Possible Changes coming to the Guest Assistance Cards (GAC)

[Lord_Vader]

Why can't you expect your child to do what you tell him to do? When I told my 5yo to sit her butt in the stroller then she sat her butt in the stroller because I am the Mom and told her to. Just tell him if he wants to go on the rides he has to sit in the wheelchair in the lines so he does not get tired. Why would you let a 5yo tell you what is best for him.

It is painfully obvious you have never delt with an autistic child.

 

[Lord_Vader]

Wouldn't the FP+ reservation system make it easier for people to plan their days around a handful or rides? You wouldn't have to go during the first or last hour the park is open to see them.

Yes there's the possibility of rides going down, but that can happen regardless of if you have a GAC or not.

Also, the 6 person limit not being enforced is one of the major areas of abuse. That was detailed in the Miceage article on the issue.

Please keep in mind the MiceAge article, the subsequent news report were done at DL, not WDW. While there is abuse at WDW I have not seen it at the levels it appears to be occuring at DL, and the GAC is NOT a front of the line pass for most attractions, many it just means a walk through the FP line then on to a second hidden VERY SLOW moving line that is hidden from most guests.

For those of you complaining about the abuse, special access, front of the line passes, I sincerely wish you could experience sitting in a four foot wide blank/boring hallway for over an hour while moving at about three feet every 20 MINUTES to ride a 2 minute ride and then hear all about how you get a front of the line pass.

 

[George]

As far as the abuse goes, I'm not really sure what to do about it. We did notice how easy it was to get the pass and how people could possibly fake something and get the pass. To me, it seems unfair of Disney to require documentation. With a child with autism, talk to them for five minutes and you'll get something's not right. Most of them need the pass, and it's up to the parents to decide how to use it. For kids on the spectrum, Disney is quite good. I've heard multiple stories here, from families with a child with autism I know personally, and from experience with my own brother that something about Disney helps. Considering how hard their lives are on a daily basis, if a shorter wait and the stimulation helps them, I'm more than happy to allow them to pass (when I'm not with my brother and using the pass that is). Know your child and if you know they can't handle it, don't bring them, but if it helps at all, it's well worth it.

Here's the solution. You hire 6-10 CMs for each park. They go under cover as regular guests and strike up conversations with people who have GACs. They'll say things, "Like boy is that card handy. How do you get one?" If the person replies, " Well a member of our party has such and such condition/handicap or whatever" then they let it drop and move on...Perhaps, these folk could be given a free beverage to reimburse them for the mental energy wasted on this fake friendship. However, if the person replies, "Yeah, these GACs are awesome. I just told them that my kid suffered from sudden onset explosive diarrhea and I don't even have a kid!", then the CM would yell, "This person lied about being handicapped just so they could cut line all day. Why don't you say we give them a reason for "special treatment?!?", as they pass out baseball bats and large dowel rods to various passerbys. In my mind, this has the potential to not only curb abuse, but be entertaining and possibly serve as kind of a replacement for the cowboy shoot out that no longer takes place in Frontierland.

 

[Nemo14]

Here's the solution. You hire 6-10 CMs for each park. They go under cover as regular guests and strike up conversations with people who have GACs. They'll say things, "Like boy is that card handy. How do you get one?" If the person replies, " Well a member of our party has such and such condition/handicap or whatever" then they let it drop and move on...Perhaps, these folk could be given a free beverage to reimburse them for the mental energy wasted on this fake friendship. However, if the person replies, "Yeah, these GACs are awesome. I just told them that my kid suffered from sudden onset explosive diarrhea and I don't even have a kid!", then the CM would yell, "This person lied about being handicapped just so they could cut line all day. Why don't you say we give them a reason for "special treatment?!?", as they pass out baseball bats and large dowel rods to various passerbys. In my mind, this has the potential to not only curb abuse, but be entertaining and possibly serve as kind of a replacement for the cowboy shoot out that no longer takes place in Frontierland.

which brings us back to the "stand your ground" laws, correct?

 

[George]

which brings us back to the "stand your ground" laws, correct?

