start off the day and hopefully that will be the case continuing forward. I think the most important thing I’ve seen is that basically if you work with the CMs they will come up with something that will work for you. Will it happen easily? Not all the time. The system is still new, and some CMs are uncertain about what they can/should offer and I think that some guests are not helping them by being vague in what they need to have a successful trip. If you tell them “my son can’t stand waiting” then they are going to tell you that with the new system they don’t have to wait in line, etc.. If you tell them “my son has difficulty making decisions and could change his mind five times while waiting even if we aren’t in a physical line”, then you might get a completely different answer.
I just think it is WAY too early for people to be condemning the new system without allowing tweaks to be made and more varied reports to come out.
Hi!i just want to say that my boyfriend has sever Autism. We went to Disneyland sunday got his DAC. It was a breeze. It was not a front of the line pass, that is not the point of it. The only problem he had was remembering he had to go to the kiosks to sign up for rides, that stressed him out a bit and overwhelmed him. Other then that it was a easy system and i think that it’s going to work out well.
I am the mother of a young man with HFA. He is charming and smart and is NOW able to wait. Ten years ago, I’m sure our experience would have been the same at Autism Hippie. People on the autism spectrum are so different. If you meet 500 people with autism, you have met 500 people with different needs. This needs to be explained more, that every case of autism LOOKS different. Younger children get more sympathy and understanding for their temper tantrums than a grown man. Does that mean the adults on the spectrum have to stay home because they might have a meltdown? Also, with younger children, a parent is able to strap them into a stroller or hold them a little easier than an adult. My son was a runner. He would bolt out of line and we would lose our place all the time. Lastly, it is my understanding that the families interviewed have been to Disney several times. This is what they are USED to. Anyone who knows anything about autism knows that change is not good. These young people were used to doing things a certain way. It will take some time to teach and help them understand a new system. Frankly, I am a little ticked that people can’t just be nice and treat everyone as you and your family want to be treated!
Autism Society LA reports at Disneyland ca that the wait in Saturday to get the DAS was between 1 and 2 hours. That excludes my kid. He can’t do that.
My nine year old daughter has special needs as a result of two genetic conditions; she has global developmental delays. I am quite livid regarding Disney’s decision to implement this change to their passes. Like so many children with special needs, my daughter is unable to endure long waits in line; furthermore, the noise and crowds drive her crazy. Yet, she LOVES Disneyland and Disneyworld. The previous accommodations had enabled my daughter to enjoy the rides and attractions to the fullest. We would even go on her favorite rides repeatedly. I am sad and angry because I know that we will not be able to take our family to the greatest place on earth anymore. I have followed people’s experiences with the new program and know that it will not work for us. Honestly, I don’t see it working for very many of our special needs angels. I love how the new plan allows us so much time between rides; anyone with a special needs child knows what a joke that is. My daughter wants to go on rides, not go hang out at the park WAITING for the next attraction. I totally understand that rotten people took advantage of the old system, ruining it for our families who truly need such accommodations. I witnessed the abuse with my own eyes; I feared that this would happen. Yes, changes needed to be made to ensure that these jerks don’t take advantage of a system designed for challenged people. This new “pass” is not the answer. Disney, you will lose a lot of money as a result of this change. I, and countless other families, will not be visiting your parks with this current system in place. You shall soon realize just how much revenue is brought in from special needs families. You obviously don’t understand the will and power of parents of special needs angels. We will go to the far ends of the planet to find comfort, health, and happiness for our babies. Similarly, we are accustomed to fighting a good fight for our loved ones. We’re pretty darn good at it, if I do say so myself. You haven’t met Mama Bear until you’ve met the mother of a special needs child. Consider this roar a warning.
“My daughter wants to go on rides, not go hang out at the park WAITING for the next attraction.”
Guess what? So does my NT daughter, but she’s had to stand in longer lines, sometimes more than hour, watching kids like your daughter go to the front of the line and then ride multiple times with no waits. And don’t throw up the “but, but, but, we have it so much harder than you do”. Yep, you do, which has exactly zero to do with what happens inside the park.
Everyone should have to wait their turn, and if your kid can’t do that, then don’t bring them to Disney.
I’m glad your son and you had a plesent experience at Disney. My wish is the same for myself and my 14 year old son, suffering from severe autism. We visited magic kingdom on Tuesday the 8th the day before the changes because I needed to hear with my own ears what the new rules were and what special accommodations would be made for my son. I was asked what would he need to make his visit successful to which I replied, ” for him to be able to go through the fast pass line
Hopefully, those days are long gone, and you can wait like everyone else does. Unlike everyone else, you’ll be able to wait outside the line, in a comfortable place, which is very reasonable.
I want to clarify something that I have seen run rampant elsewhere. No one is going to have to wait for hours in an enclosed crowded line. The way that the DAS works is that you get a return time for your DAS based on the current wait time. So much like a Fast Pass you are free to do anything else and won’t have to wait in that line and this should help with anxiety.
As well you can schedule FastPass+ return times and line up for shorter wait standby lines in the interim.
I love it when people who use the GAC say “I never saw anyone abusing the system!” You know why? Because you weren’t standing in line watching everyone breeze past you over and over again. People who say “All my ASD kid wants to do is ride rides.” Well guess what….. So do mine! We have to wait. Even when my kids are throwing a fit because they are SICK of standing and waiting in line. It’s not them just being bratty, waiting SUCKS!! For everyone. Waiting 30-90 minutes in a line flipping sucks for all involved. My kids are crawling around on the floor because their feet hurt. There is nothing to do but look at the asses of the people in front of you (at their height). My kids have made me cry at disney before cause they were so grumpy from waiting that they just wanted to leave. AND WHO COULD BLAME THEM!!!! Everyone thinks Disney is just a magical la dee frickin dah day for “normal” kids. It isn’t. Where’s our pass when my kids just want to get on the ride. My kids are “melting down” in their own way. Where’s my pass to loop rides when the fastpasses for toy story mania have been gone since 11am and the line is 120 minutes long. Welp. Looks like we get to ride that once kids!! I bet the GAC was a “godsend” because it essentially took the BS out of Disney.
