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[Laughaholic]

Thanks for the clarification..that is just the policy that we go by at our park, not to say that is uniform everywhere.

Originally Posted by SueM loves WDW

Tim is correct.
Under the ADA, they are not allowed to ask for or require proof of a disability. But they can question you about what your needs are and what sorts of accomodations would meet those needs.
If the guest refuses to answer or is not able to explain their needs, there is no requirement under the ADA to meet the needs (you can't meet needs if you don't know what they are).
They are required to provide reasonable accomodations, not necessarily every accomodation that someone wants.
So, yes, they can refuse to give you a Guest Assistance Card under those kinds of circumstances.

Since the GACs at WDW say different things, based on the needs of the person, it is important for WDW to know what the person's needs are. Also, even if you have a GAC, that does not mean that all the accomodations are available at each attraction or that it will be handled exactly the same on each attraction.

[SueM loves WDW]

Originally Posted by Laughaholic

Thanks for the clarification..that is just the policy that we go by at our park, not to say that is uniform everywhere.

What I wrote is consistent with the ADA and also with the way they do it at WDW from conversations/writing I have had with WDW CMs.
As you noted, other places might choose to do things differently. That is OK as long as what they are doing is consistent with the ADA.

[GuyanaBoy]

When we got to Disney this morning, it was the first time we had asked for a GAC. I actually had never heard of this. What a pleasure and delight! It helped us truly enjoy our day in more ways than I can describe.

There are five of us here together, and I have my own ECV. Our Five Year Old Grandson is with us too. . . and he has ADHD and Asperger's. If we had known about the GAC last year, it would have helped us avoid almost every "melt down" we had with him. (One was at Mickey's Playhouse. . . after waiting in line about 35 minutes, just before we were to walk up to Mickey, he had a MAJOR MELTDOWN. We ended up having to leave the line entirely. It was hard on EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US.)

Today, with his GAC card (Which is different from mine, due to mine really being for Mobility issues.) we did not have a SINGLE "Melt down", and used the Alternate Entrance several times. It helped speed things up and keep him focused on what we were doing. That truly made things better for him, us, and all the people around us too.

Many thanks to all of you on the board for letting me know about the GAC! It is a LIFE SAVER in every single way!

[TNTWheels]

I use one and it was great.