Follow Up, Re-Ads and the DAS

Part of the frustration of working with the DAS system is that there appears to be considerable mis-information, some people handed a stack of Re-Ads, others turned away; differing communications on when they are going away, if they are going away and why.  I reason that when giving advice to parents and caregivers they can’t spend thousands of dollars on a “Maybe.” So we will work here on what we know.  The DAS remains, and that is what we will plan for with our clients.  Re-Ads were not supposed to be used in conjunction with the DAS, at least that is not what they were originally created for; they were brought in to be used and now Disney is wanting to remove them.  And in the interim, we are going to have to find plausible workarounds for our families.  We will adapt and yes, make it work.  We have before.

I cannot state to any Clients or Guests I work with to depend on getting Re-Ads,  so I will plan for them not being there.  If they are given at this point, it’s a bonus.  I tend to lean on what I know will be there as a support when working with Clients.  And, as always, I will help clients work with the DAS to plan their vacations.  There will be letters written, discussions had, but vacations are still happening and we must plan for every scenario.

I am going to write and work to advocate in the most polite and professional way I possibly can to educate why there needs to be some accommodation for nesting behaviors in some capacity.  I encourage everyone to advocate, not in a destructive or negative way, but in a way that shows the genuine concerns we have about how these policies will effect those with Autism and other Cognitive Disabilities. My intent with writing the piece yesterday was to inform on what the A-Typical family will probably be told when at the Parks going forward.  It was confirmed by no less than three sources that I trust implicitly, who are in the parks weekly and have experience with special needs and Disney.  I understand if the post upset people, but I am simply reporting what is being confirmed to me and what is confirmed from a variance of Guests by Disney.

I understand the frustrations that come from this, as it’s an emotional issue for a great many of us.  Disney brings out so many facets of emotion because of what we have experienced with this company, at it’s theme parks, in the quiet of a movie theater, growing up as children.  We want as much of that experience as possible for our own, and if it seems part of what we enjoyed is now gone, it feels a bit like mourning, and there is anger and frustration, and all of these different things that go along with it.

A wise man said:  “Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious…and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”  

So too as for me and my family, we will Keep Moving Forward in order to aid our son and others in adapting to new ways and new paths in and out of the theme parks.

Amy