Since we are located by Central Florida, we can’t not talk about Disney. Did you know that Disney offers services to make your experience easier if you have someone in your group who has Autism? This program is called Disability Access Service (DAS) and as someone who has personally used it, it makes a difference and truly does make your day a little easier and go a little smoother. The Disney website describes this as a program for guests with disabilities who are unable to tolerate waiting in a conventional queue environment (i.e. long lines). Now I do have an aversion for the word “disability,” but that is for a topic for another day and I will use it in this post for the purpose of this topic. Using the DAS, you can go to an attraction and schedule a return time that is comparable to the wait for the conventional line. This way, rather than waiting in line, you can walk around, enjoy other attractions, grab some food, or just wait sitting down in a calmer environment, rather than waiting in the line, which can be very stressful for someone with Autism, as well as joining friends and family members. The person with the DAS pass has to be included in the group enjoying the attraction, but everyone in the group is able to wait outside of the line, keeping your whole group together. Now, you can only do this for one attraction at a time. However, you can still take advantage of FastPass which allows you to have three at a time, and therefore this allows you to have four attractions at a time that you do not have to wait in line for. Having personally used this, I can tell you it helped the day run smoother and helped keep everyone a little happier. Disney tends to have very helpful staff members too who explain the process very well if you have any questions.
So, how can you get a DAS pass for your family member the next time you go to Disney? Just go to Customer Services and tell them you need a DAS pass and they will direct you to the staff member responsible for this. When I went through this process, it was very easy and there was little to no delay as we were immediately met with the staff member who took a picture of my son and gave us the card we needed to present at attractions. The next time you go to Disney, don’t forget to ask for the DAS pass!