But you don’t care about my kids. You flew past them 30 minutes ago on your way to the front of the line. Well it’s gone. It’s over. Now you get to experience Disney for what it is. For my kids I’d say its 20% magic, 80% hell.
Amen Sister!
I am truly so sad at where humanity is going. It may be difficult to stand in line with typical kids bit it’s possible. Please think about what you say before you say it. I think any mom of Autistic kid would in a heart beat wish to stand in line like all the typical kids. We did not ask for this. We had children and somewhere around two learned of our children’s struggles. Everyday is a struggle for both the parents and an autistic child. Please please think before saying you want a pass so your typical kids don’t have to stand in line. You are talking to parents that are exhausted making life work for their children. I would do anything for my son to stand in line like a typical child at Disney. Trust me the pass does not make a care free day just possible for us to go. Feel blessed that you don’t have the struggles our family faces but please understand it will never be “fair” between a typical child and ASD child at Disney. No pass could make it “fair” for my son. I am completely heartbroken by comments of parents with typical children. You truly have no idea. You cause great pain with such comments!
Oh it’s fair now. It sucks for all!!!!
If you are a person that it just eats you up inside to see a disabled child go to a shorter line then all I can do is pray for you!
Ashley, speaking only for myself,, it isn’t that it eats me up to see a disabled kid go ahead. And no, I don’t want a pass to bypass the lines.
But I would like is some acknowledgment that in order to give your kids the kind of privileged access you had under the GAC, other kids had to
Sorry, hit enter by mistake…
What I would like is some acknowledgement that in order to give your kids the kind of privileged access you had under the GAC, other kids had to wait longer. And when I see comments like Laura made above, that her daughter doesn’t want to wait, she wants to ride, well no **** – they ALL want to ride. The GAC was NEVER meant to provide FOTL access and repeat rides with no waits,, but parents of children with cognitive and intellectual disabilities took advantage of it, and that’s what it became. And when it turned into that, it was an incentive for people to scam the system.
The scammers are lowlifes, no two ways about it. But Disney didn’t end the GAC just because of the scammers – they had to end it because families with disabled members abused the GAC until it became unsustainable.
On the LA Autism Society Facebook page, they lament that using the DAS, a disabled person can only ride 5 or 6 rides in an 8 hour day if they have to actually wait. Guess what? That’s all that the non-disabled are able to do if they have to wait too.
I hate to tell you but it bothers a lot of people to let ANYONE cut in line. A line is a line. It’s full of people and every person has a sad story or a tragedy in life. A huge majority of people have a disability. High blood pressure, crones, Tourette’s, cerebral palsy, downs, autism, heart disease, lupus, thyroid problems, Alzheimer’s, cancer, asthma, PTSD, ADD, OCD, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, IBS, schizophrenia, amputees, the blind, and everything in between. They can’t all get in front!! Not to mention their 5 other family members that are able to cut too. Sorry everyone waits at disney now.
I try to be fair when reading about different peoples experiences. It is a good idea to google the person’s name who is posting about their experiences to get a feel for where they might be coming from. I did just that……an eye opener!
No that doesn’t seem stalker-ish…..LOL!
LOL!!! It is just that I saw a few glowing posts about the new system, so I googled some names and found out a few were Disney travel agents or Disney bloggers. It doesn’t mean their perspective isn’t valid but it might indicate a desire to be “Disney friendly”. I got the idea after a woman posted a lot of really snarky comments to parent’s of special needs kids concerned about the new system on a website/blog and again, she was a travel agent specializing in Disney trips.
Posts like the one above from Temporary Tourist and many others I have read online will help lead to the downfall of the new DAS system just like the old one – it’s only a matter of time. She and many others are showing/telling you exactly what you need to say or do in order to get a DAS, to be able to use a stroller as wheelchair, to get additional Fast Passes, and even re-admit passes that allow you to ride a ride over and over again with no wait. This information will help all of those (with and without disabilities) trying to beat/scam the system. Temporary Tourist gives a great example of how to scam the system from the get go. You get your first DAS return time for a ride and then you take your stroller as wheelchair to a ride that you know has a wheelchair accessible entrance – you don’t offer up your DAS card because you know you’re only supposed to get one return time – so you play like you don’t understand how the whole system works and you accept the white wheelchair return time card that is meant for those guests with mobility issues that do not have a DAS card. Now you have 2 return times when you’re only supposed to have 1 – bravo to you, you just cheated the system! If each of you does this as you teach each other the ways of scamming this new system you’ll ruin it in no time flat! That doesn’t even count the scammers without disabilities! I believe that there are many people that would truly benefit from extra assistance but that many of the people claiming the need for extra assistance really don’t need it – they just want it or want it because they’ve always had it. It appears that those with the least amount of disability or the most high functioning kids “on the spectrum” or otherwise are the ones complaining the loudest and insisting on the most help. They want what they had – which was probably amazing considering they really didn’t even need that extra accommodation. I hope Disney stops caving to the loud mouth bullies and gets wise to the scamming that has already begun so they can save the new DAS system before it turns into the old GAC system!
Well said, and I agree 100%!!
It’s kind of funny to watch the very same people that complain (and with good reason) about their children being made fun of or bullied now turning into bullies themselves. I had no idea that the autism community had so many bullies within its ranks.
How hypocritical can you be?