Law, schmaw. What's the point of Reedy Creek if you can't implement common sense solutions?

 

[arko]

Please keep in mind the MiceAge article, the subsequent news report were done at DL, not WDW. While there is abuse at WDW I have not seen it at the levels it appears to be occuring at DL, and the GAC is NOT a front of the line pass for most attractions, many it just means a walk through the FP line then on to a second hidden VERY SLOW moving line that is hidden from most guests.

For those of you complaining about the abuse, special access, front of the line passes, I sincerely wish you could experience sitting in a four foot wide blank/boring hallway for over an hour while moving at about three feet every 20 MINUTES to ride a 2 minute ride and then hear all about how you get a front of the line pass.

While the abuse I am sure is there, and possibly widespread, I have never encountered a line full of GAC holders in the fastpass lane, maybe because we don't ride a lot of the popular E tickets we don't see the abusers as much, and we have been at very busy times.
The simple fact is those proposing solutions that limit what is currently offered see this as a good solution because they have never benefited from what the GAC offers to those who used it legitimately. All they see is the abuse, and lets be clear the abusers are other non disabled people, not the disabled. So in their minds anything that stops the abuse is justified because to them stopping the abuse outweighs any lessening of benefits the disabled receive today, and yes we recognize they are above and beyond what Disney has to do, but what people always claim what they love about Disney is that Disney does more than what is required. So if changes are made disabled families are simply going to judge whether these modifications will work for them or not, and then either continue to come to Disney or go elsewhere.

 

[Nemo14]

George - you know I love ya', but deep inside, you're just a bit scary you know....

 

[sshindel]

Here's the solution. You hire 6-10 CMs for each park. They go under cover as regular guests and strike up conversations with people who have GACs. They'll say things, "Like boy is that card handy. How do you get one?" If the person replies, " Well a member of our party has such and such condition/handicap or whatever" then they let it drop and move on...Perhaps, these folk could be given a free beverage to reimburse them for the mental energy wasted on this fake friendship. However, if the person replies, "Yeah, these GACs are awesome. I just told them that my kid suffered from sudden onset explosive diarrhea and I don't even have a kid!", then the CM would yell, "This person lied about being handicapped just so they could cut line all day. Why don't you say we give them a reason for "special treatment?!?", as they pass out baseball bats and large dowel rods to various passerbys. In my mind, this has the potential to not only curb abuse, but be entertaining and possibly serve as kind of a replacement for the cowboy shoot out that no longer takes place in Frontierland.

I was thinking that instead of the baseball bat / dowel rods, they should just try (as much as possible), to give the person the disability that they lied about having. Kid with explosive diarrhea (nice touch by the way, one of my favorites), force feed their children ex-lax. Fake broken leg, send in some of Marcellus Wallace's dudes to break their legs. I know that some of the mental disabilities could be harder to enforce, but to some extents, things like PTSD could easily be brought on by strapping them into Stitch's Great Escape for 24-48 hours straight with no breaks.

 

[George]

I was thinking that instead of the baseball bat / dowel rods, they should just try (as much as possible), to give the person the disability that they lied about having. Kid with explosive diarrhea (nice touch by the way, one of my favorites), force feed their children ex-lax. Fake broken leg, send in some of Marcellus Wallace's dudes to break their legs. I know that some of the mental disabilities could be harder to enforce, but to some extents, things like PTSD could easily be brought on by strapping them into Stitch's Great Escape for 24-48 hours straight with no breaks.

Me likey. Very Hammurabi of you!

 

[xdan0920]

on which side?
Both sides have valid points, and I think we all agree the abuse of the GAC affects everyone. We just seem to disagree on the solution or whether there is an easy solution.

Both.

 

[JLipnick]

I'm sorry, but you are exactly why there are laws that determine what disability is and who it applies to. Because common citizens such as yourself have absolutely no clue what they are talking about and impose [rather arrogantly, I might add] their ignorant assumptions about what is best for others they have no concept of. Ghettoizing a disabled child into a wheelchair s/he doesn't need or want so they fit into your ignorant belief of what's best for them in the long run is wrong on so many levels I will stop and simply say "Good day, sir! Good day!" and ignore your posts.

