Fast pass/ multi day tickets

[Sue & Co.]

I know about using the fastpass system for disabilities but I have just read on another board that only people with multi day tickets can get fastpasses. Is this correct. I have days left on last times tickets and then planned to buy two single day tickets for our other days as this seems to be the cheapest way for me to do it but that won't help if it means I can't have access to the fast pass line? Can anyone help.

 

[SueM in MN]

I know about using the fastpass system for disabilities
but I have just read on another board that only people
with multi day tickets can get fastpasses.

That's NOT correct (but it is a common misconception). Any newer pass (multi-day, AP, or one day pass) that has a magnetic strip will work in the fastpass machine. You can't use the old, old style passes that had stamps or punches to show you had used the pass. Someone who has one of the really old tickets can turn it in and get one a new style pass and then they can get fastpasses too.
Here's a link to the DIS information page about using FastPass.
And here's a link to the DIS general information page about touring with disabilities.
Hope you have a great trip.

 

[poohster]

If you have the GAC, you won't even need to get a fast pass.

I just returned from a week at WDW with my autistic daughter. When we requested a Guest Assistance Card (GAC) on our first day they did NOT ask us what kind of tickets we had. I explained our situation and they issued the GAC to give her access to the fast pass lines OR the wheelchair access when there was not a fast past line. We did not have to get a fast pass, we just showed the GAC to the cast member at the fast pass line.

This was our first trip since they started the new fast pass access for disabilities. I have to say it worked very well. We did not stand out at all, there were other people going in through that line. The cast members all knew immediately what it was and waved us right by. Cast members were aware that we sometimes needed extra help when loading. Only one "regular" person even seemed to notice that we had a special card. A woman who was entering fast pass on Splash Mountain asked me what it was and why we had it. I explained and her only comment was that it was really nice of them to do that.

 

[SueM in MN]

Not all GACS are the same.

The type of ticket you have doesn't matter for getting a GAC and they don't ask to see your ticket (all they care about it that you are in the park). The message that is on the GAC depends on the needs of the person it is issued to. The pre-printed GAC format/template says:

At attractions offering Disney's FASTPASS, Guests should obtain a Disney's FASTPASS return ticket.

In most cases, that message is not modified and an appropriate message to the person's needs is stamped (or printed, for the Guest Services areas that store the GAC on computer and print it out). Some of the common messages include being allowed to wait out of the sun or heat if the line is in the sun, being allowed to use a stroller as a wheelchair (bringing it into lines/attractions where strollers are not usually allowed), being allowed to use the wheelchair entrance to avoid stairs.
Many people (us included) who have used a GAC were asked to still use fastpass as much as possible (even if the GAC was modified), wait in the regular queque if the line is 15 minutes or less and use the GAC sparingly. I look at the GAC as insurance, to be used when needed.
This website has a good explanation of GACs.

 

[mykidsmama]

Sue & Co,

We just returned from a whirlwind tour May 22-27. Our experience was similar to Poohster's. There are different levels of accomodations as Sue in MN described depending on the disability. Autism or autism spectrum disorders get the maximal accomodations according to Guest Services but they are supposed to consider needs on an individual basis. My daughter required one for "invisible" medical as well as behavioral reasons and we were issued the maximal accomodations.

This meant that we got to use the Fastpass lines without waiting for Fast Passes and the wheelchair entrances if a Fastpass line was not available. There are a couple of rides which I would insist on wheelchair entrance vs. Fastpass line when we go back (Haunted Mansion and It's Tough to Be a Bug) as the wait was longer than you would think but mainly it was the CRUSH of people trying to narrow down into a small area. My daughter almost wigged out.

The only place we got open grief was in the MK at Dumbo ( guest-smarting off about people abusing the wheelchair entrance--I set them straight) and once by a Cast Member at Ariel's Grotto where I got not only lip but she refused to let me talk to a manager. Eventually she pressed what I assumed was her panic button and two different managers showed up and they pulled her off the attraction. We ended up getting shmoozed by getting VIP seating at Liberty Bridge for the Share a Dream Come True Parade. Didn't make me any less mad but I got some great pictures.

Another thing that was very helpful was going through the Disability reservation line. We got a room reserved in Alligator Bayou at Port Orleans in Lodge 14 closest to the bus stop because she has to potty about every 20-30 minutes and we knew she'd have to go immediately off the bus. (She ended up peeing herself only once on the plane though we had a close call when the Figment ride in Epcot broke down while we were at the vision segment). Also we got a comp refrigerator which would have cost $10.65 a day because one of her medicines has to be refrigerated.

Don't forget preboarding on planes, changes of clothes, extra snacks and drinks depending on the disability. We ended up renting a double stroller at Magic Kingdom so she could hide under a towel and not have to touch and be so close to the crowds.

We have never been able to go on a family vacation with her before now but we managed with all of the accomodations. We tried once to visit my brother in DC but she had a full blown meltdown in front of the Vietnam Wall.

I didn't mention she punched Dale in the nose at the Land character luncheon. She was kind of overstimulated and he did kind of invade her personal space They handled it well, Dale went and got the manager, Mickey came out and shook his finger at her and asked (through the manager) if she did that to Santa Claus. She probably actually ended up getting more attention for doing it which is probably not the best but don't think she realized that was the case. All the characters stopped by to chastize her and hugged the walls when they passed her, etc. We made her apologize immediately and they all finally made up. Dale would bring every character up by the arm and tell them with hand signals what she had done and warn them to watch out, etc...

Also, the Guides fior Guests with Disabilities were helpful because they offered the exact ride times and a little description so we could gauge what she could handle. There are definitely certain attractions which caused us real troubles with the sensory issues...

We had a plan B for almost everything which we had to use once or twice, but overall we survived fairly well...I have 22 rolls of film to prove it...