GAC at Animal Kingdom

[Karens]

Hi,

We had a GAC for DD11 last year and were hoping to be able to use one again this year. We are planning our first Disney day as Animal Kingdom - can you get a GAC here or would it be better to wait until we go to MK the next day?

Also - I got really tongue tied with the CM last year and found the whole experience of getting a GAC quite upsetting. I went to the guest relations window outside the main entrance as opposed to the main guest relations inside the park. The problem was that DD11 doesn't have a diagnosis as such. She has atrophy of the white matter in her brain and enlarged ventricals which means that she has global developmental delay and is visually impaired. She has quite a few autistic tendacies but is not actually diagnosed as autistic. She can't cope with crowded areas and gets confused and upset easily. The CM I spoke to was very abrupt with me he kept saying over and over "what does she need" and I am really dreading asking for it this year but without a GAC I just don't think we would be able to go. We have to go in the school holidays when it is very busy. Should I even try and explain what her condition is or just how she is affected?

Can anyone offer me any advice? Is it better to bring DD11 into the guest relations with me so they can see her?

Thanks

Karen

 

[Talking Hands]

Simply state what accommodations your daughter needs to make the experience a good one for her. She needs up front seating due to limited vision. She needs a quiet area to wait. That sort of thing. Do not try to give them a medical diagnosis or explain her medical problems as they do not know from that what is needed. You know what she needs. Just state it simply and clearly. You can get the GAC at any of the Guest Service locations at any of the parks.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

You had two minor problems last year.

One is that you should go to Guest Services inside the park; they are more used to dealing with GACs while the outside people deal more with ticket problems.

The other is that you are supposed to have the disabled person with you when you ask for the card.

Also, as Lisa said, you have to explain the needs and not the diagnoses. They will then give you a GAC with the stamps on it that will cover the needs.

(Added Later) Write yourself a script ahead of time. Make a list of her needs and take the list with you. It can just be a set of notes to yourself, or it can be a detailed list which can be shown to the CM in Guest Relations. That should help prevent flustering.

 

[SueM in MN]

Just agreeing with what the others said.
1) The GAC is issued to the person with a disability, so she should be in there with you when you request it.
2) Guest Relations inside one of the parks is the best place to ask since they have more experience with GACs.
3) The CM kept asking "what does she need?" because that's what the CM needs to know. The GAC is based on needs (not diagnosis) and if you can't tell them any needs, they can't help you.
4) Even if she had a specific disgnosis, just knowing that wouldn't hlep much. Two people with the same diagnosis can have very different needs.

 

[Karens]

Thanks everyone who responded.

I did have DD11 with me last year but I don't think the CM could see her because it was a booth.

I will try to be as concise as possible. I think I just found it so difficult because I knew so little about the GAC and what the procedure was and I didn't know what was available or what the options were.

Thanks

Karen

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

Just agreeing with what the others said.
2) Guest Relations inside one of the parks is the best place to ask since they have more experience with GACs.

Generally, the kind folks that staff the Guest Relations window on the outside of the parks are the same kind folks that staff the Guest Relations lobby on the inside of the parks. It's just that when they're working at the window, they're dealing much more with ticket issues (which are all generally pretty similar), rather than the more "individual" issues they typically get when they're in the lobby.

 

[LisaBi]

You had two minor problems last year.

One is that you should go to Guest Services inside the park; they are more used to dealing with GACs while the outside people deal more with ticket problems.

I think I would have to agree with this in theory. We have always gone to the inside locations. But one of my best experiences was OUTSIDE MK. On our way out of the park, on about the 3rd day of our trip, we stopped there to complain about a problem that had nothing to do with special needs or a SAP/GAC. While I was talking (OK - complaining), my husband was trying, in vain, to keep Connor (then age 6, has Down Syndrome) quiet, safe, happy, reasonbly in one spot, ...... The CM was noticing what was happening behind me.

Anyway, mid-complaint the CM cut me off and asked if I had an SAP (this was in 2000). She asked to see it. She then said "This is wrong" and disappeared. A few minutes later she came back with a SAP with different (and better for us) instructions on it!

LisaB

 

[riu girl]

I applied for a GAC at AK 12/2004 (outside the park) and knew I would be flustered about the whole experience. How do you talk about these things with your "special" child right there beside you? In my case DD7 is severe ADHD, as well as SID and ASD tendencies. She has no idea that she is "special" and I didn't think that during our WDW holiday was the time to tell her.
I typed up a short letter and simply handed it to the cm at AK and I asked her to read it. At first she asked me to simply explain, but I again asked her to read it. She did and within one or two minutes I was handed a GAC. DD7 was standing beside me the whole time and had no idea what was going on.
The whole experience was much easier/less stressful then I ever would have imagined.
Suzy V.

 

[cabowser]

Suzy, I loved your idea about writing up a note. I don't want to talk about my son in front of him either. Why make him feel different? Thanks for the tip!

By the way, can anyone tell me where the guest assistance centers are in each of the parks or where can I print off maps that might show that?

It has been over a decade since I was there last - I am disney deprived!!

jan

 

[Cheshire Figment]

By the way, can anyone tell me where the guest assistance centers are in each of the parks or where can I print off maps that might show that?

MK in City Hall, just to the left after you pass under the railroad.

