Welcome to disABILITIES, shelle45.
GAC is a Guest Assistance Card (at
Disneyland, they call it a Special Assistance Card). We use the abbreviation GAC so we don't need to type out all the words each time we want to talk about it.
What it is, is a way to let the CMs (Cast Members) know what sorts of help someone needs if they have an invisible disability. It's issued for the person with a disability and up to 5 memebers of their party. In some situations, there may not be room for 6 people, so you may be asked to have one or two people stay with the person the GAC is issued to and the rest wait/enjoy the show somewhere else. The GAC is stamped with a message that helps the CM decide what you need. Some examples might be, to allow someone who has a small child to use a stroller like a wheelchair (taking a stroller in lines, buildings where wheelchairs are usually not allowed), or to be allowed to wait in a quieter place.
WILL MY SON BE ABLE TO GO ON THE RIDES WHITHOUT WAITING IN THE QUEUE?
The GAC does NOT allow immediate ride access. You will generally still be waiting, but the wait will be in a quieter place or somewhere that more meets your family's needs.
FastPass is one very good way to eliminate waiting in lines. It's available on many rides/attractions and is a free service to anyone who enters the parks. You go to the ride area and put your park tickets into the FastPass machine. A FastPass is printed and comes out the machine for each ticket. THere is a return time printed on the FastPass that tells you when to come back to the ride/attraction. When you return, your wait in line will generally be 10 minutes or less.
Having a wheelchair allows you to use the accessible entrances and special viewing areas for parades and Illuminations, without having a GAC. During non-busy times, the waits in line are normally shorter and you may not need a GAC at all since the wheelchair will give you access to the accessible entrance. Even when we have gone during Spring break, by using FastPass and waiting until later in the day to go on rides with really long lines, we have not used our DD's GAC more than once or twice a day. Many rides will have a line at one time of the day, but not later, or vice versa. For example, Spaceship Earth in Epcot usually has a long line early in the morning. It's the first ride people see and they want to go on. Later in the day, as less people are arriving, it might be a "walk right on" ride.
You request a GAC at Guest Assistance in any of the parks. You will need to bring your son along with you and explain what sorts of difficulties you expect to have. The GAC will be valid at all parks and usually for your entire length of stay.
ALSO WE WILL WANT TO RENT A WHEELCHAIR FOR THE 2 WEEKS WE ARE THERE. HE IS UNABLE TO OPERATE ONE HIMSELF SO WE WILL NEED ONE WE CAN PUSH. WHERE CAN I RENT ONE OFF SITE?
Here's a list of the places that DIS posters report good experiences with:
Care Medical:
http://www.caremedicalequipment.com/
Phone (407) 856-2273 Toll Free U.S and Canada (800) 741-2282
Walker Mobility:
1-888-726-6837
www.walkermobility.com
RANDY'S Mobility is in Kissimmee 407-892-4777
http://randysmobility.com/
Colonial Medical
http://www.colonialmed.com/about_cms.html
(800)747-0246
You will need his approxiate height and weight to arrange the appropriate wheelchair for him. All of these places will pcik up and deliver from the WDW resorts or the off-site hotels near WDW. If you are staying at a WDW resort, the buses, boats and monorails are wheelchair accessible. Some of the boats are not accessible to power wheelchairs or
ecvs at certain times due to water levels, but a manual wheelchair should not be a problem.
