Possible Changes coming to the Guest Assistance Cards (GAC)

[rob0519]

Almost everyone on the planet has challenges in life, from physical to emotional to financial to psychological to interpersonal; very few of us waltz through life on a carpet of roses and I would wager that everyone on this board considers a Disney theme park visit an escape from those real life headaches.

We'd all love to be able to not have to plan a day out based on wait times and Fastpass availability and dinner reservations and Fastpass return windows and fireworks times and an Info Board full of 60+ minute Standby waits. I get that having a physical disability makes it harder to visit a theme park, and some folks are stuck planning around medications and medical equipment battery life and muscle stamina, and I don't think anyone has ever argued to prevent the disabled from enjoying whatever ride they want to enjoy.

But what's so wrong about Disney creating a system that allows the disabled to enjoy whatever ride they want, but only one at a time? If I have to wait 60 minutes in Standby to get on Space Mountain, why wouldn't you have to wait 45 minutes at a Tomorrowland Terrace table with a GAC card (or go on any rides or theaters with short waits in those 45 minutes) before returning to Space Mt. and going through the 10 minute Fastpass line? I honestly can't figure out why that would be upsetting for a disabled person.

Again, my post said nothing about more than one ride at a time. One cannot argue with...oh just forget it.

You're absolutely right about one thing. Until you are a disabled person, you honestly will not be able to figure out what does and does not upset them. Everyone here is entitled to an opinion on the GAC and any other topic. This thread will keep going, but I'm out of this one. We've always played by the rules laid out by each of the parks and will continue to do so as those policies evolve, one ride at a time.

Have a Magical Day!!!

 

[jaklgreen]

Looking at my post, there is nothing there about "two rides at a time". Hopefully, you nor any member of your family will ever have a debilitating neurological or physical condition and need any type of accommodation to which "everyone else" is not entitled.

You were saying that you were unable to ride all of the rides you wanted because of the "one ride at a time" policy(your words). I was pointing out that everyone has that policy, it is only possible to ride one ride at a time. So it sounded as if you were complaining that you were not getting special treatment by being allowed to ride another ride while waiting for your turn on another ride. Sorry if I misunderstood but that is how I read it. FYI there are very few visits were we are able to ride all of the rides in one day either. I think that is standard for most people with or without any disability.

 

[TP2000]

FYI there are very few visits were we are able to ride all of the rides in one day either. I think that is standard for most people with or without any disability.

Ain't that the truth! And Disney has admitted as such by limiting Fastpass+ to three (3) rides per day per person. You get your three Fastpasses, and that's all you get and it's into Standby for the rest of the day for anything else you want to go on. But even with the old Fastpass system with wise planning, strict priorities, and a spring in your step, you would be lucky to get four (4) Fastpass rides per day per park.

Much of WDW was built pre-1990 when ADA laws weren't on the books, and those in wheelchairs are often going in through the exit at those rides. But Animal Kingdom and much of DHS and Epcot are wheelchair accessible, and anything from the last 20 years in Magic Kingdom (which admittedly isn't a lot, but that's because TDO abandoned Magic Kingdom back during the first Bush presidency). The queue at Soarin', as just one example, is fully wheelchair accessible. You can choose to wait in Standby in your wheelchair like all the other poor saps waiting for 2 hours staring at the back of strangers heads, or you can plan to get a Fastpass to bypass Standby.

Two Hours of Standby Fun! Get To Know Your Neighbor, This Will Take Awhile.

Or, thanks to the kind courtesies of Disney, you can also get a GAC pass that allows you to come back in slightly less time than the posted Standby wait.

Are you in a wheelchair in 2014 when Disney starts the new GAC system? Want to ride Soarin'? Posted wheelchair-accessible Standby line is 90 minutes. Show your GAC, CM issues you pass to return in 75 minutes to enter attraction via Fastpass lane, even though both Fastpass and Standby are wheelchair accesible. While you wait 75 minutes you can then go enjoy the rest of The Land pavilion, or head over and go on Imagination or The Seas with a 10 minute wait, or you can explore Innoventions, or you can go have lunch, or you can go get a Fastpass for Test Track for three hours later. 75 minutes has gone by, and you wheel back to Soarin' and enter Fastpass with your GAC and return ticket they issued 75 minutes ago.

