GAC ?? How tos?

[jacksmom]

Hi! Never used this before, but have Asthma r/t allergies and get very SOB at times esp in hot weather, also recently had sinus surgery! I know fla is probably not the best destination, but dd (6) really wants to go and summer is our best chance! Can anyone tell me how this works?? How to apply?, etc!

 

[intheshadows]

A GAC is meant to assist guests with specific needs. There is nothing a GAC can do for you in the summer in Florida if you have allergies/sinus/asthma.

If stamina is an issue, you should consider renting a wheelchair or ECV.

 

[tikistitch]

Disney will instruct you to rent a wheelchair or ECV, as there is nothing they can do for asthmatics to reduce wait times out in the humidity or the heat. A good deal of WDW lines are inside a building or at least covered, which does help some. As someone with severe asthma I usually make sure to hit the parks at rope drop and spend a couple of hours riding things before heading out around 11-noon. I spend some time indoors at a full service restaurant and spend time indoors at my resort during the rest of the day. I take a nap in the late afternoon before I head back out around sundown and return to the park that I'm interested in. If it is super humid in the morning when I head out, I usually just stick around the resort until rain falls in the late morning or early afternoon and then head out for the day then.

 

[SueM in MN]

There is information about Guest Assistance Cards in post 6 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread. You can find that thread near the top of this board or follow the link in my signature.

GACs can only help in lines, but waiting in lines is only a part of your day. You will still need to contend with the crowds, getting from place to place.
The average guest walks between 3 and 9 (even up to 12) miles per day at a Disney park.
We are here now and walked 3 miles in a short day at Disney's Hollywood Studies. We walked 8 at Epcot the other day.

Some of the best ways to avoid the heat are to avoid the hottest parts of the day. You can do this by getting to a park early in the morning (at opening) when the park is least busy and it is coolest. You will be able to see things with the shortest waits early in the morning. Leave the park late morning and plan to come back in the evening when it is cooler (and again, less busy).

You can also shorten waits and get the most done by using one of the planning services like www.easywdw.com or www.touringplans.com
You don't necessarily need to follow their touring plan to the letter, but a touring plan can help you to be in the least busy park and in the least busy parts of that park.

 

[Mama Who]

Hi! Never used this before, but have Asthma r/t allergies and get very SOB at times esp in hot weather, also recently had sinus surgery! I know fla is probably not the best destination, but dd (6) really wants to go and summer is our best chance! Can anyone tell me how this works?? How to apply?, etc!

Unfortunately, as a fellow asthmatic, there's very little a GAC can do for that issue. About the only thing I can think of is that if you need to avoid stairs that can be managed.

 

[FortForever]

I would venture to guess that a significant number of WDW visitors have asthma and allergies, myself included.

Even though I'm a on number of prescriptions for my asthma, do neb treatments several times daily, and spend at least a few days a year in the hospital, I still wouldn't consider it a disability.

GACs are for people with disabilities, not just medical conditions. For example, specially designed ride vehicles for physically disabled people.

Having said that, moving to Florida has improved my asthma. The humidity is good for it. Cold is far worse on asthma than hot.

If you really can't handle the exertion, you should consider renting and ECV. There is not much Disney can do for you. Even with a GAC, you have to provide your own ECV or wheelchair. They won't provide you with one.

 

[dawnball]

Having said that, moving to Florida has improved my asthma. The humidity is good for it. Cold is far worse on asthma than hot.

I don't have asthma, but my lungs hate Florida. I wheeze and require advair, bronkaid and a rescue inhaler - then still feel lousy. After years of coming home with what my husband calls "Florida Lung" I came to my senses and started going to Disneyland instead.

Disability or not, there unfortunately isn't much that Disney can do to help with breathing. I will say that the year someone was smoking near the air intake for the a/c at Pop - they had an air filter (one of those big hepa ones) and it helped a lot.

 

[FortForever]

I don't have asthma, but my lungs hate Florida.

Maybe that makes the difference? Every time I tried to walk or exert myself outside in the cold, I would start to wheeze the second the cold hit my lungs.

Your condition could be more allergy based and you are allergic to something that is plentiful here?

