Questions about GAC

[21hearts]

My mother is insisting that we will need a GAC for my daughter but I am unsure if we actually will or not (she seems to think its a front of the line pass - and well i know its not).

My daughter will be two and has Proteus Syndrome. Her right leg & foot is (on a good day) anywhere from 2 - 3 times bigger (swollen) then her left. On a bad day its 3 - 4 times bigger. This makes walking for more then 10 minutes hard for her. She gets tired very easy & we are bringing our double stroller from home. She has very sensitive skin. If her skin gets wet then 6 out of 10 times it peels & bleeds (this use to happen every time she got wet). So my solution for this was no water rides for her. Simple right? Her skin is also very thin (she gets sun burned easily/gets cuts/scrapes easy). So I figured lots of time in the shade. Our stroller has a huge sun shade for her and we've never had a problem before as long as she keeps it down & we put sun screen on her.

My mom is insisting that she can get the GAC but I'm not so sure. So I wanted to get the opinions of others who know about it. What do you think? Would the GAC help her out at all?

We can go either way. If it won't help then no big deal it doesn't change our plans with what we will do for her. If it helps then that's great and we'll look into getting one wen we go.

Edited to add that when we went on our last trip we didn't know about it and didn't get one. We did okay.

 

[LilyWDW]

I think you are doing very well with going through and planning what has to be done for your daughter while you are there.

I will point out that you can get a GAC that you can put on the stroller to use the stroller as a wheelchair. This way, on the rides she can do, you do not have to worry about carrying her or asking her to stand for a period of time. You would be allowed to bring the stroller into the line with you for her to stay in.

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

Sounds like you AND mom could be right. You are right about the not FOTL but did you think about waiting in line yet? A GAC could be provided so you can use the stroller as a wheelchair. This way, DD does not have to walk through the lines if she's not able to, it gives her a way from being protected from others bumping into her and provides shading in not shaded lines. Only you as a mom knows if she'ld need that or could do lines (all day, or however long you are in the park at any given moment) without. Go with that knowledge. And your mom? She'll learn her lesson quick enough . If not, just do what I've been known to do in these cases; be your regular self and enthousiasticly babble all about how great it is that she can do the lines with such an adjustment. She can really be normal, treated like any other girl. At many rides the lines are part of the fun, so that's a big plus. I really do miss that now that I sometimes can't enter rides that way anymore (for mom; this still does not mean anything close to FOTL, sorry )

Just not sure about the double stroller, I could see where that could become a problem in some lines. Doubles tend to be too wide for some rides, esp. the ones that snake around like crazy and/or the rides that have people transfer out of their ECV and/or even out of a powerchair. First ride that pops my mind is the Nemo ride in Epcot, a MUST do for such a little one IMHO, but the line is very snake-like. It is doable with my powerchair but I could see a double stroller being too wide for it. You might want to look into other options in case a "stoller as wheelchair"-GAC is the best option for DD. Perhaps one of those "click two strollers into one" gadget things so you can enjoy a double stroller for the big walking and a single stroller for her to use while in line?

As far as the water rides; is a 2-year old into that already? (know my sis was, but she's a real tough cookie) In that case you could even consider ways of keeping her leg dry so she can still enjoy. Not sure what her skin can and can't handle, but there are all kinds of aids out there that you can use to keep a limb dry. IMHO they cost and arm and a leg (no pun intended) when buying the cover ups for plaster casts at the pharmacy, but you can very easily make one yourself out of any type of waterproof material. Other than that, there are also very skinfriendly types of "bandages" out there that keep water out. I use them all the time for swimming in a public pool to cover up my urinostomy (when not cathing I got a small hole in my tummy) or to keep wounds dry etc. My skin is very easily damaged and heals very poorly but can deal with these bandages with no problems as long as I don't keep them on 24/7. I've even used them on a waterride or 2 myselfs when needing to keep something dry.

 

[21hearts]

I didn't even think about waiting in the lines. We could just hold/carry her but I can see that becoming an issue if the lines are long after a while. We had planned on bringing a single umbrella stroller for our son in case he gets tired since the girls would be in the double stroller. So we could use that for lines.

 

[SueM in MN]

Just time for a quick reply to add to what was already written.
Follow the link in my signature to the disABILITIES FAQs thread and look in post #6, which is all about Guest Assistance Cards. It explains a little more about using a stroller as a wheelchair - I agree with the other posters that would ve helpful.

My guess is that as a 2 yr old, she will be too short for most of the rides that would get you wet, somostly have to worry about rain.

 

[21hearts]

So I have a few more questions.

We are planning on staying visiting all 4 days on 4 different days. If we get one GAC will it cover all 4 days or would we need a new one for each park we visit?

Also would we take the stroller on the ride with us or would it stay with the wheelchairs? DH asked me this last night when I told him about the GAC.

Also where can I find the guest relations for each park?

 

[clanmcculloch]

The CM at Guest Relations will ask you for the last day of your vacation and mark that down on the GAC as the "good through" date. You only need to go to Guest Relations once (though if you find that you need some additional accomodation once you're already there you are free to go back to Guest Relations to discuss this additional need).

Every park will have a Guest Relations window outside of the park as well as some kind of Guest Relations location inside the park (inside it may be called something else such as City Hall in MK). As you're approaching your first park, ask any CM where to go if you don't see the sign.

With the Stroller as a Wheelchair tag you will wheel the stroller up to where wheelchairs go and then he'll get and out get on the ride. Unless it's a stroller that's setup for transportation it's likely unsafe to actually bring it on the ride as it can't be strapped down safely. There really won't be a benefit to having the stroller on the ride so really it would just be in the way. The CM at the ride entrance will move it out of the way with the wheelchairs and it will be waiting for you at the exit of the ride.

 

[SueM in MN]

I only have a minute, but follow the link in my signature to the disABILITIES FAQs thread and scroll down to post 6 of that thread. It will answer all tour questions.

 

[21hearts]

Okay thanks that about wraps up my questions. You all have been super helpful! I feel confident enough now to know what to do with the card so all thats left is to go and have a great family vacation!

 

[LilyWDW]

Okay thanks that about wraps up my questions. You all have been super helpful! I feel confident enough now to know what to do with the card so all thats left is to go and have a great family vacation!

Enjoy and I hope everything goes well for you!

 

[EMTyarn]

Just adding in... The beauty of the GAC is that you can ask for what will help the most. For us, we get cards for each boy, and each is different. For our youngest, we ask for certain stamps. For the 11 year old, we ask for different stamps to handle his different needs. For the teen, it's different again.

Unless you have a supportive wheelchair, it's far easier to transfer. But we take the wheelchair right up to the ride, and transfer right there. Most every ride has an accommodations to meet our needs. It can be the different for every ride. For example, at the Haunted Mansion, we go to the wheelchair entrance sign, and let the CM know that our youngest 2 cannot handle the "elevator" section. We wait in the little court yard near the exit area until they can board us. We are lead through the Servant's Quarters and right into the train boarding area. Each ride will be different, and each family will be different, so until you know what works, talk to the CMs there, they are awesome and know what to do to help.

And a note on the Haunted Mansion... the CMs are creepy, on purpose, so don't let it throw you