Special Ride Passes For Autistic Children

[Kelsey106]

I was told that you can get a special attraction pass for an Autistic child. Does anyone know how to get one of these passes.

 

[SueM in MN]

Welsome to disABILITIES.:wave
It is not a special pass, and it is not just for children with autism.
It is a card called a Guest Assistance Card that is meant to help CM (Cast Members) kwon what sort of accomidations are needed by people with disabilities.

If you go to the disABILITIES FAQs thread near the top of this board, you will find a whole section about Guest Assistance Cards (GACs). If there is anything you don't understand or you have more specific questions after reading that, then post back here on this thread and people will answer.

 

[Dis1978]

We have just come back from disney and used the GAC for our recently diagnosed Aspie teenager. It was fantastic having the GAC. We hardly ever had to wait for rides for more than a few minutes. It made my teen feel a lot less stressed and there were no meltdowns in the parks whatsoever.
It is very easy to get the GAC and although we had a doctor's note with us we didn't have to show it. This pass made our time in the parks so relaxing and made all the difference for us.

 

[SueM in MN]

We hardly ever had to wait for rides for more than a few minutes.

I just wanted to point out that the Guest Assistance Card is not meant to shorten or eliminate waits in line (it even says that right on the card). There may be times when the wait may be shorter, but often it is the same, just not in the crowded lines that may cause problems for some people.

 

[coolkidhann95]

The Red Card (as we call it in my family) is a huge help because either A or B happens

A. que is intimidating 5% Chance

B. My stamina level is almost always down 95% Chance

 

[avander3]

We are going with our three kids in October and are hoping the GAC can help us with our 6 year old non-verbal autistic son. We are not sure how long or if he will be able wait in line at all for rides. It is really going to be a challange! Our two other kids will be 8 and 10.

 

[SueM in MN]

We are going with our three kids in October and are hoping the GAC can help us with our 6 year old non-verbal autistic son. We are not sure how long or if he will be able wait in line at all for rides. It is really going to be a challange! Our two other kids will be 8 and 10.

Depending on exactly when you are going in October, the lines may be very short - short enough that you won't have any trouble with lines. We were at WDW in October 2006 and sometimes there were hardly any people we could see. For many attractions, the line was non-existant.

Another thing that is helpful is to find out when the parks are busy. We went this year the week after Easter. My oldest DD and her cousin went to MK one day as soon as the park opened and were able to go on everything they wanted to in about 2.5 hours. My oldest DD, niece and I went to Epcot one evening for Extra Magic Hours. The only attraction that had any wait at all was Test Track (that was probably because of people who were in the standby line already when the park closed). We went on Soarin' 3 times as fast as we were able to walk in, Mission Space (the tame version) and Spaceship Earth without a wait. We also went on the new Nemo ride, looked around Living Seas and went to Turtle Talk without waiting. We could have done more, but we also had to eat.
Knowing when it's busy so you can avoid those areas helps a lot (maybe even more than having a GAC) because you don't have to contend with the general busyness and commotion of a full park.

 

[MBW]

I just wanted to point out that the Guest Assistance Card is not meant to shorten or eliminate waits in line (it even says that right on the card). There may be times when the wait may be shorter, but often it is the same, just not in the crowded lines that may cause problems for some people.

We're at DLR right now, and while this has always been the case for us at WDW, this time, we were provided with the special direct access stamp. I believe this ONLY occurred because we brought our younger son, who is profoundly autistic, up to the desk at Guest Services, and expressed our needs specifically. It's pretty clear when you meet him for more than a few seconds that he does need exceptional accommodation in order for us, and anyone around us, to have a good time. I'm only posting this because I'm sure that there are a few people out there with equally affected children who are reluctant to even try a Disney vacation due to fear their children's needs won't be accommodated to the extent they need to be. Since we usually travel to WDW during slow seasons, we typically don't need direct access, but here at DLR, it's pretty busy year-round, so we couldn't plan that well.

We did make our son's needs specifically clear, and I won't post what we said for fear of unscrupulous non-special needs lurkers, but if you have a profoundly affected child and want to chat, please feel free to PM me.

 

[SueM in MN]

We did make our son's needs specifically clear, and I won't post what we said for fear of unscrupulous non-special needs lurkers, but if you have a profoundly affected child and want to chat, please feel free to PM me.

That is true at WDW too.
You do have to bring the person who has a disability to Guest Services and make their needs clear. (and I share your concern about posting exact information).
There may be more direct access, even at WDW, but it's better to not expect that and be pleasantly surprised than to expect it and not get it. There are also some attractions that don't have direct access and people have posted in the past that they were angry when they didn't get brought right in to some of those attractions because that was what they expected. Also, some things I have read on the internet make it sound like all GACs are the same and all provide expidited access. Since that isn't true for all needs, we try to emphasize here that the access will be based on the accomidation that is needed. (If you can express what you need, the GAC will reflect that, although it is possible that the specific accomidation someone needs might not be available at every attraction. The CMs at the attraction can help with that information.)

 

[Dis1978]

My aspie son decided to ask for the pass himself at guest relations. Maybe that's why we got a particular kind of GAC and didn't have to wait for rides.

