Due to abuse, GAC harder to get

[ltam16]

I just wanted to add when I went to MK guest relations I simply said I would like a GAC for my fil. He was with me in the wheelchair and there were no questions asked. I got it right away. And no cms have given us a hard time about it.

[BrerEmma]

Hi all,

Please remember that childrem with developemental delays and autism spectrum disorders have very serious behavioral, social and emotional issues...PERIOD. EVEN if they look normal to you. I have a 13 year old son (looks just fine) and a more globally delayed 11 year old daughter. I have brought doctors notes in the past and even an official letter from the Dpt. of Mental Retardation. We use the GAC...EVERY YEAR...they are a necessity. Our only problem this past year was with some of the CM at the attractions giving wrong info. on which line to be in. I just asked my husband what we would do if refused a GAC and he said just show them our daughter. How disgraceful. This is a disability where NOT only the children can become overwhelmed but the parents too!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[drhama]

I got a GAC for my mother a few years ago. She has almost no vision. No difficulties in getting the card. Some regular lines were difficult for her to manage and many were just fine. We did use the wheel chair entrance some times. Several of the thrill rides were not her cup of tea but, must dos for me. Cast members escorted Mom to a waiting area from the load area and I picked her up when the ride was over. Worked great and the CMs were treated Mom with care and respect.

[TheMartellFamily]

My mom just had a knee replacement and we got a letter from Dr and we are bring our own wheelchair. She is worried that walking will be difficult for her so we were going to bring all paperwork so this maybe an option for her to get if needed.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

After reading the last post, I'm a little worried, and a bit confused.

My Mom is coming with us, and she also recently had a knee-replacement. We are renting a scooter so she doesn't have to walk, as she wouldn't be able to manage it.

I didn't think we needed to do anything else...is the scooter enough, or do we need a note from the doctor or anything to ensure she had a good trip?

[Here we go again...]

After reading the last post, I'm a little worried, and a bit confused.

My Mom is coming with us, and she also recently had a knee-replacement. We are renting a scooter so she doesn't have to walk, as she wouldn't be able to manage it.

I didn't think we needed to do anything else...is the scooter enough, or do we need a note from the doctor or anything to ensure she had a good trip?

When you use a wheelchair you do not really need the guest assistance pass. The chair gets you through the wheelchair line if there is one available. If not, there will be an alternate entrance.
You will be asked at all rides if the person can be transfered from the chair. If not, then they may not be able to ride some of the rides.

The GAC is used more for people that are out of wheelchairs. I have severe arthritis, fibromyalgia and too many surgeries in my knees to count anymore. The problem with me is that sitting hurts more than walking sometimes. If I stand still or sit I stiffen up and then the pain becomes unbearable. The best thing for me is to keep moving. So, on bad trips I have used the GAC.

The problem comes in when the CMs see abuse from people that do not want to wait in lines and abuse the card. So, the answer becomes... "use a wheelchair so you will be more comfortable".

This just means that people with mobility issues will have to use wheelchairs more.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Thanks for the response!

I'm really sorry about the new Disney attitude towards the GAC...everyone deserves to have the best vacation they can!

[thejens]

One of my concerns for our upcoming trip is keeping my mother out of the humidity as much as possible due to her breathing difficulty. She can wait and even stand without difficulty. I wonder if she would be allowed to wait inside for some of the inside/outside lines until we catch up with her. My other thought is finding her cool places to relax while the kids insist on doing Dumbo again. I think that is the only "special" attention she might need other than what we can do for her. I think we could use her scooter like we do the strollers and just park it.

[DawsonAR]

We just returned from our trip. My DD has severe CP and is in a wheelchair. We didn't have any problems getting the GAC. However, when we went to use the wheelchair lines on several occasions, we were not allowed to enter until we showed them the GAC. This experience was different from our past experiences. It is obvious that she can't walk. We didn't have a problem with them asking, we just noticed the difference.

[ltam16]

We had the same experience and we got back last week. We were told we needed a GAC to access the wheelchair entrances.