A GAC holder is still ahead of the curve because you have the ability to get one GAC return time and one regular Fastpass ticket at the same time, while enjoying the park inbetween return times. The non-GAC guest only has the ability to get the Fastpass to Test Track, one at a time, as they don't have the GAC card and cant' plan a day with the ability to pull two Fastpass/alternate entrance times at a time.

 

[RSoxNo1]

My issue is less the quantity, and more the pre planning. 3 Fastpasses is more than reasonable for every park except MK. MK should probably be 4 or 5. Having said that, 1 park per day for FP is going to discourage Park Hopping. The ways to fix this is to limit it to 1 Fastpass+ reservation per guest per day and then normal access to the current system. Guests can start at one park and hop over to the park they have the Fastpass at. It's still overly complicating things, but not to the point that guests would be at a huge disadvantage if they can't handle the pre-planning.

 

[fosse76]

The "one ride at a time" thing will cut back on abuse by losers and by all the "My son doesn't do well waiting in line" people, but will also cut back on the amount of rides that people who are truly very sick will be able to ride, which is a shame.

If someone is truly very sick, perhaps they shouldn't be at an amusement park in the first place. That said, being truly very sick does not entitle one to experience more rides than those who do not need this system. They technically can experience other attractions during their "wait" time, they just have to use the standby system.

So the people who need it will suffer and those don't will still get small bonuses. I bet the ones who complain will be the ones who don't really and truly need it to get through a day.

No, they just don't get the unlimited front-of-line access previously afforded to them.

 

[AEfx]

If someone is truly very sick, perhaps they shouldn't be at an amusement park in the first place. That said, being truly very sick does not entitle one to experience more rides than those who do not need this system.

This is based on completely incorrect assumptions. You simply don't know what you are talking about. And even though I am sure you believe your statements, they are incredibly callous and I only wish you don't have to be on the other side of the equation and that you would so proudly make a public point about it makes me think it's not worth wasting my time to reply, but since you are incorrect on so many levels (and your assumptions are held by others who don't know better), I'll give it a try.

On many rides, the wait is LONGER - because you have to wait for a certain car so they can stop the ride so you can board, or you have to wait for an attendant to walk you in the exit because (see below) you have no choice but to use it. And for shows, the seating generally sucks - if you have a wheelchair, you are usually behind the very back row of everything (making it even harder to see for someone who can't sit up any higher to see the stage since people in front of you are often higher than a wheelchair can get).

People are so focused on a few big rides that they miss that the fact that EVERY SINGLE attraction has some sort of challenge for disabled people to board. That even the smallest, no-wait rides have different boarding processes. So yes, can you save time in line for Splash Mountain or RnR? Yes, but it takes us several times as long to do The Seas with Nemo, Haunted Mansion, etc. than everyone else.

In the end, when you add in all the extra time to find appropriate bathrooms (usually only one or two bathrooms in each park can accommodate a wheelchair and someone to assist them), the large increase in time required to do something like park hop, and just getting from area to area within the parks themselves, because of the accommodations on a few of the bigger rides, it just about evened out so you could logistically have a full day like everyone else.

They technically can experience other attractions during their "wait" time, they just have to use the standby system.

Which is impossible, since the majority of attractions do NOT allow disabled people into the standby line. So no, it's not "technically" possible, you really should pay attention to what people are trying to explain before you make your UN-educated judgement.

If Disney would make every single queue wheelchair accessible, you might have a point. People in wheelchairs would gladly wait in line like everyone else - IF THEY WERE ALLOWED. Most of the truly disabled people would like nothing more than not have to wheel into an exit against the flow dodging people leaving, or have to skip things like the Stretching Room because Disney won't allow it, or have to get dirty looks because they FORCE you through the Fastpass line or the exit.

