GAC/Make a Wish question

[BlueBayou]

Hi - our friends are taking their family on a Make a Wish Trip soon. The wish was a Land and Sea vacation - but at least our Make a Wish organization no longer does that type of trip. But they are super excited that they were granted a Disney Cruise trip. So they are going on a Disney Cruise from Make a Wish at the end of the month and the kids are giving up Christmas presents from the grandparents and other family members and the money is going to the land part of the trip.

They have been told by Make a Wish that they can't use any of their documentation to avoid waiting in lines etc. I don't think they were planning on flying out their wheelchair. They are planning on renting a double stroller.

I told them they should probably just go to city hall and tell them what is going on with their son. And see what they recommend. The cancer is not his problem. He is two years into successful treatment of Leukemia - thank God. He had two major strokes and life saving brain surgery early on in the treatment. He has partial left side paralysis - he wears an ankle to knee brace and a wrist brace. He is very slow, has poor balance and tires easily. I am sure the Chemo drugs don't help, but on the surface the stroke seems to be the issue.

What would you advise they tell Guest Services? They don't want to do anything in regards to MAW that they are not supposed to.

Do you think they would be better off taking the wheelchair? They were thinking of renting double stroller because they are a family of 3 kids (DS 11 - wish kid, DS 8 - larger than DS11, and DD7). And the other two kids could swap out in the stroller if needed.

They may only be going to MK, because that is what their wish son wants and they may only be able to financially tack on one park day. The family is from CA so the parents grew up going to DL twice a year and the kids have all been to DL multiple times. Oh and because they are a family of 5 they will be at POR for a trundle room. What is also strange is as of this weekend MAW had not finalized the date of the cruise. They know it is within a 3 week window - but the date has a significant impact of the cost of the room for the post cruise WDW stay. That is why they don't know how many days they will be in the parks yet.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

[jmartinez1895]

Make a wish will arrange for a special GAC for families on wish trips so maybe they are planning on helping with this even tho the land prtion was not booked through them. It could also be that the person they spoke with does not know about the GAC for non wish trippers.
They will just need to go to GS and tell them about the situation. If they want to rent a double stroller then they will need to tell GS that they are using it as a wheel chair and they will get a tag and GAC for that. GS will also be able to give the ma GAC that fits the needs of the child.

 

[livndisney]

Make a wish will arrange for a special GAC for families on wish trips so maybe they are planning on helping with this even tho the land prtion was not booked through them. It could also be that the person they spoke with does not know about the GAC for non wish trippers.
They will just need to go to GS and tell them about the situation. If they want to rent a double stroller then they will need to tell GS that they are using it as a wheel chair and they will get a tag and GAC for that. GS will also be able to give the ma GAC that fits the needs of the child.

Since the "magic button" is handed out at GKTW at orientation and this family is not staying at GKTW because the Wish is a cruise-I think what the Wish chapter said is true. They don't get the "special GAC".

The family can go to GS and explain the child's needs. They should be able to get a GAC but I would not expect FOTL. If the child's needs are met with the stroller as a wheelcahir tag-that is all they will need.

As far as the wheelchair-would the 11 year old be more comfortable in the wheelchair or stroller? (I know my 11 year old is tiny and would not fit in a rental stroller). To my knowledge a wheelchair can be flown for free as medical equipment.

Your friends need to make sure their Wish chapter allows for the trip to be extended-some don't.

 

[SueM in MN]

Since the "magic button" is handed out at GKTW at orientation and this family is not staying at GKTW because the Wish is a cruise-I think what the Wish chapter said is true. They don't get the "special GAC".

The family can go to GS and explain the child's needs. They should be able to get a GAC but I would not expect FOTL. If the child's needs are met with the stroller as a wheelcahir tag-that is all they will need.

I think that is true.
And, even with getting the "Magic Button" , many kids on MAW trips don't get front of the line (although they do get the accommodations they need).

See post #6 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread - near the top of this board or follow the link in my signature.

As far as the wheelchair-would the 11 year old be more comfortable in the wheelchair or stroller? (I know my 11 year old is tiny and would not fit in a rental stroller). To my knowledge a wheelchair can be flown for free as medical equipment.

You are correct that wheelchairs fly for free. They can be gate checked, so can be used all the way until boarding. There is more information in the disABILITIES FAQs thread.

He would likely be a lot more comfortable using his wheelchair than a stroller.

Most 7 and 8 year olds don't need a stroller. I would suggest they not bring a stroller for those children and just playit by ear. If they find they need a stroller, they can rent a single or double stroller in the parks and won't have to worry about transporting it.

Your friends need to make sure their Wish chapter allows for the trip to be extended-some don't.

I have heard that too - i think part of the reason is sometimes extending the stay can change the price of the air portion.

 

[BlueBayou]

I have heard that too - i think part of the reason is sometimes extending the stay can change the price of the air portion.

From what I understand they are clear for the 3-day extension, they just don't know when the trip is yet, even it is in the next few weeks.