[Gooftroop5]

I just wanted to chime in about the abuse of the wheelachir going to the front of the line as to why they are so hard to gedon't do it anymore. Also why getting a gac is so hard. I know a couple people that worked with my mom that specifically rented wheelchairs so they could go to the head of the line. My own family imo abused the system. My aunt is parapalegic. (she couldn't get out of the wheelchair unless her dh picked her up & put her on the ride or the rides the wheelchair can go with her) She would go with her dh & 2dds then another of my aunt would go with her family of 6 so you had a minimum of 10 people. Sometimes there were more depending on what friends & other family members went. They would all stay with my aunt that is in a wheelchair then get on all the rides with her. The only one they didn't was HM because they missed the beginning of the ride. Then they would complain they had to stand in line if my aunt didn't want to go on a certain ride because she was tired of transferring out of her wheelchair.

This year we are going with my father that will be on a scooter or in a wheelchair. He's had foot surgery on each foot. He can walk but all the walking & the standing in one spot really bothers him (part of why he just had to have more surgery). I also know my father if the scooter/wheelchair won't fit in line he will stand with the rest of us. The couple times he had to won't be that bad. None of us in the party of 14 that is going would have a problem of letting my parents stay together & wait in different area while the rest of us go through the line.

I understand that there are times & these are children & a few adults that just are not able to be in line. They are the ones that should get it. I also understand there are people that only go with children & the adult is the one with a physical aliment so you don't want your children standing in line alone. These are the cases that the card should be used for. Everyone else should just take advantage of fast pass or timing. Also there should be a waiting area for people that can't physically stand or wait in line to wait for the rest of their party.

[tinkerbellybutton]

I don't care what anyone says or thinks, wheelchairs are NOT fun. They cause me more pain many days than if I would walk. Sitting can get very exhausting, especially if you are leaning forward to control a scooter.
Since people can't see the chair down low they tend to trip over you or stop short. I spend my day moving an inch or so at a time. When I see a clear path and move faster I get dirty looks like I am a speed racer. If only they knew that it took me 10 minutes to get to where they were able to walk in 3.

I agree with you there. It's not a game and it is not fun. We actually ended up putting glow sticks on my wheelchair at night because so many people ran into it or tripped over it and then would look at me like it was on purpose. I felt so horrible.

I have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a connective tissue disorder.(I look relatively normal untill you ask me to straighten my arms, they bend backwards as do most of my joints) I bring my wheelchair with me now (we used to rent but they were so expensive, my insurance wouldn't pay for a w/c and my ankle braces and since the braces were $3,000 we bought the w/c) but I don't sit in it at all times, you may see me pushing it or squatting behind it, etc. Due to the joint instability my knees, shoulders, hips and ankles frequently dislocate. I have a hard time sitting or standing. Due to weak veins I have low blood levels from aneurysms therefore find myself weak and exhausted. I have no problem waiting my turn and really wish they would come up with a different system.

I also wanted to mention something else. I have never gotten as many dirty looks as I did getting on buses at WDW. No one seemed to notice that my family and I wouldn't immediately get in line because we know that they make wheelchairs go to the front. We would wait by the back of the line, only after one full bus loaded and pulled away would we get in line and still people looked at me like I was taking away their birthdays. They didn't look twice while they were walking by me getting into line but couldn't stop looking at me as I was loaded onto the bus. So for those of you who may get frustrated while waiting for the driver to load a chair or scooter try to put yourself in someone elses shoes and know that if we had a choice we'd be walking, running and climbing those bus stairs like they were nothing I know there are a lot of people who abuse the system but those of us who are honest are more than willing to wait our turns.

