When to get GAC ?

[teachallday]

The question is simple, When do you get your GAC (Guest Assistance Card)?

We are coming from the West coast and I will have to drag the little Princess (7) out of bed at 4am (PST) to get her on a thing called an airplane (something she has never been on before). Then we land in Orlando at 4pm (EST), so if we are lucky we will hit the resort at about 5pm. That will be ten hours after I woke her up very early. My original thought was to stay at the resort that first day and maybe try to take advantage of waking her up early to adjust her to East Coast Time (three hour difference). I will be staying at the Contemporary, so a trip to MK would be easy. Do I want to head over to MK on the first day just so I can get a GAC then, instead of first thing in the morning? Or is there a better way to do this? Do you enter the park and do a few things and then go get the GAC?

 

[mechurchlady]

It only takes about a minute to three minutes to get a GAC and you can get one outside the park at Guest Relations so go on your first day in parks and get one in parks or at the outside window. the kid will have a very long day and it is better for the kid to rest and adjust the first day. Hopefully she can sleep on the plane. Remember that an exhausted kid means the next day a cranky kid so rest and adjust to the new stuff.

 

[SueM in MN]

You can easily walk to MK from the Contemporary. It is about a 5 minute walk. If you don't see the signs, just keep in mind that the monorail goes from Contemporary to the park, so you can follow the general path of the monorail.

I think you should play it by ear. If she's full of energy (which sometimes happens when a child is over tired), you may want to go to the park and do at least one thing. If she's cranky, overtired, then no. You will need to bring your daughter with you when you request the GAC, so that may make a difference in when you go also.
There is a Guest Relations outside the park as mechurchlady mentioned, but you do have to go thru security checkpoint to get there (unless you have no bags). The outside Guest Relations is to your right after you go thru security. The park entrance is straight ahead thru the turnstiles, so if you go to Guest Relations, you be able to see the train station and a little of the park. You can't see the castle, but what you can see may be enough that your daughter doesn't want to leave.

If you are going to the park early the next morning, you may find that you don't need the GAC for the first few hours. It's entirely possible, even during Spring break or other busy times, to go on all the Fantasyland rides with very short waits if you are there at park opening. In that case, you would probably not need a GAC that first morning. I don't know exactly when you are going, but if you plan on the first morning to go for a few hours, then head back to the hotel, you would probably be able to go to Guest Relations on your way out without any problem.