Make a Wish trip and Guest Assistance Card

[wilde_oscar]

not to be insensitive, but Wish kids do tend to stand out a little... someone with a fake button wouldn't get to keep it for long. Put as someone else suggested, hang onto your paper work and stop by at Guest Services for the GAC.

On a side note, on a recent trip a wish kid was getting pictures with the characters at the Epcot thing with the characters at Innovations. For wish kids all the characters stop the other line and get together for group photos. There was an Asian girl who did not speak english well that kept asking me "why they do that for him" and I was trying to explain politely but the language barrier was getting in the way, I finally left it at, "he's special and you are not" Which she didn't like, but she just was not understanding.

Any way, the CMs go out of their way to be accommodating to those with special needs, even more so for wish and gktw. Don't worry so much about cutting the line, it is rare that you'll need to wait but for some things like shows it is all about timing ask the CMs at the entrance when the next performance starts, etc. They'll point ya in the right direction.

 

[SueM in MN]

not to be insensitive, but Wish kids do tend to stand out a little... someone with a fake button wouldn't get to keep it for long.

That would be true for the kids with terminal illnesses or who have just finished treatment like chemotherapy, but many of the kids with life threatening conditions don't look a lot different than other kids who don't have life threatening illnesses.

 

[alizesmom]

Make a Wish kids are not given a GAC automatically, they need to have a parent of guardian request one for them, just like everyone else would have to. They do get buttons that identify them as a "wish" child.

We did not request a GAC, it was just given though my son's problems are very apparent. Karen

 

[dclfun]

My teen son had a wish trip last year. He is on dialysis and has both kidney and cardiac problems. Finally last month he finally made it on the transplant list ( they almost didn't put him on the list due to the heart problems). He doesn't look any different from another teenage boy his age so you can't always "tell" that someone has a life threatening condition. He tires very easily and doesn't feel well most of the time, plus he has severe dietary restrictions that impact him every day of his life. My son didn't choose WDW for his wish but the wish he did have was exactly what he wanted. AS WDW is a frequent wish and kids with varying levels of disability and illness go there, your niece's wish will be handled with great compassion and sensitivity. As to "front of the line", instead of worrying about that, why not worry about a wish being fulfilled that is the CHILD's wish. I doubt any child would be concerned about going to the front of every line- they just want to have fun in the parks and forget what they've been going through for a short moment in time. Unless a child is truly terminally ill with only a short time to live and who is also medically fragile due to their condition, MAW doesn't issue front of the line where someone can bypass another person with a GAC. The GAC will allow for an expedited visit but the child will wait behind others who have similar or different GAC's with other notations who also have needs that must be accommodated.---Kathy

 

[Christine43]

They had some problems with people selling 'counterfeit' MAW buttons, so it is important to keep your paperwork for MAW handy in case you are asked.

As far as I know, they change the colors of the buttons, so they are not always pink.

That has got to be one of the most repulsive, hideous things I've ever heard of. I hope your niece has a wonderful trip and the same to all the other MAW and GTKTW children.

 

[churros]

My son received his MAW trip to DL in 2005 as he has Cystic Fibrosis. We were given a GAC and it allowed us to enter attractions through the exit. On some attractions we were allowed straight on, others we had to wait for a few vehicles to pass and there were a few attractions where we just joined the line closer to the load area (however this still made a big difference) - so there is a lot of variation depending on the attraction, the load area and the awareness of the CMs.

My son also does not appear to have a disability but was given a badge to wear. One time he went to buy some cotton candy (aka fairy floss in Australia) and the CM gave it to him for free!

It was an incredibly emotional trip but none the less the trip of a lifetime and we are so grateful for the wonderful gift that was given to our whole family!

 

[Tamraj]

On another thread I asked:

"I have one question my DD is the one getting the wish. If I read the posts right she will git this GAC thingy but we have a little one that is disabled as well that will be with us. Would we be able to get two GAC's that way if DD is with me on a big kids rides daddy could take son on little kids ride without having to wait in long lines????"

