VIP Fastpass question

[Disneyman_10]

Sounds like the Dream Fastpasses given out during the Year Of A Million Dreams (which actually ran more than two years), except for the parade seating - that sounded like one of the extras they were also giving out at the time - a double bonus!



Never heard of these things at all.

I think these cards are something with visa, more of a social status card. Disney (and other companies) sees that they have the card which implies that they are willing to spend the extra money

 

[doconeill]

I think these cards are something with visa, more of a social status card. Disney (and other companies) sees that they have the card which implies that they are willing to spend the extra money

Disney has rarely given any benefits to those of "social standing" in the parks themselves, beyond things like VIP tours (expensive and which don't involve cards), or in certain cases, special security considerations.

Even things like the Keys To The Kingdom tours which give access are still led by a guide.

Disney Visa doesn't offer any such thing. Basically some shopping discounts and the meet and greet at Epcot. Even the new premium version doesn't really offer more than that.

Even Club 33 members, who's benefits do not extend to WDW as far as I know, don't get a lot of extras in the park proper, except for some Fastpasses (for which they use their membership card in the kiosk like any ticket).

 

[jodeeb]

When we were in WDW in 2009 a CM approached us with some trivia questions, promissing a Dole Whip for a correct answer. DD(11 at the time) answered it and began rambling some trivia about the DW and the park. He was so impressed that he wipped out a little tablet ticket book (yellow, green, blue... I cant rememeber, but it stated that 4 people were allowed access to fasspass any attraction in MK. I cant remember the ride we chose, but when my husband showed the slip, they waved us on. Then we showed it again at the place they normally collect your fast passes, but they didnt take it. But we took it at its word and only used it on one ride. I guess if we had wanted to, we could have used it on another, just didnt seem like the right thing to do.

Anyway that was such a Magical Moment for all of us... especially DD. I know that we "flashed" the slip and for others it may have look like we have not deserved it and perhaps we didnt, but it was VERY special and made our day.

I do believe that the queing lines are far more a science then what appears to the eye. Its not as simple as 2x stand by and 1x fastpass. There is a whole exact Science/Math based on queing systems totally independent of Disney. I am sure Disney has their own modified, fine tuned version of what the rest of the world does, but they do have it based on number of people per times. I've heard about an x-pass that is an expanded fast pass. I am sure this is to further accomondate special needs GAC and also better predict crowd levels and better precdict waiting times for FP and Standby.

As a note, I do not like people who abuse the system... what ever the system is. But I do know that there are always people that will find a way to abuse any system. My heart goes to those who truely need the MAW and GKTW. Pray for those and especially glad that Disney can give them a Magical Trip.

 

[DisneyDame27]

I agree........sounds like a VIP tour and there are no lanyards with that.

 

[SamiL]

{Up Onto Soapbox, Flame Proof Suit On}
1) Now, this I think is pure selfishness and greed.
2) If used for a special needs person, fine.
3) They were meant for this, and I can understand.
. . . some people cannot wait in line
. . . some people have problems dealing with crowds
. . . some people need special assistance
4) When used to get around the line with "normal" people, it is cheating.
5) Pure and simple.
{Down From Soapbox, Flame Proof Suit Still On}

I respectfully disagree. I don't have an autistic child, but I do understand that the entire family is affected, not just the child. If you've got a brother or sister who is autistic you don't get to do all the things 'normal' families get to do. You have to adjust your schedule to fit their needs. You're limited by their disability, too.

Every member of a family with an autistic child has to make sacrifices. If you've got a child who's autistic and their sibling wants to get in line ahead of me, I'm 100% fine with that. Because after I wait an extra few minutes, I'm going to ride with my family, have a great time, then get off the ride and enjoy a long, full day at Disney, free from the burden of negotiating a family vacation with an autistic child.

If I'm at WDW with a healthy family--that's a double blessing and I count myself as one of the luckiest, most privileged people in the world. I think I'll just choose to be happy with that, no matter who's getting in line ahead of me.

