GAC and Character Meets and Greets About This Page:

[jovigirlnj]

We have always avoided the Meet and Greets in the parks because there is no way my little one would be able to wait in those lines. He has Autism.
My SIL who also has a son with Autism said they used the GAC for a few of the Meet and Greets - i always thought this wouldnt help you for them.
Does anyone know for sure of there are any that you can use the card?
Thanks!!

[EddieCVS]

Here is some info I found, hope it help. Here is the link.....................

Disability Passes - Autism At The ParksWalt Disney World Universal Orlando SeaWorld

[SueM loves WDW]

In general, if it is an indoor, permanent type character meet and greet, they may be able to help you.
It may not be right away, but thy may have a place outside of the line where you can wait.

For the character meet and greets that are outdoors, the official word is that GACs are not used for those. The CMs outside don't have a lot of ability to change conditions for people with GACs. What a lot of people do for those outdoor ones is have some of their party wait in the line and have the person with autism join them once they reach the front.

[benjiboo25]

We were able to use DD' s GAC for the princesses/fairies at the old toontown location. However, I SWEAR it was a longer wait than the regular line. However, we got to wait in the esit area where there are couches and dd could walk around unconfined.

We were not able to get accommodations anywhere else. That is why we loved character meals. This time I am thrilled that we can get FP's for rapunzel now!

[mechurchlady]

The GAC lets CMs know that a guest does have special needs and is not just whining about the long lines. Present the GAC to the CM greeter and ask what is the options for your child. The response depends on if it is a set meet and greet or an impromptu one.

[jovigirlnj]

Thanks everyone

[CinderAbby]

We too could use our GAC in the old ToonTown M&G locatoin but last year when we showed it at the new location on Main Street, I was told I couldn't use it. I either had to wait in line or go outside and get a FP. Unless Abby really, really wants to see someone and the line is really short, we avoid the M&G's now.

[mfirst]

We had a GAC for our son, and it was explained that accomodations would "possibly" be available for meet and greets depending on the location, and the length of line. We were told that the "best" place for the GAC were the indoor locations - but we may be better off using a FP for those rather than waiting with the GAC because we would be given a quieter place to wait, but it would take longer than waiting in the cue (like Shelly mentioned with the princess area in Toontown.).

It ended up being a non-issue for us because once our son discovered rides, he had no interest in meeting character.

[joelsmom]

We don't have any experience with this, because I just always assumed the GAC didn't apply to character greetings. Thinking about it, though, why wouldn't Disney apply the same principal to character greetings that they do to the ride queues. Typically, our GAC says we can use an alternate entrance. If we could do that for a ride, what's the difference with a character greeting? I wonder if anybody has experience with trying that.

My DS loves the characters, and this recent trip he wanted to see as many as possible, so we waited in a lot of lines; but he understood that was necessary before we started. I always let him make the decision whether or not he wanted to wait the posted time. In 5 park days, he met 29 characters...whew! I will say it really seemed to make his trip that he was able to see so many.

[CinderAbby]

We don't have any experience with this, because I just always assumed the GAC didn't apply to character greetings. Thinking about it, though, why wouldn't Disney apply the same principal to character greetings that they do to the ride queues. Typically, our GAC says we can use an alternate entrance. If we could do that for a ride, what's the difference with a character greeting? I wonder if anybody has experience with trying that.

The key words are alternate entrance. Most rides have one but technically M&G's don't have alternate entrances. The queues are built so that anyone and everyone can go through them so there's no need for a different entrance. The rides, which have been around far longer than the organized M&G, don't always have ADA queues, which is why the Alternate entrance comes into play. Some rides have been re-done and scooters and wheelchairs can go through but not every ride has an alternate entrance. The Peoplemover is the main one that comes to mind - there's no alternate entrance and if you can't walk, then you can't ride. Two more attractions that don't have alternate entrances are Carousel of Progress and the Tiki Room - everyone goes together. And you can't make the arguement of "but that's a show". Philharmagic is a show as well but that has an alternate entrance.

[SueM loves WDW]

But, the alternate entrance for attractions like Tiki Birds, Laugh Floor and Philharmagic are just waiting lines parallel to the 'regular' line. The main purpose of them is sepatating out the guests with mobility devices/disabilities to get them in safely outside of the main crowd. Their other functionis making sure they don't bring more guest with wheelchairs and ECVs into the theater than there are spots for.

We have been specifically told multiple times while getting a GAC that they can't be used for Meet and Greets.
We were able to use our daughter's GAC once for the Fairies in their old location in ToonTown.
I explained to the CM that my daughter had sited in the line the day before, but had lots of problems with people bumping her wheelchair while we waited. The way that line worked - many people had one member of their party wait in line and then texted or phoned the rest of their group when the one in line got to the front. This meant. Lot of little kids (and parents) squeezing past us during our wait.
The CM gave us a card with the current wait time listed on it and sent us to a bench to wait. When our time was up, a CM came to get us nd take us in - we actually waited a bit longer than we would have.

[CinderAbby]

But, the alternate entrance for attractions like Tiki Birds, Laugh Floor and Philharmagic are just waiting lines parallel to the 'regular' line.

I don't consider waiting in the front row at Tiki Room as being an alternate entrance. We enter at the same turnstiles as everyone else but told to park in the front row. Peter Pan, Small World, BTM - you enter in a different area completely, that's what I consider an alternate entrance.

As for Philharmagic, we're sent into the FP entrance (again, a different entrance than everyone else) and it's not actually parallel to the regular line unless they've changed it since last summer. The FP line entrance was way over to the left by where Wendy and Peter Pan used to have a M&G

[TuffyCO]

I also wish WDW would have alternate waiting areas for the M&G's. Many times the need for a GAC is not a mobility need. Having two kids on the autism spectrum we use the alternate entrance because the kids cannot stand in lines where they are being bumped, kids are loud, people encroach on their space etc. They also LOVE meeting the characters even though they are older this is a huge part of our touring time. We have had to split up and have one parent wait in the line and then text for the kids to come join us. I don't like doing this as people get very snippy when the kids join and then sometimes that can agitate the kids. This also takes away from what I think was Walt's original premise of "enjoying the parks together". Instead we have one parent with the kids and the other standing in line.

Disney does a great job in accommodating kids on the spectrum and I appreciate everything they do with all of my heart. But I do write often asking to find a way to accommodate these kids for the M&G's in the future.

On a side note, when we visited DLR in Oct and Feb they did accommodate the GAC in the M&G lines. My son wanted to meet Mickey in DCA in Oct, it was our last day and he wanted to tell him we were leaving but would be back to see him in Feb. The line was very long and it is an open line with no barriers on any side and kids were being very active. I knew he couldn't handle this and asked the CM and showed him the GAC. He had us wait near the exit and after about 10 minutes (this was slightly less then we would have waited in the normal line) my DS got to see Mickey.

[Sandra Bostwick]

Originally Posted by benjiboo25

We were able to use DD' s GAC for the princesses/fairies at the old toontown location. However, I SWEAR it was a longer wait than the regular line. However, we got to wait in the esit area where there are couches and dd could walk around unconfined.
!

You make a really good point here. Unfortunately, sometimes the accommodation of a quiet waiting area will end up as a longer wait, but for those who really need the quiet place, the trade-off is worth it.

[KCSunshine]

While we have used a GAC at the popular character greets, I have found that for some greets they will allow someone in my group to wait in line while I wait in a more quiet area.

That being said, I have found that going to a character meal will allow for a pleasant, longer, more comfortable greet. The only down side to this is that your characters are significantly more limited when compared to the characters you may be able to see in the parks.