Newby planning Oct trip with Asperger's children - please help with dates

[DaisyCrazy145]

Thanks in advance for your help! I tried calling Disneyland but wasn't able to get any help.

We've been saving up money for a year to take the kids to Disneyland - we want to go when it's not crowded due to children with sensory issues.

Does anyone know if the week of Oct 21st will be really crowded. I saw a post that said it is UEA that week can't figure out what that means? We could possibly go the week before but will have to change hotel dates.

Also - I noticed that the park is closing at 6pm both Tues and Wed the week of the 21st - is that normal? I see there is a Mickey Halloween party Tues night but I don't see anything for Wed. Is 9-6 enough time to see everything in the parks? We have a 3 day park hopper pass.

Also - when I called the lady said there are no accommodations for people with any kind of disability no matter what but I see posts saying there is something called a GAC - does anyone know what the real story is?

My plan is to just go through the regular lines but if they are having a hard time a quiet place to wait or shorter line could save the day.

Are there any quiet spots to sit and take a break?

Restaurants that are less crowded than others?

Thanks so much for any help - I've done hours of research and yet have no idea what I'm doing. I really want this to be great for my kids since they worked hard to help pay for the trip.

Thank you!!!

 

[garjanjones]

I do not know about Disneyland or the crowd issues, but as a teacher with experience with children with Asperger's I think you will be ok. I studied the Unoffical touring guide and bought the online subscription. It was very close with time estimates, etc. With that tool you would be able to prepare your children for the waits, and plan out the best order to do the attractions. I am unsure as to the age of your children, but if you have one young enough you may want to rent a stroller to keep all the belongings organized too so no one loses anything (just trying to think of ways to prevent a meltdown).

 

[rewardsinlife]

UEA stands for Utah Education Association. They have a convention at this time which means that most schools in Utah are closed bringing a lot of families down to DL at that time. I heard that it is crowded but not quite as bad as a Thanksgiving or Christmas trip.

Not sure on the 6 pm time but it just sounds like the mickeys halloween party for both of those days. I would try calling DL again to get specifics on the time and what your 3 day hopper will allow you on those days.

Whoever you talked to about there being no accommodations for disabilities clearly was not on top of their game that day. GAC might be helpful to you..and it may not. Go check out the disabilities thread ( on the main pg) sticky about GAC. If long lines are a problem for sensory, you may be able to get one to be in a quieter area. ( usually the handicap line- which allows GAC - is off to the side and main paths which does create a quiter environment to wait in before boarding rides) As for rest areas, any first aid station is accommodating for anyone who needs a break. They will usually let you sit or lie down there for up to an hr. of 'quiet' time if your need it.

Restaurants are quiter during the off times. We usually eat a late breakfast( or eat on the way to the park...bring a snack for around 12 and wait till about 2 for lunch. By this time the crowds are out. Then you are fuller later and can eat outside of park, or just later while everyone else is at the nighttime firework shows.

Hope this helps!

 

[DaisyCrazy145]

Thanks so much for your help! More than a pass - what will help my kids the most is for it to not be crowded as they don't like crowds or a lot of noise.

So it looks like a UEA week will be more crowded than we want - is there a way to find out what weeks are less crowded than others?

Weeks we could go would be

Oct 15th week

Oct 22nd week

Oct 29th week

or

Nov 5th week.

Thanks so much!

 

[DaisyCrazy145]

PS- I googled the "unofficial touring guide" and it says its for FL - is there something similar for CA?

In fact - am I on the wrong board? I apologize if this board is for FL and not CA!

 

[rewardsinlife]

As a general rule, the closer it gets to holidays ...the more crowds there will be. Oct. 15 th or nov. 5th. looks to be the best date for your family. (oct. 22 is too close to UEA, oct. 29th really close to Halloween.

I don't think there is a touring guide for DL.

 

[brymolmom]

Have a great time!!

I have ds with borderline Asperger's - basically some days he's great and others not so much. But at WDW (and DLR once) he does great. For him and many with Asperger's it was to prepare him fully for what to expect. No surprises. So I would often tell him about waiting in lines, waiting his turn, etc. He's 10 now but started going when he was very young. Depending on age of child(ren) - maybe also give examples...like when at a grocery store waiting in line 'This is kind of like the line we will wait in at Disneyland - but there will be lots more people. But at the end you will be able to go on a fun ride.'