The point is that it is not very helpful for an aspie kid to have a seperate waiting area but to still have to wait the same amount of time. It's the waiting that is the problem. If my son had to wait for an hour, whether it was in a different waiting area or not, then basically he would not be able to go on the rides at all. It appears to me that Disney understand the particular difficulty that autistic kids have and are allowing these passes to be used as a fast pass. Disney are doing a great job making sure that autistic kids are able to access all the rides.
I agree that it's important for the parents of autistic children to understand how these passes actually work in reality in the park, so that they will feel able to attempt a visit. Prior to our visit I had thought I was attempting a vacation too far which was doomed to failure. Having the GAC and staying on site made a vacation which so easily could have been a total nightmare into a surprisingly relaxation trip.

 

[Tissa]

My aspie son decided to ask for the pass himself at guest relations. Maybe that's why we got a particular kind of GAC and didn't have to wait for rides

.

Saying that your ds didn't wait for rides can be misleading. As Sue said some people will read this a expect no waits at all. It is better to expect that some rides will have a minimal wait and the parents should prepare for that so they are not disappointed.

I have a non verbal autistic son who can barely wait 5 minutes for anything without having a meltdown. We quit going out to eat for fear that the food would take too long and he would have a meltdown in the restaurant.

We have taken him to WDW 3 times and are going again the first of June. Normally our waits are minimal but there were a few times that the wait was longer than expected. Those fastpass lines can get backed up sometimes and on POTC you have to wait for a cm to be free to take you around the back enterance. If things happen we just get out of line and try something else.

WDW is a great place to take your special needs child, they are so accomodating but just remember that things happen and there is no such thing as front of the line access unless you are with Make A Wish.

Dis 1978 I hope you do not take offense, I'm so glad your ds had a good time.

 

[Dis1978]

Tissa,If you scroll up a little and read my earlier reply to this post, you will see that I actually said that we hardly ever had to wait for rides for more than a few minutes. This is what happened in our case and thus cannot be misleading in any way. I think it is useful to be aware of people's different experiences with the GAC so that they are properly informed. For example, my son was very worried prior to our trip that he would have to wait for ages in an alternate waiting area and this would not be of any benefit to him whatsoever, as it is not waiting with other people that is the problem, it is the wait itself. It may reassure others with similar concerns to know that, in our case, we did not have to wait for the same amount of time as those in the regular line but merely in a different waiting area.
Our wait times were never more than a few minutes and we went on almost every ride in the park.

 

[Nik's Mom]

I'm a Mom of one diagnosed autistic ds, and another ds going through the diagnosis process. He's either autistic or has SID. We've been to WDW several times, during slow and busy times. Here are my tips for you.

1. Get there about 30 minutes before the parks open. I can't stress how important that is. Then go straight to the most popular rides. This will minimize your wait a lot!

2. Ask for the GAC with the use of stroller as a wheel chair. Our son felt safe and secure in there, and we often did not have to go through the fast pass line.

3. If your child has something that makes him feel safe, try to bring it to the parks. My son feels safe if he has his ropes with him. It's just a few shoe laces tied together, or sometimes a jumprope. That kept him calm.

4. Bring some distractions like bubbles or stimulating toys to keep them busy. The GAC does not guarantee that you will just walk on the ride. Come prepared to distract.

5. Go back to your hotel for an afternoon break.

6. Follow the great advice of fellow parents of autistic children here on the DIS, and our great moderator Sue!

I think in all of our trips, we've only had to use the GAC a few times (other than the stroller as wheelchair part). We come prepared and with a strategy. And we watch closely for meltdown warnings.

I hope you have a great trip!

 

[Schmeck]

4. Bring some distractions like bubbles or stimulating toys to keep them busy. The GAC does not guarantee that you will just walk on the ride. Come prepared to distract.

Please do not use bubbles in a confined space, ie queue/waiting area. Bubbles can stain clothing, sting when they pop in your eyes, and can cause children to dart out under the chains after a rogue bubble. Parents can't always quickly follow after the kids in a confined queue area. My daughter (and others, as I have found out on this board) are also allergic to some bubble solutions, especially the ones in the small bottles. We can avoid them easily in an open area, but in a queue it's hard to move out of the way without getting into someone else's space.

So please save the bubbles for open areas!

 

[Nik's Mom]

I wouldn't use them in a confined space. That would be crazy.

 

[MBW]

.

WDW is a great place to take your special needs child, they are so accomodating but just remember that things happen and there is no such thing as front of the line access unless you are with Make A Wish.

This is actually not the case, as we just learned. For special cases which are not MaW, Disney does provide direct access. However, it is so rare, they actually keep the stamp locked up (as we learned when we needed a new GAC, as I'd accidentally washed ours when DH left it in his pocket.)

However, I think that for those of us, as it seems your family, like ours, with such specific needs, we should know that the option is out there, and to be very specific in describing our children's needs to Guest Services, as well as what happens when those needs are not met. I do believe Disney wants to make sure that all their guests have the best experience possible, and are willing to go the extra distance for those few guests who really need direct access.

 

[Dis1978]

Thank you MBW, precisely the point I was making.