I don't get what doesn't compute here - virtually every ride does this, we can't just hop on something with a short wait. I swear, people really need to think before they speak because if you had any idea what it's really like, you would be speaking much differently about the topic.

No, they just don't get the unlimited front-of-line access previously afforded to them.

As I've already outlined, completely false.

People like yourself making all these proclamations and spouting nothing but rhetoric have absolutely no idea whatsoever what you are talking about. That you all seem so resolute in your beliefs is sad and troubling. Yes, there are abuses - AND NO ONE hates them more than families like mine that have no choice but to use the accommodations or we couldn't go because Disney won't allow it because of how they have designed the attractions and their policies.

 

[luv]

If someone is truly very sick, perhaps they shouldn't be at an amusement park in the first place. That said, being truly very sick does not entitle one to experience more rides than those who do not need this system. They technically can experience other attractions during their "wait" time, they just have to use the standby system.


No, they just don't get the unlimited front-of-line access previously afforded to them.

A new and interesting viewpoint. Thank you for sharing that.

 

[Monty]

This is never a valid argument against people who would like to see a more strict enforcement or revision of GAC. I'm sorry you suffer from a condition that cause you pain, but that still doesn't entitle you to quicker access to rides.

An opinion you are entitled to that fortunately is not shared by Disney or any decent person.

I'll type slow so you can keep up...

If every step I take and every moment spent standing results in pain, then being granted the ability to spend less time doing that is an accommodation of my disability.

 

[wm49rs]

This is never a valid argument against people who would like to see a more strict enforcement or revision of GAC. I'm sorry you suffer from a condition that cause you pain, but that still doesn't entitle you to quicker access to rides.

The flip side being if you don't like the fact Disney is so accommodating, you don't need to visit their parks either....

 

[fosse76]

This is based on completely incorrect assumptions. You simply don't know what you are talking about. And even though I am sure you believe your statements, they are incredibly callous and I only wish you don't have to be on the other side of the equation and that you would so proudly make a public point about it makes me think it's not worth wasting my time to reply, but since you are incorrect on so many levels (and your assumptions are held by others who don't know better), I'll give it a try.

I was going to reply claim by claim, but your arguments are mostly irrelevant. All of what you claim to be true is for the system as it currently exists. Whether or not GAC is actually shorter now is not really the point, because that is based on GAC usage for any given day. Considering the significant amount of abuse that occurs, I'd wager that most of those longer-than-standby waits are the result of people who don't need anything close to that level of accomodation (if any accomodation is needed at all). At the very least, it will spread out usage of GAC to prevent these "pile-ups" in addition to discouraging people from acquiring a GAC when they don't need it, thereby decreasing those waits.

As for experiencing other attractions while waiting out a GAC return time, yes, you can. Maybe not every attraction, but there are certain ones that can be experienced. You're simply being argumentative.

 

[Monty]

Giving you a return time that is the equivalent of the standby wait time, so that you can sit down and not be on your feet, is also a reasonable accomodation.

And just so we're clear, you being disabled entitles you to not have to wait? Is that what you're saying?

I'm truly stunned that you don't get it... You like the word "entitles", it gives you a feeling of superiority I suppose. I don't ask for entitlements, I request the ability to possibly enjoy as much of the parks as arrogant little ****s like yourself get to take for granted.

It's not just me, but yes - Not waiting is part of the accommodation that I require. I can, at any moment during the course of a normal day have an issue arise that requires me to cut my day or possibly my vacation short. Having the ability to squeeze in what I can before that happens improves my chances of actually experiencing almost as much as you can.

What a lot of people don't "get" is that different disabilities require different accommodations. Trying to come up with a cookie-cutter solution that meets what one individual perceives as the problem ignores myriad other problems that individual can't [or won't] fathom. Some autistic kids can function very well for a limited time and then they melt down and are done for the day. To give that child access to the same enjoyment as other children, they need to get on and off as many rides as they can before the meltdown. Other disabled folk may need three or four lengthy breaks during the course of a day at the park. Again, being able to access more rides without waiting grants them an experience closer to that of an able bodied guest.