While I would be freaking out about the uncertainty, they are just so thankful for the opportunity to do this cruise. They are actually hoping it is the later time in the window - because it will be more affordable for the land stuff.

I'll talk to them about there reasons for not bringing his wheelchair, since most of you think it would be something nice to have. I think part of the stroller was that they could also pile their stuff into the second spot.

 

[Piper]

I think his wheelchair would be more comfortable, too. If he is given any kind of identification as a make-a-wish child, I would take it to Guest Services and tell them his limitations. The WC may be all he "needs," but it won't hurt to try. There is no provision for front of the line on a GAC.

Their best bet is a really good touring plan and use of fast-passes. I hope they have a great trip!

 

[lanejudy]

If they are cruising, they may have decided to leave the w/c home if they aren't getting an accessible room. Unless the w/c folds, it likely will not fit through the stateroom door.

If they do choose to leave the w/c home, another option is to rent a special needs stroller from offsite, rather than an onsite double at MK. These are designed for older/bigger kids and I would think it'll be much more comfortable for an 11-year-old (unless he's really tiny!). My DD7 uses one on vacation.

But definitely the child can be accomodated with a GAC if they can't get a pass through MAW - they just need to explain to Guest Services what his needs are and what accomodations will help, not his diagnosis.

Good luck - they'll love the cruise!

 

[dclfun]

I would also recommend bringing his w/c. The rental strollers are low to the ground and for a child who has had a stroke with weakness on one side of his body, it would be a challenge to get in/out of it. They also have a hard surface to sit on which might be really uncomfortable. I think the other kids are old enough to walk and would not need a stroller at all. As was mentioned if they do tire, you can still rent one. Also if the wheelchair is as narrow as a stroller, it will fit through the stateroom door or perhaps it can be folded and brought in while he walks through the door.

If your chapter has said you can't use the MAW paperwork to get him a special button or GAC then I wouldn't ask for one. I'm not one for "just asking anyway" if I've already been told not to, and the paperwork is required anyway. That said, he can still get a GAC that is available to anyone who needs an accommodation. If he's using his w/c then that's all that's needed to alert a CM to his needs. If you decide to use a stroller then you can get the stroller as w/c tag but I'm not sure how wide of a stroller can go through all the queue lines.

I hope they get their dates soon. Has the organization told them why it hasn't been booked yet? Which ship are they planning to sail on or do they know? Right now the Dream, Fantasy, and Magic are all sailing from Port Canaveral.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

from taking 2 MAW trips last year, son will be able to get a GAC but not a MAW GAC. they are different. going to guest services and getting a park GAC is okay. i had to get a park GAC when we were on young boys trip as i needed to not stand for long time while waiting for rides with older boys when wish child was not tall enough. think of the cards as 2 separate cards on 2 different trips. i would look at renting off site small wheelchair for parks as depending on style of double stroller can be hard to get long double thru some of lines.

 

[BlueBayou]

I hope they get their dates soon. Has the organization told them why it hasn't been booked yet? Which ship are they planning to sail on or do they know? Right now the Dream, Fantasy, and Magic are all sailing from Port Canaveral.

I have not talked to them about the dates in about a week. They are just so thankful that their family is getting this opportunity they are not pushing things. Both parents' employers know that a the trip is coming within a certain window. This trip has been in the works for quite some time. I believe it was approved a year ago. They have changed MAW case workers and I think this one is a tad more distant they the previous one (whom they loved).

I'm on DIS so I like to plan. I have been shocked that they don't know what ship/itinerary they will be on. They know it will be between 3-5 day cruise. It won't be a 7 day. They don't even know about transportation to and from the airport yet. I let them know how magic express worked for our trip - but I was totally unsure how it might work for them.

When they get the actual dates - I am going to make sure I can't find lower rates for the land portion on mouseforless etc. Unfortunately, the last two Disney pin mail things I got have been for DL (and not that great of deals IMHO).

 

[BlueBayou]

Thanks for everyone who posted on this thread. I wanted to let you know that their Wish Trip begins tomorrow. And they leave on the Magic on Monday. It looks like they will be staying POR for three night post cruise.

They will be using a wheelchair. And plan on visiting MK and DAK.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

hope they have a great trip. tell them to take lots, more than they plan, pictures.

 

[BlueBayou]

hope they have a great trip. tell them to take lots, more than they plan, pictures.

Thanks. Since the wish kid has short term memory issues from a stroke they are planning on taking a ton. The pictures should help the trip become long term memories.

They are super excited!

 

[dclfun]

I'm so excited for him! I hope he and the family have a wonderful wish trip. They will love the Disney Magic and POR is a beautiful resort.

 

[SueM in MN]

Hope things go well for them and they have a wonderful time.

 

[BlueBayou]

I just got a text message from them. They are on the magic and heading to their stateroom now.

Sounds like everything went well on the flight - they announced that it was the kids first time flying and that they were a Make a Wish family.

The kids loved the plane.