[Hayden's Dad]

I also wanted to mention something else. I have never gotten as many dirty looks as I did getting on buses at WDW. No one seemed to notice that my family and I wouldn't immediately get in line because we know that they make wheelchairs go to the front. We would wait by the back of the line, only after

one full bus loaded and pulled away would we get in line and still people looked at me like I was taking away their birthdays. They didn't look twice while they were walking by me getting into line but couldn't stop looking at me as I was loaded onto the bus. So for those of you who may get frustrated while waiting for the driver to load a chair or scooter try to put yourself in someone elses shoes and know that if we had a choice we'd be walking, running and climbing those bus stairs like they were nothing I know there are a lot of people who abuse the system but those of us who are honest are more than willing to wait our turns.

Amen.

[WDWdriver]

When you use a wheelchair you do not really need the guest assistance pass.

This is SO untrue. Guests in a wheelchair do not automatically go to a special entrance or to the front of the line.

If you have a GAC, and the symbol printed on the GAC indicates that you should enter through the FastPass line or wheelchair entrance, then that is how you will enter the attraction. If you are a guest in a wheelchair and do NOT have a GAC with a symbol indicating special access, then you will wait in the normal queue.

I can't tell you how many times guests approach us expecting to go to the front of the line just because they have rented a wheelchair for someone in their party. It doesn't work that way. You must have a GAC that tells us how to treat you. If you don't have one, you wait in the standby entrance queue with everyone else.

[Here we go again...]

This is SO untrue. Guests in a wheelchair do not automatically go to a special entrance or to the front of the line.

If you have a GAC, and the symbol printed on the GAC indicates that you should enter through the FastPass line or wheelchair entrance, then that is how you will enter the attraction. If you are a guest in a wheelchair and do NOT have a GAC with a symbol indicating special access, then you will wait in the normal queue.

I can't tell you how many times guests approach us expecting to go to the front of the line just because they have rented a wheelchair for someone in their party. It doesn't work that way. You must have a GAC that tells us how to treat you. If you don't have one, you wait in the standby entrance queue with everyone else.

What you are saying is exactally why they are not giving out the passes as easy. People thought they could rent a chair and get to the front of the line... when they realized that did not work, every one gets a doctor to write a letter to get a GAC.

You are also right about the different passes. I think I explained the difference between the two in my original post.

The problem comes in when requesting the alternate entrance pass. I always bring my handicap license and note from my doctor. The first question I am asked is if I plan to use a wheel chair. If so, they do not give you an alternate entrance pass any more. You get a wheelchair pass.
My problem is that I start off walking.... but never know how long it will last.

I only meant that if they are in a wheelchair they will be directed to the wheelchair area automatically. In some parks like MK, that does mean front of the line. In others, you go through the regular queue. If you are in a wheel chair they will give you the wheelchair pass.

Remember, this post started because my friend could not get any kind of pass for her daughter who just had knee surgery - even with a doctors note. She was told to get a wheelchair for the trip.

I guess it all depends on who you get at guest services and if they are feeling the "magic" that day.

We ran into our neighbors on one of the trips and we rode a few rides together. It took her about 5 minutes to make the remark, "I have a friend that is a doctor... I am going to have him write me a note for my next trip".

[Von-Drake]

We ran into our neighbors on one of the trips and we rode a few rides together. It took her about 5 minutes to make the remark, "I have a friend that is a doctor... I am going to have him write me a note for my next trip".

That would have been their last ride with us. I also would have had to have a talk to them about how rude, offensive, callous and self-centered that remark and way of thinking of is inappropriate, but at least lets me see what she is like. This is of course if she said it seriously and not jokingly.

[ElenitaB]

So for those of you who may get frustrated while waiting for the driver to load a chair or scooter try to put yourself in someone elses shoes and know that if we had a choice we'd be walking, running and climbing those bus stairs like they were nothing I know there are a lot of people who abuse the system but those of us who are honest are more than willing to wait our turns.

Amen!

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

We just got back from the World, our first trip with Mom in her scooter. There is no way that she could have made the trip without the scooter, there were even a couple of times that she was too exhausted to keep up, even with the scooter. We didn't get a GAC, just went ahead with her in the scooter. It was a different trip with the scooter, than the ones we've had before without it, and I understand a lot better the challenges a wheelchair and scooter can present. I'm really glad we got the scooter, having Mom on the trip was worth every aggrevation! For everything we got to go in a bit early, there was something else that we had to wait longer for...for us, it all worked out over the trip.