So in one paragraph I've highlighted two potential scenarios that are reasonably addressed by GACs. I'm very active in the disabled community in my city and I would dream of trying to come up with a comprehensive listing of every possible scenario and what would be a reasonable accommodation for each.​

Disney's GAC program has been in place for a number of years and despite a few abusers it works extremely well for the vast majority of guests who need it.​

 

[jaklgreen]

I am shocked how many people think it is their God given right to go to an amusement park. The ADA did not set up their rules so that handicapped people can go on splash mountain, the government stepped in and made laws so that people with disabilities can go to the grocery store or to the bank or the store to buy clothes and use a restroom in a public place. It is not reasonable to expect an amusement park to accommodate all types of disabilities and that is what the law states. The fact that Disney does all of these thing to try to accommodate everyone is very admirable. And for all of you who think I don't "get" it, I do, you do not know my family situation. I was raised to know that there are limitations in life and you can't always have what you want. There are many many people who are unable to go to WDW for various reasons. Like I tell my kids life is not fair. There are other ways to find entertainment then going to WDW.

 

[TP2000]

Which is impossible, since the majority of attractions do NOT allow disabled people into the standby line. So no, it's not "technically" possible, you really should pay attention to what people are trying to explain before you make your UN-educated judgement.

If Disney would make every single queue wheelchair accessible, you might have a point. People in wheelchairs would gladly wait in line like everyone else - IF THEY WERE ALLOWED.

I get it that the old 1960's and 70's legacy rides at Magic Kingdom and Disneyland don't have wheelchair accessible queues. And that's a big chunk of the rides in those old flagship parks that have "alternate entrances" for those in wheelchairs.

But anything built since 1990, including all of DHS, DAK, several key attractions at Epcot, and all of DCA has fully wheelchair accessible queues. Since the early 1990's it's been illegal to build a public facility otherwise.

There's nothing stopping anyone in a wheelchair from waiting in the 120 minute Standby line for Test Track or Soarin' at Epcot, or the 120 minute Standby line for Radiator Springs Racers at DCA, or the 90 minute Standby lines for Kali or Everest or Kilimanjaro at DAK. There's also nothing stopping anyone in a wheelchair from pulling a Fastpass for those rides and planning their day around their return time and going through the Fastpass line.

In parks like DAK and DCA that have been built (and rebuilt) in the last 14 years, I'm not sure why anyone in a wheelchair would need any sort of diabled pass at all. The whole park and all rides, shows and facilities are fully wheelchair accessible.

 

[Monty]

I am shocked how many people think it is their God given right to go to an amusement park. The ADA did not set up their rules so that handicapped people can go on splash mountain, the government stepped in and made laws so that people with disabilities can go to the grocery store or to the bank or the store to buy clothes and use a restroom in a public place. It is not reasonable to expect an amusement park to accommodate all types of disabilities and that is what the law states. The fact that Disney does all of these thing to try to accommodate everyone is very admirable. And for all of you who think I don't "get" it, I do, you do not know my family situation. I was raised to know that there are limitations in life and you can't always have what you want. There are many many people who are unable to go to WDW for various reasons. Like I tell my kids life is not fair. There are other ways to find entertainment then going to WDW.

I absolutely agree with you. In fact, unlike the previous poster, I think you do "get" it. The bolded statement is the crux here, Disney does amazing things to help disabled people get as much as they can of what the able-bodied have. That is very much to their credit.

My concern in this thread is that because of some ignorant people abusing the GACs, people are ready to throw out all the amazing good that Disney has done.

 

[Monty]

I get it that the old 1960's and 70's legacy rides at Magic Kingdom and Disneyland don't have wheelchair accessible queues. And that's a big chunk of the rides in those old flagship parks that have "alternate entrances" for those in wheelchairs.

But anything built since 1990, including all of DHS, DAK, several key attractions at Epcot, and all of DCA has fully wheelchair accessible queues. Since the early 1990's it's been illegal to build a public facility otherwise.

