is GAC appropriate for my situation?

[buffalobills23]

I will be traveling to disney for a week long trip in April and i am traveling with someone who has limb length discrepancy, or in simpler terms one leg is longer than the other. This may seem like a something that doesn't affect someone, however after a lot of walking and standing it causes them a lot of pain in the leg and foot. After time this makes walking and even standing a major discomfort. I was wondering if it would be wrong to request a GAC or not?

 

[LilyWDW]

I will be traveling to disney for a week long trip in April and i am traveling with someone who has limb length discrepancy, or in simpler terms one leg is longer than the other. This may seem like a something that doesn't affect someone, however after a lot of walking and standing it causes them a lot of pain in the leg and foot. After time this makes walking and even standing a major discomfort. I was wondering if it would be wrong to request a GAC or not?

My guess is that Disney will suggest a wheelchair or ECV. This would be their normal answer for any sort of mobility type of problems. The GAC would not help for all the distance that you walk just on a normal day at Disney, which I would think would be an issue as well.

 

[brat]

A friend of mine that i was to be meeting at WDW before our trip was delayed has the same issue. She did not want to use a wheelchair or ECV so she will be useing a knee walker while there.It is like a rollator/4 wheel walker but you rest your lower leg on it.She tried it at her local medical supply liked it.She rented at home to bring with her so she had time work-up her walking tolorance.

My friends will be at WDW this week.

I do not know how a GAC could help?

 

[KPeveler]

I will say that a GAC will almost never reduce distance walked or the amount of standing. I have had nearly every stamp on my GAC (and I use a wheelchair and I have been to all American Disney parks and have used a GAC at both), so I can tell you that it can help with invisible issues that are not stamina or mobility based. For those, the best thing you can do is rent a wheelchair, ECV, walker, knee walker, use a cane, crutches, etc. Honestly, most people would rent an ECV.

GACs do not help with character lines (almost all of them anyway), distances between attractions, restaurants, stores, parades, fireworks, shows (have to wait for the next show no matter what, and for things like Ellen, that is 45 minutes), bus lines, anything at the resorts, or DTD.

The distance walked around the Showcase Lagoon is 1.25 miles, and that is before you walk into a single pavilion. Walking from the bus, up the hill to the Land Pavilion, down into Soarin, ride Soarin, back out, and then to the bus again, and you have walked almost 2 miles. The queue is 1/4 mile in and 1/4 mile out once you get into the pavilion, and no GAC can shorten that.

I would suggest looking into ECVs and wheelchair. What I have known some people to do is to rent a wheelchair, push it empty through the parks and then sit in queues (where the ground tends to be flat and therefore easy to be pushed by others) or while waiting for parades or fireworks

I would still consider speaking to the Guest Relations folks about a GAC (you may find avoiding stairs helpful - it would not shorten your wait or distance walked, but it could help if standing on stairs is too difficult), but you should know that a lot of people with stamina or mobility concerns have not found a GAC entirely helpful for the amount of distance walking required in WDW.

 

[SueM in MN]

I agree with the other posters - especially KPeveler wrote pretty much what I was going to say. Most people don't realize how far they will walk in a day at WDW - it will be at least 3 miles, most people walk closer to 6 or 7 miles and 9-12 miles is not unusual.
Besides the distances, there are a lot of attractions that do involve a wait while standing unless you have brought something to sit on like an ECV, wheelchair or other mobility device. This happens in any ride that loads in batches of people, like Hanted Mansion, Test Track and Soarin just to mention a few.
This also happens for shows, where the wait while standing is usually about the same amount of time as the show last ( guests waiting to get in are in a preshow gathering area while the show is going on in the space just beyond them ).

There is more information about distances, attractions where guests must stand and Guest Assistance Cards in post 6 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread. You can get to that thread near the top of this board or follow the link in my signature to get there. Post 2 of that thread has information about renting ECVs and wheelchairs.

 

[JarrothsMom]

No...ny son is a double amputee and we get a wheelchair to help with that issue. He has other issues we deal with too, but as far as the legs go, and walking on prosthesis all day long...wheelchair is a MUST!