GAC gotchas at WDW

[cmwade77]

Folding seats or chairs are listed on the Disney website as something that is not allowed to be brought into the park.
Occasionally, you will see someone with the type of folding cane that has a small fold down seat attached to it. I would not count on being able to bring one of those in because it is really a folding seat and I have heard of people who were told they would not be able to use it in the parks.

We were just at Toy Story Mania the day before yesterday and this is what happened to us when DH, DD using a wheelchair and I rode.
At the time we got to the last part of the ramp, which is in the accessible boarding area, we were asked how many were in our party and whether DD could transfer out of her wheelchair.
Everyone else in the line was asked the same thing as they made the turn or got near to the boarding area. The CMs did not leave the actual boarding area to talk to people who had not passed the last turn.
This has happened every previous time we have ridden Toy Story Mania, from the first time we rode after it opened.

The 2 groups immediately ahead of us were:
1) a woman in a power wheelchair who did not transfer, a male and 2 small children
2) 2 people using ECVs who planned to transfer, 2 adults and 4 small children.

When group 1 was at the front, the CMs transformed the ride car so she could ride in the wheelchair. The man and the 2 small children rode in the front row of the ride car in the pod behind her. We were asked to move all the way to the right side of the queue so that a group of 2 (one of whom had an ECV and was transferring) could get by us and fill the last row of that ride car.

Group 2 was told that our group would be coming in front of them when the wheelchair accessible ride car came back around so that the CMs would not have to convert it back to a seat and then back to wheelchair accessible for us to ride. They were told that a 'regular' ride car would be called to the accessible boarding area for them so that each child would have a seat and no one would have to ride on laps.

Group 2 was pulled forward into the waiting area in the photo I posted and we came past them to board when the accessible car came around. A party of 2 (one of them had a cane and could not do steps) was also pulled ahead to fill out our ride car.

This happens frequently at places that have wheelchair accessible ride cars. They do try to maximize the number of people loaded, but there is no guarantee that someone who can or can't transfer will be getting on more quickly. it's often random, based on the needs of the other people in the accessible boarding area and the numbers of people in each party.

For folding chairs, the website does specifically state that folding cane chairs and walker chairs that are primarily used as mobility devices are allowed (at least Disneyland's does, I would assume Disney World is the same), that being said, I know many find it easier to ask to borrow a wheelchair at each ride that it is needed, especially if they might not need the seat at too many of the attractions.

 

[stitchlovestink]

That is not new.
They have always done that.
The 'regular' ride car pods at Toy Story can hold 8 guests. There are 2 'pods' in a ride car and each pod has 2 rows, back to back that can seat 4 guests.
The accessible ride car pod can seat only 6 because one of the rows is part of the access for accessibility.
When we ride with 2, 3 or 4 in our party, they have always pulled other people to fill the ride car IF there are any groups of the right size to ride with us.
As people turn the corner entering into the accessible boarding area, the CMs do ask how many are in each party and whether or not they can transfer.
Many times, there are no groups they can combine because all groups are 5 or 6. There are times also times when the groups are too tightly packed to get anyone from farther back to the front, especially if someone who is using an ECV or wheelchair, but can transfer would need to get by a number of other wheelchairs.

When we get to the front, while we are waiting for the accessible car to come thru, they often pull us forward into a holding area past the gate so they can board others who don't need the accessible ride car. This is when they call for a non-accessible ride car.
How many parties load ahead of us depends on the size of the groups who are waiting. If there is one group of 8, they will take the whole regular ride car.
If it's less than 8, they will take groups that equal 8 to fill up the ride car.

This was even in the beginning, when the ride first opened.
When it is very busy, we have even seen them pull guests from the regular line to board in the accessible area to fill cars as much as possible. Since the regular line boards on one side of the ride car and exits on the other just ahead of the accessible area, they have some guests walk thru the ride car to the exit side and then board at the accessible area.
This picture shows the accessible ride car in the process of having the seat removed for a wheelchair to load.

Our party of 2 was waiting to the right of the open gate area for them to convert it so DD and I could load into the wheelchair car.
You can see the other car in the pod already has people loaded into it. They were part of another group of 4 who were loaded into our same ride car to fill it up. They were taken out of order because the group right behind us was too big.
The cars other than those 2 are in the regular track. The boarding area is toward the middle of the picture (you can see people boarding between the accessible ride car and the one just above it, which has people in it who will get out when the ride car reaches the boarding/unload area.

When there is a special boarding area or line, we usually watch the people getting into the regular line right ahead of us. Often we can see them getting off when they are done, so we know that we waited at least one ride cycle longer than we would have if we could have used the regular entrance.
We also have times when we are with a larger group and some of us are in the regular boarding area and some in the other area. Most of the time, the people using the 'regular' access are done at the same time or sooner. Specifically at Toy Story, I have been with the 'regular' group and could see DH, DD and the grandmas still waiting at the accessible boarding area when we got off.

I am NOT saying there will always be an additional wait, just that guests should not plan that using a GAC will save them time. It was designed for giving assistance related to a disability, not shortening waits.

