Article: Is Disney Dissing the Disabled?

[Hoodie]

If I could get one point across and have people understand it would be this:

Most parents who have used a GAC for their child or children, especially those who are autistic, have done so without try to game the system. They do not feel entitled to special treatment and for the most part, they are grateful to Disney for giving them the ability to take their children on a vacation to a spot that children of all ages love.

To quote one of my favourite authors, Spider Robinson, "anger is always fear in disguise."

Many of these parents are scared and this fear is manifesting as anger. They are scared that the way they have been enjoying vacations is going to change.

We deal with so much uncertainty in our day to day lives, so much worry and concern and fear about the future. When we are able to go somewhere like Disneyland and for a few days pretend that our lives are normal it's pretty awesome.

Now that, in some people's minds, is being taken away and that scares them.

I think this bears repeating. Change is hard on a lot of people, not just disabled. Because change can be so difficult for those on the spectrum, parents become even more sensitive to it. They go into defensive parent mode. People were used to the GAC. They knew exactly how it worked and what to expect. No one knows how the DAS will work in practice and that makes people nervous.

My 4 year old son was diagnosed with PDD-NOS. We have not needed a GAC and have worked on waiting. He knows that Disney means we have to wait - whether for a bus, a ride, a show, etc. He associates Disney with waiting and he does an amazing job, even lasting for an hour to see Woody and Buzz. One thing he does not associate with waiting is inflatables. Every time we've had access to inflatables - indoor parks, fairs, etc. - he's been able to jump right in. This past weekend though, we went to a fair and he had to wait. He did NOT do well. In his head, you could ALWAYS jump right into those. We tried to explain it was like Disney and he had to wait his turn, but logically he saw something he didn't have to wait for. It took a couple of hours and several times waiting for different things, but he finally got it.

That's what people are facing, but to a greater extreme. You can change social stories, you can try to prep, but if their autistic child knows one experience, that is the experience s/he will expect. The more severe s/he is, the harder it will be. For those going for the first time, it most likely won't be too bad. For those who have gone in the past, especially multiple times, the change will be a problem. It doesn't mean the change wasn't needed, but it will present a problem for some.

I expect it will have some growing pains and some changes over the next year or so. Disney has always been pretty responsive when there are legitimate issues but it may take some time. It's a fine line they have to walk between providing the best possible experience for ALL their guests and stopping abuse/misuse.

 

[sharadoc]

I think this bears repeating. Change is hard on a lot of people, not just disabled. Because change can be so difficult for those on the spectrum, parents become even more sensitive to it. They go into defensive parent mode. People were used to the GAC. They knew exactly how it worked and what to expect. No one knows how the DAS will work in practice and that makes people nervous.

My 4 year old son was diagnosed with PDD-NOS. We have not needed a GAC and have worked on waiting. He knows that Disney means we have to wait - whether for a bus, a ride, a show, etc. He associates Disney with waiting and he does an amazing job, even lasting for an hour to see Woody and Buzz. One thing he does not associate with waiting is inflatables. Every time we've had access to inflatables - indoor parks, fairs, etc. - he's been able to jump right in. This past weekend though, we went to a fair and he had to wait. He did NOT do well. In his head, you could ALWAYS jump right into those. We tried to explain it was like Disney and he had to wait his turn, but logically he saw something he didn't have to wait for. It took a couple of hours and several times waiting for different things, but he finally got it.

That's what people are facing, but to a greater extreme. You can change social stories, you can try to prep, but if their autistic child knows one experience, that is the experience s/he will expect. The more severe s/he is, the harder it will be. For those going for the first time, it most likely won't be too bad. For those who have gone in the past, especially multiple times, the change will be a problem. It doesn't mean the change wasn't needed, but it will present a problem for some.

I expect it will have some growing pains and some changes over the next year or so. Disney has always been pretty responsive when there are legitimate issues but it may take some time. It's a fine line they have to walk between providing the best possible experience for ALL their guests and stopping abuse/misuse.

Thank you. That's all most of us were trying to say but we were attacked as one of "those people", etc. etc. It's the change that will be the hardest to handle, not the new system. We will learn the new system, but the sudden change in routine is the issue for us.

