GAC and character lines

[kimba]

I know there is alot of discussion around autism and the GAC but I was just wondering if the card can help at all with the sometimes "long" character lines. I know the rides have the FP lines but character places don't have that area. It is our first time with our DS (5) to WDW and we know he will adore visiting/hugging the characters. Although he is pretty good at waiting in lines I know he will not be able to do it all the time. Does the GAC help in the designated character places?
Thanks.

 

[Safari Steve]

The GAC applies to attractions and shows only, it is not valid for character greetings.
Locations like Ariel's Grotto and the Toontown Hall of Fame, which are operated like attractions, may be able to accomodate some special service requests, but if you see Aladdin in Adventureland or Belle and the Beast under the hat at Studios, you must wait with everyone else.

 

[SueM in MN]

I don't know if they still do this or not (help, Steve??), but you used to be able to get a listing of the character appearance times from Guest Services. That way, you might be able to find some of the characters soon after they come out, before a line forms. Also, some of the characters appear in areas that are not readily visible unlees you are looking for them - Like Belle, Beast and Cinderella in a little garden area behind the shops in France.
Another wa to get chracter interaction without braving the lines is to go to some character meals. When the character is with you, they are only with you. It's aslo nice because you can see the characters coming to the tables close to you and prepare (also gives your child models to see how others react)>

 

[s&k'smom]

Great idea Sue. I too recommend going to charector meals. There was no way my son was going to wait in line for a charector but we went to 3 charactor meals and it was wonderful. We tried to go at off times and get a "extra time". What I mean is if it's a slow time of year or there are just not a lot of peple at the meal many times the charactors will spend extra time with you. This happened last year when I took DD for a meal at Garden Grove and it was really quiet. She gots tons of time with the charactors.

 

[Safari Steve]

Garden Grill in The Land is one of the hidden gems of Character dining.

There is no list, per se, but if you go to Guest Relations any time after about 10am, they can give you times and locations for specific characters for that day.

 

[tigger2on]

Our 7 year old (non-verbal, non-mobile) wanted to see Ariel this past trip but the line was approximately 40 minutes long and even though she had a GAC, the CM said that we'd have to wait in the line as the GAC does not include character greetings. The only pass they accept is the one for the Make A Wish kids!
Next trip, we're going there first!

 

[SueM in MN]

I just thought of another possible "character opportunity". If you are staying on-site at a time they have an e-night, there are often character greetings during the e-night. Since there are limited number of guests in the park, the lines are shorterr and the characters can send lots of time.
In case you don't know, e-nights are a special program for guests staying at Dieny resorts. Buying an e-night ticket (used along with your park ticket) allows you to stay in the park on e-night after it is closed to the general public. A selection of rides are open, as well as shops and some character appearances.

 

[Figment1964]

Originally posted by tigger2on
Our 7 year old (non-verbal, non-mobile) wanted to see Ariel this past trip but the line was approximately 40 minutes long and even though she had a GAC, the CM said that we'd have to wait in the line as the GAC does not include character greetings. The only pass they accept is the one for the Make A Wish kids!
Next trip, we're going there first!

Oh, that's so sad.

We must have had someone bend the rules for us (unbeknownst to us) when we were at AK in Aug. 2002. We were where the lines are for Mickey/Minnie/Goofy/Donald(?) at Camp MinnieMickey and I showed a cast member our GAC. She sent us up the exit line and the CM with Mickey stopped the line and let my son (Asperger's Syndrome) and his little brother see Mickey. A mom in the regular line started to make rude comments to us and I was about to try to explain autism and his inability to wait in crowds, etc., to her when the CM put her hand on my arm and told me that SHE would explain the situation to the comment-making mom and for us to just enjoy our visit!

 

[Poohnatic]

With my son, we usually plan at least one character meal each trip. He's usually pretty good about the character lines, but the only long one he tolerates is Buzz and Woody.

Son is 7 with Asperger's. I think the only thing that makes this tolerable, when other lines can cause the dreaded meltdowns, is that he can SEE the character there and interacting with others.

I'm fortunate, this is the kid who knows all the obscure characters, so when everyone is bypassing Gideon, he's available to give my son extra one on one. We have had people walk by and say "who's that?" and my son will adamantly say the character's name! Too funny!

Suzanne

 

[andijean]

We just returned from our trip and I was amazed at how accessible the characters were. The character meals definitely were great and allowed for some one on one time. We did Ohana and CP. THe other recommendation I have is get to the parks early. We were at every park prior to opening and while everyone was rushing to their first ride we had quality time with the characters. Especially places like MGM & Epcot where there are not as many kids attractions. We also rode the ferry to MK and they had characteres on the boat.

Visit this website and it has a breakdown of where certain characters will be located for greetings. Then, we sought aout a CM to see when they would be arriving and got there a few iminutes early and were then at the beginning of the line.

http://pages.prodigy.net.stevesoares/index/htm

 

[TinkTatoo]

I have two children with autism, DS (6) doesn't want to meet anyone but DD (5) wanted to meet Minnie. We went to Toontown fair and they let us in the back way with the GAC to meet Minnie.

We also did the character Breakfast but DS found this too stressful. Also it was at the beach club and Minnie only stood near the entrance for a photo so DS didn't really get to see her for long.