Wow! I couldn't have said it better myself. Thank you

 

[bubbles1812]

It is painfully obvious you have never delt with an autistic child.

I don't have a dog in this fight, but I'm pretty sure the 5 y.o. referenced in the post you responded to was NOT autistic. He has lower extremity tone, which prevents him from standing without a walker or for long periods of time. So... Your post doesn't make any sense in that context.

 

[gaga4disney]

I couldn't agree more. Do people actually think that a parent with a disabled child would prefer to get the GAC and not have to wait in lines RATHER than not having a child with a disability? We went into the line for Dumbo prior to it moving to new fantasyland and we carried my son (3 at the time) up the exit ramp (Handicap entrance). A woman who was close to getting on the ride asked why we were there. We told her our son was 3 and couldn't walk. She said we were lucky to not have to wait in line. Lucky? We told her we would MUCH rather wait in line with everyone else if that would mean Matthew could walk. She had no idea how much it costs to have a child with a physical disability and how he can't do things other kids his age can do. That is why we go to WDW as often as we do (and we live 1000 miles away). They make him feel like every other kid and that is priceless.

Precisely!

 

[natatomic]

Let's say with this new FP+ system you are able to choose your 3-4 fastpasses for the day ahead of time. And if you qualified for a GAC with the old system, you are now qualified for an additional 3-4 fastpasses for the day, and they can even be repeated fastpasses - i.e., your initial 3-4 FPs must all be for different attractions, but your additional ones may repeat each attraction one additional time, if you would like to. (Obviously, this is all hypothetical. I have no idea if this is how it's going to work out).
Now you can plan your day appropriate to your needs. Obviously, you won't be able to go from ride to ride with an instant FP like you do now, but in between FPs you will have enough time for those longer bathroom visits, you will still be able to walk at your slower pace if needed from attraction to attraction, you can see an air conditioned show in between FP (which so rarely have a wait beyond waiting for the actual show time itself) or at least take a breather in the shade, and you can even plan for an extended break between FPs so that if you're one of those who need to leave the park for a rest you are able to.
Obviously there is still a benefit as you would get twice as many fastpasses as non-disabled guests, however, it would still significantly cut down on the abuse seen now (i.e. guests who use their GACs to access an e-ticket's FP line 15 times in a row, which DOES happen). Plus, you could space the FPs out according to YOUR specific needs - plan them around meal, nap, and bathroom times - which is what this new system is supposed to do for everyone anyway.

Could this satisfy the masses (both disabled and non-disabled alike?) In my humble opinion, I think a system like this tied into the new FP+ system still provides reasonable accommodations that those who truly need them would still be thankful to have, yet it significantly would cut down on the "cheaters" from abusing the "instant & immediate" access they have now.

 

[xdan0920]

@natatomic

Reasonable response. And a solid jumping off point for new GAC.

 

[jaklgreen]

It is painfully obvious you have never delt with an autistic child.

This poster does not have an autistic child. And I have plenty of experience with an autistic child, my niece is autistic. Her parents treat her like any other child and it has helped 1000 fold. If she misbehaves then she is punished just like her brother. That and a change in diet has turned this little girl that would not look at anyone or acknowledge you when you called her name to someone who goes to school and does just as well if not better then the other children. Now when you see her she goes right up to you and hugs you and says hi and you can have a conversation with her. Her doctor is amazed. It takes a lot of work but it is possible to help break them out of their shell. Go online you hear about it all the time. I am not saying she is cured there is still a long way to go but if you saw her you would be amazed!!

