Questions about using GAC

[mlggator]

Hi,

Some very close friends of mine are going to Disneyland soon and I need some help for them. Their son has Ducheene Muscular Dystrophy and will need to use a GAC, as he spends most of the day in a wheel chair. I have a few questions for those who have or currently use these.

Their son is able to walk, but will be in a wheel chair for most of the time because he can't take a lot of physical exertion. One my biggest questions is the use of the GAC vs use of fastpass.

A while back my daughter injured her foot and we were using a wheel chair. I found the wait in the GAC lines at Disneyland to be really long and we could have ridden much faster if we had used fastpass. Is that true for most GAC lines in Disneyland? What about on the California Adventure side? Their son could probably wait for short amounts of time in some lines, but would need to be in a wheel chair most of the time. Which rides would be better to use a fastpass over the GAC or are there any?

Is there anything else they should know about using a GAC?

Any suggestions that you could pass my way would be greatly appreciated. My friends rarely get to go to theme parks and these tickets were a Christmas gift. I really want to give them the best advice to help make their day go as smoothly as possible.

Thanks

[PozEmerald]

sometimes the GAC line is much longer. for example Pirates that has a line of 30 min can sometimes have a GAC line of 45... space mountain can usually double. it all depends on the attraction, time of day and if you want to go without the chair.. and even then the GAC has different stamps meaning different wait times based on them. make sure you really explain your needs to city hall. but if you say u want a short line, they most likely will give you a pass that makes you wait with everyone else... after all its not a front of the line pass.. its a assistance pass

[brianpinsky]

It realy depends on the attraction. A lot of the Fantasyland attractions are to old to have guest asistence sperate from the regular boarding so they enter through the exit. Almost everything inside DCA has a sperate section for specal needs boarding. I would talk to CM at guest relations they would help you out the best.

[PetiteMortKvsh]

Sometimes the GAC line does get long and if you can walk a bit it, sometimes it is faster (yet still a wait) to us fast pass. brianpinsky is correct it really does depend on the attraction.
=)

[PetiteMortKvsh]

Sometimes the GAC line does get long and if you can walk a bit it, sometimes it is faster (yet still a wait) to us fast pass. brianpinsky is correct it really does depend on the attraction.
=)

[calsig31]

All the lines in CA Adventure should be ADA compliant because of when they were built. There should be no problem taking a wheelchair through any of the stand by lines.

[brianpinsky]

Also to note there is no Speciel needs boarding on the DLRR at Main street to many steps.

[Malcon10t]

It realy depends on the attraction. A lot of the Fantasyland attractions are to old to have guest asistence sperate from the regular boarding so they enter through the exit. Almost everything inside DCA has a sperate section for specal needs boarding. I would talk to CM at guest relations they would help you out the best.

I just want to clarify a bit here....

Fantasyland queue cannot handle a wheelchair. Because of this, wheelchair or accessible queue starts at the exit. Look at the various rides for instructions. They will usually have a sign where you enter for wheelchair accessible.

DCA is completely wheelchair accessible. You can take his wheelchair in any of the lines without issue. They do not have separate areas.

You will always be better off using a fast pass if possible. Otherwise, allow him to wait in his wheelchair. The HA lines can be longer, but he can be in his chair.

[mlggator]

Thank you everyone for the great advice. I just haven't had a lot of experience working with the GAC lines. Just the one time with my daughter, and I surmised that for us it wasn't worth it. I wasn't sure what advice to give my friends, but I think your information has helped.

It sounds like fastpasses are a must for DCA and are probably useful for a lot of rides at Disneyland. I'll will let me know.

Thanks!

[mlggator]

Oh, one more question. I was writing the email to my friend to explain all of this, and then I remembered that there seemed to be a separate line to Toy Story Mania for wheel chair guests. Is that correct? Is it better to go this route on this ride?