 

[cmwade77]

I respectfully disagree. I don't have an autistic child, but I do understand that the entire family is affected, not just the child. If you've got a brother or sister who is autistic you don't get to do all the things 'normal' families get to do. You have to adjust your schedule to fit their needs. You're limited by their disability, too.

Every member of a family with an autistic child has to make sacrifices. If you've got a child who's autistic and their sibling wants to get in line ahead of me, I'm 100% fine with that. Because after I wait an extra few minutes, I'm going to ride with my family, have a great time, then get off the ride and enjoy a long, full day at Disney, free from the burden of negotiating a family vacation with an autistic child.

If I'm at WDW with a healthy family--that's a double blessing and I count myself as one of the luckiest, most privileged people in the world. I think I'll just choose to be happy with that, no matter who's getting in line ahead of me.

As someone who does need a GAC, I have to disagree with this. While others in the party may indeed be affected, the point of the GAC is to help the individual, not the rest of the party.

If the person named on the GAC is not going to be experiencing that attraction, then the GAC should not be used for that attraction. It is not fair to those that do need the assistance, as it increases their wait times.

As I said before, I think the person's photo should be printed on the GAC.

Also, overall, a person with a GAC will usually get to experience the same number of attractions as those without and will have spent the same amount of time waiting in "line", just in a location that is more comfortable for them.
In my case, without a GAC, I would probably only be able to do 1/2 the number of attractions as anyone else could do before I ended up in too much pain to continue and I wouldn't be able to go for more than about 3 days in a row (at most). Now, you may not be able to see that fact from looking at me, but believe me, I would gladly trade my GAC for being pain free.

Now when it comes to those with Autism and certain other disabilities, I do agree that it does affect the remainder of the party and they should still be able to experience the same number of attractions as any other guest in the park could do. My suggestion is estimate, based on park hours, expected crowds, etc. what that number is and look at how many attractions the person with the GAC will most likely be able to experience during the day, then give the rest of the party a form of "Fast Pass" for the difference. But they should not be allowed to simply use the GAC.

Also, I do think that those on MAW trips (or any children that are terminally ill) should be given passes to go to the front of any line immediately. I will gladly wait a few extra moments for them and their families. This is the one case where I would say that anyone in the party should get to use the GAC, after all, they spend their time, both in and out of the parks taking care of these children and it definitely does deserve some perks.

Now, back to the OP's question:
What you could have been seeing are any of numerous things or a combination of them:

• GACs - Some allow entry through the FP and backdoor and in many cases you would not know these people have disabilities, because it can be something hidden or in some cases can be something that can strike intermittently, etc.
• If a guest in on an attraction, waits in line and is then unable to ride the attraction, they will be given a ticket to come back to that attraction or to experience another attraction with their entire party. These tickets are supposed to be for only one attraction, but the CM that is taking the pass has the discretion to allow them to keep the pass and use it again.
• Child Swap Passes
• VIP Tours
• FPs issued by DVC for taking a tour (again, the CM has the discretion to allow the guest to keep it and use it again).
• Some tours give FPs for a select number of attractions after the tour.
• Some tours go straight to the front of the line for certain attractions. In some cases, the guide will go ahead of the tour group and give the group specific instructions, so you might not see the tour guide. This happened with us on the Backstage Safari Tour.
• First Aid hands out passes, at their discretion and in some cases these passes may be valid for multiple attractions.
• Pretty much any CM can give out passes as well, especially managers, leads, etc.

As you can see, there are numerous possibilities as to what these could have been and there may be others that I am not aware of.

 

[SamiL]

As someone who does need a GAC, I have to disagree with this. While others in the party may indeed be affected, the point of the GAC is to help the individual, not the rest of the party...

...Now when it comes to those with Autism and certain other disabilities, I do agree that it does affect the remainder of the party and they should still be able to experience the same number of attractions as any other guest in the park could do. My suggestion is estimate, based on park hours, expected crowds, etc. what that number is and look at how many attractions the person with the GAC will most likely be able to experience during the day, then give the rest of the party a form of "Fast Pass" for the difference. But they should not be allowed to simply use the GAC.