I swore I was leaving this thread, I just stopped in to see where it went, and it was refreshing to see your post rather than the "atta girls" and cheerleaders supporting attacks on us and our kids via generalizations and assumptions.

 

[Hoodie]

Thank you. That's all most of us were trying to say but we were attacked as one of "those people", etc. etc. It's the change that will be the hardest to handle, not the new system. We will learn the new system, but the sudden change in routine is the issue for us.

I swore I was leaving this thread, I just stopped in to see where it went, and it was refreshing to see your post rather than the "atta girls" and cheerleaders supporting attacks on us and our kids via generalizations and assumptions.

I hope you're able to adjust to the new system with minimal issues. Sometimes I stress over something that's changed, trying to figure out one of the bazillion responses I'll get from my son, and he does suprisingly well. Then something I don't even consider sets him off. Not knowing how bad (or good) it will be is the most stressful part.

 

[Aladora]

I love that story about the CM that got to give your son one extra special double ride. I would not really classify that as "looping" since it was the end of the day and, presumably, he wasn't preventing a line of other people that had already waited an hour from getting their turn.

Regarding the highlighted part above, so you used the GAC as it was given to you at the time and it worked. Based on what you've read/heard about for the new DAS, do you think the system would work for you, too? Being given a specified return time (that isn't *right now*), giving your son time to do something else (even if it's just waiting in an area that doesn't cause him distress) and then going to the ride when it's your time to do so? Because, if that's the case, then I don't think anyone here is attacking you or your situation. FOTL was the only option for you in the scenario you wrote about. So if it's not FOTL but something else accommodating, that's still okay, right?

Will it work? Well, yes but the potential is there for a very bad trip next March. Allow me to explain.

Had this been the way the GAC was implemented all along I would be fine with it. My really big concern is that one thing that many autistic kids have problems with is when routines change. It can be something as small as we normally go to his speech therapy every Monday after school and last week his therapist texted me at noon to let me know she was sick so had to cancel. When I picked him up at school and let him know this, he had a bit of a meltdown. Not because he REALLY wanted to go but because the normal routine changed. I know that for many people, Disneyland and how you tour it is not part of their normal routine but we have worked hard to be able to make it part of our lives so it has become a routine to our son. Not to say that he is blasé about going to Disneyland, but he now knows what to expect when we go there.

We have gone to DL four times and every time we have done the same thing. Now that the DAS is being implemented, that routine is going to change quite drastically.

At the end of the day, it is going to work for us because I will make it work. We will find something else for our son to do while we wait, most likely by bringing his Nintendo DS and letting him play that and we will probably extend our trips by a day so we can get in all the rides that we want.

And if it does not work, we will just go somewhere else for vacations. Yeah, we will all be disappointed because all three of us love Disneyland (DH and I went there for our honeymoon!) but in the end if it does not work then it does not work.

I do not expect the world to change because my son is a precious snowflake unicorn and we work very hard to get him to not act like a precious snowflake unicorn but sometimes it's still a work in progress.

I've been posting a bit about my thoughts on the new DAS in the disABILITIES board and I think these quotes explain how I feel about it:

I say to you what I have said to others:

The DAS has not even been implemented yet.

The DAS seems to be an evolving program.

We have no idea what the lines are going to be like to get the DAS card.

We have no idea what the lines are going to be like at the kiosks. We don't even know if they are keeping the kiosks or not.

At least give the new system a chance before getting all ranty and demanding a refund.

The first time I read about the changes, I also thought about our recent choice to get APs. I was also worried about how our son was going to cope with the new way of doing Disneyland. I was sad to think that our wonderful Disneyland vacations were not going to be as fantastic and questioned whether or not we would be able to go back.

Then I realized that I was being silly. That the new system had not started yet and that I really needed to get a grip and wait until we know how this is going to effect our kids and our ability to enjoy Disneyland.

I have used the GAC every time with our son and I have always been one to fully admit that the way we tour Disneyland using the GAC in the way that the CM have directed us to use it has resulted in us basically having an unlimited Fast Pass for any ride we want. It was not a FOTL pass, but the next thing to one.

