X

[W W]

X please delete post. I can now see I will not get assistance in the manor I was requesting.

 

[gap2368]

first of all

For Disney, the only thing the DAS lets you do is wait outside the line.

It does not make the wait shorter ( it can but it can also make it longer)

It does not mean less walking, but for most more.

I am not really sure if the DAS would do more help then harm really.

I would go to GR tell them your needs are. and why you think it would be better for you to wait outside the lines than inside the lines/

a lot of people think that since they are Disabled then they need the DAS this is not the case a lot of people are Disabled but the DAS is really not for them. I will give you an example I have a learning disability I have dr notes IEP, 405 paper works to prove it but this does not mean I can get a handicap parking tag since I have no mobility problems. Yes I know people that have both, I know people on the other hand that have a disabled parking hang e tag but do not get the same service I did in school ( like extra time to take a test, a quiet place to take the test Etra.) like I said it will be your job to think of why you can not be in the standby line and why you need to wait outside the line. the CM are not Dr and cannot read a dr note, but if you find it helpful to write a few bolt points down on a piece of paper then go for it.

I would just think of what problem you think you might have at Disney and say something like

I have a hard time with XYZ and XYZ caused ABC to me what would be the best way for me to tour Disney. Since you are an expert in you and the CM is the expert in Disney this way you can come up with the best way for you to tour Disney.

 

[Aflyingbuttress]

I have fibromyalgia and a metabolic disorder that causes many of the same issues you have. Based on the research I've done it doesn't sound like I would get DAS. It's really hard for me to stand still for an extended periods of time, which being on a line can feel like. I need to be either moving or sitting. But I still don't think they will give me DAS.

Best suggestion is to plan for not getting it and then try anyway.

 

[gap2368]

I have fibromyalgia and a metabolic disorder that causes many of the same issues you have. Based on the research I've done it doesn't sound like I would get DAS. It's really hard for me to stand still for an extended periods of time, which being on a line can feel like. I need to be either moving or sitting. But I still don't think they will give me DAS.

Best suggestion is to plan for not getting it and then try anyway.

a few things that help people I know that go to Disney with fibo.

1 she uses a wheelchair and pushes it most of the time and will sit some.

2 lines at Disney, for the most part, are slow moving so she does not really stand still too long.

3 if the lines do stop for any longer then she is confable with she will do one of two things, walk in place/ take some side steps. or sit in her chair.


4 when she is with someone else so try to have them stand behind her so that she has some extra room to move around.

I do know that this person does not get a DAS, she was very upset that she did not get one, ( but she really wanted it to bypass the lines, as she says that is why I have one.)

 

[CinderDuffy]

Please do not worry about looking "normal" - it's none of anyone's business why you have the ECV.

I don't think DAS will be a good fit for you. I do not see anything in your post that DAS would cover, since the ECV will help with your mobility challenges. Your family would also be unable to use it if you were not present and going on the ride with them each time.

I would make good use of the existing FP system and plan lots of breaks. Good luck.

 

[W W]

X

 

[Aflyingbuttress]

a few things that help people I know that go to Disney with fibo.

1 she uses a wheelchair and pushes it most of the time and will sit some.

2 lines at Disney, for the most part, are slow moving so she does not really stand still too long.

3 if the lines do stop for any longer then she is confable with she will do one of two things, walk in place/ take some side steps. or sit in her chair.


4 when she is with someone else so try to have them stand behind her so that she has some extra room to move around.

I do know that this person does not get a DAS, she was very upset that she did not get one, ( but she really wanted it to bypass the lines, as she says that is why I have one.)

These are great suggestions! Thank you for sharing. I've thought about bringing a wheel chair but I don't think I'd actually have the strength to wheel myself in it and then that leaves my husband to do it and we also have a child in a stroller. Not that she'd be in a stroller on the lines but I think it might be too much.

I've been tossing around getting an ECV, even just to use during the long walks and then parking it in a land and walking from ride to ride from there. I'm right there with the people having a hard time accepting that's I might need one. I know its silly.... I also don't want to deal with taking it to and from the hotel every day. I might just try to rent them in the parks, particularly Epcot which is huge, and do it towards the end of the trip when my body is just running out of steam.

