More GAC advice needed..

[cinderella73]

We will be doing Disney in December with our diability / guide dog . he will just be a puppy in training but we are being encouraged to take him everywhere with us regardless. he will have his papers and vest and all of that stuff.

We are going to have to plan breaks inbetween so the puppy can rest . I dont want to wear the little guy out but I do agree with the owner that as much as we go to Disney it will be great to introduce our dog early to all the sights and sounds.

I have never gotten a disability card before even though there were times I should have had it. This time I will have to as it will just be to much on the family and my son . And frankly he should have the card anyway.

The trainer said to get a card stating we cant wait in lines as the dog should really not be having to go through that for various reasons. My son really shouldnt be close to others either for that matter.

But to get to the point we will have 5 of us in my family alone and maybe my sister and mother as well. I dont want to be rude at all but we usually ride as a family and aside from that we need everyone so the kids can ride with adults evenly.

I just feel so rude to use a GAC to cut lines even if thats what our specific need is. I mean I know they dont call it that but she says all her clients with the dogs enter the ride through the exit so thats what we would do. I guess I just feel bad even though I shouldnt .

Will they let us stay together as a party of 5 to 7 ?

How do they usually handle this sort of thing?

I want to make sure I am doing things properly and being respectful of everyone waiting in line and not taking advantage of anything. But I know at the same time that without the card my child would not be able to experience WDW the same way most kids would without the health risks. Why do I even feel bad? Do any of you feel this way?

How do those of you with guide dogs do the lines at WDW?

Thanks

EDIT- I did some research and I see now that what they do is provide a alternate waiting area ( not front of the line) which makes me feel much much better. I saw that also the card is valid for up to 6 people which is perfect even though sometimes it will only be 5 of us anyway. My mom doesnt ride many rides if she even comes along at all.

The one thing I did read that worries me is that I heard that sometimes the alternate waiting area makes the line take longer? I dont mind waiting the normal time but having to wait longer would be upsetting. I guess I will just wait for some of you with guide dogs to better explain it to me.

What do they mean by alternate waiting area? And do some rides require you get a fastpass? I heard Peter Pan was one. What else?
Is all the info correct? Thanks

 

[nursymel]

We used the GAC for the first time in February for my son.I absolutely intend to get it again when we go in September.They stamp different things on the pass dependent upon what the needs are. He is not able to wait for very long at all ,especially in crowds. the cast member tells you to go through where to go.
I also read on here a few times of people waiting longer.We didn't have that experience at all.The times that I think that may happen is if it's for wheelchair purposes.I heard rides like Toy Story Mania have only one handicapped car available,so those people in that handicapped area may wait longer.
But,please GET THE GUILT RIGHT OUT OF YOUR HEAD!!! You are not taking advantage at all.Hope you all have a great time!

 

[Twende]

We use a GAC . We have a family member who can not wait in crowded lines. We still wait but we normally wait in other areas away from the main stand-by line.

One of the longest waits for us was in the MK at Pirates of the Caribbean. The waiting area is on the left side as you face the attraction. We waited at least double what the the standby line wait was.

Another place where we wait longer is at AK for the Safari.

Some places you are sent thorough another lane and if that is backed up you are forced to wait there or at least that is how it has been for us. AN example of this is in EPCOT at Test Track. We have not been able to find another place to wait for this attraction.

We do not have the choice to get in the sometimes shorter stand by lines. But for us I would rather wait longer than have a problem in the line.

 

[cinderella73]

nursymel- Thanks for helping me feel better. I never used the card before but its good to know I shouldnt feel bad if we ever do need to use it.

Twende- I agree. If I need to wait longer for anything I will just be glad to be in a safer place. Thankfully we plan mostly off season visits so that helps a lot as well.

I decided to get the card but just not use it if we dont need to. If one of us can stand in line while the rest wait to the side with the kids thats fine. I think it will just make me feel a bit more secure to have the card just in case we encounter any situations .

 

[nursymel]

What week in December are you going?
I think a lot of these longer waits with the GAC 's could be also during busier times at the parks.If you avoid the historically busy weeks lines will be shorter all around.We try to go when the kids are in school during low attendance times.Sometimes just walking around the parks with major crowds can set my little guy off...and then nobody has fun!

