Guest Assistance Card??

[Mouse13]

My parents will be joining us for three days at the end of our vacation and we'll do the parks together one of those days. My mom had a hip replacement a couple of years ago with lots of issues afterwards and now has a locking ring on the hip joint. Earlier this week she underwent surgery to repair a femur that was broken in two places on the the same leg as the hip replacement. To make a long story short, her range of motion in the affected leg is severely restricted. She also has to hold her leg a certain way when sitting so that the hip prosthesis will not pop out of place. She needs extra time to get on/off rides and the moving walkways are really difficult for her. She was in the parks with us about a year ago, but it was tough for her. I know she felt rushed and was afraid her hip was going to pop out if she moved the wrong way. I've read a little bit about guest assistance card and was thinking that maybe we could get one for her this year. She would just need it so that the CMs would know that she needs a little extra time to board and for the moving walkways to be slowed down for her. I know that she would have to go to Guest Services to explain her situation and request assistance. Have any of you had a similar experience or know anything more about the card?

 

[DizNee Luver]

Basically, you go to City Hall (with your mom) & explain to the CM what her limitations & concern are....they will decide if a GAC is needed & what the card will allow her to do (like use the handicapped entrance, etc).

You could also check out the disAbilities thread & I'm sure you would find others that have gone thru the same thing as your mom!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Yep yep, go to city hall and have her tell them what she needs. She needs no moving walkways, which means she'd need to go in the special entrances...for instance, Buzz has a door towards the end of the line that puts you into a space separate from the moving walkway. Same with TSMM. It's not that they slow it down; you just don't go on it.

If she'll be in a wheelchair or ECV that makes it even simpler for the CMs, as they will direct her in certain directions so she doesn't have to deal with things like stairs and such.

I'm totally oversimplifying it, but just have her tell them what she needs to avoid and they'll work to help her figure it out.


Kept remembering then forgetting (repeat repeat repeat) as I typed, finally remembered...another ride is Space Mountain. They have to get those ride vehicles out in a certain number of seconds or it causes problems that can result in a total shutdown, so she'll definitely want to go in the other entrance. That gives her access to the car that's off the track. Once it's loaded, they put it sideways onto the track, and away it goes. It's actually quite cool! (for some unknown reason we were sent over there, I supposed to fill up the car?, one time)

 

[Mouse13]

DizNee Luver and bumbershoot, thanks so much for the helpful info. It would be great if I could talk my mom into getting an ECV but I really think she'll want to walk. I'll go with her to City Hall and we'll talk to them. She has nothing to lose and I really think that a few simple considerations could help her to have a much better time.

 

[SueM in MN]

If you follow the link in my signature to the disABILITIES FAQs thread, you can find more information about Guest Assistance Cards in post #6.
While it was written about WDW, they follow the same procedure at Disneyland. Some of the access at DL is a little different because the park is older.
If you look in post #14 of that thread, there is information about accessibility for Disneyland, including a link to the DL Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities.

The GAC that you will probably get basically tells the CM that you need to use the wheelchair accessible entrance/boarding area. You will need to tell the CMs what exactly you need once you are at the boarding area. For rides with moving walkways, our experience at WDW is that they usually just slow them, because that meets the needs of most guests. At least at WDW, they will stop the moving walkways (except for Peter Pan, which can't be stopped), but we need to let the CM know that we need it stopped, not just slowed.

 

[Mouse13]

If you follow the link in my signature to the disABILITIES FAQs thread, you can find more information about Guest Assistance Cards in post #6.
While it was written about WDW, they follow the same procedure at Disneyland. Some of the access at DL is a little different because the park is older.
If you look in post #14 of that thread, there is information about accessibility for Disneyland, including a link to the DL Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities.

The GAC that you will probably get basically tells the CM that you need to use the wheelchair accessible entrance/boarding area. You will need to tell the CMs what exactly you need once you are at the boarding area. For rides with moving walkways, our experience at WDW is that they usually just slow them, because that meets the needs of most guests. At least at WDW, they will stop the moving walkways (except for Peter Pan, which can't be stopped), but we need to let the CM know that we need it stopped, not just slowed.

Thanks so much for the information! It really helps to know what we might expect.