Disney parks tighten rules on disability access to combat abuse

The Walt Disney Company is stopping visitors who make up a disability in order to get around the unbelievably huge lineups at their amusement parks. Anyone found fabricating a disability in order to obtain special access will now be permanently barred from both Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida! In addition, they won't receive a refund for any annual passes, tickets, or other purchases they made.

Disney made this big rule change on Tuesday because way too many people have been abusing the system meant to help guests with real disabilities. This system is called the Disability Access Service (DAS) program. It was created to assist visitors who can't wait for long periods due to disabilities like autism. The DAS lets these guests virtually reserve a spot in line and then go do other things until it's their turn to ride.

Disney claims that in the previous five years alone, the number of DAS users has tripled. They believe that many visitors have been fabricating their impairment in order to skip waiting in line and go directly to the front of the line.. Some may have used the extra time to buy souvenirs, eat meals, or meet characters instead of actually needing the accommodation.

To stop this abuse, Disney is making big changes to the DAS program. From now on, all guests hoping to use DAS will have to go through a special video call before their visit. They'll have to talk to experts from a company called Inspire Health Alliance. These experts will decide if the person actually needs to use DAS based on having a legitimate disability or not.

The guests won't need to provide any medical documents. But if the experts think someone is making up their disability, that person will be banned from Disney World and Disneyland for their entire life! Disney is taking a zero-tolerance approach on this issue.

See, DAS was only intended to help a small number of guests each day who truly couldn't physically wait in the regular lines. By faking disabilities, the growing number of cheaters made it harder for those people to get the help they really needed. Disney says they have to crack down now to make the system fair again.

The new video call requirement starts on May 20th at Disney World and June 18th at Disneyland. It will apply to both new DAS users and anyone who already had access before. That way, Disney can recheck everyone to remove any cheaters from the program.

In the past, Disney's own staff members decided if a guest qualified for a DAS pass during in-person meetings. But now the company is bringing in outside experts to make it a much stricter, official process that can't be lied to so easily.

While no doctor's note is required, the experts will closely assess if guests exhibit legitimate symptoms and behaviors consistent with qualifying disabilities during the video call. If not, those guests will be denied DAS access and banned if caught using it anyway.

Disability advocates worry the video calls may prove too difficult or intrusive for some. However, Disney says this stern new approach is absolutely crucial after DAS overuse got completely out of control in recent years.

At peak times, some Disney rides built for a 60-minute wait ended up taking 4-5 hours due to so many line skippers. This produced terribly long standby queues that ruined the day for many guests who didn't have a real disability. By verifying disabilities upfront, Disney aims to reduce big backups and truly accommodate those who legitimately need it most.

Disney understands some guests may not like the new changes. But the company feels permanent bans are the only way to finally stop widespread cheating and huge wait time impacts on the overall experience. They hope it will restore order and create an efficient system that works as originally intended for those with real needs.

The Disney disability line skipping ban and new video validation process shows how serious the problem became. For years, able-bodied guests took advantage of the system by falsely claiming they had conditions like autism. This let them virtually reserve spots without ever physically waiting in the normal queues.

While Disney staff used to assess guests in person, the new video calls with independent experts aim to make the screenings much stricter and harder to fool. The assessors will look for clear signs, symptoms and explanations during the virtual meetings that are consistent with legitimately having an eligible disability. If convincing evidence isn't provided, DAS access will be denied.

The updated policy also lays out the harsh punishment for violating the rules - permanent bans from Disney World, Disneyland, loss of all paid admissions, annual passes and more with absolutely no refunds given. Cheaters will have no second chances after being caught lying to abuse the disability accommodation system.

Disney acknowledges this may seem like an extreme step, but says the rampant disability access abuse left them no choice. In addition to undermining the experience for truly disabled guests, the constant line skipping caused unexpected delays and backups spilling into other areas. Some rides designed for an hour wait saw queues stretch past 4-5 hours.

By implementing these tough new penalties and validations upfront, Disney hopes to create a fairer experience that keeps accommodations available for real needs while stopping cheaters and reducing wait times overall. While not a perfect solution, the company feels it's the best path forward after the disability line skipping issue spiraled out of control.