This means that we have not received EQUAL access due to my son's disability, we have received SUPERIOR access. Is this what Disney intended with the GAC? No. The GAC was supposed to give equal access, not superior access.

The new DAS seems to allow for equal access. We will wait as long (more or less) as other guests without disabilities, but we are able to wait in a way that my son can cope with.

I do have some concerns about the DAS, for instance I am not a fan of the kiosks and I really hope that AP holders can get one for longer than 1 day but those are issues that might get ironed out.

I do understand why you are upset and worried about future trips, I really do. I know all too well the challenges of dealing with a child with disabilities. I also have an 8 year old with autism, so I really do know where you are coming from.

But that does not mean that we should get better access and really, that is what we have been receiving. If Disney had continued with the GAC program then we would continue to have used it but they are not so again, we can either adapt or give up.

And

The reason I called it an evolving program is that ever since the first hint of the new system was posted here, there have been constant updates to what people think and claim to know about how it is to be implemented. Just because it is here to stay does not mean it has not and will not continue to change and be worked on.

Some of the changes so far:

First, there were going to be kiosks in WDW and DL/DCA and you cannot get a return time at the attraction.

Then there were not going to be kiosks in WDW and you could get a return time at the attraction.

Then there were going to be kiosks in WDW but you could also get a return time at the attraction.

First you could only get a DAS for 1 day.

Then you could get it for up to 3 days if you were staying onsite.

Then you could get it for the length of your stay if you could prove you were staying for that length of time but AP holders could only get it for 1 day.

Then AP holders could get it for up to 3 days, then 5 days then 2 weeks.

First the DAS holder had to be at the kiosk to request a return time.

Then then DAS golder did not have to be at the kiosk to request a return time.

I could go on, but I hope you get my point about it evolving and that we just simply do not know what to expect on day 1 of the new system. We do not know what to expect on day 30 of the new system, nor on day 180.

And besides, I never said you should drag your son down and see how fast he melts down, what I said was that we should all wait and see how the program is actually implemented before we all fly off our collective handle. That was the wait and see, let's wait and see how Disneyland and Disney World actually handle this new system in reality as opposed to how we all fear they are going to handle it.

And then, at the end of the day if the new system absolutely will not work for you and your son then yes, by all means try and get a refund for the unused portion of your annual passes.

Of course, you should be an advocate for your son but preferential treatment is not something that should be expected or demanded. And really, what the old GAC was giving us was preferential treatment. The new DAS is giving us what we have always claimed to need, an alternate way to wait. We will now be able to wait in an area or manner that gives us equal access to attractions without giving us faster entrance. And if you can't see that, then I really don't have anything else I can say because no matter how much it might pain us to admit it, the old system was not equal access, it was better.

And finally:

I'm not going to lie, I am concerned about our next trip in March. But, Disney is getting rid of the old GAC program as of this week and they are starting the new DAS program. There is nothing I can do to change this, the only thing I can change is how I react to the change.

A little wordy, I know but I have never been accused of being succinct!

 

[Objectivity]

If everyone whose child has autism waits in line at GR to request they be given special accommodations, the line will be very, very long. How will the autistic child handle this line, if they can't handle ride lines? I'm genuinely curious. If they can "go off in the park and do something else" while waiting for Mom in the GR line, then couldn't they do that on the DAS system too, negating the need for special accommodations?

I don't think everyone with a child with autism has a child that has the issue we're talking about. It's a small subset of a small subset. That's why it's on a case-by-case basis and not part of the written guidelines of the overall plan.

Those who are gaming the system would be just as happy to wait in that line for "special accommodation" as well. How will this weed them out? They'll lie as easily now as they did before.

Then Disney will clamp down more. If the unwritten rule is to accomodate a child who needs this for one ride only, then it's not worth the effort for the cheaters and those with children with needs who don't need it will, for the most part, not ask for it. And, if they do, most of the time the child will rat them out by being ok if they don't go on the ride again.

I don't think it's about people worried that they're "not getting theirs"; I think it's now a knee-jerk reaction to seeing all these people who have had FOTL passes with the GAC revolting over something they were never meant to have in the first place. It's no longer a small perk when thousands have it - it's now a major perk that is causing problems for guests waiting in the standby line and giving preferential treatment to those with the GAC.

