Front of the Line Passes

[Nanseev]

This is not a complaint...I'm truly just curious to what I've missed.

I'm a fairly frequent day-tripper, and over the past year have noticed many more "front of the line" passes. People are going into the exits, showing this lovely certificate, and getting on the rides without waiting.

Was this solely from the birthday promotion they did a year or two ago? Or are people getting these special certificates somewhere else? How do you get them? Do the ride attendants really check the dates, or are people re-using the certificate over and over again?

Again...not a complaint (other than the families that have 10 people for the one pass...but I do understand)...I'm just curious. It would be cool to be able to go to Disney just one day knowing I could have no wait at TSMM...I swear I'd probably ride it 10 times!!!!

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

I'm not sure what "front of the line" pass you are referring too. There are Guest Assistance cards in which some may enter through the exit, but those that have used them can tell you it's no "front of the line" pass. Most wait just as long or even longer to actually board. There are FPs which anyone can get? There are no actual "front of the line" passes.

 

[blackjackdelta]

I know you said front of the line pass but could it be the fastpass that you are talking about. Even the special needs pass does not get you to the front, just closer.

Jack

 

[Belle Ella]

Well, it's hard to say for sure. There are a few different passes for different things. The one that I am most familliar with is the Single Rider Pass and I've only used it for Indiana Jones, where you do indeed go through the exit and they fill you in whenever a party doesn't fill up a whole row in the vehicles. That pass they give to you then and there and take back from you once you board and only few rides offer it.

 

[kiwitravel]

They are GAC or Guest Assistant Cards... I noticed people with them on our first couple of trips and wondered about them... Last trip about a third of our way through the trip my daughter got sick, and going to DL guest relations they advised on the best nearest ER as we are from a different country we had no idea... She told us to come back when done there... Well 8 hours later we were back and she gave us one of those cards for the rest or our stay as my daughter was not going to be able to wait in lines. They are like a FP for ALL rides... Don't judge people on their usage on the basis of how they look, my daughter looked perfectly healthy and ours was a clearly justified case. We didn't abuse its usage, we only rode rides once at a time and only rode TSMM once a day. Prior to this we had been using FPs and planning rides to minimise waittimes and so had no really long queues anyway but it was excellent for rides like matahorn, TSMM and Peter Pan which have no FP...

 

[Nanseev]

The two specific rides I saw them used at were TSMM and Alice in Wonderland. I *think* it was a blue-ish grey rectangular paper...larger than a check. It's not the FP's. They were used by going through the exit. I guess maybe it was just for handicap. I have just noticed alot recently, so I thought it might be something different.

And I'm definitely not judging I work with children with special needs, so I know there are times people can not "look" disabled. I completely understand, it was just curiosity.

 

[Belle Ella]

Did they look like this:

 

[Nanseev]

I don't think they looked like that....I wasn't trying to stare (didn't want to make it seem like I was angry or upset), so I only saw a glimpse. One of the women had it rolled up. Maybe 8.5x3.5?

 

[Belle Ella]

Might have been on of the GAC cards then. The photo I posted was a readmission pass I got after some trouble back in September. The only other pass that's not a DP that I have actually seen are the single rider passes that look like this (in different colors)



Sorry, it was a photo of Duffy with the pass so you can't see it well.

 

[disneyfan67]

My two sons are autistic, one way more than the other. We always use the guest assistance pass (GAC) in either WDW or DLR, which does cut way down on the wait time of the rides. We would not be able to do the parks with my son Sam without the help of the GAC. It is in no way a front of the line pass or a golden fast pass as some have called it. It is worth it's wait in gold however for those who have special need kids and want to be able to tour the parks without meltdowns, tears, and terrible looks from the other guests waiting in line with you. There are limits to it such as, no more than 6 can be on the GAC, only should be used for one ride, one time, for that day. Meaning no multiple trips on the same ride, the same day, like the IJA, Matterhorn, etc. Even if I was allowed to ride IJA 6 times in a row, it wouldn't be fair to the other guests and would cause a riot. Sadly people are abusing it and I fear one day Disney may curtail it. If they do, I'll be up craps creek without a paddle. Disney has been great over the years to my sons by accommodating their needs and I have returned the favor, by being loyal to them with my vacation dollars.

 

[KPeveler]

Probably a GAC, which is definitely not a front of hte line pass, just something that allows people to do things like use the wheelchair access (no stairs) or an alternate waiting area when needed. It definitely looks like there is no waiting, but I can tell you I generally wait most of the length of the standby line, I just do it in a different place. Most DL attractions can only have 1 person with a wheelchair or mobility disability at a time, so in general I get to wait for the ride to cycle a few times before getting on, just like the standby line.

 

[Disney Dreams]

I don't think they looked like that....I wasn't trying to stare (didn't want to make it seem like I was angry or upset), so I only saw a glimpse. One of the women had it rolled up. Maybe 8.5x3.5?