 

[cinderella73]

What week in December are you going?
I think a lot of these longer waits with the GAC 's could be also during busier times at the parks.If you avoid the historically busy weeks lines will be shorter all around.We try to go when the kids are in school during low attendance times.Sometimes just walking around the parks with major crowds can set my little guy off...and then nobody has fun!

Thankfully the first 2 weeks. I know the TP crowd calander is not accurate yet for this year till the Dec hours come out, but I looked at it and from what I see December last year looked pretty good. The free dining thing might rattle things up a bit . I am figuring between Christmas and the economy maybe it wont be as bad as Sept free dining?

We planned to get our Christmas shopping done before we go ( A first for us) so when we get back we can just relax. Have you guys ever done December? How was it for you?

 

[Schmeck]

If one of us can stand in line while the rest wait to the side with the kids thats fine.

There are very few queues where this strategy will work - most queues at WDW are deceiving in that they twist back and forth through multiple rooms/areas and the entrance area is a long way from the area where you board the ride vehicle. So if you were to wait until the person was up at the front of the queue you'd have to squeeze past all the other people in the queue to get there.

 

[nursymel]

A couple of years back we did December ,I believe the 6th -12th or so.It was not bad at all.Honestly,the worst (when I say worst..I only mean crowd wise) was the Christmas Parade.It was wall to wall people.It was awesome as far as seeing the parade and they make it snow on Main St.! That crowd was way to much.My little guy was an infant at the time ,so that didn't bother him ,yet.I think it will be great!

 

[cinderella73]

There are very few queues where this strategy will work - most queues at WDW are deceiving in that they twist back and forth through multiple rooms/areas and the entrance area is a long way from the area where you board the ride vehicle. So if you were to wait until the person was up at the front of the queue you'd have to squeeze past all the other people in the queue to get there.

Yikes, That wont work then. I guess I wont stress over it. I will just explain the situation to the CM's and let them decide. I heard they dont always or cant decide though you have to tell them? If that happens I will just say alternate entrance and only use it if its needed.

 

[cinderella73]

A couple of years back we did December ,I believe the 6th -12th or so.It was not bad at all.Honestly,the worst (when I say worst..I only mean crowd wise) was the Christmas Parade.It was wall to wall people.It was awesome as far as seeing the parade and they make it snow on Main St.! That crowd was way to much.My little guy was an infant at the time ,so that didn't bother him ,yet.I think it will be great!

Was that they day they filmed the Christmas day parade or just a regular park day parade? I hope its not like that all the time. We do plan on doing the MVMCP . Not only have we never been at Christmas but we have never attended any special parties after hours. It should be really exciting. I am hoping by going on a weekday that it will also help with that not being to busy. And as soon as TP crowd calander is updated I am so there! I think just planning our park days around that should help take the edge off as well.

BTW since you guys need to avoid crowds as well so when ( if you dont mind my asking) do you guys go now? I just recently read that January is the absolute slowest and then next would be September ( middle two weeks only) and then last of all December ( first 2 weeks) .

 

[nursymel]

We usually go right in the middle of September.This year the 23rd-29th.If you avoid the holidays it's nice and slow.We have only used the GAC so far in February of this year.But,when we were there in Sept.2008 (without the GAC) there were so many rides we waled right on..Big thunder Mtn.,pirates,and so on.We even found that if the time said 10-15 minutes we were walking right on.It was a pleasure.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Yikes, That wont work then. I guess I wont stress over it. I will just explain the situation to the CM's and let them decide. I heard they dont always or cant decide though you have to tell them? If that happens I will just say alternate entrance and only use it if its needed.

You only need to explain it to the CM at Guest Relations. That CM will mark your GAC with an appropriate stamp. You then just show your GAC to the CM at the entrance to the queue and he will direct you to the appropriate location for that ride.

Many people will actually get angry with you if you have one person wait in line and then have the rest of your party join you when you get to the front. It gives a very false impression of how long their wait will be when they see only one person plus as PP said, the rest of your party will have to squeeze past everybody else in line after they've been patiently waiting and expecting their children to wait. The GAC is there so that not only can you still get equal enjoyment/access to everything but also so that you won't interfere with everybody else around you in doing so. I consider our GAC not only to be something that we do for us but also something we do to prevent our special needs from impacting those around us.