In most cases, she was treated wonderfully by the CM's, and if she couldn't take the scooter into the attraction, they got her a wheelchair that she wait in. We had a bit of trouble at the Pirate and Princess party, the CM's didn't seem to be as good there, they didn't seem to know what was going on, but we figured it out for her.

In general, I was surprised at the number of things where we had to leave the scooter outside, and have Mom stand (if the line was short), or transfer to a wheelchair to wait. I think I expected more things to be "scooter-ready".

The busses were a bit of a challenge a couple of times. The first bus of the week that pulled up had a driver who had no clue how to use the lift and load the scooter. Since it was Mom's first time on the bus, we couldn't be much help. She finally gave up, and we waited for the next bus!

The other drivers were better, but the other guests were horrible! There were so many comments about how "they should rent one so they can get on first", and after the driver had cleared a seat for Mom beside the scooter while he was locking it in (there is no way she could stand on the bus), another lady took it and refused to move for her to sit down. Finally, her husband got up and let Mom sit. We tried to be fair, not going to the bus loading area until we were sure that we would get on the bus (we put DH in line, and DD and I waited with Mom). Geesh...we really did try to be fair!

I guess I'm just trying to say that if Mom could walk, she would have. A trip to the world is so much easier without a scooter or wheelchair, but since it is the only way some of us can go, I really hope that Disney doesn't make it too hard! I really wish that those abusing the system would spend a day with someone who really needed the help...maybe then they would understand.

[Here we go again...]

The other drivers were better, but the other guests were horrible! There were so many comments about how "they should rent one so they can get on first", and after the driver had cleared a seat for Mom beside the scooter while he was locking it in (there is no way she could stand on the bus), another lady took it and refused to move for her to sit down. Finally, her husband got up and let Mom sit. We tried to be fair, not going to the bus loading area until we were sure that we would get on the bus (we put DH in line, and DD and I waited with Mom). Geesh...we really did try to be fair!

I guess I'm just trying to say that if Mom could walk, she would have. A trip to the world is so much easier without a scooter or wheelchair, but since it is the only way some of us can go, I really hope that Disney doesn't make it too hard! I really wish that those abusing the system would spend a day with someone who really needed the help...maybe then they would understand.

Ahhh... the bus...
I am glad to hear that you tried to be fair by puttiing your family in line. We tried that once too... but then we found that no matter what we did everyone got upset as soon as that scooter moved to the loading area. We learned fast that the best move was to just go there.

The rude woman does not surprise me. I can not tell you how many times I have tried to get on the bus and people will not move their feet so I can load. I will even ask the to please watch their feet... joke that I can not handle this thing... but they do not want to move.

And yes first on makes people upset. But they do not realize that first on means last off.

I am glad that you were able to experience both worlds, one with and one without a scooter. I wish every one could experince a trip with a wheelchair or scooter so they could learn just how hard it can be. I know that I would love to walk the whole trip and never ride again.

I am happy to hear that you had a good trip though!

[Hayden's Dad]

We jsut got back too from the World. We took Hayden's old GAC from November and I just showed it to the Guest Services person at MK and told them this is what worked best for us last time and they gave us one jsut like it this time.

I agree with Ibelieveindisneymagic the only time we had issues with the CMs was at Toontown during the P&PP, and also during the day at Toontown. They refused to let us use the back entrance to the charcters in the judges tent. I don't use it for the charcters unless the CM sees it and tells us differently, but here the lines can just be to long for Hayden to tolerate.

We had great expereinces with the busses this time no issues at all. Some of the driver's even corrected themselves by apologizing and telling me they should have looked closer to his chair. (Sometimes I feel like taking that little red sticker they attatch to you stroller and waiving it on a flag pole as the busses pull in.)