new blog: Guest Assistance Cards Vs. FastPass+

The only problem with that is the characters can only stay out for so long. So they have a good idea of when to cut the line off, but then people show up with a GAC that allows them to (for lack of a better word) cut the line...well what about those at the end of the line? They are now not going to get to see that character because the character CANNOT stay out past a certain point!
I understand what you are saying, but it just isn't reasonably possible. Your best bet is have someone wait in line and then join them. :goodvibes

When we were waiting so meet Tigger and Pooh , the CM announced that Tigger and Pooh would be right back, we had been waiting 20 minutes, not too long...well only Tigger came back....ugghhhhh...thankfully a child in line ahead of us had an Ipad and my ds was fixed on that....so we met Tigger and Pooh never returned, whew, avoided that one !
 
We bought our son a tablet for Christmas and this has been such a blessing. I plan on taking it to Disney with us for when we do have to wait long. Even waiting for our food to come at dinner with all the stimulation around him can be a headache. We try to mainly do buffets so he can eat right away.

Glad you were able to distract your son with the tablet huhwhat. Nothing like a meltdown at Disney.. :goodvibes
 
I know exactly how you feel...now if only they had something like this for meet and greets ! The GAC is a game changer for families with kids with ASD.

Yes. The fast pass with Mickey, Minnie, and the Princesses was a great improvement!

If only there were more airconditioned meet and greets! That had fast passes.

My son can only see the outdoor characters on cool days.

Your best bet is have someone wait in line and then join them. :goodvibes

That works great for those parties of 2 or more adults or a responsible child who can hold the place in line; not so great for those parties of only 1 adult/gardian.
 
lovethattink said:
Yes. The fast pass with Mickey, Minnie, and the Princesses was a great improvement!

If only there were more airconditioned meet and greets!

My son can only see the outdoor characters on cool days.

That works great for those parties of 2 or more adults or a responsible child who can hold the place in line; not so great for those parties of only 1 adult/gardian.

I DO understand your phlight...but what "is" Disney to do??? The fur characters can only stay out 'so long'. And if they allow people with a GAC to 'cut the line', how is that fair to those who were in line on time and now don't get to see that character?? If the shoe was on the other foot and your child (who had their heart set on meeting that character and were in line in TIME to!) were now the person who got cut off from seeing that character because they let others cut in front...Well how would you feel?? The way they currently do it really is the only fair way to ALL guests. Yes, I agree it Sucks if you only have one parent/child, but I would imagine that there have to be other things/diversions you can use So I guess maybe using some of those 'tactics/devices/deversions' is the option if you really want to meet the characters. I'm truly sorry it's not a more positive answer but I DO understand why they don't accept the GAC at meet & greets. It's a recipe for disaster IMO.
 
I DO understand your phlight...but what "is" Disney to do??? The fur characters can only stay out 'so long'. And if they allow people with a GAC to 'cut the line', how is that fair to those who were in line on time and now don't get to see that character?? If the shoe was on the other foot and your child (who had their heart set on meeting that character and were in line in TIME to!) were now the person who got cut off from seeing that character because they let others cut in front...Well how would you feel?? The way they currently do it really is the only fair way to ALL guests. Yes, I agree it Sucks if you only have one parent/child, but I would imagine that there have to be other things/diversions you can use . So I guess maybe using some of those 'tactics/devices/deversions' is the option if you really want to meet the characters. I'm truly sorry it's not a more positive answer but I DO understand why they don't accept the GAC at meet & greets. It's a recipe for disaster IMO.

My suggestion isn't accepting GACs, it's to continue to make new M&G's in the airconditioning and have fast passes for them.

I was disappointed with the new Ariel M&G. The noise level was horrible in there. We walked in and right back out on a passholder preview day with my son crying because it hurt his ears so badly. A cm saw this and took him a different way to see her. I assume that will be his last visit to Ariel unless something has been done to reduce the sound in the "cave".
 
lovethattink said:
My suggestion isn't accepting GACs, it's to continue to make new M&G's in the airconditioning and have fast passes for them.

I was disappointed with the new Ariel M&G. The noise level was horrible in there. We walked in and right back out on a passholder preview day with my son crying because it hurt his ears so badly. A cm saw this and took him a different way to see her. I assume that will be his last visit to Ariel unless something has been done to reduce the sound in the "cave".