But yeah, I don't want to just skip lines. I just want to not be in pain. There's something about just standing still that is so much harder than continuing to walk. Your idea to have someone stand behind me and leave space would probably be really helpful on that regard.

 

[W W]

a few things that help people I know that go to Disney with fibo.

1 she uses a wheelchair and pushes it most of the time and will sit some.

2 lines at Disney, for the most part, are slow moving so she does not really stand still too long.

3 if the lines do stop for any longer then she is confable with she will do one of two things, walk in place/ take some side steps. or sit in her chair.


4 when she is with someone else so try to have them stand behind her so that she has some extra room to move around.

I do know that this person does not get a DAS, she was very upset that she did not get one, ( but she really wanted it to bypass the lines, as she says that is why I have one.)

I dont want to bypass the lines. My thoughts are this ... if I get a dizzy spell and lose my eyesight. I sometimes have to sit for sometimes an hour for that symptom to pass or I can lose consciousness. Or a panic attack from nothing triggers. imagine that happening in a moving congested line of people. My husband would have to physically pick me up and carry me out of the situation and immediately take preventative measures if possible. If it took longer for a symptom to pass then I could simply go back when it was finished since the DAS time does not expire from my understanding.

 

[Aflyingbuttress]

Thank you for your reply.

From my understanding they give you a time equal to the amount of time that the current line is then you return at the appointed time and go to a secondary line.
How could this cause more harm ? (this is an honest question so I can understand the system better and how it works).

I had posted my list of symptoms because I have been mostly housebound for the last 9 years. I started to get my life back some however we live in a very rural environment. My whole life has been constantly structured around coping with my symptoms. If you read the symptoms ... you will realise it is not like a learning disability or being unable to walk. Those are predictable disabilities and constant. These are organisms which infect and systematically destroy every part of your body. I am not an expert on me by any sense of the word. I have hundreds of symptoms and new ones appear and others fade on a consistent basis. I will feel fine one moment then something will hit out of nowhere. or I will wake up with tons of them. Its the luck of the draw.

What I am asking is to be able to control my surroundings to combat when a symptom appears. I'm sure anyone who has or is facing lyme and its coinfections will realize how hard it is to make it through 20 years of it misdiagnosed.

Honestly I don't know what I will face, I have not been in a area as structured as a line in a populated area in over a decade. Im asking fellow lyme sufferers or if anyone who has any of those listed symptoms for advice on how the line situation confined them.

Im not looking for shorter lines, Im trying to find a way that I can alter my body at any given time to increase my abilities to stay mobile longer and in pain smaller amounts. Like not as long in AC area if I have chills or not long periods of time around people with perfume so my lungs don't start to collapse. Perhaps is becoming dizzy or a fainting spell ... that is humiliating in a public place much less the thought of it in a moving line. My situation is far from ideal, however I am doing the best I can and wish to walk into the GS with a list of relevant facts cause the list is daunting and Im unsure where to begin.

I really feel for you. While I don't have quite as severe issues I do know what it's like to go undiagnosed for decades and my metabolic disorder has really caused severe problems throughout my life without even knowing what the problem is. I also have a good friend with Lyme and it is extremely difficult for her. Honestly, I don't even know if she could handle a trip to Disney at all.

That being said, it sounds like using an ECV would mitigate a lot of the issues. I know it's not perfect, but it would help with the fatigue for sure. I think issues like the AC and perfume can be addressed by bring layers of clothing and letting people pass you in line if you need to get away from smells. Again, not ideal, but a solution. These are the kinds of things Disney will consider before giving a DAS, which is the main reason I suggest them. I do hope you can find a way to get the most out of your trip.

 

[Aflyingbuttress]

I dont want to bypass the lines. My thoughts are this ... if I get a dizzy spell and lose my eyesight. I sometimes have to sit for sometimes an hour for that symptom to pass or I can lose consciousness. Or a panic attack from nothing triggers. imagine that happening in a moving congested line of people. My husband would have to physically pick me up and carry me out of the situation and immediately take preventative measures if possible. If it took longer for a symptom to pass then I could simply go back when it was finished since the DAS time does not expire from my understanding.

