The Disney DAS lawsuit is a proposed class action filed in February 2025 by San Diego resident Trisha Malone against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and its medical screening contractor, Inspire Health Alliance, alleging that Disney’s 2024 overhaul of its Disability Access Service program illegally screens out guests with physical disabilities by limiting eligibility to those with developmental disabilities like autism. The case sits in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California as case number 8:25-cv-00562, and as of late 2025 discovery is frozen while the court weighs motions to dismiss and a motion to remand the case back to state court.
What the Lawsuit Alleges
The complaint pulls together several theories under one roof. The central claim is that Disney’s narrower DAS eligibility rules violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act by excluding guests who cannot tolerate long queues but do not have a developmental diagnosis.1r2-media.wdwnt.com. Disney DAS Class Action Complaint
A second set of claims targets the application process itself. Applicants complete a video interview with a Disney employee and a nurse practitioner from Inspire Health Alliance, and the complaint alleges those interviews force guests to disclose sensitive medical details in non-private settings where other guests and staff can overhear. That, the plaintiffs say, violates the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act.1r2-media.wdwnt.com. Disney DAS Class Action Complaint
A third claim goes after a clause in Disney’s DAS terms and conditions requiring applicants to agree that any future lawsuit will be brought “only on an individual basis.” The complaint calls this a “naked class action waiver” because it contains no arbitration or alternative dispute mechanism, and argues the clause is unenforceable under California law and functions as an unlawful eligibility barrier for disabled guests.1r2-media.wdwnt.com. Disney DAS Class Action Complaint
Finally, the complaint challenges the alternatives Disney offers to guests who no longer qualify for DAS, including Attraction Queue Re-entry, Rider Switch, and Location Return Times. The plaintiffs argue these options impose additional burdens and safety risks on physically disabled guests and do not provide equitable access.1r2-media.wdwnt.com. Disney DAS Class Action Complaint
The Plaintiff and the Proposed Class
Trisha Malone lives in San Diego and has a disability that prevents her from safely waiting in extended queues. She applied for DAS on July 14, 2024, and was denied even though she was willing to provide evidence of her condition.2AL.com. Disney Hit With Class Action Lawsuit Over DAS Pass She is represented by the McCune Law Group.3USA Today. Disney DAS Disability Access Lawsuit
The complaint defines four proposed classes, all limited to people who applied for DAS at Disneyland or California Adventure on or after June 18, 2024: a general class of everyone required to sign Disney’s terms and conditions, a subclass of applicants who disclosed medical information in non-private settings, a subclass of guests with physical disabilities who were denied DAS, and a subclass of denied guests who were redirected to the alternative accommodations.1r2-media.wdwnt.com. Disney DAS Class Action Complaint
The suit seeks statutory damages of at least $4,000 per violation under the Unruh Act, an injunction requiring Disney to change its policies, and attorneys’ fees.4Disability Scoop. Disney Sued Over Stricter Criteria for Disability Passes
Where the Case Stands
Malone filed the complaint on February 10, 2025, in Orange County Superior Court.5KTLA. Lawsuit Alleges Disneyland Discriminates Against Physically Disabled Visitors Disney removed it to federal court in March 2025. Both Disney and Inspire Health Alliance then filed motions to dismiss, and the plaintiffs filed a motion to remand the case back to state court. In October 2025, Judge Serena R. Murillo stayed all discovery while the court works through those threshold motions.6PACER Monitor. Trisha Malone v. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc.
Disney has publicly called the claims “without merit.”5KTLA. Lawsuit Alleges Disneyland Discriminates Against Physically Disabled Visitors No class has been certified. No decision on the merits has issued.
