Disney announces lifetime bans on guests who lie about having disabilities in its theme parks

Due to misuse of the disability program by many guests, Disney is updating its policies and announcing lifetime bans for guests who lie about having a disability at its theme parks to avoid lines or shorten wait times at the busiest attractions.

As described on the website, the new policy is intended to “accommodate a small percentage of Guests who, due to a developmental disability like autism or similar, are unable to wait in a conventional queue for an extended period of time“, being quite specific about its proper use.

The previous policies were very broad and could be interpreted in many ways. According to Fox Business, the program formerly stated that it was available to “Guests who have difficulty tolerating extended waits in a conventional queue environment due to a disability“.

Many users took advantage of the inaccuracy of the program’s policies and used them to their advantage, so much so that disability services have become the most requested services in Florida and California parks, according to The Washington Post, tripling their use in the last five years.