Well I was going by what the mgr there tod me when I complimented them on how much better the system seemed to be running by them doing it this way. I have ridden this ride over 30 times on various trips and I watch and pay attention to what is going on around me and I have been in a party of as big as 4 and as small as a party of 1 and prior to this trip have NEVER seen or been pulled out of line and have watched them send ride vehicles thru half empty. We (other guests and myself) have had conversations in line about how they could more effectivelly load the ride. But at the time it was more about who was next in line rather than matching party sizes up. That has been "my" experiences on my trips. The manager I spoke with said they had revamped their loading policy to move that line thru move effectively. Maybe that has always been their policy but the CMs we encountered were not loading guests that way. Maybe now mgt is enforcing it! And watching them...but I was told it was new. So sorry for saying it was new.

 

[KPeveler]

Well I was going by what the mgr there tod me when I complimented them on how much better the system seemed to be running by them doing it this way. I have ridden this ride over 30 times on various trips and I watch and pay attention to what is going on around me and I have been in a party of as big as 4 and as small as a party of 1 and prior to this trip have NEVER seen or been pulled out of line and have watched them send ride vehicles thru half empty. We (other guests and myself) have had conversations in line about how they could more effectivelly load the ride. But at the time it was more about who was next in line rather than matching party sizes up. That has been "my" experiences on my trips. The manager I spoke with said they had revamped their loading policy to move that line thru move effectively. Maybe that has always been their policy but the CMs we encountered were not loading guests that way. Maybe now mgt is enforcing it! And watching them...but I was told it was new. So sorry for saying it was new.

It may be new as an official policy they are meant to use all the time. That may be what the manager meant.

I have seen CMs using this technique for loading since they opened the ride basically in both WDW and DL but it was not used consistently. So maybe now this is the official procedure everyone is supposed to use.

 

[SueM in MN]

It may be new as an official policy they are meant to use all the time. That may be what the manager meant.

I have seen CMs using this technique for loading since they opened the ride basically in both WDW and DL but it was not used consistently. So maybe now this is the official procedure everyone is supposed to use.

It was very consistently used at WDW for Toy Story Mania.

Because it only 'works' if they have groups of the correct sizes to fill a ride car, someone could go many times and not see it used. Even if you have a group of one or 2, there still needs to be a group of 4 to mix with because they won't make 2 strangers sit together on that attraction.

I don't know, but this does not seem to me to be a thing there would need to be a policy for. At other attractions, they do this all the time for the regular line. They will ask at Soarin' for example if there are any groups of 2 or 3 or whatever the number of seats they need to fill if the ones ahead of them are larger than will fit.

 

[disney david]

I agree 100% with KPeveler that it is difficut to judge as there are so many Factors that come into play.
Like Piper reports that she always waits longer but only posts every once in a great while that she is waiting for the wheelchair accessible ride vehicle. That makes a HUGE difference in your wait! And is important to know, at least in my opinion it is. Because I don't typically wait nearly as long. I usually have very short waits, but I do not need the special ride vehicle like she does, so therefore, I don't have to wait as long because I am not waiting for that particular 'ride car' or boat.
I also noticed when I was there 2 weeks ago that they are starting to load Toy Story Midway Mania much more effectively!!! Woo Hoo!! For example, we were a party of two and there was an opening for two so they pulled us out of line and filled in the empty car with us. So they are trying to send the ride vehicles thru as full as possible instead of worrying about the party order. Where before they would have left those seats empty if the next party was more than two. Now they are working on effectively filling the seats!! It really makes better sense and in the end moves the line even faster overall for everyone in the HC accessible line there. I commented to mgt that I was glad to see that change implemented, and honestly it was about time someone figured out how to do it!
But overall, there are so many mitigating factors, like the type of stamp you have, the crowd levels, do you need to transfer, etc... that it is really hard to determine how long you will wait. Personally, I find my wait times to be very reasonable and generally rather short. No complaints from me!

They been doing that for a while maybe a year or more they converted the single rider line into groups of two. So when the regular line and fast pass line converge if your a party of two they send you up the right side if the stairs and the rest go to the left. With or without gac they do it automatically so if you don't mind splitting up say your party's of two. I guess they found it harder to to fill two seats instead of one because they way they load they need a round number. So if your two or willing to say your two and use a fast pass you can get in pretty quick unless their a line for fast pass. This is the best thing because it gives a faster way for everyone to get on and also gives the guest waiting in the regular line a chance to shorten their rest.

 

[dvc one day]

Great answers. I think it's all been covered.

I am NOT saying there will always be an additional wait, just that guests should not plan that using a GAC will save them time. It was designed for giving assistance related to a disability, not shortening waits.

