With the brace is one thing but how about without GAC

anewvance

<font color=red>Who needs a birthday for birthday
Joined
Feb 8, 2001
Messages
3,506
Our past 2 trips my son was in his fillauer brace for his scoliosis/torticollis/muscle issues. It covers his head, neck and shoulders. All I had to say at Disney was that I would like a GAC card and no one questioned it.

My best friend and I are going to Disney on Thursday till Monday. We just had my sons appt today and he has grown out of his current brace and we need to have another one made. So we won't have it for the trip (I am estatic!!!)

But at the same time, he still has muscular issues, tires easily, he has asthma and an immunity disorder. So I would still love to be able to use the GAC to use the stroller as a wheelchair and the alt entry so he doesn't have to be in the heat and in big crowds in small spaces for long periods of time.

Will they still give me a guest assistance pass without the brace? I know they have said you don't need a doctors note, but what if you look at him and besides his facial assemetry issues, you can't tell anything is wrong with him.

And how do I deal with glares and comments from other people without having to contantly explain what is wrong with him?

Thanks for the help.
 
GAC is based on your child’s needs to allow him to have as equivalent experience a practical, it does not depend on a particular device or even diagnosis so you should have not problem, just explain his needs and they should be able to put the proper “note” on the GAC.

bookwormde
 
GAC stroller as a wheelchair - you do not need a doctor's note and it will allow you to take the stroller anyplace that a wheelchair can go even if you see a "no strollers allowed" sign.

GAC is not needed if the user is obviously disabled like wheelchairs and crutches. If your child is in a stroller then it needs the GAC stroller as a wheelchair so CMs will know the child is allowed to use the stroller as a wheelchair.

You never need a doctor's note as all GAC and disabled services are based on the limitation of the guest. You can get them for autism, heat/sun vission, hearing, and no stairs for example.

Disney looks at the limitations of the guest and get cute little kid who are healthy as can be running around who are actually very sick kids who in an hour will be passed out from exhaustion. There are so many hidden disabilities out there. Do not worry about people wondering why you kid is in a wheelchair or stroller. Most people are interested in everything but you. They are too busy going around like ants at a picnic than stopping to stare at your kid. Chin up and never let what others think about you stick in your head.
 
As others have said, you do not need any sort of paperwork to get a GAC; all you have to do is explain the needs to the person at Guest Relations while your sone is with you.

And as far as a comeback to anyone who comments, you can say, very sweetly while smiling of course, "I would give anything for him to be heathly and be able to run around as a normal child, and why don't you mind your {insert choice of word(s) here} business!"
 

. . . But at the same time, he still has muscular issues, tires easily, he has asthma and an immunity disorder. . . besides his facial assemetry issues, you can't tell anything is wrong with him.

And how do I deal with glares and comments from other people without having to contantly explain what is wrong with him?

I have struggled with how to answer your question. I even went and visited your web site to help me figure out how to respond. Part of my understanding of your question came when I realized that Jack is 2 years old. Having a child with a disability is still a rather new concept for you. You have only been adjusting to it for the last 2 1/2 years.

Raising a child with a disability is not easy. Being a child growing up with a disability is not easy. The challenges are a bit different when it is what we call an "invisible" disability (one where someone can not see that the child is disabled just by looking at them). Jack is your baby and you can and should do everything to protect him. But you also must learn how to accept him for who he is, and that includes accepting that the disability is just part of him when you can see it and when you can't. You already know that he is an active, vibrant toddler, who just happens to have issues that bring you to doctor on a regular basis. There are many things he can do, and many limitation to what he is allowed and able to do.

Teaching Jack that he is a little boy who has strengths that will help him live with his disability, is not going to be easy. But it starts with these trips to Disney. You seem to go a lot (I am envious). As he grows up, he will see how you respond to people reacting to his disability and accomodations. The more you are openly accepting of it and the less you try to hide it, the more he will have a positive perception of his own disability.

My mother tried to hide my disability growing up. It took me a long time to learn that it wasn't something to be ashamed of. It wasn't something to hide. Many people are uncomfortable when I talk about my disability (especially in a job interview), but my "invisible" disability dictates how and why I work the way I do. I have learned that people who do not understand and accept this, will not accept me. One key point I learned over the years is that you only tell people as much as they need to know. You also pick terminology that they will quickly understand or accept things. With Jack, you have scoliosis, which most people have at least heard of before, even if they do not know what it is, and you have muscle issues, which if you say he has weak muscles would be more than enough information for most people to understand his needs.

Now there will be times you need or want to tell people more. There will be times you want to say less. Knowing when and to who you have to say what to, will come with time. Will people wonder why you get to keep Jack in a stroller when they do not get to keep their 2 year old in a stroller, YES. Will someone say something, MAYBE. Is this a problem, NO. Will it prevent you from having the best of times at Disney, ONLY IF YOU LET IT. At Jack's age, he probably will not notice. So it is how much you let yourself feel uncomfortable by others lack of knowledge about your son's issues.