It was answered with this:

"If your other child also has disabilities and you may want to split up, you can go to Guest Relations to request a GAC for your disabled 'non-WISH' child. I would probably not go into Guest Relations as a whole family and not have MAW stuff visible because they would be likely to say you already have a MAW GAC and not give one. But, since you have a 'non-WISH' child who would not be going on the same rides all the time, it does make sense that you may need some other accommodations.
Since the GAC is not meant to shorten the wait in lines, you may find that the wait is not shorter, but the conditions would meet your child's needs."


My new question is would I need a note from is Dr. for this or Do I tell them about his sisters wist trip??? What do I need to do???

Thanks so much Tammy

 

[wilde_oscar]

On another thread I asked:

"I have one question my DD is the one getting the wish. If I read the posts right she will git this GAC thingy but we have a little one that is disabled as well that will be with us. Would we be able to get two GAC's that way if DD is with me on a big kids rides daddy could take son on little kids ride without having to wait in long lines????"

It was answered with this:

"If your other child also has disabilities and you may want to split up, you can go to Guest Relations to request a GAC for your disabled 'non-WISH' child. I would probably not go into Guest Relations as a whole family and not have MAW stuff visible because they would be likely to say you already have a MAW GAC and not give one. But, since you have a 'non-WISH' child who would not be going on the same rides all the time, it does make sense that you may need some other accommodations.
Since the GAC is not meant to shorten the wait in lines, you may find that the wait is not shorter, but the conditions would meet your child's needs."


My new question is would I need a note from is Dr. for this or Do I tell them about his sisters wist trip??? What do I need to do???

Thanks so much Tammy

Eh, the people at guest services are pretty sharp, explain the situation to them. I doubt there will be a problem

 

[twinmum]

Hello - If you are staying at GKTW, the package that you'll receive at orientation will include a GAC for WDW and the equivalent for Universal. It certainly met our needs (our son uses a wheelchair when in the parks).

I second the opinion that you should go to Guest Services and explain the situation to them, that your non-Wish child has special needs, that this will necessitate splitting up as a family, etc. Our experience was that the CMs really wanted to do whatever they could to make the Wish Trip special for the whole family. If your other child needs assistance, explain his needs at Guest Services and I really hope that works.

I would also suggest that if this doesn't work, head over to the Wish Lounge and explain your challenges there. The CM won't be able to issue a GAC there, but he/she could communicate back to Guest Services. The Wish Lounge is staffed on a rotational basis for Guest Services CMs. They seem to love working there. When we visited to Wish Lounge, the CM was falling over herself to find something specific she could do to help! (In the end, we discovered that she is also a twin, just like our boys...and both sets of twins share the same birthday, just 12 years apart! She put together a birthday surprise for the boys (it was a week after their birthday).

Hope this helps!
Alison

 

[SueM in MN]

My new question is would I need a note from is Dr. for this or Do I tell them about his sisters wist trip??? What do I need to do???

Thanks so much Tammy

You don't need a doctor's note and you don't need to tell them about his sister's wish trip.
You do need to be able to explain your child's needs to the CMs in Guest Relations so that they know what to do to meet those needs.

You could try going to the MAW Lounge and talk to the CMs there, as another poster suggested. If you don't do that and choose to just take the child to Guest Relations, you would follow the information in post #6 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread.

 

[Tamraj]

Thank you all so much that does help out a lot. I will do that and hopefully they will be able to help us out

Thanks again Tammy

 

[Tamraj]

You don't need a doctor's note and you don't need to tell them about his sister's wish trip.
You do need to be able to explain your child's needs to the CMs in Guest Relations so that they know what to do to meet those needs.

You could try going to the MAW Lounge and talk to the CMs there, as another poster suggested. If you don't do that and choose to just take the child to Guest Relations, you would follow the information in post #6 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread.