I don't think the intention of the DAS is to let people ride whenever they're able to. It's not about ride time flexibility. It's there for people who really can't be in a line. Which I am not saying you can or can't do. Only you can decide that. But you can present your case to Disney and see what they say. Outside of that, I believe they have an entrance for people who are unable to leave their wheelchair, so perhaps you could just stay in a wheelchair and use that line. I'm not exactly sure how they handle that though.

 

[W W]

These are great suggestions! Thank you for sharing. I've thought about bringing a wheel chair but I don't think I'd actually have the strength to wheel myself in it and then that leaves my husband to do it and we also have a child in a stroller. Not that she'd be in a stroller on the lines but I think it might be too much.

I've been tossing around getting an ECV, even just to use during the long walks and then parking it in a land and walking from ride to ride from there. I'm right there with the people having a hard time accepting that's I might need one. I know its silly.... I also don't want to deal with taking it to and from the hotel every day. I might just try to rent them in the parks, particularly Epcot which is huge, and do it towards the end of the trip when my body is just running out of steam.

But yeah, I don't want to just skip lines. I just want to not be in pain. There's something about just standing still that is so much harder than continuing to walk. Your idea to have someone stand behind me and leave space would probably be really helpful on that regard.

Please do not worry about looking "normal" - it's none of anyone's business why you have the ECV.

I don't think DAS will be a good fit for you. I do not see anything in your post that DAS would cover, since the ECV will help with your mobility challenges. Your family would also be unable to use it if you were not present and going on the ride with them each time.

I would make good use of the existing FP system and plan lots of breaks. Good luck.

My family would wait for me to go on that ride. One family member would stay with me through the situation while the others went to enjoy a different ride. It means my family is paying two days to tour each park and there is a good chance in a 2 day span we cant even cover one park. I have had to see my husband carry me from grocery stores leaving a cart full of items more then once. I guess I looked at it as holding my place in line and making it so I could structure something like not being blasted with AC for an hour to make my knees collapse or be around someone wearing perfume only to remove myself so my lungs aren't shutting down. If over a hundred symptoms that are physical, emotional, neurological and cognitive do not qualify for this pass ... then I really don't see what it is for.

 

[W W]

Thank you for your time. I think I will cancel my families trip then. I see that disney is not in fact accommodating to people with severe disabilities all I needed was to be allowed to have time to rest, eat and remove myself from stressful situations which would aggravate my symptoms when they occurred. I see no point in this pass at all then. If problems standing, sitting, breathing, thinking, sensory overloads, balance, anxiety, panic attacks ... the list is too extensive. I guess I knew I would face this before I even asked. I will simply stay housebound the next 4 years of treatment instead so I can actually somewhat function as a human being.

 

[Aflyingbuttress]

I totally understand where you're coming from. I'm just trying to help is all. Personally, I've just had to accept that I have to make sacrifices. I can't cover a park in one day. We scheduled an 8 day trip to do 2 parks so that we can just to half a day in the parks and the other half at the resort because I know I can't handle it otherwise.

From what I understand about DAS is that Disney doesn't have a predefined set of criteria for it. They decide on a case by case basis. So what you're saying may indeed get you DAS, but you'll never know until you go there and ask.

 

[Aflyingbuttress]

Well, you shouldn't take the word of people on a forum which represents a small percentage of all the people who go to Disney. I suggest calling them before canceling and seeing what they say. I wasn't intending to deter you from your trip. I'm so sorry I came off that way. I just didn't want you to go unprepared without an alternat plan in case they didn't give you DAS.