Also, I do think that those on MAW trips (or any children that are terminally ill) should be given passes to go to the front of any line immediately. I will gladly wait a few extra moments for them and their families. This is the one case where I would say that anyone in the party should get to use the GAC, after all, they spend their time, both in and out of the parks taking care of these children and it definitely does deserve some perks...

I think my post was unclear because I was replying to another post. I do not think that every person in every party where someone has a GAC should be able to use it, even if the person is not going on the attraction with them. I was responding to this:

{Up Onto Soapbox, Flame Proof Suit On}
1) Now, this I think is pure selfishness and greed.
2) If used for a special needs person, fine.
3) They were meant for this, and I can understand.
. . . some people cannot wait in line
. . . some people have problems dealing with crowds
. . . some people need special assistance
4) When used to get around the line with "normal" people, it is cheating.
5) Pure and simple.
{Down From Soapbox, Flame Proof Suit Still On}

Who quoted and responded to this:

There are times when I’ll take just my non Autistic son on a ride while my wife and autistic child are waiting for us and not visible to the crowd.

I just don't agree with saying it is pure selfishness and greed when Rochester Disney Fan, or any other parent of an autistic child, uses the GAC pass for the non-autistic sibling. I'm really not comfortable with sweeping generalization that assumes the motives of others.

What I said isn't really intended to be a statement about what the proper use of a GAC is. I don't have any experience with a GAC and don't know anything about them. I like your idea of trying to help families with autistic children experience what they would have otherwise and letting Make a Wish families go to the front of the line. I gather that the GAC as it exists now doesn't really do that, but I think it would be great if it could.

 

[shruley]

What you describe is exactly what we received for my daughter's Make a Wish trip. When you arrive at the Give Kids the World resort, they provide you with a lanyard with what is basically a green light pass for any attraction/character greeting line. For the most part at Disney, it just allowed us to use the Fastpass queue for any attraction. However, for rides without a Fastpass queue (Dumbo, teacups, etc.) we were instructed to go to the wheelchair entrance and were usually put on the ride next. For character greetings, when we showed the pass, we were usually able to meet them right away. We were instructed it could be used for siblings, etc. even if the Wish child didn't go on the ride. (I think part of this is because on a Disney Wish trip, you are actually given only 3 days at Disney World in the parks, so it helps you get around quicker to see everything you wouldn't normally be able to experience in 3 days. If you saw us, we would not look like a Make a Wish family. My daughter has a severe heart defect. She turns blue in cold/water, and may tire faster and huff more in the heat, but unless you noticed the scars on her chest, she looks like any other child! I have no idea how many Wish families are in a park at one time, but Give Kids the World is a large resort, and if you were in the Magic Kingdom when you saw all these, a large percentage could have been Wish kids.

 

[CamoMama]

Wow. The hostility I've read in this thread regarding people who use GACs is really astounding. The fact that a person can roll up in a wheelchair, then walk onto a ride does not mean that the person doesn't actually need the wheelchair. It means that they can walk for short distances, they are likely unable to stand for long periods of time, and most ride queues are not wide enough for wheelchairs, so they have to enter another way. The fact that a child may look perfectly healthy and smiling does not always mean that they are indeed perfectly healthy and without disability. My oldest daughter has Asperger's Syndrome (a form of autism) that can make it difficult to wait in long lines, looking at her you'd have no idea, heck, even talking to her for a while you wouldn't know, unless something triggered a meltdown. I chose not to get a GAC when we visited in February due to low crowds and not wanting to make her feel "different". We rarely had to wait more than 10-15 minutes for a ride, and even only used FP a couple of times. I am also a parent that wouldn't trade my daughter's "disability" in order to be "normal" at Disney. I happen to adore my kid the way she is and am perfectly happy to deal with the occasional inconvenience that her diagnosis may cause. And since I'm a single parent, I don't have the ability to leave her with someone else while I ride something with her sister that she can't ride. If she can't do it, we skip it. Fortunately there are few rides that she can't do (ToT is the only one that really comes to mind), so we can enjoy just about everything as a family. I absolutely don't begrudge anyone who needs a GAC, they are more than welcome to "cut" in front of me any time in order to enjoy their Disney experience as much as I and my family do.