AK and Studio - just to the left after going through the turnstiles.

Epcot just to the left after passing under SpaceShip Earth.

 

[pumpkinboy]

Another hint for speeding things along is to bring in the GAC you got last time. In our case, we go to WDW fairly frequently, so we simply save the GAC and show it when we're getting the new one.

We are also very specific about what we need, since the last time we got only the "alternate entrance" stamp (DS is wheelchair-bound and quadraplegic - CP). When we were turned down at the FastPass entrace once, I went to Guest Relations and explained that DS was on a tight medications schedule and that we would need the FastPass ability for him to enjoy anything, and we got it.

The moral is, bring in what worked for you before, and if they don;t give you what you need, go back and talk to another CM. Be specific about what you need; the specific diagnosis is less important.

Good luck!

 

[Karens]

Hi,
We had 2 GAC's for DD11 last year - one with the wheelchair stamp and one for her visual impairment (she is not in a wheelchair). I am going to take them with me and ask for them to be updated for this years holiday. The only problem was if a ride didn't have a separate wheelchair entrance for eg Winnie the Pooh and Buzz the CM would not let us use the FP entrance so ours didn't always work for us - I know I should have spoke to Guest Relations again but I didn't know there was anything else available. It was a shame because on a couple of our visits we couldn't go on these rides because it was a very bust time of year 23rd june to 7th July . My friend who travels to Disney every year has a son with fragile x gets a GAC with an alternative entrance stamp which allows her to use the FP queue.

Karen

 

[tinkerbelle22]

To Karen - I just wanted to say that I feel badly about the experience you went through at AK. That's the kind of thing that stays with you and not the kind of memory you want to bring home with you from a Most Magical Place. I'm sure the CM didn't mean to sound insensitive, but I certainly know as a mom of an autistic son you feel that you have had to spend their whole lives explaining to people...and this is the LAST place you want to relive all the justifications, explanations, apologies we make every day. We want to just walk in, have them somehow knowlingly see it in our eyes, (o.k. then maybe a hug) hand us a pass and say, "maybe this will help you." Because in Disneyworld we ALL go to ESCAPE and feel great about things.
And another note, I didn't realize that I had to "present" my son at the counter (sorry I don't mean to sound snippy). I know for some parents they really don't want to talk about their children's needs/disabilities in front of them. I don't mind using the word "autistic" in front of him, but if diagnoses won't suffice - I do feel uncomfortable saying in front of my son explaining "he can't wait in lines - He'll start screaming, hitting people, etc" I don't necessarily want that discussed in his prescence. Would it be better if those details were in a letter from his psychiatrist? I know WDW wants do the right thing - I'm just venting.

 

[Mellie0119]

Last time we obtained a GAC (then SAP) we had a note from ECI (no specific DX at the time), but I just explained that he didn't do well in large crowds, or with waiting in long lines. DH and DS were in the back of the line waiting for AK to open while I went to Guest Services outside the park. They were very helpful, didn't give me any hassles. We've never made a big deal with DS over his challenges, and I agree, WDW is not the place to start that discussion. I'd write a letter/note explaining your child's needs and start there. This way you can prepare in advance and have time to review it with out feeling flustered. I hate feeling like I need to "justify" the GAC because DS has no visible disabilites, the letter takes a bit of the emotion out of the situation.

 

[Karens]

Thanks tinkerbelle,

It was actually at Magic Kingdom that I asked about the GAC. It was my first time to WDW and our first visit to WDW and I think I was just a bit worked up about the whole thing. I'm feeling a bit more relaxed about the whole thing now because hopefully I will be able to show them last years GAC and not have to go into too much detail. It is very very difficult to talk about something so private about someone so precious to a complete stranger.

Thanks for your kind words.

Karen

 

[riu girl]

Does anyone know how it works when you have an old GAC and take it to guest services? Do you have to explain your situation again or do they simply update the dates??? That sure would make things a lot easier .

 

[leise]

We have had GAC's on a few occasions for DS (6) who is autistic. We always get them from Guest Services inside the park, which is a large hall with a desk. I approach the desk and speak to the CM, while DH minds DS and his younger brother on benches at the back of the hall. That way I can point over at my son and talk about him without him actually being in earshot. Usually, on cue, he will start bouncing on the bench or spinning or lie down on the floor, and the CM gives me a look and nods knowingly.... They never seem to ask for the doctors letter I offer...wonder why?

We usually take the last GAC we had with us. Although I explain again what I need, it is then easier for the CM if I hand over the old one and say "this is what we had last time", as if they aren't too familiar with the various stamps, they can just copy the one we have. I usually say something like "He has trouble queueing and with crowds in enclosed spaces".

I've always found the CM's in Guest Relations to be helpful and sympathetic.
HTH
Leise

 

[SueM in MN]

We just got back from DisneyWorld last night. We took DD's old GAC (and her) to Guest Services, handed the GAC to the CM and said we needed a new one for this visit. I explained that nothing had changed and the CM went to the back room (I suspect they do keep some sort of computer log) and issued us a new one with the same stamps.
The CMs don't need a diagnosis because the GAC is based on needs, not diagnosis. Two people with the vary same diagnosis might have very different needs and the GAC that meets the needs of one might be more or less than the GAC needed by the other.