You're grouping everyone with a GAC into what was a very small subsection of that group. No matter how many times you characterize it that way, the truth is that most people with GACs weren't dancing around the parks laughing at all the healthy people standing in long lines.

The GAC and GAS are legally required efforts to provide an equal experience to those with disabilities. By definition, they're going to be preferential treatment to those who don't need it, precisely because they don't need it. It's accommodations made to provide access that at least equal.

Your comparision is like a person seven-foot-tall person complaining that a shorter person gets to use a ladder to pick apples.

I don't think there's an ounce of jealousy over those people's lives, but there might be a little pause when Jr. and his entire family pass you for the third time in the FP line with their GAC in hand, while you're still on the stairs at SM with a 90 minute wait ahead of you and your 6 year old is already whining about the wait and your 9 year old already has to go to the bathroom.

And the people who do that are abusing the system. But that's not the majority of people. And, by characterizing it as the majority of people you're doing everyone a disservice, no matter what side of the discussion you're on.

Again, I've seen some kids who live in severe hardship every day who will never go to Disney. You don't have to be disabled to have a difficult, uphill battle in life.

No, you don't. But to begrudge a child in hardship from an accommodation simply because your child doesn't have a hardship isn't appropriate either.

 

[KGK]

Just reread all 27 pages but this time I skipped over a few people who seemed to have hijacked the thread and must repeatedly attempt to make their point(s). It was so much nicer when I ignored them this time around.

Cannot for the life of me figure out why the mods have not shut this down. There is nothing productive in this argument. But the popcorn sure is tasty.

 

[AndreaA]

This debate keeps going on and on focusing on those with autism (and is sadly revealing a lot of hostile people) and I still have not seen a decent response to my several mentions of the fact that many of the people who fear the new system and really needed the FP benefit of the old system are not people with autistic children. They are parents of children with serious illnesses and medical conditions who may be able to visit the park for 2-3hrs at most.

The only thing I've seen that partially addresses it (and wasn't in response to me) was for others to chime in that plenty of people can't stay the whole day, etc., etc., etc., and life ain't fair, and everyone should wait the same amount of time.

Well you who cannot stay the whole day will have the chance to visit again or had the choice to postpone your visit to when your child could handle a full day of touring. For someone with a medically fragile child, this could be their one and only trip to WDW, and possibly their one and only vacation, period. And plenty of them are kids who could easily be Wish kids but simply weren't chosen or didn't apply.

Yes, life ain't fair. Some people have untold challenges every day of the year and some people have to wait an extra few minutes to allow them to the front of the line.

 

[Schmeck]

This debate keeps going on and on focusing on those with autism (and is sadly revealing a lot of hostile people) and I still have not seen a decent response to my several mentions of the fact that many of the people who fear the new system and really needed the FP benefit of the old system are not people with autistic children. They are parents of children with serious illnesses and medical conditions who may be able to visit the park for 2-3hrs at most.

The only thing I've seen that partially addresses it (and wasn't in response to me) was for others to chime in that plenty of people can't stay the whole day, etc., etc., etc., and life ain't fair, and everyone should wait the same amount of time.

Well you who cannot stay the whole day will have the chance to visit again or had the choice to postpone your visit to when your child could handle a full day of touring. For someone with a medically fragile child, this could be their one and only trip to WDW, and possibly their one and only vacation, period. And plenty of them are kids who could easily be Wish kids but simply weren't chosen or didn't apply.

Yes, life ain't fair. Some people have untold challenges every day of the year and some people have to wait an extra few minutes to allow them to the front of the line.

MAW and other programs are still available.

 

[karice2]

Will it work? Well, yes but the potential is there for a very bad trip next March. Allow me to explain.

Had this been the way the GAC was implemented all along I would be fine with it. My really big concern is that one thing that many autistic kids have problems with is when routines change. It can be something as small as we normally go to his speech therapy every Monday after school and last week his therapist texted me at noon to let me know she was sick so had to cancel. When I picked him up at school and let him know this, he had a bit of a meltdown. Not because he REALLY wanted to go but because the normal routine changed. I know that for many people, Disneyland and how you tour it is not part of their normal routine but we have worked hard to be able to make it part of our lives so it has become a routine to our son. Not to say that he is blasé about going to Disneyland, but he now knows what to expect when we go there.