Disney is Magical. It is one of the few places on earth where you can take a child with a disability (seen or unseen) and have them be treated like a child first, with all they accomdations they need without being judged by the people running the place. The cast members are wonderful. They will usually bend over backwards to meet the needs of your child. They will do it respectfully, often without the child even knowing it is happening. For example, while at DisneyLand I let a cast member know the little girl I was with would not be able to stand in line to wait for meeting Minnie Mouse. They said we could go in her house from the back and wait our time on Minnie's couch. When it was her turn, Minnie came over to the couch and visited with her on the couch. That little girl had an "invisible" disability but Minnie Mouse bent over backwards to make her feel special.

I told the cast member the pure minimum of what I needed, and the only reason I told them anything is because the GAC does not tend to work with most Character Meets (or at least they didn't in the past). I do not know what the cast member told Minnie Mouse, but she made the little girl feel very special and gave her extra attention.

Let the Disney Magic happen, and don't worry about what the other guests who do not know your little boy think about the accomodations he needs for a magical Disney visit.
 
I would suggest you read thru post #6 in the disABILITIES FAQs thread. It is about Guest Assistance Cards. (you can follow the link in my signature to get to that thread).

As was already mentioned, the GAC is not given because of devices or a diagnosis. It is to meet needs that are caused by a disability. What you need to be able to do is explain the needs (not in great detail) to the CMs at Guest Relations. If your child really is going to need to be in the stroller for stability/comfort because of his disability while in lines, that's what he needs.
You may have people look at you funny, but many won't even notice. For the people who are rude enough to make a comment, they would probably still make the comment or give the same look if he had his brace on.
Our funniest situation was when DD was pretty small and we were bringing her wheelchair into The Land at Epcot where strollers are not allowed. I have to explain that DD's wheelchair looked like a wheelchair - 20 inch wheels on the back, a special seat, seatbelt, headrest and her feet strapped to the footrests. As the CM was letting us in, a woman came rushing up with her child in a stroller and tried to get in front of us. The CM asked her to get out of the way and said that strollers were not allowed in the building. The woman said, "If they can bring their stroller in, I can bring my stroller in too." The CM said, "That is a wheelchair and the child is disabled". The woman kept insisting that we had a stroller and she should be able to bring her stroller in too - even when her DH was saying (in a pretty exasperated voice) "That is a WHEELCHAIR. We DON'T need to bring our STROLLER in."

You may run into some people like that, but the majority won't notice or won't care.
 
Thank you everyone for your kind words and your great advice. I try not to let his dis"abilities" bother me and he is the most personable, happiest, cutest, smartest kid around.... but sometimes the comments hurt you know? Like our last trip he was wearing his helmet and someone nasily said "I can't believe someone would take their child here in that thing". I was so stunned I couldn't think of anything to say, I have a million come backs now. But also in his helmet, I never had any problem or second thoughts using the GAC because you would take a look at him and people would part ways for him. With his disabilities hidden, it will be harder to explain... but know i know I won't have to explain... just go with the flow and do what's best for him and let him enjoy the trip.

Thanks again everyone, I do appreciate it.

ETA I forgot to mention that thankfully we are down to only 2 hours a day in the helmet, for 6 months it was all the time except when he was sleeping then was down to 5 hours, then 4 hours and now 2 hours. So I am soooo grateful for that. But unfortunately as soon as he is done with the brace, we are looking at a new brace specifically for his scoliosis. SIGH, it never ends!
 
Our past 2 trips my son was in his fillauer brace for his scoliosis/torticollis/muscle issues. It covers his head, neck and shoulders. All I had to say at Disney was that I would like a GAC card and no one questioned it.

My best friend and I are going to Disney on Thursday till Monday. We just had my sons appt today and he has grown out of his current brace and we need to have another one made. So we won't have it for the trip (I am estatic!!!)

But at the same time, he still has muscular issues, tires easily, he has asthma and an immunity disorder. So I would still love to be able to use the GAC to use the stroller as a wheelchair and the alt entry so he doesn't have to be in the heat and in big crowds in small spaces for long periods of time.

Will they still give me a guest assistance pass without the brace? I know they have said you don't need a doctors note, but what if you look at him and besides his facial assemetry issues, you can't tell anything is wrong with him.

And how do I deal with glares and comments from other people without having to contantly explain what is wrong with him?

Thanks for the help.

Today I had an interesting experience getting a GAC with my invisible disability. The CM did not give me the correct one. I had to talk to anotherr CM to get what I needed. When we did this, other CM was quite helpful, but then the first CM took him away and "changed his mind for him". We ended up getting a manager involved. Some advice I've been given today: keep your old GACs and bring them with you on subsequent trips if you need the same accommodations. Disney is changing the way they evaluate each guests' needs and how they handle the GAC in general due to the rampant mis-use of wheelchairs by those who don't need them. :mad: The staffing cuts don't help the situation either.

Take your old GAC, and go up the chain of command if you don't get what you need.
 
I showed my old pass and said that nothing had changed since our last visit. Could I please have an updated pass. HTH
 














Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Walt Disney World!

Save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels when you stay 5 consecutive nights or longer in late summer and early fall. Plus, enjoy other savings for shorter stays.This offer is valid for stays most nights from August 1 to October 11, 2025.
CLICK HERE







New Posts







DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest

Back
Top