 

[cinderella73]

You only need to explain it to the CM at Guest Relations. That CM will mark your GAC with an appropriate stamp. You then just show your GAC to the CM at the entrance to the queue and he will direct you to the appropriate location for that ride.

Many people will actually get angry with you if you have one person wait in line and then have the rest of your party join you when you get to the front. It gives a very false impression of how long their wait will be when they see only one person plus as PP said, the rest of your party will have to squeeze past everybody else in line after they've been patiently waiting and expecting their children to wait. The GAC is there so that not only can you still get equal enjoyment/access to everything but also so that you won't interfere with everybody else around you in doing so. I consider our GAC not only to be something that we do for us but also something we do to prevent our special needs from impacting those around us.

That makes sense. I guess I thought I was being more polite by doing it that way. But I can see how it wouldnt come across like that. We have never ever used a GAC before so hopefully even if we get it we can not use it at all and be as unobtrusive as possible. But if it gets down to it I know I have the card.

I definatly wont do the place holding now. I thought at least that way we wait the same time as everyone else . But now that I think about it ,like you said it will look like we are line cutters. And that would not be good thing at all.

 

[SueM in MN]

We will be doing Disney in December with our diability / guide dog . he will just be a puppy in training but we are being encouraged to take him everywhere with us regardless. he will have his papers and vest and all of that stuff.

We are going to have to plan breaks inbetween so the puppy can rest. I dont want to wear the little guy out but I do agree with the owner that as much as we go to Disney it will be great to introduce our dog early to all the sights and sounds.

Having experience with a 20 month old service dog in training, I would suggest you plan for very short trips out at first. In the beginning, our dog was totally worn out by a 1/2 hour trip.
He is getting better, but a 4 hour outing will really put him out for the rest of the day. The trainer said a 4 hour outing is sort of like taking a 2 year old to a day long church service and expecting him to be quiet, sit still and keep his hands folded. She did not want us to take him too many places too quickly because she has seen dogs that have gotten stressed by being out too early before they have time to be puppies.
Sort of like little kids can do fine with a 1 hour church service and will get used to it with time, but if you tried to make a child sit right away for an 8 hour church service, they will likely not like church at all and may even hate it.
This is just in MHO, your mileage may vary (as the saying goes).

The trainer said to get a card stating we cant wait in lines as the dog should really not be having to go through that for various reasons. My son really shouldnt be close to others either for that matter..........
I mean I know they dont call it that but she says all her clients with the dogs enter the ride through the exit so thats what we would do. I guess I just feel bad even though I shouldnt ...

The Guidebook for Guests with Disabilities (Guidemap since March) gives the instructions for guests with service animals to follow the instructions given for wheelchair access. Since that is what the Guidebook says to do, you don't need a GAC to enter in those places. There are a few attractions where the regular line is not wheelchair accessible, but in general, the Guidebook says to enter thru the Mainstream Line (regular line that is accessible). The Studio and AK were built with Mainstream Lines.
Before the mid to late 1990s, many lines in Epcot and MK were not accessible, so there were different entrances (sometimes the exit). Many of the attractions were renovated/changed over the years and now have Mainstream Lines, but there are still some attractions in those parks that have a separate handicapped entrance.

If you need something other than the regular line, you would need to explain your needs to Guest Relations. But, just having a Service Dog by itself would not necessarily mean the guest needs to use anything other than the regular lines or the wheelchair line if the regular line is not accessible.

Will they let us stay together as a party of 5 to 7 ?

A 'party' is usually defined by Disney as a group of up to 6.
You will probably have no problem with a group of 7 since there are multiple children. If you do have a GAC, the CMs will not let more than that number use the GAC.

The one thing I did read that worries me is that I heard that sometimes the alternate waiting area makes the line take longer? I dont mind waiting the normal time but having to wait longer would be upsetting.

It depends on how many other people with special needs are waiting much more than how busy the park is.
For example, one of the times we rode Small World in March, we had more in our party than would fit on the wheelchair accessible boat. Since DD is in a wheelchair and can't get into the SW boats out of her wheelchair, my DD, DH, my elderly mom and my elderly MIL waited in the handicapped accessible area while the rest of our party entered the regular line. We got on our boat and had completed riding before the rest of our party in the handicapped area got loaded onto a boat. Our wait was about 5 minutes; their wait was over 25 minutes.
The same thing happens on Spaceship Earth at Epcot and on the Safari at AK. Our wait is consistently longer in the handicapped waiting area than it would be if we could just walk on.
And, it doesn't have much to do with how busy the park is. It has a lot more to do with how many people with special needs are visiting at the same time as you are.