My apologies!! I didn't understand that was what you were hoping for! We lucked out when we went to see Ariel during the soft openings of the new Fantasyland...we saw her (well, I saw her a total of 3 times during various soft openings...once by myself, once w/ DD, & once w/ DH) within 5 to 10 min of entering the queue. I didn't notice noise being an issue but there weren't but a few of us there.... I bet it could be awful with kids screaming or crying and just general loud voices. I am glad a CM caught onto your situation and was able to help you out!! :)
 
My suggestion isn't accepting GACs, it's to continue to make new M&G's in the airconditioning and have fast passes for them.

I was disappointed with the new Ariel M&G. The noise level was horrible in there. We walked in and right back out on a passholder preview day with my son crying because it hurt his ears so badly. A cm saw this and took him a different way to see her. I assume that will be his last visit to Ariel unless something has been done to reduce the sound in the "cave".
We also were there during a preview day and found it quite noisy even with very few people in line.

All the simulated rock makes it seem like you are in under the sea caves, but all the hard surfaces means there is nothing to absorb sound.
 


My apologies!! I didn't understand that was what you were hoping for! We lucked out when we went to see Ariel during the soft openings of the new Fantasyland...we saw her (well, I saw her a total of 3 times during various soft openings...once by myself, once w/ DD, & once w/ DH) within 5 to 10 min of entering the queue. I didn't notice noise being an issue but there weren't but a few of us there.... I bet it could be awful with kids screaming or crying and just general loud voices. I am glad a CM caught onto your situation and was able to help you out!! :)

No problem. Air conditioning and the fast passes have made those M&G a great place to cool down.

It wasn't busy at all when we went to see Ariel, it was a 10 minute wait. But there was one child screaming and people talking over the child. The sound is amplified there.

That cm definately dusted him with pixie dust.

We also were there during a preview day and found it quite noisy even with very few people in line.

All the simulated rock makes it seem like you are in under the sea caves, but all the hard surfaces means there is nothing to absorb sound.

I remember us talking about the noise level.
 
With the advent of set meet and greets, I wonder if there will be a change to the GAC policy. I understand the current rule, and I am not arguing with it, but when you have a set location and a queue for a meet and greet, EVERYONE in the line will get to meet Ariel/Mickey/etc. I wonder if we will see a change in the future...
 
With the advent of set meet and greets, I wonder if there will be a change to the GAC policy. I understand the current rule, and I am not arguing with it, but when you have a set location and a queue for a meet and greet, EVERYONE in the line will get to meet Ariel/Mickey/etc. I wonder if we will see a change in the future...

I would hope a win-win situation could be worked out somehow.
 
With the advent of set meet and greets, I wonder if there will be a change to the GAC policy. I understand the current rule, and I am not arguing with it, but when you have a set location and a queue for a meet and greet, EVERYONE in the line will get to meet Ariel/Mickey/etc. I wonder if we will see a change in the future...

No, everyone will not get to meet - as the characters are only allowed to be out for a certain amount of time, per their contract. Just wanted to clarify. They do let people know that the character will be leaving.
 
No, everyone will not get to meet - as the characters are only allowed to be out for a certain amount of time, per their contract. Just wanted to clarify. They do let people know that the character will be leaving.

Can't they cut off a line at a certain point that has a little give so that if a MAW family comes up both the MAW family and those before the cut off would all be able to see the character?

I've seen MAW families turned away and it breaks my heart.

You'd think with all of Disney's amazing imagineers that they'd be able to come up with some kind of system that is a win-win situation with the characters.

My family is very blessed in that we live close to WDW and have PAPs so we can make sure that on cooler days we visit a character or two and avoid them on hot days. But for so many others it's a trip of a lifetime and they can't pick and choose.

We did our first MNSSHP in years. My son's only objective was characters. Even in the evening the temps were too hot for him. I had been in communication with Guest Experience Services well in advance of our MNSSHP. One of the cm in Guest Experience Services who knows my son's history went to higher ups for us to no avail. We made it to 5 different M&G stops and saw the parade. He had a very magical moment with Cinderella and Prince Charming that just melted our hearts, and the best time ever with Flynn Rider during the fire works since nobody was in line then. But we won't do another MNSSHP. It was just too difficult for us otherwise.
 
The staged meet-and-greet is a relatively new type of Disney attraction. I'm sure it will be a while before all kinks are worked out to everyone's satisfaction.
 
Can't they cut off a line at a certain point that has a little give so that if a MAW family comes up both the MAW family and those before the cut off would all be able to see the character?