Sorry one more thing Would it be better to talk to the CM's at the MAW Lounge about it or will the ones at to Guest Relations do??

Thanks again Tammy

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Tammy:

I have been an attractions CM and an Angel (volunteer) at GKTW. Little boys get blue buttons and girls get pink. The button is printed with the child's name and the dates of their stay. They are also given a Panama Jack shirt (or were) that they can wear. It is my understanding that everybody at GKTW is given the same GAC, this is the first I have ever heard of different accommodations depending on the severity of illness. Many kids have degenerative life threatening conditions and choose to come while they are still able to enjoy many of the rides. We want to make the trip just as special for htem as for a kid who is on death's door.

I'll be honest, most of the time I did not require the GAC. If I saw the shirt or pin I let them in the Fast Pass line. I figure if you are willing to buy counterfit buttons so you can get on a ride quicker, I'm not going to stop you. I'll let karma come back and get you later. If I suspect it's not legit I'll say something, but many of the children are fairly obvious and in my experience the families behave in certain ways.

As long as she has her button on, some kind of accommodation will most likely be provided, and I think you will find the CMs very attentive regardless of what is put on the GAC. I wish you all the best on your trip!

 

[SueM in MN]

It is my understanding that everybody at GKTW is given the same GAC, this is the first I have ever heard of different accommodations depending on the severity of illness. Many kids have degenerative life threatening conditions and choose to come while they are still able to enjoy many of the rides. We want to make the trip just as special for htem as for a kid who is on death's door.

I'll be honest, most of the time I did not require the GAC. If I saw the shirt or pin I let them in the Fast Pass line. I figure if you are willing to buy counterfit buttons so you can get on a ride quicker, I'm not going to stop you. I'll let karma come back and get you later. If I suspect it's not legit I'll say something, but many of the children are fairly obvious and in my experience the families behave in certain ways.

As long as she has her button on, some kind of accommodation will most likely be provided, and I think you will find the CMs very attentive regardless of what is put on the GAC. I wish you all the best on your trip!

The 'blank' GAC is a printed card with a space to add different stamps, depending on what the person needs. There is a spot on the card for the person filling it out to check where it was obtained/issued. GKTW is one of the possible places that can be checked.
Some people who have come back from MAW trips have written in the past that their children had different stamps. These were mostly people who had used GACs before and were aware that there were different stamps available. They reported they definately got the accommodations that they needed, so no worry about that.
Most CMs see the button and give accommodations appropriate to their attraction, but the GAC is still needed in case there is any question.I know some MAW families are handled differently because my family has been in the handicapped accessible line with people who had MAW buttons in line behind us. We have also been on the same attraction where a CM brought the MAW familly thru the back and boarded them before all the people waiting in the Special Needs area. From talking to CMs, the kids who got the true front of line (i.e. in front of everyone, even those waiting who also had special needs) were those kids who were in very fragile condition. So, I do know there are different 'treatments' based on the child's condition.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I know, for example, that the tickets given by GKTW do not include the water parks. One day last year I was working as "outside greeter" at Typhoon Lagoon and saw a family with MAW buttons and the child with a GKTW button that had gotten in line to buy tickets. I asked to see their GAC (which technically does not work at the water parks) and saw that it was from GKTW. I just asked the family to follow me out of line and I took them directly to the turnstiles and passed them through the gate.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Sue: I can maybe clarify some of what you saw. On my rides (as well as on most) we send them through a FP or alternate entrance if we have one. Regardless of the condition of the child, we want them to get on as quickly as possible. If the normal entrance we would use for a MAW child looks backed up (more than five minutes give or take) then we will walk them up the exit. So sometimes at Pooh I would send them in the FP line, sometimes walk them up the exit. At least for my coworkers and I we never really made judgments about how fragile the children looked, just how backed up the FP entrance was.

