A class action lawsuit was filed against Disney Parks and Resort on Monday, February 10, 2025, in the Superior Court of the State of California in the County of Orange. This lawsuit alleges that “Disney’s Disability Access Service (DAS) policies and practices that systematically discriminate against individuals with physical disabilities and violate their rights to equal access, privacy, and dignity.”
When asked about this lawsuit, Disney officials said, “Disney is committed to providing a great experience for all who visit our theme parks, and particularly our guests with disabilities who may require special accommodations. Disney offers a broad range of effective disability accommodations and has worked extensively with experts to ensure that our guests’ individual needs are properly matched with the accommodation they require, and we believe the claims in this complaint are without merit.”
The Lawsuit
The lawsuit lists Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc. and Inspire Health Alliance, LLC as the defendants. It specifically says that “Disney’s Disability Access Service (DAS) accommodation, privilege, and advantage, alleging that its screening eligibility criteria violates the rights of individuals with physical disabilities under the California Unruh Civil Rights Act, infringes upon Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) guidelines, state privacy rights under the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA), and contains deceptive terms and conditions that contravenes the Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA) as well as California Business and Professions Code § 17200.”
It further argues the following things.
- Privacy laws were violated in the gathering and evaluation of sensitive information
- The DAS policy violates the Unruh Civil Rights Act by restricting the disabilities that are accommodated
- Alternative accommodations to DAS fail to offer equal access
- Disney coerced guests to sign terms that included a class action waiver to discourage legal action
The full class action lawsuit can be read here:
The Policy
Last year Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts updated their Disability Access Service (DAS) policies. This came as Disney continued to work to make a better experience for everyone who visited Disneyland or Walt Disney World Resorts.
The updated policies continued a long track record Disney has of working to accommodate guests with a wide range of disabilities. Through the years, DAS has been one of the accommodations that have been created to help make the parks accessible. Inside the parks, there have also been physical updates to help accommodate different needs. Disney has a wide range of Accessibility Services. This includes alternative accommodations for those who do not qualify for DAS. This includes:
- Attraction Queue Re-Entry/Meet-Up
- Rider Switch
- Location Return Time
- Handheld devices for guests with vision or hearing disabilities
- ASL interpreted
- Transfer devices
- Specific ride vehicles to accommodate mobility devices (wheelchairs, electric wheelchairs, etc)
In the last few years, the usage of DAS has grown significantly. In the prior five years, DAS usage had more than tripled. This exceeded the population that the service was intended for and impacted the ability of Disney to serve those guests. This led to longer lines at attractions as guests who did not require DAS utilized the expedited access queue that was meant for the service. Because of this, Disney updated its DAS program. The new updates went into effect in May 2024 at Walt Disney World Resort and June 2024 at Disneyland Resort.
The updated policy for DAS came after Disney worked with trained experts and neuropsychologists and reviewed the suite of accessibility tools. From these efforts, it was determined that DAS is necessary for specific guests who due to a developmental disability like autism or something similar are unable to wait in a traditional queue environment for an extended length of time. This specific group of guests who are covered by Disney’s current DAS system is very limited. Disney has shared the other accommodations for guests with disabilities on its websites to help prepare for a trip to its theme parks.
Through the years, Disney has continued to modify and enhance the DAS program. Most recently, Disney updated the window to apply for DAS was extended earlier this month.
Moving Forward
The lawsuit is being represented by McClune Law Group on behalf of Trisha Malone, “and other similarly aggrieved guests.” At this point, the lawsuit has simply been filed. There are multiple different directions that this could move forward. It could be tossed out by a judge. It could be negotiated and then settled between Disney and the aggrieved parties. It also could end up going to a court case at some point.
Daps Magic will continue to monitor the progress of this lawsuit and provide updates as they become available.
