Question about Guest Assistance Card

[CLAYINCT]

My family and I are visiting Disneyland in May to celebrate me graduating college. We have visited Walt Disney World many times as DVC members but this is our first time at Disneyland. My question to you is:

My father has a hard time standing for long periods of time (30+ minutes) as it causes a lot of pain to his knees, ankles, and feet due to life-long effects from him having Polio as a child. I am worried that he will not be able to enjoy our time at Disneyland as much as he wants to because of the prolonged time needed to stand in lines (that are not fastpass) and waiting for shows like WOC and Fantasmic. Does he qualify for a GAC? Would this help us at all in terms of limiting the amount of time he has to stand in line for things (we're particularly worried about WOC and Fantasmic)? He will not consider anything like a motorized scooter as he gets around fine on his own and is also very stubborn. He can push through the pain but I am concerned for him.

We are considering things such as Dinner packages and such for WOC/Fantasmic to limit the waiting time but it is a lot of money. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance,

Kim

 

[Eeee-va]

If a guest has trouble standing, Disney's solution is generally to tell the guest to rent a wheelchair or ECV. A GAC would probably help him get a bench seat in the handicapped section at World of Color. The rest of you would be expected to stand around him. (If you did the dining thing, he'd still have to stand before and during the show--an hour of waiting if you want an excellent chance of being able to see--and the show itself is nearly 30 minutes long.)

I don't know if a GAC would help during Fantasmic! If not, then if he absolutely refuses to get a wheelchair, then your options are to sit on the ground (works great for the second show with little wait, but that may be uncomfortable/not possible for him) or the dessert option, which will actually get you chairs.

Even if he gets a GAC that allows him to use the wheelchair lines (and I'm not sure if they will do that; others would know), many of the wheelchair lines are as long as the regular lines, or even longer. In DCA, almost (or all) of the lines are wheelchair accessible so there is probably no shortcut on those.

If he has a cane/etc. I've heard that may help him avoid the looks some people get for using the handicapped line.

Anyway, if you can convince him to get an ECV that would be a lifesaver, but I know that you may not be able to do that. Have a great trip!

 

[Geemo]

He will not consider anything like a motorized scooter as he gets around fine on his own and is also very stubborn. He can push through the pain but I am concerned for him.

Stubborn...... I know the feeling.....

Start the conversation with him now. Explain to him, the info you find here on DISboards.com regarding GAC's and wheelchairs or scooters.

See if you can get him to just give it a try on the first day you are there. Depending on how it goes, he may be willing to use one the other days too.

What are your dates in May? If they are through the week you may be lucky to be there on a slow day. On a slow day he may do fine with out a wheelchair or scooter.

Good luck. I know the challenge....

Geemo

 

[peterpanda]

We sucked it up and paid the $60 Fantasmic because my fiance has pain problems. It's actually not a dinner, but a box with a few treats in it. It's not very fancy or nice, to tell you the truth, but you can see pictures of it yourself if you google Fantasmic dessert box and decide for yourself whether it's worth it. You're mostly paying for the show IMO and that's why we decided to do it.

 

[ArchOwl]

I am sorry to hear about your father. I hope he is able to enjoy Disneyland! I will echo what others say here that Disney will most likely tell you to rent a wheelchair/ECV for problems with standing, etc. The GAC is not a front of the line pass and sometimes you end up waiting longer in the handicapped line than the regular line. You can either take it really slow or try to convince him to rent a wheelchair/ECV.

A lot of walking in the parks is between attractions and a GAC can't help with that at all. On a day when we aren't even pushing that hard, my DH and I can clock more than 8-9 miles a day. I wonder if he would consider renting a wheelchair and using it as a walker when needed and sitting down in lines? I have also seen people bring a cane type thing that has a folding seat. They use it in lines to sit down.

There are benches for WOC, he would get a seat and everyone else stands behind (unless the CMs tell you everyone can sit). But the hardest part is waiting before you are allowed in for WOC. That can be a long wait and there are no seats for that. Perhaps your party could stand and your father could sit down somewhere and you could text him right before they let you into the area? The dinner package doesn't really get you a huge benefit here, so skip if money is a concern.

For Fantasmic, there is a handicapped area, but there are no seats. I think you would be way better off if you could do the dessert package. The dessert boxes are nothing super special, but you are really paying for the chairs. You could also see fireworks from there, not the best spot but a place to sit down for your father that might be difficult to finagle otherwise.

I know the feeling about being stubborn. I have had a few surgeries that made touring a little difficult. I haven't gotten a wheelchair/ECV yet, but that is mainly because we have APs and aren't trying to do as much per day. If I was in a large family group, I probably would have decided to get a wheelchair, just because I would have held up a lot of people. And also, I am the planner, so I gotta keep up!

Good luck!

 

[Eeee-va]

I love ArchOwl's advice. I forgot to mention that for World of Color, even the handicapped area, you will need Fastpasses for everyone in your party. Then you'll line up in the handicapped line for your section. (When we went it was at the front of the line, which makes sense.) And if your father does not get a wheelchair/ECV, he will almost certainly need the GAC to be use a bench for World of Color, as they are in the handicapped section.

If your father has a wheelchair or ECV, however, he does not need a GAC to use the handicapped World of Color area--just a fastpass.

 

[CLAYINCT]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. It looks like we're going to do the dinner package for WOC and the dessert package for Fantasmic, and just deal with whatever standing we have to do for WOC/rides that don't have fastpass. Thanks for your input!

 

[llump41]

A lot of people assume that the CAG is the ultimate 'front of the line' FP. Oh so wrong. There are many days when it does act this way. But when the park gets busy, then the CAG line can be much, much longer than the regular line. Some of those line do have seating- Space and Splash. Others have nothing and NO shade- Thunder, Dumbo.

This last Sat. the posted line wait for Jungle was 5 minutes but the CAG line was 6 deep with wheelchairs. That is longer than a 5 minute wait.

IF you can talk him into a WC or ECV then not only will he be more comfortable and enjoy the park more, but he will also be able to use the CAG lines when needed and the regular queues when he wants to.