Actually, I find that in our case my ds does WDW and lines in general at times better than my typical dd...simply because he is ALL ABOUT the routine and once he's used to the routine of waiting in line for a ride/attraction - that's what he's used to and expecting.

One difficulty we do run into on occassion is his 'expectation' of what we're doing next is different than what we end up doing. For example, if we were 'supposed' to go to Splash Mtn next but then go by Haunted Mansion and see it has little or no line so we try to dash in there quickly before the planned Splash Mtn - he will sometimes resist and on a few occassions flat out refuse. I have handled this in different ways over the years...Now I will usually stick to our plan...Plan out 2 rides in advance (no more than that in case I end up needing to tweak)...and this is very important for us - Always give the 'warning' before we are going to leave the park. For example 'We are doing Space Mtn, Buzz Lightyear then we are heading back to the resort.' Or 'Two more rides until we leave - You get to pick one and your sister gets to choose the 2nd one, then we're all done'.

But lines are never an issue for us. Go at rope drop and use Fastpass if you are worried about the lines.

 

[garjanjones]

PS- I googled the "unofficial touring guide" and it says its for FL - is there something similar for CA?

In fact - am I on the wrong board? I apologize if this board is for FL and not CA!

I am not sure. However, I am sure that the online planning guides (about $10 I think) does have Disney CA. We went to FL and found their time estimates and suggestions to be pretty close to what was happening for real. I will definately renew when my year subscription runs out.

 

[Lindana]

Hi DaisyCrazy!
We're planning a trip to Disneyland with our 5 year old daughter who is autistic in late Nov. We've used the Guest Assistance Card with her at WDW and found it to be very helpful. We were often able to enter through an alternate entrance (ie the exit or fastpass lane) which was less crowded and noisy. It doesn't cut out all waiting or get you to the front of the line, but it is a great help. From what I've read on the Disneyland and disAbilities forums, the GAC at DL works very similarly to the one at WDW. If you haven't already, check out SueM's overview in the disAbilities forum: http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=595713

There is a great touring plan site available from the Unoffical Guide to Disneyland: http://touringplans.com/?property=dlr They have info on crowd levels and line times, and customizable touring plans for subscribers. The cost to subscribe is $6.95.

We've been taking our daughter to WDW since she was 2, and it's always been a great experience for us. We usually watch our Disney planning DVD and look at the website to show her what the rides will be like and get her prepared for the vacation. There's also a cool Disneyland Explorer app for the i-pad that my daughter loves.

 

[BuzzandWoodyMom]

Thanks in advance for your help! I tried calling Disneyland but wasn't able to get any help.

We've been saving up money for a year to take the kids to Disneyland - we want to go when it's not crowded due to children with sensory issues.

Does anyone know if the week of Oct 21st will be really crowded. I saw a post that said it is UEA that week can't figure out what that means? We could possibly go the week before but will have to change hotel dates.

Also - I noticed that the park is closing at 6pm both Tues and Wed the week of the 21st - is that normal? I see there is a Mickey Halloween party Tues night but I don't see anything for Wed. Is 9-6 enough time to see everything in the parks? We have a 3 day park hopper pass.

Also - when I called the lady said there are no accommodations for people with any kind of disability no matter what but I see posts saying there is something called a GAC - does anyone know what the real story is?

My plan is to just go through the regular lines but if they are having a hard time a quiet place to wait or shorter line could save the day.

Are there any quiet spots to sit and take a break?

Restaurants that are less crowded than others?

Thanks so much for any help - I've done hours of research and yet have no idea what I'm doing. I really want this to be great for my kids since they worked hard to help pay for the trip.

Thank you!!!

You are posting in the Walt Disney World section of the Disboards. I recommend that you post these questions in the Disneyland section of this board and/or on the Disabilities section of the Disboards.

On a personal note, we have a daughter with Asperger's and have taken her to Disneyland and Disney World many, many times and we have never had any issues.

Disneyland Board: http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=26

DISabilities Board: http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=20