Guest Assistance Card

[mrstbalt]

We are going to Disney in September and I have received email from Guest Relations/Customer Service and a book about a Guest Assistance Card. Has anyone obtained one and if so could someone please explain how it worked?
My DD 3.5yrs has PDD, mild end of the autism spectrum that is how we found out abou this. Thanks to anyone who has some insight to this.

 

[Nanajo1]

If you do a search on this site you will find a wealth of info. The GAC is used to assist guests with disabiities other than mobility issues. You and the person needing the GAC go to Guest Relations in or outside a park and request a GAC. You do not need a doctors note but need to be prepared to tell the CM what accommodations you need, like a alternate place to wait in line out of the sun for an example. You may need to use a stroller in place of a wheelchair. You only need to get the GAC once and you use it at all 4 parks. Waterparks need their own. The GAC is not intended to shorten wait times but to make the wait more manageable. I'm sure folks with more experience will post soon.

 

[DIS-NH]

I'm the Father of (2) ASD kids. While the GAC card will not eliminate lines, they are shorter. You can use it to enter (at any time) through the "Fast Pass Return" entrance for those rides with FP, or through the handicapped entrance for all other rides. It will not help you with resteraunts or shopping.

For us, it makes the wait managable. My youngest son could never wait in the normal Disney ride lines.

Best of Luck.

 

[SueM in MN]

I'm the Father of (2) ASD kids. While the GAC card will not eliminate lines, they are shorter. You can use it to enter (at any time) through the "Fast Pass Return" entrance for those rides with FP, or through the handicapped entrance for all other rides. It will not help you with resteraunts or shopping.

For us, it makes the wait managable. My youngest son could never wait in the normal Disney ride lines.

Best of Luck.

i just wanted to mention that not all GACs have the message stamped on them that you had and not all GACS allow the same accomidations.

The GAC (Guest Assistance Card) is a tool to communicate with the CMs so they know what accomidation is needed. It is given based on the needs of the individual person with a disability, not the diagnosis. So, even 2 people with the same diagnosis might have different stamps on their GAC.

How the GAC is handled at individual attractions sometimes depend on the attraction, how busy it is and the staffing at the time you come. It's possible that you might be given one set of instructions the first time you ride and the next time (even later the same day), you may be asked to do something else.

 

[LisaBi]

There is a booklet about the use of GAC? That sounds like a Godsend. I always get a GAC for my son, but am not always sure about the best use of it. I've never been given any sort of booklet when we have gotten the GAC in the past. I'm going again in September - just me and DS12, who has Down Syndrome. I'm hoping the crowds are low enough that we don't even need the GAC, but any info about how to best use it if we need it would be so great! Is the book really helpful?

Thanks,
LisaB

 

[SueM in MN]

There is not a booklet about GACs that I have ever heard of. We were at WDW in April and asked for copies of everything they had to do with people with disabilities at WDW. We got a Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities for each park, but nothing else.

I think (but am obviously not sure) that what the OP was sent was the Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities. There is a link for the guidebooks on the disABILITIES FAQS thread near the top of this board.

I was told some guidelines for use of the GAC when we first got one in about 1999. We were asked to use Fastpass if we could and to use the GAC more as insurance than a necessity. We were also told that the GAC might be handled differently at different times because of how many other people with special needs were waiting, busy-ness of the line in general and staffing. So, the one hint I would give is to expect that things may not work exactly the same the net time you go on that attraction (eevven the same day).

Even during the busiest times, you can avoid a lot of waits if you are able to get to the parks early in the day. Even during Easter, we've found the parks are not very busy before 10 or 11 am or so. If you are able to get there when the parks open, you can get on many rides with very little wait.
Also, the Information/Tips Board in each park can help a lot with planning. Those CMs keep track of waiting times for different attractions all day and can tell you when to go back to your favorite attraction if it was too busy when you arrived.
For example, Spaceship Earth is usually a long wait early in the morning, but by late afternoon, it usually has a very minimal - just walk right in- wait.

 

[taximomfor4]

i just wanted to mention that not all GACs have the message stamped on them that you had and not all GACS allow the same accomidations.

The GAC (Guest Assistance Card) is a tool to communicate with the CMs so they know what accomidation is needed. It is given based on the needs of the individual person with a disability, not the diagnosis. So, even 2 people with the same diagnosis might have different stamps on their GAC.

How the GAC is handled at individual attractions sometimes depend on the attraction, how busy it is and the staffing at the time you come. It's possible that you might be given one set of instructions the first time you ride and the next time (even later the same day), you may be asked to do something else.