There's nothing stopping anyone in a wheelchair from waiting in the 120 minute Standby line for Test Track or Soarin' at Epcot, or the 120 minute Standby line for Radiator Springs Racers at DCA, or the 90 minute Standby lines for Kali or Everest or Kilimanjaro at DAK. There's also nothing stopping anyone in a wheelchair from pulling a Fastpass for those rides and planning their day around their return time and going through the Fastpass line.

In parks like DAK and DCA that have been built (and rebuilt) in the last 14 years, I'm not sure why anyone in a wheelchair would need any sort of diabled pass at all. The whole park and all rides, shows and facilities are fully wheelchair accessible.

The vast majority of GACs are given to guests that aren't in wheelchairs.

 

[arko]

I was going to reply claim by claim, but your arguments are mostly irrelevant. All of what you claim to be true is for the system as it currently exists. Whether or not GAC is actually shorter now is not really the point, because that is based on GAC usage for any given day. Considering the significant amount of abuse that occurs, I'd wager that most of those longer-than-standby waits are the result of people who don't need anything close to that level of accomodation (if any accomodation is needed at all). At the very least, it will spread out usage of GAC to prevent these "pile-ups" in addition to discouraging people from acquiring a GAC when they don't need it, thereby decreasing those waits.

As for experiencing other attractions while waiting out a GAC return time, yes, you can. Maybe not every attraction, but there are certain ones that can be experienced. You're simply being argumentative.

You make a lot of assumptions that it simply easy and fair to have someone come back after a set time. While this may work for someone with a strictly physical handicap who understands the reasoning behind giving people say a return time etc, those with say autism like my teenage son does not. He has limited interests and a limited number of rides he wants to go on, and for the past 9 years that we have been going to Disney 2-4 times a year( we live 3 hours away), he has never been turned away. Is this his fault, no, but its the routine he has become accustomed to and changing it is going to be not fun. Understand for him its not the waiting but the simple act of being trapped in a line that has no visible means of escape, so when we show the card its either wait to side like we do at SE and POTC or the fastpass line like we do at Buzz Lightyear.
Shows we normally avoid unless its a quiet time of year at the park and we can get in line as close to show time as possible, when he was younger I used to ask a CM if they could direct us to a seat as close to an exit as possible in case he decided he had had enough and needed to leave(they were always super helpful),and through the years he has left less and less as he becomes more tolerant to noise etc.
Being able to use the fastpass lanes without delay also allows us to stay in the park for less time, which is also less stressful. Our average time at MK is about 4 hours max, where we do 4-5 rides plus one meal and some shopping. Also with limited ride choices he may do the same ride twice which would be very hard under your system. This is a kid who will never go on Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, BTMRR, ToT, RRR, etc, but might do Buzz twice in one day, and 3 other rides.

And yes I want to see GAC abuse go away as much as everyone else, but I find it very comical that some of the same people so upset in this thread barely even noticed the thread(or at best made a joke) about people getting fastpasses using drivers licenses etc, which in my mind is just as bad as lying to get a GAC. Or the people upset in the fastpass + threads about no longer being able to get the 11 fastpasses they can get today by basically exploiting their knowledge of how to maximize number of fastpasses per day.

The main point I want to make is that no system is going to be fair for everyone, because you can't create a blanket policy that covers all disabilities equally, which is why Disney was so reluctant to change it. Anyone arguing otherwise simply doesn't know what they are talking about.

 

[TP2000]

The vast majority of GACs are given to guests that aren't in wheelchairs.

I can believe that.

But for those in wheelchairs, I can't think of a reason why they can't wait in Standby or pull a Fastpass at any park or attraction built since 1990. At the 1971 Haunted Mansion I get it that it's going to be different. But at every ride in DAK or DCA or DHS, and much of Epcot, there's no need for a wheelchair-bound person to not wait in Standby lines or pull Fastpasses like the person walking from ride to ride.

And for those walking from ride to ride with a GAC, use the same system Sea World and Uni and Cedar Fair are doing. You get one GAC return time pass at a time, knocking 15 minutes off the current Standby wait as your return time, and you can do whatever you want in the park while you wait. You can also pull regular Fastpasses like any other non-GAC visitor can, in addition to your GAC return times. So in essence, you are getting an extra Fastpass that isn't connected to the Fastpass system, and you can get another one as soon as your current GAC return pass is used.

