Home / Business and Economy / Disney Denies Ride Access: Disability Rights Fight
Disney Denies Ride Access: Disability Rights Fight
8 Dec
Summary
- New Disney policy restricts disability access to developmental issues.
- Disabled guests and advocates challenge restrictive eligibility criteria.
- A shareholder proposal seeks independent review of Disney's policies.
A federal lawsuit and shareholder proposal are challenging Disney's updated Disability Access Service (DAS) program. The program, intended to help disabled guests skip long theme park lines, has been narrowed to primarily benefit individuals with developmental disabilities like autism. This change has led to many guests, including Shannon Bonadurer and her son, being denied access, sparking accusations that Disney is unfairly determining who qualifies as disabled.
Disney states the DAS program needed reform due to a fourfold increase in usage, growing from 5% to 20% of guests. The company argues the Americans with Disabilities Act does not mandate identical accommodations for all disabilities and that alternative solutions are provided for those not meeting the new DAS criteria. This approach is being likened to different seating arrangements in a movie theater for wheelchair users versus deaf patrons.
An advocacy group, DAS Defenders, has submitted a shareholder proposal calling for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney attorneys are attempting to block this proposal, citing it as an attempt to micromanage operations and inaccurately blaming policy changes for attendance declines, which the company attributes to hurricanes. The proposal also claims the DAS changes have negatively impacted park attendance.
