This is my first post on these boards, though I am a long time lurker. I am also a full-time CM at the Haunted Mansion and have beem for the last 4 years.
The Mansion has been through many changes in the last year or so, some of them are not necessarily for the better. The alternate entrance GAC queue changed right before Thanksgiving. As many of you know, the alternate entrance used to be located near the crypts at the exit. Currently, ALL GACs and guests traveling with wheelchairs/
ECVs use the normal queue when the wait is less than 20 minutes. This includes MAW children and their families. Upon entering the queue these guests are encouraged--not required--to stay on the right when they reach the point where the queue splits off and you can choose between the interactive cemetary or the bypass. The bypass is located on the right side of the split and provides quicker access to the front doors.
When the wait is longer than 20 minutes, wheelchair and
ECV users who do not possess a GAC are still sent through the normal queue. Again, they are encouraged to stay to the right side of the split to make access quicker and easier for them, but the interactive cemetary IS accessible so they may use that side if they wish. Guests with alternate entrance GACs (again, including MAW) are directed by the greeter to another CM standing near a chain. That CM is responsible for checking the number of people in the party, making sure all are able to transfer to the doom buggy, etc. The guest with the GAC and their party travel through the 'rose garden' part of the queue (in front of the hearse) and are merged into the standby line, similar to a Fastpass merge point. Every guest using this entrance is, again, told that staying on the right where the queue splits will expedite their experience. The majority of GAC users request to skip the stretching room. They are told to inform the CM who opens the front doors and they will be directed from there. Usually, the CM who opens the doors is not the same CM who will be in the stretching room with the guests. The CM who enters the stretching room with the guests is responsible for making sure those who are not traveling with wheelchairs are "packed" into the room to allow enough space for wheelchair/ECV users. The CM who opens the doors is responsible for loading wheelchair/ECV users into the room after everyone else enters. This process can be quite chaotic since people tend to dawdle, want to take pictures, talk loudly, etc. in the foyer. If the door to the stretching room does not close in time, the show is ruined for those in the room and those who will be entering the next time the foyer doors are opened since the portrait over the fireplace will already be transforming before guests are allowed inside.
Skipping the stretching room is always allowed. If you do need to be escorted because you are not able to navigate the area on your own, ask the CM for additional assistance. They will find someone who can escort you if they are unable to do it at that moment. We really are not allowed to leave our positions unless told to do so by a leader. General procedure is to bring guests skipping the stretch room through the "chicken exit" and into the load hallway where the stretch room exits. Again, if this does not work for you, tell the CM. At that point you will likely have to wait for the CM assisting wheelchair guests onto the ride to return and then they will walk you to the unload area as well.
Once the stretching room is done and guests are entering the load hallway, wheelchair and ECV users are asked to exit the room last and are then directed to an exit hallway where they wait for a CM to assist them. Depending on the individual guest's needs, they are then directed to park their chair and follow the CM to the unload area to board their buggies. If you need additional assistance to board the ride, have a GAC but not a wheelchair, you will be directed this route as well. However, you MUST let a CM know that you require more assistance. CMs are only trained to screen for wheelchairs as the stretching room exits because the chairs are never, under any circumstances, allowed into the load area near the belt. If you do not approach the CM and request assistance, you won't recieve it. It is not because the CMs don't want to help you, it is because we just don't know that you need the help.
We had to change the alternate entrance in order to become more compliant with the ADA laws. The way it was set up before was giving GAC users separate treatment as opposed to the equal treatment that the ADA calls for. This procedure was initially supposed to be temporary, but because of the law it is most likely going to be this way from now on. Exceptions to this CANNOT be made because the exit area where guests with GACs used to wait is no longer staffed. We have had people who were used to the old procedure wander up that way on their own. Once they are spotted, they are always told to go back and speak to the greeter to have the new policy exxplained. We have had several guests ask to speak to managers and they are told the same thing--this is the policy now and everyone must comply. Whether the individual CM or guest agrees with it is a moot point. It's just one of those things that is how it is. It is beyond the front line CMs and the operations managers' control, it was not their idea or their choice. Many guests (in general, this is not directed at any of the PPs on this thread) blame the CMs when things don't go their way, failing to realize that it is not the fault of that particular person. Policies and procedures at Disney are constantly changing unfortunately and it can be difficult to keep up! We are doing the best we can while still getting used to things.
I hope I haven't come across as condescending or rude at any time in this post. I am just trying to explain the way things are now to hopefully clear up the confusion of the new policies at HM.
and I keep forgetting how that translates into wanting to touch) or at least pointing at it which in toddler-world all too often translates to "oops, wanted to point, but ended up touching". And no, keeping my joystick safe is not an issue.? LOL
Of course it' the HP 
The very same one we all got on their fire sale thanks to the heads up from our fellow Dis'ers 
When they had the ADA, were they only there for certain disabilites? I can bet they weren't checking the lighting for low vision.
