Issue w/ Line Wait and GAC

[HookdonWDW]

Hi All,
I have a question about requesting a GAC pass, and figured that this would be the place to ask, lol. I have a combination of medical conditions, and the bottom line (without giving TMI) is that I can't always make it through a long line wait without needing to use the facilities. Given Disney's policies, this would mean that we would have to hit the back of the line every time nature decided to call. Could a GAC help in my situation? Obviously, I would avoid using it as much as possible, but I've run into problems on rides like Soaring even with a FP.

 

[Mouse's Shadow]

I don't have an answer for you. Perhaps you could call WDW and ask to speak to someone from Disability Services for an answer or perhaps they could give you advice on how to approach your challenge.

 

[SueM in MN]

Actually, this question has been asked before (recently too).
Here is a link to the other recent thread.

The consensus was that a GAC (Guest Assistance Card) would not really be helpful.
People with this type of problem have found Fast Passes to be helpful - until you have given the Fastpass to the CM fairly close to boarding, you can leave the Fastpass line and come back in, using your same Fastpasses.
I have seen people who were past that point explain to a CM that they need to leave the line urgently - they were given or told to ask for a ‘rider return ticket.’ One of the places I have specifically seen this happen on is Soarin’

Among the other suggestions made on that thread; high capacity Poise Pads and using a touring plan like Tour Guide Mike, which would allow you to know where to go and when to avoid crowds and long waits as much as possible (for attractions and also things like waits in line for restaurants and bathrooms).
Knowing when to go can make a difference between waiting 5 minutes for Small World and 45 minutes.

The other thing to keep in mind when calling Disney is that you are getting a call center, not necessarily anyone who has actual experience with the information they are giving out. We have seen situations on this board where people called ahead of time and were told something, that turned out to be not correct when they actually got to WDW. The park CMs at Guest Relations are the ones who actually give out GACs and, even then, not all accommodations are available at each attraction.

 

[KPeveler]

I am not sure how much you have done WDW before, but you may want to look into ride times as well. Many rides are quite long and there is no opportunity to exit. Ellen is 35 minutes, GMR is more than 20, COP is 25, etc. Even if there is no wait at all, it can still be quite a while to make it to a restroom. All of those rides I have mentioned you are NOT able to leave once it starts without the entire ride shutting down. Also, it is common to get stuck on rides. I have had been on Small World 20 mins stuck at the end because the boats took too long to unload. I just wanted you to be aware of this for planning reasons.

There is no GAC which would be able to help across the board for this problem. It is always worth discussing plans with Guest Relations to see what would work, but I think you would find accommodations varying at each ride. You can also discuss with CMs at each ride what can be done to help if you forsee a problem.

 

[disneymom3]

I was reading on another disney board from a woman who does have a GAC that helps with this. Or, rather uses one regularly. She says it is similar to Fast pass in that she is given a slip with a time to return on it equal to the lenght of time she would stand in line. So if the wait is 40 min, her "fast pass" says to come back in 40 min. So, according to her this can be done and she visits often. This is not first hand experience though. It doesn't speed up the wait at all but it cuts down the time she is physically standing in line.

 

[SueM in MN]

I was reading on another disney board from a woman who does have a GAC that helps with this. Or, rather uses one regularly. She says it is similar to Fast pass in that she is given a slip with a time to return on it equal to the lenght of time she would stand in line. So if the wait is 40 min, her "fast pass" says to come back in 40 min. So, according to her this can be done and she visits often. This is not first hand experience though. It doesn't speed up the wait at all but it cuts down the time she is physically standing in line.

A hand written Fastpass is one accommodation, and we have actually been given one at times. But, it is not available for all attractions or at all times and would not always be a solution. For example, in the OP’s situation of even having a problem when using a Fastpass with Soarin’. There is no GAC that is going to mean a bathroom available within a few minutes of each line.
And, even with that, when coming back to the attraction with the handwritten Fastpass, that does not mean no wait.