Plan out your day, prioritize what you want to go on and see, and then you get a couple extra GAC return times to use, in addition to regular Fastpasses that are subject to all the rules and limitations of the Fastpass system. More than fair it would seem to me, and greatly limits abuse.

 

[arko]

I get it that the old 1960's and 70's legacy rides at Magic Kingdom and Disneyland don't have wheelchair accessible queues. And that's a big chunk of the rides in those old flagship parks that have "alternate entrances" for those in wheelchairs.

But anything built since 1990, including all of DHS, DAK, several key attractions at Epcot, and all of DCA has fully wheelchair accessible queues. Since the early 1990's it's been illegal to build a public facility otherwise.

There's nothing stopping anyone in a wheelchair from waiting in the 120 minute Standby line for Test Track or Soarin' at Epcot, or the 120 minute Standby line for Radiator Springs Racers at DCA, or the 90 minute Standby lines for Kali or Everest or Kilimanjaro at DAK. There's also nothing stopping anyone in a wheelchair from pulling a Fastpass for those rides and planning their day around their return time and going through the Fastpass line.

In parks like DAK and DCA that have been built (and rebuilt) in the last 14 years, I'm not sure why anyone in a wheelchair would need any sort of diabled pass at all. The whole park and all rides, shows and facilities are fully wheelchair accessible.

The GAC designation that everyone is upset about is not for people with wheelchairs generally, it is for those where the disability is not obvious. And not all people in wheelchairs have exactly the same needs or limitations, some can transfer from the chair to a car, and others are wheelchair bound.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

It's not just me, but yes - Not waiting is part of the accommodation that I require. I can, at any moment during the course of a normal day have an issue arise that requires me to cut my day or possibly my vacation short. Having the ability to squeeze in what I can before that happens improves my chances of actually experiencing almost as much as you can.

To be fair, so can anyone, but obviously those with medical conditions have a higher risk for issues causing them to leave.

With a Fastpass-like system, you still have the opportunity to do other things in the park instead of waiting in line, allowing you to experience more than the average tourist still waiting in the stand-by line. The old system, made it too easy for abusers to think it entitled them to do half a dozen E-tickets in an hour and the volume of them put a strain on the system that affected everyone in the park (whether they were using it or not). Writing off the abusers as "a few" or "some" both undermines the real issue of abuse and doesn't change the fact that the system will be altered for a reason.

Disney offers other services to disabled persons beyond the GAC pass. They include allowing seeing eye dogs in the park and offering wheel chairs for rental, along with services, modifed queues and ride vehicles for them. They may not legally required to do everything for every possible medical situation, but I still believe the new proposed system is a fair and reasonable accomodation.

 

[arko]

I can believe that.

But for those in wheelchairs, I can't think of a reason why they can't wait in Standby or pull a Fastpass at any park or attraction built since 1990. At the 1971 Haunted Mansion I get it that it's going to be different. But at every ride in DAK or DCA or DHS, and much of Epcot, there's no need for a wheelchair-bound person to not wait in Standby lines or pull Fastpasses like the person walking from ride to ride.

And for those walking from ride to ride with a GAC, use the same system Sea World and Uni and Cedar Fair are doing. You get one GAC return time pass at a time, knocking 15 minutes off the current Standby wait as your return time, and you can do whatever you want in the park while you wait. You can also pull regular Fastpasses like any other non-GAC visitor can, in addition to your GAC return times. So in essence, you are getting an extra Fastpass that isn't connected to the Fastpass system, and you can get another one as soon as your current GAC return pass is used.

Plan out your day, prioritize what you want to go on and see, and then you get a couple extra GAC return times to use, in addition to regular Fastpasses that are subject to all the rules and limitations of the Fastpass system. More than fair it would seem to me, and greatly limits abuse.

You make it sound so idealic and awesome, if only real life were so simple and straight forward and everyone fit into your neat little vision of how it should be.