 

[redberyl]

You will not know until you get there if you will qualify for a das or not, which can make planning difficult. Best to go in hoping to get the das but have a backup plan in case you dont. I disagree with other posters though, and think that you would probably qualify. Think of the things you mentioned here, like perfume, panic attacks, etc, and write it all down, as many things as you can think of that would make it hard to wait in the actual line, and give it to the CM when applying for the das. When I first got on this site everyone insisted my daughter would not qualify for the das, but she has gotten it both times we've gone. Some of her issues are similar to things you describe. People on here tend to be pretty narrow minded and think that only one or two specific situations qualify for das, but my experience is the cms are more open to a variety of situations that can prevent someone from waiting in a line. Good luck

 

[yoopermom]

I only have some of the things that you list, and one thing that I will say about an ECV is that you are still the "driver" and need to be able to do so, no matter how you are feeling. If you feel that you might be incapacitated for longer periods of time, you may be better off with a wheelchair in that your DH would then be responsible for steering, etc. Could one of your parents perhaps push the stroller?

Although WDW is a wonderful place, it can also be an overwhelming place, and it is good to think through all of these things ahead of time. For me, knowing that I could go to a First Aid station to rest and "get away from the hubbub" helps, for example. Waiting in line is only one small example of the....hubbub (?) that is Disney. I hope that you don't give up on the idea of it!

Terri

 

[W W]

You will not know until you get there if you will qualify for a das or not, which can make planning difficult. Best to go in hoping to get the das but have a backup plan in case you dont. I disagree with other posters though, and think that you would probably qualify. Think of the things you mentioned here, like perfume, panic attacks, etc, and write it all down, as many things as you can think of that would make it hard to wait in the actual line, and give it to the CM when applying for the das. When I first got on this site everyone insisted my daughter would not qualify for the das, but she has gotten it both times we've gone. Some of her issues are similar to things you describe. People on here tend to be pretty narrow minded and think that only one or two specific situations qualify for das, but my experience is the cms are more open to a variety of situations that can prevent someone from waiting in a line. Good luck

Did you find any good ways of dealing with any of the symptoms that I exhibit that overlap with your daughters ? Or if any of them were too hard to overcome. I know my situation is not ideal. But my oldest daughter is going to be 11 and I need some memories to keep fighting. The Lyme has taken a lot of my memory and my husband often tells me about my favorite day which was in Epcot. Im only 35 we have been together for 21 years. The year I got sick. So he wanted to take me back to Epcot to the fireworks show and just redo the day the same. I still have my itinerary I did in my scrapbook. Disney is not the best place for a person with Lyme disease. However ... I guess if I had listened to that or other people. I wouldn't be here today. You do what you can in life despite the obstacles.

 

[gap2368]

I dont want to bypass the lines. My thoughts are this ... if I get a dizzy spell and lose my eyesight. I sometimes have to sit for sometimes an hour for that symptom to pass or I can lose consciousness. Or a panic attack from nothing triggers. imagine that happening in a moving congested line of people. My husband would have to physically pick me up and carry me out of the situation and immediately take preventative measures if possible. If it took longer for a symptom to pass then I could simply go back when it was finished since the DAS time does not expire from my understanding.

This is why I think you need a place to site, and the only way you can have a place to site is if you bring your own, wheelchair ECV, roller. I would not rely on Disney to provide a place to site, ( they have been taking away benches left and right)

Thank you for your reply.

1. From my understanding they give you a time equal to the amount of time that the current line is then you return at the appointed time and go to a secondary line.
How could this cause more harm ? (this is an honest question so I can understand the system better and how it works).

2. I had posted my list of symptoms because I have been mostly housebound for the last 9 years. I started to get my life back some however we live in a very rural environment. My whole life has been constantly structured around coping with my symptoms. If you read the symptoms ... you will realise it is not like a learning disability or being unable to walk. Those are predictable disabilities and constant. These are organisms which infect and systematically destroy every part of your body. I am not an expert on me by any sense of the word. I have hundreds of symptoms and new ones appear and others fade on a consistent basis. I will feel fine one moment then something will hit out of nowhere. or I will wake up with tons of them. Its the luck of the draw.

What I am asking is to be able to control my surroundings to combat when a symptom appears. I'm sure anyone who has or is facing lyme and its coinfections will realize how hard it is to make it through 20 years of it misdiagnosed.

Honestly I don't know what I will face, I have not been in a area as structured as a line in a populated area in over a decade. Im asking fellow lyme sufferers or if anyone who has any of those listed symptoms for advice on how the line situation confined them.