[Malcon10t]

Oh, one more question. I was writing the email to my friend to explain all of this, and then I remembered that there seemed to be a separate line to Toy Story Mania for wheel chair guests. Is that correct? Is it better to go this route on this ride?

No, wheelchairs are accommodated in the regular line.

[Maleficent Fan]

Hi there! I haven't posted in quite some time, but I look at MiceChat each day. I couldn't help but answer your questions when I saw it on the feed.

I'm actually a current Guest Relations CM at Disneyland and would be more than happy to answer your concerns.

From what others have stated above, they are fairly correct. A Guest Assistance Card is not intended for immediate access onto any of the attractions -- both Disneyland and DCA side. What it is intended for is to provide a more comfortable waiting area for the concerned person and their Guests, which can include a max of 6 persons (this includes the Guests requiring the assistance). After all, our program isn't based off of medical diagnosis, but of "concerns" you have going onto the attractions.

I read in your post that your party member will be utilizing a wheelchair for most of the day. If that is the case, you don't even need to get a physical "paper" Guest Assistance Card because the wheelchair will automatically allow you into the wheelchair accessible lines because your wheelchair acts as a "visible cue" for the CMs to allow you in said lines.

Now, as others have pointed out, Disney California Adventure is completely wheelchair accessible via the standard queues since it was built in 2001. Disneyland is a little bit of a different story. Due to the fact that Disneyland was built in 1955, a lot of our older attractions weren't built to be wheelchair accessible because the laws did not exist at the time for them to be so. Due to this fact, we allow guests with mobility concerns to utilize different entry points into the attraction at Disneyland; typically, these entry points will be through the exit.

The only time you would need a physical "paper" GAC card for mobility concerns would be if your party member likes to occasionally "walk" every so often and not be stuck in the wheelchair all day. If that is the case, visit either the Chamber of Commerce at DCA or City Hall at Disneyland so that a physical Guest Assistance Card can be provided for your party that will grant you the same access as your physical wheelchair would. My rule of thumb: if you are utilizing the wheelchair ALL DAY, you don't need a physical Guest Assistance Card. If there are times you are considering walking through some portions of the day, get one.

One more thing to note. Due to the fact that DCA is completely wheelchair accessible, we do offer what is known as a return time pass for some of the more popular attractions -- such as Radiator Springs Racers, Toy Story Midway Mania!, and Mickey's Fun Wheel. What these passes allow you to do is to return to the attraction at a later time in the day if the lines are too long for you to physically stand in. (They are essentially almost like an additional FastPass.). However, a special note on this: YOU HAVE TO INQUIRE with the Cast Member at the front of the attraction to see if they are offering a return time pass for the day. If they are, they will give you a paper slip telling you when you can come back to the attraction at a later time through a more quick fashion. You are essentially "waiting" the amount of time that the attraction standard queue is (if not more), but you are not in the "physical" line itself. This allows you to enjoy other less crowded attractions or grab a bite to eat before returning to the attraction.

Beyond that, the only thing that Disney offers that truly "cuts" down on your wait time is to utilize our FastPass service, which is included complimentary with your ticket purchase.

Hope that cleared things up!

- Maleficent Fan

[Maleficent Fan]

And to further answer your questions, it is indeed true that some of the wheelchair accessible lines at Disneyland can be MUCH LONGER than the standard queue -- such as Space Mountain. This is due to the fact of limited vehicle capacity that can cater to guests utilizing wheelchairs and the need for those vehicles to cycle through its rotation.

Please note, and I cannot stress this enough, the Guest Assistance Card is not intended for immediate, preferential access, but equal access onto the attractions.

PS: If you haven't done so already, Guest Relations recently got updated Guests With Disability park map brochures; stop by next time.... it will tell you exactly where to go for every attraction.

[mlggator]

Wow, Maleficent Fan, that was such great info. I just passed it along to my friend. They just don't get to go to Disney very often and I want them to have as magical a day as possible. This will really help them.

Thank you!