 

[SueM in MN]

Sue: I can maybe clarify some of what you saw. On my rides (as well as on most) we send them through a FP or alternate entrance if we have one. Regardless of the condition of the child, we want them to get on as quickly as possible. If the normal entrance we would use for a MAW child looks backed up (more than five minutes give or take) then we will walk them up the exit. So sometimes at Pooh I would send them in the FP line, sometimes walk them up the exit. At least for my coworkers and I we never really made judgments about how fragile the children looked, just how backed up the FP entrance was.

There are still people who have posted in the past that they got MAW GACs with different stamps on them. These were people who had been to WDW before and gotten GACs, so they were aware that there were different stamps on GACs, based on need.
The CMs at the attractions were not the ones making the decision about how medically fragile the child may or may not be; it was the CMs issuing the GAC and adding different stamps.
So, I'm not sure that your work experience is the end of the story. It may be that the attractions that have more ability to have different accommodations sometimes do things differently than the Fantasyland attractions, which really have very few ways to do accommodations. One of the times I am thinking of was at the Safari at AK. The family on the MAW trip were brought thru the exit of the handicapped boarding area. The rest of us were waiting in the handicapped boarding waiting area behind the gate. That family ended up on the same tram with the rest of us.
Another time was at Jungle Cruise; instead of taking the family thru the regular handicapped area, they were brought thru the exit for the handicapped area. Again, on the same boat as we got on and we have waited in line before at both attractions with people who were on MAW trips under pretty much the same circumstances.
Everyone wants the children on MAW trips to have a good experience. They are, after all, on a trip of a lifetime and they will be given a GAC that allows their needs to be met so they can have a great trip.

 

[Pez Pez]

Hi All!

We are a wish family that were lucky enough to have our trip to DW in December of 2007. DS was sick through part of it, and has always talked about wanting to go back. DH and I surprised him with tickets to DL (we live in Oregon) for this next week. I have read through the GAC thread and through this one as well. But, I still have a few questions. DS has a heart condition, he can't exert himself or become overheated. So no stair climbing or long waits in the sun. He does appear to be a "normal" (for lack of better words) 13 year old boy otherwise. I think these circumstances would be appropriate for a GAC. But would appreciate any honest feedbacks.

Also, would it be appropriate for him to wear his Wish button? Our Wish coordinator gave us extras for "later", but I can't recall what exactly she said. They are in an envelope with "for later" written on the front. What about wish lounges, etc. Anybody have knowledge on DL and wishes, is there something like GKTW, or hidden VIP spots anywhere? Everything I find is for DW, we would love to go back there but this is all we could afford (and are super grateful for the opportunity).

Thanks so much for any feedback and insight. You all are great

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I would contact your Wish Granter about the "for later" part. Disney does not run GKTW, it is an independent organization by a former hotel owner in Florida, so I don't know if there is something comparable.

I would rent a wheelchair for your son since it sounds like he has stamina issues, and you would certainly want to talk to guest relations about a GAC. It does sound warranted in this case. At the tope of the forum is a sticky with FAQs. HOpefull ythat can better answer some of your questions until sombeody more knowledgeable came along.

 

[Charleyann]

My friend had her child on a Wish. They Had the buttons, shirts and GAC with the appropriate stamp. They went to space mountain and handed the CM the GAC. She told the family they were quite busy and come back in 30 minutes!

The family was surprised and they didn't bother going back. I not sure if the the CM was new and didn't know protocol.....

We are a previous Wish Family and I was surprised when my friend explained what happened....


Charleyann

Please note: There is more then one Wish organization that Disney and GTKW reconizes such as Children's Wish Foundation of Canada and the Star Light Foundation. There are more. These give out different style buttons which are different color and sizes. They are given GAC with the approppriate stamp and are often given out by GTKW...

You you may think these are fake button or shirts, but they maybe infact a different Wish organization other then, Make A Wish..

Disney treats them the same. We were part of the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada. The nations largest Wish making organization...