I've seen MAW families turned away and it breaks my heart.

You'd think with all of Disney's amazing imagineers that they'd be able to come up with some kind of system that is a win-win situation with the characters.

My family is very blessed in that we live close to WDW and have PAPs so we can make sure that on cooler days we visit a character or two and avoid them on hot days. But for so many others it's a trip of a lifetime and they can't pick and choose.

We did our first MNSSHP in years. My son's only objective was characters. Even in the evening the temps were too hot for him. I had been in communication with Guest Experience Services well in advance of our MNSSHP. One of the cm in Guest Experience Services who knows my son's history went to higher ups for us to no avail. We made it to 5 different M&G stops and saw the parade. He had a very magical moment with Cinderella and Prince Charming that just melted our hearts, and the best time ever with Flynn Rider during the fire works since nobody was in line then. But we won't do another MNSSHP. It was just too difficult for us otherwise.

Thank you so much lovethattink for thinking about the kids on a wish trip. Just because you are on a Wish trip it is no guarantee that you will get magical treatment 100% of the time.

We had to go to go to Guest Assistance to get the added stamp for stroller=wheelchair. My son has an interhemispheric brain cyst, autonomyic disorder, dorsal stream dysfunction, epilepsy, and spd. The cast member in guest assistance was rude to us from the beginning. She saw his GKTW button and the Guest assistance pass issued from GKTW. She saw it because she added the stamp for wheelchair = stroller. We made the mistake about telling her we were from Dream Factory. We were proud of being sent by this group. They do wonderful things. We were told that kids from Give Kids the World who were there from other groups like Dream Factory were not to get special treatment in the Meet and Greet lines. She even went into the back to confirm that kids who aren't from Make a Wish do not get "special treatment".

Because of this we started skipping the experiences. We skipped Pluto in mainsquare, the town hall, all of tomorrowland experiences, big top in Fantasyland, Tiana, and fairy godmother evil stepsisters, ALice and the Mad Hatter. When we saw Gaston my son had to see him and we waited in the general line. When the photographer saw our GKTW button he corrected what we had been told in Guest Assistance. He told us from now on to go directly to a cast member and show them the button and the guest assistance pass from GKTW. Our kiddo only has so much endurance. We didn't back track to get any characters. From then on we knew to ask. He got to meet Ariel, Tinkerbell, Periwinkle, Chip and Dale.

We were at Disney thru GKTW. We had all the medical information we needed proving why my child needed assistance, but the Guest Assistance Cast Member treated us like people trying to get away with something. When we got back to GKTW we asked if what we had been told was true. The manager was so upset. She said that the contract is with them GKTW. That all kids who stay there are wish kids. We couldn't remember the cast members name, but we knew when we were at Guest Services and could describe her.

I think all these changes are far reaching. I understand why cast members become a bit jaded, but when your kid is there with GKTW there should be no question on need.
 
My DS did a Make-A-Wish trip a few years ago and at Disney it was made very clear that the wish could would not be guaranteed fron of the line access for meet and greets with characters. So, we always just stood in line with everybody else. But, as soon as the CM saw the "wish button" we would be escorted to the front of the line with the CM announcing there was a wish kid there.

At Universal, DS always got front of the line access for character greetings.
 
No, everyone will not get to meet - as the characters are only allowed to be out for a certain amount of time, per their contract. Just wanted to clarify. They do let people know that the character will be leaving.

Not for all set meet and greets, no. THere are hours of operation, like 10AM-6PM, but in Mickey's House in Toontown you can ALWAYS meet Mickey. Same with the Rapunzel M&G. Yes, Mickey and the others have to take "breaks," but everyone in the line stays in the line (because it is an established queue with rails and such) and gets to meet hte character. As more and more M&Gs go to this format, I was just curious if the procedure would change.
 
Thank you so much lovethattink for thinking about the kids on a wish trip. Just because you are on a Wish trip it is no guarantee that you will get magical treatment 100% of the time.

She even went into the back to confirm that kids who aren't from Make a Wish do not get "special treatment".



We were at Disney thru GKTW. We had all the medical information we needed proving why my child needed assistance, but the Guest Assistance Cast Member treated us like people trying to get away with something. When we got back to GKTW we asked if what we had been told was true. The manager was so upset. She said that the contract is with them GKTW. That all kids who stay there are wish kids. We couldn't remember the cast members name, but we knew when we were at Guest Services and could describe her.