Sounds like a Guest Assistance Card (GAC).

The GAC is issued to people with a variety of special needs. They are issued at City Hall based on your medical circumstances.

Bella Ella, how much trouble found you to get a whole stack of purple passes??? Nice.

- Dreams

 

[CoolPool]

I have gotten a sheet about the size you describe when the kids and I got stuck on the river raft ride in CA and they had to drain all the water and walk us out of the rafts and down through the unmagical areas inside the mountain. It was good for only one ride.

I also recently received pretty much the same thing when we had ticket problems at WDW - again worked like fastpass but doesn't look like one.

Maybe these are just people who had something go wrong and Disney is granting them a little pixie dust to make up for it.

 

[Belle Ella]

Bella Ella, how did you get a stack of purple passes??? Nice.

- Dreams

I was trying to redeem my GADGAD voucher for the Fast Passes and the printer wasn't working!! We waited for something like 30-45 minutes or maybe longer (I wasn't clock watching at the time, it was a laid back day) while they tried to fix it and once they did it said my FP's had already printed, but of course they hadn't. So they gave us 6 of the passes to use for anything we wanted other than WOC and then we got an extra 3 for the wait. I had never even seen them before then!!

 

[kiwitravel]

Probably a GAC, which is definitely not a front of hte line pass, just something that allows people to do things like use the wheelchair access (no stairs) or an alternate waiting area when needed. It definitely looks like there is no waiting, but I can tell you I generally wait most of the length of the standby line, I just do it in a different place. Most DL attractions can only have 1 person with a wheelchair or mobility disability at a time, so in general I get to wait for the ride to cycle a few times before getting on, just like the standby line.

We had no long waits other than for the Mailboomer which was only because they forgot us... Otherwise it was almost always straight on but that was in August and the parks were not mad full, I can imagine there would be more problems on busy days as more people will be tempted to get one when they perhaps don't really need one ...

We saw no abuse this trip but the trip before when we there in July we saw a young group of teenagers with a wheelchair going in through the handicap entry and they were swapping who sat in the chair...

 

[Funball]

if you are reffering to a GAC , they are not front of the line passes, you do still have to wait with them..they are for people that have special needs or are special needs

 

[dalepool]

Assistance cards do not get you front of line status. The assistance pass makes boarding and off boarding rides easier.

They can stop the continually moving attractions to let quests that are mobility challenged get on and off with much better ease.

We have waited for this service at times longer then waiting in regular line that has the entertaining walk thrus.

Husband even got to ride his favorite ride Pirates of the Caribean. took two big guys--2 smaller females-- us-- to get him seated on boat. Getting off boat seemed to take forever but the 4 of us did it. Needless to say that was last ride on that attraction for him.

I am very glad Small World has the boats specific for wheelchairs.

Patty

Laundry Mistress no more

 

[DahliaRW]

Could it be a child swap pass?

 

[KPeveler]

We had no long waits other than for the Mailboomer which was only because they forgot us... Otherwise it was almost always straight on but that was in August and the parks were not mad full, I can imagine there would be more problems on busy days as more people will be tempted to get one when they perhaps don't really need one ...

We saw no abuse this trip but the trip before when we there in July we saw a young group of teenagers with a wheelchair going in through the handicap entry and they were swapping who sat in the chair...

It depends on to how the parks are that day. I just mention this because there is actually a line ON the GAC which states it is not designed to reduce or shorten wait times. That does not mean that the waits will be identical, as it can depend on many things.

If there are a lot of people with GACs at that time or that day, you can end up waiting a LONG time. Once in WDW I waited for 45 minutes for Jungle Cruise when the standby time was 10 minutes.

I will say this about the group of teenagers - my sister and I both have medical problems, and we used to switch out in the wheelchair all the time. And being close sisters, we would squabble about whose turn it is.

I am very careful never to let people think that a GAC is the front of the line pass, since there are a lot of stamps and a lot of different scenarios. One of my friends is blind and her GAC lets her sit in the front of every theatre so she can see. It does not change where she waits in line. Other people have a pass that only affects lines with stairs. There are so many different things that can affect it that I just don't want people to expect one thing and then get something different.

I am also wary of people who search the internet trying to find a way to skip lines. There was even one suggestion (of course NOT on the DISboards) suggesting to have your child fake a disabillity such as autism to skip lines. Not only is that sick and twisted, but it also does not work! There is no way to actually skip lines guaranteed...

 

[Nanseev]

I hope I didn't offend anyone as I do understand the need for passes for people with special needs, including autism which people may not be able to physically "see". I think it's wonderful that Disneyland makes accommodations to those with needs. It would be a very sad day if they stopped those services. I truly believe Disneyland should be able to be enjoyed by everyone, no matter what the disability is. I am a huge believer of this.

After thinking about the situations, it probably was a few families with Guest Assistance Cards. Maybe a swap pass...I wasn't aware that they even made passes for that. It wasn't the single rider or fast pass for sure.