We have gone to DL four times and every time we have done the same thing. Now that the DAS is being implemented, that routine is going to change quite drastically.

At the end of the day, it is going to work for us because I will make it work. We will find something else for our son to do while we wait, most likely by bringing his Nintendo DS and letting him play that and we will probably extend our trips by a day so we can get in all the rides that we want.

And if it does not work, we will just go somewhere else for vacations. Yeah, we will all be disappointed because all three of us love Disneyland (DH and I went there for our honeymoon!) but in the end if it does not work then it does not work.

I do not expect the world to change because my son is a precious snowflake unicorn and we work very hard to get him to not act like a precious snowflake unicorn but sometimes it's still a work in progress.

I've been posting a bit about my thoughts on the new DAS in the disABILITIES board and I think these quotes explain how I feel about it:



And



And finally:


A little wordy, I know but I have never been accused of being succinct!

This is the most reasonable response that I have seen about the entire program. It acknowledges the issue that some people have had and helps to alleviate the fears of the naysayers.

 

[karice2]

This debate keeps going on and on focusing on those with autism (and is sadly revealing a lot of hostile people) and I still have not seen a decent response to my several mentions of the fact that many of the people who fear the new system and really needed the FP benefit of the old system are not people with autistic children. They are parents of children with serious illnesses and medical conditions who may be able to visit the park for 2-3hrs at most.

The only thing I've seen that partially addresses it (and wasn't in response to me) was for others to chime in that plenty of people can't stay the whole day, etc., etc., etc., and life ain't fair, and everyone should wait the same amount of time.

Well you who cannot stay the whole day will have the chance to visit again or had the choice to postpone your visit to when your child could handle a full day of touring. For someone with a medically fragile child, this could be their one and only trip to WDW, and possibly their one and only vacation, period. And plenty of them are kids who could easily be Wish kids but simply weren't chosen or didn't apply.

Yes, life ain't fair. Some people have untold challenges every day of the year and some people have to wait an extra few minutes to allow them to the front of the line.

I am not a part of the autism sect. I am a part of the disabled and can't stay all day sect.

I took my dad with me 10 months after a heart attack and a stroke. He had a ton of issues that we had to contend with and could only do about 3 hours in the park at a time.

I made the choice to come and experience this vacation with him because I didn't know if I would get another chance. We didn't use a GAC and we made the most of the time we had.

We took in what we could, had a laugh or two or three and then we went back to our resort. It is not the way I normally vacation but it was a great one.

I spread stuff out, brought a hard ticket to MVMCP and explored downtown Disney. We had a great time and I think we only rode 4 rides and saw two shows the whole time we were there.

We are going again now that he is a little better and we won't use the DAS or anything. We go where the day and his feelings take us.

 

[Planogirl]

Didn't Disney already say that they would work with people who had problems with the new system? I'm hopeful that all of those individuals that can't handle waiting in any form will be able to work something else out.

 

[AndreaA]

Didn't Disney already say that they would work with people who had problems with the new system? I'm hopeful that all of those individuals that can't handle waiting in any form will be able to work something else out.

Yes, and I believe that they will work with people on a case by case basis. I'm not worried about Disney, I'm curious about those who would question Disney's decision to work with those people.

 

[Granny square]