Sue always reminds people of this, but I don't think it can be repeated too much. Even people I know who I have corrected before think GAC's are a designed shortcut. A number of times I have had a longer wait than if I could use the stand-by line on Splash, TSMM, BTMRR, etc. (not to mention if I could use fastpass on those rides)

 

[Joanna71985]

Because it only 'works' if they have groups of the correct sizes to fill a ride car, someone could go many times and not see it used. Even if you have a group of one or 2, there still needs to be a group of 4 to mix with because they won't make 2 strangers sit together on that attraction.

Not necessarily. I've had it happen to me before

 

[stitchlovestink]

It was very consistently used at WDW for Toy Story Mania.

Because it only 'works' if they have groups of the correct sizes to fill a ride car, someone could go many times and not see it used. Even if you have a group of one or 2, there still needs to be a group of 4 to mix with because they won't make 2 strangers sit together on that attraction.

I don't know, but this does not seem to me to be a thing there would need to be a policy for. At other attractions, they do this all the time for the regular line. They will ask at Soarin' for example if there are any groups of 2 or 3 or whatever the number of seats they need to fill if the ones ahead of them are larger than will fit.

bolding is mine....

Actually, not true... this happened to me on my last trip. I was riding TSMM and was in the car and the CM told me to scoot over and they loaded another single rider (a man) next to me. I was totally shocked!! It was the first time that had ever happened there. But I figured I didn't have the right to say 'no' as realistically, how is it any different then test track or RnRC (which I haven't ridden in years, but I know they have a single rider line).
Now the best part was when our ride cars returned to be unloaded, there was absolutely NO ONE waiting in the queue and the gentleman asked if we could ride again and the two CMs looked at each other and said yeah just hop out and then get in the back car so it isn't as noticable but we don't see it as a big deal. So we got to ride the ride TWICE!! That was pretty cool!

But I would say the chances of two single riders being in the line at the same time is going to be fairly RARE!

 

[KPeveler]

bolding is mine....

Actually, not true... this happened to me on my last trip. I was riding TSMM and was in the car and the CM told me to scoot over and they loaded another single rider (a man) next to me. I was totally shocked!! It was the first time that had ever happened there. But I figured I didn't have the right to say 'no' as realistically, how is it any different then test track or RnRC (which I haven't ridden in years, but I know they have a single rider line).
Now the best part was when our ride cars returned to be unloaded, there was absolutely NO ONE waiting in the queue and the gentleman asked if we could ride again and the two CMs looked at each other and said yeah just hop out and then get in the back car so it isn't as noticable but we don't see it as a big deal. So we got to ride the ride TWICE!! That was pretty cool!

But I would say the chances of two single riders being in the line at the same time is going to be fairly RARE!

A lot of the reason they don't put two strangers together a lot is because the scores and "special" things depend on working together or competing against each other... I imagine people getting very annoyed if the stranger next to them messed up their "strategy" and complained to the CMs.

Plus, as you whip around corners, you get thrown into each other. That could be very uncomfortable for some people.

I guess WDW is different, because at DL, if there is no one in the wheelchair queue to load, they pretty much always ask us if we want to go again. They don't make us get out or anything. The CMs at that ride are pretty awesome about getting people into the vehicles, very good about asking if we can transfer, etc... But I guess people are also more polite in DL just because we have a bench to sit on while we wait in the wheelchair queue area! It's much easier to wait your turn when you can sit, as opposed to standing some more.

 

[oynk]

Before my daughter was born and began having health issues, we were Disney commandos. I can state unequivocally that having a GAC for her causes a LONGER wait for us at least 50% of the time.

I would divide rides into several categories:

-Your not going to wait no matter what (i.e Figment or most of the shows)

-You really won't wait to long in the standby line, but you will have to wait with the GAC (i.e. Small World or Pirates)

-OMG I wish I could just get a regular fastpass and not have to use the GAC (i.e Thunder Mtn, Safari, Toy Story).

-Hey, what do you know, the GAC actually got us on a bit faster (few and far between).

Most of the time when you show the CM your GAC and the alternate line has a long wait, they will let you know since I know some people can't wait for a long time. We just grin and bear it and try to use smart strategies.

 

[SueM in MN]

bolding is mine....

Actually, not true... this happened to me on my last trip. I was riding TSMM and was in the car and the CM told me to scoot over and they loaded another single rider (a man) next to me. I was totally shocked!! It was the first time that had ever happened there. But I figured I didn't have the right to say 'no' as realistically, how is it any different then test track or RnRC (which I haven't ridden in years, but I know they have a single rider line).
Now the best part was when our ride cars returned to be unloaded, there was absolutely NO ONE waiting in the queue and the gentleman asked if we could ride again and the two CMs looked at each other and said yeah just hop out and then get in the back car so it isn't as noticable but we don't see it as a big deal. So we got to ride the ride TWICE!! That was pretty cool!

But I would say the chances of two single riders being in the line at the same time is going to be fairly RARE!

I've seen them ask, so not sure if it is rare that they put people together without asking.

Considering that some people riding Toy Story Midway Mania have issues besides avoiding stairs that make them use that boarding area and that there is a lot of time waiting for the ride car to arrive, I am very surprised to hear that they would put any strangers together on that ride without asking.