But, as has been mentioned several times, there is nothing Disney can do about stuff like this. I was trying to imagine what the OP thought they could do and all I could come up with was a free wheelchair or ECV. Now, if they could air condition the entire exterior area of the parks, that would be great for all of us!

 

[dawnball]

Maybe that makes the difference? Every time I tried to walk or exert myself outside in the cold, I would start to wheeze the second the cold hit my lungs.

Your condition could be more allergy based and you are allergic to something that is plentiful here?

Yeah, it isn't really allergies - but it kind of is. I actually have some residual lung damage from a very bad case of whooping cough. I can't clear irritants as effectively as normal people, which can cause bronchospasm.

But, as has been mentioned several times, there is nothing Disney can do about stuff like this. I was trying to imagine what the OP thought they could do and all I could come up with was a free wheelchair or ECV. Now, if they could air condition the entire exterior area of the parks, that would be great for all of us!

Yup. There really isn't. I think that the new test track will bother my lungs less, but I haven't had a chance to find out. The old one made me wheezy to be in the building. That's why I mentioned the hepa filters - a good night's sleep made it ever so much easier to tackle the next day.

 

[clanmcculloch]

My DD12 also isn't asthmatic but her lungs seem to struggle with FL as well. I'm pretty sure she's allergic to a flower that blooms late February (note that we go down late February every year; yeah, I know, brilliant) plus she starts struggling with breathing when her allergies are triggered or she's too hot like in FL in the summer.

What works best for my DD12 is to start her on her allergy medicine regimen 2 weeks before a trip (if she's not already on them due to allergies at home) and continue them during out trip. We also request a deep cleaning of our room and change of air filter in our room so that there less allergens in the room so that she's not exposed to as many allergens in areas that can be controlled. Depending on your allergens you can also request chemical free linens (DD12 is perfectly fine with even the harshest of chemicals; it's nature that triggers her). I make her shower before going to bed as well so that she doesn't sleep with allergens in her hair around her face. Since we started doing this, she no longer ends up on predisone plus an inhaler when we get home. It makes that much of a difference for her.

If air quality makes a difference for you also be aware of which attractions have some kind of scent pumped into the attraction to be able to avoid ones that are more likely to cause breathing problems.

Ask your doctor if you should be using some kind of nose spray, even saline or saline mixed with hydrogen peroxide or something else, to make sure that the heat doesn't impact your post-surgical sinuses.

Using touring plas as suggested by Sue, we're able to keep our waits short plus plan for alternating indoor and outdoor activities so that we get the opportunity to cool off between outdoor attractions. We're also always sitting down in a nice air conditioned restaurant by 12:30 at the latest and then we get out of the parks since it's too hot and crowded and we've already accomplished a lot anyway thanks to the touring plans.

 

[disfan07]

I have severe asthma and allergies. I am basically allergic to my entire environment. I always have a huge flare whenever my environment changes. The exertion doesn't help either.

However, the only time I have ever used a wheelchair was 6 months post brain surgery because I was still having balance issues.

I usually just go at the pace I can. We just went this past December and I had a massive flare while there (actually turns out I had viral bronchitis but did not know until we got back....). I would do a nebulizer treatment (pulmicort and xoponex) in the AM, go to the park until lunch, go back to the hotel and do an afternoon nebulizer treatment and rest and than go back to the park at night. I would then do a neb treatment before bed.

I am expecting things to be pretty similar when we go in June but hopefully without the afternoon treatment.

Unfortunately, unless you get a wheelchair there is nothing the GaC can do for you. If exertion is the biggest issue a wheelchair ir ECV might work but if the heat/humidity/allergies is the biggest issue, the only option is to take frequent breaks and do treatments/change meds if necessary.

It can be psossible to tour WDW successfully with asthma and allergies. It just needs some planning and understanding of triggers.

I don't consider my asthma a disability. It's an illness but not disability. I spend on average 10 days/year in the hospital for asthma plus I'm on about 8 meds for asthma/allergies and I still don't consider it a disability. I figure if I can finish college with asthma, I can tour WDW. But that's just my view on my own personal history.

Good luck

 

[jacksmom]

Thanks for all the input! Normally I just "deal' with my Asthma issues but I have just recently had sinus surgery and my stamina is not up to par yet! Guess I am just panicking! Hopefully I will be better soon!