The Policy Change That Triggered the Suit
Disney rewrote its DAS rules in mid-2024, with the new policy taking effect at Walt Disney World on May 20 and at Disneyland on June 18. The old policy offered DAS to any guest with “difficulty tolerating extended waits in a conventional queue environment due to a disability.” The new language limits DAS to guests who “due to a developmental disability such as autism or a similar disorder, are unable to wait in a conventional queue for an extended period of time.”7USA Today. Disney DAS Pass Changes Backlash
Disney also capped companions at three guests, with exceptions for immediate family, and introduced the video interview with Inspire Health Alliance, a contracted healthcare provider based in Lake Forest, California.7USA Today. Disney DAS Pass Changes Backlash
The company said DAS had become its “most requested service” and that the volume of requests had “nearly tripled in the past several years,” with usage rising from about 5% of guests to roughly 20% over a twelve-year span.8Fox 35 Orlando. DAS Defenders Group Hopes Disney Reverses Changes to Its Disability Access Service Policy9PBS NewsHour. Disney Changed the Disability Policies for Their Parks Walt Disney World also cited “an uptick in abuses” of DAS, including third-party operators who sold unauthorized access by coaching clients to claim specific conditions.10Disney Tourist Blog. Increase Disability Access Service Abuse Disney World Crackdown
PBS reported that guests with conditions including blindness, cerebral palsy, and combinations of multiple disabilities have been denied DAS under the new criteria.9PBS NewsHour. Disney Changed the Disability Policies for Their Parks Guests who no longer qualify have described having to explain their disability to cast members at each attraction; one guest, Sarah Todd Hammer, called the process “exhausting and nerve-racking.”11USA Today. Disney Disability Accommodations Access DAS
The Florida Investigation Running in Parallel
The California class action is not the only active legal front. In February 2026, longtime Disney Vacation Club member and power wheelchair user Kelsey Maurine Brickl filed a discrimination complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations, docketed as FCHR No. 2026119734.12Orlando Sentinel. Disney Disability Policy Changes Narrow Options The complaint alleges that DAS and related Walt Disney World transportation changes have “materially impaired” her family’s ability to use their DVC ownership safely, and that Disney’s suggested alternatives are “technically and medically unworkable and, in many cases, dangerous” for someone using a power wheelchair.13Disney Tourist Blog. DAS Discrimination Complaint Against Disney World Misses Mediation, Advances to Investigation
Brickl initially chose mediation, but no mediation conference happened by the March 18, 2026, deadline, so the FCHR advanced the matter to a formal state investigation expected to take about 180 days.13Disney Tourist Blog. DAS Discrimination Complaint Against Disney World Misses Mediation, Advances to Investigation Investigators can demand internal documents and interview employees. The probe looks at whether Disney’s eligibility process violates the Florida Civil Rights Act, whether the policy has a disparate impact on guests with non-developmental disabilities, and whether the alternatives constitute reasonable accommodation under state law.14Inside the Magic. Disney World’s Disability Access Service Heading to State Investigation After Missed Mediation Deadline If the FCHR finds reasonable cause, Brickl can request a hearing before the Division of Administrative Hearings or file a civil action.15Special Needs. Florida Just Launched a State Investigation Into Disney World’s Disability Access Service
Disney’s Defense and the 2022 Precedent
Disney enters this fight with a favorable ruling on the books. In 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a lower court decision in A.L. ex rel. D.L. v. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, holding that DAS did not violate Title III of the ADA. The appeals court found that DAS, which lets guests wait “virtually” instead of in a physical line, offered a “like, if not better, experience” than what non-disabled guests receive, and that the plaintiff’s request for unlimited or near-unlimited ride access was neither necessary nor reasonable. Granting that access, the court said, would “fundamentally alter” Disney’s business model by significantly increasing wait times for other guests.16FindLaw. D.L. v. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc.17Cumberland Law Review. Disney Accommodations for Disabled Guests Comply With ADA Title III
That earlier case dealt with a different question, though: whether Disney had to offer more generous access than DAS already provided. The Malone lawsuit asks something the Eleventh Circuit did not decide, which is whether Disney can narrow DAS eligibility to exclude an entire category of guests who previously qualified. Disney has argued in filings that the ADA does not require identical treatment of people with different disabilities and that a business can offer different accommodations tailored to different needs.9PBS NewsHour. Disney Changed the Disability Policies for Their Parks
Program Adjustments Since the Lawsuit Was Filed
Disney has continued to modify DAS while the litigation proceeds. In January 2025, the company removed the word “only” from the sentence describing who the program is for. In February, it extended the pre-arrival registration window from 30 to 60 days. By May, DAS registrations were valid for up to one year or the length of the guest’s ticket. In October 2025, Disney added rules requiring that the person requesting DAS be at least 18, that the guest needing the service be present on the video call, and that recording the call is prohibited.18Disney Food Blog. Every New Rule Added to Disability Access Service at Disney World in 2025 None of these changes touched the developmental-disability eligibility limit that the Malone lawsuit challenges.