I may end up regretting posting as this whole thread is a powder keg, but after reading 26 pages here goes... First off, I have no dog in this race. I am local and go during low crowd times. I get very anxious in crowds so I choose not to deal with them. I will go on a ride or two with fast pass and just avoid the lines on anything else for another time. The affect of any of this on me and my experience is very limited. I read a lot of threads as I find other experiences interesting and enlightening. All the time I read the thread on the GAC when people would ask questions responses would always say "it's not FOTL access", the GAC won't help if you can't wait, it's not special treatment etc etc etc. people also stated all they want is an alternate waiting place, we don't want FOTL. Now that the policy had changed a LOT of people seem to be upset that they will have to wait. People saying we absolutely cannot wait, we cannot get a return time. This won't work for us. How dare they! It seems that somebody isn't being honest in all this. I have seen people being ripped apart on the old GAC threads for asking about FOTL with GAC. So IMHO either it never was and there shouldn't be nearly as many people upset about the new system or everybody was just towing the line and protecting the keys to the kingdom so to speak and are now upset that it's changing. I don't see how you can have it both ways. Either it was an advantage which is gone in which case own up to that fact. I'd understand being pissed at losing an advantage; nobody likes that. But this whole it was never an advantage that I'm pissed is gone makes no sense. Regardless of how any one person used it, there were obviously systematic issues that means a whole lot of people were getting an unsustainable advantage to have the rules change.

Or there is the other option which is that some took advantage of it in ways it wasn't originally intended any that most didn't. There are a small number of people saying they need extreme "help". Most even on this thread are saying they are going to have to learn to work with the new system and that it is a concern because it is unknown.

Or they were wc/ecv users who are often shuttled around like lawns in the chess board to get to the point of actually riding.

The gac provided fp entrance to many. Not the maw fotl privilege. So also not a big ol conspiracy lie...

Really the whole "everyone lied to is so that they had privilege we didn't" is getting old.

 

[ZehnJahren]

I don't think everyone with a child with autism has a child that has the issue we're talking about. It's a small subset of a small subset. That's why it's on a case-by-case basis and not part of the written guidelines of the overall plan.

And I definitely think that this system is in flux and should find a way to handle special cases, like severely ill children going through chemo, or autistic children with sensory seeking tendencies. I just DO wonder how, because it will need to be done.

Then Disney will clamp down more. If the unwritten rule is to accomodate a child who needs this for one ride only, then it's not worth the effort for the cheaters and those with children with needs who don't need it will, for the most part, not ask for it. And, if they do, most of the time the child will rat them out by being ok if they don't go on the ride again.

I hope they do clamp down more, but I have no idea how they can. They can't ask for medical confirmation, can't even really understand a diagnosis, all they can do is go by what the disabled person or their caretaker SAYS. Plenty of people don't mind lying to get something extra, and further I have seen a lot of ANGRY, ANGRY people who are planning on just ripping whoever is in GR a new one. That is going to take a lot of time.

You're grouping everyone with a GAC into what was a very small subsection of that group. No matter how many times you characterize it that way, the truth is that most people with GACs weren't dancing around the parks laughing at all the healthy people standing in long lines.

I definitely didn't say that, though others might have. Regardless of whether or not they were "dancing around the parks", they were still receiving a major perk that Disney had to decommission because of the sheer numbers taking part in it. Since this change was announced, I've read letters and petitions from people ranging from having heat disorders to having cancer to having autism - so I'm not lumping anyone in with any particular disability. The one thing many have in common is that they do NOT want to give up their unlimited FP, and they do NOT want to try out the new system. It looks so rigid it makes you think that they're only interested in skipping the lines, not in coming up with something that works for everyone. I understand it's not what everyone thinks, but it IS what the most vocal appear to think.

The GAC and GAS are legally required efforts to provide an equal experience to those with disabilities. By definition, they're going to be preferential treatment to those who don't need it, precisely because they don't need it. It's accommodations made to provide access that at least equal.

Your comparision is like a person seven-foot-tall person complaining that a shorter person gets to use a ladder to pick apples.

I would think my comparison is more like a seven-foot-tall person complaining that the shorter person not only gets to use a ladder, but also gets to quadruple the apples they pick and gets to pick apples in the shaded part of the orchard. That part of the orchard might have rotten apples at the bottom of the trees, but the shorter person gets a ladder to reach above them and still gets more.

And the people who do that are abusing the system. But that's not the majority of people. And, by characterizing it as the majority of people you're doing everyone a disservice, no matter what side of the discussion you're on.

This was a direct reply to you saying people might be jealous they didn't have this "perk". I was stating when they might be a little jealous. Overall, I think most people don't notice unless the line takes longer, and then they don't really know why. This is not a sweeping generalization over what everyone does, it's a statement as to when someone might have a jealous moment.