Also, as KPeveler mentioned, some attractions are quite long. There is a list of attraction lengths in the disABILITIES FAQs thread in post #3. The disABILITIES FAQs thread is near the top of this board or you can follow the link in my signature. And, as KPeveler mentioned, some of the attractions have no way to exit the attraction until the end.

Plus, the OP needs to think about what to do for other situations - lines in bathrooms and restaurants can be long during busy times. A touring plan can help with that, along with waits for attractions. Many people who use a GAC have posted that a Touring Plan is more helpful to them in many situations and that they have seldom waited more than 10-15 minutes for anything using a touring plan, even during busy times.

 

[Bete]

I avoid eating and drinking if I'm going to an attraction with a long line. Also, I try going before entering a long line. Another stradegy is to go to the long line rides just after you have been to a restroom.

The wearing of pads can avoid any bad episodes. Believe it or not an ECV can help with this problem, too. It's funky but by sitting down it seems to supress the urge to go. It's the walking and standing in long lines that gives us the urge to go.

Depending on your situation there could be prescription pills that could help. Talk with your doc. You can be tested to see if these pills will help with the urge. This is not the answer for all, but it's worth a try.

It's often suggested to do kegle exercises for trouble in the front anatomy if that's the issue.

Planning can help like doing EMH in the morning (if your on-site) and going on rides like Soarin' at that time. It's not a total answer, but it helps. Sometimes, if you are there bright and early you don't even need a fast pass to do these rides. Look at wait times for the longer rides and make informed decisions based on those wait times. Stay away from rides which bounce you more like roller coasters; unless, you're pretty sure you can handle it without a problem. Another strategy is to go on longer wait rides when there are parades, fireworks, etc. going on. Finally, if I'm feeling uneasy no matter what (maybe, I'm having a particularly bad day that way); I'll skip a long wait ride. There's so much to see and do that skipping a few rides is not going to ruin my trip. Also, I have triggers like drinking coffee. I can't say if it's the caffiene or not, but I avoid such drinks in this situation. Some get the same urge with drinking beer. It seems these drinks go through you quicker or something. Also, for some reason I'm better in the morning this way then through the day. Probably, this is true because as the day goes on I drink and eat more.

 

[SueM in MN]

We just got back from WDW last night and our airplane trip made me think of another situation to be thinking about.....
As our plane was getting ready to take off, they made the usual announcements about the seat belt sign being turned off once the plane reached cruising altitude. But, once we reached cruising altitude, there was quite a bit of turbulence and the pilot made the announcement that he was trying to get to an altitude that would have less turbulence before turning off the sign.
During the entire trip from Orlando to Minneapolis, there was turbulence most of the trip. The fasten seatbelts sign was off for 5 minutes, then on again all during our trip. I think the total time off was only about 30 minutes and many times people were lined up to use the restrooms and then sent back to their seats without having used it.

Just another thing to think about.

 

[Bete]

We got caught in a turbelent flight once and it can be bad that way. I realized after our first warning that this could be a bad flight; so, for the few minutes the lights wet off I rushed to the restroom. Rarely, does the pilot get out of turbelence once it starts; they can't seem to find a good pocket the whole time when this starts in a bad way. In our case there was rain; so, it can be particularly bad at those times.

I will wear extra protection if I fly and I'll tend not to drink very much before or during an air flight.

 

[sl_underwood]

My husband has UC and it causes him to have these types of issues. He gets a prescription before we travel for a medication that will keep him from going for 3-4 hours. This gets him through the plane ride. As for rides, he has been known to take the prescription again to avoid the wait. Our first trip, he did not have a dx and got out of line for EE more than 3 times. Took him nearly 4 hours to ride with a fast pass because of his problem. However, I do not think that the GAC will help with this. We just plan to the best of our ability. We use TP, make sure to get FP whenever we can, and it usually works pretty well now that he has a prescription to help.