Sharon, I feel for you. My middle DS is on the spectrum and cognitively impaired, and like your son, he loves Disney and always responded well there and was far more interactive there than he ever was at home. He learned to recognize his name there, his colors there, and even finally, at almost 8 years old, was finally potty trained there. People who do not have a child with disabilities simply cannot understand what everyday life is like for families with children with disabilities. If our lives seem 'easier' the one week a year we are at Disney because we might be able to get on an attraction faster than someone with typically developing children can, they should look at our lives the other 51 weeks a year.
Fortunately for us, our DS has come a long way. He is 16, with a mental age of 7 and PDD, but he is communicative. I think for him, Disney's new policy will work, because he is able to tolerate moderate waits, particularly if he is not stuck in a small space with other closely crowded around as is the case in the regular lines. When he was little, it probably would not have worked, especially on the days when the meltdowns were so frequent and we were lucky if we could do 4-6 hours in the park. For families that currently have those challenges, and even worse challenges that this policy is not going to work for, I feel very sorry for them, and angry at those who abused the system.
Here's my question.....people say Disney can't check for 'proof' of disability, hence why it was so easy to scam the system. My question is, why not? Why is that a violation of privacy? My dad has a handicap placard for his car, and I'm pretty sure he had to have a doctor's note detailing his need for it before it was issued. How is this any different? To me, if you are asking for accommodations that differ from what everyone else gets, you should have to prove it. Anybody that has a problem with that probably doesn't really have a true need! And yes, I do know of several families who have children on the spectrum who did not truly need the GAC for faster access to attractions (because really, that is what it typically provides, not always, but generally if it's not a mobility issue), but heard you could get it so they did. These are families who go to Hershey Park, Dutch Wonderland, and other places and stand in the regular lines and the kids are fine. So yes, I do believe this system was abused even by those who were not totally lying, their child had a disability but they greatly exagerated the needs in order to get the GAC. Shame on them.
Thanks. I know people have missed my point. If we had started at Disney under this new system, I would have loved it. It would be great. My fear is the change from the old system to the new and how to explain to him when he won't understand it.
I feel the same way about the "proof" thing. If a handicapped placard requires a doctor's signature, why can't there be a solution that also requires a doctor's certification? Like the handicapped application, no details of the individual medical condition is required, but the doctor's certification of a disability that requires the placard is all that IS required. I'm sure there wouldn't be a 100% honesty or fairness to it, but it would a whole lot less "abuse" by people who used the system.
I don't look for sympathy, I'm not playing a pity me card here. As usual, people generalize. I'm saying that Disney used to recognize that some families with disabilities could have some extra enjoyment on their vacation at Disney, it's pixie dust for us. It wasn't a level playing field. We knew that we were lucky. It's just that now they are slamming that door in our face with no "transition" time and we are personally having difficulty understanding the implications.
We've never abused the system. We were just able to do things completely different from what it will be now.
I hope it will be seamless and transparent. I really do. I don't want or think that Disney owes me anything. If I could say "Shawn, now we have to ask for a time to go back and go do something else while we wait" and he could say "okay", I'd be thrilled. We're going to figure out how to do that. I really feel that if Disney worked with Autism Speaks on this new program, that they could take a few minutes to provide some social stories, PECS schedules, that sort of tool that we could use.
For an example, take a look at the Autism Theater Initiative in NYC. They have created special autism-friendly versions of Broadway shows that are specifically changed for autism needs. Lower lighting, no loud bangs or sudden music noises, that sort of thing. They put on a separate Sunday afternoon performance. That's special, more than equal treatment, yes. You can't walk in off the street and buy a ticket, you have to be "in the know." But they want to do it that way. And they have a whole section on preparing for the performance for the person with autism - what you will see, how it works, what it is. If Disney and Autism Speaks would put something like that together, I'm sure we would use it and would be thrilled to have a tool like that.
Yes, I know we could do that ourselves, before you mention it. That's what we will do but for some reason, those professionals have the formula that always seems to work.
Once again, to reiterate, I am not against the new system, I am just concerned wtih the sudden change and how to manage it. I hope it will work and I hope all of you do not have to wait for us to get on any ride ahead of you in the future. Because I understand we do not deserve it. We have accepted our lot in life.
Ain't gonna happen! 