No, you don't. But to begrudge a child in hardship from an accommodation simply because your child doesn't have a hardship isn't appropriate either.

They are being accommodated, in many ways. From being able to relax in a cool room at first aid, to having ASL at shows, to having a cool place to wait instead of in a crowded line, to gluten free and sugar free and egg free menu items.... There are tons of accommodations available. This is not about taking away accommodation. I hope something good is figured out, because while I want kids who need it to have the best accommodation possible, I also want NT with their families to have the best trip possible as well.

 

[Planogirl]

It disturbs me that people plan to berate CM's in GS over this. Don't they realize that the CM's don't make this decision? Ridiculous.

 

[ZehnJahren]

It disturbs me that people plan to berate CM's in GS over this. Don't they realize that the CM's don't make this decision? Ridiculous.

I think people have seen over the years that if they get nasty and loud enough, Disney will do almost anything to quiet them. Therefore, if they get mean with the people in GS, they'll get what they want.

I really feel for all the people who work in the GS buildings for the next few months; I think it will be very difficult. I actually worked in this part of the business for another theme park, and had colleagues receive death threats, been spit at myself, and had people break windows in front of me out of anger. And for the most ridiculous things! One colleague took a call and the person calling wanted us to "do something" about people kissing in line on her visit the day before; her 14 year old daughter saw this and was upset. My coworker said to please have her come and report it if something like that bothered her so that we could try and address it at the time. The woman became furious that we weren't offering a discount or free tickets to come back and told my coworker she hoped that she died a "fiery death" on the way home from work that day.

 

[Mr Stoat]

Working in a similar field but different industry I have had a Calvinist Minister from Northern Ireland damn me to hell because I would not give him what he wanted!

 

[OneLittleSpark1]

I can only imagine what the DIS is going to look like tomorrow when the DAS is actually implemented.

Having said that, I *do* have a horse in this race, I have an autistic son and we have taken him to Disneyland 4 times. Last trip, just about a week before the new system was announced, we upgraded to APs. And yes, I am concerned about how the new system is going to work for our family but we will see when the time comes and it will either work for us or it will not. If it works, we will continue to enjoy Disneyland and it if does not, then we will not renew our passes and find somewhere else to spend our vacation money.

We have used a GAC with our son each time we have gone and only once have we EVER looped a ride and it was not at our request. Our very last ride on our very last day one trip we took DS on to Gadget's GC. The CM told my son he would get to ride in the last car because "it was the fastest one!" When the time came for us to load, someone else was in the last car and my son started to cry. I (in a very nice mom way) told him to deal with it and we rode the ride. At the end, the CM told us that we were getting an extra special double ride and that we could get into the last car for our special ride. That CM made our day and to us, it was a really wonderful way to end that trip.

Heartwarming story aside, I understand both sides of this situation.

What I don't understand is the anger from both sides. I can only speak for my family but at no point in time did we ever go up to ANY CM and demand FOTL access nor did we demand an unlimited FP. We went to City Hall, explained that our son had problems with coping with enclosed areas with lots of people crowding him and we were given a GAC. We then took that GAC to an attraction and showed it to the CM who then directed us where to go.

Did this result in us going through the FP line or alternate entrance? Yes but I don't see why people are ranting at US for using the program in the exact way that Disney chose to implement it and quite frankly, I think that the backlash many of us are feeling is the reason we are getting defensive. I know that I have felt attacked just through reading this and other threads on this topic.

If I could get one point across and have people understand it would be this:

Most parents who have used a GAC for their child or children, especially those who are autistic, have done so without try to game the system. They do not feel entitled to special treatment and for the most part, they are grateful to Disney for giving them the ability to take their children on a vacation to a spot that children of all ages love.

To quote one of my favourite authors, Spider Robinson, "anger is always fear in disguise."

Many of these parents are scared and this fear is manifesting as anger. They are scared that the way they have been enjoying vacations is going to change.

We deal with so much uncertainty in our day to day lives, so much worry and concern and fear about the future. When we are able to go somewhere like Disneyland and for a few days pretend that our lives are normal it's pretty awesome.

Now that, in some people's minds, is being taken away and that scares them.

