Autism?

 
That creaky noise we’ve been hearing coming down off of Airway today isn’t some new special effect from the Imagineers.

It’s the sound of a huge can of worms getting opened by the top brass on Buena Vista.

 

Walt Disney World’s new Disability Access Service (DAS) is now in effect and is only available to guests with a developmental disability such as autism or a similar disorder.

In-person registration for DAS at the parks has been eliminated, and all applications for the service must be done via live video chat available from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm Eastern Time

The new policy is aimed at addressing the misuse of this widely used benefit, which skips conventional queue environments at the parks, and tries to ensure that DAS is used fairly and only by those who truly need it, improving the park experience for all guests.

DAS is intended for guests with difficulty tolerating extended waits in a conventional queue environment due to a disability. DAS offers return times for attractions, similar to standby waits, allowing guests and their party to enjoy other park experiences instead of waiting in line. Disney has dramatically narrowed the scope of eligibility and now says that DAS is for guests with a “developmental disability like autism or similar.” The new DAS also extends the enrollment period from 60 days to 120 days, and reduces the DAS party size to four guests.

 

So if you show up in a wheelchair you’re out of luck, but if you tell them on a video chat that you’re on the spectrum that’ll get you off the line.

Like what could possibly go wrong?

Since just about everyone in the country now under the age of 55 is exhibiting clear signs of at least a temporary case of Asperger’s, and one or two or three forms of mental illness together is the fashionable thing to have now, this big new change of policy is gonna be fun to watch.

Pretty soon there won’t be any lines.

 

Disney is facing increasing abuse of the system, which, according to sources who spoke with WDWMAGIC, is the primary cause for extended wait times in the Genie+ Lightning Lanes and occupies a significant quantity of available Lightning Lane inventory.

 

We first heard years ago that showing up with grandma in a wheelchair got you special privileges at Disneyland. Is it no surprise that this would have gotten abused?