What do they mean by alternate waiting area?

The 2 small pictures on the top of this picture show the alternate area for Spaceship Earth. When you arrive, the CM will take your name, how many are in your party and then tell you how long your wait will be. Spaceship Earth is listed in the Guidebook as one where guests with Service Dogs should talk to a CM before bringing the dog on since some dogs have problems because of the nature of the attraction.

This is a picture of the alternate waiting area for Laugh Floor at MK (the roped off area on the right). Most shows have an alternate waiting area like this where you will be divided off a bit from the other guests. You will often enter the theater first to give you a chance to get settled.

And do some rides require you get a fastpass? I heard Peter Pan was one. What else?

Peter Pan is an attraction the Service Dogs are not allowed on, so you will need someone to stay with the dog while you ride. The alternate waiting area for Peter Pan is small and busy (by the exit), so you may be better off getting a Fastpass for that attraction.

Many people recommend using a planning service like RideMax or TourGuide Mike. Those types of services help you to be in the least busy places at the least busy times.
I know one of the hints they use is to go to the parks early - that works even in busy times like Easter. Members of our party have gone to MK as soon as it opens and been able to ride everything in Fantasyland, Haunted Mansion, BTMRR and Pirates, pretty much walking right on everything without a wait. By noon, they had ridden everything they wanted to go on and were ready to leave the park.
Planning like that can be much more useful than a GAC because the GAC will help only in lines. Being there when it's not busy will help you to move around much faster and with less stress.
Late afternoon is a similar quiet time for AK. Things like Kali River Rapids that had a 1 hour wait earlier in the day are usually walk right on late in the afternoon.

 

[cinderella73]

SueM- Wow thanks for all the info. The pictures were a great help as well. I dont think we will be using a GAC unless a situation arises where my son imself has to get out of the line. But so far we have only needed to leave a line one time. So I guess its still good to have in case.

I totally agree that WDW will be a lot on our puppy. He is only in training and very young but we were encouraged to take him to WDW with us on certain days to accustom him to the sights and sounds. However like you said I am sure he will tire easily. What should I do about that? I will have him with us so say I take him with us on a slow day . I know the rules for regular dogs are one thing but can he rest in his crate during the day in the room? I am not sure thats a ok thing to do or not ( so please no one flame me) I am asking because I dont know what is best to do. I know he cant run loose and yet he cant be in the park all the time either. But I dont want him miserable .I am so stressed about how to handle this. I wonder if this was such a good thing to get into right before the trip.

I know once we get used to how things work we will be a lot less stressed. Its just all so new right now .

 

[SueM in MN]

How old will your puppy be?
As I mentioned, ours is now 20 months. We saw a big change in maturity after he hit the 1 year mark, but still mostly puppy. We saw a much bigger change just in the past month or so. He is a British Lab, which are reputed to be more mellow than American Labs (in fact, we got a lot of comments asking how we got him to be so mellow and well behaved from Lab owners when we took him on walks.)

What our trainer told us and what is in the law is that even if you have a fully trained service dog, you can be asked to leave if the dog is disruptive or out of control and you are not able to control him

I don't know the rules about leaving the dog in a hotel room, but I do know people with Service Dogs have used the kennels at WDW on days the dog will not be going along. That would be an option if you want to expose your dog for a short while and then gave him cared for.

 

[cinderella73]

I think I will look into the kennel option just in case. Hopefully if my mom comes along she can help watch the puppy on the days she stays behind.

I already expressed my concern over the puppy behavior to the training service and they assured me it should know all the commands and behaviors to make it acceptable to be in public and encouraged me to expose it to public places. If the puppy was not ready no way would I think of taking him out though. If he will be as ready as they say thats great.

I never heard of a British Lab. He sounds great. We looked at a few different breeds including a Portaguese ( spelling?) Water dog, Labradoodle , and German Shorthaired pointer before deciding on a Lab. My mom has one and my son loves my mom's lab and he wanted nothing else. Plus they seemed to have a tried and true ability for being great service dogs. ( I still love the PWD myself)

I will have to mention the British Lab to our trainers . In fact I think I will google them . They sound interesting.