Sometimes planning a holiday, or even a simple day trip, can feel like a daunting task, particularly if you or someone you're travelling with has a disability. There are unique challenges to consider, and too often, places you'd love to visit simply aren't designed with accessibility in mind. Understanding and utilizing the Disability Access Service (DAS) can take a lot of the pressure off, ensuring that everyone can make the most of their travel experiences.
Understanding Disability Access Service (DAS)
At its core, the Disability Access Service (DAS) is an offering developed to improve accessibility for individuals with disabilities when they visit various locations, predominantly tourist attractions, and more specifically theme parks such as Disneyland or Disney World. It is designed to accommodate guests who aren’t able to tolerate long waits in a conventional queue environment due to a disability, including non-visible disabilities.
The DAS is a tool to help equalize the playing field, catering to the specific needs of disabled travelers to help ensure they can enjoy their visit to the fullest possible extent. It makes the world a bit more accessible, removing some barriers that could otherwise hinder travel.
The Service in action
Unlike the commonly known FastPass service, which allows all guests to reserve access to select park attractions, the DAS caters specifically to guests with disabilities. Once at a theme park, DAS can be acquired at Guest Services. Upon registering, they will capture a photo of the guest needing the DAS, or a responsible party if the guest is a minor, to embed it within their system.
Guests can then visit any participating attraction and receive a return time that is based on the current wait time for the attraction. This helps guests plan their day around the attractions they wish to visit, rather than spending the day in lineups. They then need only return at the given time to gain access to the attraction.
The DAS allows individuals with disabilities to rest or engage in other activities instead of enduring the stress, and often physical discomfort, that long queues can represent. This can be a huge benefit for people with a number of different disabilities, whether visible or invisible, and contributes to making the experience more enjoyable and less fatiguing.
DAS and Beyond
However, it’s important to note that the DAS isn't a solution to all potential accessibility issues. It’s a tool, and a very valuable one, but accessibility needs are complex and varied. For instance, the DAS doesn't necessarily address physical barriers in the environment, like steps and curbs, narrow doorways, places without suitable rest areas, or transportation difficulties.
The DAS, while a core offering, is part of a broader set of amenities offered to enhance accessibility. This include wheelchair rentals, devices for the hearing impaired, braille guidebooks, and more. All of these are essential considerations when planning a trip for someone with disabilities.
Travel Planning with the DAS
When planning a trip by utilizing the DAS, research is key. Only certain parks and attractions offer the DAS, so knowing where you can use this service ahead of time is crucial. It's also important to know the limitations as well as the benefits; the DAS is designed to offer an alternative to traditional queuing, but it does not, for example, grant priority or immediate access to attractions.
While visiting a park, the DAS return time is used in conjunction with regular park offerings, like scheduled shows and dining reservations. Therefore, proper planning is crucial to ensure the DAS does not conflict with other activities.
Enhancing Accessibility of Travel
As much as the DAS is incredibly beneficial within the framework of theme parks and similar attractions, it represents a broader shift in the travel industry towards improved accessibility. Even beyond these applications, there is a growing awareness of the need for better accommodation for all travelers.
Increasingly, accommodations, tourist sites, and transport services are implementing features designed with accessibility in mind. Wheelchair-accessible buses and trains, disability friendly accommodation, and changing places facilities are just some examples of an industry that's slowly becoming more aligned with the needs of disabled travelers.
While progress is ongoing, the DAS is a beacon of what accessibility solutions can look like, and a model that other parts of the tourism and travel industry can emulate. The goal remains to ensure that travel is possible and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of any disabilities they may have. With the aid of DAS and similar services, this goal comes closer to fruition.
