Changes coming to GAC

[Absimilliard]

Please provide guest with alternate entrance, if available. (symbol on it, a big arrow with a small one to the side)

Please allow guests to use wheelchair entrance (the standard wheelchair symbol)

Please allow party to use stroller as a wheelchair. (a stroller)

Please provided a shaded wait area if available (a person under a roof)

Please allow party to sit in front row of ride vehicle or theatre.

That's it. 5 stamps. The new cards are orange/red.

 

[SueM in MN]

It certainly is less wordy, which should help the CMs quite a bit (I felt sorry for them sometimes having to read that little bitty type and figure out what it meant).
It doesn't seem like it will help for someone who needs to view the sign language interpreter though. We'll see when we go next March whether it does the trick for us.

 

[Talking Hands]

Interesting. Nothing there for a person like me who both needs a wheelchair and to have access to the interpreters. Doen't seem a very good system to me. Just going to be more problems.

 

[JudithM]

Originally posted by Absimilliard
Please provide guest with alternate entrance, if available. (symbol on it, a big arrow with a small one to the side)

Thank you for the information. What is considered an alternate entrance?

 

[Safari Steve]

The new cards have fewer words and seem much more precise from what I've seen. They also list a maximum number of guests per card (the guest with the card + 5 family members) and a clear reason for why extras must use the standard queue. (too many people will be disruptive to normal operations)
The pictures are nice, and -while not international symbols- are I think understandable even if English is not your first language.
We're still fine-tuning the system, so more changes are sure to come.

 

[Talking Hands]

Steve I am concerned with how they are going to deal with multiple needs as well as the fact some castmembers refuse to recognize my power wheelchair as a wheelchair and not an ECV. The only ride queue it cannot go through is Pirates of the Caribbean and I never do that ride when I am unaccompanied but you know me. I frequently head for the parks without a caretaker. Being independent significantly affects accommodations I need.

 

[SueM in MN]

thanks, Steve. It's alwys nice to have your perspective. I'm glad to hear they will probably do some "tweaking". Sometimes it's not possible to see what changes need to be made until things operate for a while.
Here's a link to a ThemeParks Board thread with the perspective of a large group (who apparently didn't get a good explanation of the workings of the GAC).

 

[Sue & Co.]

We got back yesterday and had the old GAC and were only told on our last day that they had changed and should get a new one (when I said it was our last day they agreed that we shouldn't bother). Ours allowed us to use fastpass lines without a fastpass and meant we had a much more enjoyable holiday than previousy due to timing issues amongst other things. Having seen Steve's reply re the new passes it would seem that this will no longer be available unless they count fastpass as an alternate entrance - can anyone confirm this? we were thinking of going again in Feb 2005 but if we are going to have the problems we had on previously (when I didn't know about the GAC) we will have to give it serious thought. By the way Universals parks are dreadful - they give no help insisting that all lines are wheelchair accesible even if this is not the problem and we may not go back to Universal because of the difficulties.

Sue

 

[Absimilliard]

Its now truly alternate entrance. If Fast Pass is the alternate entrance, you'll go through Fast Pass. If its means going by the exit, you'll go by the exit. The GAC Fast Pass cards created tons of problems "why can't you give me the Fast Pass card?" or the CM whould send the guest to Guest Relations on the promise that Guest Relations whould give the Fast Pass GAC.

Don't even mention Universal. As long as you're willing to shell out more money, you'll skip the lines. Those that get a GAC at Disney and whould need one there? You'll wait in line!

 

[JudithM]

Absimilliard, thank you for your reply & for all your info.

 

[Poohnatic]

Like Sue and Lisa said, it sounds like 'multi needs guests' will have to be persistent in getting all their needs addressed.

My experience has been that most cm's consider the fast pass to be the alternate entrance.

Our next trip isn't until May, and I'm sure it will be ironed out by then. Anything is better than our first two trips with no GAC at all (no diagnosis, either). If last weekend's trip to Hershey is any indication, his new meds will make this trip a lot better than the last!

Suzanne

 

[SueM in MN]

We've also had problems with Universal - that's why we have not been there in about 6 or 7 years. It just was too much hassle. There is more to accessibilty than just not having stairs.

It sounds like our families needs may or may not be well addressed with the new GAC. It's not easy or fast to get a totally dependent, multiply disabled teenager ready quickly in the morning. And some days, she's just pretty much non-functional all day (like a big rag doll with her head lolling and no energy. If we get to the parks at 11 or after (which is pretty much average for us), many of the popular rides don't have any fastpasses left or they are for the evening. That pretty much means we won't get to ride because we can't get there early enough to get a fastpass and if we do get one, it's so far in the future that we might have to leave before that. Or, if it's a ride we have to lift her into to tranfer to the ride seat, we may be too tired to be doing any more transfers. And if we have an unused fastpass, we won't be able to get another one for quite a while. We didn't usually use our GAC that often, but when we did, we really needed it.
The alternative entrance message in the past was mostly to let people without wheelchairs use the entrance that is wheelchair accessible (which is occasionally the exit or the fastpass entrance, but would usually just be the Mainstream line). If it stays that, we would already be using the alternative entrance because DD has a wheelchair, so all we could get is the stamp that allows us to wait out of the sun. We've had that stamp before and it didn't help a lot - we still had to prevent DD from hitting people in line (she's impulsive and likes her personal space) when they cut her off, let their kids run their fingers in the spokes of her wheels, and (my personal favorite) encouraged their toddlers to sit on her footrests, on top of her feet.
Anyway, we'll see. Some of the stuff (like the easy to interpret icons) should be very nice.