How to obtain GAC??

[pixie36]

I am traveling with 9 total people this year to the world and am trying to accomodate all age levels! The one I think I need the GAC for is my 71yr old father who 3yrs ago fell and broke both of his heels and one of his arches they have healed but standing in one place in lines will just be too much for his feet. So is this something that a GAC would be allowed for? What I was hoping is that we could get one for him that would allow him to go down to the beginning of the line and hopefully sit and wait for the rest of us to come through the line. Not asking to skip all of us to the front but dont want him to have to stand in line along with all the walking.

Thanks for any info anyone may have on GAC's.

 

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

They have been telling people with standing/walking issues to rent a wheelchair. They will often not give a GAC for these issues. They seem to now be reserving the GAC for hidden and/or developmental disabilities. I hope you find a different experience, I wish you all a great trip.

 

[SueM in MN]

I you haven't already, a look at the disABILITIES FAQs thread will be helpful. There is a section about GACs.

In most attractions, there is not really a place to wait at the front of the line for the rest of your party, which is one of the reasons they don't give out GACs for that reason. For the few that might have a place to wait, they would not have a place to sit and wait. Also, the GAC is usually given for group size of 6 or less (5 plus the person with a disability).


If you are concerned about him standing and waiting, I would expect he would also have problems with walking the distances involved in a WDW visit, so I would recommend looking into a wheelchair or ECV for him. There is information about that in the FAQs too.

 

[pixie36]

Thanks for the info, I'll look in the facts area as well. My dad is very stubborn and if at all possible I know he will not want a wheelchair but he might break down on day 4 or 5 and realize that it is ok to admit that he cannot walk/stand all day everyday for 7days.

Thanks!

 

[a1tinkfans]

Have you considered renting one of those electric carts. I did that for my father in law who was unable to stand for long. At first he balked a bit THEN, fell in love with the thing. The smallest child in the group also got a free ride on papa's lap sometimes, so that was fun for papa and the little one loved it. As a matter of fact, when we returned from Disney he actually purchased one. It also had a basket up front for some packages.
I recall that he was directed to the handicapped gate/entrance on almost all the attractions, which meant the rest of our group was permitted with him, but we were a small group.
Good Luck. I believe we requested the cart before we left for our trip and it was at the resort when we arrived. It really was a lifesaver and well worth the cost, which was reasonable for the week.

 

[SueM in MN]

I wanted to mention 2 things regarding ECVs (also called "scooters" and "electric carts):

The smallest child in the group also got a free ride on papa's lap sometimes, so that was fun for papa and the little one loved it.

If you rent an ECV from the parks, they do not allow anyone under 18 to operate or ride on the ECV and they also do not allow more than one person on the ECV at the same time.
Many of the off-site companies have the same provision in the rental contract. I know it was a provision on the rental contract when we rented one from Randy's this March said that and people have posted their rental contract for other companies also said the same.
This is a safety provision. A small child could fall off the scooter while it is going, accidentally grab or hit the controls while it's going and cause the scooter to go out of control or the child could get in the way of the driver. I have seen all these things happen. Someone can choose to do it on a scooter they own, but if renting one, the company that owns it might very well have rules against it.

I recall that he was directed to the handicapped gate/entrance on almost all the attractions, which meant the rest of our group was permitted with him, but we were a small group.

MK and Epcot are older parks and some of the attractions don't have wheelchair accessibility thru the regular "standby" line. If you traveled before 2000, especially to those parks, you would have encountered more handicapped entrances. All the Fastpass lines are wheelchair accessible and many recently renovated rides are accessible.
AK and the Studio were built with Mainstream Lines (which means the standby lines are accessible and wheelchair/ecv users wait in most lines with everyone else). There are some shows that have limited numbers of wheelchair/ECV spaces. For those, they do pull wheelchair/ECV users out so that they can make sure they don't have more ECV/wheelchair users waiting in line for a particular show than they have room for.
I'm mentioning this because some people in the past have posted complaints because they were not brought to the handicapped entrance in all attractions.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Actually that particular trip was before 2000 and I guess things were a little different at the entrances. I rented with an outside company and really don't recall specifics about another person/child being on someones lap being specified in the contract, but certainly can appreciate the safety issue. I also recall that there were not that many scooters in the park back then.

The goal for us was to have easier mobility. In that respect, renting the scooter was a wonderful decision.