DEFINITELY!! We were actually sent to get FP on several FP-accessible rides and come back at THAT time. Technically speaking, they are not really expected to wave through GAC users into FP lines with no FP. If they do this to you, lucky you -- it is not the protocol. You are supposed to be responsible for GETTING fp for FP-accessible lines. Just a heads up.

 

[Talking Hands]

Taximomfor4, Easier said than done when you are not travelling with a companion and have limited power to use for the day and a tight schedule to keep as well that is Disney's not yours. I usually get 1 or 2 rides at most even with GAC because of this.

 

[Nik's Mom]

Hello, everyone! I'm not sure if the Op has been to WDW before, but here is what we do. We get to the parks just before park opening, and hit the rides that are most popular, or slow loading first thing in the morning. This way, there is little or no wait. The GAC doesn't mean that you will be given front of the line access. The only way we can ensure that our ds doesn't have to deal with crowds, is to go first thing in the morning. It really makes a huge difference. We only use the GAC as an absolute last resort.
Another way to avoid waiting in lines is to grab a fp when you can. We try to distract our ds from seeing what ride we are near when we grab our fp.
Here's another tip that we used quite a bit. You can ask guest services to add the stamp that says you can use your stroller as a wheel chair. It made a huge difference when ds had his stroller in line. He feels safe in there!
Have a great trip!

 

[taximomfor4]

Taximomfor4, Easier said than done when you are not travelling with a companion and have limited power to use for the day and a tight schedule to keep as well that is Disney's not yours. I usually get 1 or 2 rides at most even with GAC because of this.

Talking Hands,
I certainly hope they accomodate you sufficiently while you are there! I am only stating what my CM friend told me, which talks about standard procedure. I am betting that battery-pack limitations, etc are treated quite differently. At least I hope so!!

If the OP was speaking of a battery-pack power source issue, I apologize for missing that detail! Don't have specific experience with that. Just GAC, ECV, and WC. The latter 2 are very limited experience.

Beth

 

[busykate]

I know that most posters use gac as a last resort but for us it is the only option. DD has HUGE tactile, social and emotional issues and wdw would be impossibel without it. We've gone in 2002, 2003 and are planning a trip, just the two of us, in Sept. and could never go without it. Please do not feel guilty if you need to use it. I know lots of people take advantage of it but disney provides it for a reason.

 

[MomOf2DisneyKids]

My DD 3.5yrs has PDD, mild end of the autism spectrum that is how we found out abou this. Thanks to anyone who has some insight to this.

Just wanted to say a quick hi...my DS5 has PDD-NOS, and we are going in...aaaahhhhh.....next Friday we will be on the road! I'll let you know how the GAC works for us!!!

 

[bags6490]

Hi,
Just thought I would give our one experience with a GAC. Our 2 year old daughter has Down Syndrome. We were at Disney Quest with all 3 of our girls ages 1, 2 and 6. Our daughter with DS just turned 2 July 1st and is not walking well yet. We were trying to carry the 1 year old and 2 year old and still do stuff with the 6 year old at Quest (because strollers aren't allowed in Quest). We weren't getting anything done, so we went to a cast member and asked if we could go get our stroller for our 2 year old. He called the manager and got permission to do so. By the time I got back with the stroller, the manager had given my husband a GAC. They were so awesome about it, and we had a much better time after we got our stroller. We have never used/asked for a GAC in any other circumstance. We are so fortunate that our little angel has no health problems or sensory issues!

 

[SueM in MN]

Just wanted to say a quick hi...my DS5 has PDD-NOS, and we are going in...aaaahhhhh.....next Friday we will be on the road! I'll let you know how the GAC works for us!!!

have a great time!

 

[SueM in MN]

Hi,
Just thought I would give our one experience with a GAC. Our 2 year old daughter has Down Syndrome. We were at Disney Quest with all 3 of our girls ages 1, 2 and 6. Our daughter with DS just turned 2 July 1st and is not walking well yet. We were trying to carry the 1 year old and 2 year old and still do stuff with the 6 year old at Quest (because strollers aren't allowed in Quest). We weren't getting anything done, so we went to a cast member and asked if we could go get our stroller for our 2 year old. He called the manager and got permission to do so. By the time I got back with the stroller, the manager had given my husband a GAC. They were so awesome about it, and we had a much better time after we got our stroller. We have never used/asked for a GAC in any other circumstance. We are so fortunate that our little angel has no health problems or sensory issues!

That's good they let you bring it in. I don't see how you could have done it without a stroller.