Jessica Rechani

I don’t know where to even begin right now, but this is something that must be addressed right here, right now. Today was the first Disney World theme park day for me and my family and it has turned into a complete disaster. Why? Because of Disney World’s new set of rules for its disability access service (DAS). I have been using this system for many years and I have never had a problem with it until now. Apparently, having conditions like Autism and Anxiety do not make you qualified for Disney World’s DAS services anymore. Now, because of other people abusing the system, you must speak with a cast member and a medical professional via video chat to make sure you have the qualifications. The new rules are that if you do have a condition like the conditions I have mentioned before, you no longer can expect to stay in line for a ride with your whole party. You now have to wait until the other members of your party get to front of the ride to join them. After getting that situation out of the way, I tried to call Disney’s help desk to no avail. Their reason for this change you may ask? Because they want to keep things “fair” to others and by fair, I mean completely segregating those with Autism and other mental conditions away from those with physical conditions. Perhaps if I were to be obese and in a wheelchair or part of the LGBTQ + community, I would be qualified for those conditions, but no, instead, I was both enraged and humiliated at the outcome and even after seeing people at both Guest Relations and the Park Experience Team, the final solution for me and my family to do was to cancel all of our park tickets for the whole weekend we are here and get a big refund. I cannot feel nothing but disappointment in the entire staff at Walt Disney World Resort. This is not alright. Not only is segregation wrong, but, it is in violation of the American Disabilities Act which clearly states that you cannot segregate people who have disabilities. How can they even call themselves “The Most Magical Place on Earth”? I do not think they deserve to be called that. So, if you are planning on using a disability access service, please, do not use Walt Disney World’s.