Im not looking for shorter lines, Im trying to find a way that I can alter my body at any given time to increase my abilities to stay mobile longer and in pain smaller amounts. Like not as long in AC area if I have chills or not long periods of time around people with perfume so my lungs don't start to collapse. Perhaps is becoming dizzy or a fainting spell ... that is humiliating in a public place much less the thought of it in a moving line. My situation is far from ideal, however I am doing the best I can and wish to walk into the GS with a list of relevant facts cause the list is daunting and Im unsure where to begin.

1 the way the DAS works is that you are given a retrun time -10 minutes. they bases the retrun time off what they think the stanby line is. There are nuber of reports of the return time being way off sometimes it will say 60 minutes and the line is only 20. then you are able to go in the FP line, witch should take just 10 minutes ( most of the time it does not it take much longer) this is why I was saying that the DAS can take longer for someone to tour the park with.


2. you might not like what I have to say, but I do not think Disney will be a good fit for you. or at least not right now. I would wait on going. I would do something closer to home for your children. I am in contact with more smoke and perfumes outside of line than inside of line. I would go somewhere close by and see how you do. Is there a theme park near you that you can go to and see how you do.

 

[gap2368]

These are great suggestions! Thank you for sharing. I've thought about bringing a wheel chair but I don't think I'd actually have the strength to wheel myself in it and then that leaves my husband to do it and we also have a child in a stroller. Not that she'd be in a stroller on the lines but I think it might be too much.

I've been tossing around getting an ECV, even just to use during the long walks and then parking it in a land and walking from ride to ride from there. I'm right there with the people having a hard time accepting that's I might need one. I know its silly.... I also don't want to deal with taking it to and from the hotel every day. I might just try to rent them in the parks, particularly Epcot which is huge, and do it towards the end of the trip when my body is just running out of steam.

But yeah, I don't want to just skip lines. I just want to not be in pain. There's something about just standing still that is so much harder than continuing to walk. Your idea to have someone stand behind me and leave space would probably be really helpful on that regard.

going with little ones can be hard if you need a wheelchair and yes it is much harder to push your self in one.

it should like an ECV would help you a lot and if you are thinking about it. then you probably need one.

 

[Hoodie]

First, no one here can say whether or not you will qualify for a DAS. Using an ECV and doing whatever you do at home to best manage your symptoms (diet, medications, etc) is your best bet for a good trip. Have a touring plan with lots of breaks. You don't mention if you are staying onsite or off - that can make a difference. Prepare your children that there may be times when you have to go back to the room and rest. It sounds like there are plenty of adults to help so they can continue touring if it becomes too much for you. You are correct that Guest Services will not look at any documentation or certifications you have. They will not care about your symptoms list either, so you don't need to memorize that or be afraid you are missing anything. They will only ask WHY you cannot wait in a standard line and why waiting elsewhere would help. Remember, an ECV is allowed in almost all lines. It provides a built in buffer from the other guests in line as well.

Also, think of your triggers and what rides might aggravate them. Having just gone to Universal, I'm not sure there is much there you can do. Few of their lines are ECV accessible and many of their rides are high motion/thrill rides and screen based. A lot of people I know who are perfectly healthy still get vertigo and other symptoms from their rides. Think about what rides YOU can do and what you need to avoid. The DAS and AAP are useless to the rest of your group if you cannot ride. Do you need to avoid a lot of motion? How are you with 3D/4D? Very bumpy, jerky rides? Will you be able to transfer out of the ECV? Can you get down into a ride and then back out (Space Mountain and the boat rides can be a bit low for people). Will you need moving walkways slowed down or stopped? (some rides cannot do this) Instead of worrying about whether you can get a DAS, just start with a basic plan.

Editing to add: I actually think you would get a DAS, but I don't know if it would be as helpful as some of the planning. Remember - a DAS just gives you a return time for 1 ride at a time. It does not give you access to an alternate place to wait.

You also don't say when you are going. The heat and humidity in Florida can have a huge impact on many of your symptoms. I'd be more concerned about that than anything.