I took the liberty to bold the part of your response that I liked the most. I think it's great that your son got an extra ride. A little bit of Disney Magic.

I think it's funny that when I read back on this thread, there are actually a lot of places where both sides come together and agree on points. Sometimes I think when you get riled up about something (IE other people's posts) it's easy to go of on a tangent, it's also hard to read what others are saying in the exact tone and way they meant it...I mean each person can read something and get something different out of it.

Despite, what a lot of people in this thread think, I am not a horrible heartless person, and as I have said numerous times, I am all for accommodations needed so everyone can enjoy the parks.
I do understand many of the parents of disabled kids or disabled themselves, questions and concerns.

As I have said, I don't mind waiting a few extra minutes for a wheelchair user to transfer, I don't even mind if someone goes through the FP line to avoid the long lines of standby when they can't do that (for whatever reason), my beef has and always has been with the people who come on (here and other places) and talk about they have to have FOTL/immediate access and nothing less will do. (And, I don't think that ANY of us can deny that has happened, in here and elsewhere...even down to how can I get around the new stuff and still cheat. We can at least agree to this).

People who have come in and say, "Sure we've used the system the way it was, as we were directed or told. We have had FOTL access, and it was great. But now we are going to have to rethink how we tour the parks, and come up with new strategies" I have no problems with that. I get that. Heck, I've even said that I can't exactly blame those people for using the system the way it was. I just believe that there is a happy medium to it all, and when your first beef and comments about the situation and new system is to say, "I HAVE TO, and NOW" I don't sympathize, those are words of entitlement.

That being said, your point of fear and combined with my points on communication, I would like to think that maybe I am reading some posts wrong in that regard (though I still maintain, not all of them). I would also like to think that someone out there may realize that too that I am not an heartless, ignorant, person...even if in some posts I may come across that way (which was not intentional).


My problem is the line between "It's nice to have, but we'll find a way" and "I HAVE to have it this way, or it won't work, and I am going to yell and write and be angry as heck, and just won't go anymore"

My bringing up the points of what is done at home, was not to condemn anyone's parenting style or skills, it was done simply to point out, that there are lots of things everyday that we as special needs parents have to make adjustments for, WDW just being one of many. I wanted to point out that if adjustments are made at home, surely, one can find an alternative that will work for them at WDW too. It was only directed to the people who said there is no bending, there is no adjustments, that it HAS to be this way for them, period.

I hope that everyone can find a way that will work for them to tour the parks, and I am more than happy to share the experience with other people disabled or not. Believe it or not, I would probably be one of those people you find in line talking to your disabled child or helping you in any way I can if you needed it. As I have stated before, I know lots of kids with disabilities bc my DD is a special needs child, and I love and would want all her friends, and others as well, to be able to experience and enjoy WDW as she does.

I hope somewhere in my rambling, that some have a little better understanding where I am coming from. If I lumped or seemed to lump, all GAC/DAS users together as one big group of cheaters, for that I am sorry. Bc like I started out saying with this post, if you go back and read some of the posts, even when I was outright hashing it out with some people, in the end, there were lots of points that we did agree on. At the very least, I think, we can all agree that not all GAC/DAS users are abusers/cheaters, just as all GAC/DAS users are on the up and up either.

I would like to end by saying, with all I have written, my stance on the issue and my opinions are not changed at all. I just wanted to hopefully explain maybe a little better, or a little nicer?, my feelings. I am not against GAC/DAS period, or the people who need access to them.

That is all for now.

 

[jbish]

Aladora - thanks for your response. I think many people who have posted would agree that everyone should "wait and see" how the new system is implemented and how Disney will work on improving it so that it helps the vast majority of the guests.

And Sparky - (at the risk of being labeled as an "atta girl") I'm totally with you. I've followed all of your posts and I think that most people are hovering near the middle - the extremes on either side of the argument do not represent the vast majority of us that think that there's a workable solution in the middle (while curbing as much of the abusers as possible).

 

[KGK]

They are being accommodated, in many ways. .... to gluten free and sugar free and egg free menu items.... .

I am so confused as to why this is here? Does this also bother you? Not sure at all why you would post this. Does this "accommodation" affect you or anyone? Wow.