We have been to WDW many times and have always been able to go through wheel chair accessable lines and most of the time the fast pass line without the fast pass. We always use regular lines if the lines are moving fairly quickly. Just wish they would have every CM be more consistant !! Every condition isn't as easily put in their categories. I should be used to it all as I spend most of my time explaining and fighting the school, doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, etc. It was just that in the past I didn't have to explain at every attraction what her needs and condition was.
For all the lines at the Studio and AK, the wheelchair line
IS the regular line and has been since those parks opened (so it's not a change). Epcot has a few attractions that have wheelchair entrances, but most of the regular lines are the 'wheelchair' line. MK is the least accessible and does have more attractions with wheelchair lines. THey started making Mainstream Lines in about 1999 and have continued as they updated or added lines. So, again, not new, but emphasized more in the last few years.
One of the changes that has been made recently is really trying to have CMs enforce people with wheelchairs and
ECVs using the regular lines when those lines are accessible. A lot of people assume that there are special wheelchair lines or that they need/get to use the Fastpass line with a wheelchair/
ECV/GAC.
One of the things WDW has done recently (in the past year) to try to get this across to people is publishing park maps for people with disabilities. The 'handicapped access' is listed for each attraction and is almost always, "Use the Mainstream Queue." The previous Guidebooks were actually booklets and you had to go to Guest Relations to get one. The current ones are actually maps and on our recent trip, we found them at the park entrance map locations and even at our resort.
So, they are trying to make the access more 'obvious'.
I had a note explaining her condition and what the issues were (the same form letter we have had for the last 3 years) from her physician at the Univ of Fla. Some CM's at Guest Services (I was there 4 times trying to get what she needed) would read it, some would not, saying that they were not medical professionals.
Doesn't matter - we still enjoyed our vacation together and spending time as a family even though she wasn't able to ride or see everything she wanted to.
I did write a letter to Guest Communications just asking for clarification and what I needed to do to be more clear and what is available. I will update after I receive a response.
Melinda
They are not allowed to require a letter (although some people feel more confident asking about a GAC if they have a letter).
The reason they often don't look at the letters is that the letters are usually written in medical language and the CMs are not educated to read that type of language. Also, the letters often do not say anything helpful to the CMs in knowing what the person needs - i.e., if the letter says "My patient has hypoglycemia and can't wait in lines" that does not tell the CMs anything about what that person needs.
If you have not read the information about GACs in post #6 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread (or read it a long time ago), it may be helpful to read it now. It is not 'official', but it is as close to official as possible, since I have had a number of Guest Services and attraction CMs read it and give feedback.
One thing to keep in mind is that one thing that is consistent about using a GAC is that it is not always handled consistently, even the same day for the same attraction. Some of it may be variation or lack of education in CMs (for example, we had a Fastpass for an attraction and the CM looked at it, then asked if we had a GAC - that was not the correct way to handle it). But, some of the other things that happen may be because of things behind scenes that you can't see. Like, the CM may have gotten a message to that the wheelchair accessible boarding area is full or that there are already as many people with special needs on the attraction as are allowed for fire safety/evacuation rules. If that happens, they would 'hold' other people with special needs. Sometimes, the opposite happens and we have headed toward the regular line (which had a 5 minute posted wait), but we were routed to the Fastpass line. This happened to us on Buzz Lightyear several times - if we had not been to WDW often, we would probably think we were supposed to use the Fastpass Line if there was one. But, we knew that was not the norm and that the reason we were sent there was the Fastpass line is straighter and less twisty than the regular line. We did not actually get boarded any faster, it just was easier that way.
One thing about fastpasses - they are good all day once the initial time is met - so even if you needed to have a snack and administer meds, you could use the fp after the time printed.
using Fastpasses and a touring plan may actually be more helpful for your needs than having a GAC.
You can send the quickest member of your party with all the park passes to get Fastpasses for everyone in your group. You can't come back any earlier than the time printed on the Fastpass, but you can come any time after that. And, once you enter the Fastpass line, you will usually be boarding within 10-15 minutes. Using Fastpass, you could schedule your rides around the food and medication schedule.
Other posters have used tour planning services like TourGulde Mike and RideMax to help them plan out their day. These are based on the fact that not all parks or areas of the parks are equally busy at the same time. They help you to figure out what the best times and best places are to be to avoid crowds. Many people have posted that they seldom use a GAC because with TourGuide Mike or RideMax, they have found their waits are seldom longer than 5-10 minutes.
