GAC and Aspergers

[Taratink]

My ds7 has just been dx with Asp. I plan on using fast passes and using a GAC for our upcoming trip. What will this card do to help him? His frustration level is very low and it makes it really difficult for him to wait in lines for a long time. We will be there during a slow time so hopefully there will be shorter lines.
Tara

 

[missypie]

No advice on GAC, but here's some general advice. Have you been to WDW? Are you an "old pro" at the parks? If not, please do a lot of reasearch. It always helps to tell my DS Aspie what is going to happen in advance. For example, if you are going right at rope drop and will be rushing to a ride, explain all of that, so if he sees his favorite character and you pass him by in a rush to get to Space Mountain, he won't have a melt down.

Also, my Aspie loved finding hidden Mickeys. You can buy the book almost anywhere.

 

[SueM in MN]

If you haven't yet, check out the disABILITIES FAQs thread. One of the sections of that is about GACs (Guest Assistance Cards). Using Fastpass witll help a lot - there is a lot of predictability to Fastpasses - the card tells you the time to come back and when you come back, the wait will be minimal.

One other suggestion is to get to the parks early if you can. It will be less crowded and less waits. Also, most of the parks are quite busy by 10 or 11am and many slow down later in the afternoon - for example, AK is often little to no wait for rides in the late afternoon.
You probably don't want to use one of the touring plans in books like the Unofficial Guide (I've got a nephew who is an Aspie and he would take the touring plans as rules that must be followed. It would be helpful to use things from the touring plans (or Tourguide Mike - a sponsor of the Theme Parks Board) to figure out what is busy when.

But, going during a slow time, you may find no problems with waiting for most attractions. Even during busy times like Easter/Spring break, we usually only need to use DD's GAC once or twice a day.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

My DD(5) is PDD-NOS and has a mild muscular myopathy and we got a GAC last May to be able to use her stroller as a wheelchair and to use alternative access to rides where available. It was a Godsend! It truly made our first family vacation a success. By keeping her in her stroller as much as possible it kept her meltdowns to a minimum(as she does not understand the concept of waiting) and gave us easier access to swiftly remove her after the ride disembarked which is when her meltdowns would flair (as she doesn't understand why she has to get off either!). Because of her muscular issues, she gets tired easily and will just plop down...anywhere. This could be dangerous in a crowd so we also needed the stroller for this issue as well. We did not abuse it and only rode the attractions one time when using it. On rides in Fantasyland, we felt it unfair to use, as most kids were crying and throwing fits so DD fit right in. To minimize Fantasyland wait times, we figured out on day 2 that the last hour or so before park closing that everyone was marking their spot for fireworks viewing (which we did on night one) and we could literally just walk on to rides...no waiting. We did use our GAC to be able to keep her stroller with us on Fantasyland rides that had longer, winding, waiting corrals so we would not kill our backs trying to carry her kicking and screaming but it didn't give us any unfair advantage over other riders b/c everyone could just get on after making their way thru the "maze."

I hope this helps A GAC used properly can really make you trip magical as only Disney knows how to do.

FYI: On our trip last May, the parks were so uncrowded that most fastpass attractions had hoods over the machines b/c waits were under 20 minutes

 

[RADOPT]

We used it to wait in the alternate line (sometimes fastpass) or out of the sun. Since we don't do anything dark or any coaster - it doesn't get too much use. We also don't use it unless we need to - all depends on where she "is" at that moment.

One day the security area to get into MK was so crowded that my daughter could not use it. I told one of the Cms that she had the GAC and could not handle the entrance area. I asked it we could get in another way. She was able to get a guard who check our stuff out and let us in the side. They were very nice. We would have had to leave if they had not been able to do this for us.

 

[Taratink]

This is our 4th trip to WDW as a family. We have always had a hard time with our DS7 but now we have a name for it. We have learned so much these past few months. The dx is actually a big relief. Now I can learn and get support from others. I really thought that I was going insane. We get to the parks early but it takes him a while before he will go on a ride. We loose a good hour so he can get used to the parks. He is usually ready when the lines are getting long. It is frustrating but there is nothing he can do about it. I am excited to get a GAC and maybe waiting in an alternative area will help him relax and not get so frustrated.
Tara