I think all these changes are far reaching. I understand why cast members become a bit jaded, but when your kid is there with GKTW there should be no question on need.

Seems like some clarification needs to be made - so are you saying that if you are not on a MAW trip, you can still stay at GKTW? Or are there other groups besides Make a Wish, and WDW does not honor those groups? I can understand the confusion, because MAW trips are not just for the terminally ill child anymore, and other groups are doing 'wish'-like trips as well. It can get to the point where Disney has to put its foot down and classify what needs get a front-of-the-line pass, compared to a standard GAC.
 
Thank you so much lovethattink for thinking about the kids on a wish trip. Just because you are on a Wish trip it is no guarantee that you will get magical treatment 100% of the time.

We had to go to go to Guest Assistance to get the added stamp for stroller=wheelchair. My son has an interhemispheric brain cyst, autonomyic disorder, dorsal stream dysfunction, epilepsy, and spd. The cast member in guest assistance was rude to us from the beginning. She saw his GKTW button and the Guest assistance pass issued from GKTW. She saw it because she added the stamp for wheelchair = stroller. We made the mistake about telling her we were from Dream Factory. We were proud of being sent by this group. They do wonderful things. We were told that kids from Give Kids the World who were there from other groups like Dream Factory were not to get special treatment in the Meet and Greet lines. She even went into the back to confirm that kids who aren't from Make a Wish do not get "special treatment".

Because of this we started skipping the experiences. We skipped Pluto in mainsquare, the town hall, all of tomorrowland experiences, big top in Fantasyland, Tiana, and fairy godmother evil stepsisters, ALice and the Mad Hatter. When we saw Gaston my son had to see him and we waited in the general line. When the photographer saw our GKTW button he corrected what we had been told in Guest Assistance. He told us from now on to go directly to a cast member and show them the button and the guest assistance pass from GKTW. Our kiddo only has so much endurance. We didn't back track to get any characters. From then on we knew to ask. He got to meet Ariel, Tinkerbell, Periwinkle, Chip and Dale.

We were at Disney thru GKTW. We had all the medical information we needed proving why my child needed assistance, but the Guest Assistance Cast Member treated us like people trying to get away with something. When we got back to GKTW we asked if what we had been told was true. The manager was so upset. She said that the contract is with them GKTW. That all kids who stay there are wish kids. We couldn't remember the cast members name, but we knew when we were at Guest Services and could describe her.

I think all these changes are far reaching. I understand why cast members become a bit jaded, but when your kid is there with GKTW there should be no question on need.

I'm sorry your experience at guest services wasn't as you had hoped. How wonderful that another cm was able to help you out.

I'm glad to hear your child had no problems seeing characters after that.


Seems like some clarification needs to be made - so are you saying that if you are not on a MAW trip, you can still stay at GKTW? Or are there other groups besides Make a Wish, and WDW does not honor those groups? I can understand the confusion, because MAW trips are not just for the terminally ill child anymore, and other groups are doing 'wish'-like trips as well. It can get to the point where Disney has to put its foot down and classify what needs get a front-of-the-line pass, compared to a standard GAC.

GKTW is a fantastic organization. The child must have a life threatening illness to stay there. Here is a link to the FAQ of their website http://www.givekidstheworld.com/about/faq.php#a3
 
Seems like some clarification needs to be made - so are you saying that if you are not on a MAW trip, you can still stay at GKTW? Or are there other groups besides Make a Wish, and WDW does not honor those groups? I can understand the confusion, because MAW trips are not just for the terminally ill child anymore, and other groups are doing 'wish'-like trips as well. It can get to the point where Disney has to put its foot down and classify what needs get a front-of-the-line pass, compared to a standard GAC.

The contract with Disney is actually with GKTW not MAW per the management at GKTW.

Where I live many people opt to go with Dream Factory over MAW. Dream Factory kids are invited to other functions after their trip. MAW does not offer those kinds of activities in our area.

We did not get a front of the line pass at any ride in Disney. We got access to go into the fast pass line.

Each child at GKTW has a severe medical condition that has impacted their day to day life. The experience is supposed to help the child get an experience to give them hope and strength while facing their medical challenges.

GKTW hosts children from many different groups and countries. I do not have a list of all that are hosted, but maybe someone else will have access to that information.
 
GKTW hosts children from many different groups and countries. I do not have a list of all that are hosted, but maybe someone else will have access to that information.

My ESP must be working, lol. I just posted that right before you asked.
 

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