 

[arko]

Let's say with this new FP+ system you are able to choose your 3-4 fastpasses for the day ahead of time. And if you qualified for a GAC with the old system, you are now qualified for an additional 3-4 fastpasses for the day, and they can even be repeated fastpasses - i.e., your initial 3-4 FPs must all be for different attractions, but your additional ones may repeat each attraction one additional time, if you would like to. (Obviously, this is all hypothetical. I have no idea if this is how it's going to work out).
Now you can plan your day appropriate to your needs. Obviously, you won't be able to go from ride to ride with an instant FP like you do now, but in between FPs you will have enough time for those longer bathroom visits, you will still be able to walk at your slower pace if needed from attraction to attraction, you can see an air conditioned show in between FP (which so rarely have a wait beyond waiting for the actual show time itself) or at least take a breather in the shade, and you can even plan for an extended break between FPs so that if you're one of those who need to leave the park for a rest you are able to.
Obviously there is still a benefit as you would get twice as many fastpasses as non-disabled guests, however, it would still significantly cut down on the abuse seen now (i.e. guests who use their GACs to access an e-ticket's FP line 15 times in a row, which DOES happen). Plus, you could space the FPs out according to YOUR specific needs - plan them around meal, nap, and bathroom times - which is what this new system is supposed to do for everyone anyway.

Could this satisfy the masses (both disabled and non-disabled alike?) In my humble opinion, I think a system like this tied into the new FP+ system still provides reasonable accommodations that those who truly need them would still be thankful to have, yet it significantly would cut down on the "cheaters" from abusing the "instant & immediate" access they have now.

This system would be better , and it will be interesting to see how much fastpass+ changes the fastpass lines in general, with only 3 total fastpasses per guest, its logical that there should be less people in fast pass lines. It would be less flexible for some of us from whom the flexibility of not having to worry about when to be where was the most help but its better than having to come back so to speak, because we can prepare our kids in advance which is almost as good.

 

[Sans Souci]

If you have seen one child on the autism spectrum, you have seen one child on the autism spectrum.

 

[jaklgreen]

I'm sorry, but you are exactly why there are laws that determine what disability is and who it applies to. Because common citizens such as yourself have absolutely no clue what they are talking about and impose [rather arrogantly, I might add] their ignorant assumptions about what is best for others they have no concept of. Ghettoizing a disabled child into a wheelchair s/he doesn't need or want so they fit into your ignorant belief of what's best for them in the long run is wrong on so many levels I will stop and simply say "Good day, sir! Good day!" and ignore your posts.

You can not equate a wheelchair with a ghetto. A ghetto completely encloses and traps a person. You had said you wanted him to not stand out and I said a GAC stands out just like a wheelchair. And I really do not think it is about your child. Who would not love to have a front of the line pass instead of waiting in line. Everyone with a disability here is saying we would love the chance to stand in line if they could. You have that option with a wheelchair but choose the GAC option. Which is your choice but do not pretend you are doing it in you child's best interest.

 

[arko]

This poster does not have an autistic child. And I have plenty of experience with an autistic child, my niece is autistic. Her parents treat her like any other child and it has helped 1000 fold. If she misbehaves then she is punished just like her brother. That and a change in diet has turned this little girl that would not look at anyone or acknowledge you when you called her name to someone who goes to school and does just as well if not better then the other children. Now when you see her she goes right up to you and hugs you and says hi and you can have a conversation with her. Her doctor is amazed. It takes a lot of work but it is possible to help break them out of their shell. Go online you hear about it all the time. I am not saying she is cured there is still a long way to go but if you saw her you would be amazed!!

Nobody says they don't try to treat their autistic child as normal as possible, my son is verbal, will hug you and have a conversation, he even attends Boy Scouts, but it doesn't make them less autistic it just means they have learned coping mechanisms for certain situations.The diet thing is a very contentious issue among the autistic community because it doesn't work for everyone(yes we tried gluten free etc), trust me you try everything you can get you hands on.
People ask me all the time what what does it mean that he is autistic, because to look at him and have a brief conversation you might not be able to tell. I usually explain it like this, imagine being born lacking all social instincts that we take for granted, like simply understanding what a frown is vs a smile, so they have to be programmed like a computer to learn the proper behavior. They tend to take things very literally because they lack the ability to understand implied meaning, once my son was in cooking class at school and the teacher asked him to take something out of the oven, well he did put his hand right in without gloves and burned himself. why because the teacher told him to, he lacked the common sense to think about what might happen if he touched something hot without protection.
All austistic children who get therapy etc makes some sort of improvements, but mileage varies depending on severity etc.